All of Athena's life, never had she been so quickly accepted by a group of people. Never had a group of people go out of their way to make her feel welcomed and loved. They taught her their writing system, they taught her about their weapons, their war, their cultures, their phrases, and anything else the girl was confused about.
It was all so new. Yes, it was confusing and frustrating at some times as she couldn't take it all in at once, but it felt like something she never truly had before.
A home. A loving home.
They were no typical family, but they were family nonetheless. Athena saw them fill unofficial roles in this ragtag family. Hera and Kanan as the loving parents, Zeb as a crazy fun uncle, Rex as a goofy and wise grandpa, Ezra and Sabine as older siblings, Chopper the grumpy family pet. Ahsoka, Ahsoka took her in the most. She was like a super-mom to her.
The togruta had her near her whenever she could, even on the command deck as she, Commander Sato, and other rebels discussed tactical movements and supply movements. Athena didn't understand a word, but she loved to learn and be involved. Ahsoka taught her about the Force, teaching her meditation techniques and basic lightsaber movements with a stick. She even helped Athena sew up her bullet-torn shirt and jacket - despite her insisting she could do it herself. Ahsoka showed her a better technique and Athena stood corrected.
The ice powers of hers were the hardest to train. Ahsoka attempted to train that aspect with her, but he just ended up needing a hair dryer for a block of ice stuck on the girl's hand. They were both wide-eyed when Athena got mad at herself, causing flames to replace the ice.
So, ice when scared. Fire when angered.
Ahsoka sure had a challenge ahead of her.
After about two weeks, Ahsoka managed to get Athena to shoot a semi-accurate stream of fire at a Stormtrooper helmet on command - finding a way to convert her upset feelings into physical attacks. Ice was much harder to control. Anger was easy to direct into an attack, fear was not. Ahsoka did her best to teach Athena to keep control of these emotions and to listen to her emotions rather than being consumed by them, but she was a kid who didn't listen all too well.
Then, Kanan showed her a holocron. Athena was wide-eyed. She recognized the materials it was made out of. The colors. The sensations. Ahsoka and Kanan were wide-eyed to see the bracelet Athena owned to be made of the same materials as a holocron. Blue glass and copper metal beads. It dimly glowed the same way a holocron would - apparently Athena thought it was just glow-in-the-dark since she was a kid. After seeing that it was connected so deeply to the Jedi way, Athena began to wear it daily - hoping it would somehow help her learn better.
When she wasn't blaster training with Ezra, Chopper, and Rex, Jedi training with Ahsoka or Kanan, learning Aurebesh from Sabine or Zeb, or learning the parts of a ship with Hera, Athena was listening to music as she cleaned the Ghost. That was her past-time on Earth - cleaning. Since most of the foster families who took her in basically expected the kids they fostered to be their little maids, cleaning became a form of solace to her.
Hera found this pretty great, now having her ship voluntarily swept almost everyday.
The girl would put in her old earbuds and plug them into her MP3 player, and clean; oftentimes closing her eyes as she got into the music. Sabine thankfully made an adapter to charge her MP3 player when needed.
Kanan couldn't help but to stare with a distressed look as she sang "It's a Hard-knock Life" happily. The lyrics were so sad, singing about the hardships of foster kids, yet had such a happy tune.
"What is wrong with that kid?" Kanan mumbled to Ahsoka, the togruta also watching the oblivious girl as she continued to sing, a broom in hand and eyes closed. "Instead of kisses we get kicked? She is literally singing a song about foster-kid abuse with a happy tune!"
Ahsoka sighed, "Maybe that's they're way of coping."
"There is something deeply wrong with that planet," Kanan grumbled.
They looked back to the girl, arms crossed as they waited for her to notice them standing there. She was a little absorbed in the music. Then she began to twirl the broomstick. Well.
She twirled the broom in her hands as if she had been doing it her whole life. Both hands to just the fingers, the girl knew how to spin the broom. Ahsoka and Kanan shared a glance. No wonder she was so slow to the beginnings of lightsaber training - she was used to using both hands in the middle of a long stick.
Athena was a little flushed when she finally opened her eyes, seeing Kanan and Ahsoka staring at her with interest in their eyes.
"Oh - uh, sorry," the girl put the broom back down. "I got carried away."
"You know how to work one of those very skillfully," Ahsoka commented. "You use both hands in the middle of the stick. Is that why it's so awkward for you to train with the sticks with your hands on the end?"
"I was a baton twirler for a while," Athena admitted. "I doubt you'd want me to fight with me twirling a stick around, anyhow."
"Well, we're training you with a stick first so you can eventually graduate to using a lightsaber like Ezra, Ahsoka, and myself," Kanan said. "You might have to adapt a little when you are learning to fight, but using both hands like that may be a better form for you. A double-blade might be your best choice for a lightsaber when you eventually get one."
"Oh, okay," Athena said. "I guess I can try to learn to fight with a double-bladed sword. But...neither of you use one. Wouldn't it be easier for me to have two like Ahsoka or just one like you and Ezra? That way I can learn easier from you."
Ahsoka shook her head, "No, you don't need to have a similar lightsaber style to me or them. We can teach you no matter. It all depends on what works best for you. Me and my Master had different style sabers."
"Oh, okay,"Athena confirmed. "I guess I can try that then."
"Great, because we wanted you to start sparring with Ezra today for practice," Ahsoka smiled.
"I've only been training for two weeks, you really think I'm ready to get near one of those lightsabers?"
"Don't worry, both of you are going to use sticks," Ahsoka assured. "And you're allowed to hit if you get the opportunity since you can't do too much damage with sticks."
"Don't give her a challenge," Kanan cautiously warned.
During their practice sparring in the cargo bay, Ahsoka and Kanan put two pieces of tape around Athena's stick, designating a spot on the stick in which she would be allowed to grab onto while the rest would act as her 'blade'. She was a little more fluid and confident when they did this, being able to block Ezra's strikes with more speed and strength. She wasn't ready for offence with the stick, however. The only offence she could deliver was in her physical body attack, kicking or punching.
In almost every spar, Ezra won. The girl grunted every time she felt the stick wack her, knowing that would've been a lost limb or even a kill strike. She felt so useless, like a little baby who didn't know how to fight. Athena knew how to throw punches and kick with an unholy amount of force, not twirl a stick and block another stick. She used to twirl a baton for competitions when she was young, not fight kids with it - well, most of the time.
Even though Athena walked away from that day's Jedi training feeling defeated, Kanan and Ahsoka found it as a huge victory. That girl might have not seen it, but she was able to handle that style of fighting far better. They found her future lightsaber design. She was one small step closer to getting a lightsaber. One small step towards becoming a Jedi.
Athena sat in the common room now, Zeb next to her as he had some practice sentences for Athena to try and read. She was slowly getting used to this Aurebesh system, but it still took a tad longer for her to sound out sentences.
Though she was still a little off put by Zeb, Ahsoka, and Hera whenever she saw them first thing in the morning, she got used to them and saw them as people just like her. It was still intimidating when Zeb stood next to her, however. But, that was fair. Kanan's height was off putting sometimes, let alone Zeb's towering height.
The group taught her the basics about other common species, yet no one warned Athena about standing too close behind Hera. The girl didn't see what was coming when Hera whipped her head around, her lekku smacking the poor kid in the face, sending her to the ground with a stinging pain across her face. Hera felt bad, but both found it funny in retrospect.
Zeb even tried to convince her that lasats have a poisonous bite. As they sat there in the common room, Athena slowly reading the lines written in front of her, Zeb ate some jerky. Ahsoka took a break as she read over a data pad as she sat in the wooden chair in the corner. Athena raised an eyebrow as Zeb took a large bite of meat every few moments.
"What? Lasats gotta eat meat," Zeb chuckled. "Don't worry, we don't eat humans."
"I didn't think you did," Athena said.
"You're lucky we don't," Zeb joked. "Lasats got a nasty bite." He showed his sharp teeth as he lifted his upper lip with his finger. "See these teeth? Can kill a man with the venom in 'em."
"Venom?!" Athena's eyes went wide. "You have a venomous bite?"
"Yep," Zeb lied with a laugh. "So you better work on your reading!"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes, "Zeb, quit lying to the kid. Lasats don't have a poisonous bite."
Athena let out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank Lord Jesus."
Ahsoka stood as she sat her data pad and walked over to Athena with a smile, "But togrutas do!"
"Nuh uh!" Athena shook her head. "You gotta be lying at this point!"
Ahsoka displayed her little fangs with a smile, "Wanna bet? Everyone knows togrutas have a poisonous bite."
Athena looked up to Zeb, "She's lying, right?"
Zeb shook his head and laughed, "Nah, kid. Togrutas are known for their poisonous bite paralyzing their prey."
"You guys have to be lying!" Athena was in disbelief. "Wha- how-"
Hera entered the common room, about to pass through when Athena called for the captain.
"Hera! Please tell me these two are lying!"
"About what?" Hera looked at the girl.
"They say that they have poisonous bites!" Athena said. "Is that even true?"
Hera chuckled and rolled her eyes, "You guys gotta stop messing with this poor kid. I don't even know a single sentient species with a poisonous bite."
Athena let out a big sigh of relief, "Thank you, Hera. I now like you the most out of this whole ship."
"Even more than your own Master?" Ahsoka jokingly sounded hurt.
"You tried to make me think you had a poisonous bite!" Athena said.
"Hey, I could have bitten you and freaked you out," Ahsoka chuckled.
Athena crossed her arms, "You're all rude."
"But, you love us!" Zeb grabbed her into a side hug as he ruffled her hair in a teasing manner.
"Free me!" Athena cried out with a laugh. She tried to smooth her hair once Zeb freed her, but it was to no use. Ahsoka came over and picked her up in a big hug, swinging her in the air in a bear hug.
"You can never escape our hugs!" Ahsoka smiled as she held the girl up. She was light enough that it was like holding up a young child. Though, she did start to gain a little fat and muscle as she got more access to food. "You're trapped forever!"
"Hera!" Athena cried out. "Help!"
"You're on your own now, kid," Hera smiled. "I can't help you now."
"You traitor! You were my favorite Ghost member!"
"Oh wow, does that mean I'm your favorite now?" Ahsoka joked as she sat the girl's feet back on the ground.
"No way!" Athena joked. "Chopper is."
"What?" Zeb howled with laughter. "That rust bucket?"
"She doesn't know what he's saying, so of course she likes him," Hera chortled. "As soon as she learns to understand droid, she'll hate his circuits."
Athena stood there for a second, soaking in the moment of joy. The group of people that adopted her so quickly. The togruta who took to her as if she were her own. The crew who did everything they could so she would acclimate to their galaxy. The people who hugged her and joked with her, despite only knowing her for about two weeks now.
Family. She had never had such a large and loving family.
It didn't even matter if she and Kanan shared blood or not. They were all family. Kanan just happened to have the same mother. The subject was barely even brought up between the two. It didn't matter. They'd be family whether or not they shared blood. Whether or not they were even the same species. It was love. It was family.
They were family when they spared, they were family when they fought the Empire, they were family when they playfully teased each other.
Ezra decided to teach Athena about one of his favorite pastimes - virtual-games. It reminded Athena of Earth's gaming consoles, just in hologram form; even the remotes were similar. They played in his and Zeb's cabin, racing pod racers through the virtual game as they sat on the floor next to each other. Ezra managed to snag the gaming console a while back on a supply run to a market for a good deal. It was fun to play whenever the chance arised.
As she crossed the finish line and confetti danced all over her side of the hologram, Athena cheered in victory. "Yes!"
"I guess I taught you too well," Ezra chuckled. He could barely see Athena in the dark room, the hologram as the only source of light for the moment.
"Earth's got similar games to this," Athena said. "I used to play these kinds of things all the time."
"Dang, well, at least you can now beat me at something," Ezra joked. "Seeing that I can beat you in lightsaber training no problem."
"And I can beat your butt in hand-to-hand combat," Athena reminded with a cocky smirk. "Just you wait, I'm gonna catch up to you in lightsaber combat and beat you in that too!"
Ezra scoffed, "Yeah, sure you are."
Athena chuckled and rolled her eyes. She was about to say something else when she paused, watching as Ezra took off his gloves real quick. He threw them on his table and grabbed back onto his remote control. "Are...are your hands green?" she wondered if it was the lighting, or lack therefore of.
"Oh, uh yeah," Ezra said, holding up one of his hands for Athena to see it better. His fingers were a light green, fading down to tan at his palms.
"Do humans in this galaxy just have that sometimes?"
"I'm part mirilan," Ezra said. "It's a species that has green skin and blue eyes. I have green patches of skin all over my body."
"Do you have a poisonous bite too?" Athena joked, having earlier told him of Zeb and Ahsoka's little joke.
He shook his head, "Athena, even if I did, can't you shoot fire and freeze things? I don't think you have anything to worry about with me having a poisonous bite."
Athena rolled her eyes.
"But, I have heard mirilans have a pretty intoxicating kiss," Ezra slyly looked to Athena, wiggling his eyebrows as he did his best to put on a flirty face.
"I am taken, bud," she playfully shoved him away.
Ezra had raised eyebrows. "You are?"
Athena shrugged, "Well, back on Earth I had a boyfriend who I never broke up with before I left, so yeah. Heck, him and I were technically engaged."
"Engaged?" Ezra questioned, wide eyed. "You had a fiance on Earth?"
She shrugged again. "Yeah, but it wasn't because I exactly wanted to get married. Before I ran away, him and I made an agreement that he'd marry me once I turned sixteen and he turned eighteen - that way I could leave the foster system legally and not have to be on the run."
"And that changed..?"
"When I got into a fight at my school. After that, I was forced to run or I'd be arrested," Athena simply explained. "He was nice, but I couldn't care less about marrying him unless that meant I was out of the system."
"Well, technically you're out of the system now," Ezra pointed out. "Now you can do whatever you want in this galaxy."
She paused for a moment, thinking. She turned to him and met his eyes. "So, you were an orphan too? And these guys just adopted you?"
He nodded, "Yeah, I was a street rat on my home-world of Lothal. They offered me a place to stay and I took it. I've been with them for over a year now. Best choice of my life."
Athena had a little smile as she spoke. "So, you guys really are just a bunch of runaways and orphans fighting an evil tyranny together?"
"Yeah…" Ezra laughed. "That's one way to look at it."
She let out a laugh of disbelief, "Even if this is all a dream, an illusion, I'm glad I met you guys. I've never been happier in my life."
"Then maybe you'll get your wish. Ya know? What you'd like to do before you die," Ezra said. "Living a life worth living."
"Yeah...maybe so."
Not too long after, reality kicked in for Athena. Never had she understood the danger of being a Jedi, let alone being a Dume. She didn't really comprehend that they were in a war until the following day. She was in her mini euphoria of being in a loving family, blissfully unaware of the war around them.
The war now sent out for her.