Rey shuts her eyes and listens to the breathing of the forest while he reflects, focusing on that word. The forest has never felt quiet to Rey, not compared to Jakku; she grew up understanding quiet, looking to it as a friend and constant companion, the only sounds were those that she made and the unpredictable, inconsistent dust storms that buffeted the hollow shell of her shelter (for it was only ever shelter, never a home).
But here, where it's green, and the planet is alive with sounds, she cannot imagine calling it quiet. The trees rustle together. The soil sighs and crunches with branches and leaves under her feet. Small animals—birds, insects, rodents—all scurry in the brush where comfort and food can be found, and none of it is quiet. But it is peaceful, which Rey thinks is a much better alternative.
His hand on her elbow opens her eyes, and she follows his guidance without complaint through the winding path, quiet in her hike and never letting her breath turn uneven or hitched until she sees the first sloping pile of sand stretching out before their eyes.
She wonders if it's a sign that he wishes he could go back, or if it's simply what Jakku has always been—a liminal space. People coming and going, traders and scavengers. Full of waiting and transitioning and not much else. Sometimes, she thinks she hates this place, that she'd be glad to never go there again now that she's freed herself of its weight, but she keeps coming back, one way or the other. ]
Wake up, Ren. [ Rey's mouth moves around the words, but when they are repeated, it seems like they're poorly subtitled over her lips. ] Ben, it's time to wake up.
[ Leia's voice. Not Rey's.
Rey's eyes open and Luke stands back as Leia stirs them, the valley between her and Kylo Ren in that tiny room suddenly enormous compared to the closeness they'd had throughout the journey in his mind, her mind, their minds. She unfolds her legs quickly and pushes to her feet. They do not have time for reflection. ]
Snoke knows. But Kylo Ren believes we have time on our side. [ She turns to him, waits for him to be the one to offer that guidance, to make the choice to help not just Rey, but the Resistance. ]
no subject
Rey shuts her eyes and listens to the breathing of the forest while he reflects, focusing on that word. The forest has never felt quiet to Rey, not compared to Jakku; she grew up understanding quiet, looking to it as a friend and constant companion, the only sounds were those that she made and the unpredictable, inconsistent dust storms that buffeted the hollow shell of her shelter (for it was only ever shelter, never a home).
But here, where it's green, and the planet is alive with sounds, she cannot imagine calling it quiet. The trees rustle together. The soil sighs and crunches with branches and leaves under her feet. Small animals—birds, insects, rodents—all scurry in the brush where comfort and food can be found, and none of it is quiet. But it is peaceful, which Rey thinks is a much better alternative.
His hand on her elbow opens her eyes, and she follows his guidance without complaint through the winding path, quiet in her hike and never letting her breath turn uneven or hitched until she sees the first sloping pile of sand stretching out before their eyes.
She wonders if it's a sign that he wishes he could go back, or if it's simply what Jakku has always been—a liminal space. People coming and going, traders and scavengers. Full of waiting and transitioning and not much else. Sometimes, she thinks she hates this place, that she'd be glad to never go there again now that she's freed herself of its weight, but she keeps coming back, one way or the other. ]
Wake up, Ren. [ Rey's mouth moves around the words, but when they are repeated, it seems like they're poorly subtitled over her lips. ] Ben, it's time to wake up.
[ Leia's voice. Not Rey's.
Rey's eyes open and Luke stands back as Leia stirs them, the valley between her and Kylo Ren in that tiny room suddenly enormous compared to the closeness they'd had throughout the journey in his mind, her mind, their minds. She unfolds her legs quickly and pushes to her feet. They do not have time for reflection. ]
Snoke knows. But Kylo Ren believes we have time on our side. [ She turns to him, waits for him to be the one to offer that guidance, to make the choice to help not just Rey, but the Resistance. ]