Chapter 27.

"How are you feeling?"

It had been three days since the events of Rey rebuilding her lightsaber, and with it, building her strength. She became one with it, letting it mold to her style, and her own skin mending with the weapon, a forgotten friend.

Rey still felt rather protective of it, not ready to let anyone see her cards, so she thought, and decided to keep it hidden beneath her green poncho as she walked beside Kai and Flora, seeking out a new training area on their new home, Pyron.

"Better. Not fully recovered, though." Rey answered, kicking a rock to the side of the path they made.

The air around them was muggy, hot with the raindrops that constantly made an appearance and clung to the atmosphere. What Rey liked, however, was the green that seemed to drown the planet, tall and old trees covering every corner of their home.

"I still can't believe Sano did that to all these people. You offer him a home, and he used it as a stepping stool." Flora stated as she rolled her eyes.

Rey nodded, mostly to herself as she thought of the events that led them there, and what Sano was trying to achieve by staying at their base. Frowning, Rey figured there was a lot more to the story than what met the eye. Remembering the map to Cinnon'Ra that she had stolen from him, she feared what awaited him there, and was more determined than ever to stop him before he succeeded in whatever he was plotting.

And in order to do that, Rey knew she had to build her own team, people she could depend on to go with her, which is why she made the decision to continue training Flora and Kai today.

The three girls remained quiet as they continued their walk, stopping a short while after that when they came across a clearing deep in the forest, hidden away from their new base.

'This is it.' Rey thought, smiling to herself.

Stepping on a large rock, Rey bent and picked it up, tossing it into the air and catching it once more before turning a hopeful smile to the girls.

"Ready?" she asked.

Flora and Kai shared a quick glance before looking towards Rey, all three of them grinning at one another as they began their new lesson.

( x )

She taught them patience.

They taught her movement.

She taught them strength.

They taught her stealth.

Together they practiced, and trained from morning to night, and night to morning.

They chose not use their voice, but their minds instead.

They tried their hand at mind tricking one another.

And eventually, Rey attempted Projection, succeeding for only a quick moment before falling to the ground, all of her energy drained, just as Kylo said it would.

In the following four weeks, Rey trained hard with Flora and Kai, extremely delighted with how well they were growing with the force, and astonished with what she was able to do herself. She had hoped she was making Luke proud.

Spinning on her toes, Rey turned and broke out into a run before jumping into the air, legs split, before landing firmly on both feet ontop of a broken tree stump in the forest they practiced in. Right now, Rey was practicing her movement with Flora and Kai, who taught her to bend her limbs and stretch her muscles in ways she never had before. It was similar to dancing, Rey thought, which made it even more fun for her.

Rey grinned, happy that she was not swaying at all as she bent to balance herself on one hand. She was not able to stop her mind from remembering the last time she was in this position, and how Ben Solo appeared to her through their connection.

Biting the inside of her lip, Rey scowled. It had been four weeks since she last saw him, and any time she attempted to open her mind to him, she felt the harsh block of his mind pushing her out, frustrating her more and more every day that passed.

Now, however, she was determined to cast thoughts of him aside and only focus on her training with the girls.

Rey stood and walked past Flora and Kai who were quietly meditating.

"So, what's with the weird letters? Or...numbers?" Kai called from the ground, eyes still closed. She was speaking of the jedi texts that they often studied, Rey teaching them only what she knew for certain, the rest was just sitting there until her lessons with Kylo Ren picked up again.

Rey stopped walking, turning back to glance at the ancient books that lay a few foot away from them. Rey grew more frustrated with not knowing as time went on, only able to look and admire the foreign symbols on the pages that were elegantly drawn.

Rey sighed, kicking a random stick to the side. "I'm not sure. I hope to find out one day."

Flora opened her eyes and leaned back, laying on the dusty ground as she stared up at the red sky above.

"Your teacher hasn't appeared to you?" Flora asked.

Rey frowned, forgetting that she had mentioned to them that she was still learning herself, but only when the force chose to connect with her bonded, and Rey refused to give any other information concerning it.

"No. Not yet, at least."

"And what exactly are we training so hard for?" Kai asked, her meditation broken now.

Rey thought for a moment, hands on her hips as she studied the dirt around them. "Just... just in case. I have a lead on a possible route where Sano may have gone, but I don't want to go unprepared. Since you are both force sensitive, and combat trained, it seems we are a good match for a team..." Rey trailed off, feeling nervous that they may object.

To her relief, she felt them both get...excited?

"Great! It's been a while since we've been in action. We're doing pretty well, if I do say so myself." Kai exclaimed, grinning towards Rey and turning to the stick Rey kicked away moments ago. She focused on the wood, and tuned into the force, the stick twitching before it moved to Kai's hand slowly.

Flora smiled at her twin, not moving as she used her mind to break the stick in half.

Kai gasped, making Rey smile. Kai threw one half at her sister and chucked the other end into the woods.

"So, when are we going?" Flora asked, sitting up as her attention was on Rey on now.

Rey thought for a moment, undecided. There were still lessons to learn, things to practice on, and details to map out. But she was relieved that they were willing to help, and eager to fight.

"Soon." was all that Rey replied with, and both girls nodded, not questioning the plan for the remainder of the evening. The girls excused themselves, packing up their belongings and heading back to the base, leaving Rey alone.

Her mind was heavy, and shoulders tense.

This was always her time.

Left alone, out of view from the base, no one to bother as she practiced.

Standing straight, Rey moved her hand to her cloak, undoing the pin that lay at her neck and letting the garment fall to the ground.

Rey gripped the lightsaber that hung at her hip, her hand melting and forming to the body, coming to life with it as her body, mind, and soul greeted it.

Slowly exhaling, she shut her eyes, reaching out with her mind as she became one with her surroundings.

She unclasped the saber from her hip, activating her lightsaber as her eyes flew open, swinging it above her head, grasping it with both hands.

Rey familiarized herself with it as she had for the past month since forming the lightsaber, taking control of it and letting it take control of her. She whipped around, pretending to block an oncoming attack, then letting only one hand take over as she practiced running with it.

She wasn't sure what took over her, or where she even got the idea to, but she let her feet quickly carry her to a nearby boulder, jumping onto it and right off, easily front flipping onto her feet again, shocked once more as she did not sway whatsoever.

She turned the lightsaber over on top of her hand, letting it roll into her palm once more, hearing nothing but the sharp hum pierce her ears as she swung her saber here and there, trying not to get distracted as she noticed the tiny strands of electricity whip from it, never close to her though, as if it new who it's owner is.

Right then, a small and fallen tree branch snapped behind her, and Rey turned quickly, the lightsaber coming to full attention as she whipped it around and stuck it into the face of the intruder.

The white and purple light of her weapon reflected off the face of Kylo Ren.