BEACH BAD, BEACH BAD [OPEN]

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

To say Vader was out of his element was the understatement of the millennium. He'd taken refuge under a large umbrella and was seated in his his chair as though it were the Emperor's own throne. Under the pretense of meditating, he was keeping a three-foot radius of space around him sand-free.

His beach towel would stay immaculate until he got someone else's blood on it.

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[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"A cult, like that of the Jedi?" Vader asked, "It is no wonder you joined their like," he settled into his chair, turning to look out over the sea and scowl. "You would live your life chained to substance of your own volition?"

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"I was taken from my mother at birth, given to the Bene Gesserit for their breeding program. I trained for years, was fed spice until I looked as the Fremen did, total addiction. I was raised to this thing, Vader. I was raised to be what I am--Bene Gesserit, Fremen, a weapon for them to use. Their plan, it did not work. I remember many deaths, then sand. My Order did not look for me, they left me to the desert, alone. I survived."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"Then why cling to loyalty? Are you incapable of leaving them and being anything more than a tool as you are incapable of breaking your chemical addiction?" Vader demanded.

Yes, he is setting himself up for this one.

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"It is breakable only by death. There is no cure," Arha said calmly. "I can not stop being myself. I am a blend, Bene Gesserit and Jed-Eye. I cannot deny myself that. I am Bene Gesserit Superior Mother on this ship. My loyalty to my Order goes only so far as to say the practice of many things must change, the Order must change--with me, it shall."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

Vader frowned, still shifting through her words and searching for a clue to any hidden motive.

"You could walk away, and yet you refuse to," he said, musing aloud. "You are a willing slave."

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"I carry my Order in my head, Vader. In my genetic memory." She peered at him. "But I am free, now. I will redefine the Order that abandoned me, here, in this place."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"I have never heard of such a thing," Vader said, looking at her suspiciously. "Is it a...'hive mind'?"

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"It is not," she said. "Do you wish to experience it? I will let you see, if you wish."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"I have no desire to be put beneath your spell anymore than I am forced to," Vader said, drawing back slightly. He was curious, yes, but he would examine her strange powers when the balance of power between them was once again tipped in his favor.

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"The offer is open," Arha said, grinning at him. "If you pay attention when I am healing you, it is there. In that, always, are my Mothers-Within."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

Vader groaned.

"You are not going to start that again, are you? Here, of all places?"

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"Let us see," Arha said with a grin. "Have you had your healing today? Hmmm?"

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"You are the one who wishes to be here- why are you not out splashing like a child or whatever it is you enjoy doing here instead of constantly tormenting me?" Vader asked, but there was little fight in him. For his son's sake, he would have to submit to her tortures once again.

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"I am not tormenting you. If I were, you would know the difference," Arha replied mildly. "And as for splashing, I am still getting used to water. There was none on the surface of my world and the ocean is very large in this place. Do not worry, it shall not be a long session today. It will be just enough to make sure the cells will keep regenerating. I will be gentle, so much as that is possible."

It was just the getting there that was jarring. Once she was healing, it went smoothly. It was Sith and Skywalker stubborn nature to resist. She would, as always, slice through both.

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

Without thinking, knowing he could no longer fight her, Vader retreated to deepest corners of his mind- he found himself pretending this sun was that of a distant world, and that the grit and dirt beneath his feet was long waving grass and that it was Padme who stood beside him and laughed...

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

Good, she thought, watching him zone out, he is getting better about this. In some ways it was escape, but it was the good kind, not that of anger and fear. Her fingers brushed his cheek long enough to make that first jarring connection that, for a few moments, left her face a little ashen as she started to heal.

She dove into it, inspecting her work as always, and noted the progress was doing well despite the Dark Side. Arha had made sure the cells were being nurtured properly and the healthy pink of the tips of his lung had begun to spread, albeit very slowly. It took her approximately twenty minutes to wash a proper wave of healing over them and step up the regeneration.

And then she sat back with a sigh, her eyes closed as she leaned back up against the side of his chair, her hair tangling in the breeze. She could find food later. In a bit.

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"You do not enjoy this procedure any more than I do," Vader murmured, with one foot still in his fantasy, "stubborn woman."

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"You are wrong. I enjoy the healing, but the initial approach is always a shock. I do not dislike it, it is just difficult for a moment," she mumbled back. "And you enjoy being as stubborn as I. It is a challenge I have never faced, making your lungs work properly. That is what I enjoy most."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"I am still only entertainment to you," Vader replied, unable to muster the energy to get properly flustered. His eyes were half closed as he stared out over the ocean. "You are sick."

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"Says the man with machines that keep him breathing!" Arha said, her laugh more of a sigh. "I find my entertainment in you because you resist things so very strongly, especially things that could benefit you. Perhaps it is the wrong word. I am, always, pleased to aid you. If such a sentiment makes me ill, then it is a thing without cure. I shall heal you until you are able to breathe without that machine."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"I will see to it myself that the machines stop doing their job the instant I am finished with mine," he replied, but that excuse was getting tired. "I will live with the reminders of my failure because..."

He was just as tired as if he'd fought her tooth and nail. His train of thought was getting harder to keep coherent.

"...because it is what I have earned. What I deserve."

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"Hush," Arha murmured, leaning her head back against the arm of his chair. "No one deserves to depend on machines to live. It matters not if you kill one or a billions, or if you fail in something very important. No one deserves that. That you are thusly is an unfortunate thing, and one I am attempting to remedy."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"You do not know me," Vader replied, sourly. "You do not know what I did to Padme..."

He trails off.

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"Ill choices," Arha said very softly, "are things that will stay with us until we die. It does not mean you deserve something truly terrible. You mourn your mistakes and you keep moving forward, letting your past mistakes inform your future choices."

She tipped her face into the sun,

"You have your children here, with them, in them, is your wife, no?" Arha murmured almost lazily, pulling images from his much earlier barrage. The images paused on a dark haired woman, this was Padme, and she was pregnant. This was among the images he had tried to punch her with. "The only thing you may do to ease the mistakes of your past is to pour yourself into finding a way to create a better future with your children."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

I hurt her.

"They should have her as well," Vader mumbled. "She should be here with them. It was not my intention...I lost her when I lost them. They know."