Will of the Many~ Poe Dameron

It'll never be like it once was

Thank you for loving me when I still tasted of heartache and war...

-Unknown

Serena's fingers moved across Poe's chest. She caught his chain and followed it down until she touched the cold metal of his mother's ring. A warm presence of aged wine and cracking fire soothed over her. The faded image of beautiful brown curls and a dimpled smile crossed before Serena's opened eyes. 

Such a woman of beauty... taken far too soon from the people who loved her. 

She sat up and dragged her hand from Poe's chest. She looked down at his closed eyes and watched his pupils dance with wild dreams. His deeply pink lips were parted as soft breaths exhaled past them. His right arm was stretched out where she had just laid while his left hand was curled on his chest ready for her to hold when she needed to. 

The image made her heart swell and simultaneously shatter into a million pieces. How could she sleep next to such a man when she had caused such destruction? Destruction that her own family couldn't see past?

She timidly pulled herself from the bed, careful not to jostle him as she climbed over him, and padded out of the room without waking him or BB-8. 

She walked through the living room and grabbed a fur blanket from the closest chair. The fire that had previously roared was now a pile of ash and ember. It was a shadow of its previous light, and only made her frown further as she wrapped the blanket over her shoulders and let it swallow her. She turned and left the living room to head towards the front door. 

She slipped her boots on and didn't bother to tighten the laces before she opened the door. She was met with a crisp slap to the face. It ripped any bit of exhaustion from her and added to the sense of foreboding doom she felt in the pit of her stomach. Despite both, she stepped out and closed the door behind her. 

The village had a layer of white powder spread across it. The nightly snow added another several inches to the ground and rooftops. She knew that throughout the day the snow would harden and crush down under footsteps and the wearing sun, but for now it laid untouched and pure. It was just as nature intended it to be, soft, unforgiving and bright enough to make her squint as she admired it. 

She pulled the blanket tighter around her and stepped over the porch. The fresh snow crunched heavenly under her boots. She crouched down and moved the blanket to ensure it would act as a barrier between her and the snow before she sat on the porch step. 

Every breath she let out materialized in a white fog that cascaded up towards the heavens. She watched them go until their color faded and they disappeared. 

"For someone who claims to have hated snow, you sure run to it first thing in the morning," Poe's voice was groggy and deep as he spoke to her. It was starkly dissimilar from the pure world around her.  

She hummed as she tucked her chin against her shoulder and watched him sit beside her. He had his jacket zipped over him and used it to shield the snow from his pants. 

"What are you doing out there?" His nose started to tinge pink from the cold as he looked at her. 

She took in a breath as her shoulders raised. 

There were so many answers she could have given him, but not many that made sense. Her shoulders fell as she looked back towards the white landscape. Her eyes were drawn to the sharp peaks of the mountains. Ragged edges poked the lightening sky as if trying to pierce through the atmosphere. 

"There's this... this time of day before the wind picks up and the fresh snow hardens over the ground." Her eyes moved over the icy scapes before her. "All the animals are still tucked in their dens and the village sleeps on for a few more hours." She lifted her gaze to the cloudless sky. The sun hung just behind the mountains, but it was too far for her to feel its warmth. It seemed miniscule compared to the sun on D'Qar or Ajan Kloss. But its size didn't make it any less beautiful. Streams of purples and pinks radiated around it to steal the darkness from the sky. "For so long I have been scared of the silence because it gave me time to think of everything I did wrong." She kept her eyes on the exploding colors blanketing the world around them. "But being here... right now... this is different. There is a- a stillness here." Her eyes narrowed as she tried to explain the feelings inside of her. "It's like everything has settled and found its place." She looked over at Poe to see him watching her. "Thank you for giving me this." Her amber eyes flicked between his soul-encapsulating orbs. She saw the snow brighten them and the sun warming them in a way it couldn't do for her. "I may not get closure from my parents, or Elijah... but seeing Jeb and seeing my village," She smiled as she looked back towards the glorious mansions around them. "This feels as close to closure as I deserve."