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'𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬'
━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━
...NIIMA OUTPOST, JAKKU
CAN YOU FEEL HIM?
Poe's presence was, in a word, calm. Golden sunlight. It was swearing she could feel him through the walls of a temple. It was a night of scattered stars, standing high above the terra below with only the cold, midnight wind. An incendiary warmth of something so careful, it would be a miracle if it survived the darkness. It was steadfast. Honest. Good.
But can you feel him now?
Honest. Good. Gone.
"Poe didn't make it."
Bee let out a low, lamenting moan. All Lyra could do was stumble back in the sand. Her batons were in her hands, but the songsteel had lost its reassuring weight. Light-headed, she was reduced to nothing more than a particle of dust.
"That's not possible. Poe is the best pilot I've ever seen." There would be no past tense in her words about a man who was still alive. "There's no way."
The man considered her for a moment. Another realization was washing over him. He glanced at the shoulder of her own jacket where the red starbird patch was. "You're the other pilot, the one he said he was coming back for," he said soberly. "I tried to help him, I'm sorry."
Lyra shook her head once. She blinked at the sky, which was all at once too bright. Panic seized in her chest. It was impossible. How could they have come so far to lose someone else? To lose him. But she couldn't even form the words to tell this man how wrong he must be.
Bee rolled off the way they had come. Rey reached out a hand and put it on Lyra's shoulder, trying to comfort her without even fully knowing why. The man was looking at her with such pity. She wanted to scream. But she held her tongue. It wasn't his fault.
"Don't let him go anywhere," Lyra muttered to Rey as she followed Bee. Letting Rey figure out what to do with this guy was the least of her concern. For all Lyra cared, she could take him out with a swipe of her staff and they would move on with the day.
Out from beneath the tents Lyra just stood and looked out beyond the outpost. Empty sky, miles of sand. Blue, orange, brown.
Bee scooted up close to her and gave a sad, solitary beep. Is he gone?
