"You sure about this?" Ezra looked out in the distance. The Ghost sitting behind them, Kanan had suggested a trip for the two of them earlier that day, catching the Jedi in training a bit by surprise. "Why not?" the older man said with a smile, "it's been awhile since we've been off on our own for a bit of bonding and training." Glancing up at his teacher, the mask covering his eyes caught his attention and the thought of there being a reason for that crossed his mind. As if sensing him watching, Kanan moved a hand to his shoulder. "Hey...it'll be fun...give us a chance to get away and reconnect with the force" he was trying to put the younger's nerves at ease. Taking a breath, he nodded, "lets get started then."
Kanan held the only bag, insisting on packing light. It didn't surprise Ezra much anymore to hear him say they should be trusting in the force and themselves...living off the land around them. Glancing back at the ship, he saw Hera leaning against the door to the ship. She offered a light smile, but a bit of worry also seemed to linger behind that gaze. He tried to give her a reassuring one of his own, but he couldn't blame her at all for it. With the war going on and Thrawn hot on their trail, a trip seemed a little...wrong. "Even in the mist of battle, it's important not to lose sight of the little things" Kanan said in front of him.
"But focusing to much on those little things can leave you vulnerable to the bigger picture" Ezra countered, turning his eyes back to the form of the man before him. A light chuckle came as his answer, "true...another reason why-." "Finding balance is so important" Ezra cut him off, picking up his pace so he was walking beside the other instead of behind him, "you sound like a broken record saying that." Kanan moved his arm, nudging his Apprentice in the side with his elbow, "got to make sure that one of these times it sticks." Hearing that made Ezra's mind slip back to training with the Sith Holocron. He knew that Kanan didn't approve of it, that he had been afraid that it was leading him down a path to the dark side. In truth, looking back at it now, he could understand it.
The methods he had learned and used had seemed useful in the moment. They had given him the power he needed to overcome and win... They had also cost him as well. Hera had been furious with him after he put the team in danger on a mission that he was supposed to be leading. He had put aside their well being for his own selfish reasoning. He adverted his gaze from his teacher, as if he might see the guilt that had formed within his eyes. Even if he didn't have his sight like he used to, the other could still see in ways that mattered.
Silence spread between them, the only sound coming from the wind. They got further and further from the ship, travelling off into the trees and the other plant life of the planet. He didn't know how far Kanan wished to go, but he didn't ask either. He knew the other would tell him when they had reached...wherever they were going. It felt like the whole world around them was moving in slow motion. A few animals stirred as they passed. A large racoon like animal stuck its head out of the leaves of a tree to peer at them as they passed. Honestly...it was quite beautiful.
"The world around us...all of those in this galaxy and beyond are connected by the force" Kanan said, "every living thing...every plant and creature...depends on it in some way or another." Glancing up at the sun filtering through the leaves of the trees above them, Ezra could see the shifting shades of light and patterns that it created. "Why the Jedi then?" he asked, something he was sure he had asked often before, "why are we able to sense it...to use it." He chuckled, beginning to talk about the little microscopic reasons why, but that wasn't what Ezra meant...not really. Why had they been chosen to be able to do this... was it supposed to be some choice by the force itself or something? He knew there were creatures supposed to be more in tune and higher with the force like the Bendu but...was he even that high?
There were always more questions than answers at times, but that was part of the reason why trusting in themselves and in the force was key. If they began to doubt to much, to stray due to questioning...they risked losing themselves to something darker. "Ezra...Ezra!" Kanan's voice made him jump a bit, turning to see the other had stopped in a clearing a ways back. He had been lost in thought, continuing to walk even with the other telling him to stop. Giving a sheepish smile and rubbing the back of his neck, he walked back towards the other. "Something on your mind?" the other asked, frowning a bit. "No, not really...just digesting the recent lecture of why we are" he smiled, teasing a bit to lighten the mood and ease the other's mind.
Kanan regained his smile, chuckling a bit, "don't think to much on it...it's time for some meditation." Tossing the bag aside, he took a cross legged seat underneath the canopy of leaves above. Ezra sighed, "really? We had to come all the way out here to meditate?" "Ezra..." Kanan's voice a bit more stern in tone. "Fine..." lowering himself to sit across from his Master, the Jedi in training closed his eyes. He attempted to push all the thoughts from his mind, letting himself relax and drift a bit. Feeling the force around him was like feeling a weight press around him, while at the same time feeling weightless. It was there but it wasn't at the same time. He couldn't reach out and touch it, but he knew it's presence was real.
He was aware of Kanan sitting across from him, the trees, the animals hiding among them...even the smallest insect trying to conceal itself from sight. The weight of the world fading away, things began to fade more and more to black. A silence took over around him, until the only thing he could focus on was a form before him. It didn't feel good, a coldness coming from it, a sense of darkness and danger. It wasn't quite in focus, causing the young Jedi in training to frown. 'Focus' he pushed himself, trying to recognize that feeling...it felt so familiar. A sudden flash of light around him was coupled with a sting of pain to his head. Fire, screaming, the intense feeling of death and destruction and...Thrawn .
"Ezra...Ezra!" someone was calling his name again, slowly he came back to the world around him. Kanan was by his side, he had been shaking him a bit. Ezra hadn't even realized he'd collapsed. Pulling his mask off, the teacher frowned, eyes searching the boy's face as if to try and see through the fog that clouded his vision now. It was hopeless, he still couldn't make out much with them alone. "What happened?" sitting up, a hand moved to Ezra's head. He was feeling a slight buzz of a headache in the back of his head, but otherwise was fine. "You should tell me" Kanan remained by his side, still frowning, "you're the one who suddenly fell over." Great, not even a day into their trip and he was already complicating things.
"I'm fine" a lie, a chill began to slip through his body as thoughts went back to what he had seen. "You sure?" Kanan's tone said he didn't quite believe him. "Yea...nothing to worry about...just hard to meditate on an empty stomach and all" he brushed it off, smiling a bit though the other wouldn't see it. Kanan stood nodding, he could feel the cooling of the land around them, "it'll be night soon enough...we should get some wood for a fire and find something for dinner." With that he turned, using his hands to guide himself a bit, along with his senses. "Right..." Ezra turned, walking off through the trees, making his way out to the edge of them. Beyond was nothing but sand. It was like they were in an oasis among nothing.
The sun above was beginning to lower, he could see the silhouette of the moon already in the sky. A light breeze flowing past him, it felt good on his skin. Looking up at those two bodies among the stars beyond the reach of the planet itself...the sinking feeling grew. Something wasn't right...something felt wrong, something he should've probably told Kanan. Told him what? Was it just a feeling? A vision? Whatever it was, he knew Kanan would probably tell him not to ignore it...then again, he'd probably tell him the force wasn't always straightforward. He'd learned that the hard way before. Still...he couldn't shake this chill...this fear...
Something was coming.