Closed to morally_cryptic

[talentedscavenger]

Rey had experienced a whirlwind of events from locating Luke Skywalker's lightsaber to being pulled through time to meet the person who started it all; Anakin. The man was her grandfather, someone who was the 'chosen one' to bring balance to the Force. If that wasn't enough, she learned of her own powers and had to be trained to use them. It was an interesting time, spending weeks learning about the man and studying under him. They developed a friendship, a strange bond between two adults who happened to be generations apart. As much as she enjoyed her time with him, she was thrust back to her present time.

Anakin was right, it was like she never left. Everyone was still at the Cantina, looking for her. The First Order arrived...it was chaos.

But that was then, and this was now. She found out about Kylo Ren and the man he idolized so much. It pained her, no, angered her to know the same person she met had turned to the Dark Side. Rey kept her mouth shut to her cousin, managing to use the Force to keep him out of her mind and push him back. Now, she had a target on her back. The events didn't go well from there, losing her friend and semi-father figure, Han.

Now she was on a quest to find Luke. The man who could or could not be father. She didn't know how many children Anakin had, though she still remembered those strong Force visions of two children. Chewie and her managed to land the Falcon on the right planet, now she had to make the journey to find the Jedi. At least the time to herself would let her deal with her emotions. She was conflicted, angry, and hurt. From losing a friend to learning some of the truth about her grandfather...it was disheartening.

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[morally_cryptic]

Anakin hadn't been precisely sleeping well himself though his dreams were more a jumble of images, flashes of blood and fire and then a suffocating blackness he can't pull himself out of. Rey's agitated presence outside his door, though in his dream-muddled state he doesn't recognize as her. So he takes his lightsaber with him when he approaches the door. "I'm not a fan of lurkers," he growls as the door opens, "get the hell out."

Only then does he realize who it is and he goes a little wide-eyed.

"Kriff."

Hopefully she doesn't overly mind seeing her brother half-dressed.

[talentedscavenger]

Dreaming about her own brother attacking her and then picking up his lightsaber and growling at her, didn't help. Fear ran through her. Fear for her life, thinking her brother would really harm her. There was a part of her that wanted to run, but she didn't. regardless of what state of dress he was in, Rey just reacted.

Without thinking, she was able to tap into the Force, thrusting her hand out to push Anakin away from her.

[morally_cryptic]

Expecting nothing of the sort from her, Anakin doesn't have a chance to brace himself against her push and goes tumbling backward, landing sprawled against some crates he'd pushed up against the wall of his quarters.

"What the hell, Rey?" he snaps as he shoves himself to his feet, gesturing toward her lightsaber (thankfully still unlit) in hand. "What are you doing?"

[talentedscavenger]

Watching Anakin being pushed back by her is enough to jostle Rey out of her stupor. She doesn't know what to think. She's distressed, but doing her best to stay grounded. If she started to freak out, she might be dead. The mindset she had from Jakku was returning, taking a step back from her spot to stare at Anakin.

"I don't know! I thought you were going to kill me and I reacted!" At least she wasn't trying to run, at least she was standing her ground. Though if Anakin looked at her, he'd see how pale she was from her nightmare. She took a deep breath and looked away from him.

"That look in your eyes said you were going to kill me..."

[morally_cryptic]

Rubbing the back of his head with his left hand he lowers the one holding his lightsaber. "I give Obi-Wan that look when he wakes me up in the middle of the night, too," he mutters.

Then he frowns slightly as what she says kind of sinks in, "why would you think I would kill you?"

[talentedscavenger]

His muttering was easy for her to hear, but it didn't help with her nerves. She brought her hand up to push back her bangs, matted down with sweat.

"That look in your eyes, it looked the same in my dream. We were fighting, and you..." she took a deep breath, finding herself getting emotional, feeling like she was about ready to lose him. She forced herself to keep herself focused on the present, not what ran through her mind.

"You wanted me to turn to the Dark Side. You wanted me to be at your side, and when I didn't..you used the Force to choke me."

[morally_cryptic]

He stares at her a long moment, unsure of what to say to that. It might be easy to laugh off with a oh come on I'd never turn to the Dark Side if he didn't have the uneasy feeling he'd seen something similar in his own dreams. Maybe it was just bleed-over from hers.

That didn't mean it wasn't disturbing.

Carefully, he sets his lightsaber down on one of the crates and opens his hands in a gesture of peace. "I have absolutely no intention of turning to the Dark Side and I certainly have no plans to choke you with the Force or otherwise." He smiles slightly, to lighten the atmosphere around them and this smile unlike the one in her dreams shows genuine affection, "even when you annoy the hell out of me."

[talentedscavenger]

It would beg to question why Rey was having dreams that were bleeding over to him. Or how she was able to tap into the Force if she felt threaten or scared. For now, all Rey could do was stare at her brother, her twin and tell herself he was there. He wasn't a demon in the dark that was trying to kill her.

She doesn't calm down until his lightsaber is away from his person. Now on a crate and not in his hand, ready to try and stab one end of it into her. She looks at his hands then back to him, noting how his smile is actually real. Not just the ghost of one and his eyes are kinder, not ready to inflict violence.

Still shaken from her nightmare, she took a few steps towards him until she was embracing him again, hugging him, and letting her heart beat fall in sync with his. She didn't take to the joke, only holding her brother and trying to shake the nightmare from her mind.

"...you did though. You choked me in my dream and it felt as real as anything else.

[morally_cryptic]

"I didn't," he assures her quietly as he wraps his arms around her tight, "that wasn't me. It was just a dream." He'd always hated it when Obi-Wan would tell him something was just a dream when he knew it was more than that but in this case...

...well in this case he refuses to believe Rey's dream is anything more than just a dream. "You're safe. I would never hurt you, Rey. Never."

[talentedscavenger]

There a silent nod of her head, blinking back tears that began to prick at the corners of her eyes. The dream felt so real. She wanted to believe the dream was nothing more than a nightmare, a figment in her imagination. Yet, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head that she tried to silence. A voice that was telling her she wouldn't have dreamed it if it wasn't a possibility.

"...I'm sorry..." she finds herself saying. Sorry for waking him up, for pushing him, for doubting him. Maybe, even for annoying him.

"I wouldn't hurt you either...I couldn't bring myself to do it." To fight, to harm or kill him.

[morally_cryptic]

He chuckles, deep in his chest, "tell that to my head. You threw me pretty hard there."

Then, "...huh. Guess you can't argue the Force thing anymore."

She kind of didn't have an excuse now.

[talentedscavenger]

Rey had been referring to her dream, but realized she did push her brother away from her. She pulled back, only slightly to look at him with wide, concern hazel eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I just reacted, I didn't mean to." Urgh, she didn't want to harm him. Did she need to look at his head to make sure he wasn't bleeding?

As for the Force, she bowed her head slightly.

"No, I can't but....too old, remember? Doubtful the council will say what I just did was nothing more than a fluke."

[morally_cryptic]

His expression wry, he tips her chin up so she's looking at him again. "Too old for the Jedi Order's version of training, maybe, but that doesn't change you need to learn control. I can take it, but Force forbid you get taken off guard by someone who can't defend themselves from it."

[talentedscavenger]

"And if I just...choose not to rely on the Force?" Maybe it was a fluke, maybe she was just reacting because she was scared. No one else had been able to scar her like he had.

"Unless you plan on teaching me. I don't want to annoy any more than necessary."

[morally_cryptic]

"You can try. But you've already used it, even if you don't think you have." In some ways, it was impossible for someone as Force sensitive as they were to just not tap into it at all. So much could be done subconsciously, after all.

"And you're going to hold that comment against me forever, aren't you?" he asks ruefully. "I'm probably not a very good teacher though. They'd be crazy to give me a padawan."

[talentedscavenger]

"No...not forever. I only bring it up because you did." Because even though she did annoy him as his little sister, he wouldn't harm her. He wouldn't turn to the Dark Side. He wouldn't hurt her.

There was a soft sigh, finding her brother had a point. She could try to not use the Force, but considering the ability she had....it was best to find a way to control it. Least she accidentally harm someone.

"Well...who else would be able to teach me?"

[morally_cryptic]

"Mmm," he leans back from her in thought, realizes that she's been pressed up against his bare chest and lets her go so he can go tug on a shirt while he thinks. "I mean, any of the Masters are capable, of course but..." would any of them do it? Master Halcyon maybe but he tended to keep to Corellia, given the opportunity. He automatically discards anyone actually on the Council because he can picture their disapproving expressions without even having to put any effort into it. Most of the other Masters he can think of already have students of their own. But one.

"Sithspit," he mutters.

Obi-Wan and Rey did not need to tag team him.

[talentedscavenger]

It didn't hurt per say to have him pull away from her, but it was probably for the best considering all things. Later, she might find it funny that her brother was modest like this, but her mind was still preoccupied with what she just experienced.

The dream--or was it a vision? That plagued her mind.

"Probably not willing to break code," they wouldn't take anyone that wasn't a padawan. Or go against the council's wishes. No, there wasn't much they could do. So either Anakin taught her--! Or he came up with a different idea.

"What?"

[morally_cryptic]

"Nothing," he says evasively, "he probably wouldn't want to do it anyway."

He sits down on the edge of his bed and waves her over to sit as well if she feels so inclined. "Since we're both awake now, you want some breakfast?" Just changing the subject here....

[talentedscavenger]

Rey knits her eyebrows, picking up on his sudden evasiveness. She moves to sit next to him and shakes her head at him at the offer of food. It still had to be in the middle of the night. No point in waking up anyone to go to the kitchens again.

"Not hungry, just..." she searched her feelings, trying to pinpoint the right word for it.

"Exhausted...I want to go back to sleep, but I don't think I can." she nudged her leg at his, trying to get him back on the subject.

"So...am I going to call you master, or will that inflate your ego too much?"

[morally_cryptic]

He nudges her back with his knee and makes a face, "as tempting as that is, I just keep hearing you say it in this sarcastic tone of voice and it takes all the fun out of it. Guess we could see if the Creche Master wants to take you on. I mean...you'll have to start at the beginning, anyway."

At least if they can tease each other they can take the edge off her dream.

[talentedscavenger]

"Me? Sarcastic?" There was a bit of sarcasm in her voice then, not as strong as it could have been, but it was there. Albeit, weak, but it was there. She could appreciate him trying to help cheer her up.

"You're assuming they'll go along with it--and if.." she stifled a yawn. "If the council finds out, they'll throw me out." Granted, she was planning on leaving, but that was besides the point.

Her leg nudged his again, averting her gaze from him once more. "...Have you ever had a dream like that before? So strong, it made you think it was happening?"

[morally_cryptic]

"If the Council throws you out I'm just going to have to have words with them," he says grimly.

Good thing it's fairly dark in his room, she doesn't have to see how his expression stays grim. "Once or twice. Never anything good." Why couldn't he have pleasant visions about Padme Amidala, for instance? "Doesn't mean they weren't still just dreams."

Except for the ones he'd had about Shmi. She doesn't need to know about those.

[talentedscavenger]

The grim tone of her voice makes Rey stiffen, not needing to see his face to know how he looked. The grim tone brought her back to her dream again. She found herself reaching out to rest her hand on top of Anakin's, just as a way to anchor herself and to remind herself that he was there. He was the same Anakin who found her, and the same one who annoyed and cared for her.

"You'll have more than words..." she says softly, squeezing his hand as a way to comfort her and him.

"How do you know? How do you it's only a dream and...a glimpse into what could be?"

[morally_cryptic]

He sighs at that question and shakes his head slightly. "It's...hard to explain since you don't really know that much about the Force." Which is kind of a cop-out but by damn he's going to use it.

"And there are things that might be but that doesn't mean they'll actually happen." He hates that he's about to go here, "Master Yoda likes to say that the future is always in motion."