Jia, Jia, where art thou therefore Jia?

[Sam]

Ahtuk, son of chieftains, whose very blood rang with the clash of steel, reduced to little more than a sneak thief. The island was at peace.  He—and those under his command—were under orders to do little more than patrol. It was menial labour fit for dogs and cattle. Those he commanded were warriors, and only one order would satisfy them: the call to war. Conflict was the only theatre where one might honour the might of their ancestors, to have their fill of the enemy. Ahtuk’s ennui was dwarfed now, for he had found her.

 

“Jia ...,” once his captain, the woman had disappeared. Ahtuk had a mate, her heart was carved into that most sacred of places—his face, but he had loved Jia. Not in the way of lovers, but as a man might love an ideal. To him she had been the heart of the empire, cunning, confident; brilliant. Not once had he contemplated shaming his ancestors and turning a blind eye to her ‘vanishing.’ He would honour her; her memory, if that is all that was left.

 

When Ahtuk moved it was not with the casual grace of a blade-master. He moved in the way of what he was, a beast. Unchecked ferocity lurked in the depths of his carriage, in his voice; in his eyes. He made no attempt to disguise and where he walked, violence followed close behind him. Jia had once taught him loyalty to the empire and he had learned the lesson well, but to leave her in her state ... it was not a command he could follow.

 

Yes, they had made her damane, broken her in body, mind and spirit until there was little left of her past glory. Ahtuk had to see, demanded to see, if there was anything left of the woman he had known buried underneath what she now was. He feared there would not be and he needed to know. What would come after, that he could not say.

 

Damane: pitiful remnants of foreclosed humanity, a taming logical and repulsive to a man whose people had waged war for countless lifetimes. No spirit should be caged, especially not one devoted to the empire. War, conquest, the shedding of blood, all these things were raw expressions of the self, and to tamper with that freedom was sickening.

 

The cabin of the sul’dam, Ikena Adelar by name, had been under surveillance for some time. Not by himself, clearly, a man of his ... appearance found it difficult to become inconspicuous, but he had found work for those loyal to him. The sul’dam was vacant, and no damane had left with her. He needed a few minutes, enough to ascertain the thoroughness of the damage.

 

He stepped into the cabin carefully, damane could not act independently of their handlers, but this did not mean no surprises had been left for anyone foolish enough to steal their way inside. There were none. A quick inspection of the cabin, one room left to check, he steeled himself against whatever he might encounter there and entered.

 

It had the effect of looking back on a past memory with new information and finding small but important distinctions between those two separate views. She was Jia, but she was not. Small pieces of her reflected what she had been, others muddied the pool until a creature alien and unknown emerged.

 

“Jia, Jia, do you hear me?” Softness in a voice used to terrorising enemies was almost more frightening than it; he did so anyway, there was no need to frighten her, if indeed she was capable of fright. “Jia, it is me, Ahtuk.” He could not touch her, would not, the leash would cause her pain and anything else may trigger an embedded response. “Your name is Jia—Jia. Do you remember?”

 

[Wayfarer]

A door opened.

 

A door closed.

 

Silence.

 

That was what Chali knew as she sat there upon the bed where Mistress Ikena had left her, her task to listen and tell Mistress Ikena of what she had noticed when Mistress Ikena returned.  Everything around her was silent within the hut.  There was the sound of waves crashing outside, breaking upon the shore and dock where ships were docked.  There were the cries of seagulls, either flying in the sky above or they were amongst the ships, scavenging for what they could get for free.  The wind was strong, coming from the ocean where there was nothing to break its path, slow it down.

 

A door opened. 

 

A door closed.

 

Someone was in the hut, someone who was not Ikena.  Bigger, heavier, each step resounded as whoever it was moved about the hut outside her room.  Unconcerned, Chali simply retained her seat and position, noting where the sound traveled even as she took note of other noises outside the hut.  She had been instructed by Mistress Ikena to make a note of all sounds that she heard, the task that she had been allocated and the task that she would complete.

 

The door before her opened with a slight creak as the source of the footsteps revealed themself.  His size and his features weren't important, the sounds that were made were what she had been told to notice.  Leather creaked as he strode forward and stopped before her, and then he spoke a very strange word that she didn't recognise.  Jia.  His voice was soft, though it was like a rumble, and he saying words with Jia interspersed between them.

 

Tilting her head slightly as if cocking her ear so she could hear better, the man repeated himself as he crouched down on his haunches infront of her.  Jia.  It was no different than the other sounds she heard save for how foreign it felt.  The waves could crash, the seagulls could call out, but Jia was not her.  She was Chali, she had to figure out why the man said Jia so she could tell Mistress Ikena when she returned and asked her to speak of what she had heard.

 

A door opened.

 

A door closed.

 

 

Chali

Damane

[Wayfarer]

The meeting had been an unavoidable event, but she had never expected to be called to it and then summarily dismissed almost as soon as she walked in.  Not that she minded not having to sit through another strategy meeting that was undoubtedly unchanged from the last, but it would have been  nice if they had thought to let her know it had been cancelled instead of making her show up.  Surely they had enough people in the encampment that a note could have been sent.  She had held her tongue though, no matter her position it wouldn't do to lose her temper.  Still, she had set a task for Chali and she hadn't been gone long enough for her to learn much.    Her steps slowed and she took the long way back to their hut to give the damane more time to take in the noises as Ikena had asked her.

 

The damane had proven to be almost impossible to crack, but nothing could make Ikena stop trying.  She had always had a high success rate with mistreated damane and she still had hopes of reaching Chali.  Small hopes, but hopes all the same.  She moved quietly as always through the door to their hut, not wanting to disturb Chali overly when they shared such a small space.  She turned to speak to the damane when she looked up and saw one of the oddest men she'd ever seen stooping in front of her damane.  She knew what he was, one of the savages from the outer regions of the empire.  What was he doing to her damane though?

 

She didn't look at the leash, but she knew she needed to reach it, no matter what else happened.  They were known for their savage and brutal ways.  She had no intention of witnessing it first hand.  "If you would like to speak with the damane you should have asked for an interview.  We have work to do so I would ask that you leave and come back later." She said, trying to keep any emotion from her voice as she did so.

[Wayfarer]

Ahtuk heard the opening of the door; the light footfalls—a woman. He assumed logically that the su’dam had returned. Jia did not respond and in his heart he knew she would not, not now and not ever. Loyally he continued trying, his other senses tracking the swift progress of the handler.

 

The Empire could be forgiven for their treatment of the damane, their fear of the mystical energies they would otherwise control. Forgiveness for Jia, one of their most loyal and able officers was another matter. He heard the call to war, the war drums of battle; the heat from the bonfires lit before battle. The handler was behind him.

 

He did not spin or turn quickly, his actions were carefully timed to maxamise effect and exude a sense of confidence—one he most definitely felt. He stretched to his full height, poised in the aggressive manner of pre-battle. It was rote, a ritual his body performed unconsciously, psychological tactics to keep his opponents at a disadvantage.

 

He could have waited, could have, but wouldn’t. After searching for months he would not be patient one instant longer than necessary and here it had not been. He the sul’dam would be exposed without the leash, and carefully interposed his body between her and the object of her desire. If she made for it, he would subdue her.

 

His appearance belied the eloquence with which he could speak the common tongue, if in a harsher key as though it were unnatural to him: “Yes. I can see you inviting me to return in a hurry. I purposefully arrived after you left; your presence would have been a nuisance. Do not attempt to reach for your damane. I will not hesitate to injure you to defend myself.”

[Wayfarer]

His voice was harsh and she had no doubts that everything else about the man was as well.  That he was coming between herself and her damane was jnexcusable but there was something else that underlined everything.  Why was he here?  This man of all people?  She recognized him now that she was able to look.  She had seen him in battle and there were few people she could think of that she wanted to see less.  Especially in her hut with her damane. 

 

"Have you been disloyal?" She asked in a quiet voice that carried confidence though she didn't feel it all that well.  "I have no reason to want to harm you if you have not.  But you stand between me and my Chali and I don't have a care for that at all.  Is there a reason for this intrusion or did you just think her pretty?"  She needed to keep control here, she needed to be the one pulling the strings to make sure things didn't go wrong.  Wrong with this man could mean death.  Wrong could mean worse than death.  And more than anything else, there was no way she was letting him get his hands on Chali.

[Wayfarer]

Ahtuk moved rapidly in the handler’s direction, every perceivable indicator testified violent intent. He could kill her, yes and there was no reason not to other than the loyalty instilled by the woman who had in turn been destroyed by those to whom she had secured his loyalty. He wondered if Jia would hold it against them what they had done to her, or if she would have accepted it as her duty.

 

When he thought about Jia, once so full of life and strength, obeying this woman like a dog his left hand shook with the urge to strangle her. If anything his voice was harsher, and he clearly displayed his teeth as well as his anger. He had never liked sul’dam, their view of things, of their damane was one he disapproved of.

 

“Your Chali … your Chali? Her name is Jia, and she belongs to no one! Pretty? Once that would be true, but you have already destroyed her spirit and I find nothing desirable in soulless flesh.”

[Wayfarer]

"Jia?"  He had known her.  She had never thought to find someone who had known her.  And from his words, he had known her before she had been conditioned.  It was a chance to learn what she had been wanting to learn, if only she could manage to get the information from him.  How to do that she had no idea.  "You might have known her as something else, but her name is now Chali.  It would be wise to remember that.  Chali," she said the name to emphasize it "is my treasure."

 

Ahtuk decided that he would suffer no more speech from the woman. Certainly, he belonged to his mate and his made belonged to him, but there had been ceremony, willingness, and much shared pain as the commitment had been carved beneath their flesh. What had happened to Jia was rape, not of the body but of the mind, the violation of something deeply personal and sacred.

 

He did not strike her a blow, but instead sought for her throat with an open hand, the force of his seeking, however, drove Ikena’s body into the cabin wall with the satisfying crack of breaking timber. His fingers clamped down upon her throat, and felt her pulse through his finger tips. Soon, she would speak no more.

[Wayfarer]

Standing, there was no hesitation in Chali's movements as she carefully approached the man that was holding Mistress Ikena, her steps as measured as ever.  There was no acknowledgement of her presence by either of them, but that was not important.  What was important was how she bent her knees before pivotting on one leg as she raised the other.  Her leg whipping with the strength and sureness of some instruction that she did not know the source of, the big toe of her right foot planted itself firmly in the kidney of large man.

 

Picking herself up from the ground, Chali did not acknowledge the blood running from her nose as she closed with the big man again.  This time the man let go of the woman, and he defended himself from the attacks that Chali unleashed as she drove the man back, away from Mistress Ikena.  Trying to subdue him, neutralise him, her attacks aiming at the man's ankles and balance to topple him over.

 

At first he believed himself under attack from a third party, one previously unaccounted for and able to sneak upon him deftly. His body defended itself reactively when he felt the painful impact, and he batted aside his assailant as might a bear. His surprise gave way to shock, and then pleasure when he realised who had struck him.

 

Ahtuk released his grip on the dazed Ikena and positioned to defend from the attacks of his former commander. She had always been skilled, her time in submission and under heel may have blunted her finesse, but if so, he could not tell. He gave himself up to battle, to block the individual strikes while at the same time encouraging the overall attack.

 

His grin was genuine, and more frightening than his scowl. This revelation pleased him greatly. “So there is something left of Jia after all.”

[Wayfarer]

Ikena had thought her life was about to end when she felt those fingers around her throat.  She had tried struggling against him but his size and strength made it ineffective.  When she felt herself falling to the floor she gasped for air, trying to look up and see what was happening.  She looked up to see Chali fending off the other man.  She was shocked to see the damane moving against the man, moving of her own volition.  She was still coughing as she stood up, her hand going to her sore throat.  His attention was on the damane so Ikena took a few more steps towards the leash. 

 

She didn't know what else to do, but she had to stop things before it got out of hand.  "Chali, only defend.  Stop attacking." She said, not wanting to stop her from defending herself against the man should he continue attacking.

 

Hearing Mistress Ikena's words midswing, Chali was unable to pull her swing but after the blow landed she stepped back out of reach.  There were no forthcoming blows, the man simply watched her even as her hands fell to her sides.  No attack, no need for defence, she was now interposed between Mistress Ikena and the man who had attacked her.  He was still now, watching her, but not making any aggressive movement.  The discomfort that she felt was interfering with her ability to concentrate, yet that feeling vanished as she felt Mistress Ikena take the leash.

[Wayfarer]

She felt a great relief as the bracelet of the a'dam was fastened back around her wrist.  She might have been helpless before, but with Chali on the leash she was in control again.  It was a position she particularly wanted, no matter the attack or not.  This man had known Chali before.  Maybe he would be able to answer questions.  Of course, she'd have to make sure he woudn't speak of what he had seen, of Chali attacking without permission and moving against the leash, but one way or another she would make certain of it.  She might want to know more about her damane, but not enough to lose her over it. 

 

"Chali, you have permission to channel if he should attack again, do you understand?" She asked.  The damane nodded and she saw the recognition of that order in the other man's eyes.  "He thinks he knows you Chali.  He calls you Jia.  Do you know him?"

 

The command that was given by Mistress Ikena was acknowledged readily enough, she remembered the last time she had channeled upon a person in a defensive manner, binding them in air so they had been unable to move an inch.  The man wouldn't close even half the distance before she bundled him up if it was required.  The question of whether she knew him was a question she automatically answered.  "No, Mistress Ikena."  No, she didn't know him at all.  There was a vague sense of disquiet at her answer, but it was irrelevant.  She did not know the man, nor was he important.  She was damane, Mistress Ikena was her only concern.

[Wayfarer]

She nodded though it was obvious that the other man had known Chali.  She wanted him to hear it from her lips though.  She took a seat on the edge of Chali's bed then, watching him as she did so.  "This is My Chali.  She had no name when I bought her.  She had no personality.  She had nothing.  I gave her the clothes on her back as gifts for her service.  I have treated her as well as any could treat a damane.  I have tried to find what is hidden inside her, but in all the time I have been with her, I have never been able to get a name.  For giving that to me, I am willing to forget your attack, in exchange for more information.  You obviously knew her before she was conditioned thus.  How long had she been Jia when you met her?"

 

Clearly, Ahtuk was not overly concerned about being punished; the question was one that begged an answer, Jia had a history, a story to tell and she was unable to tell it herself. He did not fully understand the question, but it assumed it to be more of the same bizarre sul'dam mentality that allowed them to believe another person their pet. Nevertheless he anwered as best he could, without wasting breath on questions of clarification:

 

"Jia has always been Jia. That was her name name when she swore me into the service of the Empire. I believe it is the name she used prior to and afterwards. Until she vanished."

[Wayfarer]

"You may sit if you wish Chali." Ikena said without thought as she took in what the other man said.  It was second nature to notice things that might cause Chali discomfort since the girl rarely showed it or acted on it.  "Jia." She said the foreign name again as she looked at Chali.  Jia.  It was her name and it seemed to fit her.    Maybe she would be able to give the name back to her at some point.  She hoped she would. 

 

"She vanished from service somewhere?  Please, do explain more.  I have an interest in making Chali whole again.  I can't do so without the missing pieces and as you can see, she is unable to give them to me herself.  What else can you tell me about this woman, Jia?"

 

"Jia was my banner captain. It was she who taught me the virtue of loyalty and discipline; she who helped me to 'better' myself and cast off the shackles of my heritage." At the last he looked into the palms of his hands as if seeing something there.

 

" My Jia. Our Jia. She belonged to all of us and we to her and again to the Empire as she instructed. She spared my life once. She trained us, prepared us; and vanished. She did not vanish 'somewhere', she vanished. Disappeared as only members of the Empire can do. She was brilliant. Resourceful, quick, agile, strong and fierce. Her tactical mind served her well. I was chosen to replace her."

[Wayfarer]

It was too much to take and not enough.  Had he really known her before she had been damane?  You weren't supposed to talk about it, you were never supposed to remember those who had been leashed, but this was a primative man and in her need to heal her Chali she was willing to bend as many rules as she had to.  Break them if necessary.  She had trained others, had commanded others in battle.  It was hard to imagine the woman at her side ever having been able to make the sort of decisions he was talking about when she only remembered to brush her hair each morning because Ikena had told her she had to.  She took a deep breath and looked at Chali.

 

"I do not want you to lie to me Chali." She said to the damane.  It was against her nature to do so Ikena knew, but perhaps a command such as that would limit how much Chali could hide within.  "Did you train this man?  Did you answer to the name of Jia before?"

 

Standing in readiness, Chali was only half aware of the words that were being spoken by the man, she was only required to listen to Mistress Ikena.  The assertion that she was not to lie was unecessary, she had no reason to lie, she had no reason for anything except to exist and be, to do as Mistress Ikena told her.  The question of whether she had trained with the man before, of whether she had answered to the name of Jia, it was an easy question to answer.

 

Except that it wasn't.  She had no memory of ever having trained with the man, having even seen him except for that day on the beach.  She had never been called Jia before until today, never answered to it.  Yet she couldn't say it outright, a vague sense of something stopped her from answering conclusively.  "I don't remember."  Focusing on the problem, her temple began to throb, the pain multiplying as her efforts redoubled.

 

"I don't remember him, Mistress Ikena."

[Wayfarer]

She watched the damane with increasing concern at her words.  I don't remember, followed closely by don't remember him.  She didn't say she hadn't trained him or hadn't answered to Jia.  Something was happening to her and Ikena didn't like it one bit.  It gave her hope that there was away around the conditioning, that not everything had been sealed within her, but it would take a long time.  Longer than she had ever anticipated.  And she hoped in the end that she was able to break through.  She hoped it with a passion now because above all else she wanted Chali to tell her who had broken her so completely.  She wanted revenge against someone who would hurt her Chali. 

 

She took a deep breath to calm the anger.  It wasn't at Chali or the man before her.  She looked at the man.  "She doesn't remember you, but she does not say she did not train you or that she didn't answer to that name.  She does not remember.  She was broken when I found her and I have tried for 2 years to find her underneath that conditioning."  It was important that he understand she was trying to help Chali.  She wanted him to speak freely to her, to Chali, about who she might have been.  She wanted Chali to be well again.  Only when Chali did would they have the type of relationship that Ikena had always wanted for them.  "I would know everything that you could tell me about her.  I would that you would speak with her.  Maybe an old face, one that cared enough to be willing to face a damane's wrath for her, would help her remember.. something."

 

Ahtuk found speech irritating at the best of times. He was a man of action, not a man of words. On the field of battle a man spoke with his courage, his honour and his weapons ...; occasionally his teeth. Had he not been attacked by Jia he would have killed Ikena, there was no doubt of that in his mind. She seemed rational enough to get past it. After all, it had been nothing personal.

 

“I first met Jia in a way my people would approve of—in battle. I was being attacked by a rival tribe. As Chieftain’s son I am more of a target than most. She and her file were on patrol and came to my aid. She saved my life. It is difficult enough for my people to send token forces to the Imperial army; serving willingly is harder. She understood enough of my ways. Saw the honour and prestige in battle.  Her example of your people was favourable."

 

“What I know of Jia Mingzhu, senior bannerwoman is very little. She wears a tattoo on the base of her neck, as do I, as do the rest of her soldiers. Before joining Imperial Army she had been a ... something to do with needles and cloth. She had not liked it much. I believe it is why she served. For two year she climbed ranks, running up the chain of command to become senior bannerwoman at seventeen summers.  There is little else to tell. She was good, very good. She has been gone a long time."

 

“Of her life after her disappearance you know would know more than I.”

[Wayfarer]

Ikena nodded as she listened to the man speaking.  So this Jia had been a soldier, and more than able if she moved that quickly.  It might be possible now to find more information out about Chali now that she had a name.  She could dispose of the man who had come to attack her, but she didn't want to get rid of him.  Enough lives were lost for the Empire without such trivial things happening as well.  "I have had Chali for two years only." She said, hoping he would appreciate the exchange of knowledge about the woman he had once known.  "The auction house I bought her from did not do this to her, but had recieved her in this condition as well.  I have not been able to find out who did this.  I have done my best to take care of Chali.  Whatever they did, she does not show pain or ever register it as well do.  She could do anything I asked of her, even if it killed her, all without word or thought, and while I believe that we are all ready to give our lives for the Empire, I would be very upset if she died over some trivial pain that could have been stopped if she had spoken."

 

“You make a mistake in believing I wish to hear of your Chali. I came here in search of Jia. I found her.  There is nothing more I can tell you. Velar Suloth, her direct superior at the time of her disappearance may know more, if he will admit to remembering her. Know that I will see her freed and restored in time. I will not allow her to remain a pet.”

[Wayfarer]

It was an interesting threat.  Straight forward and honest.  Whoever this Jia had been, there was more between them than his words suggested if he was willing to press it so hard.  "Try to take my Chali from me and you might find a fight bigger than you are."  She said quietly.  There was no threat to her voice nor was she upset.  The idea of a damane unleashed was a frightening prospect, but even that didn't play into her words.  She cared a great deal for Chali, more than she thought she was supposed to care for her damane in fact.  Enough that she would fight anyone they send to try to take her away.  Enough to disregard the things she already knew and to try Velar Suloth for information.  Although it should have been surprising that the man knew anything about Chali, it wasn't really.  He had shown too much interest in her damane when they had reported in for her to feel entirely comfortable about it.  She had been afraid they meant to try to commandeer her for the good of the empire but now she understood.  She had been a part of them before and while they hadn't acknowledged her they had been concerned all the same.

 

She took a deep breath.  The other part of her words of course had been as straight forward as his.  Anyone that came to take Chali from her would have to fight Chali as well.  Twice now she had been attacked and twice now Chali had defended her of her own accord.  It was an astonishing thing, but true none the less.  Her beautiful Chali seemed to have grown attached to her Mistress even if she didn't understand.  It made her feel good to know that the compassion she had shown her damane was working through the harsh conditioning that had been forced upon her.

 

"I have no intention of letting my Chali go." She used the name and term on purpose.  "I will find what I can about your Jia, and I will restore as much of her personality as I can, but she will always be my Chali.  Remember who she defended in this very room the next time you think to free her."

[Sam]

The barbarian smiled. None of his kind would utter a challenge unless they intended for it to be put to the test; he had learned that those who were … not born into the mountain tribes often intoned such challenges for the very opposite reason. A strange custom and one that Ahtuk had never been at ease with. One day he may find himself in the field of battle against the sul’dam, but he was no longer so young and bold enough to fancy his chance against a damane.

 

Again she referred to Jia as “Chali”, was she attempting to infuriate him, or was this Ikena so sure in her sense of proprietary right that she was willing to make an enemy of him. Her position was indubitably clear, she would not release Jia. Ikena, too, was aware of his stance. He would find a way to free Jia, with or without the sul’dam’s blessing, and to the forfeit of her life if that is what it took.

 

He wondered if Jia would rather live on to serve the Empire unwillingly, or if her loyalty knew the limit of her own freedom. Could he kill her to so free her, or would her spirit seek to torment him from beyond. His people were superstitious, and the wrong action could plague his line for centuries. He could hear the memory of Jia cautioning him against his cultural rashness even now.

 

“That is why I made the visit while you were not here. I see where you come from. You do not wish to lose a favourite pet. In my tribe we have many such pets. You in turn see mine. I have lost a friend and leader who you now hold chained like an animal. You will not release her; I will not see her leashed forever. The fates will decide. In time.”

 

Ahtuk left; turned his back on his commander and her insufferable tormentor, despite every instinct in his body crying out for some form of recompense. Choking her had been satisfying, it was a pity he had released her. One day Jia would be free again. He would not betray her teaching to free her. He would be patient

 

[TaeaDawn]

As the man turned and walked away Ikena let out a deep breath.  She had never liked having to deal with the savages.  Too often their ways seemed to clash with the final goals of the Empire and their superstitions made even the most basic of interactions complicated. 

 

As he left though she turned back to Chali.  Twice now she had defended her sul'dam and this time against someone she had once known.  Not only that, but there was even the chance that he might have brought something into her mind that would someday bring back the real woman Chali had once been.    It was dangerous in some ways, to try to bring back that woman, but she had never wanted a damane without spirit.  Chali, in an unusual way, was beginning to show that she could have some. 

 

"Chali, are you hurt?" She asked then.  "Did my questions hurt you?"  It was an odd thing to ask, but she needed to see how the damane would respond.

 

Ikena 

[Wayfarer]

Watching as the man left, Chali was quiet and still even as she mentally removed the man from her awareness.  There was no need to defend against him now that he had left, until he returned he was of no consequence.  It was an easy existance, things only existed as they became pertinent, otherwise they were meaningless and unacknowledged.  Her mind lacking the clutter of people with their overload of awareness, her mind had been trained simply to know only what was necessary, only what she was directed to.

 

Questions, enquiries that Mistress Ikena made that Chali had to answer.  A simple and flat tone answered with no hesitation.  "My face throbs.  My nose is bleeding but it isn't broken.  My back also aches.  Questions also hurt."  Feeling herself being turned around, if Chali had been more aware she would have realised that Mistress Ikena hadn't seen her nose bleeding because she had been standing side on, the profile that she revealed was not the side of her that harmed by the backhand that Ahtuk had dealt.

 

Following Mistress Ikena as she was bid and sitting when she was told, Chali was seated on her bed as the blood was wiped from her face.  Uncomplaining, she did not shy from the slight stabs that tried to enter her awareness, they were nothing.  The problem that was posed to her by Mistress Ikena, why she thought the questions hurt, that was her awareness now.  Why?  "I do not know, Mistress Ikena.  Something doesn't feel right, I try to think of what it is and it hurts."

[TaeaDawn]

This was turning into a strange day.  She had never thought to come into her hut and find a stranger there.  Nor had she ever expected that the stranger would know a name.  Jia.  She took a deep breath as she thought about Chali and what had been happening as of late.

 

"Chali, I want you to listen to me carefully.  Something is happening inside of you and i'm trying to  figure it out.  Someone did something bad to you and I want to make that go away.  You used to be a person, you used to have a name and a place.  That was before you were damane.  When you became damane, someone hurt you to make you forget.  I don't want you to forget.  Do you understand me Chali?  I want to help you remember.  But you need to tell me when something hurts, alright?  You need to tell me when the questions I ask cause you pain in any way.  Alright?" 

 

The damane's answers were the same as always and she sighed, not sure what else to do.  She had to push though.  Chali would never try to find her own way out of this and it was up to Ikena to do it.  "Chali, do you remember when you were hurt?"

 

The damane looked at her only a moment before answering.  "No Mistress Ikena."

 

Ikena sighed heavily, knowing she wasn't likely to get anything more out of her today.  Still, she had a couple names to work with and it was more hope than she'd had since she'd first brought Chali home.  "Alright Chali.  Let's just relax for a while.  It's been an interesting day and I fear more to come."  She leaned back onto the bed she and Chali were sitting on and pulled the damane down to lay beside her.  She didn't know if Chali got much comfort from having her sul'dam this close, but it made Ikena feel better, to be close at hand should Chali need her. 

 

Light, she shouldn't do this, shouldn't be trying to get more information about the damane, but she couldn't help it.  She wanted to make Chali whole and that meant accepting who she had been as well  as who she was now.  She just wished making Chali better didn't feel like it was going to come at such a high cost. 

 

 

Ikena