#with rey.

[warplanet]

with @apotheocis, for arra and rey — you've been a great friend to me. better than a friend. someone i can turn to in my darkest times.

it would be easier, arra thinks, to come right out with the truth. rey wouldn't fully understand what was happening, of course, and may doubt what the jedi has to say... but at least then arra wouldn't be lying to her. at least in this scenario, arra's conscience could be cleared of all charges. instead, rey looks to the other woman like the two are new — like they've only just met a short time ago with the resistence. rey doesn't remember luke and the others; she can't dig that far back into her mind and uncover the reality of her past. you've been a great friend to me, rey says with all the sincerity in the world, and arra feels her chest clench in response. "and you have been a good friend to me, as well," she replies smoothly, swallowing down the bile that builds in her throat. even if she did tell rey the truth, she wouldn't be believed. it's far-fetched. there was a jedi temple; there was an attempt to restore the jedi order... and then? what does she say next? for your safety, luke brought you here? abandoned you?

"you said that when you met me, you felt like you'd met me before." arra springs a curious broach of the subject onto the younger woman, cautious, but optimistic. maybe this will be the better approach — easing rey into the truth herself. "like we've known each other for a long time before this. like you felt safe with me, despite having just met me here on the ship." arra sets a gentle hand on rey's shoulder. "describe that feeling to me. what is it like? that knowing. that familiar sensation."

[warplanet]

with @apotheocis, arra and rey. — listen to me! i know what i'm doing!

this is the part she never got to experience. arra never had a padawan. she never had someone to teach, to trust... and then, when the time was right, she never had to let someone go. this is the thing other jedi always spoke about, the release — hoping and praying the person you spent all this time teaching now knows what they need to survive. as rey grabs her arms and attempts to shake some sense into arra, the jedi is slack-jawed, her eyes wide with worry. her gaze goes darting over rey's face, fearful, scrambling to come up with some magic word that will convince rey to stay. don't go, don't risk your life. we can find another way through this. but that's what's happening, right? a lesson in letting go. in order for rey to grow, arra must release her. listen to me! rey shouts over the sound of blasterfire and explosions, i know what i'm doing! and try as arra might to find a reason to beg her to stay... she realizes then, in the haze of dust and smoke, that this is the necessary step. she must let go.

breathing hard, arra finally clenches her jaw and nods once... then twice. "you're right," she chokes out. then, more confidently: "you can do this. i've trained you well." more explosions rock the ground of this tucked-away spot, tiny pieces of exploded rock falling on their heads. arra gives rey one last look, akin to that of a mother watching her child leave the nest, and nods. are they mother and daughter in this scenario, or older sister and younger? arra wouldn't know the difference. "go. before i change my mind."