A.N: Sorry for not updating last week. I was having such a hard time writing this chapter. I wanted to make it perfect so I rewrote like three times. Pfft. Anyway. I'm gonna let you know now that I;m not updating next week but I will be back the week after because I have finals. I will also be back around the time Force Awakens premiers. So excited!

Caboose0213rvb: Hahah, it's ok you'll remember XD.

Starlight Moon Midnight: I'm glad you love the story and yeah I agree, Depa didn't deserve that.

Kita Ronin: Yeah she does. Oh and I'm thinking of making a sequal with that meeting in mind.

Beawolf's Pen: I haven't read much into Starkiller since he's considered legend as far as I know, but he would be a good candidate. I'm taking a theory someone had about someone in the clone wars coming into Rebels. I hope it doesn't actually happen in Rebels, you'll know when I bring them into the story.

I don't own Star Wars

Chapter 13: Higher

I woke up with a start, the voices in my dream still echoeing in my head. I couldn't remember what the dream was, but I was able to remember one thing from it….. Grievous's mechanical laughter. That's all in the past now…. But why did I suddenly get that memory now.

I sighed, sitting up from my spot on the ground and looking around. Last night, Demira and I had made it to the base of the Mountain, but since it was too dark we decided to stop for the night in a clearing. Now that I saw the sun was just peaking over the trees to signal morning, I reached hand out to my right. My hand landed on Demira's shoulder as she slept on her side, snoring loudly. I'm glad she decided to stay this time. "Demira," I said, shaking her shoulder.

"Hol ni'il swaw…" She said in her language, still sounding a bit sleepy as her eyes fluttered open and she looked around. Demira yawned, stretch her arms to her side as she turned on her back and faced the sky. When she stopped yawning and looked at me, she said, "Habi asub—I mean—good… morning."

"Good morning." I responded. "Sleep well?"

"Sleep was well." She answered, sitting up. "How about you?"

For some reason, my head ached slightly as I heard Grievous's laugh again play in the back of my mind. I tried to keep a straight face as I mentally blocked the memory and said, "I slept good. Let's get going."

A few moments later after I had secured my belongings in my satchel, Demira and I were on our feet and leaving the clearing behind. As we walked, I couldn't help but let my mind wonder back to my dream. I wish I remembered more then just Grievous's voice, but maybe I was lucky I didn't. I don't need anymore distractions like those to cloud my day. I need to have a clear mind and focus on the mission. We only had to go through a small grove of trees until we got to a stretch of grass that made the base for the giant mountain that toward over us. There were several different peaks and outcroppings of rock that made up the mountain as far as the eye could see that is until the tip disappeared behind a set of clouds. "Wow." I gasped.

Demira heard me and began to say, "Agoku Mima, Agoku Mountain in your language." She motioned her hands wide to express the vast enormity of the mountain. There was no path that would help us get through or go alongside the mountain as of now, so we climbed. The first couple of slopes of rock were easy to climb, but soon they became steeper and steeper as we got higher and higher up the mountain. Sometimes I would hear Demira struggle in front of me, slipping and making more bruises and scratch marks appear on her skin. No matter how many times I asked if she was all right, her answer would always be, "I am fine."

Demira and I once ended up facing a steep wall of rock. The only way up to the outcropping on top was the pile of boulders and rocks that were stacked up against the wall. She was the first to begin the climb up already getting up half way as I caught up to her from the base of the pile. I hadn't even started climbing until I felt something in the Force. The rocks aren't secure.

Demira suddenly slipped as a rock from below her gave way. I climbed up as quick as I could and stopped just below her. I got a foothold of the rocks and held on with one hand and the other was on her back pushing her up. Though Demira didn't fall, she still said in a shaky voice, "Thank You." Then she looked up at the top of the wall. It blocked our view of the rest of the mountain above, but we could still see the edge of the outcrop. The edge was only a few more steps up the rock pile away from reach. "This… is not a good idea." She said.

"You said this was the way you came."

"I did… but it is harder up then down."

"That is true for many things, but you can only go up from down here, so you might as well continue." Demira nodded, but still bit her bottom lip in nervousness. I assured her, "Don't worry, I'll help you up. Just keep going." She complied, slowly taking every step as to not move anymore rocks. Together she and I climbed up the rock with her staying in front of me as I pushed her up from her back. When we got to the top of the pile, we had to lean against the wall so as not to fall down. Looking up, the edge of the wall was just over our heads. I squatted and sprang up, grabbing hold of the ledge and pulling myself up and over to kneel on flat ground. Demira came next, having a little more trouble pulling herself up and once she was over next to me, she laid on her back and tried to catch her breath. "I wish…. I learned how to climb…. Mountains early."

"It is hard. But remember what I said, and you will be fine."

Demira rolled on to her stomach and looked at me. "I will, thank you." She then got up on her feet, brushing the skirt off her skirt wrap and looking where we were. Our stretch of flat rock was a large dirt patch with bits of grass and rock poking out from the ground. There was another wall in front of us, but thankfully the stretch of outcropping we were on ran wide like a path that went along the wall and extended alongside the the mountain. It winded in an out long the ridges of the mountain until it disappeared behind the the first and lowest peak. "We go." Demira said, pointing at the path.

We went up the path, trying to stay to the side where the wall was. The wind would threaten to throw us off the edge, but Demira and I kept our balance and continued. There were a couple of trees growing alongside the path, especially when the side of the mountain weaved in so the next ridge would block the wind. Demira and I stopped for a break when the sun was high. There were a cluster of trees growing on some flat soiled ground were we stopped. One tree three times as tall as me and had round red fruit the size of my fist hanging from its stems. Demira quickly went up to the tree, climbed the trunk and on to the first branch. She swung to the end with her hands, holding on with one and with the other reach for the fruit. When she grabbed one she looked down on the ground. A raised eyebrow told me she was considering either letting it fall or hanging on to it. I came up to her, going just underneath and held my satchel open. She got the idea and let the fruit drop in the bag. She picked three more and just as she reached for the fourth, there was a crack from the end of the branch.

Demira yelped and let go over her branch before it could break and fall. By then I let my satchel drop and hang on my shoulder by the strap so that I could holdout my arms and catch Demira. With the sudden weight, though, I went down with Demira and landing on my stomach. Thankfully my head didn't hit the ground, but I heard Demira groan. She lay on her back, her eyes tight as she rubbed her head. Then she opened her eyes and laughed a little. I looked at her with concern, wondering if this was an effect of hitting her head, then she stopped laughing when she looked to me. Eyes going wide and a frown growing on her face, she quickly said, "Oh, sorry, are you all right?"

She was fine, she was just laughing about getting hurt. I would have just ignored it, but it is interesting to see how she dealt with the pain. I smiled and said, "Yes, you?"

"Yes." She answered, sitting up on her bottom and giving me a smile. A few moments later we were sitting kneeled together, eating the red fruit as she explained to me, "These only grow in the mountain trees. Tufa we call it."

"And you have plenty more where you live."

"Other crops yes. We gather and hunt our food. And we share among the Tribe. Do you do so too?"

"We buy from vendors on the street."

"Hmm?" she hummed in question.

"Um… trade. We trade um…." Well if she hunts and gathers but doesn't buy she doesn't know what credits are. "We trade other essentials for food."

"Sounds very…. Complicated. Is that like all the other… planets… or just your home?"

"My—my home." I don't have one. "No it's all over the galaxy."

"Oh." For a moment I delved deep into the thought of home, and the fact I never really had a place to call a nice, loving home. Though the Temple was never called Home out load, Caleb and I would tend to call it from time to time. Was it really home now that the Empire had taken over? No, it would not be the same for sure. There would be no one there from past. I was alone now. "One more." Demira said joyously, using her knee to take a red fruit and crack it open into two. She handed me one half as she began to eat through the meat of the other. I grabbed my half and slowly ate through mine. Demira and I watched each other chew, and for some reason it was amusing and we both smiled to each other. After I swallowed the last of the fruit, I said, "I like the idea of sharing." Though I don't have a home, sharing with Demira reminds me that I am not completely alone on this journey.

"Me too." She said. When we got back on the path again, the sun was slowly coming down from it's high point. Still, the view of the forest was becoming more astounding as the colors of the sunset complemented the dark jungle. I could see small meadows and lakes now surrounded by the luscious green forest.

We got to a part of the outcrop of the path which stuck out far from the side of the mountain. We could even feel the breeze stronger this time as it brushed against the side of the mountain. Though it was rough, the feeling of the wind made me just want to stop and let it brush against my hair and skin. The breeze soothed me and calmed my nerves enough to force me to plant my feet down and just breath in the air. My hair flapped with the breeze, blowing to the right side of my head. I closed my eyes and grinned. I needed this.

I wasn't the only one to have a certain way of enjoying it though. I heard Demira stop walking ahead of me, so I opened my eyes to watch her close her eyes, and spread out her arms. She gave a load, "YeYEE!" And it echoed all throughout the mountain. I copied her arm movements, keeping them spread out as I closed my eyes again. I didn't call out like she did, but still, the feeling of flying as I kept my arms out to the side made me giggle. Where it was soothing to me, Demira made the wind much more fun and enjoyable. Suddenly my hair, which had been blowing nicely with the wind, suddenly wrapping around my face with the strong change of wind. Some strands of hair got in my mouth and I had to spit it out. Demira giggled and said, "You should keep her hair back." She put her hands down and walked up to me. "I wish I had thread for you but I do not."

Keeping my eyes on her, I stroked my fingers through my hair, pulling them back behind me as I said, "There is a way without bands and thread. I used to do it a lot." But five years have passed, and I no longer need them. It was Jedi thing of mine to wear my hair in three loop braids, but those days were long gone.

"Oh, do you want me help you?"

She asked that like she assumed I would do it anyway. The smile on her face and her curiosity to know what it was made me forget my worries. "All right." A few moments later, Demira was sitting on a large rock while I sat down in front of her on the ground with my knees crossed. I explained her how to do a two loop braid as she delicately twined her fingers between strands of my hair and put it together the way I said. "That's it, then you just weave the end at the root of the other one so it's secure."

"Ok…." I heard her say. When I felt the small, secure tug on the last braid, she asked, "Am I done?"

"Yes." I said as I reached into my bag and pulled out the metal box that once held my beads. The smooth surface acted as a mirror as I looked at from the corner of my eye. I could see the reflection showing the side of my head and how neat my braids have bean woven behind me. Even though it was one less loop then I used to do it, I could still feel as if I was looking myself from the mirror in my room back at the temple. In fact, I expected to hear a knock on the door from an impatient Caleb waiting for training until I heard Demira slip down from the rock behind me and come on all fours to stand next to me. She asked nervously, "Is it good?"

"It is." I answered, slowly coming out of being lost in thought. I looked away from the reflection of the small little box and I stuffed it back in my satchel. "It is good."

"You should wear it like that… all the time. It shows your face a lot."

"And why should I show my face?"

"Because it is…. Pretty."

In all my years and I have never heard anyone say I was pretty in that way before. I had been cat called a couple of times on Arret, and even as a Jedi some low life would always say I should 'drop my Jedi act' and 'use my pretty face for something else'. But Demira said it honestly and innocently. She didn't say it like it would be some use to someone else. My features were for myself alone.

"Thank you, Demira." I'm happy Demira talked me into braiding back my hair again.

We continued our trek up the path alongside the mountain until finally the outcrop of path along the wall curved in to show us we were headed to a canyon. It was the divided between the smaller and taller peak of the whole mountain. I looked back since we were delving deeper into the canyon. I could now see as far the part of the forest where I had crashed, all the way up to the canyon with the river below. I figured I would not be going back there anymore, so I savored the last of the glorious view before I looked back in front of me.

Demira had seen me look back and she explained, "The river, it curves around mountain…. Going all the way to other side. Where my village is." I nodded. Well, looks like I will be seeing that river again.

With the wall of rock on our left and the outcrop of rock making way for the drop off on our right, all we did was keep walking on the dirt path as the sun slowly came down from its high point. With every step we continued to get closer to the canyon. But we didn't go far until the path ended. As if someone had cut away a large chunk of the path, there was a large space between our end of the path and a new path that started on the other side. It was too wide of a space for Demira and I to take a normal jump over. If I could call the Force to my will I could Force jump…. But of course that won't work. And Demira shouldn't know of my abilities even if I had them. "Looks like well have to find another way around."

"But this is the way forward. This was not here before."

"There must have been a rockslide, so we can't go this way now."

"Or maybe…" she faltered looking to the wall of rock on our right. I found she was staring at the thick vines that grew along its surface. The ends were firmly rooted to the roots of a tree that grew on the top of the wall. Demira went up to one and grabbed a thick vine, pulling off the tail end and tugging it lightly so that the roots on the other end were secure. "We can use these to swing across."

"Have you done this before?"

"Trees by my village grow vines from branches. This should not be different…. I… there is only up from down here." She said, sounded determined for the first time since we began our trek up Agoku. My words must have encouraged her, and all this time she had been doubting herself, so I shouldn't take the courage away. With forced confidence, I said, "Ok…" but if I see any sign of her putting herself in danger I'll have to intervene.

Demira smiled, tugged on the vine one last time, and walked to the edge of the drop off. Looking down, for a second her determined smile was replaced by a nervous frown. Then she shook her head and her eyebrows furrowed with the determination coming back. Just in case something went wrong, so I went up and stood on her right. She looked at me for a moment and then focused back to the path on the other side. With one leap Demira swung on the vine, and my heart leapt in my chest as she crossed over the break in the path. Her feet dangled in the air as her momentum from the swing took her to the other side. When she was just over the outcrop of rock, she let go of the vine and landed on the edge where the path began again. I could see the excitement in Demira build up from where I was. She stood up on her feet and then spun around quickly to look at me. Her smiled was so big it could have stretched all the way across her face. She waved to me.

Seeing Demira had gotten to the other side safely, it was time for me to cross. Just like Demira had done before, I grabbed one of the vines growing on the wall and pulled it, leaving the rooted end to the tree above secure. Holding on to the tail end tightly in my grip, I didn't think twice and jumped off the edge of the drop off, swinging over the edge and to the the path on the other side. Though where I would normally just focus on the end, I couldn't help but think of the rush I felt go through my veins as I swung across. It was… exhilarating. It was like the wind that was blowing by earlier on the stretch of the path. Demira felt this and that's why she had yelled out in joy. I couldn't hold it back and gave out a small, "Yee…" as I swung across and felt the rush inside me. I can't help but feel like a child for some reason.

I heard Demira laugh as I got across and swung just over the other side. We both can't help but feel like children. With precision, I let go of my vine and landed on the outcrop, just next to Demira. I stumbled a little, falling to my knees and scrapping my hands on the ground. Though the small rocks scratched my palms, I didn't ignore the pain this time. I chuckled and shook my hands so that they would be free of dirt. Just like Demira had when she fell from the tree, I laughed to myself until the pain was gone and I was on my feet.

Demira clapped her hands, smiled, and yelled, "We did it!"

"Yes, we did." I agreed, a little bit too loud. I was still feeling the rush from before. I couldn't help it though. Where as this journey began on a serious note, Demira made it so much more… fun. It's not like I never knew fun; Caleb had been nothing but fun to watch. But that's all I did; watch. I never took part in the fun… not until now.

"Yes!" She continued, jumping up and down from her toes. "The feeling…. I thought about it…. and then I felt it and did it." She went on to jump and clap.

"I felt it too." But from what she said I bet the thrill seeking part of it was knew to her. This morning she was having hard time climbing, now she was the one pushing herself to make the journey. I leaned over a little so that I was face to face with her and she could see me smile. "I knew you could do it." All you needed was a little lesson and a push forward. I guess I still have a way with teaching.

"You… helped. Thank you…. For believing." She sounded so happy, and her face just lit up with her eyes sparkling like the sun that shined high over head. Suddenly she reached out and hugged me. For a second I stood there frozen, and I tried to figure out what to do. Then she gasped and she let go, hiding her hands behind her back and saying sheepishly, "Sorry."

I patted her shoulder so I could tell her it was ok, until the area suddenly grew dark. Demira and I looked up, heads titling back to watch a set of dark clouds role slowly across the sky and cover the peak of the mountain. The once white clouds that covered the sky over us like a carpet was now turning dark with a storm coming. "We must keep going… we must find a tunnel… for shelter from storm." She confidently vegan to march away. With her head held high, I felt a sense of pride.

Demira led me away from the path on the side of the mountain behind us and through one that cut through the mountain making a canyon. Together, she and I walked carefully but happily through the cut in the mountain. We had both made each other happy. I had helped Demira find some courage, and she helped me find my way of teaching again. And to think the morning started with waking from a nightmare, and it turned out better then I thought it would.

When the first roll of thunder was heard from the sky, Demira said urgently, "We are high up mountain… lightning can hit us…"

I agreed, "Right, we're a target if we stay out here."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me forward so that we both ran down the path. When we got to the end of the canyon we were facing another step slope blocking our path. This time though, there was a cave carved into the wall of the slope and wide enough for anyone to fit through the entrance "The cave, Demira, let us head to the cave for shelter."

"B-But it is not a cave, it is t-tunnel—" she stammered but a large crack of thunder cut her off and made her yelp in fear. She suddenly let go of me, letting me run forward as she halted in place. I passed her by a couple of steps until I stopped to turn and look at her. She was starring at the cave up ahead in fear. "Demira? What are you doing we must go inside? We are sitting mynoks here for the lightning to strike."

"But the tunnel." She said, her body starting to tremble with fear. "It will be too dark… we will not see."

Another sound was suddenly heard from the sky, far away from the mountain, and it wasn't thunder this time. Eyes going wide and my breath hitching in my throat, I looked back when I heard the distant sound of an Imperial shuttle. I saw it break through the barrier of storm clouds and fly in the opposite direction of the mountain. The Empire did send for more back up, but only a shuttle full of soldiers. Do they not know the extensive power of a Jedi? Or did they even figure out I was one?

A flash of lightning from above blinded my view of the ship. When the flash vanished, I no longer saw the ship. A roll of thunder shook me out of my thoughts and brought me back to the situation at hand. "Demira, we must go in the tunnel, now." We can't be spotted by Imperials or get struck by lightning.

"Bu-but—"

A loud clap of thunder was hard behind me and I looked back. My eyes went wide when I saw the last bit of lighting retreat after having hit the slope in which the cave was carved into. Suddenly, rocks from the top of the slope fell, having been loosened by the tremble of thunder that followed the lightning strike. Boulders and rocks came tumbling down the mountain, hitting the base of the cave and then falling past it to roll down the path where we were. We'll be crushed. Thinking fast on my feet, I looked around, my eyes skimming the walls of the canyon surrounding either side of us. My eyes landed on the left just behind Demira where in the wall of the canyon there was a large space like a crack running down the wall.

I grabbed Demira by the arm without question and pulled her behind me as we ran towards the crack in the canyon wall. When we skidded to a stop just outside, I looked in, only taking seconds to see it was deep enough for us to go in. "Demira go in!"

"I can not!" She yelled frantically.

"Demira—"

The ground below me rumbled and I looked to my right to see a large boulder roll down towards us at top speed. I pushed Demira in easily through the crack, getting a loud yelp in response, and then I squeezed through after her. I landed on stable ground inside the cave just as the the giant boulder rolled passed the entrance. We were fine at first until another boulder was about to roll past before it collided with another one and changed direction towards us. I quickly jumped in front of Demira to protect her on instinct though I knew it would be useless. But the boulder stopped just as it made contact with the wall, blocking the entrance completely and making the space we were in go pitch black.

I heard Demira yell, "The dark the dark!" as she gripped and handful of cloth from my dress for comfort. The Dark? "Ongo mika…." She whispered scared. And she was scared. What happened to the brave little girl who swung over a large trench she could have fallen into earlier? Did she not remember all the things she had done on the trip up here? Wait a minute—the dark-

A clap of thunder was heard over the cave.

She wouldn't go inside the cave-

The ground trembled.

She's afraid of the- I fell back on my bottom as the ground shook under my feet and made me lose balance. I heard a painful "umph" from Demira behind me. Thinking she had gotten hurt, I yelled out, "Demira!" But I couldn't see a thing. The cave entrance was blocked, and it was the only source of light we had before. Now we were stuck in a pitch black cave with a rockslide that continued to roll past our small cave. Since the cave was still shaking, I had a hard time getting up but that's not the only thing that kept me down.

"Depa! Depa!" I heard Demira scream frantically as I suddenly felt something soft land on me. As soon as that happened, I felt the ground beneath me give way. Before I knew it, Demira and I were falling through thin air in the dark.

.

A.N: Yeah that happened, Depa and Demira seemed to be finding a way to have a good time and then a storm comes. Forshadowing for something more to come? I'm trying to keep exploring on how, though she may have some of the same qualities as Caleb, how can she still be unique to make the story development different and not repetitive from the Kanan comics. So how am I doing? I'm KikaKatTIOI, peace out!