Thunder cracked across the stormy Yavin 3 sky; then, approximately ten seconds later, the bedroom door opened with a loud bang.
"Cela, be careful-" Rey started to say, but it was too late: the five year old had already dive-bombed into the bed between her mother and father. Being the heavy sleeper that he was, Ben had been out until being shaken back into consciousness.
"What's going on?" he said, simultaneously half asleep and half alert as he sat up.
"It's thundering and lightning Daddy," Cela said as she snuggled under the covers for safety. "Didn't you hear it?"
Slowly realizing that the base wasn't under attack, Ben flopped back down. "You're inside," he mumbled as he began to doze off again. "The thunder and lightening can't hurt you,"
"But it's scary!" Cela insisted.
"Come here you," Rey said, moving closer to her daughter. Clearly, sleep was already out of the question for the females in the Solo family. "You know what helps? Pretending the booming noise is something else, like…" Rey searched her mind for something sweet and innocent, "…like two giant, fluffy porgs having a throwing competition with pebbles,"
Cela giggled at the thought of the cute avian creatures tossing shiny stones. Glad that her daughter was calming down, Rey said, "I know loud noises can be scary, but you have to remember that's all they are…noises.
"You know," Rey added, "When I was your age I didn't know what a thunderstorm was,"
"That's silly," Cela said, the fright already fading from her voice. "Everyone knows what a thunderstorm is,"
Rey shook her head. "Not everyone," she said. "I grew up on the desert planet Jakku, so I didn't experience rain until I met Master Luke on Ahch-To. When I was little I worried about sandstorms,"
"What are sandstorms?"
"That's when sand blows everywhere. It gets in your eyes, your hair, your nose…everything. Not to mention it can blow away and destroy anything left outside. At least if you get caught in the rain, it's like taking a shower,"
Cela was quiet for a moment as she pondered this new scenario. "Were there loud noises?" she asked.
"Sometimes powerful winds,"
Another clap of thunder cut through the base, causing Cela to jump.
"Now," Rey said, giving her daughter a goofy smile, "What was that 'not-thunder' sound?"
A smile began to spread across Cela's face. "It was just two porgs tossing pebbles,"
[Author note: While I personally don't like time-jumps, I felt it was necessary to move the story along (the years in between were probably just battles anyway...can't have Rey and Ben in a constant crisis, can we? ;) ). I need to do some story mapping for "The Reylo Chronicles: Aftermath", but I will say the Darkness will be brought back soon to further escalate the plot. Till then, hope you all have a wonderful New Year in 2018!]
[Update: The story is continued in "The Glow of Green"]