Ahsoka awoke to hearing soft voices and the dry crackle of…something. Not flimsi, because flimsi crackled louder and in a lower pitch than whatever…
She opened her eyes, and she could just make out shadows and a warm, red glow.
And then she saw a dark, remarkably clear sky above her. Well, not completely clear—there were still stars, so many of them. For a moment, Ahsoka could just stare up at the sky and sleepily wonder if the sky had been that dark when she had fallen asleep.
"She's awake!"
Ahsoka blinked and turned her head. She quickly made out what had been the source of that crackling sound and the red glow: a fire burned cheerfully in front of her. A big fire too, one that was in its merry peak.
A moment later, she heard other voices, and then she was sitting up to Jesse, Fives, and Echo sitting around her. For a moment, she couldn't remember what they were all here for, but then she heard something else. Footsteps, and then something warm and heavy dropping around her shoulders.
"Rise and shine, Commander," Rex said, sitting down next to Ahsoka. "Or…close enough."
"How long was I out?" Ahsoka asked, shifting under the blanket.
"Not too long," Rex replied. "Just enough for us to build the fire…and set up the tents…and get dinner…"
"You could have woken me up!" Ahsoka protested, swiveling her head around. Sure enough, the tents were already pitched, and she spun back around to shove at Rex, but the captain just barely scooted himself out of her reach. She looked at Echo, hoping that she could at least appeal to him. "This was supposed to be a bonding exercise!"
"I'm with you, Commander," Fives chirped. "Team bonding. Absolutely."
"Which was why we did the tent pitching," Jesse said, leaning back against what Ahsoka now realized was a log. He settled his hands behind his neck, tilting his head up to the sky. "Apparently gives us a big sense of accomplishment, isn't that right, sir?"
"Absolutely," Rex said, and if he had noticed Jesse's sarcasm, he didn't show it.
"I think it'll be fine," Echo said, smiling at Ahsoka from across the fire. "You can just make it up in the morning."
"You bet I will," Ahsoka mumbled. Then, remembering that she had a blanket around herself, she shoved it off and floated it over to Echo. "And I don't need this, thank you very much. Fire's just fine."
"Sure about that, kid?" Rex asked, looking pointedly at Ahsoka's bare arms.
Ahsoka tugged her legs up to herself and, with as much dignity as she could, she said, "Fire's fine, thank you very much. And I'm not a kid."
"Mm-hm," Rex said.
"I'm not."
"Okay, then, not-a-kid," Rex said, stretching out his legs, "you still feeling cold?"
"I—no," Ahsoka said, even though she was, in fact, a little cold.
"Mm-hm," Rex repeated. He gestured. "Just get closer to the fire. We didn't build it for nothing, you know."
Ahsoka stuck out her bottom lip.
Rex lifted an eyebrow at her.
And then, heaving a dramatic sigh, Ahsoka nudged herself closer to the smile, ignoring the snickers that broke out across from her.
"Don't mean this means anything," Ahsoka said to Rex a moment later. "I'm gonna show you who's a kid tomorrow."
"Looking forward to it, Commander."
A/N: I pictured this to take place around the time Ahsoka just became a commander!
As always, reviews/follows/favorites are greatly appreciated!