spice & the seaside

[ladyofthesands]

Arha had woken suddenly in the sort of way one does when they have overslept and forgotten something terribly important.  A date, a person, something massive, something life-changing--something that was no longer there.  She had fallen asleep, not in her own bed, but at a terminal in the media library researching...something.

Energy, it looked like

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[kaya_waterwave]

Katara had found her way into the Sensorium. There was none of her usual brightness, if anything she was more somber than usual. The spot of forgetting hadn't stopped with Aang: more spots came throughout the week, enough so that Katara finally slunk out of the med bay: it no longer felt like a place she wanted to be in anymore. Sokka had come to see her, and it looked like he had forgotten something too, but it hadn't been as severe. It made her feel lonely, and as the memories started to get dim, she started to feel more isolated than ever.

Popping into the Sensorium turned out to be a good thing: she could see this was the preferred background for a Bene Gesserit. When she saw the tent, she approached the place, smelling scent of Spice in the air.

"Hello?" She asked tentatively. "Anyone here?"

[ladyofthesands]

"I am here, my Sister," Arha murmured, letting the words drift lazily, her tone soothing. It didn't take much projection, for her words to reach Katara. "Come and sit with me, the tea is hot and fresh. Such is a good thing for this day."

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara relaxed once she realized that it was Arha: she was hoping it was a Bene Gesserit here. She gave Arha a short bow and sat down cross legged with her taking some of the hot tea. She took a sip and sighed, looking over at Arha.

"Sister, I'm feeling very unsure of myself the past few days. I feel like I'm missing parts of myself, like I don't know who I am."

[ladyofthesands]

"This is a thing I find myself struggling with this very moment," Arha admitted, settling herself neatly. For Katara, she would be a strength, even if she was uncertain herself. "I, too, feel such, and it is a frightening thing to be so lost. But you are not alone in any of this, I shall not let you be

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara listened to her teacher (her teacher?) with rapt attention. She had been doing worse before now, she could only remember feeling so miserable during the Nightmare King fiasco. The problem was even that situation had big gaps in it, including the faint memory of trying Spice the first time. Somehow she remembered how centered she'd been then, and the battle that ensued afterward

[ladyofthesands]

"The Jed-Eye way bends," Arha murmured. "This is an important thing, Katara, this training. I would not neglect it for the sake of another, for you are a Sister of the Bene Gesserit Order. I am charged with your training and development, yes, but I am also your Sister. I am here for you in any capacity you need, for you are my family and my heart." she reached to cup Katara's cheek with a warm hand before letting it fall away as she sipped her spice tea, "and without these things, these ties, we are nothing but a name. If you wish to learn, you will have a teacher or I shall make the Sensorium accommodate for the moments I cannot be here in person."

Those moments would come, she was sure of it.

"I will make time for you," she said. "Always."

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara smiled. Now she really regretted not getting to know her sister sooner. There was something abut her that was a little different from the way she'd been taught, although every time he tried to place a face on that person, it escaped her. Nonetheless, she did what came instinct to Katara whether she was a waterbender or a Bene Gesserit and hugged Arha

[ladyofthesands]

"You are welcome, my Sister," she said quietly

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara took in Arha's words. They comforted here, made her happy to know that her teacher would be able to make her feel better with words alone. It was more than that of course, she would have a lot that she needed to take care if she would ever be able to act like she used to. She was glad for the hug too: human contact, somehow, calmed her now, especially since it was from Arha. That, and there was much that was much in the hug that was said.

Katara nodded. "I know it will be a long time until I can put behind me the things that I lost, but I don't want to lack in anything that I can train for, Sister. I was getting pretty far, and I don't want to lose that right now. I know it won't be easy: my brother is still very distrustful of you guys, but you are right: you are part of my family, and I love you all just as much. I'll do what But I will do what I can to help you."

Katara smiled. "All right Sister, you're probably right. I will meditate, but takes things slowly. Thank you for looking out for me."

[ladyofthesands]

"If your brother has questions, I shall answer them to the best of my ability," Arha said. "We are nothing to fear as Bene Gesserit. This is a thing he should know."

Arha's expression was thoughtful.

"The meditation shall be useful for calming and centering, but if you need me, for anything, know that I will come. It matters not when nor at what time. I will come. And as always, you are welcome. I would be a poor Mother Superior if I did not look out for you, mm?"

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara nodded. "My brother has never known a lot about you guys. If you would talk to him, at least then he could relax knowing that there won't be anything negative happening because I'm with you. He;s usually thought otherwise."

"I will look for you if I can Sister," Katara said, "But if you need peace for other things, I will do what I can. I learned a lot...I'll make sure I can lighten your load when I can."

But Katara smiled. "Thank you Sister. I know I will need you in much, but I will try not to use more of your time than I need to."

[ladyofthesands]

"You will make a fine Bene Gesserit, Katara," Arha said with a nod as she finished her tea. "I am certain of this." She reached out to gently squeeze Katara's shoulder. "Would you like to meditate in this space?"

[kaya_waterwave]

"I will do what I can," Katara said, but did not disregard what Arha said. It meant a lot, and she would still take that as a way of weighing out how she should feel. It was a compliment, but he work was still arduous, difficult. She would have to be even more focused.

"Please," she sad, smiling.

[ladyofthesands]

"Then I shall meditate as well," Arha said with a soft smile, already settling down to do just that. Hopefully the Jed-Eye and Bene Gesserit mind clearing techniques together would help settle some of the frightening unease and unbalance.

Meditation was good for many things.

While she was Bene Gesserit and used the quick flick of her mind to clear it, it was the calming rush of the Force that flowed through her. Arha was suddenly acutely aware that she was a synthesis of all that the Bene Gesserit were as well as those tentative steps along the path of what a Jed-Eye was supposed to be. It was a strange path for a Mother Superior to walk.

But the Bene Gesserit must embrace emotion. We must change or die.

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara regarded her new teacher. She was very different from what she had known before, and despite that, she could see something similar in her. She saw that a way she was trained and another way she was learning both were in her, and she had to balance one for another. She felt that hesitation in her own body when she practiced Prana Bindu instead of waterbending.

"I will do what I can to help," Katara said. "You and I share something, Sister: a way in which we both adapt, we both find differences and similarities in what we do. I have not been under your tutelage for long, but I want to know what you know."

She smiled.