girlandherstaff | Tatooine [closed to: violentus] [spoilers for TRoS]

Tatooine made Rey sure of one thing: she still really hated desert planets. Thank the Maker she had a ship of her own and didn't need to wait on Finn or Poe coming back to get her - they had offered, but this was something she needed to do on her own. She had debated the place of the saber burial a lot, part of her felt that maybe Ach-to was a better location, but the Skywalker legacy had began on Tatooine, it only made sense that their weapons should be there.

Even if there was a twinge of annoyance about it through the Force.

She kneels on the sand, staring at the position the sabers have been buried, feeling the heat on her hands and legs. It's not sunk in yet, any of it. She's still expecting to go back to base and find Master Leia there, grumbling over people not being able to understand an order. Still expecting that feeling of the world falling away and -

She can't go there. She can't. It's been hurting since it happened. This emptiness in her. There's still so much to be done, she doesn't have time to deal with any of it, not yet.

She needs to keep moving.

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It's an odd, disorienting feeling when he wakes up. His eyes narrow, trying to adjust to the brightness around him. Sand and sun as far as the eye can see. Large hands reach up, rubbing at his eyes as he tries to focus. Everything looks blurry and bright to him.

Pulling himself to his feet, he gazes down at his attire. Gone were the clothes of black. Instead, he woke up in brown robes, a hood struggling to stay on his head. His brow furrows as he glances around, trying to get his bearings to no avail. Jakku? Tattooine? There aren't that many sand planets. Still, he's not sure how he wound up on one of them. His memory is vague, but there are brief glimpses. This wasn't where he was before.

Her. He sees her. Her smile. Her lips. His heart clenches and he turns, wobbling as he takes a few steps. Slowly, he begins to wander, trying to find out just what's going on.

She hasn't moved from her position, still staring down at the sand where she buried the sabers. As long as she is kneeling here, it's like time is on hold, and she doesn't need to do anything she doesn't want to. Doesn't need to be the Jedi of the galaxy, leading the next generation of Force Sensitives to be... well, she didn't even know.

She didn't know what she was anymore. It felt like something was missing. Something... empty.

Slowly, she looks up, looking round. There's... there's a familiar feeling. Only she can't place it among the saddness and pain. What is that feeling?

He feels like he's walked forever. Maybe he has. Time seems to be blurring for him, the sun in the sky the only real way for him to track such things. He sighs, staring out at the nothingness as he wanders. He's vaguely aware that he's thirsty, hoping to find someone or somewhere soon. While the covering he's wearing is heavy, he's grateful for the hood and the ability to shield himself from the sun. He'd rather sweat than burn.

Coming over a dune, he glances at the horizon below. His eyes narrow, staring at the little settlement. It looks old, like it's worn down and vacant. He doubts that anyone lives there anymore, but perhaps there is access to water somehow. He shakes his head slowly as he pads closer, his feet feeling heavy in the sand.

Seeing someone from behind, he coughs to get their attention. "Hello," he calls out to her, his voice broken and rough.

Rey's so lost in her meditation, trying to work out what this familiar feeling was, that the voice scares her, makes her jump up, hand wrapped around her saber hilt as if ready to attack. It's only for a second, fleeting, but it's there and she's angry at herself for having that be her reaction. She shakes her head, places it back on her side where it belongs, and tries to think.

Someone had called to her. It was... that voice was familiar.

"...Is someone there?"

To the outward eye, he probably did not look like himself. His robe pulled down over his face, only his nose and mouth were visible beneath it. The brown robe looked tattered and worn, his clothing foreign to him beneath it. It wasn't his normal black shift, that was to be sure. He wasn't sure how he'd arrived here or who dressed him.

"Who are you," he asked softly as he approached her. "Where is this place?" He hoped that he would just appear to be a lost, weary traveler. One who needed information and then he would get gone.

The robe - why was this person wearing a robe here, this planet was too hot - muffled the voice, and Rey stared at them in confusion. It was almost familiar. That feeling of familiarity continued through the Force. Not that she had been reading that all that well over the past few days - she hadn't been sleeping well and that overtiredness made her less trusting in her instincts.

One of those things, really.

"This is Tatooine," she said. "I'm... no one."

Ben's eyes narrowed as he took in the voice and form of the woman before him. Something about her gave him pause and he stared hard, eyeing her up and down. Slowly, he pushed the hood of his robe back, letting it fall behind him. His hair was greasy and he appeared disheveled as he stared at her.

Slowly, he took a step forward. "You're not. Not to me," he croaked out. "You... You're more than that. See me." He sighed. "Wait, that... That's Luke's home." He blinked. "How did I get here?"

Rey stared, eyes widening. Her hand covered her mouth, unable to speak, and those widened eyes began to water.

"Ben."

"Rey."

He took another step forward, wavering slightly. Suddenly, his knees buckled and he started to stagger. "I wasn't here. I... I don't remember this. How did I..." He glanced up at her, his eyes widening. "How am I here?"

She was up instantly, running to his side to help hold him up. She couldn't stop the gasp of sheer shock that came out of her. For a moment, she believed him a hallucination, brought on by grief and tiredness and guilt. But she could touch him, he was solid and real and there.

"I don't know," it was the only answer she could give. "But you are. You're... you're here." A hand went up to touch his cheek, eyes just trying to take in everything they could.

"Do... Do you have any water? Or somewhere to sit?" He sighed, letting himself lean on her even when he didn't want to. He knew he was much heavier than her and the last thing he wanted to do in that moment was crush her. His eyes closed and he leaned down into her touch.

The corners of his lips moved ever so slightly. "I... I'm here. I... The bond. It wouldn't break. I... I think it pulled me back." He had no other reasoning why he was here, not dead like he had been. "Rey, I... I'm weak. I need..." He sighed. "Help me."

"Inside," she nodded at the buildings near them. "There's food and water in there. It keeps it cooler." She didn't need to explain that, really, but she did it. It was rambling, she couldn't think of what to say that actually meant anything so she rambled instead.

"We'll get you inside," she nodded again, stepping forward to go and get Ben inside. Her heart was thumping hard at all of this, not even knowing how it was possible.

Ben sighed softly, feeling her arms around him, trying to hold himself up as best as he could for her. With slow, shaky steps, they finally found their way inside. His eyes widened as he glanced around, taking it all in. So, he thought, this was where Luke grew up.

It left him with an odd feeling.

Once inside, he made himself as comfortable as he could be, sitting down in a chair at what appeared to be their dining table. Leaning on the table, he rested his arms on top of it and slumped a little. "Rey, how... How long have I been gone?"

Rey left Ben leaning on the table, moving quickly to get food and water for him. Mostly water, that was the most important thing here. She paused, handing him a drink.

"It's ... been a few days. I had to get away from everything."

Tatooine [closed to: violentus] [spoilers for TRoS]

( should we cut tag this with TROS spoilers? )

(edited the cut tag to say spoilers.)

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