Charisma~ Poe Dameron

Iron and Wine

"Where did you say Poe found your new body?" Aria asked as she pressed her hand into the wall to take some weight off of her left leg. She left her crutches behind thinking it would be a short trip into the base. But after the third set of stairs she started to regret her stubborn mind. 

R-8 told her they were close. 

Aria let out a sigh as she used the force to lift him up the last set of stairs. "I'm going to need a break once we reach the room. This trip took way more out of me than I expected." It was easy for Aria to tell all her secrets and worries to her droid. She knew she could always count on him. 

She knew he wouldn't try to kill her brother.

The air had a weight to it and smelled strongly of dirt, all of which were a result of them being at the very back of the base- into the depth of the mountain side. 

Each breath she took in felt wet, and the sticky humidity made sweat pour from her annoyingly fast. 

R-8 wheeled ahead and extended a small, fraying port to connect to the door's panel. "We'll have to fix that before you short circuit." She told him. "Be careful until we do, yeah? I just got you back." R-8 beeped as he worked on opening the door. 

While he was preoccupied, Aria leaned into the wall and rested her soaked forehead against it. She could feel her heartbeat just under her skin, it beat so heavily if she stared close enough she was sure she would be able to see her skin rise and fall. 

Her break was short lived as R-8 opened the door a few seconds later. She took in a strong breath and pushed off the wall to walk into the room. 

She limped into the dark space as she used the light on R-8's gray body to guide her way. Her right leg burned from carrying most of her weight, but each time she put her weight on her left leg it threatened to crumble underneath her. 

"I have to sit." Aria flopped down on a wooden crate and let her head hang low. R-8 wheeled in front of her and gave a soft beep. "No, I don't need help." She told him. "I just need to rest." She used the butt of her palm to wipe a drip of sweat from her brow. "I just need to rest." She said again, more to herself than to R-8. 

He didn't believe her, so he wheeled into her foot then popped out the compartment with the commlink. 

Her insistence made Aria smile. "I like how you worry about me." Aria told him as she took the commlink from his drawer. "It's annoying, but I like it." She told him. R-8 gave a chirpy beep as he rolled away to find the changing station that started their voyage. 

Aria cleared her throat and lifted herself up before she turned on her commlink. "Finn?" She called out to the only person she believed would have their connection open. "Finn, are you there?"

There was half a minute of silence before his reply came. "Yeah, I'm here, what's up?" 

"I left my crutches in the Falcon. I thought it would be a short trip but um... can you bring me my crutches?" She squeezed her eye closed at how desperate she sounded. "If you can't- that's okay, I can make the walk back."

"No, no, of course I'll bring them. Um, where are you?"

Aria gave a dry chuckle as she forgot to mention the most important piece. "The place Poe found R-8's replacement body." She explained to him, hoping he would know where it was. "Third floor all the way at the back of the base, dingy room, barely lit. You can't miss it. Follow the sound of my heavy panting." 

A chuckle came through the commlink at Aria's horrible attempt of a joke. "I'll be there soon."

"Okay... thank you."