[open] Could've followed my fears all the way down;

[provenforce]

Who: Rey and you
When: throughout December
Where: Cadens, Nocwich, Horizon
What: catch-all
Warnings: will be added if needed


I've been having a hard time adjusting
I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting
I didn't know if you'd care if I came back
I have a lot of regrets about that

Comments

Beginning of the month - Sarstina Inn

[provenforce]

[ Rey had been woken up by the feeling of something being off. That absence in the Force, a presence that should have been there but was no longer. Finn. She sat alone with it for she wasn't sure how long, let the tears run down her face and her chest ache, even as she knew he was likely home. Returned from when he left, safe with the people who cared about him.

She didn't need him here. But it had made her happy. So she let the loneliness, her one constant companion, overwhelm her for the better part of the morning.

When she emerged she asked Mag for a crate and went to Finn's room to pack whatever he may have left behind. If he came back she wanted whatever he'd collected in his time here to be waiting for him.

She left the door to the room open, not really inviting company but if someone was looking for Finn she'd be able to tell them what had happened to him, at the very least. ]

The Horizon- Anytime

[provenforce]

i. training
[ She may not have her lightsaber outside of the Horizon, but here she is armed, and just because the weapons are different out there doesn't mean she is going to lose her edge with a lightsaber.

Nearly every day Rey can be found in her Horizon, standing out in the clearing in front of the Falcon running through different forms and blocking shots sent at her by a floating little target droid.

When she misses one of the shots there's usually a chorus of beeps from her small entourage of droids nearby watching. She may have saved the galaxy, but she still is far from perfect. She huffs a laugh at the droids, looking back at them ]

I meant to do that!

i. talking to herself

[ She can feel him sometimes, in the Horizon. She doesn't know if it's an echo of Kylo from his time here, or if it's Ben, calling out to her from within the Force, that part of him that she carried with her now. Either way, as she sits in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon she talks to him, telling him about her day, about the things for sale in the market. Telling him how Finn was gone.

She knows she could create a version of him here, but she never tries. It wouldn't be real.

Anyone who might be in earshot might hear her walking down the gangplank and standing at the bottom, looking out over her domain. ]

You'd like it here I think, Ben. It's peaceful, in a way.

training

[thepath]

[ Oh, Cal is absolutely going to check out that starship he sees in the distance, his curiosity piqued even more when he recognizes it as a YT series. There were a couple lying around Bracca, likely dumped there before the planet was taken over by junked ships from the war.

As he approaches, BD-1—Cal's constant companion in the Horizon—hops off his shoulder and scurries, trilling in Binary, towards the cluster of droids stationed outside the ship. Cal follows at a slightly more sedate pace, recognizing Rey and waving as he comes closer. ]

Hey. Getting a little practice in?

[ It's such a small thing, but he sees the little target droid and his heart squeezes in his chest. He and his crechemates used to practice with them all the time back at the Temple. ]

this is so crusty feel free to ignore if it's too crusty sob

[provenforce]

[ The trill of binary alerts Rey to the presence of another droid, which surprises her and she turns in an arc, watching BD-1 shoot past her towards her small contingent of droids. BB-8 in true fearless form rolls forward beeping happily in return, while D-0 stutters out a panicked little n-n-n-o thank you! as he wheels back behind R2, clearly surprised by the new droid's exuberance.

Lowering her saber Rey waves in return at Cal, a smile warming her face. ]

Yeah well, I'm sure you know it's harder to keep up with saber training without one.

it's all good!

[thepath]

[ In case she'd notice, he has his own lightsaber—a long, silver double-ended one—clipped to his belt, pendant against his hip. Even in the Horizon, he still isn't dressed like a Jedi at all—except for that lightsaber. ]

Tell me about it.

[ His tone might be light and breezy, but he really means it. He spent five years on Bracca, all but cut off from the Force, not daring to even touch his lightsaber, let alone practice with it. Rusty doesn't even begin to cover it. He thought he was going to die.

He turns his attention to the cluster of droids next, his expression brightening. ]

Who do we have here? [ First things first, he wants introductions to all the droids! ]

[provenforce]

[ She absolutely notices his saber, and she'd ask about the double blade, having dreamed of such a weapon herself but never getting to build it, but the droids have finished introducing themselves to each other and when Cal calls attention to them BB-8 is the first to roll forward, beeping happily in introduction.

Rey laughs, gesturing to him. ]

Well, like he said, this is BB-8. The little one-wheeled droid is D-0, he's shy, and the old man is R2-D2 [ referring to R2 as old gets an offended warble, but Rey just smiles. ] I'm sorry, are you not old enough to remember the entire span of the Empire's reign and the New Republic's?

[ The silence really speaks for itself, here. Turning to look at Cal her eyebrows furrow briefly as she considers R2's history, before she asks ]

R2 used to belong to Anakin Skywalker. Did you know him?

[thepath]

[ Cal is fully fluent in Binary, so the offended warble draws an amused smile out of him before Rey even answers. Artoo is a feisty one, isn't he? (Yes, yes he is.) ]

Hello, everyone. This is BD-1.

[ That second part is directed towards Rey, since Beedee has already introduced himself to the other droids. Now, Beedee approaches her, trilling a friendly greeting from his position at her feet. It's okay, you can pet him. He loves pets. ]

Yeah, a little. He was here for a while. And I met him, once, when I was a Padawan. During the war.

[ Back then, he was just a little ginger kid in awe of the famed Anakin Skywalker—because he was a legend during the Clone War. The Hero Without Fear. Here in Abraxas, their acquaintance was a little more... contentious. ]

[provenforce]

[ It's a good thing Beedee likes being pet because Rey loves petting droids. She crouches down, reaching out to gently run her fingers over his head, careful of his antenna. ]

Hello BD-1, it's a pleasure to meet you.

[ And she absolutely means that. When Cal mentions Anakin had been here she nods her head. ]

I met him while he was here, too. Spent a bit of time with him. He's... a lot.

[ And yet, she was sad he hadn't been here when she'd reached out into the Force to see. She had known Ben wasn't still here, the empty place where their bond had once lain a raw wound, but Anakin would have at least been a part of that. ]

I ended up with R2 because of his daughter. He's changed hands quite a few times in his life.

[thepath]

[ BD-1 is loving the pets, beeping happily and wiggling his little chassis like a dog wagging its tail. Cal, on the other hand, looks surprised—taken aback, really—when she mentions Anakin's daughter. ]

His daughter?

[ Hoo boy, Anakin didn't tell him about that. Looking back, it makes a lot more sense why Anakin had been so critical of the Order—they would have kicked him out for breaking one of their most fundamental rules, having a child.

Not that he hadn't had legitimate criticisms—Cal has to give him that. But still. ]

He didn't tell me about her.

[provenforce]

[ Pressing her lips together, Rey nods her head. ]

I'm not surprised. He only knew about her because I told him.

[ She gives BD another gentle scratch before straightening up and looking at Cal, resting her hands on her hips. ]

She was my master. Her and her brother, they trained me. But Anakin didn't raise them, they didn't meet him until they were both adults.

[thepath]

[ Cal frowns thoughtfully, trying to work out this family dynamic. Children Anakin didn't raise or even know he had, who eventually became Jedi themselves and trained Rey?

...You know what, maybe it's better he doesn't know the details. Besides, it's not really any of his business whatever Anakin was up to, especially since the Order's rules don't even matter anymore. Cal is just glad to hear that there are... some Jedi left, in Rey's time. ]

Sounds... complicated.

[ To say the least. Moving on, he adds curiously: ] What was your training like?