After accepting Kanan's offer of joining the crew, she's offered a bunk aboard the ship. Almost immediately after, just as she settles in to meditate on the will of the Force in this instance, shouting and insistent droid babble floods the ship. Opening one eye, she focuses and, as Ezra tries to seek solace from, what is apparently an angry Lasat, the door shuts in his face. The chaotic sounds of the ship disappear, as the Force focuses around her.
"Master Gormo," she breathes a sigh of relief.
"Ar'iabel Quinara, what troubles you?"
"Well, Master, I don't feel as close to Force as normal, it's as though there is some rift, something stopping me from accessing it as I used to, why would that be?"
"The Force is there, as it always is, it is merely you."
"Me," she stands then to face her Master's Master, "What did I do? Why is this happening?"
"It's not your fault, youngling," at youngling, Keen has to hold back a scoff, "It's the fact that you hid your ability, buried the Force deep inside, not allowing it to show. It was self-preservation, and not one of us blames you."
She slumps down on the bunk, "How? How do I fix it?"
"Trust in the Force," with that, Gormo fades, and the Jedi is left with more questions than she has answers for. A knock resounds on the door to her cabin, and she answers it.
"I'm about to start Ezra's training, care to join me?"
"I don't see why I shouldn't." She smiles, following the Knight out, and onto the top of the ship, finding, not only Ezra, but, also the astromech, Chopper, and the Lasat, Zeb.
Sitting down criss-cross on the ship, watching the Padawan train. She watches with mild amusement as Kanan has his Padawan stand on his hands on top of the gun turret, telling him repeatedly to focus.
"Focus. Focus on letting go."
"Letting go? Rather hold on, if you don't mind." Keen actually smirks slightly at that, Ezra reminding her of a young Caleb.
"Enough jokes. Focus."
The boy hesitantly lifts one arm, balancing with the other, he lets out a groan as his Master repeats himself once again, "I'm trying."
"Do or do not. There is no try," Ar'iabel mouths the words along with the Knight, knowing what he would say.
"What does that even mean? How can I do something if I don't try to do it?"
"Well, see," the Jedi then grumbles a soft curse in Aurebesh, "Actually, I never understood that one either, but Master Yoda used to say it a lot."
Keen decides it's time for her to speak up, "You either succeed or you fail. You don't attempt to succeed. Say you were in a fight, would you say you tried to win? Or would you say you failed? There is no trying with the Force, only succeeding or failing."
Kanan actually smiles at the explanation, "Sure, trust Yoda's Padawan to understand his strange sayings."
Keen laughs, whilst sensing boredom radiating from the Lasat on her left. He lets out a long yawn, stretching his arms above his head, "I really thought this Jedi stuff would be more interesting. No wonder the old religion died."
The Jedi's eyes snap to the Lasat, her eyes glaring daggers at him, although no malice is held behind them. She had felt anger start to fill her mind, which would have clouded her judgement, and had shoved it out to the Force. She could understand, how, from an outside point of view, the ways of the Jedi could be viewed as boring, although Keen had always thought them peaceful until the Clone Wars. She's abruptly pulled from her reprieve when she hears Ezra yelp, her eyes snapping to Zeb who is shaking the turret.
"Does he have to be here?" Ezra asks, brushing himself off after falling from the turret. Master Quinara lifts herself off the roof, walking over to check on the Padawan learner.
"He's annoying, but there will always be distractions. You need to learn to focus through them. Here. Let's try something else," Kanan pulls his lightsaber pieces from his belt, fastening them together. He holds it out to Ezra. Keen reaches a hand down into her bag, finding her blades still resting there. She's suddenly reminded of the last time they were ignited, and the carnage that followed, pulling back as though she's been burned.
"When do I get my own?"
"Having a laser sword doesn't make you a Jedi."
Suddenly, Keen snaps at Kanan, "Lightsaber, it is called a lightsaber, Padawan, as you well know!"
He raises his hands in a calming gesture, closing his eyes briefly, "I'm sorry, Master."
Ezra glances between the two, "Having one gets me closer," he grumbles, igniting the blade, almost decapitating his Master
"Careful! There's a control on the side that adjusts the length to your height," Kanan says, pointing to the control. Ezra adjusts the dial, and the blade shrinks to a more reasonable length.
"Do you have a lightsaber?" Ezra asks Keen.
"Yes, every Padawan, once nearing the end of their training went to the Crystal Cave on Ilum, finding themselves a Kyber Crystal," she leans against the gun turret, crossing her arms.
"Kyber Crystal?" Ezra questions, waving Kanan's lightsaber testingly, his poor form almost causing Ar'iabel to laugh.
"Kyber Crystals are rare. They are strongly attuned to the force, the heart of a lightsaber. It allows the Force to travel through the hilt to the blade. The larger the Crystal, the rarer it is, and the more power it holds. The Empire has destroyed many of the caves, harvesting the kyberite for some project, it's nearly impossible to find a Kyber Crystal in nature anymore."
"Whoa, cool. Can I see your lightsaber?" he asks, such genuine happiness and curiosity radiating through the Force it's nearly contagious.
"Ezra! Focus!"
"Sorry, Kanan." The Padawan jumps down to a lower part of the top of the ship. A crate of empty cans sits between Zeb and Chopper.
"Okay. Close your eyes," Ezra shuts them tight, while Zeb hands the astromech one of the cans, "Let him have it, Chopper."
The droid babbles happily, spinning his top fast, the can in his hands. The Master Jedi tracks the object as it soars through the air, the lightsaber swinging to stop the can, only for it to hit the kid in the chest. "Ow!" Ezra grunts, once again swinging the blade. The droid continues to throw the ammo, provided to him by the Lasat.
"Be precise. Keep the blade," the Knight releases a groan, "up."
While Kanan attempts to train the boy, the Lasat is finally getting the amusement he wanted, "That's it, kid. Use your body to slow down that trash."
The trash continues to smack against the unfocused Padawan, resulting in him groaning.
Keen looks over at Kanan, as the astromech continues to taunt the Padawan. Knowing how she would feel if another Jedi had attempted to tell her Padawan, Qui Gon Jinn, how to train, she's been keeping herself from commenting, but, if this had been the days of the old religion, the boy would've already had some training given to him from a young age. Master Quinara throws caution to the Force and says, "Ezra, I what you to feel the vibrations in air around you," she throws out a hand, haulting the droid before he releases another can. "Can you feel the wind?"
"Uh, huh."
"Okay, go deeper, deeper into the wind, into yourself, concentrate on the feelings around you."
He nods, and she can sense a change, as can Kanan. "Okay, now, tune out everything that isn't that tugging you feel in your gut, even the sound of my voice, that tugging is the pull of the Force, focus on that." She releases Chopper from her hold, the can he's holding flying at Ezra, who swings the blade, slicing it in half just before it can hit him.
He opens one eye slightly, "I did, I actually did it," he shouts, distracted, not noticing the rest of the cans flying at his face. They hit Ezra knocking him off the flying ship.
"Kid!" Zeb shouts, as Ezra falls toward the ground. Ar'iabel steps to the edge of the ship, Kanan right next to her. She lets herself loose into the Force, finding Ezra's signature, both Jedi focus on lifting him up, his form floating back to the ramp.
The focus it takes both Jedi to raise the boy begins to weigh on them both, "Zeb!" Kanan shouts.
The Lasat leans out of the ramp, grabbing the kids arms, pulling him back onto the ship. "Got him!" he shouts with a grunt, and a collective sigh of relief echoes through the ship.
The Jedi lower themselves back into the cargo hold, finding the C1 astromech chortling at the Padawan.
"You weren't focused."
"Tough to focus when I'm falling to my death," Ezra jokes, trying to lighten the mood after his near death experience.
"You wouldn't have been falling to your death if you were focused. You're undisciplined and full of self-doubt," Kanan rants at him.
"And whose fault is that, Master?"
The Jedi Knight sighs, "It's difficult to teach." He turns to Keen and gestures to a corner of the cargo hold, "Can we talk?"
She nods at him, having a suspicion as to what this may be about, "Look, Kanan, I'm sorry for stepping over you with Ezra's training, that wasn't my place, I wasn't thinking. I understand I overstepped, and you have every right to be angry with me so if you–"
He cuts her off, "No, I want you to take Ezra as your Padawan. I'm not even fully trained, I can't train him, it's clear you're the better choice."
"That's doubt clouding your judgement, Caleb, you have everything you need to train Ezra. I have no right to step in." Kanan opens his mouth to say something, probably protest, "The Force chooses the best Master for the Padawan, and the best Padawan for a Master, I have no right to step in over the Force."
"During the Clone Wars, Jedi were assigned their Padawan."
"Yes, after deep meditation in the Force, asking it for advice, not without thought."
"You train Ezra, I can't," he tells her, turning to leave.
"Can't, or won't? Can't is not a word in a Jedi's vocabulary!" She shouts at him.
He turns around, facing her, a finger rising to point at her, "You are better suited to train him, but you refuse to see it."
"It's not that I refuse to see it, it's that I believe in you, I believe in the Force, and the Force clearly believes you can train that boy!" Kanan storms off into the ship.
Keen sighs, her emotions had risen during the argument, clouding her judgement, she knows she was harsh with Kanan, and yet she knows he needed to hear that. She senses the Force presence of Ezra standing behind her, knowing he heard every word she and Kanan had said, judging by the sadness she senses from him.
"Ezra, don't worry, he's stressed, and nervous." She sits down on a crate, and pats the place beside her, "Training a Padawan is difficult, especially one that has absolutely no training. He has never had a student before, but, I meant everything I said, the Force paired you two for a reason, even if you can't see it yet. You have what it takes, and he knows that, he's scared, scared that he'll fail you, or that in him training you, you'll just be more likely to get killed. Ever since Order 66, fear has conquered the Galaxy, you will help him work through his, and he you. Believe in yourself, and in the power of the Force," she ruffles his hair, heading for the ladder, climbing to the common area of the ship.
(Takes place during the events of The Rise of Old Masters)