Title: Sleep Talk Author: rktho Timeline: 5 BBY Characters: Vel Sartha, Cinta Kaz Genre: Short Story Summary: Cinta Kaz talks in her sleep. “Cinta. Cinta.” Cinta jerked upright before realizing it was Vel who had touched her. “You were talking in your sleep again.” Cinta relaxed. “Sorry.” “Are you okay?” Vel asked. Cinta nodded; then, realizing it was too dark for Vel to see, laid a hand on Vel’s arm. “Fine.” They settled back onto the mat, which did little for the stony ground. Vel held Cinta close, feeling her body unclench in her embrace. She wondered what language Cinta had been murmuring in. Vel had heard her whisper many tongues in her sleep. Basic. Twi’leki. Lasat. Mando’a. Ghor. Lots of Tognath for some reason. And of course, the occasional snatch of Dhani. But there were lots of languages Cinta knew that Vel couldn’t identify. This had been one of them. She considered asking, but Cinta was already asleep again. “Nish… iya, barcai… barcai, lin dhimu pavi…” “Cinta, you’re doing it again.” “Nish, iya, barcai…” “Cinta.” Cinta wept softly until she realized she was awake in Vel’s arms. She stopped, but she kept shaking. “That was definitely a nightmare,” Vel whispered. Cinta shook her head. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.” “Talk to me.” Cinta swallowed and wiped her eyes. “You know, you talk in your sleep too.” “Yeah? What do I say?” “I don’t know. You mumble,” Cinta replied as Vel caressed her shoulder. “Some of it’s Basic, some of it’s Chandrilan.” Chandrilan. Vel could think of only one nightmare that would cause her to speak in Chandrilan. Well, a few variations on the same nightmare. Sometimes she was practicing for it. Sometimes she was saying the actual words. Usually she was saying them to a boy holding a knife to cut her braid with. Sometimes he cut her throat instead. Sometimes instead of a boy, it was Cinta, and Vel was the one holding the knife. Vel held Cinta tighter. “I think I’ve told you about that one. Tell me yours.” “We should be sleeping.” “I can’t sleep if I don’t know you’re okay.” “I’m fine, Vel. Go to sleep.” Vel sighed and closed her eyes. After a while, she said, “Tell me what language that was, at least.” Cinta didn’t answer for a long moment. “Mine. From my homeworld.” Vel’s hand found Cinta’s. “How do you say, ‘you’re safe now?’” An even longer moment went by. “Ni zupaci kud.” Vel whispered into Cinta’s hair. “Ni zupaci kud, Cinta Kaz. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” Cinta would have bad dreams for many nights to come. But for the rest of this one, she only dreamed of warmth.
A sweet story with Vel comforting Cinta who is having those bad dreams and revealing a lot about the two characters
This was so sweet! I don't know these characters at all as I haven't yet had a chance to see Andor, but I loved the way Vel's first response to Cinta nightmare-induced sleep talking is to take care of her and comfort her, and I also loved how Vel needs to know her partner is OK before she can sleep. There's clearly a lot of love and care between the two of them, as I see Vel has shared her nightmares with Cinta as well (and man, I am not even going to try to guess what that nightmare might be, because the hints you give make it clear that it's beyond awful). This being a @rktho story, I am guessing you have a specific meaning in mind for the phrases spoken by Cinta; care to share? (I was going to guess Mando'a, but you mention that one in the list at the beginning and then say that this current one was one Vel didn't recognize, so now I'm stumped!) Thank you sharing such a warm moment in the life of this couple with us.
For Cinta's native language, I don't remember what I intended "lin dhimu pavi" to mean, but I imagined "nish, iya, barcai" as "no, wait, stop." Cinta's family was killed by the Empire, so she may be dreaming about the incident where her home was destroyed. Regarding Vel's dreams— Chandrilan society is highly traditionalist and heteronormative. Though Chandrila is primarily a Basic-speaking world, the ancient Chandrilan tongue survives as a ceremonial language, so Vel isn't merely speaking Chandrilan in her sleep so much as reciting it. With that in mind, part of the reason I made Cinta's native language one other than Basic is to contrast between her trauma and Vel's. Chandrilan is a dead language not used in everyday use, so when Vel hears or speaks it, it carries dread with it. Cinta's experience with her planet's language is the inverse— a living language she has positive associations with, but which carries trauma because of the loss it reminds her of. Vel and Cinta have such a beautiful and complex relationship. There's a push-pull dynamic to it, as Cinta is somewhat closed off as a person. One gets the sense that she's afraid to be in this relationship— afraid it will distract her from the rebellion, afraid the Empire will rip it away from her, afraid that Vel's not as committed to the cause as she is. Their time together is something fragile and precious, and they respond to that reality in almost opposite ways, each trying to persuade the other to come around. It's difficult for Cinta to be vulnerable, but Vel makes it easier, and that scares her, because she wants to be like that all the time and she knows she can't afford to. This moment is a small victory in the emotional conflict between them, where Vel is able to convince Cinta to open up so that Vel can help her feel safe, even knowing they have to face the galaxy in the morning and risk losing each other.
