albinomilksnake | STAR WARS: possible spoiler warning

[If there's anything that Rey can sympathize with, it's hesitation over the offering of a lightsaber. Luke had helped her build this one herself, with the crystal inserted and the mechanical design almost perfect. Like with most machines, she had taken to building one rather easily, and she had been tempted to make even more—though Luke insisted that they might want to make. She understood his discomfort at the time, and still does. All of this is messy, and again, her first reaction to it had been to run away.

She had even taken up the lightsaber later only because Finn had been on the ground, and it had come to her, resisting Kylo Ren's call. That had been significant, too.]

I'm very serious, [she says, expression bright.] I took the other one, anyway. [She motions downward. Luke had insisted that she keep that one, that specific one, given he had built his own. If Maz had seen it call to her, then it made sense that she had it.

(Maz is rather famous that way. It's extremely impressive to Rey now.)]

I thought it only fair to return one. There's a lot that I'll have to teach you. [Enthusiasm is easy here.

She does pause, though, because, again, she understands why he might not want to do this.

If you'd like. [There. That's the best way to handle this.]

[He almost laughs it off this time, scrubbing under his nose with the back of his hand before opting to lean forward and take up her offer, letting the weight of the thing rest heavy in his palm.] Yeah well I'm not exactly Jedi material here, you know.

[He's a good shot, an okay leader under the right circumstances and even better causes-- but a Jedi? No. Not a cold chance on Hoth that a stormtrooper turned rebel's the right man for the job when it comes to wielding the Force.

So sure, it's a present. A nice gift that he appreciates, and he won't scoff at the offer of a couple of training classes when it comes down to it. That, he can at least take in stride.]

I've realized that just about anyone can be. That ... in every person, there is a bit of the Force. Luke told me it's one of the first things he learned from his first Master. [The words come quickly. Realizing that she's not entirely unique in having a connection to the Force had helped her. It's that most people don't have the means to connect with it. Maz had been one person, but many years old, with a connection to the Force outside of the ideas of Jedi, Sith, or even Knights of Ren. For Rey, who had been so afraid of this unique power, this thing that drew her away from everything she had once known, it's nice to know ... that it isn't just her and Luke.

She can help, she can wield the Force and do what she can for the galaxy, but she doesn't necessarily need to bear that weight on her shoulders alone.

There's some relief in it.]

And a Stormtrooper, someone who has the empathy to see the truth of a situation despite everything he's been taught—compassion really is at the very heart of everything. [She looks upon him fondly, offering a ... wider than usual smile. She's clearly been eager to tell him about this.]

But—I suppose we'll see. I don't know that I'm much of a Jedi myself. [She is still weighing that in her mind and what it means and the greater picture. Then again, Luke's been dealing with that, too, and the idea that they might need to reconceptualize things differently, in part because there was so much they didn't know.

Snoke should have been an impossibility to the galaxy Luke knew. But he wasn't. So that's a big part of it.]

Edited 2016-01-01 07:14 (UTC)

You're joking, right? [He's still turning it over in his fingertips, watching her with the faintest tug of an overly trusting smile. They've been to hell and back, the both of them, and he'd be lying if he said there wasn't some measure of appeal in the pitch she's casting his way. It's just...] The way you move, the way you fight - Rey, you're a certified badass, no matter what title goes along with it.

And I owe you for that. Big time. [Because he never had the chance to tell her before she peeled off to find Skywalker. Not that he blamed her (it was more important than sitting around watching him struggle to hold digipens and cups and dress himself without the assistance of a medical droid or two) just that she deserved to hear it, even if it came a little late.

Or a lot late, thumb working against a panel worn smooth across the years.]

[Oh.

Being praised for something as basic as fighting is new to her, at least before Luke's training. She had picked up fighting because that's what people do on Jakku. If you want to keep track of your refurbished supplies, you had to be ready to knock someone's head in if things got too trying and too desperate. There were days when the sandstorms would make it difficult to salvage parts for weeks on end, and those who did a good job of bringing them back to Plutt in better condition than they were found would be targets.

It was life.

The surprise passes over Rey's features only momentarily before she tries to swallow it down. This is her life now. This is how things are.]

Well, thank you, [she says, voice sounding somewhat prim and proper. Read: it's actually awkward. She is well and truly awkward. She can accept this praise without being distrustful of it, but that's weird, too. It'll take time to shake her upbringing on Jakku and what she defines as the rules of survival.]

But you were braver. Even without being told you had a connection to the Force, you fought Kylo Ren. You stood up to him without thinking twice about it. If you weren't there, I don't know where I'd be. That's ... that speaks to the true strength of your will.

[He can't help but smile when she falters. A force of habit stemming from the fact that when it comes down to it, they've both always been out of their element in different ways. For someone else it'd be a crutch, but for them? She grounds him. Steadies the fear in his fingertips, made him feel like he could be more, do more.

Somehow it's not surprising that with her at his back, he did.

And it's why after one thoughtful beat Finn moves in close, cinching his arms around her in the hug she should have had back on Starkiller. He waits a beat, chin tucked in at her shoulder, before earnestly adding:] Thank you.

[Flexes his mouth, patting the centerpoint of her back with one broad, calloused hand. The best kept secret as to how not to have the world's longest, most awkward hug, no matter how much he might've missed her.] And hey, if you really think I'm cut out for this stuff, then okay - I'm in.

[Famous last words before he cuts off his own arm three weeks from now with a lightsaber, he's calling it now.]

[Relief floods through her for two reasons.

First, the hug is something that she hasn't really gotten used to, but it's something she craves. Finn is her first friend, and every bit of affection between them is something she latches on to. She's not conscious of a hug potentially being awkward, not in the way that he is, so she settles into him, body relaxing into his as her chin comes to rest on his shoulder. She's trained hard and she's aware of the significance of what she has to do in the future and it's all so big and frightening that she doesn't know if she can handle it. But here, it all seems a little easier. Her hands curl into his sides as she settles in, breathing steadily.

She doesn't want to let go.

Secondly, his words are a relief, too. In embracing new things, Rey realizes—or rather, finally puts words to it—that she doesn't want to do this alone. She doesn't know if she'll be the best of teachers for him, but the two of them look at one another and find what they need. He may have lied initially, but she doesn't fault him for that. And he came back to her. He came back to get her. She would always do the same for him now. There would be no changing that.]

I do. [She does think he's cut out for it.

But there's something more:] And I'm glad we can do this together. [Oh, the hug hasn't broken yet. It hasn't occurred to her to draw away.] Luke is great, but it's all ... it's very new. [And she had run from it initially, while he had taken up the saber without too much hesitation. Twice. Twice. Perhaps she needs him to ground her, too, which is a feeling she's never had before.

Rey is used to having to ground herself, so weighted down by the responsibility of survival. It's nice to not have to count on just herself—as well as misguided hopes of a past returning to her—any longer.]

[He's still holding fast because of course he is. Keeps his hands braced over her more protectively than he realizes, grin still smashed shamelessly against the curve of her shoulder. People are milling around them, coming and going with the occasional stare or lighthearted chuckle, but Finn's focus stays fixed as ever, same as when he lied his way to get right back to her.

It's worth it. It's always been worth it.

And then he stops on the heels of her last remark, lifting his chin up and tilting his head to stare at her directly:] Luke...knows about this, right? You already told him and he's into the idea.

[Please let him know it and be okay with it, please let him know it and be okay with it, please...]

We came together to find out if you truly were Force-sensitive, [she says, clarifying the matter.] He's still nervous about any other Jedis training, and putting anyone else in the line of danger, but I told him that I'd take care of things. [There's a beat, and ever so slightly, her hands shift along him, holding on but moving at the same time. She's adjusting, but reminding him that she's there.]

That I'd take care of you. I don't think there's much of a risk in that.

[Not together. She believes in the ... in the power of that.]

Hey, the record holds true so far. [She was the one that outmaneuvered a tie fighter enough for him to gun it down; she was the one who fixed the ship, who believed in him, who asked him to stay, knowing what he really was-- she was the one that took down Kylo Ren, and brought him home. He'll never have any problem spelling out the bottom line, that is how he never would have gotten anywhere if not for her having his back.

He pulls away slightly, no more than an inch or two, hands still settled near her hips.]

You know they made me a hero around here?

[Talk about a segue change, but he's been waiting for months to show off that notch in his belt.]

I didn't. [Despite her words, there is no measure of surprise in Rey's face. For all Finn accomplished in a short time, he absolutely deserves to be praised as a hero. In her mind, he is a hero, someone deserving of acclaim and attention. Everything she accomplished, he had managed first. He knew what to do, even if he went to walk away.

But only briefly. It's the "briefly" that matters to her now.]

I hope you haven't gotten too big of a head about it. [She says that, knowing full well he hasn't.] Though I'm glad that they've been reminding you that you have something to be proud of.

[In her absence. It's important.]

Nahh. [Mild and dismissive, flashing the sharp edge of his teeth when he grins.] I mean aside from getting everything I own covered in solid gold, I think I'm still pretty humble.

[In truth, he doesn't own much, and none of it's plated with anything, let alone gold. But he likes his bunk, and he likes having more than just a locker full of assigned, identical gear, and he likes-- more than anything else-- the company he keeps these days. The idea that they're all doing something good for the galaxy without having to go off the deep end, restricting everyone and ruling everything with an iron, unfeeling fist.]

I'll have to remake your lightsaber to match, then, [she says, rolling with the joke just the same.] I should have checked in to see if there were any big changes. [Rey fakes being woeful with these words.] Though I don't know how well gold can handle the power of the crystal. If you really have so much of it, you'll have to give some up for ... experiments.

[Her eyebrows raise and lower with those final words.

Even if he hasn't really covered his everything in gold, it's still fun to pretend he has just the same. On Jakku, she had heard others who were friendly with one another engage in banter like this. When Finn arrived, they had fallen into it quickly and naturally ... and she had missed it during her training with Luke. She has her own rapport with Luke. Oh, and Chewie, too. But it's nothing like this, where friendship should be like a machine that lacks any oil—yet somehow, with Finn, it's like it's always been that way in the first place.

She realizes that she's really very lucky to have him. And that he's here, alive, able to stand, able to hug her—she's really truly lucky.]

Edited 2016-01-12 01:28 (UTC)

[He stops, blinks past the joke, trying to figure out something that isn't exactly transparent. Looks down, then up again, dropping his hand from her side to hold up the saber still held tightly in his palm.]

--these things run on crystals?

[Seriously??? No. No way. That can't be right. It's tech, it's-- something ancient and cultivated, not something someone just pulled out of the freaking ground.]

Kyber crystals, [she reiterates.] It's a little more complicated than all of that, and you have to be careful about the quality of the crystal you acquire. [Rey had some theories about the lightsaber that she had come up against when she fought Kylo Ren, but she's not completely positive about it.]

There are more mechanical aspects to it. I could show you how to make one of your own in time. It's really quite simple, especially with the Force guiding you. [She hadn't had her doubts, but now that she can tap into the Force, she had felt it approving of her actions along the way.

It had been nice.]

So... [Finn starts, lifting his opposite hand to scrub thoughtfully at his cheek, effectively releasing her from his grip.] what if we got like fifty of these crystals.

Put them all together. Made some kind of super saber.

[They could wreck the First Order with it, probably. Or if not that, at least Kylo Ren and his barely-working one.]

[Rey pauses to consider it, but then she shakes her head. The crystal itself had been small enough, fitting almost so easily into the palm of her hand that she wondered if she might lose it before she got around to building her lightsaber.]

That wouldn't leave much room for ... not destroying things. We're meant to show compassion. [And mercy.

Even if she's stood at the edge of a cliff and wished that she could show Kylo Ren anything but that.]

Well if we don't turn it on we're not not being compassionate.

[And screw Ren. Whatever was up with that lightsaber of his, all Finn knows is that he wants something better. Bigger. Whatever it took to keep Rey safe, and the Resistance along with her.]

Just saying.

Well, we'd need to activate the Force in all of the crystals. [That is one catch.] What if it doesn't let us? Then again, the Sith were allowed to command the Force. I might be too hopeful about that.

[About too much power concentrated in one place.

But she could feel the Hosnian System die, even if she couldn't understand just what she had been experiencing at the time.]

[He almost argues that he was able to turn on Luke's saber without a single problem, no crystal anything required-- and so was she-- but then he remembers why they're having this conversation in the first place and figures it's...probably not relevant.]

Kylo Ren, he's Sith, right?

[Everything he'd heard about Vader and Luke-- about the Force in general-- it was all via vids approved by the First Order. He doesn't doubt there's a lot more to the story than what he actually saw.]

I don't know. [She can't give him absolute affirmation because Kylo Ren hasn't taken a "darth" name. Furthermore, there are the Knights of Ren, who, according to Luke, function in a completely different way than the Sith. They aren't limiting their numbers, but Rey doesn't know why.]

He's connected to the Dark side of the Force, but I think it's ... different. I don't know how. [And those types of lessons were only things she'd hear at the trading post on Jakku. She's not exactly an expert in the matter.]

STAR WARS: possible spoiler warning

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