Kata Chat

From TFC Galactopedia

This scene was originally supposed to feature early on in Episode II, but since the plot shifted and we jumped straight into the action instead, it ended up not being used. Fanfiction-wise, it follows fairly closely on the heels of Perdia's Nightmare piece.

In one of the Felix’s smaller gymnasium rooms, two figures flitted back and forth, running through a set of katas they'd developed together. Standard sparring was a bit plain in Zannah’s opinion, considering both their backgrounds, so she and Perdia worked out their own training routine instead. It would probably have looked like a deadly sort of dancing if anyone had been observing.

"Good," Zannah stood fluidly from the crouch that ended her part in their kata routine. "A decent run-through, but you're a bit wobbly through the third set of stances today. Let's take a break before we try again, ok?"

Perdia nodded, rising to her feet wearily. "Sounds good, Zannah," she answered. Shaking her head, the mountain cat wiped the back of her hand over her eyes, trying to throw off her exhaustion. "Third set, you said?"

"Yeah." Zannah mopped her face and neck with a towel she'd set by the edge of the matting. "You nearly took my head off with that sweep kick instead of passing over it." She handed the towel to her pupil and sat down on a nearby bench. "What's up? You don't usually have trouble with moves like that."

"I don't know," Perdi muttered, taking the towel from her teacher and grabbing a bottle of water. "I'm just tired."

Zannah nodded thoughtfully, snagging a water bottle for herself. "Lizzy mentioned you've been having some trouble in the ship's school lately too. Not sleeping well?"

Perdia blinked at Zannah. "She told you that?"

"Yeah, we talk occasionally. Comparing notes, really." She shrugged apologetically. "Sorry. It must be hard on you, like having two mothers to nag you."

"Oh." She sat down on the bench, draping the towel over the end. "Yeah... I guess I haven't been sleeping well. I didn't notice it affecting anything though."

"Heh." Zannah took a swig from her bottle, capped it and set it back down. "Well to tell you the truth, I've had a niggling sense something's been bothering you. Add that to what Lizzy told me about your grades dropping and the fact that you look like you're dead on your feet right now after just one run through our katas... It doesn't take much brain power to add it all up and figure out something's wrong."

Perdia blinked at her instructor, coming to the silent conclusion that children whose parents weren't Force-sensitive had to have an easier time hiding things they didn't want known. "Oh."

"Perdia." She turned to face the koneko fully. "You know you can talk to me about whatever is troubling you. You don't have to face everything on your own anymore. You're well into your training and you shouldn't be having problems with sleeplessness. That worries me. I'm here to help you, kid, but I can only do that if you trust me to."

Perdia shifted uncomfortably, staring at the mat they had used to run through their katas. "I know, Zannah... I just don't see the point in talking about things that nobody can help me with."

Zannah nodded. "Things that won't go away, no matter what you do or who you tell... I know. I have a little trouble with that myself sometimes."

The girl partially absorbed Zannah's words, rising from the bench to pace the mat restlessly. "It's just a bunch of dreams. They don't mean anything. They can't be real. I'm sure they're not real..." she rambled,

"Hmmm." Zannah propped an elbow on her knee and dropped her chin into her hand, pondering Perdi's statements. "Jedi don't usually dream... And when we do, there is often a good reason for it. The Force works in ways we don't always understand. I take it these dreams are the reason you can't sleep at night?"

Perdia continued to pace restlessly, tugging at her choppy red hair. "Well... yeah. But they're just dreams, really." Distressed, she turned wide violet eyes on Zannah. "I mean...not all Jedi dreams have to be true. The others that I've had have come true, but...but that doesn't mean that all the dreams a Jedi ever has have to. Do they?"

"Well I- Wait..." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You've had dreams come true in the past? Clairvoyance isn't my strong suit, but..." A realization dawned on her and she looked straight at her pupil. "Perdi... What did you see?"

"You mean before?" Perdi asked warily. "Or this time?"

Zannah hesitated, and then replied. "This time, if you feel like you can tell me. One thing my Masters have always stressed to me is that the future is always in motion, unwritten. What you saw in your dreams might come to pass... or it might not. We have no way of knowing for sure." She asked again, gently, "Can you tell me what it is that keeps tormenting you so much?"

"I..." Hesitating, she raised her eyes to Zannah's. Her hands shook slightly as she finally lowered them to her sides, no longer toying anxiously with her hair and fur. "It's Lizzy."

Zannah nodded, just listening patiently, letting Perdia speak her troubles with nothing to pressure her.

"Whenever I close my eyes, I can see her dying-- she-- she keeps begging for someone to help her, or to end it, and all I can do is stare at her and watch!"

Zannah blinked, somewhat taken aback by her pupil's vehemence. "Oh my..." Her expression turned grave. "Well, I can certainly see why you're having trouble sleeping, and why you didn't want to talk about it. I don't blame you." She shook her head. "What a mind trip. Perdi, Lizzy's better at dream science than me. Would you mind if I brought this up with her? Not in detail, of course, but she might be able to come up with something that'll help you cope with these dreams. Would that be ok?"

"I-I'm sorry I yelled," Perdi muttered, ears drooping. "I didn't mean to, Zannah." Drawing a deep breath, she raised her head just enough to nod in compliance. "If you think talking to Lizzy will really help, I--I guess that'd be all right."

"Eh, don't worry about the yelling. I'd yell too, if it were me." She stood up and stretched. "I'll talk with Lizzy about it later and we'll see what we can come up with. In the meantime, I think I've had enough of katas for today. Let's go hit the Starsyde instead, my treat." Zannah smiled and reached up to ruffle Perdia's hair affectionately. "Okay?"

Perdi allowed herself a somewhat hesitant smile. "Okay, Zannah."

"Good." And with that, Zannah steered her pupil out of their practice room and the in the vague direction of the Starsyde. What Perdia had told her still rode heavily on her mind, but she forced herself not to dwell on it. First things first, her aim was to help the girl regain some control over this area of her life. Unraveling the mystery of her dreams, however disturbing, came second.