driftfleet | 004; action;

Entry tags:

004; action;

Who: Hera and anybody.
Broadcast: None.
Action: The Iskaulit
When: Today!

[ Hera finds herself in the room where Ahsoka has been instructing in meditation lately. She's picked up the basics pretty fast, and today of all days, Hera feels like she needs to clear her head.

She sees no point in making any kind of announcement about Kanan - assumes everyone who cares probably already knows, especially the Jedi. Why tell them something they already know? And it's for the best, really. She has faith that he's returned to their own galaxy, and he can look after the others until she figures out how to get back, herself. It's no big deal, nothing to be upset over, she did without him for years before they met.

And yet, just because she doesn't need him, doesn't mean she won't miss him. ]

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[ He hadn't expected to see her here but her pose immediately answered the question for him. Not long before, Obi-Wan had felt Kanan's presence leave the Force and he quite nearly panicked before realizing this is how the Atroma functioned. They give and they take.

He hangs back though. Kanan was a Jedi, even if he denied it, but this kind of loss . . . was not his to feel. It belonged to the people who knew him as Kanan, not for Obi-Wan who knew him as Caleb Dume. ]

[ A Jedi she is not, but eventually Hera does crack an eye open and gives Obi-Wan a small smile. ]

Checking in on me, Master Jedi? That was going to be my job.

[ He cracks a faint smile. ]

I do not believe I am the one in need.

Am I in need?

[ She sighs and gives Obi-Wan a faint smile. ]

I really appreciate the concern. I'll miss Kanan, but I'm fine. Ezra needs him a lot more than I do.

[ He shrugs at the easy reply. That would be his take on things too. He's not one to grieve. Still . . . Obi-Wan knows the chances of him seeing Kanan again are low. ]

Who is Ezra?

[ At this point, she sees no reason to hide anything from him. She highly doubts Kanan will be coming back to the fleet, and Obi-Wan is, well - dead, in their time. So, what harm could it do? ]

Ezra is Kanan's apprentice. He's very smart, but he needs a lot of guidance.

[ Well that's . . . odd. ]

I thought he chose not to follow the path of the Jedi.

[ Not that Obi-Wan blames him there. ]

[ She tilts her head a little, and nods. ]

He did. Until we met Ezra. The boy needed someone to take him under their wing. He needed Kanan. And, I think, Kanan needs him, a little.

[ A Master and Padawan relationship. Quite literally a baptism by fire. Nothing teaches so well as having a student. Still . . . he had his misgivings. ]

Isn't the Empire hunting down Jedi?

They are. And if he hadn't met Kanan, they likely would've found him by now, and done who-knows-what to him.

[ Obi-Wan does know, from personal experience and otherwise. But such details aren't brought up in polite conversation. ]

I'm surprised Kanan agreed to mentoring him.

I was a little surprised, too, actually. Kanan's always been so careful not to use his Jedi training. He almost never even brought out his lightsaber before he met Ezra.

[ She studies her hands for a moment. ]

But then it was like - he just knew what he had to do.

[ Ah. He instinctively realizes what must have happened. ]

The Force must have shown him the way.

[ She smiles a little. ]

Maybe so. It's funny, that when I first met him, he wouldn't have dreamed of taking up his lightsaber again, let alone taking on an apprentice.

[ No, he wouldn't have. Once, Obi-Wan was barely a knight when he was given his Padawan. Taking on a Padawan learner was one of great responsibility. ]

Padawans can inspire their masters to extraordinary heights.

I'm proud of him. He used to spend most of his time - getting drunk in bars on backwater moons. He knows he's good for much more than that, now.

Master Billaba would have been pleased to hear that.

She'd better have.

[ Hera says that, still smiling, but considering how willing she'd be to go to bat for Kanan, at any time, it's got a hint of sincerity behind it. ]

I know she would have.

[Ahsoka feels Kanan's presence leave the Force, and her first thought is of Hera. It takes her a while to find her-- Hera's presence isn't a beacon in the Force like the other people in her life-- but eventually she does. When she enters the meditation room, she pads over without preamble. Not loud, but not silently either. Telegraphing her presence. She doesn't want to disturb Hera if she's meditating, but she doesn't want to startle her either.

She just sits down beside her silently, letting the other woman know that she's there. Letting Hera decide whether or not to broach the topic.]

[ Somehow, she expected Ahsoka to show up. Eventually. Maybe that's why she came here, of all places, because she knew at some point some of the others would drop in. Not that it matters much - on the fleet, they'd run into each other eventually. ]

You know, this meditation stuff is actually very helpful.

[Ahsoka cracks a small smile.]

Well, it's not like they teach it just to torture us.

You're getting better, I notice.

[ Hera laughs a little. ]

I guess, I just didn't expect it to help me much. You know, I figured it was just a Jedi thing.

[ She leans back, stretching her legs out, and looks a little more serious. ]

I'm glad Kanan went home.

You are? But don't you... miss him?

Of course I do.

[ Hera smiles fondly. ]

But the others need him more than I do. Especially Ezra.

Wait. Who's Ezra?

[ Hera smiles a little and leans back on her hands. ]

His apprentice.

What! He never told me about that!

That's great!

[It's good to know the Jedi aren't completely wiped out. Whatever beef she has with the Order, she doesn't want them eradicated. This is good news.]

[ Hera is pretty glad of it too, honestly. Kanan has always been a good guy, much as he likes to pretend otherwise, but since meeting Ezra, he's taken on an extra sheen of responsibility, and it suits him well. ]

Yeah. It's been good for both of them. It happened more or less by accident, but sometimes I can't help but think that it, well - wasn't. An accident, that is.

Will of the Force, huh...?

Maybe. I don't pretend to know much of anything about that.

[ She looks contemplative for a moment. ]

But it's like there's been a piece of himself that Kanan's been holding back for a long time. I've known he used to be a Jedi, almost since we first met, but he was always careful not to use his training unless it was absolutely life-or-death. Until he met Ezra, and then it was like that piece fell into place.

... It must have been hard for him.

Yes. It's always been hard for him - he went through something no one should have to, and it damaged him.

...I think he doesn't think he's good enough, sometimes.

I don't know about that. He was good enough to survive, wasn't he?

Seems like that's more than can be said for everyone else, from what I've heard.

[ Hera smiles a little, but it's slightly sad. ]

I don't think he sees it that way. He ran. He thinks that was cowardly, that he should've stayed, tried to save his master. Survivor's guilt.

Maybe teaching Ezra makes him feel like he survived for a reason.

... I think I can relate.

He's far from the only one, I'm sure. But he's a good man, and I'm glad every day that I met him. That he was willing to join me.

Join you, huh?

Following in your dad's footsteps, I see.

[ That - gives her pause. And Hera tilts her head a little, her smile fading a bit. ]

He probably wouldn't agree with that.

No? Why not? He's a freedom fighter too, isn't he?

On Ryloth, he is. [ And only on Ryloth, she doesn't say aloud. ]

So... what's the problem?

[ Hera quirks an eyebrow slightly. ] I'm not on Ryloth.

My father is shortsighted.

Oh. He doesn't think it's important to liberate other planets too...?

He thinks I should only care about Ryloth. Because that's the only thing he cares about.

[ Bitter? YOU BET. ]

... Oh. I'm sorry.

[Her estimation of Cham just went down a bit.]

[ Hera: Ruining Cham Syndulla's reputation, one conversation at a time. ]

Yeah, well. I've learned to live with it. It's his problem, not mine.

[ Plus she's found a much better substitute family. ]

... Maybe he'll come around yet.

[ That gets a humorless laugh. ]

You don't know how stubborn he can be.

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