#either reblog this with more appreciation about him or other Jedi or move along

[jedi-enthusiast]

Ngl I have no idea why some people hate Mace Windu.

He's literally like one of my favorite Jedi, probably like my 2nd favorite if I had to give him a ranking, and he's just like...so awesome!

He's kind and compassionate.

He's brave.

He's intelligent.

He's witty.

He has a purple lightsaber.

He's such a talented duelist that he kicked Jango and Grievous' asses.

And almost beat Palpatine (something even Yoda couldn't do, like come on--that's badass!)

Like seriously, what's not to like???

#no this is not an invitation for y'all to air your grievances about him #I literally do not give a shit about them #either reblog this with more appreciation about him or other Jedi or move along #star wars #sw prequels #the clone wars #pro jedi #jedi appreciation #mace windu #mace windu appreciation

[teletraan-meets-jarvis]

What I Want

AO3 Link

Pairing: Crosshair x fem!Jedi Reader

Summary: While running for you lives on the lower levels of Coruscant, you and Crosshair find yourself in a compromising position. Not that you're complaining.

Click here for Part 2

Warnings: 18+, Lil bit of frisky business but not full on so rated 18 just to be safe, slight angst at the end.

Word Count: 2.1k

Author’s Notes: Finally got round to finishing this bad boi. It's one of the first fic ideas I had since getting into TCW/TBB and I finally had a spark of inspiration to finish the ending so yay! As always, feedback/comments are massively appreciated along with reblogs. Fic is below the cut off, thanks for reading!!

Your legs were on fire as you sprinted through the busy streets of the lower levels of Coruscant. The party sector was packed tonight with the citizens of the planet trying to forget their war worries and enjoy themselves. You pushed people out the way as you continued running away from the threat, your brown Jedi robe catching on a passerby, knocking the hood from your head as you kept up your pace. Crosshair was still behind you, following closely as you both evaded the danger on your heels. Normally you’d both face it head on, but there were too many civilians, it wasn’t safe.

You were supposed to be doing a standard recon and intel gathering mission. Apparently there’d been some traders in the lower levels who were getting tight with the crime syndicates. They were getting a big enough name for themselves to fear that they’d soon partner with the Separatists, so the bad batch and their Jedi had been called to check things out while they were in-between missions. Wrecker was keeping an eye on the ship while Hunter and Tech covered half the sector, you and Cross handled the rest, which was mostly made up of nightclubs.

You’d been making your way through sweaty crowds of people dancing the night away. The pulsing beat of the music and the low lighting made it easy for you both to maintain cover as you scouted out the areas.

That was until club number three which was a different type of establishment, with deep red lighting and a smoky hue from the patrons who were puffing away on their tabac. Sections of circular leather booths filled with people who were donned in expensive, revealing clothing. Everyone had their hands all over each other, flirting, kissing, moving to the sensual music that filled the venue.

It became very clear very quickly that you two weren’t regulars and were clearly republic operatives. Cross being in full trooper armour and your Jedi robe definitely wasn’t helping.

There was a man at the back of the club, he was lounging on a ridiculously extravagant chair, an air of superiority about him. His black, clingy shirt was unbuttoned exposing his toned upper body as two people ran their hands across him. Despite the friendly attention he had, the man was staring directly at you and Crosshair, a small smirk on his face as he waved his bodyguard over who was previously standing a few meters off to his side, and whispered something to him.

“I think we’ve overstayed our welcome” Crosshair said while still locking eyes with the owner through his helmet.

Suddenly there was a loud burst, two doors swung open from either side of the owner, revealing two bounty hunters who began marching towards you both. You felt Crosshair reach for his weapon and placed your hand on his. “Too many civilians.” He just huffed, grabbed your wrist and sprinted out of the place, the hunters making an effort to keep up with you.

Which brings you back to your current predicament of sprinting for you life in an attempt to keep people out of harms way.

You managed to spot an alley way and dragged Crosshair along without warning, no time for apologies as you kept running. You seemed to be behind the strip of night clubs on this level, smoke pouring out the back of the buildings and into the upper levels of Coruscant. Cross spotted what looked to be a storage door and slid to a stop, making you do the same. He shoulder barged his way in and thankfully it was empty. You both rushed in and shut the door behind you. You were safe for now, but the bounty hunters won’t take long to figure out where you went.

You were both breathing heavily from all the running. “What now?” Cross asked as he removed his helmet. “They’re going to figure out what route we took”

You were looking around, waiting for an idea to hit you. Thankfully, one did. From the room you could hear some heavy bass music coming from the club it was connected to. You remember all the drunk people dancing and moving together, there were hundreds of people getting it on out in the city tonight, the bounty hunters wouldn’t bat an eyelid at one more. They’d potentially seen your face under your hood, but not Cross’s, you could use this to your advantage.

You looked over at the sniper “I’ve got a plan, but it involves us getting to know each other a little better” he raised an eyebrow at that, distorting his face tattoo. He very quickly connected the dots and smirked at you.

“If you wanted to sleep with me General, all you had to do was ask” you huffed and rolled your eyes at him.

“Cute. Now get rid of your armour and stash it somewhere.” You ordered while throwing off your brown robe and lightsaber into one of the open storage boxes, covering it back up with the lid.

When you turned back, Crosshair was out of his armour and standing in his blacks. You shut your eyes and used the force to sense your surroundings. You felt two life forces gaining on your position and snapped your eyes open again.

“Kiss me” you said bluntly. Cross was about to make a snide remark but he sensed that time was of the essence from your reaction. So he quickly strode over and placed two hands on your face as he brought his lips to yours.

It suddenly dawned on you that this was your first kiss. Despite being into your twenties, you never really tried anything. The Jedi order was very clear on attachments and well, if you don’t get physical you don’t get attached right? That’s what you told yourself. Except that was a complete lie since every single one of the Jedi in this bloody war was attached to their clone battalions and squads.

You were pulled from your thoughts as Cross moved closer, flush against you as he crowded you backwards until your back hit the wall. He stroked his tongue across your lower lip and you granted him access to deepen things further. They had to be believable right? That’s what you told yourself as you melted further into the sniper’s embrace.

You moved your hands around his neck as his went to brace himself on the wall, hands either side of your head.

Things got heated quite quickly. You’re not sure which of you sent things in that direction. All you knew is that your right leg was now firmly around his waist, his gloveless hand moving further and further up that leg until he was gripping your ass. You rolled your hips into his, looking for some sort of satisfying contact. Your enthusiasm caused him to groan as you ground yourself against his now prominent erection.

The door swung open, making you yelp. Kriff, right, the mission. You at least remembered to bury your face in Crosshair’s neck in feigned embarrassment so the bounty hunters didn’t recognise you

Still pressed firmly against you, Crosshair turned his head slightly, careful to keep his tattoo out of view. He spoke, his voice low, sending a shiver down your spine. “Can I help you?”

The bounty Hunter, Bossk, took in the scene and couldn’t help but chuckle at what he assumed was a drunk couple looking for a quick relief. He hissed out a quick “Apologies-sss” before leaving and shutting the door beyond him.

You and Crosshair stared at each other for a couple seconds, chests still heaving from both the running and the make out session. You should probably get back, you haven’t checked in with the others due to all the commotion.

Except, neither of you moved. You both continued to search each other’s eyes while your bodies remained pressed close.

You’re not entirely sure what made you do it, the adrenaline, the moment, the way that, despite your compromising position, Cross made you feel safe. You brought your hands up to his face and pulled him back down into a searing kiss. Full of heat and want.

Kriff this was so wrong, you shouldn’t be doing this. You’re his General for crying out loud. Not to mention a Jedi. But that logically voice in your head was swiftly overruled by the larger part drowning in pure desire as Crosshair kissed down your exposed neck. You ran your hands up into his cropped grey hair, lightly dragging your nails across his scalp causing the sniper to groan against your neck.

Your hands drifted to the bottom half of the top of his blacks, teasing the skin of his midriff beneath it. He took the hint and stepped back, peeling the item of clothing off his toned body and chucking it carelessly onto the ground before immediately pressing back against you. Maker he was attractive. Lean, toned, battle hardened. Various scars littered his chest and back and you wanted nothing more than to give each one the attention and care it deserved.

It was strange really, you’d never thought of Crosshair like this before. The two of you always had a slightly strained relationship as he didn’t enjoy being under the control of a Jedi. He was always quiet and then when he did speak it was usually to throw a jab or snide remark.

You were brought back to the present moment when he reached up and cupped one of your breasts, causing you to moan as you dropped your head back against the wall. He leaned up and whispered in your ear, his teasing breath making you shiver with want. “What do you want, General?”

“Cross… I-“ he cut you off as he ground down against you, finally providing some of that friction you so desperately craved.

“Use your words” he teased, fully aware of the effect he was having on you.

“Gods Cross, I want you. I want all of you” you blurted out as he continued to move against you.

“See, That wasn’t too hard”

“You’re such an asshole” he let out a dark chuckle at your words which went straight to your aching core. He positioned his lips back against your ear as your hips continued to roll together.

“You don’t seem to mind” he whispered and you couldn’t help the moan that escaped you. He had no right to be this hot. It was driving you insane and you were loving every moment of it.

A sudden light beeping pulled you both out of your haze, it was coming from the comm link in your belt.

“General, Crosshair, you two alright? Haven’t heard from you in a while” Hunter’s voice sounded through the device, effectively killing the moment. You reached between your bodies to grab the offending device and reply.

“Yes Hunter, we’re fine. Just had to outrun some bounty hunters but we managed to lose them. Heading back to the checkpoint now.” He sounded back a confirmation before the line went silent once again.

Crosshair pulled away from you, giving you both some space to breathe again.

“We should probably go” you didn’t meet his gaze as you spoke, decidedly looking anywhere else but him as the guilt of what you’d done suddenly washed over you. Gods this was such a stupid idea.

He didn’t say anything as he picked up the top half of his blacks and started to get his armour back on.

You’d been walking back through the streets of Coruscant in complete silence. Still on the lookout for those bounty hunters just in case they hadn’t called off their search.

Once you’d finally cleared the crowds you decided to speak.

“Cross I-“ you met his visor with a sadness in your eyes before he cut you off abruptly.

“Save it. I know all about your Jedi code. You’ve told us enough” his voice was tense and harsh. You held back a flinch at his words. “I don’t need any lectures about attachments or I’m sorrys or whatever else you’re planning. Let’s get back to the ship” you stood there for a moment, watching him stalk off back towards the Marauder.

The guilt continued to wash over you in waves as you followed behind him. Fuming at yourself for being such an idiot. You’d just started to get to a good place with Crosshair and you’d thrown it all away for five seconds of teenage-like desire.

You finally stepped back on the ship, a few paces behind Crosshair, where Hunter went to greet you with a raised eyebrow at their sniper’s sour mood and your apparent awkwardness. The next few days were going to be a right bundle of laughs. You groaned internally at the thought and pushed past the rest of the Batch to the fresher, needing to wash away the emotions and lower level grime off your skin.

Continue to Part 2

Back to Masterlist

#tj writes #crosshair x reader #crosshair #the bad batch #clone force 99 #hunter #tech #wrecker #jedi reader #clone wars #star wars #clone wars fic #star wars fic #bad batch fic

[kyber-queen]

Like Real People Do (Rex x Reader) Pt. 3

Summary: Jedi!reader and Rex fall in love but are separated by the war. They meet again two years later, weeks before the Siege of Mandalore. In this chapter, Rex and Reader are prepping for a mission on an outer rim planet. Some fluff, slight angst, Rex gets to use a lightsaber because I say so. Italics signify a flashback in this fic. 

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: Mentions of children/family planning ??, insecure Rex, k*sses, mentions of blasters n violence against droids, mentions of alcohol

Author’s Note: I’m not gonna lie this is probably my favorite chapter yet. It’s a little longer, but I think it’s worth it :) Likes and reblogs are very much appreciated!!

Previous | Next

****************************************

After your less than satisfying encounter in the maintenance closet, you had made an early retirement to your quarters to sulk. You slept, but your dreams were ridden with visions of a certain bleach-blond captain. You awoke the next morning ill-rested and heartsick.

You showed up late to your first tactical meeting with the upper ranks of the 501st in a disgruntled mess of dark undereyes and wrinkled robes. If Rex noticed your sleep-deprived state, he made no mention of it. You had positioned yourself strategically in the back of the room, precisely so if you peeked between the admirals, you could clearly see Rex discussing troop formations with General Skywalker. His structured brow was furrowed, and you noted the way he gestured at the maps as he made his point. He was so much more confident now, so much more self-assured than that often-anxious shiny you remembered from training drills two years ago. Maybe that was why he gave you the cold shoulder yesterday—had he outgrown you? Two years was a long time, especially during a war. Did he find someone new? Your heart burned at the thought. You hadn’t even tried to move on—at times, at your lowest points, you considered it, but you never gave up on him. You had broken your code for him. You had broken it every day since you met him, and yet here he was, the picture of cordial indifference. You were attached, deeply and painfully. Did he still care about you?

“Commander, I can hear your gears turning—any input?” Skywalker looked at you expectantly.

You eased your tired features into a placating smile. “Looks good to me, General,”.

“Perfect. Rex, you’ll go with the commander. I want you two waiting just outside the village. The Separatists should arrive within around two hours of landing. Comm me when you see the Separatist forces coming, and you guys cut down as many of the first wave as possible. I’ll circle around with the rest of the 501st and we’ll finish off the rest from behind. All clear?”

You nod in assent as Rex answers with a decisive, “Yes, sir,”.

***

Rex was going to have to have a conversation with his general after this. Your very first mission with the 501st, and Skywalker had paired you with Rex on a glorified stakeout of all things. Rex was pissed. He had decided as soon as he found out you would be consulting with the 501st that he would keep his distance. He knew it wasn’t your fault that you hadn’t seen each other in years—war makes love near impossible. He was more upset with himself for falling for a Jedi. It was against the law for either of you to have an attachment to each other. Rex had fallen in love, and it was a stupid, shitty idea. He had spent the better part of two years trying to bury his memories of you, and just as he was beginning to succeed, here you were creeping back into his mind. Just the sight of you threw him back to two years ago—back when he was really, truly happy. Rex was built for war, nothing more. The problem with you was that being with you made him think otherwise. When you were together, you would always talk about ‘after the war’. Rex knew that as a clone, there really wouldn’t be an after. You, with your altruism and soft smiles and gentle touches were everything Rex didn’t need.

Rex walked to the pod that would take the pair of you to the Separatist-threatened planet. You were already seated. You thumbed the grip of your lightsaber, and Rex recognized the gesture—it was a habit whenever you were nervous. His eyes were locked on you, debating whether or not he should say something despite his earlier promise to not get involved. You broke the silence for him.

“I can feel you staring, Rex. Talk to me,”.

You could always tell what he was thinking. As your friendship first blossomed, it unnerved him, but as your paths intertwined more and more he found it a comfort to have you understand him so well without him even saying a word. Rex met your eyes, and his stomach clenched. You were still so beautiful. He looked away

“Just thinking about the campaign, sir,”.

Your heart ached. Every bone in your body was screaming, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you,” and yet he called you sir. He addressed you as a superior, another link in the chain of command. He really had moved on, hadn’t he? You bit your lip, the sharp pain of your teeth against the tender skin attempting to draw your attention away from your torturous thoughts. You had a mission to complete. You peeked out the porthole, and you saw the terrain approaching far faster than normal.

You landed with a crash. You were jostled from your seat, your head smacking the metal wall painfully. As the ringing in your skull crescendoed, you took stock of your darkened surroundings through your blurred vision. The lighting in the pod must have been damaged during your landing. You ignited your lightsaber, illuminating Rex with its soft glow. He stood up and rolled his shoulder experimentally, his nose scrunching in pain.

Your brows furrowed, “Are you alright?’

“I’m fine,” He grunted. He felt his way along the walls. “Exit’s been jammed shut, though,”

You searched his eyes in the dim lighting, another pang of longing reverberating through your chest. You dismissed the sensation and plunged your lightsaber into the wall of the pod, freeing yourselves. You emerged from the battered pod, your head pounding as your eyes adjusted. It was bright, with the triad suns beating down on you relentlessly. You checked your positioning system—you had landed a mere 15-minute walk from your stakeout site. You watched as Rex eased himself out of the pod. He groaned, his hand cradling his right arm. You handed him his positioning chip, and the two of you set off towards the village outskirts.

You noticed his hand lingered on his right shoulder, and he would grimace from time to time when it jostled. You reached your hand out to his plastoid-covered shoulder. “Rex, let me—”

“I’m fine,”.

His tone was sharp and dangerous, affecting you like a slap to the face. You sucked in a breath, and walked the rest of the path in silence. The planet was beautiful—you were surrounded on all sides by strange golden grasses that swayed with the breeze. Its beauty did nothing to distract you from the man by your side.

You arrived at the meeting point and immediately settled yourself against the large boulder meant as your cover. Rex sat across from you, leaning against a smaller rock. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes for a moment and swallowing thickly. You traced the sharp line of his jaw with your eyes, following down to the thick cords of muscle in his neck. You contemplated another attempt at offering him some bacta spray, but considering his earlier response, decided against it. When did Skywalker say the Separatists would arrive? Two hours?

You spent around an hour in silence. You meditated, as General Secura had taught you. Time moved thickly around you, your aura burning bright as it cut through the hours and seconds. With your deep focus came little flashes of memories.

You saw Rex, smiling. His golden skin was warm against the soft sheets. His thumb traced the apple of your cheek. You grinned.

“What do you want to do, Rex? After this is all over?”

He paused, his hand resting heavy on your jaw. “I don’t know, cyare. Guess I never really thought about it,”. His eyes flicked over your gentle smile and bright eyes. “I’d wanna be with you, though,” he whispered. You’re everything he could ever want. He’d never loved anything so much, and he knew he’d never love anyone else the way he loved you. What the hell did he do to deserve you? “What about you?”

“My parents—I barely remember them now—had a house on Naboo. We could live there, just us. No war, no fighting. It’s so beautiful there, Rex. The grass is long and tall—as a child, I’d play outside for hours just soaking up the sunlight. It’s a good place for raising children,”. Your face heated as you said the last part.

“Raising children, eh?” Rex tilted your chin, and you lifted your gaze to his eyes. You nodded slowly. “With me?” His eyes shone in the morning sunlight, his brow furrowed.

“Yes, Rex. Who else?” Rex’s expression eased, and you pressed your lips to each of his cheeks, followed by a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose. Rex sighed contentedly. He had no clue why you were with a shiny like him—he was one of a million genetically and physically identical men. He was sure that eventually you’d realize just how much better you could do than a clone, but until that day he’d savor every precious moment with you.

“You’re gonna be a great parent, one day, cyar’ika,”.

“You will, too, Rex,”.

You jolted out of your trance. It was just your luck that Rex had infiltrated the one escape you had from your relentless thoughts of him. You opened your eyes to find him studying your face. He averted his gaze quickly.

“Rex,” you called.

He fiddled with the straps of his armor.

“Rex,”.

He dropped his hands to his sides with a harsh sigh. “Would you just stop it?”

You were stunned. “Rex, I—”

“I spent two fucking years trying to forget I ever loved you. I was nothing, I was nobody, and you were this—this ideal being. I had no fucking clue why you gave me the time of day, but I let myself fall for you anyway. When we left for our tours, I broke. You were the first real thing, the first good thing I ever had, and you were gone. I was sure I was gonna die over there—and you wouldn’t have even known if I had. It was so much easier to believe that you had moved on, that you were through with me. Now you’re here and you’re alive and I—” his voice broke, “I don’t know what to do,”. He met your gaze, and his eyes glistened. His voice was barely a whisper, “You were always the rational one. Please tell me what to do,”.

Your wide eyes watered. You turned your head to the golden fields and let out a tiny sob. What the hell do you answer to that? Just as you opened your mouth to speak, you spotted what seemed to be a thousand metal heads just over a rolling hill. The separatists. You hastily wiped your eyes and took a deep breath. This would have to wait.

“The Separatists are here,” your voice wavered more than you would have liked. “I’ll comm the General,”. You sniffed, rubbing your eyes again. Get it together, you thought. You were a Jedi Master, for gods’ sake. Ever since returning to Coruscant, you’d been an emotional trainwreck. You were starting to see why the council discouraged attachments.

You allowed Rex a moment to collect himself, turning to face the oncoming droids as the two of you prepared in silence. The metallic clang of their footsteps grew louder and louder. Rex slipped his helmet back on over his head and unholstered his blasters.

“It’s your call, Commander. When d’ya wanna go?”

You looked back over your shoulder at him, and you were instantly thrown back to the hours of training exercises you had completed together. You grinned.

“Think you can take down the battle tank over there?” You motioned to the gargantuan hunk of steel situated right in the middle of a sea of battle droids.

The competitive edge you had so dearly missed was back in Rex’s voice.

“You know I never miss,”.

“Race you there,”. And with that, you were off. The two of you flew down the hill, cutting down the droids as if they were made of straw. You swung, decapitating a droid and ducking as Rex put a blaster hole through the one taking aim at you from behind. You worked well together, always did. The rest of the 501st seemed to be making easy work of the droids from behind.

“Rex, blaster!”

Rex tossed one of his blasters into the air, and you force-pulled it into your grasp in an instant. You fired off three quick shots at one of the tanks, damaging the traction treads. Rex looked over at the tank, and recognized the maneuver you had initiated in an instant. He took off for the tank, and called your name once he was just yards from its base.

“Saber!”

You switched off your saber and hurled it in Rex’s direction. He had barreled past at least ten lines of troops, snatching your lightsaber from the air before igniting it and plunging it into the battle tank’s generator while simultaneously firing off a few rapid shots at the droids. The droids’ main attention, as planned, was on you, and you were beginning to feel the heat. You force-pulled your lightsaber, still ignited, from Rex’s grasp and into a line of battle droids before its heavy weight met your palm again.

“Blaster!”

You tossed Rex his blaster, and he caught it with ease. With your lightsaber in hand, you began cutting a path to Rex, who had holed up against the decommissioned tank.

“Need to get me one of those,” Rex motioned to your lightsaber with a grin.

You shook your head with a laugh, deflecting a blaster shot as Rex took aim at the next line of droids.

It was your fault. You got distracted. Something about the focus in Rex’s masked stare as he picked off the droids one-by-one pulled your attention away just long enough for one of the droids to press the cool metal of its blaster against your neck. Before you could react, Rex fired two quick shots into its head.

“Told you, cyare, I never miss,”.

You missed this. The nicknames, the banter, working together like this. It felt good. It felt like coming home. You snuck one last glance at Rex before sprinting out from your cover to cut down the next row of droids.

Rex was fucked. Did you realize he called you cyare? It just slipped out—something about being here with you, fighting next to you—it brought him back to two years ago. He shook his head, firing at a droid that had pointed its blaster at you. He was done with pretending he didn’t care. He still had no idea what to do, or where this would go, but he could figure that out later.

You finished off the last droid, looking back at Rex with an easy smile before waving to General Skywalker. Rex jogged over to you, pulling you back behind the tank and away from the prying eyes of the rest of the 501st.

“Rex, wha—”

He ripped off his helmet, letting it fall to the ground as he pulled you into a kiss. His hand fell to the small of your back, and you practically collapsed into him. His lips were hungry against yours—he was all tongue and teeth and desperation. He needed this. You needed this. You raked your nails through his close-cropped hair, drawing a little groan from deep in his chest. His hands were everywhere—your hair, your neck, your waist—

“Rex, where are you? Are you injured?”

For the second time today, Rex was going to kill his general. He pulled away from you reluctantly, his hand lingering on your waist. You take his hand, and press your lips to his palm.

“We should go,”. Rex nods. “Meet me in my quarters tonight—you still like firewhiskey?”

“Rex—are you over here?”

You meet Rex’s eyes, and he smiles. A real smile. “I’ll see you tonight?”

“See you tonight,”.

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Like Real People Do Taglist: @pinkiemme @callme-eds @dinpoe 

#captain rex #captain rex x y/n #ct 7567 #commander rex #rex x you #the clones #the 501st #rex x reader #captain rex x reader #captain rex x you #the clone wars

[benscaligraphyset]

Starward- chapter two

A/N: so sorry this update took me so long! It’s been kind of a crazy month but my updates will hopefully be more consistent from now on! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter! Comments and reblogs are appreciated :)

Warnings: drinking

You splashed water on your face.

Why were you so nervous?

The refresher’s shower ran in the background while you stared at your reflection in the mirror.

Should you wear makeup?

No.

You groaned and threw your face in your hands. You just needed to relax. You nodded at your blurry reflection in the now fogged up mirror and hung your robe on the hook.

The warm water was instantly calming and encouraged you to take long, deep breaths. Maybe you’d have time for a quick meditation session before you had to go. The thought made you question why you even needed one.

This was Ben.

Big, goofy, grumpy Ben whose ears were too big for his head.

Besides, even if you were interested in him that way, he made it pretty clear in the cantina that he did not. And you were glad that he didn’t. That would only complicate things.

You shook your head of those thoughts. Jedi weren’t allowed to form attachments anyway, so whatever you used to feel for Ben before you left doesn’t matter. You weren’t children anymore.

You inhaled deeply as your jebwa flower-scented soap drenched you in tranquility. It was the same scent your mother had always used.

Just as you were beginning to relax, a loud knock at the door startled you and caused your eyes to fly open. You cursed as shampoo slipped down into your eyes and they instantly burned.

“Hey, chosen one, other people have to shower, too,” a girl's voice rang out.

You already knew she was going to be the cause of a lot of your meditation sessions.

You quickly washed the shampoo out of your hair and stepped out of the shower, wrapping your lilac towel around your body.

You grabbed the clothes you were planning on wearing and slipped them on. You could’ve waited to do this until you left the refresher but her incessant knocking made you want to go slower.

Finally, you thrust the door open to see her scowling face. The girl’s white hair sat atop her head in beautiful, intricate braids that stopped just above her shoulder. Her bright green eyes were squinted and her full lips were twisted into a scowl. She was actually quite pretty, it was too bad she was a bitch.

She said nothing to you and simply slipped into the room behind you, being sure to shut the door a little too hard.

“Nice to meet you, too.”

~

The sun was beginning to set, bathing the inside of the temple in a golden light and making the floor tiles shimmer. The specks of light appeared to be dancing with each step you took. You took a moment to smile in admiration of the sight of the temple that basically looked like it was taken straight from a painting. This place wasn’t the worst place to spend most of your time.

“Hello, Y/N,” Luke greeted and you pulled your gaze away from the temple to see him give a nod in your direction.

“Hello, Master Luke,” you replied cheekily, stopping to come in front of him.

He rolled his eyes. “I told you, you don’t have to call me that.”

“I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m getting special treatment, Master.” He chuckled with a shake of his head.

“I’m gonna regret training you aren’t I?”

You nodded, trying but failing to keep a straight face. He nodded his head in the direction of the archway of the temple and started walking, with you trailing behind.

“How was my speech?”

“You mean the three other times I heard it or...?”

“Listen, smart mouth—“

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” you interrupted and nudged him a little.

“The speech was great. I think they were really listening to you.”

Even if you hadn’t seen his shoulders lessen their tension, you could feel his anxiety lessening and relief replacing it. You gave him a smile, which he returned.

“I see you and Ben had time to catch up,” he said.

You stopped just outside the temple entrance and looked at him. He had a peculiar look on his face that you couldn’t place. You tried to press and feel what he was feeling but he didn’t let you in, much to your frustration.

You flushed at the thought of Luke seeing you hold his hand.

“Yeah. We had a lot to catch up on...it’s been a while.”

“It has.”

“And it wasn’t very kind of you to not-so-subtly aim your comment of controlling emotions at him,” you added, giving him a pointed look.

“Well neither you nor Ben have ever been good in that category,” he defended with a tiny smirk.

“Yes, but he doesn’t need you pointing it out in front of everybody.”

Luke chuckled softly and smiled at you.

You squinted. “What?”

“You always were the first to defend him,” he said adoringly.

Well if no one else is going to, you thought to yourself but thought better of vocalizing it.

“Anyway...who’s the girl with white hair?” you asked, eager to change the subject.

You were sure Luke could feel the irritation rolling off your shoulders at the mention of the mystery girl.

“Ah,” he said knowingly. “So, I see you’ve met Voe.”

“I wouldn’t call it meeting as much as her yelling at me for being in the refresher too long.”

“Yeah, Ben didn’t get along much with her either when they trained together.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

Luke chuckled softly.

“Voe had a bit of a rough upbringing... she’s never felt good enough. Especially when it came to Ben. And he talked about you a good bit after you left—“

“He did?” you asked. A little too excitedly based on Luke’s eyebrow raise at you.

You cleared your throat. “I mean, he did?”

“Yes, he did. We both did,” Luke replied. “Ben and I both spoke very highly of you...And she can sense how strong your powers in The Force are for herself, which, I’m sure, contributes to her insecurities.”

You sighed.

How was it your fault that you were stronger than her? If she just worked harder and didn’t get so in her head she could be nearly as good and you and Ben.

“Easy,” Luke said in a warning tone.

“I didn’t say anything,” you replied defensively.

“I don’t need to be Force-sensitive to know what’s going on in your head.” He tapped on the side of your head and you rolled your eyes, pushing him away. He stared at you for a second before turning serious.

“Not everyone has had the same opportunities you’ve had, you need to remember that.”

You stared into his clear blue eyes before needing to drag your gaze away. His disappointed looks always stung more than anyone else’s.

You nodded; he was right, you knew he was.

“Where are all you going off to? Do I even wanna know?” He asked as the other younglings bustled around you and towards the valley.

“Uh, group bonfire slash bonding session? I don’t even know,” you admitted with a soft chuckle.

“Well have fun with that.”

“I’m sure I will.”

You felt a familiar presence and smiled to look over at the entrance where Ben stood in new tan robes. You could tell he was freshly showered as his hair was still damp and sticking to the sides of his face. His look of discomfort at the aspect oncoming socialization almost made you laugh but you held it in.

You were going to make sure Ben Solo had fun tonight if it was the last thing you did.

~

By the time you both made it down to the valley, the sun had nearly disappeared behind the horizon and the other students were adding sticks to fuel the large flame in front of you.

Neither of you had much time to admire the view before a purple figure was running to you.

“Hey, Y/N! You made it!” Helixia, the twi’lek from the cafeteria, greeted you excitedly. You had to hold back a laugh when Ben jumped in surprise.

“Hey, Helixia.”

Her gaze flickered to Ben and you instinctively went to introduce him.

“And you're Ben!” Helixia exclaimed before you could. “Ben Solo! It’s such an honor too meet you. Your mom has always been a hero of mine...”

You could feel Ben’s discomfort rising the more she spoke about his family.

“Hey,” you tried to find a polite way to interrupt, “Do you guys want a drink?”

“Oh, well I’ve already had a drink but if you guys want one they’re over there.” She gestured to a table with an assortment of drinks.

“Thanks,” you said and Ben took this as his opportunity to fast walk toward the table.

“No problem--Hey Tai!” You were relieved when she ran over to greet boy just arriving.

“So, everyone already knows exactly who we are,” you grumbled and took a sip of your Corellian whiskey. The strong burn was worth the feeling of warmth throughout your chest.

“I think I have you beat,” Ben replied, taking a sip of his own drink. “At least you had a chance of anonymity.”

“That is true.”

You sighed dramatically and watched as the other students mingled. You spotted the girl from earlier, Voe, in the crowd, wearing an unimpressed face. She looked like she was trying so hard. She needs to just let go--

You thought back to what Luke said and stopped your train of thought. Everyone learned at their own pace and it wasn’t your place to judge her.

“You know, I know we are, but maybe we shouldn’t stand apart from everyone like a pair of loners,” you said and nudged him. “We should try and socialize.”

Ben hummed. “Sounds awful.”

You giggled softly and grabbed his hand.

“Come on,” you said and began to drag him towards the other students, ignoring his protests. “This will be good for us.”

Ben grumbled something next to you but you ignored it.

Maybe it was the nerves or maybe it was because you haven’t had more than a sip of alcohol in years, but you had definitely drunk more than you should have. Ben had cut you off when you mentioned the stars spinning above you.

You remember convincing Ben to dance with you and him begrudgingly agreeing, lightly moving his limbs to the song playing before quickly finding an excuse to be somewhere else. You danced with another boy named Tai, who had a very calming, mellow energy about him and Helixia came to join. At some point, you went to socialize with others but everything after that is a little foggy.

Before you knew it, you were sitting on a log a bit away from everyone else. You blinked a few times and looked around, spotting Ben sitting next to you.

“Wait, what happened? I was forcing you to socialize.”

Ben snorted. “Yes, you certainly were. But, I figured we both could use a break as you and I both know that we’re happier just sitting here by each other.”

You were grateful the alcohol could be used as an excuse for the flush that rose to your face. Ben must’ve realized how his words sounded because he cleared his throat and began to backtrack.

“I mean, by ourselves, like, not disturbed by others not...“

You would’ve saved Ben the embarrassment of stumbling through his sentence if you weren’t in such a nice state of warmth and tranquility. Ben’s voice just felt like background music to you as you closed your eyes and let his voice lull you into an even happier state.

You really had missed him.

“...and you’re not even listening to me.”

Okay, that you caught.

“Sorry...I think I had a little too much to drink,” you said and a giggle bubbled inside your chest. Your brain finally got the signal to open your eyes and you saw Ben wearing an amused smile.

“A little? Without me, you’d be passed out by now.”

“My hero,” you said, dramatically placing a hand over your chest.

“Did I succeed in my mission for the night?” You asked.

Ben tilted his head. “What mission?”

“My mission to make sure you had fun tonight.”

Ben laughed loudly, throwing his head back. He took another sip out of his bottle. “Yes, I would say you succeeded.”

You both laughed and you took a second to just listen to the laugh you’ve missed for so many years. You smiled and rested your head on his shoulder.

“I really have missed you, Ben.”

His force presence was a storm of emotions ever since your head touched his shoulder. Maybe he just decided he didn’t care about all the thoughts in his head right now, or your relaxing presence helped him, you’ll never know which but after a minute, his presence finally felt calm for the first time since you had returned.

He sighed and placed his head on top of yours.

“I’ve missed you too, Starward.”

Taglist (ask to be added or removed):

( @lover1307​ @bepo-is-sorry​ @snakelaufeyson @supervengerslock @shockwavee @kilo-wrench @ohhh-boo-tiful @serenityofbeingascintilla @kilo-wrench @ohhh-boo-tiful @ladyzirkonia @noisyflappersonaoaf @fandomshit6000 @i-am-lokii-of-asgard​ @siren-queen03 @dark-night-sky-99  @nickangel13​ @girlyisthatweirdkid @edwardspaghedwardtozier @irreverent-dream​ )

#ben solo x you #ben solo x reader #ben solo fanfic #ben solo fanfiction #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren x you #Kylo Ren fanfic #kylo ren fanfiction #Luke Skywalker #Ben Solo #Skyward #SW Fanfic

[rebelquilts512]

Howls of the Past... and the Future

The long awaited sequel to Through the Fire is here! Also known as Part 2 of my Phoenix AU, or my Kanan Lives AU.

This took longer than I anticipated and ended up longer than I anticipated. I hope it’s worth the wait.

There are songs in this and they will be credited at the end.

This is over 14,750 words and around 75% of it is flashbacks. Hope you enjoy it.

Reblogs, likes, and comments are appreciated.

After they went around with introductions, everyone involved in the attack had gathered around to exchange stories of what they'd been up to.

“So let me get this straight,” Kanan was saying. “You had a vision of the Lothal Jedi Temple, convinced Sabine, Zeb, and Rex to help you get to the Jedi Temple, which was under Imperial excavation, snuck into the temple, touched a couple murals, then had to run as the temple collapses, after which it disappears, taking the Imperial excavation crew with it,”

There was a pause.

“Well when you put it like that it sounds crazy,” Ezra replied.

“It was crazy, Ezra,” Sabine said, giving him a look.

“Hey,” Ezra held up his hands. “The Empire can't find out anymore of the temple’s secrets, and they're short an excavation crew,”

“Still,” Hera put in. “Ezra, what you did was risky, and you don't know how bad it could have gone,”

“I don’t know,” Kasmir said from his seat. “From what I've heard this kid can handle anything,”

“Kasmir, you're not helping,” Kanan groaned, rubbing at the burns on the side of his neck.

“Hey, I remember some the crazy plans you had back in the day would…” Kasmir suddenly trailed off. He, along with everyone else, was staring at Kanan, or rather, what was behind him.

“What's wrong?” Kanan asked. Then the white Lothwolf exhaled, making his hair ruffle.

Kanan slowly turned around.

“Dume,” the Lothwolf breathed.

Kanan froze. The rest of the Ghost crew, Kasmir, Kleeve, Kallus, and the clones, who all knew about Kanan's old name, stared at the wolf in shock. The rest of the group looked terrified, and half of them were reaching for their weapons.

“What do you want?” Kanan asked.

“Follow,” the Lothwolf answered.

The wolf turned around and started walking. Kanan stood up and did as he was told. Hera, Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb exchanged glances before getting up and following him. Chopper rolled up behind them. Everyone else stayed where they were and watched them go.

***

The white wolf lead them into the cave Ezra, Zeb, Sabine, and Kanan remembered from when the white Lothwolf took them to this hemisphere.

The wolf stopped by the cave painting, the one with the temple, the Jedi, and the wolves. The wolf put one paw on the wall and tilted his head, gesturing for them to do the same.

He must’ve done something in the Force, because Kanan got the message and came up to place his hands on the wall.

Ezra put his hands on the wall next, standing between Kanan and the Lothwolf.

Then Hera came up on Kanan's other side and put her hands on the wall.

Sabine and Zeb looked at each other before taking spots on the other side of Hera, farthest away from the Lothwolf, and doing the same.

They all closed their eyes and suddenly it seemed like they were falling.

***

When they landed, even Kanan could see the grassy Lothal plains and rock spires that filled their view.

There was smoke in the distance. Then the thrum of speeder engines filled the air. A single speeder bike appeared from the direction of the smoke and the crew got the distinct impression that they were watching a flashback.

A human woman was driving the bike. She had chin-length brown hair and amber skin and was wearing a silvery-white cloak. She held a bundle protectively against her chest as she sped across the plains.

The roar of speeder engines got louder as a group of assorted beings on their own bikes and speeders followed her, at a distance that implied they were chasing her.

“Dume!” the Aqualish leading the group shouted at her.

{Kanan's eyes widened at the mention of that name, so did Hera’s, and Sabine's. Ezra gasped and Zeb’s jaw dropped. It seemed like this flashback had something to do with Caleb Dume’s family, Kanan's family.}

The woman looked nervously behind her. When she saw the size of the group chasing her, her eyes filled with fear and she pushed her speeder bike to go faster.

One of the goons fired at her. She barely managed to dodge the shot and darted into a cluster of rock spires. She weaved through them in an attempt to lose her pursuers. It only half worked. While the bigger speeders were unable to get through, most of the bikes kept up the chase.

Finally, the woman managed to temporarily lose them. She slowed her bike down until she stopped. She pulled her bundle away from her chest and looked down at it, then she sighed in relief.

The white Lothwolf appeared a few yards in front of her. He stood still for a few moments before he turned around and started walking.

There was a shout from behind the woman. She turned around and saw that her pursuers were starting to track her back here. The Lothwolf turned its head back; his eyes conveyed a promise of safety. The woman turned her speeder bike back on and followed the Lothwolf. The Lothwolf started running as the goons got closer. The woman followed the wolf until he disappeared into a cave. She made a move to follow, but then a blaster shot hit the back of her bike, causing it to spin out of control as it entered the cave.

There was a flash of blue light.

The scene changed and the speeder bike came spinning out of a different cave, preceded by another blue flash, and into view. The woman fell off and started rolling, practically wrapping her body around her bundle. She stopped when her head hit a rock and she went still; her bundle rolled out of her arms.

The bundle let out a whimper, surprising everyone. The white Lothwolf appeared and nudged it with his nose. A little arm emerged from the blankets and the crew got a look at the baby inside the bundle. It couldn't be more than a few months old and had the same brown hair and amber skin as its mother, and was now crying.

A brown Lothwolf came to see what was making all the noise. Following her were two pups; one was brown with gray mixed in, and the other was gray with brown mixed in. The brown Lothwolf, clearly a mother, took one look at the baby bundle and started trying to free the baby from the blankets. The white Lothwolf helped her.

Once most of the blankets were off, the brown wolf laid down on her side. The white wolf helped her move the baby so it was in a perfect position to nurse. The baby found a nipple, stopped crying, and started eating.

Certain members of the Ghost crew worried that the wolf's own pups, who were twice the baby's size, wouldn't take kindly to a strange creature drinking their mother's milk. To the crew’s surprise however, the pups calmly walked up to the baby and started sniffing it.

Eventually, they’re curiosity was satisfied. They laid down on either side of the baby and rested their muzzles on their front paws.

The next thing the crew saw was the woman again. She was still unconscious, but it was clear some time had passed. The white Lothwolf touched his nose to her forehead and she started to come back to consciousness.

The woman started feeling around her, searching for something. After about a minute of frantic searching, the woman started to panic. “Caleb!” she screamed. “Caleb!”

{Zeb and Sabine's jaws dropped, Ezra and Hera gasped, and Kanan looked like he was about to have a heart attack.}

The woman found her baby sleeping up against the brown wolf with the pups. She scrambled over and picked him up. When she saw that he was okay, she sighed. “Aren't you a strong boy,” she cooed, kissing him on the forehead.

That's when the baby woke up. He let out a tiny little baby yawn and opened his eyes.

Their teal color was the final confirmation the Ghost crew needed. The baby was Kanan. They were watching Kanan's childhood before the Jedi Temple, which was apparently connected to the Lothwolves.

Caleb smiled when he saw his mother. He laughed and reached up towards her face. She gave him a finger to hold and took the opportunity to look around their surroundings.

The rock spires surrounding them formed an oval shaped clearing, with a couple of openings into the prairie beyond, and it was full of Lothwolves.

The white Lothwolf appeared by her side, startling her. “You!” she yelped, jumping a little. She took one more look around; at the other wolves, who were relaxing or playing; at the small stream that made a pool in between two rocks; at the cave she came through; and at her damaged speeder. She looked at the white Lothwolf again. “You...you saved us. Why?”

“Dume,” the Lothwolf answered.

“I..I don't understand,” the woman hesitated. “I mean… my name is Rebekka Dume, but...how am I important to you?””

“Dume,” the Lothwolf repeated, leaning forward to point his muzzle at Caleb, who laughed and patted his nose with his hand.

“Caleb?” Rebekka asked. “Why do you care about him? He's barely three months old!”

The white Lothwolf sat down and cocked its head to one side. His expression read ‘You'll have to wait to find out’.

Then, Caleb started fussing.

“Oohhhh, what's the matter?” Rebekka asked, bouncing and rocking him in her arms. “Are you hungry?”

She checked. He wasn't.

Next, she turned him over and sniffed his bottom. She wrinkled her nose. “Someone needs a diaper chaaange,” she said in a sing-song voice.

After re-establishing her hold on him, Rebekka walked back to her speeder bike and grabbed one of the bags strapped to it. She sat down on the ground and took what was probably a changing mat out of the bag. Once it was smoothed out, she laid Caleb on it. There were a few more things she had to get out of the bag before she unbuttoned his onesie. Then she proceeded to change his diaper.

Caleb, for his part, put a hand in his mouth and lay mostly still while he was being changed.

Once he had a new diaper on, Rebekka cleaned her hands with some sanitizing wipes. Then she picked up the dirty diaper with two fingers and looked around bewildered.

“Now where am I supposed to put this?” She wondered aloud.

One of the pups, the gray one with brown added in, walked over, took her sleeve lightly with their teeth, and tugged. The pup pulled her over to a small dark space between two rocks. It released her sleeve and started digging.

When they had dug a good-sized hole, the pup sat back and cocked its head towards the hole.

Rebekka looked at the diaper in her hand, then down at the hole. “You want me to bury it?” She asked. She thought for a moment. “Well, I guess it is biodegradable,” She tossed the dirty diaper into the hole.

The wolf pup refilled the hole, letting Rebekka scoop in a few handfuls of dirt. When they were finished, Rebekka rushed back to Caleb.

Caleb was doing fine. The other pup had laid down beside him. They had a front paw across his chest and was resting their muzzle on top of his head.

When they noticed Rebekka, the pup moved its paw and got up, allowing her to easily reach him.

Rebekka picked Caleb up, checking him over before looking down at the pup, who had been joined by the sibling that helped her. She kissed his check. “I think you made friends, sweet boy,” she told him, pressing their foreheads together.

{Zeb couldn't resist snorting at the nickname. Ezra made a little ‘aww’ noise and Hera and Sabine giggled. Kanan was slightly surprised, and a little embarrassed, knowing the crew probably wasn't going to stop teasing him about it for a while.}

Rebekka held him in one arm while she picked up all the diaper changing supplies. Then she put the bag back on her bike. Her eyes landed on the smoking hole where the bike had been shot. She sighed. “I'm not getting back home am I?” She asked no one in particular. “It’ll be months before the Edgeherd Gang gives up, and I'm not getting far on this bike,” She reached into her cloak and pulled out what appeared to be a purse of credits. She looked inside it. “I think I have enough to buy passage off-world,” She sighed again. “But where would I go? And how will I know if it's safe?” she asked, hugging Caleb close to her chest and kissing the top of his head.

The white Lothwolf appeared beside her again.

Rebekka jumped and almost dropped her credit purse. “Would you please stop doing that!” She scolded. “Especially when I'm holding Caleb! Since he's so important to you!” She added, annoyed, shifting Caleb to one shoulder.

“Stay,” the Lothwolf said. “Here,”

Rebekka tilted her head to one side. “You want us to stay here?” She asked. Then she started to ramble. “But… How? What will we eat? I mean… I have some provisions, but they won't last long. And I'll run out of diapers. WHAT EXACTLY IS YOUR PLAN?!”

“Trust. Me.” the Lothwolf replied.

They stared each other down for a minute. The wolf’s yellow eyes against Rebekka’s sea green ones.

Eventually, Rebekka relented. “Fine, but you'd better know what you're doing. And if my son and I are going to stay here, I going to have to know what to call you. Do you have a name?”

The white wolf seemed to hesitate a moment, then he replied. “Ashla,”

Rebekka nodded. “Alright, Ashla,” She turned to where the brown Lothwolf was standing with her pups. “Do they have names?”

Ashla shook his head no.

“Well then,” Rebekka walked to them and reached out to stroke the brown wolf’s head. “Would you mind terribly if I gave you and your pups names?” She asked.

The Lothwolf closed her eyes in acceptance.

“Alright,” Rebekka replied. “Hmm....I think I'll call you...Maica,”

Maica licked Rebekka's arm, as if she was agreeing with her new name.

Maica’s pups started jumping up on Rebekka. Either they were excited to get names, or they wanted to get closer to Caleb, who was smiling and waving an arm at them. One of them managed to lick his foot, making him laugh.

“Do you want names too?” Rebekka asked with a smile. She squatted down to their level. They immediately stopped jumping and waited excitedly. Rebekka let them give Caleb attention while she checked their genders. “Well you're a boy,” she told the mostly brown pup. “And you're a girl,” she told his mostly gray sister.

Rebekka started petting the boy while thinking. “Your name will be….Teman,”

Teman gently licked her cheek, like he was thanking her for the name.

She moved to his sister. “And you can be...Sora,”

Sora energetically licked her whole face, with much less restraint than her brother.

Rebekka laughed. “Well I think this will work out just fine,”

***

The scene faded away and the Ghost crew wondered if that was all they were going to see.

***

Their question was answered when a new scene appeared. It was still the Lothwolf compound, but it was clear someone was living there now. There appeared to be a wash-line hanging between two rock spires; what looked to be some sort of hide tanning station leaning against another spire; an area that looked like a fire pit, with a bunch of cooking utensils stored beside it, was in between the two; on the other side of the washline was what was probably a garden; Rebekka's speeder bike was sitting with a crate attached to it by what the Ghost crew decided to call “the portal cave”; and a small cave entrance the Ghost crew hadn't noticed before appeared to have some significance.

They didn't see Rebekka or Caleb until they heard a laugh.

Rebekka was kneeling by a tub of soapy water. Her sleeves were rolled up and her hair was held back with a handkerchief. She was the one laughing. The Ghost crew wasn’t sure why until they noticed Caleb, who looked around five months old now, sitting in the tub. It took a second before they realized that Rebekka was giving him a bath.

Rebekka took a cup, and poured it over his head, using one hand to keep the water out of his eyes. Caleb smiled and splashed around when she was done.

Rebekka poured one final cup of water down his back before she took him out of the water and wrapped him in a towel.

“Now you’re all clean!” she cooed, cuddling him to her chest and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

After drying him off, Rebekka put Caleb in a diaper and dressed him in an outfit that vaguely looked like it was made of animal skins. Then she picked him up and stood.

It was then that the Ghost crew finally saw the Lothwolves in the compound. Maica, Teman, and Sora were lying nearby.

As soon as Caleb was dressed, Sora and Teman got up and walked over to him.

Caleb made happy baby noises and tried to reach down to them.

“Oh no you don’t!” Rebekka scolded, turning Caleb away from them. “I get to have my clean baby for a few minutes, thank you,”

The statement did not affect the pups’ behavior. They continued to try to get Caleb’s attention. Caleb, for his part, was trying to get down to them. Eventually, Caleb realised he wasn’t being let down and started to pout, and then to whimper.

Rebekka found herself up against three equally adorable sets of puppy dog eyes.

She signed. “Well, I tried,” She admitted.

Rebekka walked over to where the grass was shorter and set Caleb down. She produced a toy that looked to be made of Lothal grass and animal bones and gave it to him. Caleb laughed triumphantly.

Caleb, Teman, and Sora started to play, although it was mostly just Caleb alternating between chewing on the toy and waving it in front of the pups’ faces as they followed it with their heads. Rebekka walked over to a basket by the entrance to the smaller cave and took a few pieces of cloth out of it, which again resembled animal skins, and grabbed a needle and thread. She leaned up against the nearest rock and started to sew.

They stayed like that for a while. Rebekka sewed while Caleb and the pups played.

The Ghost crew’s view changed to the sun. It moved from the position of mid-morning to around high noon.

When they looked back at Caleb and Rebekka, Rebekka was putting her sewing away, as Caleb was starting to get fussy. She walked over to him and picked him up.

“I think it’s time for your lunch, sweet boy,” she told him.

She walked back to the rock she was leaning against earlier and sat down. She moved her shirt to expose one of her breasts and brought Caleb to it. He nursed while Rebekka hummed and brushed her fingers through his hair. When he finished one breast, she adjusted her shirt and moved him to the other.

Caleb finished eating a few minutes later. Rebekka fixed her shirt and propped him up against her shoulder. She patted his back until he burped. Then she set him down on her lap and tickled his tummy. Caleb laughed.

“Alright, now it’s Mommy’s turn for lunch,” Rebekka said as she got up and carried him over to the small cave and went inside.

“Let’s go see what leftovers we have,” the crew heard Rebekka say as she went further into the cave.

She returned a few minutes later with a covered pot in one arm and Caleb in the other. She walked over to the fire pit and hung the pot over it before she started the fire, which she made sure Caleb stayed away from.

After a few minutes, Rebekka took off the pot’s lid, revealing that there was soup inside, which she stirred with a ladle from the container of cooking utensils. Then she put the ladle down and went back into the small cave. She came back out with a bowl and a small spoon. She ladled a portion of the soup into the bowl, replaced the lid, and sat down.

Rebekka took a spoonful and moved it towards her mouth. Caleb, from his position on her lap, tried to grab the spoon.

Rebekka giggled. “This is Mommy’s food. You already ate,” she told him, patting his head.

After Rebekka finished eating, she gathered her bowl, spoon, the ladle, and Caleb and carried them into the small cave.

{The Ghost crew actually got to see inside it this this time.}

Inside the cave, it was much bigger than the small entrance made it seem, and almost looked like a room of a house. There was a large pile of handmade pillows and blankets that took up most of the floor, a tunnel that seemed to lead farther into the rock was across from the entrance, a stack of assorted dishes and cutlery sat in one corner, and a good sized bucket was near the door.

Rebekka put her dirty dishes in the bucket, then she went back outside and returned with the pot. She carried it, and Caleb, into the tunnel. It was surprisingly well lit, for a tunnel in a cave surrounded by rock. She walked down the tunnel for a couple minutes, passing by an entrance to a cavern or two, and when she came upon a fork in the tunnel she took the left path.

A few yards into the new tunnel, Caleb shivered and clung harder to his mother.

Rebekka set the pot down and hugged him close. “It’s okay, Caleb. It’s just a little cold, nothing you can’t handle, sweet boy,”

She wrapped him in her shawl and grabbed the pot again. She continued walking until she reached a small semi-dark cavern.

It was there that it became apparent why Caleb had shivered. The cavern walls were streaked with ice. They could even clearly see Rebekka’s breath. All around the floor were assorted food storage containers like the pot Rebekka was carrying, and slabs of home-butchered meat hung from a rack by the far wall. It was almost as if this was some sort of ice cave that Rebeka used as a cooling unit.

Rebekka placed the pot she was carrying down beside another pot. “There,” she sighed. Then she looked down at Caleb. “Now we can go back outside,”

Rebekka walked out the cavern.

The next time the Ghost crew saw her, she and Caleb had exited the cave and were being greeted by Sora and Teman, who had been spending the time since Rebekka fed Caleb with their mother. They all sat down in the middle of the grass and began to play some sort of game.

The Ghost crew got a view of the sun again. This time it was descending. Right before sunset the sky suddenly darkened, clouded over and there was a flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder. A thunderstorm had started.

Rebekka and Caleb took shelter inside the small cave. They were huddled together in the blanket pile. Caleb cried every time the thunder boomed.

“Shhh, shhh,” Rebekka soothed, rubbing his back and rocking him back and forth, “It’s alright. It’s just a little thunder, nothing that’ll hurt you,”

Another thunderclap sounded and Caleb buried his face further into her neck and cried.

Rebekka sighed and reached down her shirt. She pulled out what looked like a small sound recorder attached to a string that hung around her neck.

She activated it and the sound of some sort of string instrument started to block out the sounds of the storm. Caleb, still sniffling, lifted his head and looked curiously at the music player.

Then Rebekka started to sing:

“You had your maps drawn,

You had other plans

To hang your hopes on,

Every road they lead you down felt so wrong,

So you found another way,

You've got a big heart,

The way you see the world

It got you this far,

You might have some bruises,

And a few scars,

But you know you're gonna be okay,

And even though you're scared,

You're stronger than you know,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

If you face the fear that keeps you frozen,

Chase the sky into the ocean,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Sometimes the past can,

Make the ground beneath you feel like quicksand,

You don't have to worry,

You reach for my hand,

Yeah I know you're gonna be okay,

You're gonna be okay,

And even if you're scared,

You're stronger than you know,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

If you face the fear that keeps you frozen,

Chase the sky into the ocean,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Calls you home,

Calls you home,

Calls you home,

Calls you home,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

If you face the fear that keeps you frozen,

Chase the sky into the ocean,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH,”

Caleb calmed down during the song and now leaned his head against his mother’s shoulder with his eyes closed, clutching a lock of her hair in one hand.

Rebekka saw that Caleb was asleep and smiled. She leaned back against the pillows and kissed his forehead.

“Goodnight, sweet boy,” She said as she laid him down beside her, after untangling his hand from her hair. “I love you,”

***

The scene faded to black, and again the Ghost crew wondered if there was more.

***

Again, another scene appeared. Nothing in the Lothwolf compound appeared to have changed much this time.

Caleb, who now looked close to eight months old, was crawling around as Teman and Sora followed right behind him. Rebekka stood by the washline and was hanging up their laundry.

Eventually, after thoroughly exploring the open area he was in, Caleb wandered over to the fire pit. He approached the tall, narrow container of cooking utensils and, after failing to stand, sat down in front of it. Then he started reaching up to try and grab something from the container, all the while making little straining noises. Sora and Teman sat on either side of him and watched, occasionally poking the container with their noses.

Suddenly, the container appeared to have had enough of their shenanigans and tipped over, spilling its contents out. One particular knife flipped out and sliced across Caleb’s open left palm.

Then Caleb started screaming.

Rebekka dropped the shirt she was holding and came running.

“Oh, Caleb!” she cried, pulling him into her lap. “What happened?” She took his bleeding hand and tried to brush some of the blood away, but it was quickly replaced with more blood. “Oh I need the medkit,” she moaned.

Teman stood up and trotted over to the small cave and entered. He came out carrying something in his mouth before Rebekka had fully stood up. Of course, her progress was slowed by Caleb’s flailing and screaming, and his bleeding hand.

Rebekka saw what he was carrying and her eyes widened in surprise. She took a few steps toward him and knelt down. “Thank you, Teman,” she said as she took the medkit from his mouth.

She opened it and started digging through it. Once she found all she was looking for, Rebekka started cleaning the blood off Caleb’s hand. With most of the blood gone, the cut could be seen. It started at the base of Caleb’s left index finger and went down in a slight curve to the bottom of the opposite side of his palm. Rebekka covered it with an appropriately sized bacta patch and wrapped it in gauze.

“There,” Rebekka said when she was done. She finished with kissing his palm. “Is that better?”

Caleb was still crying, quietly now, but still crying.

“Oooh,” Rebekka cooed. She picked him up and stood.

Teman took the medkit in his mouth again and returned it to the cave.

Rebekka carried Caleb over to one of the rocks and sat down with her back against it. She pulled Caleb up to her chest, hugging him tight. Caleb snuggled into her hold and buried his face in her chest. Rebekka started humming. She rubbed his back and rocked him back and forth.

The humming turned into singing, but it was a different song than the one she sang before. This time Rebekka sang:

“Come stop your crying,

It will be alright,

Just take my hand,

And hold it tight,

I will protect you

From all around you,

I will be here,

Don't you cry,”

Caleb had managed to grab Rebekka’s music player. Rebekka gently took it from his hands and activated it. Light percussion started to play that grew into a orchestra as she continued to sing:

“For one so small,

You seem so strong,

My arms will hold you,

Keep you safe and warm,

This bond between us,

Can't be broken,

I will be here,

Don't you cry,

'Cause you'll be in my heart,

Yes, you'll be in my heart,

From this day on,

Now and forever more,

You'll be in my heart,

No matter what they say,

You'll be here in my heart,

Always,”

“Always,” Rebekka whispered, kissing the top of his head. Caleb had finally stopped crying and seemed to have calmed down.

They stayed cuddling like that for a while. At some point, Caleb grabbed a lock of Rebekka’s hair and held onto it.

Later that day, a dark grey Lothwolf appeared, dragging a lothelope by its hind legs. They dropped it a few feet in front of Rebekka.

Rebekka looked up. “Thank you, Venari. You’re just in time,” she said as she stood up. She carried Caleb over to an empty crate near the garden and placed him inside it. “Stay,” she told him firmly, pointing a finger inside the crate.

Caleb looked up at her innocently.

Teman and Sora appeared on opposite sides of the crate and put their front paws up on the top edge.

Rebekka sighed. “Think you can keep him in there ‘til I’m done?” she asked, ruffling their heads.

Instead of answering (not that they technically could), Sora and Teman stuck their noses in the crate, at which Caleb laughed happily.

“Alright then,” Rebekka said. She walked into the cave and came out wearing a large smock and carrying half a dozen empty containers.

She produced a vibroknife and knelt beside the dead lothelope. She proceeded to gut the animal and skin it. Much to the shock of the Ghost crew.

She brought the pelt to her hide tanning station and draped it over a frame.

She returned to the carcass and continued to butcher it.

Once she divided the meat into separate piles, Rebekka put the meat into the containers.

Then Venari came and dragged the remains of the carcass away.

Rebekka removed her smock and cleaned her arms. Then she carried the full containers into the cave, presumably to put them in the cooling unit cavern, or whatever they were going to call it.

Rebekka returned a few minutes later. She walked over to the crate and lifted Caleb, who had fallen asleep, out. “Did you get bored in there, sweet boy?” she asked, kissing his cheek and waking him up.

Caleb yawned and threw his arms around her neck.

Rebekka laughed. “Do you wanna go play?”

Rebekka pulled out a blanket and spread it on the ground by the garden. She placed Caleb and a few toys on it before sitting down beside it.

Caleb explored the blanket, careful of his injured left hand, as Rebekka entertained him with the toys.

Sora and Teman came over and poked their noses into whatever Caleb was doing.

Rebekka was jingling a toy that looked vaguely like a purrgil with bells on its tentacles when Caleb rolled over. He batted at the bells as Teman and Sora licked his cheeks and hands.

Rebekka put the toy down and started tickling his tummy.

Caleb laughed. He grabbed one of her fingers in his right hand. This prompted her to use her free fingers to lift his shirt and give him a zerbert. Caleb laughed even louder and released his mother’s finger.

Maica appeared and settled down behind Rebekka, offering some shelter from the wind.

Caleb rolled back over and started crawling again.

Rebekka laid down on her side and watched him.

Eventually, Caleb crawled over to her. Rebekka took him in her arms and rolled onto her back. She sat him on her stomach. Her hair was splayed around her face as she looked up at him.

Caleb leaned over and placed his hands on her face.

Rebekka took one of his hands in her own and kissed it. “I love you so much, Caleb,” she told him. “And I always will,”

***

The scene faded to black again, and at this point the Ghost crew assumed that there would be more.

***

The next scene came soon after. The speeder bike and the crate attached to it were gone, and Rebekka was nowhere to be seen.

Teman and Sora were squating in the middle of the grass. Caleb, now looking between ten and eleven months old, was sitting between them. The crew watched as Caleb grabbed a handful of Sora’s ruff and a handful of Teman’s ruff. When his hands were secure, Teman and Sora started to stand, slowly, and after a brief struggle, Caleb did too.

Then Caleb started taking a few shakey steps. Sora and Teman slowly walked forward, enough so that they were both still beside Caleb.

Caleb made it a couple yards before he stumbled and lost his grip. He fell on his bottom, hard. Then he started crying.

Teman and Sora immediately turned around and started licking his tears away. After about a minute, Caleb was laughing and he reached for their ruffs again. He was up in a few seconds and they started walking again. This time, Caleb managed to walk all the way to one of the rock spires without falling again. But then he, and Sora and Teman, tried to turn.

Caleb slipped and bumped into Sora, who was on his right. He made a frustrated noise that was somewhere between a whine and a groan and stomped his foot angrily.

Teman turned and licked his cheek.

Taking a determined breath, Caleb straightened up and started walking again. Teman and Sora stayed beside him the whole time.

They walked around the compound for a while longer. Then there was a flash from the portal cave.

Rebekka came riding in on her speeder bike.

Seeing her, Caleb burst into a huge smile and tried to run towards her. Unfortunately, it appeared he wasn't quite ready for that, and he stumbled forward before continuing at a slower place.

By the time he'd made it to where she had parked, Rebekka had already dismounted and was watching him with a smile on her face, even when he gave up on walking a few yards away from her and let go of Sora and Teman to crawl the rest of the way.

When Caleb made it to her, Rebekka picked him up. “Were you walking?” she asked, lifting him above her head and pressing their foreheads together.

Caleb just laughed and waved his arms around.

{The Ghost crew offhandedly noticed that Caleb hand a scar on his left hand where he’d been cut the last time they’d seen him.}

“Oh, I’m so proud of you sweet boy,” Rebekka cooed, as she lowered him down to her hip. She kissed his nose on his way down.

Caleb smiled, reaching out to grab at her hair.

“Do you want to try in front of Mommy now?” she asked.

Caleb responded by starting to struggle to get down.

Rebekka laughed. “Okay, okay, I’ll put you down,”

Rebekka set him down and made sure he was standing steadily, before taking a few steps back. Then she squatted down and held out her arms.

“Come on, you can do it,” she encouraged.

Caleb looked down at his feet, up at his mother, then back down at his feet again. He took a tentative step forward, then another. He wobbled a few more steps before falling into Rebekka's arms.

“You did it!” Rebekka cheered. She hugged him and kissed his cheeks as she straightened up.

Caleb hugged her back. When he pulled away, he had Rebekka's music player and was biting it, showing off his four top teeth and two bottom ones.

Rebekka gave him a stern look and gently pried it from his mouth. Then she glanced back down at him and her face softened. “Well, I guess you deserve a song,” she said.

Rebekka activated it and the same string instrument the Ghost crew heard before started to play. Rebekka started swaying in time to the music.

It wasn't long before she started to sing:

“You had your maps drawn,

You had other plans

To hang your hopes on,

Every road they lead you down felt so wrong,

So you found another way,

You've got a big heart,

The way you see the world

It got you this far,

You might have some bruises,

And a few scars,

But you know you're gonna be okay,

And even though you're scared,

You're stronger than you know,”

Rebekka started dancing in place with Caleb in her arms.

“If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

If you face the fear that keeps you frozen,

Chase the sky into the ocean,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,”

Rebekka took a step to the side and started spinning around the compound as she continued to sing.

“Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH”

Rebekka continued to dance around the compound.

“Sometimes the past can,

Make the ground beneath you feel like quicksand,

You don't have to worry,

You reach for my hand,

Yeah I know you're gonna be okay,

You're gonna be okay,

And even if you're scared,

You're stronger than you know,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

If you face the fear that keeps you frozen,

Chase the sky into the ocean,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Calls you home,

Calls you home,

Calls you home,

Calls you home,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

If you face the fear that keeps you frozen,

Chase the sky into the ocean,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH,”

Rebekka stopped dancing and sighed. She sank down to a sitting position. “Wasn't that fun?” She asked Caleb, sitting him on her legs, with a smile.

Caleb laughed and clapped his hands.

Rebekka looked at him adoringly and kissed his forehead. “Don't ever forget how much I love you Caleb,” she said. “Because I always will,”

***

The scene faded away, and now the Ghost crew wondered what they were going to see next.

***

In the scene they were shown next, Rebekka had just pulled in on her speeder bike. She dismounted and grabbed her bag, looking around.

“Caleb!” she called. “I have a surprise for you!”

“Mama!” Caleb cried, appearing from behind a rock.

Rebekka smiled. “Oh, come here you,”

Caleb toddled over and Rebekka picked him up and kissed his cheek. She carried him over to a spot near the fire pit and sat him down.

Rebekka sat down in front of him and opened her bag. She took out a box and set it on the ground in front of her.

Caleb started to reach for the box, but Rebekka shook her head.

“You need to wait for it, sweet boy,” she said with a smile as she opened the box.

Rebekka reached in and pulled out a small cake, with white, green, and blue frosting, on a plate.

Caleb’s eyes widened as she placed it in front of him.

“Happy Birthday Caleb!” Rebekka cheered.

Caleb reached for the cake, but Rebekka scooted the plate back.

“Hold on. I need to sing first,” she insisted.

Then she started to sing:

“Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Caleb,

Happy Birthday to you,”

Caleb waited a moment after she finished singing.

Then Rebekka enthusiastically shoved the cake in his direction. “Okay, now dig in!”

Caleb didn’t need to be told twice. He dug into the cake as soon as it was in his reach.

It wasn’t long before his face and hands were covered in frosting and cake crumbs.

{Zeb chuckled and Hera, Ezra, and Sabine covered their mouths to hide their giggles.}

Sora and Teman wandered over to see what Caleb was doing. Teman sat down on Caleb’s right and Sora sat down on Caleb’s left. Caleb laughed when he saw them and extended cake-filled hands towards each of them. Teman and Sora carefully ate the cake out of Caleb’s hands.

Rebekka laughed. “Caleb! It’s your birthday cake! You’re not suppose to share!” she scolded playfully.

Caleb ignored her and continued to give occasional bites of cake to Sora and Teman.

After about a minute of Caleb taking some time to eat the cake by himself, he looked up at his mother, who’d been sitting there smiling at him this whole time. Caleb grabbed a hunk of cake and stood up. He stepped around the rest of the cake and walked over to where Rebekka was sitting. Caleb then tried to shove the cake in Rebekka’s mouth.

Rebekka laughed, understanding what Caleb was trying to do, and let him feed her the cake.

“Mmmmm, thank you Caleb,” Rebekka cooed. “Now go finish your cake!”

Caleb smiled and walked back to his cake and sat down in between Sora and Teman. He buried his hands in his cake and started eating again.

Rebekka sighed. She pulled her knees up and draped her arms around them.

“This isn’t the way I originally pictured your first birthday, Caleb,” Rebekka admitted after a moment, while Caleb was still occupied with his cake. “I thought we’d be living in a nice little house and all our family and friends would be close by. You’d have friends that weren’t wolf pups,”

“Of course I still wouldn’t have made your cake myself,” She continued. “I can’t bake no matter how hard I try. Your father...” Rebekka paused to wipe a tear out of the corner of her eye. “Your father always said that I could make Croaker soup that could make a whole planet happy and roast fit for a king, but my pound cake was better off being used as a weight,”

Rebekka chuckled and sighed again. “He was always such a jokester,”

“We would have been married by now,” Rebekka lamented, letting out another chuckle. “He always wanted to be a father,”

Sora licked some frosting off Caleb’s cheek and he laughed.

Rebekka giggled and proceeded to talk about Caleb's father. “His name was Judah Braga. He worked as a docking controller, but then he got roped into working with one of the local gangs,”

Rebekka signed and shook her head. “Some gambling venture or something must not have panned out, because the next thing we knew, he owed the Edgeherd gang over 10,000 credits,” She paused to take a deep breath that almost caught in her throat. “They shot him when I was pregnant with you. I never even got a chance to tell him. After you were born, the Edgeherd came after me for the credits he still owed them,”

“So I guess they’re the reason we ended up here, huh Caleb?” Rebekka said after a moment.

Caleb, having finished his cake, toddled over and gave her a hug.

Rebekka smiled and kissed his cheek. Then she sat him on her lap and wiped the frosting and cake crumbs off his face and hands.

After he was cleaned up, Rebekka reached into her bag. “Now it’s time for your birthday present,” she said as she pulled out a larger box, this one wrapped in blue paper with a green bow.

Rebekka set it down in front of them and help Caleb rip off the paper. She opened the top and Caleb practically fell into the box. When his mom pulled him out he had fistfuls of tissue paper in his hands.

Rebekka reached her hand in and pulled out all the tissue paper. “Oooo,” she cooed as she pulled a toy hovertrain out of the box.

Caleb cheered and reached for his birthday present.

“You wanna play?” Rebekka asked cheerfully.

“Play!” Caleb cheered.

Rebekka laughed. “Okay, you can play with your new toy while Mommy cleans up,”

Caleb played with Teman, Sora, and his new hovertrain while Rebekka gathered up the boxes, paper, and the empty cake plate and set them by the firepit, probably so that she could burn them later.

When she finished, Rebekka walked over to where Caleb, Sora, and Teman were playing and joined them.

After a while, Caleb got tired (made apparent when he yawned) and snuggled up in Rebekka’s lap.

Rebekka smiled and kissed his forehead. “I love you, Caleb,” She said as he rubbed his eyes and started to fall asleep. “I always will,”

***

The scene faded to black and the Ghost crew waited for what they assumed would be the next scene.

***

The next scene gave them a clear view of the Lothwolf compound. They couldn't see anyone at first, but then they heard laughter.

Caleb came running into view, completely naked.

Rebekka appeared a few seconds later, running after him with a fistful of clothes. “Get back here you little hooligan!” She shouted.

{Ezra and Zeb burst out laughing, Kanan turned bright red, Hera covered her mouth with her hand to hide her giggle, and Sabine was tempted to put a hand over her eyes.}

Caleb just laughed again and continued to run.

Rebekka chased him around the compound.

Caleb managed to stay just out of her reach as he ran through the grass. He tramped through the garden, not caring if he trampled anything.

Rebekka followed, carefully stepping in between the rows.

Caleb ran under the clothesline with ease, but Rebekka got tangled in the clothes hanging from it.

While his mom was distracted, Caleb hid behind a rock a few yards away.

By the time Rebekka got untangled from the clothes, Caleb was out of her direct line of sight. She blew out a puff of air. “Caleb, not right now, sweet boy,” she said wearily. “Please, not today,”

Rebekka took a few steps away from the clothesline and glanced around. Not even a second later, she walked over and reached behind the rock Caleb was hiding behind.

“There you are,” She said as she picked him up and placed him on her hip. “We need to get you dressed,”

Rebekka carried Caleb over to a mat, presumably where she had been changing him before he took off.

Rebekka laid him down and started putting a diaper and pants on him.

There was a tooka doll lying about a foot or two away. Caleb tried to grab it, but it was about a foot out of his reach.

After about a minute of not being able to reach the toy, Caleb scrunched up his face in determination and concentration and extended his hand in the toy’s direction. A few seconds later, the tooka doll started to slide toward him.

{Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, and Hera all gasped. Kanan raised an eyebrow, but was mostly unsurprised. Growing up in the Jedi Temple, he knew that Force-sensitive children often showed signs early on, which was why the Jedi Order usually found them before they had a chance to have lasting memories of their families.}

Rebekka looked up just in time to see the tooka doll move the last few inches into Caleb’s hand. Once there, he pulled it to his chest and bit down on one ear.

Rebekka gasped and dropped the shirt she'd been preparing to put on him.

“Ca-aleb?” she sputtered. “Wha-what did you do?”

Caleb just stared up at her and clutched his toy.

Rebekka took a deep breath. “Well, I guess I’ll have to figure that out for myself,” She took the tooka doll out of Caleb's hands and deliberately placed it off the mat to her left, well out of Caleb's reach.

“Noooo!” Caleb whined, on the verge of tears, as his toy was taken away.

“Shhh, don't worry. You'll get back,” Rebekka soothed as she lifted him up to put his shirt on.

Caleb ignored her, stuck out his hand, and scrunched his face up again. Not a moment later, the tooka doll started moving in his direction.

This time, Rebekka had her eyes up and saw the toy move. Her eyes widened as it slid into Caleb’s hand again.

“Caleb,” Rebekka gasped. “Did...but...how… Did you just use the Force?”

Instead of answering her, Caleb sat up and lifted his arms off to Rebekka's right. “Ashwa!” He cheered.

Rebekka looked to her right and, indeed, Ashla had appeared beside her. “Ashla?” She asked. “Did you know about this?”

Ashla nodded his head.

Rebekka sighed and sat back on her heels. “What do I do?” She asked. “If he has the Force then the Jedi Order will want him, and I don't want to give him up,”

Her musings were interrupted when Caleb laughed. Ashla had leaned forward enough so Caleb could pat his nose. The laugh came when Ashla gently licked Caleb's forearm.

Rebekka giggled, then went back to her thoughts.

“Well, what's the likelihood that they'll find us here away?” She asked. “So I guess I shouldn’t worry too much about this yet,”

Ashla turned his head towards her. In doing so he turned away from Caleb, who protested for a moment before going back to his tooka doll.

“Time. Will. Tell,” Ashla told her.

“I guess you're right,” Rebekka replied after a moment.

“Well,” Rebekka said, scooping Caleb and his toy up. “I think it’s time we get on with our day,”

Sora and Teman, who had apparently been out of the compound doing who knows what this whole time, came trotting up to Caleb, Rebekka, and Ashla. Ashla left a few minutes later.

Caleb, Rebekka, Teman, and Sora spent the rest of the day playing with Caleb’s toys and doing whatever else they did on a day to day basis.

“I love you Caleb,” Rebekka said suddenly. “And I always will,”

***

The scene faded away and the Ghost crew was starting to wonder exactly how much of Caleb Dume's early life they were going to see.

***

The next scene showed the Lothwolf compound just like they always saw it.

Rebekka, Caleb, Sora, and Teman were gathered by the fire pit while Maica was lying down on the other side of the compound.

“Alright everybody,” Rebekka said. “I'm gonna cover my eyes and you three have to hide before I open them again. Then I have to find you,”

Rebekka put her hands over her eyes. “Okay, go!”

Caleb, Teman, and Sora all took off in different directions.

Teman disappeared behind some rocks and Sora buried herself in plant life.

Caleb ran around trying to find a suitable hiding spot, but he shook his head at every spot he checked and kept looking. Eventually his eyes landed on Maica and his face broke out in a huge grin. Caleb giggled as he ran over to her.

“May-kah! Shh!” Caleb whispered (not very well), pressing a finger to his lips.

Then he got on his hands and knees and started crawling. Caleb wriggled under Maica’s chest and front legs. Then he oriented himself so his head was sticking out.

If he positioned his head just right, Caleb’s hair almost blended in with Maica’s fur, almost.

Caleb burrowed into Maica’s fur while Maica relaxed and pretended he wasn’t there.

Rebekka opened and uncovered her eyes. “Okay, I’m ready to find you!” she announced as she started searching the compound.

“Hmmm... Where could they be?” Rebekka questioned dramatically.

Caleb giggled and Rebekka pretended to ignore him.

Rebekka continued to look in nearly impossible hiding spots as she wandered over to Maica and where Caleb was hiding.

“Oh, I just don’t know where Caleb could be hiding,” Rebekka said as she plopped down next to Maica.

Caleb giggled again, this time it was a bit muffled, like he was trying to cover his mouth with his hands.

Rebekka raised an eyebrow, but otherwise acted like she didn’t hear anything. “He must have disappeared,” she continued. “I think I’ve searched every place he could have hid,”

After a moment of thought, Rebekka shot up. “Unless..”

Then she whirled around and stuck her hands in Maica’s fur, right where Caleb was hiding.

“Ha! Got you!” Rebekka exclaimed triumphantly as she pulled Caleb out and held him in the air.

Caleb laughed and clapped his hands.

Rebekka put him down. “Wanna help me find Sora and Teman?” she asked.

“Yeah!” Caleb cheered, giggling and dashing off to check possible hiding spots.

Rebekka chuckled and followed after him.

They search for a while until Rebekka spotted a familiar gray-brown ear peeking through a pile of grass. “Caleb, look!” she pointed.

Caleb walked over to where his mother had pointed and grabbed a clump of grass that was in front of the ear. He pulled and threw it away, revealing Sora’s face.

“Found you, Sora!” Caleb shouted.

Sora stood up and shook the remaining grass out of her fur. Then she licked Caleb’s cheek.

“Good job, Caleb,” Rebekka praised. “Now can you find Teman?”

Caleb wandered near the rocks Teman was hiding behind. Then he saw a brown-gray tail sticking out from behind two rocks. He grabbed it.

Teman’s head appeared from behind one of the rocks.

“Found you, Teman!” Caleb cheered.

Both pups licked his cheeks and Caleb laughed.

Rebekka clapped her hands. “You did it, Caleb! You found both of your friends!” she crowed.

Caleb, Sora, and Teman gathered around her and Rebekka squatted down to her level.

“Who’s ready for another game?” she asked.

The four of them played hide-n-seek for almost the entire day.

Then, later that evening, Caleb stumbled towards the end of a game and sat down. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

“Alright, that’s enough for today,” Rebekka announced, picking him up. “I think it’s time for bed,”

Caleb just rested his head on her shoulder and grabbed a lock of her hair in his small fist. Teman and Sora went off and laid down next to their mother.

Rebekka carried Caleb into their “house” cave and changed him into his pajamas.

They both laid down in their home-made bed and Rebekka wrapped the fur covers around them.

“Do you want a song to help you fall asleep?” Rebekka asked.

Caleb nodded sleepily.

Rebekka took out her music player and activated it. Familiar string music filled the room.

Then Rebekka started to sing the now familiar song:

“You had your maps drawn,

You had other plans

To hang your hopes on,

Every road they lead you down felt so wrong,

So you found another way,

You've got a big heart,

The way you see the world

It got you this far,

You might have some bruises,

And a few scars,

But you know you're gonna be okay,

And even though you're scared,

You're stronger than you know,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

If you face the fear that keeps you frozen,

Chase the sky into the ocean,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Sometimes the past can,

Make the ground beneath you feel like quicksand,

You don't have to worry,

You reach for my hand,

Yeah I know you're gonna be okay,

You're gonna be okay,

And even if you're scared,

You're stronger than you know,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

If you face the fear that keeps you frozen,

Chase the sky into the ocean,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Calls you home,

Calls you home,

Calls you home,

Calls you home,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home,

If you're lost out where the lights are blinding,

Caught in all, the stars are hiding,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

If you face the fear that keeps you frozen,

Chase the sky into the ocean,

That's when something wild calls you home, home,

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH

Wo-o-OHHH

OH-OHHH

OH-OHHH-OH-oh

ohhh

ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-oh

ohhh

Ohhh-oh

oh-OH-Oh-oh-OH,

OH,”

Caleb was fast asleep.

Rebekka smiled and kissed his forehead. “Goodnight sweet boy. I love you,” she said. “And I always will,”

***

The scene faded to black and the Ghost crew had questions other than why they were being shown all these events from Caleb/Kanan’s past.

***

The next scene brought a change of pace as it showed the open plains of Lothal instead of the Lothwolf compound.

Rebekka’s speeder bike came riding into view. Rebekka was driving at a leisure pace with Caleb on her lap.

“How did you like your first trip into town, Caleb?” Rebekka asked, smiling down at him.

Caleb smiled back up at her. “It was fun!”

Rebekka slowed the speeder to a stop. She got off and picked Caleb up. She held him up in the air as she looked at him.

“Oh, you’re getting so big!” she cooed. “I can’t believe you’re two already!”

Rebekka kissed both his cheeks and moved to get back on her speeder bike.

Then the sound of an approaching ship filled the air and she froze.

Rebekka looked up as the ship passed overhead and gasped. It was a Jedi corvette.

The Jedi ship landed about 150 yards away.

Rebekka stood stock-still as the ship’s ramp lowered and three Jedi stepped out. From this distance, one was short and green, one was a dark-skinned human, and the third looked like a Cerean. The Jedi approached and Rebekka could do little more than stare.

“Greetings,” the bald dark-skinned human said as he bowed when the Jedi reached her. “I am Master Mace Windu of the Jedi Order,” Then he introduced the others. “This is Master Yoda and Master Ki-Adi Mundi,”

“Call us here, the Force did,” Master Yoda stated. “See why, now I do,”

Rebekka hugged Caleb to her chest and waited for them to continue.

“What are your names?” Master Mace Windu asked.

“My name is Rebekka Dume,” Rebekka answered. “This is Caleb,” She tilted her head toward him.

“Ms. Dume, you may not know this, but your son is strong with the Force,” Master Windu told her. “Very strong,”

Rebekka nodded. “I know,” she murmured.

“Then you must understand that it is only proper that he is trained as a Jedi,” Master Ki-Adi Mundi said.

Master Windu held up a hand to stop him from continuing.

“Of course, that’s entirely up to you to decide, and you don’t have to decide right now,” Master Windu said. “But know that he will receive the utmost education and have every opportunity to decide what he wants to be,”

“I..I’ll have to think about it,” Rebekka answered.

Master Windu nodded. “Very well,”

Master Yoda seemed to consider something for a moment.

“But this, you must know. Important to Lothal’s future, he will be, if trained as a Jedi, he is,” Master Yoda said.

Rebekka nodded, filing that information away for when she considered the possibilities for Caleb’s future.

“Return to Lothal in a few months we will,” Master Yoda said. “Make a decision by then, you must,”

Rebekka sighed in relief. “Thank you,”

“Could you tell us where you live, so we can visit you when the time comes?” Master Mundi asked.

Rebekka shook her head. “I’m afraid not,”

“Well, then we will have to meet you here,” Master Windu said.

“How will I know when to meet you? And how will you know where to find me?” Rebekka asked.

“Bring us together, the Force will,” Master Yoda answered.

Rebekka nodded. “Alright, see you then,”

Masters Yoda, Mace Windu, and Ki-Adi Mundi said their goodbyes and went back to their ship. Then it took off and flew away.

Ashla appeared beside her as Rebekka watched them leave.

“The Jedi came for him,” Rebekka told him, turning to face the Lothwolf. “I have a decision to make,”

Ashla just nodded at her.

“Mama!” Caleb whined, tugging on her hair. “Go ‘ome!”

Rebekka patted his hand. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go home,”

Rebekka got back on her speeder bike and started for the compound. “I have a lot to think about,”

Rebekka, Caleb, and Ashla made it back to the Lothwolf compound a few minutes later. Rebekka put Caleb down and let him wander off to find Sora and Teman. Then she unloaded her bags.

Rebekka set the bags down by the entrance to the “house” cave. Then she pressed her back against the rock and slid down to the ground.

“I know the Jedi mean well,” Rebekka said, to no one in particular. “But that doesn’t make this any less hard,”

Caleb had found Teman and Sora and they were playing a few feet away. Rebekka smiled at the sight. Then she looked around the Lothwolf compound and sighed.

“This isn't the kind of life Caleb deserves,” Rebekka continued glumly. “He shouldn't be living in the wilderness all his life with only his mother and wolves for company and only an occasional trip to the nearest town. Caleb deserves the kind of education the Jedi can give him, the kind I'll never be able to,”

Caleb, probably sensing his mother's distress, left Sora and Teman to walk over to her.

“Mama,” he said as he gave her a hug.

Rebekka smiled and hugged him back. Then she pulled him into her lap and kissed the top of his head.

“You deserve to have your best chance,” Rebekka told him, hugging him closer to her chest.

“Even if it's not with me,”

***

The scene changed to the open plains before anyone in the Ghost Crew could think of a response to what they just saw.

The Jedi’s ship was sitting with its ramp down in a similar spot to where it was last time. Masters Yoda, Mace Windu, and Ki-Adi Mundi were waiting at the bottom of the ramp. All of their heads turned as Rebekka’s speeder bike approached.

Rebekka stopped a few feet away from them and got off her speeder. She held Caleb in one arm and had a bag slung over her opposite shoulder. She also looked like she’d been crying.

“Have you made your decision?” Master Windu asked.

Rebekka nodded. “Yes,”

“Then what have you decided?” Master Mundi prompted.

Rebekka sighed. “It would be better for him if Caleb went with you,” she admitted, moving to hand Caleb and the bag over.

Master Yoda seemed to study Caleb and Rebekka for a moment.

Then he said. “Return to Lothal he will, in years to come, and find a home here, he will,” It wasn’t entirely evident if he’d intended to comfort her with that information or if he just wanted to share that information with her.

Rebekka perked up. “You mean, I’ll see him again?” She asked hopefully.

“The future has many possibilities,” Master Windu answered. “Master Yoda’s prediction may come true, and it might not. Only time will tell,”

“But there’s a chance,” Rebekka pleaded.

“A chance of anything, there always is,” Master Yoda replied.

“Are you ready for us to take him?” Master Mundi asked, clearly ready to finish their business and go their separate ways.

Rebekka took a deep breath.

“Alright,” Rebekka said, her voice unsteady.

“It’s for the best,” she told herself, her voice breaking, as she handed Caleb to Master Windu.

Caleb was clearly confused by this turn of events. “Mama!” he whined as he struggled in Master Windu’s hold.

Master Windu adjusted his arms to hold Caleb securely as Master Mundi took the bag Rebekka offered.

“We will let you know if something changes,” Master Windu said.

Rebekka nodded as tears started to form in her eyes.

The Jedi turned around and headed back to their ship, with Caleb.

Rebekka stood still as the Jedi ship’s ramp closed and the ship took off. Then Ashla appeared beside her.

“I...I will see him again... right?” she asked, sniffling.

“He. Will. Return,” Ashla answered.

“I trust you,” Rebekka replied. She was crying in earnest now.

Rebekka looked off in the direction the Jedi’s ship, with her son, had gone.

Then she started to sing, her words intermittent with sniffles and sobs. “If you're lost...out where...the lights...are...blinding, Caught in all, ...the stars...are hiding, That's when...sOmething wi...ld...calls...you...”

“Home,” Rebekka finally lost control and sobbed hysterically into her hands.

***

The scene faded away as the Ghost crew were left in shock. They fully expected that to be the last scene they would be shown, but they were wrong.

***

The next, and most likely final, scene presented them with the open plains of Lothal again. The Ghost crew couldn’t see anything until Rebekka’s speeder bike appeared. Although she was riding fast, she didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the path ahead of her. Rebekka appeared to have one hand over her face as she steered the bike. She also had the hood of her cloak pulled up over her head.

Rebekka drove on until she reached the portal cave.

Ashla was waiting for her on the other side.

Rebekka threw herself off of her speeder and slammed her fist into his chest, which bore little reaction. Her hood fell off to reveal her tear-streaked face. She also looked to have aged maybe a decade or so.

“The Jedi are gone!” she wailed. “They’re all dead! I’ll never see my son again!”

Rebekka sank to the ground sobbing.

“Chancellor Palpatine labeled the Jedi as traitors,” she explained. “And had them all killed, even the children!”

“Caleb’s dead!” Rebekka cried. “I’ll never see my son again!”

Maica, Sora, and Teman started to approach, curious and concerned about what was going on. Ashla seemed unphased.

“He. Lives,” Ashla said.

Rebekka’s head shot up. “What?”

“He. Lives,” Ashla repeated.

“You...you think he’s alive?” Rebekka asked.

“I. Know,” Ashla replied.

Rebekka took a deep breath and let it out in a long exhale.

“I trust you,” she finally said. “I trust that Caleb will come home,”

Rebekka looked up at the sky, and the galaxy beyond it.

Then she started to sing, though her crying hadn’t quite stopped yet. “If you face...the fear...that keeps...you frozen, Chase the sky...into the ocean, ...That's when something wild calls you home,”

“Come home to me, Caleb,” Rebekka begged. “Come home to me,”

***

Then the scene was gone and Ghost crew were left staring at the cave wall whose paintings were just starting to make sense. Well, technically, Kanan couldn’t actually see the cave paintings, but he still stood frozen.

Hera was the first to speak, saying the first thing that popped into her head. “You were so cute,” she murmured.

“Karabast,” Zeb said after recovering from his shock. “The little green troll was right,”

Sabine had removed her hand from the wall and shoved passed Hera to grab Kanan’s left hand, which was fortunately his remaining flesh hand. She ripped off his fingerless glove to reveal a familiar scar on his left palm that started at the base of his index finger and curved down to the opposite side of his palm. Everyone in the Ghost crew hand seen it at some point, but they were never sure how he got it until now.

Meanwhile, Chopper was yelling at them about how they’d been staring at that cave painting for over an hour and that nothing he did snapped them out of it. The Ghost crew was too distracted by the shock of what was revealed to them to tell him what was going on.

Ezra was now the only one who still had his hand on the cave wall. He continued to stare at it as he processed what they’d just seen.

“You...You were found on Lothal,” Ezra finally said. “You and your mother lived with the Lothwolves. She waited for you to come home...”

“Wait a minute,” Zeb interrupted. “We’ve been on and off Lothal for years. Why haven’t the Lothwolves told Kanan about this before? Why make his mom wait so long?”

“Because I wasn’t ready to let Caleb Dume back in yet,” Kanan answered.

Hera, Zeb, and Sabine all turned to looked at him.

Kanan gently pulled his hand out of Sabine’s slackening grip, although he let her keep his glove, and explained. “When we first came to Lothal, I was still hiding the fact that I was a Jedi. I’d hidden Caleb Dume away for years in order to survive. Then we met Ezra and I started acting like a Jedi again, but I was doing it in a Kanan Jarrus way. I never really let Caleb be a part of who I was until Hera was captured and the Lothwolves appeared to me,”

“But Ezra said the Lothwolves started appearing before then,” Sabine hinted.

“They must have sensed that it was almost time,” Kanan replied.

“Time for what?” Zeb asked.

“Time for you to come home!” Ezra exclaimed, although it seemed like he’d only been half listening to their conversation.

Everyone was looking at him now.

“Kanan, your mother might still be alive!” Ezra continued. “and she could still be waiting for you...”

“Ezra-” Kanan started.

But Ezra didn’t appear to have heard him.

“Maybe Ashla can take us to her!” Ezra interrupted. “If she’s still alive,”

“Ezra...” Kanan repeated.

Ezra still didn’t hear him.

“No wonder the Lothwolves knew your name and were so interested in you,” Ezra rambled. “Kanan! You have to reunite with your mother, if you still have the chance to. I mean... what else are you supposed to do? Now that the Lothwolves have reconnected with you and you’ve started becoming Caleb Dume-”

“Ezra!” Kanan shouted.

Ezra finally stopped and stared at Kanan.

“I...don’t remember any of this,” Kanan admitted, looking like he was sorry that he had to say that, while placing a hand on the cave wall to indicate what he was talking about. “Ezra, it’s been 30 years. It might be too late. Besides, I’m not Caleb Dume anymore. Yes, I’ve accepted him as a part of me, but I don’t think I’ll ever fully be Caleb Dume again. If the Lothwolves take us to Rebekka Dume, I won’t be the son she remembers. I’ve said before that it’s too late for me, and that’s still true,”

“You might think it’s too late for you,” Ezra argued. “But your mother won’t think it’s too late. She’s been waiting for you all this time,”

Kanan was silent.

“It wouldn’t hurt to just meet her,” Ezra pointed out after a beat.

“You’re not gonna let up on this are you?” Kanan sighed and turned to Hera, Sabine, and Zeb, silently asking them for help.

Zeb just shrugged. “I don’t know, mate,”

“It’s your decision, love,” Hera said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Fine,” Kanan finally relents, turning back to Ezra. “You can ask Ashla to take us to Rebekka Dume, if she’s still alive,”

Ezra grinned and immediately turned to Ashla. “Can you take us to Kanan’s mom, please?”

Ashla nodded and turned around. He extended his tail to Ezra, who grabbed hold of it with one hand. Then he reached back and took Kanan’s hand. Kanan reached back and took Hera’s hand. The Ghost crew all joined hands, with Zeb bringing up the rear. Then Zeb slung a very confused and indignant Chopper under his arm so the droid wouldn’t be left behind.

Ashla started walking and a glowing blue portal appeared on the wall in front of him that looked familiar to Ezra, Zeb, and Sabine and felt familiar to Kanan.

Ezra, Hera, Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper could see nothing but blue light as Ashla lead them through the portal.

When they emerged, they were standing in the Lothwolf compound, and it honestly hadn’t changed much over the years.

Ashla was standing in front of them. He turned around and lead them to presumably where Rebekka was. The Ghost crew released each other's hands, Zeb set Chopper down, and they followed him, letting Kanan take the lead.

On their way there, they walked passed many lothwolves of the pack. Two in particular, one who was brown with gray mixed in and one who was gray with brown mixed in, took special interest in them and trotted over. They stopped in front of Kanan, who had to stop walking so he didn't run into them. The wolves started licking Kanan's face and rubbing their heads against him.

It took a second for the Ghost crew to realize that this was Sora and Teman, now full-grown adult wolves.

Then Sora grabbed the collar of Kanan's jacket with her teeth and pulled it off, revealing that Kanan's right arm was obviously a prosthetic.

Teman took the jacket from his sister. It was a miracle that they hadn't heard any ripping sounds at this point.

Teman and Sora joined their group in following Ashla to wherever Rebekka Dume was.

They approached a brown wolf, that they guessed was Maica, who was lying down near one of the rock spires that surrounded the compound.

As they all got closer, they noticed something was resting against her side, or rather, someone was resting against her side.

It was Rebekka Dume. She had her head down and some sort of animal hide covered her legs.

Sora and Teman went to say hi to their mother and Rebekka looked up.

She definitely looked like a woman in her fifties. She had gray streaks in her brown hair and her face had a few wrinkles.

“Oh, hello Ashla,” Rebekka Dume said when she noticed the white wolf, and stood up; the animal hide falling away.

Then she tilted her head and noticed the Ghost crew, who were staring at her wide-eyed. “What are these people doing here?” she asked.

Ashla whacked his tail against Kanan’s back and pushed him forward.

Rebekka Dume studied Kanan for a moment with a look of mild confusion, then she took a step forward.

“Dume,” Ashla said. “Has. Returned,”

“What?” Rebekka hesitated. “You mean it’s...”

She stepped forward until she was standing right in front of Kanan.

“Caleb?” She murmured, placing a hand on Kanan’s cheek.

Kanan managed to nod.

Rebekka Dume let out a sob and threw her arms around him and cried into his chest.

Ezra was grinning widely, while Chopper continued to let his confusion be known. Zeb and Sabine just watched and Hera paid close attention to Kanan’s reaction.

Kanan was stock-still. He didn’t know how to react, but after a minute of Rebekka clinging to him and crying, he lifted his arms and awkwardly patted her back.

Over five minutes went by before Rebekka released Kanan and started studying him.

“Look how you’ve grown up,” Rebekka Dume sighed.

Then she noticed the scar across his eyes. “...what?” she stammered, trailing her fingers along the scar. Then her eyes filled with fresh tears, this time of mourning.

“What... How... Your eyes... You’re blind!” Rebekka cried, finally coming to the realization.

Kanan just stayed still and silent as her eyes trailed over him. She mumbled worriedly as she looked at the burns on his neck. She smiled when she saw the familiar scar on his left palm.

Then Rebekka Dume saw his prosthetic arm and everything went up a notch, or ten.

“What!” Rebekka practically growled. She placed one hand over it and looked up into his blind eyes.

“Who did this to you?” Rebekka asked, actually growling this time. Her eyes swelled with maternal protectiveness.

Kanan couldn’t think of a response to her question.

Then Rebekka looked behind him and noticed the rest of the Ghost crew. “Who are these people?” she asked.

“These are my friends,” Kanan answered, finally finding his voice. He ran a hand through his hair. “Well, actually, more like my family,”

Rebekka smiled at them. “Hello,” she said, momentarily forgetting about Kanan’s scars. “I’m Rebekka Dume,”

“Hi,” Ezra said, speaking first. “I’m Ezra,”

“My name’s Hera,” Hera introduced, taking a step forward. “And this is Chopper,” she added, gesturing to the droid.

“I’m Zeb,” Zeb added.

“I’m Sabine,” Sabine said.

Rebekka smiled again and nodded at each of them. “It’s nice to meet you,” she greeted.

Having met the rest of the Ghost crew, Rebekka took Kanan’s hand and pulled him over to her discarded animal hide. “I want to hear everything,” she said, sitting them both down.

“That might have to wait,” Kanan replied. “We have people who are probably wondering where we are and we have a battle to prepare for,”

“What do you mean?” Rebekka asked, straightening up.

“I don’t think you need to worry about it,” Kanan answered, standing up.

“No,” Rebekka said firmly, reaching up and grabbing his arm. “Caleb, tell me what’s going on,”

Kanan sighed, clearly seeing no way out of this. “Fine,”

***

“I’m coming with you,” Rebekka announced after Kanan told her about the attack they were planning.

“What?” Kanan exclaimed. “No, you don’t need to do this,” He had since reclaimed his jacket from Teman and was putting it back on.

Rebekka was already moving to gather her available weapons, which mostly consisted of knives. “I am not losing you again,” she said. “And I want the Empire to leave too. Besides, you’ll have a stronger attack if you have the Lothwolves with you,”

“I don’t want to put you in any danger,” Kanan argued.

“It’s not up to you,” Rebekka replied. “You can’t stop me or the Lothwolves from joining you,”

Hera and Sabine started chuckling and had to cover their mouths with their hands.

“What?” Kanan asked, turning to face at them.

“She’s just as determined as you are, love,” Hera answered.

Rebekka grinned with pride when she heard that statement. She’d also noticed Hera’s endearment and grinned wider.

Chopper asked when they would be leaving, because he thought they’d been on this little Lothwolf side-quest for long enough.

“Chopper’s right,” Sabine agreed. “I think it’s time we headed back to the base. We still have to prep for the attack,”

“Fine with me,” Rebekka said, swigging onto Maica’s back before the Lothwolf stood up. “Maica, Ashla, Teman, and Sora can give us all a ride. That way they can gather the rest of the pack and we can all stay together,”

“Do the wolves even know where our base is?” Zeb asked.

“Ashla found Kanan at the base before,” Ezra answered. “He should be able to find his way back,”

“Oh yeah, right,” Zeb replied.

As they spoke, the rest of the Lothwolf pack started to gather around them. The crew recognized one of the dark gray wolves as Venari. A reddish brown wolf stood beside them. Then a light gray wolf came up and touched noses with Sora. There were about eight wolves in the pack, counting Ashla, Maica, and her children.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Rebekka exclaimed, tapping herself on the head with two fingers. “I haven’t told you everyone’s names!”

“The white wolf is Ashla in case you hadn’t figured that out already, and this is Maica,” Rebekka said, gesturing to the wolf she was riding.

“These two are Sora and Teman,” she continued pointing to each of them. “They’re Maica’s children,”

The Ghost crew already knew their names, but decided not to say anything.

“That’s Venari, and that’s Pemburu,” Rebekka said as she pointed to the dark gray wolf, that the Ghost crew recognized earlier, and the reddish brown wolf respectively.

“That’s Siguri, Sora’s mate,” she continued, pointing at the light gray wolf. Then she moved to the other dark gray wolf. “And that’s Socorro,”

‘Alright! Can we go now?’ Chopper asked, clearly annoyed.

“Well, sounds like Chopper has an opinion,” Rebekka observed, although it didn’t seem like she understood binary.

“He says that we should probably get going,” Hera translated. “I think our friends are worried enough as it is,”

“Alright,” Rebekka replied. “Get on a wolf,”

Ashla knelt down in front of Kanan, who got the message to climb on, which he did. After getting situated on Ashla’s back, Kanan reached a hand down to Hera. Hera took his hand and used it to swing on and sit behind him.

Sora came up and knelt down beside Ezra, and Ezra climbed on her back.

Teman came and knelt down beside Sabine, who climbed onto his back after a moment of hesitation.

Zeb glanced between Ezra on Sora’s back and Sabine on Teman’s back and decided to ride with Sabine. He trusted her not to do anything crazy while riding a giant wolf.

Chopper started complaining that he would be left behind if they used this mode of transportation. He was interrupted when Sora grabbed him in her mouth.

“We should probably call ahead and warn everyone that we’re coming,” Kanan suggested.

“I got it,” Ezra volunteered. He activated his comm. “Spectre 6 to base, do you read me?”

There was no answer other than the vague sound of static.

“I think we’re out of range,” he announced.

“Then we’ll have to wait to comm them until we’re in range,” Hera responded.

“Let’s get going then,” Rebekka said.

Ashla took off, followed by Maica, Sora, Teman, and the rest of the pack.

_____________

“They’ve sure been gone for a while,” Ryder Azadi observed.

“I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” Rex reassured.

“Really? Cuz’ usually when people walk off with wolves they don’t come back,” Ketsu countered.

“You forget that Ezra and Kanan are Jedi,” Hondo said. “And Jedi often do seemingly impossible things, like taming oversized wolves,”

“Well it did appear like the white Lothwolf wanted Kanan for something,” Kallus added. “And I doubt he would have let the Ghost crew come with him if he thought it was going to be dangerous,”

Their discussion was interrupted when the main comm beeped.

“Spectre 6 to base,” Ezra came through. “Can you read me?”

“We read you, Ezra,” Ryder answered, activated their side of the comm. “Where are you?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be back soon,” Ezra replied.

“Well, good. We need to start preparations,” Ryder replied.

“Oh, and just a heads up. We made some new friends, so don’t freak out when you see a bunch of wolves headed toward you. That’s us,” Ezra warned.

“What!” Ryder and a few others exclaimed.

“See you soon!” Ezra said, before shutting off his comm.

“What’s going on?” Jai Kell asked.

“I don’t think we’ll find out until they get back,” Kasmir said.

“When will that be?” Mart Mattin asked.

“Incoming!” Wolffe announced.

Sure enough, a pack of Lothwolves was running towards them. As the wolves got closer they could see people on their backs. Soon they realised it was the Ghost crew.

“What the...” Kallus mumbled.

“We’re back!” Ezra announced, as the wolves the Ghost crew were riding came up to the rest of the group. The wolf Ezra was riding had Chopper in its mouth and started putting him down, as the droid protested being carried in their mouth.

“Where’ve you been?” Ryder asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“It’s a long story,” Kanan said as he dismounted from the white wolf and reached up to help Hera, who had been riding with him, down.

A brown-haired woman in her fifties hopped off one of the other wolves. She smiled at everyone. “We’re here to help,” she said, referring to herself and the wolves.

“Who are you?” Mart asked.

“Rebekka Dume,” the woman answered.

Everyone gasped. While the Ghost crew was gone, everyone had been filled in on why the white wolf said ‘Dume’ and how it connected to Kanan.

“Is she...?” Kasmir started to ask.

“Yes, she’s Kanan’s mother,” Ezra answered. “She lives with the Lothwolves and they’re all gonna fight with us,”

Gregor nudged Wolffe with his elbow excitedly. “Wolffe, looks like you have your wolf pack back! ehh?”

“Yeah,” Wolffe agreed, though his eyes never left Rebekka’s face.

Zeb and Sabine had dismounted from their wolf and had gathered with the others standing in front of the wolves.

“Alright then,” Ryder said. “Come on. It’s time to prepare for our mission,”

The wolf pack followed everyone further into the base, where they started to prepare their weapons.

“Do you know how to use a blaster?” Rex asked Rebekka as he handed her one.

“Yes, but it’s been years since I last used one,” Rebekka answered, inspecting the blaster. “I may need a refresher course,”

“I’ll teach you,” Wolffe volunteered, perhaps a little too quickly.

“Everyone here should be prepared to use a blaster on this mission,” he justified.

Rebekka smiled at him. “Thank you,”

They smiled at each other for a moment before Wolffe cleared his throat.

“We should probably start now,” Wolffe suggested. “There’s an area over there where we can practice,” He pointed off to his left, where a rock spire hid a clearing from view.

Rebekka nodded. “Okay, lead the way,”

Wolffe and Rebekka went off with blasters in hand.

“I didn’t catch your name,” Rebekka said as they walked off.

Wolffe chuckled. “You’re probably not gonna believe me,” he replied. “My name’s Wolffe. I’m an old clone trooper,”

“Oh,” Rebekka said. Then she laughed.

The others went on with preparations. They could hear blaster shots in the distance as Rebekka and Wolffe went over their blaster refresher course. Occasionally they would hear Rebekka shriek in triumph, presumably because she hit the target Wolffe had set out for her.

While they were preparing for their mission, the lothwolves remained near them. Some were lying down nearby, Maica was sitting near the rock spire that separated Rebekka and Wolffe from the rest of the group, Teman and Sora hung out near Kanan, and Ashla watched everyone like some sort of benevolent god overseeing his people.

At one point, Sora shifted and swung her tail so it hit Vizago in the face, making him stumble back in surprise and annoyance.

“Why did I ever get involved with you Rebels?” Vizago grumbled.

“Because we’re incredibly persuasive,” Kanan answered.

Songs used were “Something Wild” by Lindsey Stirling and “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Disney’s Tarzan, written by Phil Collins.

#star wars rebels #star wars rebels fanfiction #swr season 4 #kanan lives au #phoenix au #kanera #kanan jarrus #hera syndulla #chopper #zeb orrelios #sabine wren #ezra bridger #rex #alexsandr kallus #hondo ohnaka #janus kasmir #general kleeve #gregor #wolffe #ketsu onyo #caleb dume #caleb dume's origin story #caleb dume's mother #rebekka dume #mace windu #ki-adi mundi #yoda #ryder azadi #jai kell #mart mattin

[aphorisnt]

Padawan Ben Continuation Part 8

Holy shit I’m almost to the end of this thing!! There will be at least 2 more parts and that may be it but I won’t know until I write them.

Endless thank yous and appreciation to @swpromptsandasks​ who started this whole series; I’m just picking up where she left off.

Also, my undying love and appreciation to everyone who was kind enough to like and reblog and leave replies or send me asks about this fic. You folks are the greatest and I have no words for how thankful I am for all the support.

(Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7/Part 9)

Compared to the dirt and grime outside the interior of the LiMerge Power Building was immaculate. The long, elegantly tiled hallways didn’t show the slightest hint of the smog that choked the sky and the building’s machinery blended seamlessly into the décor, likely signs of Palpatine’s personal touch. And every inch of it practically oozed Darkside energy.

Anakin clenched his fists as he stalked forward and did his best to maintain control. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to run ahead and find Ben as quickly as possible, but his clenched durasteel hand reminded him why running ahead was a bad idea. He had no idea what lay ahead and in this situation hasty action could get Ben killed. If he’s even here, if he’s even still alive, he agonized. No, he thought to himself, he’s here and he’s ok; he has to be.

Masters and Councilors Agen Kolar and Saesee Tiin–the only Masters both on-planet and uninjured–had elected to join Anakin and the team Shadows in investigating the building. The group was made up of twelve highly skilled beings, small but enough for reconnaissance and a possible confrontation, plus with Palpatine dead and gone any remaining threat seemed minor by comparison.

Still, Anakin had a bad feeling about this.

The building seemed empty and with the way the Darkside permeated everything it was impossible to sense if Ventress or anyone else might be near, but something in Anakin’s gut told him they would encounter trouble soon.

“I think we should split up; cover more ground,” suggested Dellon, one of the lead shadows. “One group can check the upper floors and the other can check the lower ones and the basement. If you agree, Masters,” she added at the last minute, glancing a bit apologetically at Kolar and Tiin.

“I think that would be wise,” said Tiin. “Dellon, you, Master Kolar, and three other beings take the upper floors; the rest of us shall handle the lower. Anora, Joban, I need you to stay here and guard the landing pad. If you encounter Ventress or anyone else, alert everyone else immediately. Understood?”

“Yes, Master,” the beings replied in unison as Dellon set about dividing the groups while Anora and Joban took up positions on either side of the landing pad.

Anakin found himself amongst those taking the lower floors.

“If everyone is ready,” said Kolar, glancing around at the assembled beings to ensure all were prepared, “then let us be off.”

Anakin’s group trudged down the hallway towards the stairs, ready to search the building floor by floor.

After searching the eighth consecutive empty floor, Anakin was getting frustrated. He did his best to keep it contained for Ben’s sake but he didn’t know how much longer he could last before he needed to break something.

Master Tiin insisted on a thorough search of every floor so their group seemed to barely crawl along.

“A kriffing legless bantha could move faster,” Anakin grumbled quietly to himself.

They had one more floor and then just the basement left out of there ten floor total and Anakin, in yet another clear violation of the cold, only grew more angry with each passing moment. Beneath the heat of anger the icy pain of anxiety and outright fear gripped his heart but he did his best to ignore those. Anger didn’t hurt.

“This floor is clear, too,” one of the Shadows called out. The Rodian male signaled for everyone to follow him to the stairs once more.

“Anything from the other team? Or Anora?” another Shadow, an Arconan asked.

“Nope, not a word,” their Twi’lek companion replied. “I’m starting to think this place might be empty.”

“We don’t know that for sure yet!” Anakin snapped, leveling a glare at the two.

“We know, Skywalker,” the first Shadow replied. “Let’s just keep going with the search.”

The ninth floor subjected to their search yielded similar results and Anakin’s mech hand groaned as he forced the joints into an even tighter fist.

“Alright, last floor,” the Rodian Shadow called, beckoning the group through the door to the stairwell.

“After we finish here we’ll take the turbolift back up to the landing pad and rendezvous with the others,” Master Tiin said.

Anakin was the first one through the door, the duracrete steps echoing as he stomped down to the basement. He reached the dingy landing outside a solid, nondescript door and reached his hand up toward the panel when he paused.

“Get back!” he yelled as he force jumped several feet back up the stairs.

That split-second warning from the Force came just in time to save him as the door suddenly burst out, slamming into the landing where he had stood moments before. As he vaulted over the crumpled shape of the door he heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting. He sprinted into the basement, running blind with panic as he assumed the worst.

Then, he saw him.

There, on a medical cot and hooked up to all nature of medical machinery lay Ben, his chest gently rising and falling. If it weren’t for the tubes and wires he could just be sleeping, perhaps dreaming, but Anakin noticed he also looked thinner and paler than before.

And there, right behind him with ‘saber held inches from his throat, stood the Sith assassin.

“Ventress,” Anakin growled, his voice low with fury.

“Skywalker,” she replied in that flippant tone of hers.

He made to stalk towards them when Ventress’s lightsaber moved that much closer to Ben’s pale neck.

“Ah, ah, ah,” she said, wagging the finger of her free hand at him as if he were an unruly child. “Not another step or I’ll have to slit his pretty throat wide open. And that goes for all of you too,” she said, gesturing at the other four beings who had just come up behind him

“Get away from him!” Anakin snarled, rage completely unchecked at the sight of his husband in danger.

“Control yourself, Knight Skywalker,” Tiin barked, pushing the man aside to walk to the front and turning to Ventress.

“In the name of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order you are under arrest. Surrender now and we can end this quietly.”

“Sorry, Jedi,” she replied, voice dripping with venom. “I don’t surrender to anyone.”

“Your master, Sidious, is dead. The war is over. There is nothing left for you,” Tiin tried again.

“Oh I don’t know if there’s nothing. After all, there is usually something to gain in the chaos after a regime falls, and for now I still have the simple things: my life, my dignity, my freedom. I plan to hold on to all of those. But, since you’re all here, perhaps we can negotiate a mutually beneficial agreement.”

Tiin ignored her comment. “If you will not come quietly then we will have to take you by force,” he said, igniting his ‘saber and stepping forward.

“Pity,” Ventress sighed. “I’m sure we could have worked something out. Ah well, so much the worse for your clone Jedi here. I suppose he wasn’t worth much to you after all.”

She raised her saber to cut Ben down and get in one last blow against the Jedi.

Something inside Anakin broke. No, he thought as fear, anger, and love for Ben blocked everything else out.

“No!” he roared, stretching out a hand and slamming Ventress into the wall with a powerful force push.

In second he was one her, raining down blow after blow as if trying to beat her into submission. For the briefest moment his eyes flickered yellow before going back to blue. Must stay in the light, he thought desperately, for Ben.

His momentary distraction was all Ventress needed as she slipped under his guard and aimed a kick at his stomach. Anakin fell back, rolling with the force of the impact into a crouch and pausing to try and get his breath back.

Master Tiin took the opportunity to join the fray, the Shadows following on his heels.

“Two of you guard the exits!” he called, gesturing to the destroyed doorway and the still intact one standing opposite.

The Arconan stayed at the first door while the Rodian ran for the second. The Twi’lek shadow ran to Tiin’s side, helping to defend against Ventress’s attacks.

Anakin rejoined the fight and between the three of them they managed to back Ventress into a corner. Saesee Tiin held his blade to her throat and Anakin had his poised right over her heart. There was nowhere for her to go.

“I will make the offer again,” Tiin said. “Surrender now.”

Ventress hesitated for a moment, narrowing her eyes at the Jedi before her. The she took a step back, deactivated her lightsabers, and placed them on the floor.

“Alright, I’ll surrender,” she said, somehow still maintaining an air of defiance.

The Arconan Shadow strode forward and placed a pair of stun cuffs around her wrists. They brandished a Force-inhibiting collar as well.

“Try anything, and this goes on.”

“Of course,” she replied. “I will be the perfect prisoner.”

Anakin was vaguely aware of the rest of the proceedings–Master Kolar’s group joining theirs, Ventress being led away, someone comming the Council about their success–but in the moments following the fight he only had eyes for Ben. He ran to the medical cot as quickly as his feet could carry him and grasped the man’s pale hand in his.

“Hey,” he said to his husband. “We found you. It’s alright, Ben, you’re safe now.” He felt tears start to prick his eyes. “You’re safe and we’re gonna figure out what’s wrong and we’re gonna save you. You’re gonna be ok.”

He pressed a kiss to the hand in his, then leaned forward and pressed another one to Ben’s forehead. He reach out with his other hand and ran his fingers through copper locks, savoring the feel and not caring that his husband was long overdue for a wash.

“I love you,” he whispered, not caring that the man couldn’t hear him. Somehow, he knew Ben would know.

When two healers finally arrived to transport Ben back to the Temple and the Halls, Anakin refused to leave his side. The entire ride back to the Temple he held on to that hand, needing the physical reassurance that Ben was truly back safe. He knew finding Ben was only half the battle as they still had yet to discover the source of the clone Jedi’s mysterious medical condition, but at the moment, winning half the battle was ok. And for the first time in he didn’t know how many days, Anakin finally felt a bit of peace.

#swpromptsandasks #PadawanBen #fic #sw #obikin

[jedi-enthusiast]

The post this reply is from

@nervoustreellama what part of the "no, this is not an invitation for y'all to air your grievances about him. I literally do not give a shit about them. Either reblog this with more appreciation about him or other Jedi or move along" tags did you not understand?

Furthermore, even if you didn't see those tags, what about a Mace Windu appreciation post makes you think that any critique about him is warranted or welcome?

Now, let's actually talk about this.

You say he was "mean" to Ahsoka...where?

I'm assuming this is referencing the fact that he calls her "citizen" and dismisses her from a meeting in one of the last few episodes of TCW.

Which, first of all, she is just a citizen now. Him dismissing her from that meeting isn't a big "fuck you" to her, it's just him dismissing her because a civilian literally has no reason to be in a meeting discussing classified information important to the war effort. None whatsoever.

And him calling her "citizen" isn't even mean because she literally calls herself that! How is he being mean by calling her that when that's literally how she identifies herself???

----------

Once again I am asking people to keep their anti-Jedi bullshit off my blog, and yes I count criticizing specific Jedi in that as well.

This blog is, and will always be, pro-Jedi and Jedi-positive. If you aren't going to add to that positivity about the Jedi than get the fuck off of my blog---you're not wanted here.

#star wars #sw prequels #the clone wars #pro jedi #in defense of the jedi #mace windu #ahsoka tano

[teletraan-meets-jarvis]

A Girl Like You

AO3 Link

Pairing: Little bit of Wolffe x fem!Jedi Reader

Summary: You end up having a lightsaber sparring match with Anakin and the clones watch on from the sidelines. Wolffe admires the view.

Warnings: 13+, Wolffe eyeing up the reader.

Word Count: 2k

Author's Notes: This is my first attempt at writing some sort of battle scene, I hope I pulled it off alright. This is mostly a fic about the Dathomiri/Mandalorian reader in order to help me practice writing battles, but I have thrown in Wolffe being cheeky because I couldn't resist. Any feedback is always appreciated, as are reblogs! Fic is below the cutoff, thanks very much for reading x

You’re not entirely sure how you got yourself into this situation. You’d been sitting among a few members of your battalion, the 104th, along with General Skywalker, Commander Tano, the usual suspects from the 501st and a few of the Coruscant Guard commanders, getting yourselves ready to head out for a night out among the lower levels of Coruscant. While you’d been waiting for the last few stragglers to get some fresh armour on before heading out, Anakin had somehow dragged you into some pissing contest about lightsaber designs and which were the most effective in combat. You carried a double bladed weapon, and Anakin had been poking you about how ineffective he’d found them to be in battle. You know he was just trying to get a rise out of you and you hated that it worked.

So that’s how you ended up here, with the challenge of a sparring match presented to you by Anakin. He wanted to test his theory as to what weapon was superior in battle.

“Loser buys the first round at 79’s for everyone” The General suggested. You looked around, there must be at least twenty of you heading out tonight, would your credits even cover that?

“You’re on.” Guess you could always get a few waters and lie to the men. Fox could probably do with a slow start to the drinking anyways.

The three Jedis present used the force to clear some tables out the way, creating a space for the fight. Ahsoka outlined some rules before the event began, which were; no force use on each other, no dirty tricks and please don’t actually hurt each other. Should the latter happen, at least they had Kix there ready to fix them up, even if he was supposed to be off duty.

Once the space was cleared, you got up from your spot amongst the Wolfpack who were hyping you up like you were some pay-per-view sports person about to head into the ring. The 501st boys were cheering for Anakin as Rex gave him a pep talk before sending him off into their makeshift battle arena.

The two of you took your spots opposite each other. You were both still wearing your usual battle clothes, just clean alternatives. Anakin’s fresh, dark coloured robes were neatly wrapped around him, his growing hair hanging just above his eyes as he readied himself for the fight.

You yourself were in a form fitting grey and white jumpsuit which flared slightly at the leg. The sleeves were short, showing off the grey Dathomiri markings on your arms which were dotted across your fair Mandalorian skin. Your whole ensemble was finished off with a single, battle-worn shoulder piece which carried the Wolfpack insignia. Your short blonde hair was in it’s signature half up, half down look, keeping it out of your way.

You both readied yourselves and your eyes met. You could feel the confidence radiating off of him and you knew exactly why. Despite being the same age as Anakin, you were still a Padawan under Master Plo. However, from your Master’s recent suggestions, that wouldn’t be the case for long.

You took a moment to calm yourself. Remembering your training, you let the audience disappear until it was just the two of you. You opened your eyes and readied your lightsaber. You took the handle and held it out in front of you, the space for the two blades coming out either side of your grip. You clicked the weapon on and it buzzed to life. Two green blades in perfect unison. You twirled the weapon around your fingers, pulling it to your side as you got into your initial stance. Leaning back on your right bent leg, your left outstretched in front of you, one half of your weapon inches away from the right side of your head, ready to go.

Anakin had done the same and with some flare, had gotten into his stance. You were both ready.

“After you, Skyguy” and with that, Anakin took the first lunge. You brought your lightsaber up just below your chin, holding it sideways to block his straight swipe down across your head. Your faces inches apart before you both pushed off of each other and started stalking around in a circle, waiting for who would make the next move.

An unspoken understanding in the air between you both, the knowledge that you could push each other to your limits, in a way the Jedi wouldn’t normally encourage in training. The thought sent a slight thrill through your body, you always went into every battle with utmost control, always trying to be a model Commander. You always had to prove to the council that you weren’t a threat, that you could the resist the dark side that came so naturally to your kind. But right now, for the first time, you could really let loose and trial your power with Anakin as you knew he’d be doing the exact same.

The tension in the room was thick, the focused stares between the Jedi entrancing everyone present as they danced around one another.

You both rushed to the centre of the space, sabres clashing right in front of your faces. A cyan glow lit up your features, both sporting wicked grins. The power you both held evident among the spectators. You thought you heard a few gasps from the crowd, but all your focus was directed at the Knight in front of you. His feral smirk held as he spoke from behind the clash of your weapons. “Don’t get too flustered now, I know I look great under blue light”

“Don’t flatter yourself, General” You chuckled as you pushed off each other. Stalking once more.

When you clashed again, it was all a blur. Hit after hit. He was relentless. Your weapons created a bright light show as you kept up with Anakin’s offensive. He pushed you further back, the wall behind you growing closer. You blocked his next hit and took a moment to plan. He was getting confident, too confident. You could use that to your advantage.

You ducked below his next swing and went for his legs, causing him to do a backflip back to the centre. Finally, some breathing room. Now it was your turn to go on the offensive. You charged forward and restarted the fast pace. Delivering blow after blow to Anakin’s defence. Your double blades keeping him on his toes as you made sure to never favour one side of your weapon.

You were both high from the strength you put on display, you don’t remember the last time you let loose like this. You were both sweating slightly, grinning at the enjoyment of such a challenging fight. One strike from Anakin had you swinging your lightsaber over you shoulder to guard your back, as you blocked a particularly dirty move from the General. From the sidelines, you heard Ahsoka reprimanding her Master and reminding him that this was only a sparring match. You raised your eyebrow at the General who just shrugged, still sporting a confident smirk on his face. It was on.

—————

The clones were mesmerised. Of course they’d seen their Jedis fight hundreds of times in battle, but they never had the time to just watch and appreciate. The pair were so different, where Anakin was like a controlled tornado, skill and strength on the brink of being unleashed. Your approach was measured, plotting, more like a slow song building up. Every move you made was calculated, as if you were playing a game of chess.

Wolffe couldn’t help but appreciate the view as you lunged an attack at Anakin. You and Wolffe had been fighting alongside each other for years now but he’d never really seen you like this. Your orange eyes sharp, body tense, feet light as you danced with Anakin. Green and blue clashing. Your moves so smooth and flowing into one another yet contrasted by displays of dangerous power, reminding him of the waters back on Kamino. You looked incredible and he couldn’t help getting pulled into the atmosphere, cheering alongside the rest of his brothers. There was a new feeling in his chest as he watched you battle. Their Jedi. His Jedi.

He continued to stare as the fight raged on. He bloomed with pride when his eyes found your Wolfpack insignia on your shoulder, which perfectly matched your battalion colour-scheme outfit. Speaking of, his eyes couldn’t help themselves as they drifted along your body, finding all the places where that jumpsuit hugged your small curves just right. The way your toned arms strained as you swung your weapon. The way your skin markings lead beneath the v-neckline you’d left at the front of your jumpsuit from the zipper, teasing almost. You were a vision. Maker get ahold of yourself. He shook his head, as if it would clear the racy thoughts from his mind. It didn’t.

Back at the event, there were lulls and peaks in the fight, moments where you were studying each other and others where your lightsabers were in near constant contact as you fought to keep up with the other’s moves.

“You’ve got this General, take her down” Jesse shouted from his position in the sidelines.

“Commander, kick his ass!” Boost piped up in your support.

———————

The crowd getting involved seemed to spur Anakin on further, your next clash resulted in him being able to swing your lightsaber from your grasp. Kriff. Suddenly you felt the tell-tale heat radiating off his weapon onto your throat, only a few millimetres separating them. The 501st were cheering in support of their General while Anakin looked over to his adoring fans, soaking up the praise. You just smirked from your defenceless position.

“You shouldn’t get so cocky, General” you stated casually, pulling him out of his moment.

“What?” Before he could react, you knocked his weapon away from your chin as your right leg hooked around the back of his and sent him sprawling onto his back. You used the force to grab his weapon as you went to kneel on his chest, his own lightsaber now readied towards his throat.

The crowd watched on in shock for a few seconds before the Wolfpack jumped out their seats and started cheering. You’d officially just defeated The Chosen One in a sparring match.

You chuckled at their reactions and Anakin’s pout before helping the General up. You returned his weapon and watched as he stalked back over to his battalion, his pride in tatters. Looking over at your own squad, Comet and Boost were winding up Jesse and Fives over how their Jedi was superior.

As you made your way back over the 104th troopers jumped on you chanting “Wolfpack! Wolfpack! Wolfpack!” some of them even started howling. You just laughed and pushed them off you.

“You’re such dorks” you chuckled, ruffling Sinker’s hair as he walked back to his seat.

“I believe you dropped this sir” Wolffe came over and extended your weapon out to you. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to retrieve your weapon from wherever it’d be thrown in a fight.

“Thank you, Commander” you said with a smile. You were both standing slightly away from the others who were still teasing the 501st, with help from Commander Thorn. Wolffe had a strange look on his face, like he was contemplating something.

“You looked good out there” he piped up, his usual bravado replaced with something more unsure. However, his walls were back up before you could tell what it was.

“You telling me I look good, Wolffe?” You teased, hoping to wind him up a little bit.

“Maybe I am” he replied with a smirk, his eyes giving you a once over boldly in front of you. You blushed at the sudden attention. Well this was new.

“You two Commanders done flirting or can we go now? There’s a free round waiting for us!” Ahsoka shouted from across the way.

You and Wolffe looked at each other for a moment longer before you chuckled and nodded your head in the direction of the exit. “We should head off”.

As you walked side by side with the clone Commander, you thought back to the way he looked at you. There was something in his eyes, admiration, maybe even want? You couldn’t tell, but you definitely wanted to find out. Maybe a few drinks would loosen him up enough to see what was going on in that handsome head of his.

Back to Masterlist

#clone wars #star wars #commander wolffe x reader #clone wars fic #star wars fic #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #commander fox #commander thorn #comet #boost #sinker #master plo koon #501st #jesse #fives