Authors Note: For those wondering how to say Bellamy's name its: Bell-uh-me. And in French it means beautiful/fair friend. The more you know!

Chapter IV

Meeting in the Stables

Bellamy was lost in thought as she continued to brush the taunton's neck in the same spot repeatedly. The large hauler creature snuffed and shook its large furry head, annoyed that the human was neglecting the rest of its fur.

The action seemed to draw Bellamy away from her thoughts enough to pause in her stroking and sense the creature's uncomfortableness. She smiled apologetically at it and moved her hand to gently rub the side of its head.

"Sorry about that," she confessed softly, as if the animal understood. "My mind is elsewhere at the moment."

She glanced over her shoulder at the tauntauns stable keeper and noted that he was preoccupied with the over animals, getting them ready for the chilly night. It was often that she would speak to the tauntauns' and their owner would give her perplexed looks every time he would over hear. Luckily he never bothered to comment on it and she was slightly grateful for that.

The stable owner was a quiet man, never seeking out communication unless it was business related when someone needed to rent one of his riding animals. The first time Bellamy met the quiet man was when she was caught sneaking into his stables to pet the tauntauns. She had her face covered, but she was still nervous as ever and was about to run away until he held up a hand to stop her. He told her that she was allowed to come whenever she pleased and pet his animals.

After their first and near startling encounter, Bellamy continued to visit the stables during the late evenings when she was able to sneak away. Being near the large creatures calmed her in a way she had not known.

The tauntaun's ears twitched and Bellamy stood on her toes just to reach behind the folds. The creature grunted and she couldn't help but grin at its actions but her face slowly fell when her previous thoughts returned.

She couldn't get over the weird phenomenon she felt in the alleyway when on the way to the stables.

She was taking her normal secret route when out of nowhere the rigid and cold air sizzled to life all around her. The electrifying feeling caused her legs to speed up and her heart pounded against her chest in excitement. When she rounded a corner in one of the back streets the ringing in her ears began.

It was confusing and exhilarating all at the same time. The further she ran down the darkened street, all the sensations intensified and Bellamy continued to run forward unknowing what she might find.

Against the walls were the average street dwellers but she spotted a new face there amongst them. It was a boy, possibly around her age, just standing near one of the many passages. He looked as if in alarm of something happening around him but Bellamy hadn't seen anything that would have caused it.

She continued to run in his direction and noticed the ringing get louder and louder. She remembered seeing his face so clearly but didn't recognize it in the slightest. In fact, judging by his appearance he looked like an outsider. The more she thought about it the more curious she was about him.

When the stranger had looked in her direction, Bellamy ducked her head to conceal her face within her hood. Shivers ran up her spine but she hadn't let that stop her and it actually made her run faster.

And now here she was, standing in a stable, brushing her favorite tauntaun half absent mindingly.

She stopped her petting and looked at the creature in one of his large, black glazed eye. "You don't think I'm a freak, do you?" the smile fell from her face when the tauntaun made an unusual gurgle noise.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she protested and moved away from the side of it to stand directly in its line of sight.

The tauntaun gurgled and waved its head before taking a step back. Bellamy rose an eyebrow at its odd behavior and crossed her arms from under her cloak. "So that's what you think of me after all the nights I've brushed you and snuck you fruit, huh?"

It grumbled and looked away and Bellamy was just about to reach out to grab the curved horn on the side of its head to force it to look at her when there was a commotion from the streets.

Normally she wouldn't hang around long enough when turmoil would occur because she couldn't risk getting caught up in it, but the ringing sound from before was suddenly filling her ears again. She cautiously walked to the front of the stables and gazed out into the crowds of late evening shoppers.

In the distance she heard muffled shouts but couldn't see what could be the cause of them. What was going on?

The tauntaun behind her mewled and backed further into its holding pen. She could sense the distress coming from the creature and she turned her head around in concern to check on it.

Her head was turned around for a second, maybe even two, but when she tore her eyes away from the anxious creature and looked back on the streets, she saw a flash of orange.

There was a strangled yell coming from the orange blob that was heading straight at her but for some reason Bellamy had a hard time getting her legs to follow the commands that her brain was giving them. The stranger flew in the air then went tumbling right onto the hay covered ground before her. If she weren't in such shock then maybe she would've moved but instead she watched as the boy rolled towards her and then suddenly Bellamy felt her legs swept out from under her.

She yelped when she was flung forward and collided hard into something heavily padded. To fight the dizziness she closed her eyes and waited until everything became still and quiet.

When Bellamy reopened her eyes she almost wished that she hadn't. Just an inch or two below her nose was the face of a boy and not just any boy either. It was the one she saw in the alleyway.

He was looking up at her with the same amount of surprise in his eyes as she imagined were in hers.

"Um, hey." he sounded embarrassed and adverted his gaze as he smiled uncomfortably.

Her mind scrambled with words to say but she didn't even know what to say. How was she supposed to respond to such a thing?

So in return for his words, she only blinked at him.

She felt him shift under her and that's when Bellamy realized that she was laying flush against him. Her heart was ramming in her chest and it occurred to her that he might be able to feel it since their chests were touching despite all the layers they had on.

Without a single word, Bellamy sprung up, ignoring the grunt coming from the stranger when she had to put pressure on him for support. Once she got on her feet she eyed him nervously and started walking backwards to put space between them. If she wanted to escape then she would have to charge past him because he was near the only stable exit.

She watched, as he seemed dazed for a moment on the ground before he rolled onto his hands and knees and pushed himself back up, dusting off the hay and dirt from his funny color clothing. She'd never seen such elaborate colors before on a person. No one on her planet has ever worn any other color than blue, black, or grey. A sudden thought came to her that the style here was so eerie and bleak. Was it much different on other planets?

The boy seemed to notice her studious staring and he looked up at her. Bellamy tilted her head away and moved her gaze to a spot on the wooden wall that was chipped and cracked.

"Sorry about what just happened," he spoke up and Bellamy glanced at his face and saw that he genuinely seemed apologetic. He scratched at the back of his neck and looked away as if awkward by the situation, which, she thought, he very well should be.

"I'm in a tad of trouble and needed a place to lay low for bit," as if remembering something he tensed and turned to stare out onto the streets but then relaxed and looked back to her. "and by the looks of it I chose the perfect hiding spot since those jerks are nowhere to be seen."

"Why did you choose to hide here?" she asked carefully and watched as his eyes got a little wider like her voice surprised him. She too was some what impressed by her own tone because it didn't sound like her.

"Oh, um?" he looked around and studied his whereabouts before his nose scrunched up and he looked increasingly more uncomfortable. "You know what, that's a good question because this place smells horrible. Ah man, what kind of creatures live in here?"

"It's a holding stall for tauntauns. Shouldn't you've known that if you chose here to hide?" she asked skeptically. She was still having trouble discovering his reason for choosing here to hide when there were so many other good if not better locations.

"Never heard of them." he answered simply and looked around for some. "And I didn't choose this place. I was sorta led. But trust me, if I'd known it was going to smell this bad then I would've chose a garbage shot anyway over this."

Bellamy definitely didn't miss the part about him saying that he was 'led' here and her gaze on him narrowed with suspicion. "What do you mean you were led? Did someone send you? Why were you led here specifically?" her tone started to get skeptic as her uneasiness rose.

The strange boy in orange put his hands up in defense and took in her position that was on edge. "No one sent me here, got it? It's just me and you don't have to worry about anything." he assured and put his hands back down.

Bellamy relaxed her shoulders slightly and watched him do the same. "Then explain what you meant."

"Its kinda hard how to," he started to say and looked somewhat uncertain. It only spiked Bellamy's interest.

"You don't by chance feel it as well, do you?" he asked carefully and looked at her like she should know what he meant.

And a part of Bellamy did understand what he meant. She indeed felt something. She felt a throbbing in her chest, electricity in the air, and a soft humming in her ears. Everything around her was alive and she felt somewhat connected to it all.

And for some strange reason in that moment she felt most connected to him. This weird boy dressed in a bright orange and yellow stitched coat. He was a complete stranger yet she never felt so in sync with someone ever before in her life.

By her lingering silence the stranger took it as a yes and he grinned softly at her. "You're a Force sensitive too." his smile grew as he spoke. "Just like me."

Bellamy was brought from her thoughts at that and she stared at him confusingly. "What? No…" she shook her head and took a step back, frowning in disapproval when he took a step forward.

"I'm not like you…" a look of pain flashed on his face and she felt a pinch of quilt for her honest yet truthful words.

"But I thought you were Force sensitive too?" he looked upset and confused as he spoke. "No... I KNOW you're Force sensitive. I can feel it all around you and I bet that you can feel the same around me."

He swung his hands out to gesture to the air around him. "It's because we are the same that we are able to feel what we feel. Listen, at first I didn't get this weird Force thing either but I was taught and I'm slowly starting to get it, though only when Kanan actually sits down to teach me…" he grumbled the last part.

Bellamy didn't understand what he meant by being 'Force sensitive' or what he kept going on about. He surely must be confused because he was nothing like her. He seemed to be healthy and capable of controlling his emotions, but most importantly he seemed free.

"Like I told you before, we are nothing alike. Trust me." she told him seriously and watched his dark blue eyes fall then she stared past him and onto the streets. The desire to run and get away was strong, though a voice in her head was telling her to stay and confront what was happening. In truth she was just scared.

"No. I can feel the air around you and-" but he was cut off by the sharp look in her blue eyes and the pain written on her pale face.

"I already told you! We're nothing alike!" she took a step forward, unaware of the hay that was now floating on the ground around her feet.

"Then what are you?" he was starting to sound angry too and she was mad that he was making her admit it.

Her hands balled into fist at her sides under her cloak as her pulse increased. She could feel the heavy pulsing in her veins.

"I'm sick!" she wanted to scream it at him and complain how she was always trapped in her home and thought to be too frail to see the world. She was angry that he dared compare his freedom to her own imprisonment, even if he had no idea.

His dark blue eyes got wide and the expression on his face looked truly surprised by either her words or her outburst.

Just then there was a beeping sound coming from somewhere on him and the boy looked to his hip at the sound.

That was her chance.

Bellamy used that distraction and swiftly sprinted past him, riding on her emotions that carried her easily over the wooden clasped gate and clear of the stables. She was a bit surprised by how much height and distance she accomplished but didn't hesitate in her steps and continued to run past the confused shoppers until she found a clear alleyway and disappeared into the shadows.

Ezra found his feet frozen in the spot he was standing in when she yelled at him. He desperately wanted to ask what she meant by saying she was sick but the communicator on his hip beeped and he let his eyes wander to the annoying sound. He regretted it though when he felt the breeze of the mysterious girl as she sprinted past him while distracted.

He gritted his teeth and decided that he needed to follow her and find about what she really meant by her words. Something wasn't right and he didn't understand why he cared so much about knowing the truth about this complete stranger.

Ezra jumped over the gate and ran in the direction where he saw the girl fled. Remembering that his communicator was still beeping, he unlatched it and brought it up to his mouth and continued to run.

"Specter 6 here."

"Specter 6! Where in the galactic are you?!" he heard Sabine hiss into the mic. He was surprised that she left him alone this long.

"Still busy." he panted and ignored the rude comment someone shot at him when he shoved by to get through the mob.

"With what?! What could possibly be more important than completing this mission?!"

He debated whether or not he should tell her but decided that being truthful was probably the best option at the moment.

"I found someone like me."

"You mean someone idiotic, clumsy, and reckless? That's great and all but we really didn't come here so you could make friends."

Ezra rolled his eyes at that. "No! I'm saying I found someone who is also Force sensitive, but I don't think they know it."

It was quiet on the other line for a moment until Sabine responded, "Look, I know what you're probably thinking and I don't know if it's such a good idea."

Ezra couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "Are you saying that I should just abandon them? They're confused and need my help. Maybe I can even convince specter 1 to take her in and train her too. I'm not letting her go." he proclaimed seriously.

"Her?"

Ezra didn't notice the agitated way she said it and was about to respond when another voice broke over the crowd of people.

"The boy is over here!"

He followed the voice and found a storm trooper to his left pointing in his direction. Two more came up behind him and then Ezra found himself running away from getting arrested yet again, and apparently they called in for more troopers to chase him. How nice.

"Great…" he muttered then turned into the first alleyway on his right, frowning when he heard the heavy boots of the troopers still on his trail.

He raced down to the end of the passage and started to swerve right but skidded to a stop when he saw more troops running up from that direction. He quickly spun on his heels to go left but discovered that troopers were also running at him from there.

The ones from the alley he came from stopped and the two groups from both his sides did the same then took aim. "Don't move!" one of them ordered and pointed his blaster directly at him.

Ezra put his hands up in surrender and backed up until his back hit the wall.

He was surrounded.

Authors Note: If anyone is wondering what a tauntaun looks like its the thing that Luke Skywalker was riding on in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. And I also made Ezra react to their smell because of the classic comment Han Solo made about them in the movie.