( Rey looks for a way inside his head for the better part of an hour. He feels her all the way across the Resistance camp, in every step that he takes that's thick with mud or cloying with the upward reach of bright green grass. It's a peculiar comfort to feel her knocking around as he suffers the intense scrutiny of pilot, foot soldier, and officer alike, though Kylo sees none of them as real threats to his person or any offense to get up in arms about: First Order soldiers used to stare at him all the time, before and after they realized that it was better to pretend to be looking anywhere other than at a highly volatile Knight of Ren. Part of him hopes for an encounter with FN-2187 but the journey to the area of the camp in which he senses Skywalker's presence most keenly does not yield the traitor stormtrooper, and Kylo does not go searching for him through the Force.
Her persistence becomes annoying when he finally does manage to locate Skywalker, who Kylo pictures to be in a meditative position so that when he finds the older man carefully examining Kylo's lightsaber with all the curiosity of a mechanic, it draws him up short. Skywalker is not huddled in a tent or within the walls of the bunker but sits next to an old model X-wing with the beat up R2 unit humming at his side. For once, the gold protocol droid is nowhere to be found, and he's glad for it, having been badgered as a child into conversation in multiple languages by that crisp, clipped accent more times than he would care to recall.
There is also a BB unit, white and orange, rolling with a certain amount of vigor around the taller R2 unit, as if chattering with it over afternoon tea.
When Kylo catches site of that particular model, he has the intense and momentary urge to kick the thing like a gravball for all the grief that it had caused him at one point. Skywalker, having looked up at his nephew's arrival, seems to sense this imminent conflict and discourages him with the weight of a raised eyebrow. Kylo, not to be outdone in matters of dark expressions, hunkers in on himself and glowers both at his uncle and the assembly of droids. The BB unit rolls behind the ancient body of R2-D2 as if recognizing exactly who Kylo Ren is and angles its head around the canister-like body of the larger droid to peer at him through the optical lens screwed into the mobile head. Kylo sits, brushing away the relentless but quiet suggestion of Rey at the back of his mind, trying to stand on her toes and either be party to what's going on or make sure that he hasn't killed Skywalker. He does not let her in.
His meeting with Skywalker is not overly long but neither is it brief. Kylo inquires after the return of his lightsaber which Skywalker instantly refuses, and he is made to sit still both under the application of the Force rolling off of Skywalker's shoulders - which infuriates him - to press down on Kylo, keep him stationary, and under some unnamed and unknown sense of obligation. Now that he isn't so hellbent on killing the man, he isn't entirely sure what to make of his own approach, and he has to watch while Skywalker dismantles his saber with precise efficiency and mastery, the crack in the kyber crystal looking far graver in the shadows that the X-wing throws over them, while Kylo explains the finer points of Rey's strategy and what is taking place as part of this protocol. When Skywalker finally relents and lifts the pressure from his shoulders that Kylo fights for the duration of its existence, it is under the bargain that he will reassemble the blade while Skywalker watches.
Ben Solo never made it this far under Luke's tutelage, and while he had managed the construction of his own lightsaber eventually, it was with the ragged, underdeveloped finesse of someone who maybe once saw all the components come together to make the whole or was able to conceptualize the task but never had much hands on experience. Still, Kylo Ren is not innately a terrible mechanic - it's in his blood on both sides - and he has enough familiarity with his own blade and its rough design that he's able to put the pieces back together without feeling anxious under the scrutiny of a master. He doesn't care what Skywalker thinks of him, besides, and maybe that's apparent when the task is finished, as Skywalker makes a sound not unlike a sigh and tells him that the crack in the crystal will continue to cause fluctuations in stability as long as Kylo continues to rely on its poorly harnessed energy for the sake of raw power. He couldn't care less about the assessment, asks if he might be excused, and rises when Skywalker dismisses him with a tone and emotion that he can't read without attempting to project into his mind.
Five steps away from the little half-circle comprised of man and droid, Luke calls him back by saying that name, Ben, which causes him to stop although he refuses to turn around. The act of returning his saber speaks enough about what Skywalker has seen in his nephew today and about his own faith at reeling Ren in should things not go according to plan, so that Kylo is unsure as to what else the older man could need to say. As it turns out, it's just a platitude.
We are glad that you're back.
He doesn't wait or attempt to continue the conversation, wandering off in the direction that he came and looking down at the clean metallic hilt in his hand. Raw power vibrates through his skin, digs deep down into his tendon and bone, sinks with assertion into his veins and blood. It feels good to have his blade back in his possession, rights the world in a way that even the helmet would have been unable to do, and he has the initial urge to thumb the switch and ignite the sword in a surge of red plasma, feel the crackle of the crystal and the heat from the exhaust ports warm the circle of his hand. Instead, he clips the hilt to the wide swathe of his belt and drops down the wall of sheer rock that Rey has been tapping against for an hour. )
You are unbelievably impatient. I didn't kill him, if that's what you're so worried about. ( He projects it ruefully across the distance that spans them without having to think about it, as if he has done it a hundred times before. The ease with which he locates her own trace signature in the Force and propels solid thought toward her takes him momentarily aback, so that Rey is able to surge in as if she has been leaning against the door of his mind and he has suddenly thrown it open on her. He is distracted only by the feeling of being watched and the sound of something crunching smoothly behind him. When he turns to look over his shoulder, the little orange and white BB unit makes a high pitched sound and tears off ahead of him, spraying mud everywhere, including his pants. ) Your droid is following me.
no subject
Her persistence becomes annoying when he finally does manage to locate Skywalker, who Kylo pictures to be in a meditative position so that when he finds the older man carefully examining Kylo's lightsaber with all the curiosity of a mechanic, it draws him up short. Skywalker is not huddled in a tent or within the walls of the bunker but sits next to an old model X-wing with the beat up R2 unit humming at his side. For once, the gold protocol droid is nowhere to be found, and he's glad for it, having been badgered as a child into conversation in multiple languages by that crisp, clipped accent more times than he would care to recall.
There is also a BB unit, white and orange, rolling with a certain amount of vigor around the taller R2 unit, as if chattering with it over afternoon tea.
When Kylo catches site of that particular model, he has the intense and momentary urge to kick the thing like a gravball for all the grief that it had caused him at one point. Skywalker, having looked up at his nephew's arrival, seems to sense this imminent conflict and discourages him with the weight of a raised eyebrow. Kylo, not to be outdone in matters of dark expressions, hunkers in on himself and glowers both at his uncle and the assembly of droids. The BB unit rolls behind the ancient body of R2-D2 as if recognizing exactly who Kylo Ren is and angles its head around the canister-like body of the larger droid to peer at him through the optical lens screwed into the mobile head. Kylo sits, brushing away the relentless but quiet suggestion of Rey at the back of his mind, trying to stand on her toes and either be party to what's going on or make sure that he hasn't killed Skywalker. He does not let her in.
His meeting with Skywalker is not overly long but neither is it brief. Kylo inquires after the return of his lightsaber which Skywalker instantly refuses, and he is made to sit still both under the application of the Force rolling off of Skywalker's shoulders - which infuriates him - to press down on Kylo, keep him stationary, and under some unnamed and unknown sense of obligation. Now that he isn't so hellbent on killing the man, he isn't entirely sure what to make of his own approach, and he has to watch while Skywalker dismantles his saber with precise efficiency and mastery, the crack in the kyber crystal looking far graver in the shadows that the X-wing throws over them, while Kylo explains the finer points of Rey's strategy and what is taking place as part of this protocol. When Skywalker finally relents and lifts the pressure from his shoulders that Kylo fights for the duration of its existence, it is under the bargain that he will reassemble the blade while Skywalker watches.
Ben Solo never made it this far under Luke's tutelage, and while he had managed the construction of his own lightsaber eventually, it was with the ragged, underdeveloped finesse of someone who maybe once saw all the components come together to make the whole or was able to conceptualize the task but never had much hands on experience. Still, Kylo Ren is not innately a terrible mechanic - it's in his blood on both sides - and he has enough familiarity with his own blade and its rough design that he's able to put the pieces back together without feeling anxious under the scrutiny of a master. He doesn't care what Skywalker thinks of him, besides, and maybe that's apparent when the task is finished, as Skywalker makes a sound not unlike a sigh and tells him that the crack in the crystal will continue to cause fluctuations in stability as long as Kylo continues to rely on its poorly harnessed energy for the sake of raw power. He couldn't care less about the assessment, asks if he might be excused, and rises when Skywalker dismisses him with a tone and emotion that he can't read without attempting to project into his mind.
Five steps away from the little half-circle comprised of man and droid, Luke calls him back by saying that name, Ben, which causes him to stop although he refuses to turn around. The act of returning his saber speaks enough about what Skywalker has seen in his nephew today and about his own faith at reeling Ren in should things not go according to plan, so that Kylo is unsure as to what else the older man could need to say. As it turns out, it's just a platitude.
We are glad that you're back.
He doesn't wait or attempt to continue the conversation, wandering off in the direction that he came and looking down at the clean metallic hilt in his hand. Raw power vibrates through his skin, digs deep down into his tendon and bone, sinks with assertion into his veins and blood. It feels good to have his blade back in his possession, rights the world in a way that even the helmet would have been unable to do, and he has the initial urge to thumb the switch and ignite the sword in a surge of red plasma, feel the crackle of the crystal and the heat from the exhaust ports warm the circle of his hand. Instead, he clips the hilt to the wide swathe of his belt and drops down the wall of sheer rock that Rey has been tapping against for an hour. )
You are unbelievably impatient. I didn't kill him, if that's what you're so worried about. ( He projects it ruefully across the distance that spans them without having to think about it, as if he has done it a hundred times before. The ease with which he locates her own trace signature in the Force and propels solid thought toward her takes him momentarily aback, so that Rey is able to surge in as if she has been leaning against the door of his mind and he has suddenly thrown it open on her. He is distracted only by the feeling of being watched and the sound of something crunching smoothly behind him. When he turns to look over his shoulder, the little orange and white BB unit makes a high pitched sound and tears off ahead of him, spraying mud everywhere, including his pants. ) Your droid is following me.