Charisma~ Poe Dameron

The utter betrayal of a loved one

When she was finally able to remove the wrap, she noticed the large oval bruise on her ribcage. It wrapped around her small frame, almost reaching her naval and spreading to meet the curve of her spine. It visibly throbbed and gave off a heat that she could feel as her hand hovered over it. 

She had to clutch onto the white tiled wall as she stepped up into the shower. It was just a small step, but it took every part of her to get up it. 

She had adjusted the heat so it wouldn't be too hot, but she hadn't considered the pressure of the actual water. Each drop of water felt like being shot over and over and over by a small laser pistol. Still, she persisted. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back so the water would fall over her face. She couldn't help but hiss as it washed over her cut. 

The pain became too much, and she bowed her head to give her face a reprieve from the pressure. She opened her eyes to see the pink-tinted water swirl the drain. 

When it came time to wash her hair, she desperately wished she was a child again so she could have Leia help her. Or more so, she wished her mother was still alive to help her. 

Despite it all, she found a way- though painful- to wash the dirt and clots of blood from her bangs. As she leaned her head back to wash the mint-scented shampoo from her hair she closed her eyes and let the calm scent soothe her. 

Through all the pain and the all-consuming exhaustion, the scent of mint helped her breathe just a little bit better. 

Only when the water ran clear did Aria turn the shower off and dry herself off. Even the softest towel hurt as she patted along her side and the small cut in her shoulder from where Poe nicked her. 

She didn't even wrap the towel around her head, instead, she decided to let her hair air-dry, though she knew it would take much longer. 

She raised a hand sluggishly to wipe the steam from the mirror so she could take one more look at herself. 

Fully nude, she looked at her tired, dull eyes. She tried to find her mother in them- that's what everyone else saw when looking into them- but she couldn't remember her mother's eyes or anything else about her. 

No, when she looked into her eyes all she saw was a woman shadowed by a name- a single family name. 

"You... are Ariavanna Solo, a Commander in the Resistance, an amazing Pilot and skilled fighter." She sucked in a painful breath. "You are Ariavanna Solo, a badass woman." She let the breath out shakily. "You are Ariavanna Solo." She watched her lips move to form the words, but she couldn't understand them. They sounded like a mesh of garbled sounds, but they weren't coherent. 

A soft knock pulled her from her own reflection. 

Expecting it to be Leia, Aria grabbed her black cotton robe from the hook beside her bathroom door and pulled it over her shoulders as she left her bathroom and walked towards the door of her room. She tied the string of her knee-length robe around her as she pressed the button to open the door. On the other side was Poe- not Leia- who looked shocked that she actually answered. 

"What?" She asked dryly as she turned from him to walk over to her bed. Water dripped from the tips of her hair and her bangs were glued to her forehead making her resemble a cat left out in the rain. 

"I... I wanted to check in on you." Poe stepped into her personal quarters and closed the door behind him. As he did he looked around her room. Her long S-shaped couch was littered with clothes partially folded while some were merely laid over the back of it. Her coffee table had a half-assembled commlink with lengths of different wires spread out all around it.