Looking for Light

Poe and Chewie sat around the holo-chess table late into the night as heavy rains hammered down on the old freighter. A concerned BB-8 had quietly followed a preoccupied Lowbacca who had wandered off with the alluring yet strange red journal from Rey's private Jedi library. The young Wookiee seemed to be magnetized by the old texts and stole away to the hut where the scavenger slept-to meditate on Rey's disappearing act. The Wookiee was so engrossed in reading the old book that he hadn't even sensed his astromech droid shadow, he felt oddly powerful but powerless to reach out to the force. The long meditation had only brought him eerie and incomprehensible whispers. The first page read "The Legend of the Chosen One." The translucent pages felt fragile in Lowie's massive paws.

BB-8 did not like the shifting energy that came from the Wookiee he'd just met and he stood vigil at the door of the hut, just out of the rain. The hut was shrouded in a thickening shade of smudged charcoal and the only source of light seemed to be Lowbacca's glowing eyes. As Lowie read on, his massive shape began to glow with a slight effervescent aura and he suddenly slammed the book shut. Whirling around with wild eyes which were lit like two small fires, the Wookiee nearly scared the kriff out of BB-8! Lowbacca roared at the droid and BB-8 screeched back with almost the same ferocity. A quick charge of electricity came out of the astromech droid's central console and instantly zapped Lowie out his supernatural situation. After a swift evaluation of what had transpired, Lowie scooped up BB-8 in one paw and the book in the other. The rain had ceased, and dawn was breaking as the Wookiee ran for the Millennium Falcon.

Poe Dameron was restless and not able to sleep after the long grueling match of holo-chess with Chewbacca. He idly chewed on a strip of the dried fish the Wookiee had prepared for Rey and he verbally punished himself for not keeping communications alive between them. Now he had to figure out what they would have to do next and the stories that Maz had shared with him didn't exactly fill him with hope. Interrupting the cloudy thoughts of regret on the pilot's mind were the excited squeals of a thrilled BB-8 and the lumbering fuzzball holding him. "Shhhh.. you will wake up your uncle!" Dameron joked. Poe grinned to himself as he recalled the intense match he'd finally won against the reigning champion who'd retired to his room immediately after. Chewie had attempted to wait up for his nephew to return from his private investigations but had fallen asleep at his post.

Lowie quickly briefed Poe on his plan to search for Rey on the far side of the island where Chewbacca had lost her scent. Lowbacca decidedly omitted a lot of the details about the red journal, its effect on him and attempted to convince Poe he would go alone. "Oh I don't think so, tough guy!"

"I'm pretty sure your crazy uncle would skin me, cook me up and eat me!" Lowie reluctantly nodded in agreement after Dameron's lengthy lecture about friends and family. BB-8 stood guard at the helm of the Millennium Falcon to report to Uncle Chewbacca once he woke up. The weary astromech droid was noticeably sad to be not included on the scavenger hunt.

The morning sun was as bright as it was increasingly warm; slowly roasting the pilot and the wayward Wookiee Jedi as they hiked the rugged island. The island didn't seem very big; where the kriff was she? Poe's mind was racing to thousands of intangible scenarios about what happened to Rey, but he was also watching his Wookiee companion very closely on the private cue he'd picked up from his friend, BB-8. The pilot had been hiking alongside the beast for hours yet he hadn't demonstrated the usual primary traits of a beast. Lowie was marching at an imperial trooper's pace and hadn't stopped to sniff; seemingly did not require much water to drink either. His behavior seemed soulless and the awkward silence was broken by Poe's dry voice "Heyyy wait up, kid." Pivoting like a droid, Lowie turned and stopped; causing the pilot to flinch at the strange glow in his eyes. Lowbacca chirped cheerfully at Poe but also appeared slightly agitated at the brief pause in progress. The sun beat down on them until they reached a ridge which buried half the island in a deep cool shade. Relieved to be out of the daunting rays of light, Poe stole a second to take a drink from his flask- something stronger than water. The pilot's face puckered up comically and he offered some to Lowie but the distracted Wookiee refused. Beyond the ridge; a few precarious paces across a rocky valley led them to a sea cave completely shaded from the sun.

Lowbacca stood above the dark opening to the sea cave with the red journal open; attempting to explain the ancient Aurebesh instructions to Poe who laughably hid behind him. "Are you sure it says we gotta go in this hole?" "Says who?" "I'd like to know which one of those Jedi Scumbags thought that this was a good idea" Dameron laughed nervously as Lowie painstakingly wrapped up the ancient red leather journal and put it back in his side bag. The Wookiee looked up and confirmed that they would be getting wet. Poe gave him a mock salute as he pulled the blaster out of his holster, inspected it and swiftly replaced it at his side. Nothing seemed to mentally prepare the pilot as he watched the Wookiee dive head first into the sea hole. Poe jumped feet first -a few seconds later; his heart hammered heavily in his ears; a cruel cacophony once the rushing sound of the water closed over his head.

Surfacing inside the sea cave, Poe looked around frantically among the dark blue jaggedness around him which was tinted with bioluminescent properties. Finally able to focus in the dim lighting, Poe located Lowie who stood several paces ahead of him on a stone shelf; facing a mirror of ice. Sensing Lowbacca's disappointment, Poe came up behind him and put his arm around him, slightly shivering but enjoying the image of them painted on the glassy ice. "How thick do you think that ice wall is?" Dameron said with a shaky breath.

The distracted Wookiee unloaded the red journal from his side bag and was relieved to discover it to be perfectly dry. He opened it and the hieroglyphics had changed; most of the pages were blank now-as if cloaked in Magic. The ancient Aurebesh demanded that they build a fire and a frigid pilot did not have to be told twice. The task proved to be impossible because everything around them was either frozen solid or soaked in the brine of the sea. Poe gathered a few dry pocket scraps, a few locks of his own hair, but couldn't convince Lowie to donate any of his own. The Wookiee wordlessly walked over to an ancient tree stump had seemed to be soaking in sea water for centuries. Wielding his bronze lightsaber, Lowie slowly stabbed the stump letting it smolder and crackle as it came to life with a heat and light that matched the Jedi's eyes. The Wookiee's eyes blazed like twin bonfires and Poe watched in awe as the stump finally began to burn. The stump became red hot causing Lowie to abruptly pull out the lightsaber; which was slightly warped and melted at the hilt; burning his paw in the process. Poe tried not to laugh but congratulated his partner as he attempted to inspect the savage burn. Random angry bursts of Shyriiwook filled the luminous sea cave as the pilot peeled back a layer of burnt hair and skin. The fire raged on behind him and the ice mirror slowly began to sweat as Poe expertly cleaned and wrapped Lowie's wounded paw.

Minutes seemed like hours as they watched the Great Wall of ice melt away slowly; Lowie was nose deep in the red journal again. The Wookiee had seen a new entry in the journal that wasn't there prior to the start of the fire. Poe was starting to feel almost dry but was increasingly concerned with the Wookiee's fascination with the strange red book. "Does that thing mention what's waiting for us behind the ice?" Dameron asked quietly. The Wookiee shot the pilot a look that confirmed that they both were afraid of what they might encounter. The wall was about halfway melted now and it's glassy sheen no longer offered any reflection; Poe Dameron had a bad feeling about this.

Lowie gripped the red book tightly as he felt that it was a nexus of raw force energy in itself, he hoped he could absorb some of its strength as he felt his was wavering. The night before when he'd first touched it, visions of past Jedi, himself and the missing Rey had filled his mind with purpose. He had attempted to explain this to Poe but Poe probably would not understand the obscure text of the Jedi and seemed to harbor a light resentment towards force users in general. His sarcasm and sheer lack of respect for the order didn't exactly sit well with Lowie but understood the pilot meant well and found him to be a great friend despite this. The unknown dangers lurking on the other side of the ice had spoken to him in cryptic messages that appeared and disappeared on the pages as if two voices were in competition to be heard. Leading or misleading him simultaneously to places and situations he'd never dreamed of. The other night at Maz's Castle he'd sworn he had heard Leia's soothing voice whispering on the edge of his dream, "Everywhere you go, everything that you do -you carry the weight of the galaxy with you."

A pinhole of light had pierced the center of the ice wall at its weakest point now and Lowbacca stood up suddenly as if summoned by it. Without hesitation, Lowbacca charged at the ice wall with his shoulder lowered and blasted a Wookiee-sized hole through the weakest point. Lowie ignited his lightsaber to help see through the foggy moonlit foliage he ended up in. A strange magical realm sprawled out before the pilot and the Wookiee and they both were awestruck by the supernatural beauty around them. Poe thought the neon moonlighting was reminiscent of a casino he'd been to on the OuterRim and he felt a creepy vibe as he watched as Lowbacca's eyes began to glow like a predator. The Wookiee turned and lumbered down the only path which was winding through the dark forest. Poe slowly followed with his hand firmly gripped on the trusty blaster at his side; bewildered by his companion's soulless behaviors. The Wookiee marched on without sniffing as if blindfolded by bioluminescence and being lured in by the songs of the night birds. The shimmering stones of the path beneath their feet were a mirror of the starry night sky above them and a second pair of predator eyes watched them from the darkness.

Without a sound, an enormous silvery wolf slipped out from her hiding place in the shadows. She hungrily gnashed her saber sharp teeth as she sauntered behind the clueless heroes, ultimately deciding to delay her dinner a bit longer. Her eyes were a peculiar shade of icy blue with fragments of candlelight inside them and above her, a pretentious pearly orb illuminated her magnificent silver fur like a polished starship. The enchanted wolf continued to stalk her unsuspecting prey; whilst silently lurking in the shadows.