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Description

  She was hungry.
  That's all the little porg knew at the moment. Her siblings had eaten the last bit of fish their mother had scrounged for them, leaving her stomach rumbling and her big eyes sad. Coming home from exploring around the nest always left her foodless, and being the runt of the litter didn't help in the slightest. She always seemed to get the least of everything her larger family got.
  The young girl sulked away from her playing brothers and sisters. She took off towards the cliffs with an empty belly and a sad face. It was late afternoon, now, and there wouldn't be any more food until her mother brought fresh fish to the nest for breakfast in the morning. She would just have to wait. Being small really was disadvantageous for any porg, and she was the smallest of them all, it seemed.
  She looked out across the ocean. She was too small to fly, but she wanted to learn quickly so she could go higher and faster than even the strongest of her brothers. If only she could…
  As the sun leaned down to be swallowed by the vast sea in a few hours, she turned to go back home. There was nothing there for her—staring at the water wouldn't just drop a sweet, sweet fish in front of her. The tiny porg whimpered sadly at her rumbling stomach.
  However, something suddenly stopped her.
  She turned her body around, looking overhead in confusion. On a higher ledge, a pair of legs dangled down and kicked against the rocks lazily. She perked up and chirped with interest. Porgs were naturally curious little creatures, so anything new and unseen fascinated them endlessly. Although it probably wouldn't be safe, this little porg decided to investigate the source of the hanging legs.
  It took her a few minutes to climb up the steep rocks due to her abnormally small size, but whoever was up there didn't appear in any hurry to leave. Matter of fact, something about the air around this stranger was heavy, and it made the girl feel a bit weighted and sad—tired, too. Finally, though, after what felt like an eternity to her, she reached the target of her curiosity.
  There was a man sitting there. To any porg who had seen one before, he looked about the same as any other human. However, she could still recognize his old age by his graying hair and extensive amount of wrinkles. He had vibrant blue eyes, but from the completely lifeless expression on his face, the orbs looked more dull and gray than anything. His robes were tattered and as old as he was, and he said nothing as he rubbed a hand down a long and unkempt beard.
  How odd! the runt of a porg might have thought had she been able to coherently think as a sentient being. Instead, she tilted her head at the old man. Who was this stranger? Suddenly, the weight of her body against her thin little legs caused her to fall over and give out a little squeal. She landed on her side, kicking her legs frantically in hopes of sitting herself upright. Instead, she rolled around in a circle like a feathery ball.
  The man in front of her jumped upon hearing her exclamation, his eyes darting over and body twisting around to look at the source of the sudden sound. At first, he seemed prepared to defend himself, but once he saw her spinning somewhat humorously, he stopped and sighed in relief.
  "Oh, it's just one of you creatures," he said in a hollow tone. The porg didn't register what he had said, however, and continued twisting helplessly. The man shook his head some and reached over to set her upright. Upon his hand even coming close to her body, she screeched shrilly, and his hand yanked back. He breathed out hard through his nose, but he didn't seem upset. "It's okay," he soothed in a slightly sweeter voice, "I'm not going to hurt you."
  Something about the way he spoke was incredibly gentle. Despite the heavy air surrounding him, this man appeared to be kind and non-threatening. She stopped moving then and laid still as he gingerly lifted her body and sat her back on her feet. She shook her entire figure, feathers ruffling and sticking out as she did. She looked up at him with big eyes and just stared.
  The man raised an eyebrow at her. "You're a tiny thing, aren't you," he commented as she walked towards him and sniffed his hand. His metal hand. He actually gave a slight "hmph" of a laugh. "I bet you've never seen something with a thing like that before, huh?" She chirped as she kicked at the mechanical fingers with her webbed feet. He smiled ever so slightly. "What's a runt like you doing up here all alone, anyhow?"
  The creature bounced back a few steps, and she was about to make another noise when her stomach growled loud enough for the man to hear it from his position overhead. His eyes flashed with recognition as she looked down sort of pitifully. "Ahh, so you're hungry…" He rubbed his beard for a moment in thought before nodding a bit and standing to his feet.
  She looked up at him in confusion as he reached out a real hand for her to step onto. Noting her hesitation, he spoke again in that same gentle tone: "Don't worry. I'm a friend." She stared at him hesitantly for a moment longer before hopping into his palm. It was rough and weathered but, somehow, soft and comfortable. With that, the man took off walking, and she simply stood on the tips of his digits as they moved across the island.
  After a few minutes, they arrived at a cluster of huts. This area was where the island residents resided, and though porgs were all curious things, she had never been there before. She simply looked around with interest, however, as the man carrying her entered the hut he called home.
  Once inside and with the door shut, he set her down on the bed and walked over to a fire pit. She immediately recognized the sweet smell of a fish! She began to make little noises excitedly and hopped up and down on the covers before tripping over a lump in the blanket and falling on her face again.
  "Calm down a bit, girl," the man said as he walked over with a handful of chopped raw fish. She did quite the opposite as she practically vibrated when he sat her upright again. He looked a little less exhausted, now, and was actually smiling some. He handed her a piece of the aquatic animal meat and raised his eyebrows as if to say, "Go ahead."
  She sniffed it questioningly at first, but before he could reassure her again, she snapped forward and swallowed the piece whole! His eyes widened a bit at her excited eating, but his expression quickly softened back into a little smile. He gave her another piece, and another… After a few moments of this, he smirked a bit. "Can you catch?"
  He tossed a bit in the air over her head. She opened her mouth to grab the food as it fell, but it bounced off her nose and landed on the floor below. She huffed and looked exasperated at his games, just wanting some food, which made the man chuckle. He quickly picked the piece up and blew off any grime that had gathered in its moments on the floor. He handed it to her this time, and she took it happily.
"Surely you have a family to return to," he said to her as she ate, face resting in one palm. She looked up at him and tilted her head. "I'm sure you do, but I still need something to call you." Though she couldn't understand a word of what he was saying, she could detect his intent and chirped in response.
  "Hmm…" he hummed in thought, "How about… Jyn." He smiled. "She was a great war hero during the days of the Rebellion. She sacrificed herself for a great cause. A brave name for a brave little porg." He reached down and scratched under her chin, to which she practically purred and shut her eyes pleasurably. Even though she could only recognize the sound of the word, she liked her new name. He chuckled. "Jyn it is, then." She backed away and chirped for more fish. He consented, continuing to feed her.
  "Nice to meet you, Jyn. I'm Luke Skywalker."
  So for a few minutes, neither the human, Luke Skywalker, or the porg, Jyn, said anything to one another. He fed her graciously, even pausing a moment to eat some of his own cooked fish with her eating her raw fish. When she was full and could eat no more, she fell over onto her back and made a whistling noise that signified that she felt quite content. Luke sat down beside her and simply watched with folded hands. Before she could comprehend what was going on, Jyn fell into a deep and satisfied sleep.
. . .

  Jyn awoke with a jolt. She looked up at the small window overhead, light streaming into the room. She must not have been asleep that much longer than an hour or two, as it was still evening. However, it was getting late, and she knew she needed to get home soon, or else her mama would be worried.
  Suddenly, though, there was a soft sound. It was the same sound that had awoken her. She looked around to find the source of the noise, only to then see the man who had fed her and been so kind to her slouched over in a chair. A few soft cries escaped Luke's mouth through his hands that were covering his face. His shoulders shook a little as he hid his face to muffle the small sobs coming from him.
  "I'm so sorry…" he whispered through tears, head shaking in desolation.
  Now, porgs weren't the smartest creatures in the galaxy; there were plenty of other species out there with far superior intelligence. Nonetheless, they could make out the expressions on someone's face and sense their emotions as several animals could, and they could grow to care about a person and their wellbeing. Well, this porg, though young, could feel very clearly the emotions of the man who had helped her.
  Luke wasn't just sad… He was quite well broken, almost.
  Jyn fluttered across the bed and hopped onto the makeshift table, then scurrying across it and headed straight towards the man in the chair. Once at the edge of the table, she leaped into his lap and rubbed up against his arm affectionately. He froze upon feeling her feathers against his skin, slowly looking up at her. His eyes were red and leaking liquid, his sadness evident on his face as well as in his presence. Jyn made a tiny and doleful sound, laying into him as if to offer comfort.
  Luke didn't move for a moment… But eventually rubbed a hand down her back in a petting motion. She buried deeper into his clothes, and she could feel his shoulders relax some as she did. He sighed shakily as he held her close and continued to brush his fingers through her feathers. Whatever Luke was sad about, something about Jyn being there and simply acting like a support animal seemed to help him feel a little better.
  A support porg… That was definitely a new one.
  "Thank you, my little friend," he whispered, to which she made that almost-purring sound again. Luke wiped his eyes as he smiled slightly.
  Eventually, after a while of the pair being silent and sad for one another, Luke held his new animal friend in his arms like a baby and stood to his feet. He smiled a less-sad smile, now. "It's getting late, Jyn. I best get you home."
  With that, he opened the door, allowing the sunset to bathe them both in orange light. Luke headed towards the cliff where they had met.
  Soon enough, they had arrived, and the orange glow of the sunset had become redder as it neared the horizon. Luke looked around. "Where's your nest, little one?" he asked. Almost as if she could understand him now, though she couldn't entirely, Jyn chirped in the direction of a cluster of rocks. Up at the top, there was a nest perched in the jagged edges, and a group of shrill young porgs could be heard above.
  "Ahh, I see." Luke walked over to the bottom of the rock formation, then turning Jyn around in his hands to look at her. "You'll have to come see me again. It's a lonely island, isn't it?" She tilted her head at him. "Oh, of course, it isn't for you. There's thousands of you things out here." He smiled and scratched her chin again. She purred just as before. "But you have to go back to your family now…" Something in his expression became sad again. "You're… Fortunate to have them. Don't take that for granted."
  I'm talking to a porg, for Force sake. The thought was so loud that she could practically hear it. Once again, Jyn snuggled up against him comfortingly. Luke made a small "hmph" sound and scratched her feathers.
  "Goodbye, Jyn the porg," he said as he lifted her up and towards the nest with both of his palms cupped around her. She watched him with big round eyes. Upon seeing her child, Jyn's mother began to make noises of joy. Jyn squealed with delight upon seeing her mama and hopped into the nest with the rest of her brothers and sisters.
  Down below, Luke Skywalker smiled to himself as he watched the reunion overhead. He turned and began to walk away from the family in the nest, arms folded beneath his robes as he thought over the afternoon's events. Jyn was with her family again…
  Maybe someday, he could be, too.

Description

  She was hungry.
  That's all the little porg knew at the moment. Her siblings had eaten the last bit of fish their mother had scrounged for them, leaving her stomach rumbling and her big eyes sad. Coming home from exploring around the nest always left her foodless, and being the runt of the litter didn't help in the slightest. She always seemed to get the least of everything her larger family got.
  The young girl sulked away from her playing brothers and sisters. She took off towards the cliffs with an empty belly and a sad face. It was late afternoon, now, and there wouldn't be any more food until her mother brought fresh fish to the nest for breakfast in the morning. She would just have to wait. Being small really was disadvantageous for any porg, and she was the smallest of them all, it seemed.
  She looked out across the ocean. She was too small to fly, but she wanted to learn quickly so she could go higher and faster than even the strongest of her brothers. If only she could…
  As the sun leaned down to be swallowed by the vast sea in a few hours, she turned to go back home. There was nothing there for her—staring at the water wouldn't just drop a sweet, sweet fish in front of her. The tiny porg whimpered sadly at her rumbling stomach.
  However, something suddenly stopped her.
  She turned her body around, looking overhead in confusion. On a higher ledge, a pair of legs dangled down and kicked against the rocks lazily. She perked up and chirped with interest. Porgs were naturally curious little creatures, so anything new and unseen fascinated them endlessly. Although it probably wouldn't be safe, this little porg decided to investigate the source of the hanging legs.
  It took her a few minutes to climb up the steep rocks due to her abnormally small size, but whoever was up there didn't appear in any hurry to leave. Matter of fact, something about the air around this stranger was heavy, and it made the girl feel a bit weighted and sad—tired, too. Finally, though, after what felt like an eternity to her, she reached the target of her curiosity.
  There was a man sitting there. To any porg who had seen one before, he looked about the same as any other human. However, she could still recognize his old age by his graying hair and extensive amount of wrinkles. He had vibrant blue eyes, but from the completely lifeless expression on his face, the orbs looked more dull and gray than anything. His robes were tattered and as old as he was, and he said nothing as he rubbed a hand down a long and unkempt beard.
  How odd! the runt of a porg might have thought had she been able to coherently think as a sentient being. Instead, she tilted her head at the old man. Who was this stranger? Suddenly, the weight of her body against her thin little legs caused her to fall over and give out a little squeal. She landed on her side, kicking her legs frantically in hopes of sitting herself upright. Instead, she rolled around in a circle like a feathery ball.
  The man in front of her jumped upon hearing her exclamation, his eyes darting over and body twisting around to look at the source of the sudden sound. At first, he seemed prepared to defend himself, but once he saw her spinning somewhat humorously, he stopped and sighed in relief.
  "Oh, it's just one of you creatures," he said in a hollow tone. The porg didn't register what he had said, however, and continued twisting helplessly. The man shook his head some and reached over to set her upright. Upon his hand even coming close to her body, she screeched shrilly, and his hand yanked back. He breathed out hard through his nose, but he didn't seem upset. "It's okay," he soothed in a slightly sweeter voice, "I'm not going to hurt you."
  Something about the way he spoke was incredibly gentle. Despite the heavy air surrounding him, this man appeared to be kind and non-threatening. She stopped moving then and laid still as he gingerly lifted her body and sat her back on her feet. She shook her entire figure, feathers ruffling and sticking out as she did. She looked up at him with big eyes and just stared.
  The man raised an eyebrow at her. "You're a tiny thing, aren't you," he commented as she walked towards him and sniffed his hand. His metal hand. He actually gave a slight "hmph" of a laugh. "I bet you've never seen something with a thing like that before, huh?" She chirped as she kicked at the mechanical fingers with her webbed feet. He smiled ever so slightly. "What's a runt like you doing up here all alone, anyhow?"
  The creature bounced back a few steps, and she was about to make another noise when her stomach growled loud enough for the man to hear it from his position overhead. His eyes flashed with recognition as she looked down sort of pitifully. "Ahh, so you're hungry…" He rubbed his beard for a moment in thought before nodding a bit and standing to his feet.
  She looked up at him in confusion as he reached out a real hand for her to step onto. Noting her hesitation, he spoke again in that same gentle tone: "Don't worry. I'm a friend." She stared at him hesitantly for a moment longer before hopping into his palm. It was rough and weathered but, somehow, soft and comfortable. With that, the man took off walking, and she simply stood on the tips of his digits as they moved across the island.
  After a few minutes, they arrived at a cluster of huts. This area was where the island residents resided, and though porgs were all curious things, she had never been there before. She simply looked around with interest, however, as the man carrying her entered the hut he called home.
  Once inside and with the door shut, he set her down on the bed and walked over to a fire pit. She immediately recognized the sweet smell of a fish! She began to make little noises excitedly and hopped up and down on the covers before tripping over a lump in the blanket and falling on her face again.
  "Calm down a bit, girl," the man said as he walked over with a handful of chopped raw fish. She did quite the opposite as she practically vibrated when he sat her upright again. He looked a little less exhausted, now, and was actually smiling some. He handed her a piece of the aquatic animal meat and raised his eyebrows as if to say, "Go ahead."
  She sniffed it questioningly at first, but before he could reassure her again, she snapped forward and swallowed the piece whole! His eyes widened a bit at her excited eating, but his expression quickly softened back into a little smile. He gave her another piece, and another… After a few moments of this, he smirked a bit. "Can you catch?"
  He tossed a bit in the air over her head. She opened her mouth to grab the food as it fell, but it bounced off her nose and landed on the floor below. She huffed and looked exasperated at his games, just wanting some food, which made the man chuckle. He quickly picked the piece up and blew off any grime that had gathered in its moments on the floor. He handed it to her this time, and she took it happily.
"Surely you have a family to return to," he said to her as she ate, face resting in one palm. She looked up at him and tilted her head. "I'm sure you do, but I still need something to call you." Though she couldn't understand a word of what he was saying, she could detect his intent and chirped in response.
  "Hmm…" he hummed in thought, "How about… Jyn." He smiled. "She was a great war hero during the days of the Rebellion. She sacrificed herself for a great cause. A brave name for a brave little porg." He reached down and scratched under her chin, to which she practically purred and shut her eyes pleasurably. Even though she could only recognize the sound of the word, she liked her new name. He chuckled. "Jyn it is, then." She backed away and chirped for more fish. He consented, continuing to feed her.
  "Nice to meet you, Jyn. I'm Luke Skywalker."
  So for a few minutes, neither the human, Luke Skywalker, or the porg, Jyn, said anything to one another. He fed her graciously, even pausing a moment to eat some of his own cooked fish with her eating her raw fish. When she was full and could eat no more, she fell over onto her back and made a whistling noise that signified that she felt quite content. Luke sat down beside her and simply watched with folded hands. Before she could comprehend what was going on, Jyn fell into a deep and satisfied sleep.
. . .

  Jyn awoke with a jolt. She looked up at the small window overhead, light streaming into the room. She must not have been asleep that much longer than an hour or two, as it was still evening. However, it was getting late, and she knew she needed to get home soon, or else her mama would be worried.
  Suddenly, though, there was a soft sound. It was the same sound that had awoken her. She looked around to find the source of the noise, only to then see the man who had fed her and been so kind to her slouched over in a chair. A few soft cries escaped Luke's mouth through his hands that were covering his face. His shoulders shook a little as he hid his face to muffle the small sobs coming from him.
  "I'm so sorry…" he whispered through tears, head shaking in desolation.
  Now, porgs weren't the smartest creatures in the galaxy; there were plenty of other species out there with far superior intelligence. Nonetheless, they could make out the expressions on someone's face and sense their emotions as several animals could, and they could grow to care about a person and their wellbeing. Well, this porg, though young, could feel very clearly the emotions of the man who had helped her.
  Luke wasn't just sad… He was quite well broken, almost.
  Jyn fluttered across the bed and hopped onto the makeshift table, then scurrying across it and headed straight towards the man in the chair. Once at the edge of the table, she leaped into his lap and rubbed up against his arm affectionately. He froze upon feeling her feathers against his skin, slowly looking up at her. His eyes were red and leaking liquid, his sadness evident on his face as well as in his presence. Jyn made a tiny and doleful sound, laying into him as if to offer comfort.
  Luke didn't move for a moment… But eventually rubbed a hand down her back in a petting motion. She buried deeper into his clothes, and she could feel his shoulders relax some as she did. He sighed shakily as he held her close and continued to brush his fingers through her feathers. Whatever Luke was sad about, something about Jyn being there and simply acting like a support animal seemed to help him feel a little better.
  A support porg… That was definitely a new one.
  "Thank you, my little friend," he whispered, to which she made that almost-purring sound again. Luke wiped his eyes as he smiled slightly.
  Eventually, after a while of the pair being silent and sad for one another, Luke held his new animal friend in his arms like a baby and stood to his feet. He smiled a less-sad smile, now. "It's getting late, Jyn. I best get you home."
  With that, he opened the door, allowing the sunset to bathe them both in orange light. Luke headed towards the cliff where they had met.
  Soon enough, they had arrived, and the orange glow of the sunset had become redder as it neared the horizon. Luke looked around. "Where's your nest, little one?" he asked. Almost as if she could understand him now, though she couldn't entirely, Jyn chirped in the direction of a cluster of rocks. Up at the top, there was a nest perched in the jagged edges, and a group of shrill young porgs could be heard above.
  "Ahh, I see." Luke walked over to the bottom of the rock formation, then turning Jyn around in his hands to look at her. "You'll have to come see me again. It's a lonely island, isn't it?" She tilted her head at him. "Oh, of course, it isn't for you. There's thousands of you things out here." He smiled and scratched her chin again. She purred just as before. "But you have to go back to your family now…" Something in his expression became sad again. "You're… Fortunate to have them. Don't take that for granted."
  I'm talking to a porg, for Force sake. The thought was so loud that she could practically hear it. Once again, Jyn snuggled up against him comfortingly. Luke made a small "hmph" sound and scratched her feathers.
  "Goodbye, Jyn the porg," he said as he lifted her up and towards the nest with both of his palms cupped around her. She watched him with big round eyes. Upon seeing her child, Jyn's mother began to make noises of joy. Jyn squealed with delight upon seeing her mama and hopped into the nest with the rest of her brothers and sisters.
  Down below, Luke Skywalker smiled to himself as he watched the reunion overhead. He turned and began to walk away from the family in the nest, arms folded beneath his robes as he thought over the afternoon's events. Jyn was with her family again…
  Maybe someday, he could be, too.