Chapter Text
Rey stared at the refracted image looking back at her. She bobbed left, then right; squatted and watched her reflection warp into a pudgy caricature of herself. The ice caves on Ilum were all sorts of interesting.
And cold. So indescribably cold.
Sure, it got cold at night in the Jakku desert, but not like this. Not down to the bone, snot-sicles hanging off your lip cold. It’s all right, she thought as she pulled her hood tighter around her head. I’ve got the Force.
Somewhere, from the great beyond, she thought she heard snickering.
She stood at the entrance of the cave and took a sharp, frigid breath and tried to shake off the doubt. The Force. It was telling her there were still crystals on this planet. Ones that could be used in the forging of a new lightsaber. She just had to keep focus on her goal. No distractions, just… straight on ahead. As soon as her toes thawed and got her feet moving again.
“Rey!” a voiced shouted from behind her. A second later, the owner of the voice grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
“Poe!” Rey gasped and pushed against him. “What was that for!”
“I told you not to stand right there,” he said, sounding rather cross. His head jerked upward slightly and she looked to see the razer sharp pikes of ice hanging precariously over the entrance of the cave.
“I’m not one of your pilots, Dameron,” she huffed as she carefully, but quickly stepped through the maw of the cave. A keen eye on the icicles above as Poe followed her in. Though, she did regard the warning, and probably should have remembered he had said it earlier, she still didn’t appreciate his tone. Rey wished Finn had been the one to accompany her to Ilum, but his expertise on the First Order was needed with what was left of the Resistance.
Instead, she got Poe Dameron, whom she thought of just fine, but he was obviously more suited to zipping around in an X-Wing and not tromping through the snow. It seemed they were both a bit out of their element.
“Just slow down,” he called after her once they made it inside the cave. “We don’t know what kind of creatures—”
“The cave’s empty,” she told him. And it was, as far as she could tell. The Force, while not exactly new to her, using it in different ways was. Finding lifeforms came easy to her, however, and she wasn’t feeling any other presence here. Just the two of them, and the resonating crystals deep in this cavern.
At least there was no wind in the cave, it had that much going for it, but the tunnels stretched on forever. Poe kept cracking little light sticks and leaving them on the ground to mark their path. That was clever—perhaps it was a good thing he came with her. He had tried to make some small talk, but Rey told him she needed to focus on the crystals. It was mostly true—she did think that having a conversation with him would be far too distracting. Talking to him reminded her how likable he was, how well his charming personality complimented his pleasant face. Yes—definitely too much of a distraction.
When they finally found the large crystal formation amidst a massive cavern deep inside what must have been a mountain, Rey smiled wide and let out a relieved laugh. Almost as if she didn’t believe they’d find it. She pulled a vibropick from her pack and stepped up to the crystal structure.
“Careful…” Poe warned.
She was tempted to roll her eyes under her hood, but refrained and instead nodded. After trying to get a good angle to cut a shard out, she realized her bulky winter wear was too much of a hindrance. Deciding to risk the cold for just a few minutes of better dexterity, she dumped the large coat and hood and climbed up the jagged surface. Below her, she could hear Poe sucking in air between his teeth. In the Force, she could feel his sudden nervousness, his worry.
“I’ll be quick,” she told him. “Catch me if I fall.”
That in no way assuaged his worry, but he moved closer and held his arms out to brace against her to help her keep her balance.
After just a couple minutes, her fingers were trembling in the cold as she carefully ran the electric edge of the pick around a weak part in the rock. It made a decisive pop as the shard came free from the rest of the formation, causing Rey to flinch back slightly in surprise. But Poe was there, his elbows locking to keep her from falling backwards onto him.
“Got it?” he asked.
“Yeah, help me down.”
Poe took the pick from her and dropped it to the ground before taking her arm and helping her step down the few steps she’d climbed up. He cupped his hands around hers around the crystal and let out a disappointed sound. “Even through my gloves, your hands are frozen. Get your coat back on and I’ll light a fire.”
“Are you always this bossy?” she asked as she pulled her coat and gloves and hat back on as he dug the quick-fire-kit out of his bag.
“Usually.” He grinned at her as he got the fire going. Soon, there was a little orange and red spark of warmth with ribbons of smoke rising high up into the cavern.
Rey scooted closer to the small fire and held her hands out over it, the crystal tucked safely away in her pocket. She could feel the beats of the Force resonating in it. It seemed to be humming with a life all its own now. Or perhaps it was reacting to the new Force signatures in its presence. It was all very complicated.
“Are you okay?” Poe asked. “You got a funny look on your face.”
Rey looked over at him and frowned, then stuck out her tongue. She’d give him a funny look. “Just thinking,” she said after a moment. “And cold.”
Poe chuckled and scooted slightly towards her. “Probably be warmer if we, you know, share body heat.”
Rey raised an eyebrow at him and for just a second she was sure she caught him a little flustered, but he shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. “We can, if you’re cold.”
“I mean, it is cold, but it’s up to you.”
With a shake of her head, she scooted the rest of the way next to him until they were shoulder to shoulder. She squeezed in as close as she could, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. “It is freezing,” she said through nearly-chattering teeth.
“I think space is warmer than this planet.”
They huddled together in the ice cave and it was just a bit warmer. A very, very small bit.