The day was halfway gone when Eir approached them while they were working on Vikki's ship.

"I have some good news for you." The older woman said as she approached.

"Did you finally manage to get in contact with Cal?" Rey asked, jumping down from her perch on top of the ship.

"I did, and he said that he would meet the two of you at this location." She handed them a slip of paper where 'Bogano' was written above coordinates in simple, yet elegant handwriting.

"Thank you for doing this Eir." Rey said as she took the offered paper.

"Of course, as I would like answers as well." Eir said with gentle smile.

"Will you be alright if we leave for a bit, Vikki?" Rey asked, turning to face the aforementioned woman.

"I should be fine, the repairs are almost done, anyways." Vikki waved them off. "So go ahead an do whatever it is you need to."

"You're leaving?" Kira asked quietly, a frown on her face and her eyes turning sad.

"Kira," Vikki said as she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "there are still some things that these two need to take care of. You can be a big girl and let them, right? And we can have lots of fun until they get back."

Kira pouted for a moment, before she nodded reluctantly. "Okay, I guess." She looked back over at Rey and Ben. "I'll be sure to try and practice while you're gone! You'll be surprised at how much progress I make!"

"I'm sure you'll do amazing." Rey smiled, giving her a hug.

They decided to leave the next morning, and spend the rest of the day making preparations. They didn't know how long they would be; but Rey was ready for the answers that it would bring. Even still, that night as they were getting ready for bed, she could feel the beginnings of a knot starting to form itself uncomfortably in her stomach.

"Rey, it's going to be alright." The next she knew Ben's arms were sliding around her waist, pulling her close against him.

She leaned into him, letting herself fall into his warmth. "I know it's just..."

"What ever happened to them, I'm sure it was because of something that they did not know. There isn't much known about our power, but I know that we can find a way to keep what happened from repeating." At her nod, he added, "For now, just tell me how I can help you feel better."

"Just be with me."

He smiled softly, sweeping her off her feet and into his arms, taking her over to their bed. "I think I can handle that."

The next morning was one of the very rare times that Rey found herself awake before Ben, but she didn't mind. Despite whatever the rest of the day would bring, for now she was content to revel in peacefulness of it all. Ben's face was the softest as he slept, and she laid there for a few minutes, perfectly content to watch.

Her gaze shifted to where her hand was resting on his chest, his own hand on top of hers. She smiled at the sight of their mark of binding, the butterfly a source of constant comfort. She smiled, leaning up to kiss the edge of his mouth. He was hers and there was no one that could take that away.

Ben stirred, his eyes slowly sliding open to meet hers. "You know, I think I could handle it if that was my wakeup call from now on."

"I thought you would." She grinned. "Good morning, Ben."

He leaned forward so that he could kiss her fully. "Good morning, Sweetheart."

Once they had gotten up and dressed and were just about ready to leave, a knock came near the entrance.

"I'm glad I was able to catch the two of you before you left," They were greeted by Eir, who had a light smile upon her face. "I have something for you along with a very important question. May I come in?"

"Of course." Rey said, stepping out of the way to let the older woman past.

"Thank you." Eir said with a small bow, before stepping inside. "First, my gift for the two of you." She took Rey's hand and gently placed a small, round communicator onto her palm. "If you ever need to get in contact with anyone here, please use this. Second, what I would like to ask is that if you would like, we can start getting a house ready for you in one of the trees while you are gone. I have noticed that you come to the village quite often, and it seems quite the inconvenience to go from here to there all the time. That is, only if you have decided to live here. I do not want the two of you to feel pressured into this."

A house, Eir was offering a chance to live in an actual house. She had never lived in a real house before; her room at the Resistance was probably the closest, but still it wasn't quite the same. Even now she hadn't expected anything other than living in the Falcon, and the idea of having an actual house to live in felt like some sort of dream –

"I think it's a great idea." Ben placed a hand on Rey's shoulder, and she looked up at him.

I don't see why Ekair can't be our home. No matter where we go, we will always be able to come back here.

Rey smiled brightly at the thought. With Ben she was home, and with this they could have somewhere they could belong together, a home that they could always come back to and call their own. "Yes, that would be amazing if you would." She said, turning back to Eir.

"Wonderful!" Eir smiled brightly, clapping her hands together before reaching into her sleeve and pulling out a rolled piece of parchment and holding it out to them. "This is a map of the village, and I have everyone sign where they would like their house to be. Anywhere without a name is free for you to take."

Rey took it gingerly, spreading it open on the table for both her and Ben to see. It was definitely an older map; parts were worn and showed signs of having been redrawn more than once. Along it were a handful of signatures, denoting where everyone lived and where the few shops lied. A few names were crossed out, only to be found later somewhere else, paired along with another person's name at their house instead. The one that was probably the biggest surprise was when Amir was one of the names that had been moved, and was instead at the same house as Ranulf.

Once they picked a spot, Rey held out the pen that Eir had provided them with to Ben. "Your handwriting is better than mine."

"There's nothing wrong with yours." Ben said, shaking his head. "I still think it's cute."

"That's only because your biased."

"How about this instead," He took the offered pen, bending down and writing her name in graceful, swooping lines before turning to face her and holding the pen back out for her to take, "we do it together."

She smiled, taking the offered pen. "I suppose I can handle that." She leaned down and, in her best print, placed his name just below where he had put hers. Before she put the pen down, however, she moved above both of their names and wrote 'The Solo household'. "There, what do you think of that?" She said as she stood back up, placing the pen down.

"It's perfect." He said with a smile, leaning down to kiss her.

/

Once they had landed on Bogano, Rey scrunched her nose as she looked out at the flat landscape beyond the view port. It was a quirk she always did when faced with what she didn't like, something that Ben found adorable since the first time he'd seen it; even if he never would have admitted it at the time.

"Not everywhere is going to be interesting to look at, Rey." Ben said with an amused, yet fond smile.

"I know," Rey sighed as she stood up, moving over to where her bag rested, and placing Eir's book inside it, "but it might be nice to explore the ravines a bit after we get answers."

It might be nice to have a distraction, depending on what we find out

It went unspoken, but it didn't need to be. Ben followed after her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders from behind.

Regardless of how sure he was that they could find a way to avoid the fate of Kaine and her partner since they had once already – it didn't ease the worry of what they were about to find out.

"We've waited long enough, and now that we're here we should see it through." Rey said even as she leaned into him, placing a hand on his arms. "We can do this."

"Together." He squeezed her just that much tighter, trying to ease the anxiety as much as possible.

When they finally stepped outside, the two people that they had seen while landing were already there to greet them. The other two appeared both older yet young at the same time; the man with faded red hair while the woman had a striking silver.

"You must be the two that Eir told us about." The man said with a kind smile once they were close enough. "It's nice to be able to meet her friends. I'm Cal Kestis and this –"

"Merrin Kestis." The older woman introduced.

"I'm Rey Solo," Rey said, the name slipping easily from her lips and sending an excited thrill down her spine; further proof of their belonging.

"Ben Solo." Ben followed Rey's lead, her eagerness catching; the joy he could feel from her at it sparking a pleasant warmth in him. He never thought before that he would ever like his name, but with Rey he had learned otherwise.

Now that introductions were over, however, there was one thing that was bothering him.

"Why did you ask to meet here?" Ben asked. Just because Cal was a friend of Eir's that she had met decades ago, didn't meant that he was completely trustworthy. People changed, and an abandoned planet was a suspicious as they came.

"Considering what Eir told me this was about, I thought the more private the better, and Bogano is the best place I know for that." Cal answered, without a moments hesitation.

"…What did she tell you?"

"She said that you had and item that was important for you to find out the history of."

"You have a lot of questions for the one needing help." Merrin said, arms crossed.

"Ben it's alright. We can trust them." Rey intervened before things could go any further; she knew exactly where his train of thought was going. "I was right about Eir, wasn't I?" She added when Ben looked over at her.

"Alright, alright." Ben conceded with a sigh. If Rey said they were trustworthy, then be believed it. He had no reason not to; she was good at reading people, at getting past his years long ingrained habits.

"Anyway...why don't we head inside? I'm sure it will be more comfortable for everyone." Cal said, motioning to the other ship that wasn't to far from the Falcon.

"Does your ship have a name?" Rey asked as they stepped inside.

"It's called the Stinger Mantis. We got it from a friend when he retired."

"It's really nice." Rey said as she took in the immediate surroundings. The Mantis was considerably smaller than the Falcon, but it still felt quaint, like they had been allowed to step inside someone's home. "Is it alright if I take a look around?" It was an inevitable question, one that Ben would've been more surprised if she hadn't asked about.

"I can show you around." Merrin offered. "Are you both coming?"

Ben shook his head. "I think I'll stay here. You two can go." There was something else on his mind that he wanted to ask Cal about.

Rey gave his hand a soft squeeze in understanding, reaching up to place a kiss on his cheek.

I'll be listening, if you need me.

He squeezed her hand in return, before letting her go.

Thank you

Rey gave him a soft smile, before turning and heading with Merrin further into the ship.

"You survived Order 66, didn't you?" Ben asked, once the other two were gone. It was a question that had bothered him since shortly after they had met. It wasn't everyday you met someone carrying a lightsaber, and if he was right about Cal's age, the time would match up.

"Did Eir tell you?" Cal asked, his face turning into one of surprise.

"No, but call it an educated guess. Also, your reaction gives it away."

Cal rubbed the back of his neck. "You caught me. I was a padawan when it happened, and if it weren't for my master I wouldn't have survived."

"How did you avoid capture? I thought the few that managed to get away had closed themselves off from the force. It's clear that you haven't."

"I did, for the first five years. But after some things happened and I met Cere and Greez, things changed."

"How so?"

"Cere wanted to restore the order, but before we really got anywhere I had a vision that I did not like the ending to." Cal shuddered, as if remembering something unpleasant. "The timing wasn't right, so we decided to work in the background instead."

"And you didn't try again when Luke showed up?"

Cal shrugged. "By the time I heard about him, I had come to terms with the fact that it was not my role to play. Instead, we would stop the Empire when we could, and deliver information to the resistance when we couldn't. We did the same for the First Order, when it was around."

"Wait a minute…" Ben muttered, a certain realization hitting him. A ship that the Stormtroopers would describe 'it's like a ghost', a ship that would be there one moment and disappearing in green flames the next. "There was one ship that we were never able to catch – that was you. But how?"

"Cloaking a ship such as this is an easy task." At the sound of Merrin's voice the pair of them looked over to see both her and Rey emerging from the back of the ship.

A pause. "You're a Nightsister, aren't you?" Ben asked. It should have been obvious from the start; the paper white skin, the facial markings – all the signs pointing towards a race that he had thought long since gone.

"Merrin and I…we're survivors." Cal reached over, taking one of Merrin's hands in his own.

"Together." Merrin echoed, a soft smile playing on her lips.

Ben raised an eyebrow, giving Cal a look. "Wasn't there something about 'no attachments'?"

"Somewhere down the line I realized the old teachings were…stifling." Cal said as he looked fondly at Merrin. "Eventually, we found a journal detailing about the Grey Jedi. They focused on balance, of not driving the force into sides, and instead focusing on the whole." He added, looking back over at Rey and Ben.

"That sounds a lot like what Eir talks about." Rey said.

Cal nodded. "It's good to hear that; it's where she got it from. She seemed really troubled when we were traveling together, so I gave it to her in hope that it would help. She never gets rid of anything – I'm sure she'll let you borrow it if you want to read it."

"I think we will." Rey said as she took Ben's hand in hers.

Ben nodded in agreement. The two of them had already been doing their own thing, ignoring the rules they had both been taught; in a strange way it was nice to know that there was a name for it.

/

"So, what's the item you wanted looked at?" Cal asked, once they were sitting down at the rounded couch.

Rey reached into her bag, pulling out Eir's book as she spoke. "It's a photo that's kept inside here." She placed the book on the table, opening the cover to where the picture of Kaine and her partner still laid. "I was going to do it myself, but I promised Ben that I would let someone with more experience do it."

"That's right, Eir did mention that you shared the ability. I'm glad I can help. It's not something that you would want to try if you're not sure what you're doing; there can be some pretty nasty side effects."

"You speak as if that has never happened to you before." Merrin said, giving Cal a look.

"That was one time! And I was taken by surprise. I didn't expect such a mundane object to have such dramatic events tied to it." Merrin didn't say anything, instead pursing her lips as she continued to watch him.

"In any case…" Cal said, looking away from Merrin uncomfortably, as if he had been called out on something, "anything I should know before going in?"

"Watch out for the ending," Ben said, "we don't know how, but we know they get separated. They shared something special and Kaine didn't do well after losing her partner."

"Good to know. I'll be sure to brace myself for it."

Slowly, Cal reached out and touched the photo. His eyes grew distant as soon as his fingers made contact, as if he had gone somewhere far away. It was an odd thing to experience from the outside, and Rey glanced over at Ben, who nodded slightly; this really was how she had looked every time she had done it before.

It was a moment that seemed to last forever, but Cal finally leaned back, covering his face with his hands. "You weren't kidding when you said that would be intense." When he spoke, his voice was shaking as if he were about to start crying. "They were…force, I don't know where to start."

If Cal, someone much more experienced in Psychometry was still effected this much, Ben was glad that he had insisted on not letting Rey do it after all.

"Why is this so important to you?" Merrin asked, giving Cal more time to get his thoughts in order.

Rey and Ben glanced at each other, wondering how best to explain. "Well…it's important for us to know how they got separated so that we can avoid the same fate."

"You're a Dyad." Cal said, his eyes wide in realization, looking up from his hands at last. "Eir mentioned the friend that had passed was half of a Dyad, but I didn't really understand what that she meant until now – you're just like Kaine and Meru. That would explain what happened the other day."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Cal." Merrin said, placing a hand on Cal's shoulder, as if that was all the explanation that was needed.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that, I get a bit carried away, sometimes. Let me start again, from the beginning."