Kyber Heart - Poe Dameron

Chapter 51

Amid BB-8's squeals and C-3PO's repeated cries of "Serpent!", the group shuffled back and closed ranks, weapons raised and primed.

The creature rose above their height, hissing and spitting. Its six eyes, black and beady, blinked in unison. Ivory teeth glinted in torchlight and dripped with venom. From the shadows engulfing its body, it was hard to discern how large it was; but it was certainly large enough to incapacitate any of them if it attacked.

Nova, Finn and Poe stood tight together, forming a wall, expressions a spectrum of hardened nerves as they stared the creature down. Chewie stood behind them as the second line with his bowcaster, letting the droids cower behind his large frame.

Nova did her best to keep her stoic mask from crumbling in the face of the serpent. Jaw clenched, eyes cold and breathing deathly controlled. She forced herself to swallow. Her knuckles turned white around her blaster.

She was not usually one for trivial fears – unless that trivial fear involved serpents.

Rey was the one to remain collected, watching the creature with a calm concentration. She could sense it – the pain driving it to aggression. She felt drawn to it somehow, handing her lightsaber off and stepping closer over its coils.

Nova took the lightsaber from her friend, body shifting into a stance well-practiced, though not used in many years. It was not even a conscious thing to her in the moment, just instinct as she held the weapon across her body, ready to act at the drop of a credit.

The serpent hissed again as Rey made her approach, but she remained resolute. She kept watch on its movements, reacting accordingly to show she meant no harm. It seemed she was bonded to it, whether through the Force or intuition.

"Finn..." Poe began nervously.

"Shh," Finn said.

In the low light, Rey found the source of the aggression – a gaping, raw injury carved into the creature's body.

"I'm gonna blast it," Poe said, tightening his grip on his blaster.

"Wait!" Nova hissed.

Crouching, Rey placed her hand over the serpent's wound, then became still. Her breathing softened.

The serpent hissed again, though no longer with malice. It blinked slowly, lowering its head closer to the Jedi in a signal of trust. The pain remedied and aggression soothed, it uncoiled itself and slithered away back into the maze of tunnels it called home.

A collective sigh of relief was shared, and daylight stung their eyes – the serpent's movements having revealed an exit back to the desert above.

BB-8 moved to Rey, beeping an inquiry.

"I just transferred a bit of life," she explained kindly. "Force energy from me to him."

The droid beeped again.

"You would have done the same."

Behind them, Chewie bent down to retrieve the dagger from the sand. He examined it briefly before stuffing it in his bag, and followed Finn's lead out of the tunnels.

Nova faltered, turning to find Poe staring at her, an unnerved wonder in his eyes. She frowned, a silent ask as to what had caught him off-guard about her.

"Sorry, it's just..." he nodded to the lightsaber still gripped by her hands. "You've mentioned it, but... I just never imagined you using one of those things..."

"Yeah, well don't get used to it." A wave of nausea pushed itself through her as she saw the old weapon in her hands, felt the familiar weight and ache from her stance. Disengaging it, she unceremoniously shoved it back into Rey's hands in her hasty path to the exit.