Maia put all of her concentration into the small floating ball in front of her. She used to be able to do this without thinking about it, but now it took actual effort. She doubted whether or not she could teach Rey if she couldn't do anything herself. Those who can't do, teach. She had once said that about Luke, but he had proved her wrong quickly by beating her in sparring in front of the other apprentices. It had been a humbling moment of her childhood and she hadn't doubted those with expertise since.

She had easily found Rey's hidden stash of Jedi texts and often read them deep into the night. They were boring and old and she disliked them more than she had disliked the way Luke had taught the Jedi code to her. She had an urge to burn them, but she thought Rey would be upset with her if she did.

For now, she would focus on teaching Rey what she knew and improve on what she could in secret.

Rey was learning that Maia was an inconsistent and often capricious master. Meditation could last all day, or five minutes. One time she disappeared for three days and then dropped out of a tree onto Rey as she was walking through the forest around their new base to clear her head. Poe couldn't stop laughing at that story, apparently it was nearly the same way they had met.

Maia refused to pick up a weapon so Rey had to handle that on her own. "It interferes with the music." Was Maia's only defense for herself on this topic. She also refused to talk about her time at the Jedi Temple, or Ben Solo. She talked about Luke in passing but never in detail.

Maia hit her in the back with a stick, "Why can't you concentrate today?"

"There is so much going on and you have me just sitting here feeling the force!" Rey exclaimed.

"You are trying to control everything too much! You need to learn to let go." She made a wide sweeping movement with her arms.

Rey copied the movement badly, "I don't know what this means."

"What is really bothering you?"

Rey took a moment and collected herself, "You knew Ben Solo before he became Kylo Ren. I know you don't like to talk about it, but I want to know what he was like."

"It's no use dwelling on the past Rey. Ben Solo is dead, we need to move on."

"He said the same thing, letting go of the past. Did he get that from you?"

Maia fidgeted with a ring on her right hand, a tick of hers Rey now associated with her thoughts going off track and into the realm of the impossible.

"He was a prince, and I was a lowly pauper in his light. But he was sad, he never quite fit in, but neither did I really. He was powerful and that set him apart. I was weird and bad at most things and that set me apart. But I was never sad. Everything was. . . golden, that's how I remember it. I was golden and whole in those years. Ben was. . . blue, but a dark blue, the sky on the edge, just before it gives up to the night. But he was so strong, none of that mattered. He was always nice to me when others weren't. He listened when I would rant against the Jedi code, I always thought the restrictions were silly. But the Force, I understood that. The music of balance, sweet and complete. The light and dark were always dancing, push and pull, fast and slow. No one else seemed to hear it. Ben did, a little. But not like me." She was silent for a long time, lost in her thoughts.

"Maia?"

She snapped out of it, "Sorry, it's hard to remember sometimes."

"I understand." Rey found it hard to remember her parents, knowing that they had just thrown her away. It was a pain she would always carry with her.

"I feel it too."

Rey looked up, alarmed, but it was just Maia. Her eyes were soft and she reached out and squeezed her hand softly, "It's what we do with our pain that makes us who we are, what makes you different from him. His pain defines him, but you can defy yours. Talk about it, if you want, it will help."

"Do you talk about yours?"

"Not in so many words. Or at least words you can understand." Maia chuckled a little at herself and Rey smiled. Even though her life was complicated and dangerous, Maia did help her feel safe and wanted here in the Resistance.

Their new base was an old Rebellion base, abandoned long before even Leia had been active against the Empire. They all struggled to get the base operational. The Black Squadron came back from the far reaches of the galaxy Poe had sent them. A few other ragged members of the Resistance limped their way to safety from their hiding places and secret missions.

Maia was very glad her mechanic friend Tel Ban'wa was back. Tel and Maia came from the same trading station on Teranai 5 in the mid rim. They were often found joking around in their native language that only they (and C-3PO) spoke. Tel had left the Resistance briefly because of the death of his mother to go home. He had apologized profusely to the General that he hadn't responded to the distress call, but he didn't have a ship and couldn't have gotten off Teranai 5 to help. He was forgiven, of course, and put back to work on the few ships they had left.

Poe was grounded until he could get a working X-Wing. "How does it look?" He called up to the Teranain mechanic.

Tel was fidling around in the cockpit of an old X-wing, several models out of date with his old fighter. "They don't make them like this anymore Dameron, she'll fly just fine." Tel jumped out and dusted himself off.

"How is you family?"

"Just fine. It was, strange, going back. There's a lot you forget about home while you're out in the galaxy."

He looked around the nearly empty hanger, "Did you manage to ask around about Maia at all?"

Tel nodded, "I asked around town if anyone knew her back when she lived there. A kid I grew up with says he remembers a girl from the streets named Maia, matches her description. She was a bastard kid, no last name. He remembers her running around and being the best pickpocket in the station. The gangs and child collectors didn't mess with her for some reason."

"Anything else?"

"She just disappeared one day. No one saw her again, most people thought her mother had killed her, or sold her for money. It's not unusual."

That left a bad taste in his mouth, "Is her mother still around?"

"Don't know, didn't ask. Probably not."

"Thanks." He patted the mechanic on the shoulder.

Tel surprised him and grabbed his arm, "Don't tell her you know anything about this. I don't think she'd like it."

"She's different Tel, maybe it wouldn't bother her so much anymore."

He shook his head, "She lived on the streets in Teranai City, no one wants to remember that, I don't care how different she is now. Promise me Dameron."

Poe wanted to promise, he really did. But Maia was being more open with him and he just didn't think he could keep it a secret from her if it came up. He was about to say something when they were interrupted by a bang.

Finn stormed into the hanger, clutching at a tool with white knuckles, muttering to himself. "Everything okay?" Poe asked him

Finn walked over to them, "Yeah, fine, of course. The water system is malfunctioning and the pressure system need addressed. A thousand things are wrong in this old place and Rose and I can only do so much."

"Icangiveyouahand." Tel blurted out, then cleared his throat, "I mean, I'm a mechanic, I'm sure I can be of some use in maintenance."

Poe was about to protest and say that the ships were a priority, but he knew that the base operations were more important at this moment. And he had never heard Tel talk faster than a slow drawl so hearing him blurt words like that was definitely new and interesting. He nodded and patted the shorter man on the shoulder again, "Don't have too much fun in maintenance, we still need you to fix ships too."

The two turned to go and Poe remembered something. "Oh wait, Tel, Maia yelled something at me, I don't know what it means. Balta?"

He made a confused face, "Balta? What was the context?"

"Maia yelled it at me angrily, about herself."

"It means perfect?" Tel seemed unsure of his answer.

"Really?"

"Or 'pleasant cloud shape' it depends on the context."

Poe had a feeling he knew which context Maia meant.

Nightly gatherings became a thing with the Resistance members on base. They went old school and gathered around a fire just outside the hanger. Tel had brought a small stringed instrument back with him from the planet. He played mostly idly, not really caring if anyone was listening. He took the time at night to practice songs that were not very consistent in quality, but Maia seemed to enjoy them at least.

"You are terrible at this." Maia said after the second time Poe stepped on her foot.

"They didn't teach dancing at the Academy."

"Yes, all of your talents lie in your hands." She said dryly, with just the barest hint of teasing and his brain stopped working for a moment. She stepped away from him and offered out her hand, "Rey dance with me."

"Oh, I've never-"

"I'm not asking." Rey got up and stood in front of her. Maia placed her hands, "Just follow me."

But Rey was stiff and kept trying to lead her.

"Stop fighting me. You're gripping my hand like you might die. Relax, feel the music, stop controlling everything."

Rey loosened her grip and tried to relax. She followed Maia's movements, stepping forward when she stepped back and vice versa, "I'm getting the hang of it."

"Use the force."

"What?"

"Trust me, trust the force." Maia changed the steps and Rey kept up with her. Maia twirled Rey, dipped her and brought her back up. They separated and came back together effortlessly. Rey realized they weren't dancing, they were doing a set of movements in perfect sync. Rey let the Force guide her body in time with the music, and just for a moment, she felt what Maia had been talking about earlier. Letting go of herself, she could feel the Force working around her, not just existing between everything as she had felt before. They stopped, palms facing each other, almost touching.

Maia was beaming, "Letting go isn't that hard."

Rey laughed and threw her arms around Maia and they hugged, to everyone's confusion.

"Can someone explain what that was?" Finn asked.

"Force stuff." Maia moved to take her seat.

Poe stood up, "Well now that I've been shown up by someone who has literally never danced before, I'm willing to try again." Poe held out his hand to Maia. BB-8 rolled up to them and beeped, "What do you mean you have the next dance?"

Maia let out a hearty laugh and scooped up the BB unit and twirled him around. BB-8 gave Poe a look that was clearly a tongue sticking out situation. Maia cradled the droid and sung softly to him. Poe grinned at them and everyone exchanged the 'look at this idiot' looks they had been exchanging for weeks. Poe had that dopey grin he only gave Maia, and occasionally BB-8 when he did something clever.

Poe nearly refused to believe everything BB-8 had done on Canto Bight and the Finalizer, and BB-8 was playing dumb much to Finn's frustration. And Maia was playing hard to get with Poe for reasons none of them could fathom. Rey and Rose had tried to get answers from her but only ever got, "mermaids don't love birds" or "he doesn't know how to land."

Poe was a much better partner the second time. He even managed a spin which made her smile, "You are a quick learner."

"I try."

Tel's pace picked up and changed tune. It was earthy and quick, like a steady stream. Maia broke from him and gasped. She rushed to Tel's side and started singing softly in her language. Tel stopped and nudged her a little and she made a face, "It's doesn't sound right translated into basic."

"Give it a go." Tel started up again, his hands moving purposefully on the strings.

"There's a sky underground where the sparrows chase me down
'Cause there's nowhere left for me to go
I'm alone but I'm alive, you can make me dance
But don't make me dive into the
Unknown world below

I've been traveling on this land where my feet don't understand
The red rising ripples of the sea, and
In this place I call home the sky is
Always painted gold with the help of
A brush and a sycamore tree

In the woods, where I sleep, the winds are resting with the deep
Violet flowers singing songs of the tambourine
They sing the songs of grace with their hands over my face
Crying tears that are swallowed by the
Ground so green"

At the end Tel finally joined in and Maia took up a steady clapping and stomping rythym, twirling and checking in with everyone in the circle around the fire.

"Sing to the sky
Sing down low
Singing to myself
Is all I know
Sing to the birds
Sing to the snow
Singing to you
Is all I know"

It was a strange song, but Poe did think it was beautiful, much like Maia herself who seemed to come alive in the firelight. People clapped and gave her small cheers. She gave them a small bow and a shy smile. But a shadow crossed over her face and she suddenly made for the inside of the base, "Goodnight birdies." She waved back at them. Usually he let her go when she acted weird, but it felt different this time.

He jogged after her, "Maia wait, what's up?"

She shook her head and kept walking, "Don't land now Flybird, I just need space."

"Hey." He caught her, "I've found a branch, I'm landing. Talk to me."

She looked around, "The old King is trying to find Rey. He's poking around the Force. It's better if we are separate, we draw less attention that way."

"Why do you call him that?" Rey had told him who she was talking about when she said 'the old King' and he did not like it.

Maia shook her head, "I can't talk about this now." She started walking away again but he kept pace, "Go away."

"He's not looking for me, you don't need to be away from me."

Her mouth quirked up, "you aren't wrong." She stopped, "I forgot, he tortured you. I forget that."

"I wish I could."

She bit her lip, clearly wanting to say something to help him, share something, but deciding not to. "Everything passes in time." She took his hand, "Even the bad things."

"Jedi wisdom?"

"Hopefulness."

They looked at each other for a long moment and he realized he was looking at someone different than the Maia he had known. She was finally getting past whatever trauma had hurt her. She was getting stronger. She was still beautiful to him and he didn't care about the changes so long as she didn't lose her smile or the twinkle in her eyes when she teased him. She had never been confused or lost, just dealing with trauma, and he had never helped her enough. He had treated her like a lost child, and he had been wrong.

"You said, back on the ship, I wanted you to be balta." The word felt wrong in his mouth. "Tel told me what it meant."

"I was angry and confused, why else would I have been talking about clouds?" Poe must have looked surpirsed because she smiled up at him, "Don't worry too much about it Poe."

"I think you are perfect." The words sprouted out of his mouth without warning.

She looked embarrased now, "Oh. Well. Is this a thing we are doing now? Flirting?"

"I like to think of it as honesty." He grinned.

Maia laughed softly. She was still holding his hand, soft and warm in his. His heart was beating loudly in his chest and he was reminded of the first time he kissed someone and how nervous he had felt just before. She looked up at him and he felt it. He was going to do it, he was going to kiss her and it was going to be awesome.

Laughter pulled them out of the moment. He looked down the hall and saw Finn, Rose and Tel approaching quickly. Cursing internally he turned back but Maia had taken the opportunity to slip away and was nowhere to be seen. He should have known she wouldn't stay still for long.

I highly suggest listening to 'Lost boys' by Paper Bird, it's a lovely song.