DYING OF THE LIGHT ➣ BEN SOLO

TWO

[ REY ]

HALO WALKED WITH THE DROID FOR TWO DAYS.

BB-8, as the little droid called himself, chattered happily alongside of her. its tiny beeps didn't bother her. she found that she was grateful for them. otherwise, she would have been left to the silence of her own mind. and what a painful place it was.

all halo could think about as her tired muscles continued to move was him. bitterness tinged the edge of her thoughts, hatred, even, for what he had done. but she was careful. she knew where feelings like that would lead her, so she tried desperately to suppress them.

even with all her efforts, sometimes in the lonely hours of the night she would weep. stare at the vast sky, at the stars that glittered and shone no matter what chaos occured on the earth below. she would think of lor san tekka. she would think of luke. but mostly, she would think of him. of all the nights they had spent looking at the same stars, of how different the world was. of how different he was.

and when the sun finally began to rise, she was grateful. it meant another day of walking, no matter how sore her muscles were. for at least when she was trudging through the deep sand, her mind was on things in front of her, not behind.

on the third day, however, she could no longer find comfort in the rising sun. instead, it brought her worry. she had not drank water for two days. and she felt its hazy effect on her already unclear mind. she had to find something, anything, or anyone.

the beating sun was even hotter today than it had been before, and she could feel it burning her pallid skin. she kept her hood up to shield her face, but it only brought more heat to her body. there was no comfortable place to be in jakku on a day like this. and she was slowly losing hope.

that is, until she felt a presence near. a strange one. force-sensitive, but unaware. it excited her. perhaps it was the prospect of finding water, or perhaps it was that she had not been with any of her kind in years. it was hard to be a jedi, especially when you're alone.

halo urged BB-8 on, feeling her spirits elate rapidly. it was nice. her soul had felt so hollow that she was not sure it would become sane again.

when the two crested the top of a dune, they were met with a valley of forgotten imperial ships. AT-ATs and star killers littered the sandy terrain. halo's clear eyes scanned the area, searching hopefully for the presence she had felt deep in her bones.

she spotted a girl, a young girl, who sat alone beside one of the AT-ATs. she wore an old rebellion helmet on her head. and for the first time in a long time, halo felt a laugh bubble from her chest.

the girl caught sight of her and the droid, and immediately rose to stand, her helmet falling from her head. halo walked to meet her slowly, but BB-8 could not contain his excitement at something new. the little droid scurried off in her direction, beeping furiously as he did so.

the closer halo got to the girl, the stronger her presence grew. and she was almost overwhelmed by the amount of force-sensitivity inside of her. it was stronger than anything she had ever felt. except from master luke.

she had dark hair, tied back in a strange away along her head. from the looks of it, she was a scavenger. and she was alone. something halo could relate to.

"hello," halo called, her voice stronger now as she came to a stop in front of the girl.

the girl raised her brows, and looked from halo to BB-8, who buzzed happily.

"my droid and i have been walking a very long way. we just need some water. do you have any you could share with us?"

the untapped power inside of the stranger before her was becoming very overwhelming. she searched her mind for any indicator of this, any possible place she could have come from, any family that had this much force-sensitivity in it. she could only think of one.

after a few moments of silence, the girl nodded, and disappeared inside of the AT-AT.

BB-8 hummed, following the girl inside. but halo remained. she could not figure out this girl. where could she possibly have come from? how did luke never find her?

she returned a few moments later with an open flask, and thrusted it into halo's hand.

"thank you," halo said, drinking the entirety of it in nearly two gulps. she had not realized how thirsty she had been until the water was right in front of her.

and when she was done, the girl spoke for the first time.

"where'd you get him?" she asked, gesturing to the little droid who rolled around frantically in front of them. "he's... very spirited."

her voice reminded her of someone.

"nima outpost," halo said. it was all she could think of. "he's a handful. but i don't know where i'd be without him."

it was true. halo had always held a soft spot for droids. they were so pure, so uncorrupted by the outside world. that was the beauty of a machine. so untouchable compared to the malleable minds of the human race.

the girl watched her for a moment, before her eyes landed on the saber at her hip. they grew wide, and she seemed to forget herself in that moment.

"are you... a jedi?" the girl asked, her voice incredulous and high. halo looked at her, a dilemma beginning to form in her mind.

"i am," halo said, "or i was."

halo watched as the girl stared at the thing in wonder. she could feel the curiosity inside of her, feel how much the saber was calling to her.

"i'm rey," the girl said, her eyes now gone of whatever restraint they had before. she could see absolute trust in them. and she found that she was beginning to like the strange scavenger from jakku.

"halo," she said, smiling at rey.

seeing those eyes, feeling that presence, it reminded her so much of her old master. and as she thought of him, she realized what she must do. this girl's destiny was important. halo could not explain why, but she just knew.

the more and more that she began to talk with rey, the more she began to forget. the less she thought about him.

the only longing she felt, was for her old jedi master.

as she watched rey tell her of her adventures, of scavenging the star killers and AT-ATs, she thought of him.

i wish you were here, she thought.

you would like this girl.