Myth

Poe and Rey run into a creature out of legend.

Taking a break from writing my longfic. Prompt: Mythic

Inspired by one of my favorite scenes in cinema from the movie Legend.

This writer believes in the continuation of the stories from Greg Rucka's Before the Awakening.

This writer does not approve of the reconning of Poe Dameron in Alex Segura's Free Fall.

As tends to happen, what was supposed to be a fun little ficlet ended up with me working through personal issues. Sorry, not sorry.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?”

Rey’s voice didn’t carry a hint of anger or frustration, but Poe still felt a little miffed by the question. Probably because he knew it was warranted.

He stopped and took a deep breath before turning to look at her. They had set out from the village right after sunrise this morning with the intent of arriving back at base well before sunset, but the shadows were long and nothing looked familiar. He had been wondering himself if they had taken a wrong turn somewhere. He made eye contact with her. “I don’t know anymore.”

She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow at him. They hadn’t planned on taking this hike together. They had gone to the village in a speeder, but it was old and the exhaust manifold had fallen apart shortly after their arrival. Rather than tie up a shuttle and use up precious fuel, Poe had commed the General and let her know they would hoof it instead. Leia had commented that the walk might do them good; she had had to play referee between himself and Rey more than once in the past two weeks. “If I didn’t know any better…” she had muttered once after interrupting one of their heated discussions. But she had just shaken her head and walked away without finishing the sentence.  

Rather than wait for Rey, who had been unusually subdued during this hike, to start berating him for getting them lost, he shrugged. “I don’t know that we’re on the right trail, but we are going in the right direction. I’ve been paying close attention to the compass.”

Rey bit her lower lip as she contemplated him, and Poe had to look away. She was too damn pretty, and he did not need to start thinking certain things about her right now, especially if she was going to start nattering at him as if he was a boy that needed discipling.

Surprisingly, she didn’t get mad. “Is it worth it to call them to come find us, or should we just keep going?” She looked up at the sky. “It will be dark in a couple of hours.”

Poe looked up the trail. “I think we should keep going. It won’t hurt to spend the night out here if we need to.” The base camp wasn’t exactly a deluxe hotel; camping out here wouldn’t be much different.

“Okay,” Rey nodded agreeably. “Let’s go.” She took the lead and started marching up the trail.

Poe shook his head in disbelief as he followed her. Should he not comment and keep the peace, or find out what was really going on in her head?

He was silent for a while, but he couldn’t stay quiet for long. “So, what’s going on with you?” It wasn’t until he asked the question that he realized that there really might be something wrong with her.

She looked back at him, stopping to let him catch up to her. “What do you mean?”

“No offense,” he told her. “But you’ve been unusually quiet lately. Haven’t insulted me all day.”

She scoffed, but then looked away. “It’s nothing.”

They kept walking, side by side now, but Poe kept watching her. He hated seeing her frown.

“Hey, I know I’m not your best friend like Finn is, but you can trust me. You know that, right?”

She grimaced and kept walking, her eyes on the ground in front of them.

“Rey?” he pushed.

She sighed. “It’s really nothing,” she said. “But since you mentioned Finn…” She paused. “I don’t spend a lot of time with him anymore. Not since he and Rose…”

“Ah,” Poe nodded. He had noticed that Finn and Rose seemed to have taken the next step in their relationship last week. Both of them seemed extremely happy, too. “Are you jealous?” he asked softly.

She looked at him, her surprise genuine. “No!” Then she paused, and her expression turned contemplative. “Not in the way you’re asking, anyway.” She looked forward again. “I don’t feel any romantic attraction for him. I just… miss him as a friend.” She shrugged. “But it was inevitable. I’m meant to be alone.”

“I don’t believe that!” Poe immediately argued. “Nobody is meant to be alone.”

Rey shook her head. “I am. I’ve always known.”

Poe stopped walking, grabbing Rey’s arm lightly and making her stop to face him. “That’s not true! You’re not alone now!”

She laughed softly, but there was no humor in it. “It’s the Resistance,” she said. “If it wasn’t for our common desire to destroy the First Order, none of you would want anything to do with me.” Poe opened his mouth to argue again, but she continued before he could. “I’m selfish, I’m moody, I’m critical, I’m always negative, and I have to be in control.” She shook her head. “Nobody wants me in their life for long, and I wouldn’t trust them if they said they did.” She turned away and continued walking.

Poe frowned, disturbed by her answer. It almost sounded rehearsed, as if she was trying to understand why nobody wanted to be around her and those were the reasons she had come up with. He followed her. “Didn’t you have anyone you could trust on Jakku?” She had to have developed this reasoning there.

She was silent for a while as they continued walking. “I thought I did. Once.”

She was so quiet for so long, Poe thought that was all she was going to say. He was about to push her into telling him more when she continued.

“Her name was Devi,” Rey finally said. “She and her boyfriend Strunk were fellow scavengers. We made a deal that they would help me fix up an abandoned ship and make it spaceworthy again, then share the profits when we sold it to Unkar. We spent weeks working on it, and Devi and I spent a lot of time talking.” Rey’s steps slowed. “I trusted her and thought of her as a friend, even though I didn’t want to in the beginning.” She sighed. “I knew she and Strunk wanted off Jakku, but they knew I wanted to stay, so they agreed that a three-way split would give them enough to get away if they still wanted to.”

She stopped. “I flew that ship, the first real one I’d ever flown, from the desert into Niima. I was so proud. And excited. I went to Unkar to bargain and…”

“And?” Poe was so absorbed in her story, he wasn’t going to wait for her to continue.

“And they flew away.” She looked at Poe, and the desolation in her eyes made him want to weep. “No goodbyes. No good luck. No thank you.” She looked at the ground. “They spent weeks complimenting me, telling me how good I was at fixing things. How amazing I was at knowing what parts I needed and letting them know where to find them.” She glanced at him. “They were using me. Because I’m not worth anything more than what I can give to someone else.” She looked away again. “The Resistance is no different.”

“Bantha shit.”

Poe almost laughed as Rey turned shocked eyes at him.

“Jakku was a Massiff eat Massiff world,” Poe told her. “Not all the galaxy works that way. I know I don’t.” He shifted his feet, looking intently at the young woman in front of him. “You have friends here, Rey. People who care about you for you, not what you can do for them.”

Rey blinked rapidly. “That will change when the war ends,” she said softly. “Everyone will have their own lives to go back to. And I’ll be alone again.”

Poe shook his head. “I don’t think so. Even if your friends continue with their pre-war lives, they will still be your friends. When you care enough about someone, you do your best to remain in their lives, however you can, for as long as you can.” He cocked his head at her. “Finn may be romancing Rose right now, but you’re still his best friend. Only death will tear him apart from you. The same with Chewie and Leia and Kay. And don’t forget about BB-8.”

She shook her head. “He’ll go when you leave to go home.”

“And what makes you think I’ll leave you alone?” he asked intently.  

Rey took a shuddering breath. “You don’t even like me,” she whispered.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how very wrong you are about that,” Poe said softly in return.

Rey was staring at him, a sheen of tears over her eyes, making the hazel shimmer in the watery Ajan Kloss sunlight. He took a step closer to her, wanting so desperately to touch her. To comfort her. To convince her that if she would just let him into her heart, he would promise to take care of it forever. As friend. As lover. As whatever she wanted.

The sound of a breaking branch off to his right made them both jump. They turned startled eyes toward the sound. Poe felt his mouth drop open, struck speechless by what had made the sound.

A large white equid stood not too far from them, watching them with crystal blue eyes. Its long, thick mane fell on both sides of its neck and the forelock was parted by a pearlescent horn that spiraled up from its forehead, tapering into a point. There was movement behind it and one ear cocked backwards as another identical creature came out of the forest and walked up to stand next to its companion.

“I don’t kriffing believe it,” Poe managed to mutter.

He heard Rey gasp softly. “They’re beautiful,” she whispered. “What are they? I’ve never seen anything like them.”

“They’re…” he paused, blinking. It was obvious they were real; she saw them, too. “They’re called unicorns. But…”

“They’re powerful with the Force,” Rey told him, awe filling her voice. “I can feel it.”

“They’re not supposed to be real,” Poe breathed.

Rey looked at him, her eyebrows high. “What?”

He shook his head, looking back and forth between her and the pair of animals still standing there, calmly watching them. “They’re a myth. I grew up hearing stories.”

Rey shrugged, smiling softly. She looked back at the unicorns. “Apparently, they’re real and live on Ajan Kloss.”

Poe huffed. “This environment doesn’t really cater to large hooved animals, Rey.”

“Well, then. What? Are we both hallucinating them?”

“I…”

One of the creatures snorted and tossed its head. Rey suddenly stepped toward it, her hand outstretched.

Poe, still stunned by what they were seeing, reached out for her. “Rey! Wait!” But it was too late. She had moved too quickly and he grasped air. She slowed as she got closer to the animals, and once she was right in front of them, she dropped down on her knees. She reached up toward the unicorn closest to her, and the animal lowered its muzzle, touching her hand, nuzzling it almost affectionately. Rey’s incredible smile appeared, and Poe’s heart skipped.

The second unicorn stepped closer and Rey reached her other hand up toward it. The animal lipped at her hand gently, and Rey turned her head to look at Poe, her smile still bright. “I can hear them!” she said breathily.

Poe felt his legs weaken as he sank down to his knees. “Hear them?” he asked.

Rey looked back at the creatures. “They don’t use words. But I can understand them. They are happy to meet me. They know about me. Through the Force.”

Poe nodded, his heart still racing. “Of course they did,” he said softly. “You’re why they’re here.”

“What?” Rey laughed softly, glancing back at him.

“Rey, they aren’t just a part of the Force. They’re created by it,” he explained. “They are a physical manifestation of it.”

Rey looked at him, her eyes wide, then she looked back at the creatures. They had stopped nuzzling her hands and were touching noses with each other. They both turned toward her again, reaching out to nuzzle her hair. Poe heard her laugh softly. Then they turned in opposite directions, walking gracefully away from her. One squealed and reared up on its hind legs, then took off running. The other followed with a flick of its tail. Within seconds, they both disappeared into the forest.

There was silence for a long while, then Rey stood slowly and turned to walk back to Poe, who was still on his knees. She dropped down to kneel in front of him.

“What did you mean?” she asked earnestly.

“I grew up with the stories,” he said again. “White unicorns, created by the Force, only appear to those with the greatest light. The most pure of heart, the strongest moral compass, the gentlest soul. You, Rey. They came to see you.”

Rey started blinking quickly, and Poe could see the tears she was trying to stem. She was not successful. As one tear began to slide down her cheek, Poe reached up to catch it on his forefinger.

“Seems I have a bad habit of making you cry, Jedi.”

She laughed and shook her head, then she bit her lip. “I want to believe you, but I’m not that special.”

“Yes, you are,” Poe countered. “I hope you believe that you are worthy of every good thing that comes your way. Those unicorns are proof of that.”

“I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered.  

“You’re not alone,” Poe told her firmly.

Rey’s eyes turned hard. “I’ve heard that before,” she said, her voice turning angry. “From yet another person that I trusted and shouldn’t have.”

Poe sat back on his heels. “Well, we’re your family now, Rey. And you’re gonna have to deal with us, hopefully, for the rest of your life.”

Rey cocked her head, contemplating him for a moment. “I guess I can live with that.”

Poe grinned, then stood, reaching down to grab Rey’s hands and pull her to her feet along with him.

“Let’s go home.”

“Home?”

“Well, home for now.” He turned and began walking. Rey moved up next to him and he smiled at her. “I can’t wait to show you Yavin IV,” he told her. “You’re going to love it.”

She smiled back at him. “I look forward to it.”

THE END