I'm back! And you have no idea how much I missed you guys! Life is really keeping me on my toes, but I am going to try and update at least every two weeks. Alright, let's see what our artist has been up to! This takes place little while after Steps Into Shadow.
Sabine wasn't one to question the Force. It made little sense to her in many ways, the way Kanan and Ezra used it. It could give them physical powers, mental abilities, and even show them things that weren't there or were merely illusions indicating the future. Sabine couldn't feel it, see it, or touch it, but she knew it was there despite her incapability. However, she rarely thought much of its presence. Why? That was uncertain…
It was these things that Sabine often acknowledged, but never thought about. So, she was surprised to find herself inquiring the Force and its capabilities. If it could be used to alter things mentally, could it change a person? Could it change an attitude? A perspective? Personal limits?
Kanan had come home. It was shocking to the Mandalorian, seeing as he hadn't been home in ages. He wouldn't speak to anyone unless they spoke to him first… At least, until recently. Seeing how he had been, how that mission on Malachore had affected him, it broke her heart. But now he was different. Her father had finally returned. And he was… Happy.
That was why she was asking questions. Kanan told everyone who asked that he had simply come to a more greater understanding of the Force. This power had done something to him, and she wanted to know what it was. Of course, Kanan wasn't the only one it changed. It changed Ezra too. He wasn't who he used to be by any means.
Sabine only knew that was the reason Ezra had changed because she heard Kanan talking about to Hera one night in the cockpit shortly after he had come home. Something about a holocam? Holobomb? Whatever it was called. Or had it been because Kanan, Ezra's master -his father- had been away for such a long time? It effected all of them, Hera especially, but Ezra… Sabine had been slowly been watching him turn further and further from the boy she knew. And the fact that she couldn't do anything about it…
Nobody else had really seemed to notice the change in the teenage boy. Come to think of it, none of the crew ever really noticed anything unusual that went on. Sabine was often on her own when it came to that sort of thing. That made it hard for her. What were you supposed to do when the only people in the galaxy that were supposed to be there for you… weren't?
Sabine stood up and walked out of her room and into the hallway. Typically the others came and knocked on her door, but this time around, the Mando decided she would do the knocking. She hadn't properly talked to a certain person yet and she really wanted to get that done.
"Umm… Kanan?" she addressed after tapping her knuckle lightly on the door. The metal slab opened quicker than she expected, making her jump a bit, not that Kanan could tell. Or could he? Could a Jedi do that?
Not important.
"Uh, hi?"
"Hi?" he returned, clearly confused.
"Hi. I just, uh…" What was she here for?
"Did you need something, Monster or are you just dropping in?"
Sabine smiled to herself. That was a nickname she hadn't heard in a while. "I guess I'm kinda just dropping in," she said slowly and hesitantly. The older man nodded, then smiled a bit.
"Why? Chopper isn't good company?"
She giggled and waited a minute before remembering something. She smiled, taking his hand and leading him down the hall to her bedroom. He looked nervous at first and had even begun to pull away, but he soon settled for it with a sigh of disgrace. Sabine knew he couldn't see, so she took his fingers and ran them over the edges of her painting as she explained it, pointing with his finger rather than hers when she talked about an important detail.
"This is the tail, it's kind of curving around the body a bit, and this is a branch. I made it purple cause, you know, I wanted to. The leaves are turquoise, it almost kind of matches the tail tip and the eyes. At first I wanted to do this part -which would be the head- orange to separate it from the rest of the painting, but then I decided against it because I wanted the sun tho be the first thing that catches the eye." She briefly scolded herself for bringing up eyes, but when she looked at his face and saw the small smile that lit it up, she decided to keep going. "The sun is right here. It's obscured partially by the back of the Convoree. Oh, and the beak is green, which to me is an important detail."
"If it's important to you, it's important to me," he reassured.
"Okay. The whole body itself is an off-ish sort of white-yellowy color, if you know what I mean. I actually added quite a bit of detail to the breast feathers, I'm sure you could picture that. I imagine it's a female so she has a white brood patch…"
"It sounds beautiful," he smiled, twirling her around once. "I can only imagine how it really looks."
"You know my style though."
"I do. Have you shown Hera?"
"No."
"You should. I bet she'd love it."
She smiled for a moment, but after a long pause, looked down sadly.
"What?"
"Huh? Oh, n-nothing."
"Hey, whatcha looking at?" Ezra barged in.
Sabine glared at him. "Nobody invited you."
"The door was open," he snapped, raising his voice a bit. But Sabine wasn't intimidated and had no plans on backing down until she got a good quip out there.
"I don't care if it was open, this is my private property. Now get out."
"Why should I?" he growled.
"Because I said to."
"And why would I care what you say?"
"Because I'm older so I'm the boss of you!"
"No you are not!"
"Alright you two, that's enough," Kanan said sternly.
"But he-"
"I don't want to hear it," the blind Jedi shook his head. "Be nice to one another. Now, I want to see you two work it out."
"Do you want to work it out?" Ezra asked sarcastically.
"N-ope."
"Me neither."
"I'm not giving you guys an option," Kanan raised his voice slightly. "Apologize to each other right now."
"Sorry," they moaned in unison, each glaring at the other with hostility.
Kanan sighed heavily. "Thank you." With that, he turned on his heel and made his way out, feeling the wall for support. Hera, who appeared moments later with a deeply concerned expression, grabbed him and pulled him aside in the hallway. Sabine poked her head out the door to eavesdrop.
"What was going on in there? Is everything alright."
"Yeah," he answered, mimicking her quiet tone. "It's all fine… I didn't realize how much they had really changed… I never should have left for so long."
Hera frowned and embraced Kanan in a hug. Sabine quickly pulled back into her room before she could be spotted. After a long pause, she turned to look at Ezra who was watching her sadly.
"S-Sabine, I…" He trailed off, rubbing his neck.
"Yeah, uh, me too…" she mumbled. They stared at each other for a moment and then Ezra quietly walked out, head drooping slightly. Sabine walked over to her table, slumped down in a chair, and let her face fall into her hands. Why did it have to be so complicated?
Yay! Done! I hope you liked it! This chapter wasn't very good, but I can almost be certain that they will get better as I go. So, in the comments, tell me what you think about the Rebels season so far and feel free to leave me suggestions for who you want to see bonding. Until next time, God bless and May the Force be With You!
