Sage.
She shifted in her sleep, rolling over and hugging her pillow tighter to her, ignoring the distant prod at her mind. Somewhere in her subconscious, she briefly wondered who spoke her name or if it was, in fact, just a wordless call to her spirit through the Force. She was in the groggy in-between plane of sleeping and awake where she was willing herself to return to slumber but struggling tremendously to do so. However, after she lay there for a moment, she registered the warmth spilling over her legs.
Her eyes shot open and she instantly flipping onto her back, forgoing her pillow as she gazed at the circular window across the room carved into rock face, the panes heated with the sunlight that was filtering into the room.
It wasn't the gentle glow of dawn, either, as she would have suspected, but the harsh brightness of the later hours of the day.
Silently scolding herself, she threw herself from her bed, sheets and blankets being flung aside as she did so, before she was yanking clothes on for the day, clipping her belt in place and jerking her boots over her feet. Just as she was about to dash out of her room, she called her lightsaber from where it rested on the small bedside table near the small lamp she kept there and as soon as it was in her palm, she was clipping it into her belt and dashing down the long hall, passed the number of empty rooms and antechambers.
She felt her mind vaguely warn her that her Master was outside and she paused for a moment to wait for the electronic door to open at the entrance to the dwelling.
How did I oversleep? She asked herself when the door hissed open so that she could step outside. I haven't overslept since I was a child.
And it was true. For the longest time, since she'd begun to learn from Master Luke, it was almost as if the Force itself was the one who woke her each day, who gently roused her from sleep.
Her senses were especially sharpened during the night, she had come to understand years ago. That the Force seemed to flow so easily through her during the dark, quiet hours of the day, when all around her was at rest. When she felt it the strongest. And she'd come to rely on the Force as an extra sense of awareness as she slept, an extra part of her that remained alert while the rest was dormant. And never once had it failed to wake her when she was needed.
Until now.
Allowing her eyes to sweep across the field out front, she found that the Jedi Master was in the shallow cave across the way that served as a sort of a garage for him to tinker in when he had less pressing matters at hand.
He no doubt felt her urgency far before she had even left the house yet he was at ease as he sat on the worn stone ledge that served as a fine bench, the shell of a seeker droid in his lap.
She began to jog towards him and he didn't even bother to look up as he heard her approach. Pursing her lips softly, she slowed and continued towards him at a brisk walk, feeling all the world defeated.
If this was how the first day of her tutelage was going to go, Sage cared not to think of what the rest entailed.
"Master…" She said quietly as she came into the small garage to stand before him. Her eyes were forlorn as they lingered on her boots. She dared to only briefly reach out through her bond with him and was even more confused when she was perfectly content with what he was doing and that he felt no annoyance towards her.
If anything, he felt satisfied.
"I've overslept." She admitted, sinking down to her knees with embarrassment before him, the stone flooring digging into her skin through her pants.
To her amazement, he briefly looked up at her and smiled, "Indeed you did."
"I apologize, Master."
"There is nothing to be forgiven." He told her, gritting his teeth momentarily as he strained to remove a bolt with a tool. "I made sure that you overslept."
"What?" She whispered, her brow furrowing softly.
"You were tired, Sage." He continued to focus on his work, having dislodged the first bolt and began working on another. "Your Master, though, old as he is, knows these things, even without the Force. You've not been sleeping well and that is something you cannot hide from me." She looked up at him briefly, for a moment, suddenly so aware of how tired she was as if he was purposefully reflecting her own fatigue back on her. "So, I may have intervened, pushed your mind a little deeper into a Force-enhanced sleep and let you be."
"And Rey?" The young Jedi asked quietly, taking note of the absence of the girl.
"She herself was exhausted. She's been through a lot recently and deserved a full day of rest after what she has endured." Turning her head slightly back towards the dwelling, she reached out and could feel the rolling flux of sleep as it lingered around the slumbering girl, her mind at peace and life-energy burning a little brighter.
It was easy to slip into her mind, especially now that she was sleeping. There was very little resistance as Sage gently pushed her way in and was nearly overwhelmed by the raw exhaustion that seemed to radiate from her very being.
A shuddering breath escaped the blonde's lips as she fell back into her own body, "It feels like she's never had a restful night of sleep in her entire life."
Luke just hummed in agreement, "I did the same with the both of you after deciding last night that I should dismiss your first day of training so that the two of you were well rested." He mused, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the circuitry in the droid. "It's no use wearing down a stone's surface if it's already smooth."
Truth be told, Sage did feel more rested than she had in a long while and was grateful for the extra sleep he had allowed her. "Thank you, Master Luke."
"I've not spent nearly twenty years raising you to have you suddenly waisting away on me now." He teased lightly, eliciting a crooked grin from the young Knight.
For a moment, they were quiet and she rose from her place, dusting her pants off as she went. She took a seat on top of a nearby fuel canister, content herself in the workshop.
This place was different from the Jedi dwelling; more open and carefree, less adherent to the rules. Sage had always suspected that this side of her Master, the one that loved to take things apart and put them back together, was one of the only pieces left of him from his life before he learned the ways of the Force. And she was almost certain that it was something that would always remain no matter what became of him; it was undying and resolute in its nature.
Her Master was exceptional when it came to fixing things of all matters but she knew, without a doubt, that his greatest triumph was that he had fixed her. Repaired her. Made her whole again after she was ruthlessly shattered, left a broken mess after the massacre. And for that, she was grateful.
He'd done what he could, picked up the fragments of her and put her back together with help from the Force. However, there was always something missing, a piece forgotten in the past, leaving a hole open and gaping inside her. Perhaps that segment was better left in the past where it could no longer do any harm.
"So, what do we do now?"
"We wait until she grows tired of sleeping. Until then…" He held up the shell of the old combat remote.
"Is that one number three?" She asked, her nose wrinkling slightly.
He glowered over at her and she grinned in turn, "It's telling that you already know."
"I fear that it's permanently malfunctioned. Perhaps a mistake during manufacturing." She wondered for a moment, bringing her legs up and crossing them before her. "Number three has had it out for me for the longest of times. It's more trouble than it's worth; a lost cause, Master. I'll pick up a replacement next time I run to the market."
"I don't think that will be necessary…" He picked up the innards of the machine and prodded at the insides for a brief moment. "I think I've sorted out the problem. It should be fixed now."
"I have my faith in you, Master." She teased, taking note of the case where the other four bots lay dormant, waiting for the time they would be needed once more.
Clicking the shell back into place and securing the bolts once more, he tossed it towards her, without looking, and she casually caught it, without looking either. She placed it into the case with the others and shut the lid for their transport before she took it into her arms.
"You're going to go train then?" He observed as she wove about the shop while he himself rummaged around in a bin of scrap pieces for a beat.
"I slept for the better part of the day," She stated, throwing him a smirk over her shoulder, "I have all the energy in the world now. I'm restless and have nothing better to do."
"By all means, you have my blessing, Padawan." He teased her, his robotic hand raising to point one stern finger at her. "But you best not break anything."
"I shall try my best not to."
He opened his mouth to mildly scold her but never got the chance, given that she was already gone.
Rey groaned and ground the heel of her palm into her eye as she emerged from the depths of the dark dwelling, yawning and wondering what time it actually was on Ahch-To. The sun filter had been drawn over the window in her room and she found that she didn't care enough to try and mess with it.
She could feel a pull outside deep within her person, something beckoning her that lay beyond the confines of the Jedi dwellings, most of which had been carved into the craggy mountain stone and traveled she knew not how far into the ground.
Still, she followed the subconscious tug and quietly made her way out and through the numerous chambers, down the long hallway, passed a number of doors and stairwells that traveled both up and down. Passed the wide doors of the dinning hall, the only noise in entire place seeming to be the quiet hum of a power generator and the mechanical sounds of an archaic COO cook droid as it slowly but surely mulled about the small kitchen attached to the mess hall.
The door to the outside was already open, allowing cool, fresh air into the dwelling for the time being.
She winced at the brightness of the light, not having expected that it was so late in the afternoon when she woke. Raising a hand in an attempt to lessen the severity of the sunlight, her eyes burned for a brief moment as they struggled to adjust.
Allowing her head to swivel, Rey was suddenly distracted by a lone figure crouching in the open field to the left of the entrance and, if hair color was anything to go by, she determined that, without a doubt, it was Sage.
This was where the tug was coming from, she decided, so the brunette allowed her curiosity to peak as she made her way over.
She was about to speak, to call out a greeting to the older girl when she detected a second presence just to her left and found that Master Luke Skywalker himself leaned against the craggy stone face, arms crossed over his chest as he gazed at his student.
For a moment, he tore his eyes away from his apprentice and beckoned Rey over with a small nod of his head towards the Knight as he once more focused his attention on her. Taking this as a sign to observe, she took a few steps closer to the man so that she could stand near him. Her own hazel eyes flickered to the blonde before moving back to the Master.
"What's she-"
He cut her off with a raise of his hand, not bothering to look at the young scavenger, "You will see."
Frowning softly, she turned back to look at the female Jedi who still continued to sit quietly, kneeling on the ground with her head bowed and hands in her lap, her eyes closed, five orbs resting on the ground around her in the formation of a star. Before her, the silver and black cylinder of her lightsaber floated effortlessly, the hilt turning and rotating as it lingered suspended there.
There was another minute or two of silence, the only sound around them the distant crash of waves agains the shore and the wind as it blew across the planet's surface.
Suddenly, the orbs were rising in unison and began to rotate and erratically shift in elevation as they began to warm up and start their programmed sequence. Then, all at once, Sage's eyes were bursting open and she was snatching her lightsaber out of the air as she shot to her feet.
The piercing cry of her saber filled the air as three of the hovering seeker bots began to fire and each of their shots were easily deflected by the beam of turquoise light that jutted from the silver hilt.
Rey was immediately enthralled as she watched the other girl as she twisted and spun the blade around her, her face stoney with determination. Her actions looked almost effortless as she offhandedly blocked a number of shots that were fired at her back without even having to look.
Not a single shot broke through Sage's defense as she continued onward, spinning and parrying the blaster bolts.
She was making her way towards the edge of the circle she was trapped in, eyes focusing on one of the hovering Marksman bots. She was leaping through the air then, her saber still easily blocking the bolts aimed at her even as she twisted through space for a moment before she slashed twice.
In an instant, two of the droids fell to the ground, smoking slightly but nonetheless intact.
Rey wondered about that for a moment, where there settings on a lightsaber? Like stun or a milder setting for training while there also lay a separate, lethal option for field work? She'd have to inquire about that later but for now, all she did was observe.
How she moved was like a dance; graceful and effortless. It was like one, continuous twisting movement and it appeared as though no end was in sight.
However, all of a sudden there was a flash and the hiss as the lightsaber struck another seeker droid and it went tumbling to the ground like the others.
Finally, there was a moment of pause, the two remaining droids simply circling for a moment as their internal workings reconfigured a random attack pattern now that their numbers were shaved down.
Sage waited patiently, her wrist easily twisting the saber in her palm as she stood idly by. Inhaling deeply through her nose, she allowed her eyes to fall shut and even from where she stood, Rey could feel the swell of some invisible energy seemingly pulsing off the blonde.
It was the Force, she knew.
There was really no other explanation otherwise.
All at once, the droids were starting up once more, pulling the young pilot from her thoughts. They fired simultaneously and without having to open her eyes, the Knight did a back flip high over the droid behind her, twisting through the air while swatting away another bolt shot towards her even while she sailed through the air.
When she landed, she was immediately assaulted with another long string of shots but easily deflected them, her eyes burning with intensity suddenly as she locked her jaw and hardened her gaze.
She started advancing then, the two droids hovering in the air a distance away. They continued their string of attacks but Sage didn't seem to be fazed and instead continued to reflect their shots elsewhere as she ran towards them until she was within an arm's reach of the last two Marksman droids.
Despite using her lightsaber to defend herself at such close proximity, she also had to evade the blasts, ducking and weaving, for a few long moments before she sensed an opening.
With one final flick of her wrist upwards and then an effortless twist to her right, the two final seekers dropped to the ground, their fall cushioned by the grass.
Sage remained poised for a moment, her saber still humming quietly in the air before it sheathed itself with a hiss and a click. It was then that she straightened, her fingers skillfully twisting the silver canister as she clipped it into her belt.
Rey could only stand there stunned for a moment. She briefly glanced at the Jedi Master who was looking at the blonde with a quiet sense of pride in his eyes, the older man not having moved a muscle the entire time she was sparring.
Nonetheless, the brunette still quietly clapped her hands, a bright smile blooming onto her face, her own hazel eyes sparkling with amazement. She'd never seen anything so captivating before.
She wanted to see more.
The blonde glanced over at them, having known that she'd had an audience the entire time. She began to walk towards them.
What stunned the scavenger the most, though, was that Sage hardly even looked tired. Maybe she was breathing a tab bit heavier than normal and her cheeks were a little pinker from exertion but still, there was not a single drop of sweat upon her brow. No doubt years of training in the ways of the Jedi had conditioned her body for such exertion.
"Wow! That was so… fantastic!" The brunette said out loud, the bewilderment and wonder still evident in her eyes. "How did you do that?"
Sage flashed a look at her Master for a moment as she continued towards them. "With enough training and practice, you can accomplish anything." Coming to stand before them, she casually propped her leg up on a boulder. The young Knight was still for a moment, looking at her hand as the fingers on her opposing one picked at the other. Taking a steadying breath, one that was audible to both observers, she briefly looked at Luke before returning her gaze to Rey. "One day, I will teach you."
The younger girl stared dumbfounded at her for a moment. It took her mind a few beats to register what she had said and to contemplate the words before the hope that had nearly been crushed entirely once more sparked back into a near consuming inferno.
"You'll-You'll teach me?!" She chocked out, eyes wide as she first looked to the woman and then to the man beside her. "Is that what-You said you'll teach me?" She stuttered out.
"Yes, that was what I said." There was an amused ripple that suddenly filtered into the air around them and reflected in the blue eyes of the Knight.
Rey couldn't help it when she bounced on her toes and grinned, a tiny squeal of joy coming from between her teeth.
"You are a little old to begin your training…" She turned to face him when Luke spoke, the hope inside churning for a moment with uncertainty but he continued, "However, that does not mean that we will not take you on as our student. We will try our best to help you develop and hone your connection to the Force if you are willing to work hard."
"The journey ahead and the path laid out before you is a difficult one," It was now Sage who spoke up, all amusement and mirth melting from her face and it was replaced with an eerie seriousness. "Are you prepared to accepted this challenge?"
Rey looked back at the older man before her, "I am, sir."
"Do not look to me…" The Jedi corrected her, his hand briefly resting on his chest before he turned his gaze to the blonde woman beside them, "I will help teach you the ways of the Jedi but Sage will truly be your Master and bare the brunt of your tutelage."
The scavenger looked at the other woman, her eyes glancing over her form for a brief moment. Last night, if she had been given such an offer, Rey might have been more wary of the circumstances. She had wanted Luke Skywalker to train her and there was a tiny part of her that still wished that.
However, after the marvelous display a few minutes ago, Rey started to adopt the idea that perhaps, she would prefer the lady Knight.
"Rey-" Sage never got a chance to speak before her lightsaber was drawn, ignited, and was slicing through the air twice, a flash of red being knocked away while the squeal of the saber blade filled the air as it sliced through an object.
The brunette jumped back in surprise, her hands connecting with the stone wall behind her.
A Marksman droid lay spliced down the middle, the edges of the cut still burning orange with heat as it sizzled quietly on the ground around the older girl's feet. Still holding her defensive stance, Sage raised her head and stood up straight, only to shoot a look of annoyance towards Luke.
The turquoise blade shrank back into the hilt and she used it to point at her Master, "I told you number three was after me."
The man pursed his lips, looking unimpressed with her actions, "Was that entirely necessary?"
"I'll pick up a new one next time I'm in the market." She promised, placing her weapon away once more before she looked at the younger female, "Where were we at again?" She looked thoughtful for a moment before she remembered their previous conversation, "Ah, yes. I'm going to train you."
Rey nodded numbly.
"Master, can I request a moment alone with her?" Luke nodded after a moment and tucked his hands into the sleeves of his old cloak before he walked along the stone wall and disappeared around the corner.
The younger girl looked at Sage and the blonde jerked her head to the side in a silent gesture to follow her.
The two began to walk then, Rey's arms hugged around her own body due to the unfamiliar sea breeze that carried with it a substantial chill. The Knight simply walked with her hands clasped behind her back looking all the world content.
"The life of the Jedi is not a simple one," The older girl began as they continued forward, her voice soft as she allowed her eyes to linger over the distant landscapes, "One where both your mind and body is worked to the brink of exhaustion nearly everyday." She glanced at her younger companion, "Do you wish to live a life like that?"
"You're still here, aren't you?" Rey said quietly, her hazel eyes holding the serene blue pools.
The young Jedi stops for a moment, her eyes growing distant for a beat before her lips twitch with the beginnings of a smile, "This is all I've known my entire life." She said softly, "There has never been anything else but the Jedi way for me."
The scavenger simply looked at her for a moment and how there was a brief tremor in the air around them as a sadness flickered over her companion's face.
"For as long as I can possibly remember, every single day in my life has been a struggle." Rey admitted into the silence surrounding them. "Each day, I labored for food and water. There were nights where I went to bed hungry. The only hope I ever held was that one day, I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore, that my future would be brighter than my past. I came here hoping that the Jedi could grant me this dream."
Again, it was quiet for a moment, the only sound the turbulent winds that caused their stray hairs to whip wildly around their faces.
"You truly wish to accept a life like my own?"
"I do…" Rey looked at the back of the woman's head, her lips twitching slightly as an idea sparked in her mind, "…Master."
Sage was quiet for a long moment, allowing the younger girl's words to sink more fully into her person. For a moment, the brunette was nervous, thinking perhaps she had overstepped a boundary, pushed too far beyond an undisclosed limit. However, she felt relief a moment later as the Knight faced her and she was rewarded with a strange twinkle in the blues of her irises while one corner of her mouth pulled upwards in amusement.
"It will take some getting used to, having you call me Master." She mused, continuing to hold Rey's eyes. "But, I suppose with time, it could come to grow on me. Come along, my Padawan."
A strange warmth swept over her briefly, one full of a new tenderness and devotion that flooded the forefront of her mind. It wrapped around her as if she were being entirely embraced and when the fleeting touch receded, Rey felt a strange sense of calm settle in the very core of her being. A calm that she'd felt as though she'd experienced once before so long ago, hidden in the deep recesses and shadowed corners of her memories.
She felt like she was loved, like she was needed; appreciated. Like she was an important apart of something bigger than herself. She felt like nothing could touch her, like she was safe and protected; shrouded under the watchful gaze of an unconquerable guardian. It put her mind at ease.
Rey felt like she was home.
Thanks to all who have reviewed and followed/favorited this story.
Keep in mind that this is sort of a slow burn/slow build fic. It's going to take awhile to get rolling but I feel the need to establish Sage further into the story. There's this driving need to develop her relationship further with the Force but I promise, there will be some Kylo in the next chapter.
YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO, READ AND REVIEW!
Love,
Blue