Rey got up early the following morning. The weather was perfect the previous evening, but it started to feel too cool for either of them. Ren awoke when she did and remained on the bunk. He was thinking she could tell, and let him be while she went to the refresher and prepared for the day.

After she got done, she entered the lounge and saw him changing into a grey shirt, his back to her. She admired his frame for a moment before speaking. "Ren, did you want to eat and see Poe off?"

He turned and looked at Rey. "Of course. What are we going to do today?"

"Well, usually Luke and I train dueling in the morning hours, and in the afternoon we do more mental activities. With you here, I'm sure that we can practice with you too." Rey actually looked forward to practicing with Ren, and felt Luke probably did as well. Almost as if he had two students now.

They exited after eating some fruit and saw Poe leave. Before he boarded Ren walked up to him and they talked together quietly. Poe nodded, smiled and embraced Ren in a hug. Ren stood motionless and waited patiently for Poe to release him. Finn looked surprised and shared a grin with Rey. Ren, now freed, walked quickly back to where the rest of them stood. Poe waved, checked on BB8 and the x-wing was gone. He would be back in a week or two after his missions with the Resistance.

Chewie went to check and do maintenance on Luke's x-wing, and Luke turned to Rey, Ren and Finn. "Shall we?"

It was going to be another warm day, the sky was nearly cloudless. Rey started dueling with Ren. She enjoyed sparring with him, it was feeling intimate with Ren on a whole other level. She suspected he felt the same way, his eyes seemed more lively. Initially Luke and Finn both watched, but after some time they vanished from her vision. It became close to mid day when Ren and her decided to take a break. No one was nearby, at the end of their duel he embraced her in a hug.

"I'm starting to want a lightsaber staff now" he smiled. "I wonder where Luke and Finn went off to..."

Rey felt with the Force, they were nearby, and if she had to guess it was at the topmost courtyard with the abandoned ruins. Ren hadn't had a real tour of the island so she led the way up the gravelly path. Sure enough, Luke and Finn were both there... and both were practicing with lightsabers. Luke was using his green one, and Finn was using the blue one, Darth Vader's original lightsaber. Ren tensed for a moment before moving forward, they found a good spot to observe without being in the way. Ren said nothing initially but after some time had passed he murmured "Finn isn't bad with weapons, or the lightsaber honestly. If he was Force sensitive he would have that edge of course but despite that he's very good. His training in the First Order demonstrates his abilities, and I know from before they were looking at making him an officer." Rey smiled and squeezed Ren's hand, she was glad that he was overcoming his past self. He needed support and encouragement.

"What did you talk to Poe about this morning?" She asked, still watching Luke and Finn.

"I told him to tell my mother that I miss her and not to worry- when I'm ready I'll let her know and we can meet. I also promised to take care of you and Finn for him." He said in a near whisper.

She wanted to tell Ren that she could take care of herself, but stopped. It was most likely something that both Ren and Poe felt, being quite a bit older than her and Finn - it was their duty as being more experienced to watch out for them. It was truly Ren's effort to form relationships with her friends. Her heart felt warm. "I saw he liked what you said. I'm sure your mom will be happy to hear from you as well."

The sun was high over head when Luke and Finn stopped. Finn leaned over to catch his breath and wipe his brow. Luke walked over to them and looked down "Finn was interested in practicing, and I figured why not. He's not bad, his prior training definitely assists his skill."

Ren spoke up "He is good for not being able to use the Force... and Rey said that normally you do mental Force exercises in the afternoon. Since the weather is so warm, do you mind if we teach her how to swim?" He looked up at Luke, squinting in the bright sun.

Luke didn't mind, and after their lunch the three went down to the pebbly shore.

The water was cool, but compared to the hot sun it felt nice on Rey's skin. She had her breeches and her shirt on, she left her boots and vest at the shore. Both Finn and Poe stripped down to their breeches. Rey was aware of the scars on Ren's body, she had spent time with him, but was surprised when she saw Finn's back. It was healed but it looked terrible, the pink scar contrasting with his warm brown skin. While Ren was wading in the water Finn walked up to her on the shore "I'm all better. They re-inforced my spine and ribs with a metal alloy. It looks worse than it is." Rey could only nod.

They waded out, and her heart started to race when the water came up to her shoulders. Ren swam closer to them, he already dived under and his hair was slicked back. "There are some stronger currents out there but we won't be going too far." Between Ren and Finn the whole afternoon, she was able to swim between them, with Finn staying closer to shore and with Ren further in the deeper waters. Ren treaded the water easily and never grew tired. She started to like the buoyancy of the water, but not being able to see too far below fueled a small fear within her. Her memories of drowning in the cave were not easily forgotten. The sun was hanging low in the sky when they returned to shore, all of them working up an appetite.

That evening, they ate leftover nerf and vegetable skewers from the night before. As they were finishing Luke asked "I'd like to see both of those holocrons if you don't mind Rey, Ren." Ren fetched them from the Falcon and played the Sith pyramid for everyone. Darth Bane was definitely angry regarding the fall of the Sith during his time. "This must be well before Palpatine's time." Luke stated. Chewie yelped in agreement, the wookie was almost 300 years old and this was before his time as well. "So well before then even." Luke added.

Ren responded "Snoke said that Palpatine destroyed many holocrons that were located in Coruscant in the Jedi Library. They had light and dark side ones. The blue one we looked at years ago Luke was a cube with light based sword forms, and I'm thinking that the pyramid ones have dark side teachings." Ren paused. "I'm not able to activate the light side ones." He avoided everyone's eyes. Rey already knew but said nothing. Finn grasping what Ren meant looked worried.

"I found a pyramid shaped one at Yavin 4. I realized at that time it must have been dark side based since it didn't activate like the cube did." Luke said quietly. Ren looked up, he was interested and also concerned. "I didn't share it with you at that time as I wanted to focus on other teachings with you. Just as you cannot activate the light holocrons, I cannot activate the dark side ones. I left it behind at the temple back then. " Rey remembered the memory of her and Luke escaping, clinging on to him and crying while Ren hunted for them. Ren looked conflicted and Luke was aware of this. "Ren, I'm not opposed to you going to Yavin 4 to see if the holocron is still intact however you must be wary with what it could teach. It could be something you can use, or it could be something very dangerous." She couldn't believe what Luke was saying. Rey knew she was thinking the worst possible scenario, she pictured Ren losing the balance within him, and killing everyone, killing her. Ren had a thirst for knowledge, she loved how smart he was. He wouldn't be deterred from going to find this holocron. Fear creeped into her heart.

Ren sensed her anxiety and looked at her, and to her amazement grasped her hand. "I want to go back to the temple. I would like it if you came with me. It can be something that helps us. That assassin and Snoke hasn't given up looking for you, and... I will stop them." Rey knew he wanted to say something else at the end, she could tell in his eyes. She knew he meant well but the fear still remained. He squeezed her hand.

Luke picked up the green cubed holocron and played it after figuring out the combination in a matter of seconds. "It's almost identical to the blue one... Yoda?" He bent over the table, examining at the short Jedi. "No... its a female..." He allowed the holocron to play and at the end explained himself. "That is a useful skill, and also a somewhat challenging one Rey. I'm impressed you were able to perform it well, especially under duress of fighting Ren and having an assassin nearby..." Rey nodded. Her mind still was focused on the sith holocron located on Yavin 4. Luke looked back down to the green cube. "When Poe returns, I think it will be enough time for you to heal fully and rest before traveling to Yavin 4. The planet is mostly jungle with dangerous animals, and I'm not sure what kind of condition the temple will be in after its abandonment." Chewie yelped and Luke nodded his assent for him to go.

"Luke, will you go?" Ren asked.

Luke looked pained, then solemn. "I'll have to reflect on it."