On a warm June day, classrooms were abuzz. Today was the last day of instruction before final evaluations and examinations. For Sarah and her classmates, a guest instructor arrived to wrap up the morning's Jedi instruction.

"Class, you may remember Master Cara. She is going to give you a sneak preview for next year," Madame Andrews said.

Six pairs of eyes looked intently to the front of the classroom.

"Hello, class. Starting this fall, you will start learning about and using training sabers," Cara told the class. To emphasize the point, she took a training saber off of the desk and held it.

All six students gave oohs and ahhs as they focused on the cylindrical piece of metal.

"When do we get to use them, Master Cara?" David asked eagerly?

"Later this fall, initiate. First, you have to learn how they work and how to handle them safely," Cara replied.

"Cool, I can't wait!" Molly said excitedly.

Master Cara further awed the initiates by igniting the training saber. It's blade was a light neon shade of green.

Sarah raised her hand to ask a question.

"Yes, Initiate Sarah, what's your question?" Cara asked.

"Master, what's the difference between training sabers and real ones?" Sarah asked curiously.

"That's a good question! Real lightsabers could cut right through you. Training sabers, however, will just burn and leave a painful bruise. Still, it's best to avoid touching the blades."

Sarah nodded, replying, "Thanks, Master."

"When your ready to learn, I – or one of our other Jedi – will help you learn the basics. So, I look forward to seeing you all again soon. May the Force be with you," Cara said before leaving.

As Master Cara departed, Madame Andrews took the class to the dining hall for lunch.


At the dining hall, the day was a bit more festive than usual. With Molly's birthday occurring over the weekend, the class celebrated it today. All of Molly's classmates took time to offer birthday wishes.

"Happy birthday, Molly," Sarah said.

"Thanks, Sarah," Molly replied with a smile.

"Daddy has his birthday soon, but I forgot when it is."

"Cool."

After the class finished their dessert, it was time for the academic portion of the day.

As the students returned to their classroom, they were surprised to see their senior initiates waiting for them. When the Grand Master assumed his role, he felt it was a good idea to pair senior initiates and first-year initiates together. The goal was to provide a mentoring relationship and a sense of camaraderie.

Today, Madame Andrews took six rather large pieces of paper, approximately six feet (183 cm) long.

"Okay, everybody, your senior partners are going to trace your outlines. Then, you can decorate them however you want," she told the class.

The younger students were a bit surprised but curious about this project.

"Are you ready, Sarah?" her partner – a 13 year old girl named Julie – asked.

Sarah nodded. "Don't hurt my tails," she reminded her senior counterpart.

Julie nodded and slowly traced Sarah's silhouette. When she got to the top of Sarah's head, Sarah squirmed a bit.

"Are you alright, Sarah?" Julie asked anxiously?

"That felt weird!" Sarah replied as the pencil brushed against the blue area on the right side of her head.

"I'll try to be gentler on the other side," Julie promised. This time, Sarah didn't fidget quite so much.

After finishing the silhouette, it was time to decorate it.

"Do you want to do it, or do you want me to help?" Julie asked.

Sarah smiled. "You can help," she answered happily.

Sarah decided to try to color her outfit that day. Julie returned with colored pencils to match the patterns on Sarah's head-tails.

When it was time to wrap up, Sarah and Julie looked at the end result. It was far from perfect, but perfection was neither the goal nor the purpose of this project.

"What do I do with it?" Sarah asked, confused as to what happened next.

"You take it home to show your parents. We did the same thing when I was a first-year initiate," Julie told her.

"Cool!"

"I hope you come to my graduation next week, Sarah."

"If my parents let me."

"Good luck, next week. I'll be at your class graduation."

Everyone heard the day-ending signal.

"Alright, class. You have your final exams and assessments next week. Make sure you're ready," Madame Andrews told everyone as they left.

As Sarah left her classroom, her father was waiting for her and nodding to everyone else that passed through. He noticed the rolled up paper she was carrying.

"Is that what I think it is?" He asked Sarah.

"It's my sill... sill... tracing, daddy," Sarah said. She couldn't remember the word "silhouette."

Her father smiled. "That is a fun project; it brings back the memories," he replied. "Ready to go home?" he asked, extending his hand.

Sarah nodded as she took his hand, wrapping her small orange fingers around his own.


After dinner, everyone was up in Sarah's room.

"What are you doing daddy?" Sarah asked curiously.

"We're going to hang your picture in your room," he replied. Ahsoka then helped him unroll the paper and attach it to her closet door.

"Sarah, this is pretty, did you do this?" Ahsoka asked.

"I had help, mommy," Sarah answered.

"You both did a good job. Make sure you study for your exams before bed," Ahsoka told her.


Later that evening, Ahsoka was helping Sarah get ready for bed.

"Mommy, why did it feel weird when Julie traced my head?" Sarah asked unexpectedly.

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked, seeking clarification.

Sarah pointed up to her head. "It felt funny on either side when she traced me."

Ahsoka realized Sarah was referring to her future montrals. She grabbed a small mirror and pointed it at Sarah's head.

"Did it feel funny against the blue spots?" Ahsoka asked.

Sarah nodded.

"Anything that touches you there is going to feel a bit uncomfortable. I hope your partner was gentle."

Sarah nodded again, "She was nice to me every time she saw me. Why does it feel so weird?"

Ahsoka took a moment to figure out how to answer the question.

"When you're older, they will eventually grow into horns like mommy has," Ahsoka explained.

Sarah looked up at her mom and gazed rather intently at Ahsoka's tall, striped montrals.

"Are mine gonna be like that?" an awe-struck Sarah asked.

"I don't know, Sarah. You are a hybrid. Your montrals might be smaller than mine," Ahsoka replied. The truth was that Ahsoka was a bit uncertain what would happen to Sarah once she reached adolescence. She didn't know what being half-Human would mean for Sarah.

"Oh," Sarah replied simply.

"Time to go brush your teeth. Daddy will be here shortly for your good night kiss."

Sarah quickly hugged her mother before going across the hall.


Once Sarah was in bed, Ahsoka and her husband talked some before they went to sleep.

"It sounds like today went very well," Ahsoka told her husband.

"I think her first year in the academy went well for the most part, especially with her senior initiate partner," he said.

"I'm glad the two of them got along well."

"Sarah said she was nice every time they met this semester."

Ahsoka breathed a contented sigh as she climbed into bed.

"So, what happens now?" she asked.

"Next week, they have their final academic exams and a Jedi skills assessment. If all goes well, she will have her kindergarten graduation at the end of next week and move on again in the Fall," he replied.

Ahsoka nuzzled up to her husband. "I'm sure she'll do just fine then, hopefully. She is getting more and more curious about herself, though."

"What now?"

"She was asking me about my montrals and why it feels different when something touches them."

"I guess she's curious like her father, huh? Just be truthful with her."

"Honey, I don't know what's going to happen when she's older because she's half-Human," Ahsoka replied with a worried look.

"I don't know either," he conceded. "but she still deserves honest answers," he said.

"I wish she'd ask Human stuff so you could answer some of her questions."

Ahsoka was surprised to get a kiss on the cheek instead of a response.

"When you come home tomorrow, you'll have to tell me how your restoration is going. But for now, good night, Soka." ▄