I do not own Star Wars: Rebels in any capacity. Just the purely creative content of this fic.

Enjoy Chapter 10!

Much to Kanan's relief, the weeklong trip on the Cathea was easy and uneventful. They spent most of their time in their cabin, only leaving to use the refresher and occasionally to eat with the crew. Although to Kanan's disappointment, whenever they did, Ezra seemed to do everything possible to make himself invisible.

It actually surprised him how shy the kid was acting around the others. He hadn't exactly expected Ezra to be a bubble of social energy, but Ezra had been eager to learn and ask questions once he got to know Kanan. The crew seemed friendly enough. Kanan had hoped that Ezra would warm up to them. But after the third meal, it was clear that Ezra had no intention of saying more than two words to any of the crew. Kanan was no expert, but even a fool would know that it was important for children to interact with other people. It couldn't be healthy for Ezra to only have Kanan to talk to.

Then again, maybe it shouldn't have been so surprising. The little Ezra had spoken about his old life, he never mentioned any friends. His aunt and uncle had also traveled a great deal, meaning Ezra likely had little opportunity be proper socialized. And obviously, the abuse had only made all of this worse. It enraged Kanan to think that he might be the only person to ever give Ezra any semblance of normalcy.

But that was the past now. He refused to let these thoughts fuel his anger, but he would use them to strengthen his resolve to give Ezra a better life.

Another thing Kanan noticed was the lack of nightmares on Ezra's part. Ever since they had left Yabol Opa, the kid had slept peacefully curled up by his side. The only exceptions had been the one humiliating night where Kanan himself had a nightmare, and the one night Kanan had joined the crew of the Cathea for a late nightcap. He had spent more time than he thought trading drunken stories with the crew when a high pitched scream echoed from down the hall. Kanan had immediately run back to their room, finding Ezra twisted in the bed sheets, his body shaking violently as he cried out in terror.

Once again, he had had an overwhelming urge to throw open their bond so he could comfort Ezra through it, the kid's panicked whimpers and muffled sobs taking a heavy toll on his heart. However, he managed to hold back, repeatedly telling himself that it was for the best in the long run. Kanan needed to learn to help Ezra via more traditional methods, and Ezra needed to learn to cope without their poisonous bond. It took almost an hour of soft words and repetitive rocking, but he eventually calmed down enough to go back to sleep. This time, Kanan stayed by his side, wrapping his arm around him and holding him close.

That was when Kanan realized: Ezra didn't have nightmares whenever he slept by Kanan's side. After the incident with the holocron, he would have expected the exact opposite to occur. The fact that Ezra was at such ease with him... he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. On one hand, it was nice to know that he was having a positive effect on the boy. On the other hand, it kind of frightened him how reliant on him Ezra was becoming.

Other than that, they had made quite a bit of progress on the Force front. After the second day on the Cathea, Kanan decided to try and teach Ezra some basic meditations. As is usual for younglings, Ezra struggled to focus during these exercises. There were a few panic attacks, but by the time they reached Columex, he seemed to have gotten a hang of it. Or at least, gotten the hang of sitting quietly and still for longer than two minutes.

By the time they got to Columex, Kanan was suddenly reminded that they had almost no credits left. He knew from the early stages of this insane plan that they would need to steal a ship in order to get to the Adegan system, but he didn't take into consideration that it might take a day or two to do so discretely. Which meant they were going to have to live on the street in the meantime.

Kark, he could use a drink. Of course, he didn't have money for even that.

He did, however, have enough to buy them some cheap food. Even if Ossus had sufficiently recovered enough flora and fauna to sustain a couple of people, Kanan wanted to save their rations just in case.

There was some luck on their side. At least the weather was nice, so sleeping in the streets shouldn't be too miserable an experience. It still brought back unpleasant memories from his time on Kaller. He just focused on the child at his side, silently repeating to himself that he was doing this because the Force was guiding him. He was doing this for Ezra.

On their first night on Columex, Kanan found a (relatively) clean alleyway to settle in. There were only a few other vagabonds wandering about in various states of drunk or crazy. They were all probably harmless, although Kanan didn't think he would be comfortable enough to get any decent sleep.

"It stinks," Ezra muttered, his arms crossed across his chest and his shoulders hunched up.

"That's because we're behind a dumpster." Kanan sat down against the wall, his bag tucked between him and said dumpster.

"Why can't we go to Ossus now?" Ezra asked with a slight whine.

"Because I'm going to need to steal a ship. Which means I'm going to have to erase its operating numbers and disable any tracking beacons that might be on it. On a trading hub like this, the docks are never completely empty. At night, we'd stick out like a sore thumb. We'll be better off during the day under the cover of the crowds."

Ezra mostly just looked confused, reminding Kanan that he was still just a kid. "Just trust me, okay?"

With a small huff, Ezra nodded his head and sat down next to him. "Are you sure we'll be safe on Ossus…?"

"Yes," Kanan said emphatically, ignoring the doubt in the back of his mind. "It won't be easy. We'll have to learn to live on an almost dead planet. But the Empire has no reason to look for us there. And… Well, and I think it's where we're meant to be."

Ezra frowned and looked up at him. "Whatdya mean?"

Kanan thought through his words carefully. "I've told you that you should trust in the Force. Even if you don't actively use it, if the Force is telling you something, it's something worth paying attention to."

Ezra nodded eagerly. "I remember. And you said that as long as we don't allow our emotions to cloud us that the Force will lead us on the right path. Right?"

Kanan wasn't sure how much Ezra was just parroting him versus what he actually understood, but it would do for now. He smiled approvingly. "Right. And I let the Force guide us down this path. I know it's a safe place for us… but I think there's also a chance that there's something else for us on Ossus."

Ezra didn't seem convinced, but it took a few moments of silence for him to finally ask, "Something else like what?"

Kanan shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that the Force is telling me to go there, so…" He took a deep breath. "For the first time in years, I'm actually going tolisten to it."

Ezra didn't seem any less confused, but he stopped questioning it. When it came to the Force, Ezra was less willing to press his curiosity. "We're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We'll find a small ship with a hyperdrive, get it ready, then head out. Shouldn't take more than four hours or so in hyperspace to get there."

"Then how come no one else is there?"

"The Empire is only interested in what it can use. There's nothing worth mining there, and with so few natural resources, it would be difficult to terraform for larger colonies. And they have zero interest in Jedi history."

The furrows in Ezra's brow deepened. "Jedi history?"

That was when it occurred to Kanan that he never fully explained Ossus' significance to Ezra. To be fair, Kanan only remembered the highlights himself. "It had been one of the larger Republic planets and one of the first Jedi strongholds." Ezra's eyes were wide in attention as he shifted his body so he was facing Kanan more directly. "The Great Jedi Library was constructed there. It was a bastion of Jedi knowledge, the likes of which have never been seen since. It contained knowledge of both light and dark sides of the Force. During its glory, all Jedi made a journey there to bring themselves closer to enlightenment. But then, during the Great Sith War, they caused a nearby star cluster to collapse and supernova, destroying all of Ossus' inhabitants. While most of the knowledge was lost, Jedi researchers were recently exploring the planet. They were searching for whatever secrets might have survived that cataclysm." Kanan fell silent, remembering Master Nu scolding him for his never-ending questions. "But now it's been abandoned. There are no Jedi left to search Ossus' ruins."

"Except us," Ezra added.

Kanan closed his eyes. "I told you, kid. I'm not a Jedi."

"Yes you are!"

Kanan's head jerked to look at the child. The child who was currently staring at him with a surprising amount of anger.

"You said Jedi use the Force to protect people… How can you not be a Jedi!?"

Kanan pressed a finger to Ezra's lips. "Shh! Not so loud!"

Ezra took a moment to compose himself, aware of how much danger they could find themselves in. "You take care of me," he finally said, his voice strained. "I don't feel d-dirty or wrong when I'm with you." His eyes welled with tears. "Why can't you see what I see?"

The words struck a chord in Kanan, but he was quick to ignore it. He reached over and wiped away the tears that were starting to fall down Ezra's face. "I'm not the person you think I am," he muttered. "I'm not a bad person, but I'm not a great person either." He gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "With any luck, you'll meet a true Jedi Knight. Then you'll see that I'm nothing special."

A sob rose up in Ezra, and he buried his face in Kanan's side. Kanan bit his lip, unable to bare the thought that Ezra was developing a sort of hero-worship. After making sure that his shield was fully erect, he placed a hand on the back of Ezra's head. "I care about you," Kanan whispered. He wasn't even sure Ezra could hear him. "I would do anything for you. But that doesn't make me a Jedi. That doesn't make me any more than a man with a good sense of decency." He wrapped his arms around Ezra, pulling him up into a full-on hug. "I promise… you've done just as much for me as I've done for you."

Ezra's crying didn't cease. Instead, he pressed his face harder against Kanan, his hiccuping sobs vibrating through his ribs and compelling him to hold Ezra even tighter. In his mind, he promised that everything would be okay.

Ezra didn't sleep so much as doze. He stayed on that fine boundary where his mind wandered into strange lands and ideas, but the slightest fluctuations in his environment had him snapping up in attention. Each time that happened, Kanan's hand was on the back of his head, gently pushing him back down into Kanan's lap and lulling him back into his semi-sleep state.

At some point, he snapped up to a grey sky and elevated noise level. This time, Kanan didn't try to coax him back to sleep. Instead, he looked down at him with a small smile. "Ready to get moving?"

Ezra could only nod before they were back on their feet. Kanan had an iron grip on his arm, similar to when they had been on Shulstine V. This place didn't seem nearly as dangerous or dirty as Shulstine V, but then again, there hadn't been any of the Empire's troopers at the shadowport.

Kanan seemed to slip by them easily enough. He kept his head down and didn't make a fuss, even when another being shoved passed him with surprising force. It was only when one alien with scaly skin and large fin-like ears bumped into Ezra and rubbed a hand along his side that Kanan stopped and pulled his blaster out. "You wanna try that again, buddy? " The alien had quickly scurried off and Kanan dragging him along by the arm once again.

At some point he stopped, his eyes narrowing at something Ezra couldn't see. Ezra just pressed his body against Kanan's as he tried to not be swept away by the unending waves of people flowing past them. Even before Kanan pulled him forward with renewed earnest, he knew that Kanan had found the ship they were going to steal.

Ezra wasn't able to get much of a look at it before he was dragged under its belly. He glanced around, nervous about who might have seen them. "K-Kanan…"

"Shh… It's okay Ezra. I've done this a million times before." Kanan reached up and placed a hand just below one of the panels. The screws slowly began to twirl out of their sockets.

Dozens of people were walking by, only their waists and legs visible. Still, Ezra couldn't help but watch. His body was trembling as he waited for one person, just one, to kneel down just enough to see them. It only took one person to notice, one person to care, one person to tell the local troopers…"

There was the sound of metal grinding against metal and the popping of electricity misfiring. Ezra jumped and nearly yelped, but he turned and saw Kanan holding a metal box with a triumphant smile. There were only a few errant sparks as he resecured the panel. "That should do it." Ezra flinched as Kanan spoke with a normal voice. Shouldn't he be whispering?!

Kanan either didn't notice or ignored Ezra's paranoia. He just placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him to the small ship's entrance. It was honestly barely more than a shuttle, and Ezra almost panicked at the thought that it wouldn't be able to achieve hyperspace. But Kanan seemed unconcerned as he pushed him down onto a seat before taking the helm. Ezra pulled his legs up to his chest as they took off, almost too scared to watch their escape and yet unable to look away. Visually, it seemed mundane, only the passing clouds breaking apart as they broke atmosphere and the motion of the nearest stars as Kanan calculate their trajectory.

"Shuttlecraft, you are unauthorized for take off."

"We had to leave earlier than expected," Kanan replied. "Sick aunt."

"Please provide us with the appropriate Emergency Departure Notice. "

"Uh… yeah. Just give us a moment." He cut off communication and started furiously typing at the console. "Don't worry, Ezra. By the time they realize something's wrong, we'll be long gone."

Ezra buried his face into his knees, trying to breath slowly like Kanan had taught him just a couple days earlier. It only marginally helped the calm the anxiety in his chest.

"Shuttlecraft, you have a minute to respond. Otherwise, prepare to be boarded."

Kanan chuckled. "Too late." He pushed forward the lever and the ship jumped into hyperspace.

Ezra let out a large sigh. "We're safe now?"

Kanan turned around in his chair, making no attempt to hide the relief in his smile. "Yeah. We're safe now."

Ezra felt his own face breaking out into a smile as he jumped off his seat and practically ran over to Kanan. "And once we get to Ossus, we can live like a normal family, right?"

Kanan's smile faltered. "W-What? What do you mean?"

Ever since Kanan had explained his plan to seek refuge on this isolated planet, Ezra assumed that the plan was to stay there for the long run. It might just be the two of them, but without Imperial interference, they could live their lives like normal people. But now his stomach was dropping at Kanan's reaction to the suggestion. His mind worked frantically to try and figure out what else Kanan could have meant. "I-I just mean… Living on Ossus… W-We won't be running away anymore. That's means living n-n-normally… right?"

Kanan's face dropped into a horribly blank expression, his eyes staring at some invisible point in space. But a moment later, he was back, giving Ezra a half-smile. "Right." He leaned forward and put familiar hand on Ezra's shoulder. "Remember: no matter what happens, I'm going to make sure you get the life you deserve."

On the surface, there was nothing wrong with the statement, but Ezra felt like he was missing something. There was something about Kanan's tone…

Then Kanan was turning back towards the front of the tiny ship, staring at the swirl of hyperspace that surrounded them. "I'm not gonna lie. I was a little skeptical about this plan of mine. But now that we've made it this far, I know that we're on the right path."

Ezra didn't understand what Kanan was talking about. He assumed it had something to do with the Force. According to Kanan, most of the stuff that could be explained away by 'instinct' or 'good luck' could be explained by having a sensitivity to the Force. It certainly sounded like Kanan was acting instinctively. Hence, it was probably the Force.

He leaned into the warm hand on his shoulder. He wish he could feel as confident as Kanan sounded. Try as he might, the Force didn't seem to be speaking to him the same way it was speaking to Kanan.

As promised, it wasn't much more than four hours later that they dropped out of hyperspace above a desolate looking planet. From space, it was just a large orb of oranges and browns. They entered the atmosphere, and it didn't look much better. It almost looked like a desert planet, although there were some trees and scant patches of grasses, also in various shades of brown and orange.

No wonder this place was unsettled.

Kanan brought the ship down and they stepped out. A wave of energy flowed over Ezra, making him stagger back. The energy ebbed and flowed over him, both pulling him in and pushing him away. It was conflicted, unsure what it wanted from him. It was almost as if the planet itself was alive… and trying to tell him something.

"Can you feel it?" Kanan knelt down next to him, his voice reverently low. "This place is rife with the Force."

Ezra didn't know what 'rife' meant, but he assumed that this strangely strong energy he was feeling was the Force. When he concentrated on it, he realized it wasn't terribly dissimilar to things he had felt in the past. Some sense of knowing when a fist was heading his way, or having some inkling of another's emotions. It was just much more intense here.

"It's almost sundown," Kanan noted. "Should probably stay close to the ship once night falls. We'll make camp here and explore in the morning."

Ezra turned to him as he walked back onto the ship to grab his bag. "Why is the Force telling me to leave and stay at the same time?"

Kanan raised an eyebrow at the question. "Is that what it feels like?" Ezra nodded emphatically. "Well… it might be that you're just getting confused. Remember, your emotions can cloud your sense of the Force." Kanan set the bag down and pulled out a blanket. "I hope this is big enough for the both of us…" he muttered.

But Ezra was still confused. "How do I get unclouded?"

"Meditation, mostly." He frowned at the contents of his bag. "I'm gonna see if the ship has any useful supplies we can use."

As Kanan went searching for more stuff, Ezra sat on his heels and put his hands on his thighs like he had seen Kanan do. He didn't understand meditation. It didn't seem any different from sitting in silence and breathing particularly slowly. Kanan had put an emphasis 'emptying his mind', but he didn't know what that meant. Still, Ezra had to try. This was important to Kanan. Which meant it was important, period.

He closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth, counting to four each time. Then he tried to 'empty' his mind. However, this only led to him thinking even more about everything around him. The hard dusty ground, the smell of dirt and oil from the ship, his fear that Kanan was just going to leave him here…

His eyes snapped open and his head twisted to where Kanan was laying out another blanket. He gave Ezra an encouraging smile. "Sorry if I distracted you."

Disappointed with himself, he stood and walked over to Kanan. "It wasn't working," he muttered.

Kanan chuckled. "I taught this to you just the other day. I didn't expect you to have mastered it by now. I told you, it usually takes months for younglings to get the hang of it."

That didn't make Ezra feel better. Especially when the Force was still pulling and pushing him in all directions. "I just wish the Force would make more sense…"

"Don't feel bad about it." Kanan looked around, as if he could see the waves of energy around him. "On a place like this, it's enough to confuse anyone."

Ezra frowned. For lack of a better term, he 'reached' out to feel the Force around Kanan. It wasn't quite as turbulent as it was around Ezra. While it still seemed to swirl in circles with no particular direction, it all seemed to flow through Kanan in the same direction. And Kanan himself… was an empty space, his absence even more stark in a place like this. Ezra bit his lip. What was wrong with him?

Kanan gathered some nearby wood and started a fire just as the second sun set. He shoved a ration bar into Ezra's hands before ripping open one for himself. "We're also going to have to figure out what food we can hunt or forage here…" he muttered to himself before biting into his bar.

"Wi' dat be 'ard?" Ezra asked mid-chew.

"Swallow before you speak."

"Will…" Ezra swallowed down the last of his bite. "Will that be hard?"

Kanan shrugged. "I don't know. I know it's possible, but I never read about - " He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening.

Then Ezra felt it. The energy - the Force - shifting to allow something to move through it. Then he felt another presence that seemed almost unnaturally calm coming towards him. Coming from behind him.

He scrambled to his feet, vaguely aware that Kanan was doing the same. When he turned around, his eyes fell on an old human woman. She was thin and had pale skin with a long scar on the right side of her face. Her white hair was pulled back into a bun and held in place with two sticks in her hair. She wore old robes that looked like they might have been gold at some point, but dirt and wear and turned them as brown as the planet around them.

From behind him, Ezra heard Kanan suck in a quick breath. When he spoke, his voice quaked.

"Master Nu?"

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