There was a thin layer of snow bordering the plane window.

Snow was a rarity in Jakku; there were only ever high sunny days with sunburns that never died, even the winter never saw a cloudy day. Not many people liked it there; some got heat stroke and up and left, others isolated themselves to their air-conditioned bathrooms and never saw the light of day.

Obi-Wan had called her a fool, "You're wasting your life in the dust bowl." And where had the lie been? Unkar Plutt took advantage of every paycheck, every benefit, everything.

The places with the cheapest tickets had been Taris, Naatan, Cinnagar, and Courscant. At the end of the day, sitting in front of a plane ticket, Rey was going to Coruscant.

Well, Rey was in Coruscant, watching from the window seat as snow fell onto the runway tracks, little men trying their best to guide the plane into its correct spot. It had been a long flight- a solid 9 hours of leg jittering nerves that made anything she'd previously eaten wanting exit from its confines. She didn't hate traveling; it was just a rarity in her life.

She had two bags with her, it was all she'd needed to stuff up her life and flee from the rent-controlled apartment of Maz Kanata, wishing the small woman a fond farewell with promise of postcards. There wasn't much she needed to start again, but this would be good for her.

Jakku had been a toxin that was slowly killing her, and Coruscant already just looked like a complete 180.

"We have now landed in Coruscant. Thank you for your stay and please make your way to baggage claim."

The plane was nearly empty; a young man with his daughter who'd cried more than half the ride, an elderly woman who looked to be on her last leg, and Rey, the brown haired girl bundled up in a winter coat and stupidly thin leggings that would no doubt paint the word tourist on her forehead.

Obtaining her luggage had been a simple affair, trudging through the mostly empty terminal a breeze and standing outside in the windy snow was a bit shit. Did this town even have taxis? The flip phone in her pocket made sure she was stuck unless there was someone to call.

She was mostly alone, a man stood a few feet away on his phone, boisterous laugh echoing in the wind. It was hard to guess if he was a regular- why would a regular be at the airport- or if he was coming in same as her.

The cold was starting to set in her fingertips, teeth chattering and legs shaking.

"Hey." She did her best to not acknowledge him; he was probably not even talking to her. "Hey you, in the leggings."

Seeing as she was the only one stupid enough to wear leggings in snow, she turned to give him a tight smile, "Hello."

He was oddly handsome; curls gelled back and warm brown eyes that reminded her of the mud back home, "You need a ride kid? I'm heading into town and the snow is getting pretty bad."

God, did she really look that young? 20 was the new 18 apparently.

It was never good to take a ride from strangers, even if she needed it, "I don't want to put you out, and besides, I'll wait for the next shuttle." Assuming this airport had a shuttle into town.

He shook his head, "Shuttle stopped running two hours ago, and you'd be out here all night." The man jogged over to her, sticking out a mitten-covered hand, "I'm Poe, Poe Dameron."

"I'm Rey, and really it's fine."

"My boyfriend would kick my ass if I left you here alone in the freezing cold when

I have a car with a heater." He had a point, but she wouldn't let him know that. "Please Rey, I'll just drop you off in town and you'll never see me again."

Poe gave her a pair of puppy dog eyes and smiled when she handed him her luggage, both of them trudging over to the reasonable sized car, chucking her stuff in the trunk and hurrying to sit down.

Poe turned the heat on high, shucking off the thick mittens and shedding the puffy coat. Rey did the same, mittens off but coat still on, not exactly trusting Poe in the fullest.

"So, Rey, where you from?" Poe started up the car, backing out of the empty parking lot and going down the snowy highway while Rey gazed out of the window, "Guessing its somewhere with a lot less white."

She chuckled, "I'm pretty sure it'd make the news if it snowed in Jakku."

"Jakku?" Poe snorted with a gross face, "That place is a goddam junkyard. I went there for Finn's high school reunion and barely lasted the weekend. Way too goddam hot for my taste."

"At least I never had to worry about skidding off the road in Jakku." He had the decency to look shocked, "If you know what you're doing, you'll never skid."

One of the major differences in Jakku and Coruscant was the greenery that lined the road of this snowy place; she wondered just how long they went.

Poe must have read her her mind, "Tourists get lost all the time trying to conquer these woods. I personally wouldn't recommend it cause sometimes it takes the ranger's days to find people. Sometimes, they only come back in parts."

Okay, no checking out woods was high on her list.

She kept her eyes on the green woods pacing by, "Are there bears out there?"

"Nah, coyotes sometimes but bears hibernate this time of year. Now in spring, I'd keep the trash inside cause Yogi bear might be in your back yard trying to eat fish bones at midnight."

Both of them chuckled, and Poe sobered up first, "So where is it I'm taking you Miss Rey?"

She reached into the pocket of her coat, pulling out a small notecard, "1482 Woodland Road."

He nearly swerved the card while exclaiming, "Woodland Road? Why the hell you wanna go up there?"

"My grandfather Obi-Wan left it to me in his will." She tried to keep the sadness from her voice, "I should've been here when he died but I was stupid and yet he still left it all to me. Crazy, isn't it?"

Poe shot her a side-glance, "Yeah, I remember old Obi-Wan, nice guy. When he passed, it was all anyone could talk about here." He furrowed his brow, "I never knew he had a daughter."

"He doesn't biologically at least. He adopted me on a trip to Canterbury when I was 10 but…"

But I was waiting for my real parents to come back.

She must have been silent for too long seeing as Poe tried to turn the conversation, "You should meet Finn, I think you two would really hit it off. You two could bond over being from Jakku, thinking I'm devilishly handsome, and hating this snowy hellscape."

There was a town up ahead, a few stores that had windows boarded up and no pedestrians in sight, but she watched as they made a sharp turn up a hill, away from any sign of people.

"Why aren't we—"?

"Because Woodland Road lives up to its name." They weaved through a thickness of mossy trees, "Obi-Wan liked his isolation, never really liked to be bothered so hopefully you get a bike or something to come into town. Snap owns a car rental if that's more your style."

She barely heard a word he said, watching as they drove deeper and deeper into the thicket of woods, grateful that there was at least a path back out. She'd definitely consider getting a car, or at least a bike for now, hopefully there was a job in town she could get. Yes, Obi-Wan had left her money but it was in her nature to work for everything she needed, so that money was going to stay right where it was.

"And… here we are. Casa Kenobi."

It was a moderately sized wooden cabin, four windows on the front and one story that spanned quiet a bit back. It looked stable, well cared for, and she wondered how it looked inside.

Poe stepped out from the car, eyes darting around as if trying to catch sight of something, before taking the two bags out of the car, walking to the porch to plop them down.

"You sure you'll be good up here all by yourself?" She watched as he kept looking around, mimicking him but only seeing trees.

"I think I'll be good. Tonight I'll get settled in and tomorrow I'll go into town, get a feel of everything. Will I see you?"

He shook his head, "Probably not. I'm a pilot so I'm typically at the airport most of the time. But Finn works at the Bakery so maybe pop in, tell I 'em I sent you."

Rey nodded, "Thanks Poe, you're a real lifesaver." They hugged for a moment, breaking apart as he started to jog back to his car, leaving Rey retrieve the key from her pocket, opening the door.

"Rey!"

A sharp turn had her facing Poe, waiting expectantly as he patted the hood of his car, about to step in.

He was scratching his head like he was about to say something unsavory, "It totally slipped my mind but you do have a neighbor." He pointed to the right, where another log cabin was in just in sight, "He's kind of a recluse so don't bother him and he won't bother you."

"And try not to wander around these parts…" He looked over his shoulder with a glare before turning back, "Heard stories of wolves roaming the area, wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you.

Wolves?

A shiver of fear ran through her limbs, waving him off before stepping inside the cabin, shutting and locking the door, noting it was even colder inside than out. A thick layer of dust covered everything; couches, sofas, mantles, every plate or cup was covered in dust.

It would take hours to dust all of it, or at least restore it back to a state that resembled a lived in home, so then maybe the idea of having Poe and his boyfriend Finn over was a doable plan. And tomorrow she'd welcome herself to this tiny town, be the person Obi-Wan had known she could be.

A rustle of the window curtain brought her to the window, looking out at the house just out of the way.

Don't bother him and he won't bother you

She wondered who was in there; yes, it was a man, but was he tall or short? And why did he live all the way up here by himself? It must be lonely for him.

She knew lonely all too well.

"Well, let's get started." Her voice resonated through the empty room, eyes finding a light switch, and practically jumping at the light that came through the cabin. At least there was power, but a quick jog to the kitchen showed not a single ounce of food, which had her stomach grumbling in hunger for a measly portion of food.

Eh, she shushed her stomach, knowing she'd gone without food for longer periods of time than this.

The clock above the kitchen doorway read 9:52.

There wasn't much else to be done tonight, so Rey walked through the cabin, finding what must have been Obi-Wan's room, bed perfectly made with a book resting on the nightstand. Her fingers ran across the smooth covers, butt settling on the soft mattress and picking up the book- A Tale of Two Cities.

Her voice was soft, "I miss you more than you know."

The book was placed back in its place and she settled on top of the bed, soft cries drifting in the air as she fell into a fitful sleep.

A dark ominous figure walked through the forest, bones and muscles rearranging— changing—until a man as tall as a mountain stood outside a log cabin, heavy footsteps stomping up the steps and opening the door, welcoming the warm air and shaking off any excess blood or sweat, damp hair clinging to a pale forehead.

It was a sparse cabin, one sofa for sitting and a TV for watching, the kitchen fridge full of steaks and various vegetables with a few cartons of eggs stacked up.

The clock above the kitchen doorway read 9:52.

The man stumbled to his bed—his nest—and fell into a scent that let those thick muscles relax, mind calming and drifting.

And he'd been so close to a sleep, so close to drifting off when it hit him. It was foreign and strange, but heavy breaths left his nose as a primal hunger grew within his chest, never having felt power like this before.

What was this? What creature could possible have his body react in a way that had every muscle tensing, ready to spring like a trap?

It was then he heard it; inside his head he heard a little voice whisper a word that wolves only dreamt of having, of holding close on a night like this and never letting go.

Mate.