Disclaimer: Neocolai does not own Star Wars or anything related.
It was easy to read Poe Dameron. He was like a child's picture book; intriguing and bright, without any complicated words or hidden meanings. (Rey liked picture books. Finn was teaching her to read, and the advanced books for adults were so disconcerting. He had skipped a few pages of a love story, cheeks tinged pink, and later tore out the chapter.) Poe wasn't a lengthy book with mangled slang and repetitive phrases. He was simple. Simple and childish, and so assured of himself that everyone couldn't help but enjoy his company.
And he had chosen Rey as a friend. Rey, the Jakku survivor who couldn't write her own name without Finn's steady hand guiding hers. She didn't know anything about X-wings, though she was sure she could pilot one if she tried, and concepts like "kip", "buddy", and "day off" were a strange language. If Poe had been stranded on Jakku for three weeks, maybe even one, he'd have been robbed and flung into in the garbage pile. (Probably minus those impeccable teeth that he flashed at everyone, sentiment being or droid.)
Yet Poe didn't treat her like she was Jakku; coarse and insensible, thieving to survive. No one in the Resistance belittled her. But Poe…. He was the hero of the Resistance, the favored pilot of General Organa, with more friends than Rey knew scavengers, and he chose to spend time with her. Willingly, without expecting anything in return. It was unnerving. Rey couldn't understand it, and so she treated his friendship like everything else that was better than dreams: she waited for it to end.
No one could be that loyal forever.
But while it lasted, Rey imprinted every instance in her mind. Like the first crush of flavor when she bit into fresh food on Takodana. Like the first time she piloted the Falcon. She would remember the first days when she was Poe Dameron's friend.
When she saw Poe standing outside the hangar, Rey couldn't help but grin. He was dressed casually in a new brown jacket, and was talking animatedly with a flossy-haired creature prancing around his legs. Rey peered closer and gaped in astonishment.
"Is that…?"
Poe swung to a halt and the flossy thing clung to his hands, swinging herself as she sang nonsensical words.
"Rey," Poe greeted in surprise. He glanced down at the clinger and back at Rey again. "Oh. I never introduced you two, did I?" Turning his attention to the child, he addressed her in the fond voice reserved for droids and small animals. "Nyla, this is Rey. She's the first Jedi in over a decade."
"You'we a Jedi?" Nyla exclaimed with a heavily lisped 'J'.
"You have a sister!" Rey realized. The child cackled and Rey laughed with her, wondering how anything could sound so joyful.
Poe flustered. "Well, she's not actually kin," he said, exchanging hands as the child wove between his legs. "Her parents are engineers on base. I'm sort of her 'Cousin Damy'."
"Damy?" Rey repeated.
"Long story," Poe said sheepishly. "Do you … want to accompany us? I'm taking her to the zoo. It's not much – just a bantha and two neeks, but Nyla enjoys it."
He was nervous. Poe, with his swagger and blinding smile, and the confident wink he gave Rey whenever she felt foolish, was self-conscious in the presence of a child. It was the picture book comparison, Rey realized with a start. Poe was like a child himself. He must have been embarrassed at how easily he related to them.
"Of course I'll come," Rey agreed. A natural smile replaced the unease Rey hadn't noticed in Poe until it was gone.
"Now, Damy!" Nyla whined. "Go now!"
"All right, all right," Poe said. His fingers engulfed the child's tiny hand. Rey hadn't imagined that such an act could be… protective. 'Come back!' her own young voice rang in her mind. The grip of an adult's hand symbolized capture. She only trusted Finn and Leia to touch her, even now. But Poe made it seem like an endearment. Rey had the strange notion to grab his other hand, just to try it for herself. She folded her arms.
"This way," Poe directed as Nyla tugged him along. "It's a bit of a walk, but the trees are worth notice."
"Wey-Wey coming too?" Nyla ensured. She beamed at Rey and tucked a finger against her gums.
"That's right. You can show her Keeby the bantha!" Poe stooped to flick Nyla's ear and she shrieked, taking shelter behind his legs.
"Where doggie?" Nyla looked around expectantly. "Where doggie?"
"BB-8 had to recharge. I promise I'll bring him to see you before my next flight."
"Beebee!" Nyla repeated. "Damy, up!"
"But we've only walked three minutes!" Poe bemoaned. "All right, up my shoulder." Fluidly he scooped the child into one arm and tossed her onto his back.
"Keeby bant-ha, lotsa fun," Nyla sang.
Poe chuckled and motioned for Rey to catch up. "She's quite a chatterer."
"I didn't know there were children on base," Rey commented.
"Only a few." Poe lengthened his stride, weaving sloppily until Nyla howled in laughter and grabbed onto his hair.
"Not tho fast!"
The pilot ducked under a tree limb and resumed his normal pace. "Usually the children are raised in a separate location. Nyla's situation is rare. Her parents wanted to keep her close."
"She's so small." She wouldn't have lasted a day on Jakku.
Poe snorted. "Most children are."
"No – I mean…" Rey fumbled, and Poe waited for her to find the words. "She's… tiny. We don't see children like that on Jakku. They aren't allowed to leave the house until they're old enough to scavenge."
"Old enough to look after themselves." Poe's eyes were dark with compassion. Somehow he always knew what Rey was saying, even when she couldn't understand herself.
"Yes," Rey murmured. Or else sleemos like Plutt take them away.
"Bant-ha! Bant-ha!" Nyla crowed, pointing ahead.
"What is a 'bant-ha'?" Rey asked, suddenly aware of the wide forest around them. She slung her staff into hand and peered at the distant stone gates.
"Bantha," Poe translated. "Giant, furry herd animals. Kind of like a wookie, only larger. Much larger."
"Do they tear your arms off?" Rey wondered.
"Well, they might step on you if you fall into the pen..." Poe glanced at Rey's terse expression and snickered. "Just kidding. They're harmless. Imagine a giant, fluffy mooka… You've never seen a mooka?"
"Is it like a bloggin?" Rey compared.
"Um… no." Poe pursed his lips like he always did when contemplating Rey's 'limited education'. "I think one of my buddies smuggled a mooka onto the base. I'll have to show you later."
"Damy, bant-haaa!" Nyla complained, kicking his shoulders impatiently. "Go! Go!"
A soft, rumbling low resounded from the stone wall, and a curled horn rose above the barrier. Rey craned her neck in awe. "Is that – is that a – "
"That's a bantha," Poe confirmed. "You ready to see one?"
"Yes!" Dashing ahead of him, Rey sprang across the mulch littered path and sprinted past the gates. Eight poles adjacent to the wall encircled the beast within force-fields. Enormous brown eyes settled on Rey before the bantha lowered its head, lapping up discarded bread with a grotesque black tongue.
"Bant-ha!" Nyla shrieked as Poe caught up. "Damy, down! Down!"
"It's magnificent," Rey breathed as Poe came alongside her. "I've never seen anything like it."
"I'm not sure I'm call it magnificent," Poe considered as the bantha snorted plant bits out of its nose. "But it was my favorite when I was little."
"Keeby!" Nyla shouted, pressing her face against the outer fence.
Poe looked down proudly. "She named it," he told Rey. "There is no other title for this great beast; the keepers don't even bother."
"What does it mean?" Rey posed.
Poe shrugged. "Maybe it's her favorite snack. Speaking of which, ever tried a frosty?"
Rey shook her head, and Poe's eyebrows wiggled daringly before he stepped away from the pen. "Nyla, stay with Rey-Rey. I'm getting treats."
"Fwothty!" Nyla cheered. She danced around and grabbed Rey's, pulling her towards another pen. Bewildered as to how to care for a child, Rey looked hopelessly after Poe. The cheeky deserter never looked back.
"Um…" Uncertainly Rey knelt, letting Nyla flop her arm around. This is fine. I can handle it...
"Neeks!" Nyla lisped. "C'mon!" She yanked on Rey's hand and insisted, "Wey-Wey come now!"
"Shouldn't we wait here for Poe?" Rey interjected. "Oh….." Helplessly she followed Nyla, afraid to let go of the child. Poe would never forgive me if I lost her.
"Look!" Nyla said, pointing at the lizard-like creatures. "Gween and boo!"
"Green and blue," Rey corrected. She remembered Finn teaching her how to pick out the words. Red and gold and pearly white, too. There were other colors like 'scarlet' and 'ebony' that meant something of the kind. Finn had stopped reading at that point, skimmed the next page, and then cleared his throat before skipping ahead. Maybe he was reading about kids, Rey figured. Finn tended to be evasive when he was embarrassed.
"Geen and boo," Nyla tried again. She giggled and clapped her hands. "Gee an boo! Geennaboo!"
"Are you helping her name the neeks?"
Rey whirled in relief when she heard Poe's voice. Nyla tore free and blundered into the pilot's legs, reaching high. "Damy! Damy, pease!"
"All right, all right," Poe said, presenting two cone shaped objects with a flourish. "One for you, and one for Rey-Rey. Rey, I insist you have one." He snagged a bite of one cone before handing it to Nyla, then offered the unmolested treat to Rey.
"What is it?" Rey questioned dubiously.
"It's a frosty," Poe said. "Go ahead; try it."
"Ith'good!" Nyla goaded, smearing her nose and chin into the creamy topping.
Tentatively Rey took the frosty and brushed her tongue against it. Sweetness and rich coating and an odd, nutty flavor emblazoned her tongue. "It's amazing!" Rey managed to gulp out before she crammed her mouth with silken dessert and crunchy shell.
"Course it is!" Poe agreed. "I imagine you can't find those on Jakku."
The softness was in his eyes again. Something akin to pity, though not quite the same. The frosty became a hard lump in Rey's stomach.
"Stop looking at me like that. I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me."
"I wasn't…" Poe shook his head slightly and the charming smile returned. "No, of course." He jounced awkwardly on his heels. "I can get you another frosty if you like. Nyla ate mine."
"No, didn't!" Nyla denied, licking her hands.
"Erm – another frosty would be… fine." Rey nodded. She wanted to bring the carefree ease back to his eyes. She should have known; Poe was too kind to burden anyone with his pity.
"Me, too!" Nyla begged.
"Haven't you had enough sweets?" Poe teased, crouching before her. "Your mother will surely report me if I ruined your supper again."
"I cad eat thupper, too!" Jittery, Nyla leaned on Poe's knee and stuck out her lower lip, batting huge dark eyes. When Poe chuckled, Nyla bounded up to Rey for backup. "Pease, Wey-Wey? Another fwothty?"
The gleam had returned to Poe's eyes and Rey wanted to preserve it forever. "I don't see why not," she said, looking sidelong at Poe for confirmation. She's so young, and happiness doesn't last forever. Let her enjoy it.
"All right, then!" Poe clapped his hands on his thighs and rose, enveloping Nyla's fragile hand in his own. "One frosty for the walk back. Are you all finished here, Nyla?"
"Uh-uh! Come back 'gain?"
"Maybe next week - if I'm back from patrol," Poe evaded easily. Rey knew the life of a pilot was capricious; that one day he might not return. Death was an expected hazard in the Resistance.
It was still a phenomenal life compared to Jakku.
"Do you suppose we could visit again?" Rey ventured. "Maybe Finn could come along." She relished the memory of sweet cream and a child's laughter, and it almost synced with an older remnant of the past. She lost the image too quickly.
Poe flung his head back and guffawed. "No, I don't think Finn would be interested in returning. You see, I invited him to the zoo last week. He was attacked by the bantha."