trans_9 | Between Time and Space

She had no idea how long it had been since that day she had come upon Sietch Tabr with her Sister Sheeana. Part of her had been worried it would be gone, although she knew that was a fairly baseless fear: the place was hidden well, much like, as Sheena would have told her, anyway Sietch built by a Fremen. It was still here, next to the building that looked like a precursor to a skyscraper: the same limestone build, the same precarious steps to reach it. This was, as Sheeana had told her, the place where the original Muad'dib had hidden, where the Fremen had taken shelter before the days of the Tyrant.

It was where she went now, to reclaim a piece of herself.

The Tarot card reading had not been her first indication. After the death of Ozai, she had thought long and hard about where she'd been not long ago: she had accepted that there were people who lent themselves to chaos, to discord, and that they signed their own death warrant when they infringed themselves on others. It had been here Sheeana had attempted to have her delve into the mysteries of the Bene Gesserit, here where she had first partaken of Spice.

One cautious step, two, and then the caution was gone once she remembered that day: the Nightmare King had had her in his grip, or at least her fears were getting the best of her then. Somehow Sheeana had picked the right time to bring her down this hallway, past the treasure hunter bodies to the chamber. There she entered the place where the water was drained, all moisture kept, and she felt herself stumble only a little. It had been Sheeana's second time coming here too, and one mistake would keep her lost.

Quickly she made her way through each trap, just as easily as Sheena had the first time, since Kaya had been itching for a chance to use her limbs again, to dart quickly around a corner or to sidestep another obstacle before coming to THE chamber, where the ancient writing had been before. She could already smell the cinnamon waft that was the remainder of the Spice, the drug the Fremen used to travel through space, to heighten their awareness, to give them the ability to see the future.

Here, Kaya remembered, she had strengthened her mind against the Nightmare King once. Now, in this familiar place where many had gathered in celebration, in orgies, in reverence to the one that would triumph over the Harkkonans in time, for a time.

Kaya, however, was not here to get misty eyed about the loss of her teacher and many like her over time. Nor had she come here to take Spice to enjoy herself. She was here, mainly, to reclaim that part of her she had bravely taken a time before, when she had traveled the stars and seen the future, seen herself. This was a journey she knew she had to take again, if she thought she would be the girl she had strove to be once before.

She took the Spice from the floor, sniffed, then took it into her mouth again, and once again, tasted bitter cinnamon.

Kaya remembered herself, and regained. She endured, and she pulled into herself. She was here a long time.

Several hours would past before she emerged from the Sietch, but those that saw he would say she looked different: she stood straighter somehow, but she looked in a trance, one induced, and her eyes were bluer than they had ever been in the time they knew her. Her hair was loose around her, her feet bare, her clothes dusty and smelling faintly sweet, What was unmistakable was the look on her face: it was silent, accepting, but with a reserved joy that only one who asked would know.

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Kaya shuddered. "You know, I don't think I've ever asked, and I probably never will. But I do think its a good idea though: I don't eat a while lot of meat myself, just fish and soups when I can. It reminds me of home. I just always save a little bit of money every time we go to another planet."

Granted, she did have seal blubber back then, but that hadn't been too often, and she had only really started eating meat after she left the Northern Poles.

Kaya looked grateful, and thought of the two people she had mentioned. "I've only talked with Rarity a little whole, but she's a pony, isn't she? Wouldn't she prefer hay or something like that? "

Oh well. Question for another day.

"And you sister, can I do anything to repay you?" She asked. "You can talk with me about anything too, if you want."

At that Nima sighed. "Oh my dear friend. Thank you for asking. An air nomad can expect to travel a long way from home, and for a long time, but until now, I always knew where to find home if I needed it. If I had questions, wherever I was, a brother or sister was never far away."

She lowered her head, her mood very suddenly solemn. "I am young and unwise, and I have so many questions that I can't ask my sisters. I pray to the universe for guidance, but sometimes I don't always understand the answers when I see them."

She squeezed Kaya's hands, moving in to hug her. "Thank you for asking, though. It helps to admit it to someone."

"I know it can't have been easy to deal with all the information abut the airbender, and I've been trying to find you to talk about that. It's not any easier in that way for me either. I'm happy I have friends here."

She was also happy to have met a female airbender, jut because she was curious about how thing were for them at the time when there were still plenty of them around.

"I'm not one to say I know the universe, but I have had times where I have at least glimpsed into thing that made me a better person. If there's anything you learn when the universe gives you answers is that you have many more questions."

With her worries off her chest, Nima smiled again. "One thing I don't have questions about is whether or not I'm glad to be here."

She held onto Kaya, comforted by the contact with her friend. "I was sad, when I heard what happened to my people in your time . . . but if I'm here, Brother Aang and I can't be the only airbenders who were saved. It's easier to just let my other questions be, when I think about the tragedy we've avoided. And when I think about how happy I am to have met my friends here, friends like you."

Kaya looked surprised. "I think you're the only person I've heard actually say that of our group. Granted, Katara said it, but I expect her to be optimistic anyway. The boys have all had a rough time of it, and Mai, well, she just shuts most things out. It's been difficult, for all of us, but I try to keep myself going."

Aang, she knew, had the worst time of it, but she was sure that he would talk to Nima about that on his own terms.

She smiled. "I hope you do find the answers to the questions you're looking for. Being here, with all these people and learning about them gives me hope that this war will be over in time. I've seen a lot of people find their own happiness here, one way or another. Who knows?Maybe after this is over, we can start anew in our world, or in another one."

Between Time and Space

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