Light and Shadows vol 2: Under the Setting Sun Chapter One:In the Aftermath, a star wars fanfic

AN: I do not own Star Wars or Star Wars the Old Republic. I own only the OC and plot. General trigger warnings just in case!

"aaaa"-talking out loud. "aaaa" (bold and italics)-talking through a holo or com. 'aaaaa'-inner thoughts. "aaaaa"-talking through a Bond or talking during a Force Vision. aaaa-Force Vision. "aaaa" (bold)-talking in another language. ("aaa") (bold, italics, and parentheses)-talking through a holo or com in another language

Thank you everyone for reading and your support!

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Chapter One: In the Aftermath

The Force had calmed.

It was no longer a twisting, turning storm that had blocked out the world around them. Its ghostly fingers had vanished from their souls where it had pulled, pushed, and twisted until it felt as if something had been left behind. As if the Force itself had linked them.

At least that is what it felt like to Theron Shan. Even with his limited connection to the Force, he could tell that something had changed. That he and the little Miraluka girl he stepped on were now somehow tied together. He didn't understand the link left behind or the new feeling gently racing through him. Those had never been covered in Master's Zho's lessons.

He should have been nervous or even afraid of what had happened and the new sensations left behind. But he wasn't. Instead, Theron felt the same warmth and acceptance he would feel from Master Zho, only deeper. Theron gently squeezed the small hand in his.

His hand was rough, warm, and so gentle as he carefully pulled her to her feet. Esther Bakarn tilted her head up towards where Theron's voice had come from. As she did, she could feel the hazy heat of Corellia's sun as it fell across her face.

Her bare face.

Esther froze as she remembered that her mask was being held tightly in her free hand. And that meant that everyone in the garden, including Theron, could see her face. Which meant that Theron knew that she didn't have eyes. And that meant that Theron probably didn't want to be her friend anymore. Because she was a freak.

'Wow! She's so pretty…and so tiny!' The thought sped through his mind as Esther stood before him. She was so small compared to him that the top of her head just barely reached his waist. Loose strands of her hair had slipped free from her messy ponytail. It looked like starlight, almost shimmering in the light as she tilted her face up in the direction of him.

Esther suddenly became tense. The peaceful expression on her face vanished and was replaced by fear. Theron could feel her panic as she started to pull away. He panicked in turn and clung tighter to the hand he held tight in his. His eyes widened she brought the slip of green fabric held in her free hand up, holding it up to cover her face. The fabric was covered in dirt and damp from being on the ground underneath the bench.

Theron realized that the fabric was actually a mask. Her mask and that she was now afraid of his reaction to seeing her face without the mask.

"No!" The warm voice was gentle but firm. As was the hand that carefully pulled her mask away from her face. "That's too dirty for you to wear now." A soft sob broke free from Esther as she lost her grip on the mask and it vanished.

"My mask…" she reached out for it, feeling more exposed than ever. She choked back another quiet sob because she knew that she was almost too old to be acting like such a baby, but she couldn't help it. When Papa wasn't there her mask was always her best defense against the worst of the teasing and the taunts. "You'll think that I'm a monster now!" The confession slipped free from Esther before she could stop it. Her breathing came faster at the thought of losing her first and only friend so soon after meeting him.

But then caring arms were wrapped around her and lifting her off her feet. Esther wrapped her arms around Theron, the rocking movement soothing as he moved them to the bench, sat down and cuddled her. His hug felt like one from Papa, only different. Theron swayed back and forth. Esther let her head drop to his shoulder, the panic and fear started to fade in the safety of his arms. The young Jedi student was doing his best to send comfort down the still new bond that he did not fully understand.

"You're not a monster," Theron told her with all the confidence he could muster. But his confidence did not seem to be enough for the little girl curled up within his arms. Esther slowly let go of him with one arm and pointed a finger at her face, almost poking herself in her vestigial eye sockets.

"I am too a monster!" Esther hotly declared. She had been called a monster for so long that it had started to feel like the truth. Even when Papa told her it wasn't. She felt as Theron shifted just enough to free a hand so he could rub her back. Just like Master Zho would do for him when he was having a rough time. "I don't got no eyes!" Theron winced as she nearly jabbed herself again with her finger. He stopped rubbing her back in favor of grabbing her hands so that she wouldn't hurt herself. He squeezed it again, just as gently.

"You're a Miraluka, not a monster," he pointed out as Papa had done many times in the past. "You're not supposed to have eyes." Esther wiggled again, managing to free a hand so she could wave it in the direction where the sound of children playing was coming from.

"But they all said…"

"And they're wrong." Those words were familiar to Theron because Master Zho had told him that before, but it was his first time saying them. Stating them as a simple fact in the same way Master Zho would. "They're probably only saying crummy things like that because you're the first Miraluka they've ever seen and you might be the only one they'll ever see. My Master has a friend who sometimes visits and he's a Miraluka. He told me that Miralukans are not very common. They're rare."

Esther took a big breath, the panic finally fading away. She could feel Theron relaxing as the emotions rolling through the bond calmed. "Papa has told me that too," she admitted quietly to the older boy. "He told me that being rare makes me special."

"And he's right! I bet you'll grow up and be an amazing warrior. Master Zho's friend is after all." A smile bloomed once more across Esther's face and Theron knew that he had a matching one.

"You too!" She cuddled closer to Theron. "You'll be a warrior too. Cause we're friends right and we need to stick together when we're bigger. Right?"

It was one of those questions that had a weight to it. A question upon which a fate or two might hang. A normal person in normal circumstances would wait before answering. For this was a question that could change everything with the answer.

But these weren't normal circumstances and Theron was not a normal person. He didn't understand the actions that the Force had taken or the reasons behind them. What he did know was that little Esther was like him. So there was no waiting, no pondering.

"Yes," Theron declared. "We are best friends forever."

The pair watched the children from a distance.

They had come to pick up their children only to be frozen at the sight before them.

Esther and Theron were smiling and laughing together. The little girl sat on the lap of the young Jedi with his arms wrapped around her so that she wouldn't fall as her arms were waving wildly in the air as she told some sort of story. Theron carefully dodged her arms, nodding as she spoke, and sometimes adding in something of his own. Both their faces bore bright smiles and were all aglow.

"Esther?" Silas Bakarn asked as he slowly approached the pair. Ngani Zho followed his wake, his eyes watching Theron. Both could feel the Force dancing lightly in the air around the pair.

"Papa!" Esther cheered as she turned to face his direction and Silas stopped in shock. Her mask was gone. He quickly spotted it laying forgotten on the bench next to the pair. "This is Theron! He's my new friend!"

"Yep!" Theron agreed as Esther flung her arms around him in a chokehold that only young children did when they hugged someone they cared about deeply and were happy. He shrugged his shoulders carefully so as not to dislodge the hug when Ngani gave him a questioning look. "The Force did something so that we could be friends forever."

The men glanced at each other as the children returned to the game they were playing and the stories they were sharing.

The Force? Their children certainly did not look upset over whatever the Force had done. Instead they were clearly happy and joyful to be together.

But what exactly had the Force done?

What did it mean?