video.

[ventifact]

[rey is sitting in the gardens, legs crossed, staring at something off-camera. a low whistle and a few beeps makes it clear that bb-9 is doing the recording. despite the intensity of her gaze, her breathing is slow and regular and her muscles are entirely relaxed.

for a couple seconds, the video is just fixed on her--then, then frame zooms out so more of the garden is visible. a few feet away from where she sits, her lightsaber is stuck into the ground. such a suitable place for such a dignified weapon. but to be fair, her staff is stuck next to it. with the zoom-out, it becomes clear that rey is staring at the lightsaber.

a few more seconds of nothing.

then, as if tugged by an invisible string, the lightsaber twitches towards her. it lifts into the air and floats a few inches--before tumbling to the ground. rey, whose face holds a slight sheen of sweat from her efforts, lets out an extremely frustrated groan and an even more frustrated expletive. bb-9 beeps sympathetically.]

Kark it! I just want it to karking fly towards me when I--

[and she makes a violent pulling gesture--and then her staff comes flying towards her head. she reacts just in time, letting herself fall backwards to avoid being impaled in the face. the staff skids into the ground behind her. bb-9 screeches in alarm, and the video starts to bump as the droid rolls towards her owner. the camera zooms in and focuses on rey's face, still caught in surprise. and then, she laughs. not a restrained laugh, but a real, arms-around-her-gut laugh. and then she winces because ouch, bruised ribs. but back to business.]

Well, that's half right! Progress is progress, right? [then, she addresses the droid.] You caught all that? I want to watch it later.

[a beep of affirmative relief, and then the video cuts.]

Comments

[ventifact]

[a beat]

I was about to die.

[seeingscarlet]

That might be why. It is easier for me to use my powers when I need to.

[In other words, Wanda might kind of be a light side Sith...]

[ventifact]

[be a grey jedi with her, wanda]

That isn't practical.

[seeingscarlet]

It is better than needing them but being too frightened to do anything.

[She shrugs. Wanda wouldn't wish her high stakes "training" on anyone. If her powers had manifested differently or she had't been able to learn to wield them quickly enough, who knows what Strucker would have done to them?]

But you know you can do it. You just need to remember how it felt.

[ventifact]

What if I don't want to remember?

[because it had been the most terrifying time of her life. sandstorms and rabid desert animals were nothing compared to the fear she'd felt on the starkiller base.]

[seeingscarlet]

Are you afraid of it?

[There's no judgement in her tone, only sympathy. If that's the case, there are few who would understand better than Wanda. If she ever lost control it could be catastrophic.]

[ventifact]

Yeah.

[it's hard to admit. fear could lead to death on jakku. any sign of weakness was sure to be exploited.]

[seeingscarlet]

Sometimes it scares me too.

[She lets a tiny wisp of red dance between her fingers. It's not unlike playing with fire in more ways than one.]

But the things that would happen if I didn't use them scare me more.

[ventifact]

Yeah. It's just--so much to have on my shoulders.