The following day, Raven returned home from class with a smile on her face. She had enjoyed the lesson on Cathar anatomy and, even better, Bram was coming to stay with them. Eeth was not there when she arrived at their quarters and so Raven went about heating up enough leftovers for them both and started on her work from that day's class.

Eeth returned from his Council meeting fifteen minutes later.

"Padawan," he said, hanging his cloak on a hook. "How was your class?"

"Fun," replied Raven, getting to her feet and offering a slight bow. "There is some casserole heating in the oven," she told him and then sat back down to finish her homework.

"Thank you," said Eeth with a small smile. He pulled off his boots and went into the kitchen to wash his hands. While he was there, he put a salad together to go with the casserole. And then they had lunch.

Bram, in the meanwhile, had a very full work day. Just as their ambulance speeder was on its way to the hospital to end the shift, they received an emergency call to a nearby traffic accident. One of the victims was already dead by the time they arrived and several more had injuries, some of them severe. All thought of his schedule and his appointments vanished as Bram worked hard to resuscitate a young woman while his colleague tried to prevent a man with a torn up leg from bleeding to death. It was well past three by the time a backup team had arrived and they had brought the patients to the hospital and left them with the staff there. Only then did it occur to Bram that Raven must be waiting for him. Not even taking the time to change out of his blood-stained clothes, he started to run, pulling out his comlink and dialing her number.

Having spent the last six years being punished for any and all tardiness, Raven had arrived at Bram's apartment at exactly three o'clock and waited at the front for him to arrive. When twenty minutes had passed and Raven had still not heard from her brother, she assumed something must have gone wrong and flew to the hospital to look for him. According to the reception, he had yet to check out for the day, so he must still be working. She thanked the protocol droid, returned to her seat and waited. Half an hour later, her comlink chimed and a breathless Bram told her what was going on. "Are you alright?" was the first thing Raven asked. Death must be something her brother dealt with on a daily basis but it still triggered her compassion for him and the victim's family.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Bram. "Well, mostly. I'm used to it. I can be with you in five, only… I'm really filthy."

"Hey, there's no rush. Take your time and have a shower. I will wait for you. We have plenty of time to get packed and move you in. I don't have to be back at the Temple until dinnertime. Do you need anything?" Raven asked, looking at his dishevelled state.

Bram thought for a moment. "Would you mind getting me a sandwich or something? I haven't had a chance to eat since early this morning," he said. "I'll take a shower and be at the exit in a quarter of an hour, then. "

"Of course I can," Raven said and went off looking for a cafeteria, which turned out to be not that different from those at the Temple. She looked around while waiting in line. There were a lot of nurses still in different-coloured scrubs and a few staff flitting around. Her brown and tan Jedi robes and cloak truly did stand out in this place but Raven was used to that. She ordered quickly and made her way back to reception to wait for Bram.

A few minutes later, a breathless and freshly-dressed Bram arrived, his hair still wet from the showers.

"Hi," he said, hugging his sister. "Thanks for waiting for me. I'm really sorry, but things got hectic and there was simply no time to call you before we had delivered the patients to the hospital. Their condition was critical. Shall we go to my apartment and get my stuff?"

"Yeah, let's go," said Raven, returning the hug and handing him a ham and salad sandwich, which she knew was his favourite. "Sounds like a rough day. Want to talk about it?" she asked as she led him to her speeder that was parked outside. Raven knew how difficult dealing with life and death could be and she was sure that by now, her brother did also.

"Not particularly, no," Bram admitted. "I prefer not to dwell on it. And besides, I'm starving."

Raven nodded her understanding as Bram unwrapped the sandwich and started eating.

A short ride later, they arrived at Bram's apartment and started to pack what little he had into a small packing crate Raven had brought from the Temple. It did not take all that long.

"Is there anything else you'd like to bring?" Raven asked, looking around his spartan apartment.

"I think I've got everything I need," said Bram. "I store my work clothes at the hospital and they're washed there as well. Anyway, if I need something, I can always drop by here on my way to or from work."

He was looking forward to getting to the Temple and, quite honestly, lying on the couch if possible. He had not had a lot of sleep during the past days and had worked hard today.

An hour later, they entered Raven's and Eeth's quarters to find Eeth exiting his bedroom, a basket of laundry in his hands. "Master," Raven greeted him with a bow. "All done. Bram doesn't have that much, as it turns out." Bram lifted his small crate to show Eeth.

"That is good," said Eeth, giving Bram a brief welcoming smile. "Then you can finish your required reading, padawan, while Bram unpacks and makes himself comfortable. Like yesterday, I have booked a gym for us after dinner. Bram, it would be good if you could give us your schedule; that way, I can try to plan Raven's schedule in a way that gives her as much time with you as possible, without infringing on her duties."

"Thank you, Sir," said Bram, pleasantly surprised that Eeth intended to go out of his way in order to provide time for the twins to spend together. "I really appreciate it. I have my schedule on my datapad and can send it to you. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I have a late shift, unfortunately, meaning that I'll work in the afternoon and evening. But Friday and Saturday will be free."

Raven smiled, glad that Bram seemed to be feeling at ease here. She picked up her datapad and, despite not wanting to, left her brother with Eeth to settle in while she did homework in her room.

Ten minutes later, Bram was lying on the couch, watching a nature documentary; just like his sister, he liked those although he was less specifically interested in animal life than Raven was. Plants, oceans and geology were all fine with him as well. Eeth had shown him where to find things in the kitchen and Bram had made himself a cup of tea. Meanwhile, Eeth was looking through the kitchen cupboards and noting down grocery orders. This was his usual task on Wednesdays; he had assigned most household tasks to specific days of the week so they did not get overlooked.

Finally, Raven emerged from her bedroom rubbing at her eyes. She couldn't see Bram as he was ying flat on their couch, but she could see what he was watching and it made her smile. It was some documentary on sea plants that apparently attached themselves to living creatures. She moved up to stand behind the couch and leant her elbows on the back rest, peering down at her brother. "I like your taste in holo," she told him.

Bram grinned at Raven. "Well, we're twins," he said, "even if we're not identical. But still."

"Padawan?" Eeth called from the kitchen. "Bram? Could you set the table, please?"

The twins made their way into the kitchen where they found Eeth preparing a dinner of baked Corellian pancakes with rubnya leaves and cheese.

"I assumed you would be hungry," Eeth said to Bram, handing him a stack of plates. "Therefore, I made twice as much as I usually do. As far as I remember, you are not as poor an eater as your sister is."

"I'm definitely not," replied Bram, accepting the plates and carrying them to the table. "Thanks a lot. This smells interesting. I didn't know you could cook Corellian food."

"Master once had a mission posing as a chef on Corellia," said Raven. "These are a treat. You're spoiling us," Raven told Eeth.

"I am merely looking after your physical well-being," Eeth informed her. "And your brother's. Bring out the cutlery and glasses."

Raven snorted at that response, but brought out cutlery and some glasses, Eeth followed with a huge plate of pancakes that truly did smell delicious.

Once they were all seated, Raven poured them all a glass of water and stuck the first pancake with her fork.

"Yum. So, what have you got planned for the rest of tonight? You can come to the gym with us if you like. There might be a free weights section, depending on which gym we've booked," Raven said, looking from Bram to Eeth.

Bram did not usually do sports. On Chine, he rode his bike to work, liked to hike or swim and was generally physically active, but there were no gyms, nor had there ever been any particular need for him to build up muscles. More importantly, he was tired.

"I'll be happy to come with you and watch," he said. "But only if I'm not in the way. Please tell me if I am. Thanks for the pancakes, by the way. They are delicious."

"You are welcome," said Eeth. "And, no, you will not be in the way. Even if you were, we would find our way around you. Real-life situations are not without obstacles either, after all."

Since Eeth had cooked, Raven and Bram cleared, washed and put everything away. Chores were shared here just as they were on Chine, and Bram was happy to help.

The rest of their evening was enjoyable. Bram came to watch Eeth and Raven work out, and by the time they were ready for bed, both Raven and Bram were suitably spent.

Wednesday saw Raven up early to attend her class. Bram slept through, given that he had an afternoon shift that did not start until 14.30. Unfortunately that didn't allow the siblings much time between Raven's return from class and the time at which Bram had to leave, and given the amount of homework Raven had to do, they didn't exactly get to talk much.

The following day, Raven had arrived home a little earlier than usual to find Bram home alone.

"Hey," she said in greeting while hanging her cloak.

"Hi," said Bram. "Eeth isn't here. Apparently, there was a meeting over the Escolar crisis that he had to attend."

"If it's anything to do with Escolar he probably won't be back for a while," said Raven.

It was over lunch, flicking between eating and working on a project that needed to be in by tomorrow, that Raven had an idea. "Hey, do you want to spend an hour at that cafe I took you to the other day? We haven't had much of a chance to talk, given how our schedules are clashing."

"Sure," said Bram readily. "I just have to make sure I'm at the hospital on time. Will you have to ask Eeth? Oh – he's with the Council, so he's probably not available. Anyway, we won't be able to stay for long; I've got my shift to get to."

"I'll leave a note so he knows where I am. That seems to be his biggest issue when I leave without permission." Raven put her datapad aside, knowing that Eeth would not be happy about her putting this outing above finishing her work. But then, her project would be easy to finish later, and there was only an hour or so before Bram would have to go to work.

The two left and spent as long as possible in the cafe before Bram had to get a cab to the hospital. When Raven returned, she was both unsurprised and relieved to find their quarters empty. She deleted the note she had left and started on her work once again.

And thus, when Eeth returned from the Council session several hours later, he found his padawan reading.

"Hello, padawan," he said. "Are you up for a sparring session? I could use the exercise. Or do you have much homework left to do?"

"Yes, I want to spar, and no, I'm almost done," she was able to answer honestly. Raven decided to omit her outing with Bram, which seemed to have gone by undetected. Perhaps, she mused, sneaking in a bit of extra time with Bram now and then wasn't going to be as hard as she'd anticipated. The thought gave Raven a false sense of security, not that she knew as much at the moment.

She was already dressed in a comfortable training uniform, for which reason it was no trouble to put down the datapad and collect her saber and cloak. "How was the meeting? Any progress?" she asked as they walked towards a gym although, given that the Escolar crisis had been going on for many years now, the padawan wasn't expecting to hear any revelations.

"Not much," replied Eeth. "There was a kidnapping and we needed to decide whether to send a team in order to rescue the hostages. We decided to find out more about the situation first and reassess the situation tomorrow."

He had hardly done anything but sit and talk today, and he was looking forward to a good workout. Therefore, he ran Raven (and himself) through a round of muscle-building exercises, followed by a demanding sparring session. These days, such sessions were more of a challenge for him than they had been in past years, and he enjoyed the opportunity to make sure he stayed in shape. It was dinner time when they finally left the gym and headed for the dining hall.

"I totally nailed you on that rebound," Raven gloated. Eeth's prowess with a lightsaber was infamous, and so for Raven to score a point, she had to be truly on her game. This day had been one such day.

"So you did," Eeth said calmly. "And you did well. But there is no need to be smug about it."

Raven snorted, thinking she had every right to brag about such a feat, but that was the extent of her retort.

She followed Eeth into the dining hall, picked up a tray and served herself just enough. A pile of green goop caught her eye and a slight smile tugged at the corner of her lip. "Remember that time you dragged me out of here by the ear for refusing to eat that pond slime?" It was a rhetorical question so the girl continued. "I'm not sure Worik has ever let me forget that."

"I dragged you out of here for refusing to eat the food you served yourself, for disobeying me repeatedly and trying to deceive me over it," said Eeth. "And I would still not hesitate to drag you out by the ear if you behaved that way today."

Raven looked at him, raising a brow. "You would?" Again, this question was semi-rhetorical, but it had taken her by surprise to hear that even as an adult he would still treat her the same.

"I would, although I like to think you have learned your lesson then and it will not be necessary for me to teach it again," said Eeth.

"Of course," said Raven, her nose in the air as they sat to eat.

When they were home, Eeth gave Raven the rest of her evening off. He had some follow-up work to do after today's Council meeting.

By the time Bram came home, Eeth had just sent Raven to bed.

"Good evening, Bram," said Eeth quietly, looking up and giving Bram a brief smile. "I just told your sister to go to sleep. Please do not disturb her."

He doubted that Raven had fallen asleep already, but he did not want Bram to barge into her room and keep her from doing so. After all, unlike Bram, Raven had a class tomorrow.

"Oh, alright," said Bram, yawning. "I will make myself a late-night snack. I missed out on dinner, it was too busy at work. I brought some groceries for us." He raised a bag that contained a loaf of bread, some fruit and cheese. Chine was not big on dairy and Bram had only just discovered his liking for cheese.

Given that Raven had quite literally just put her head to the pillow when Bram entered, she was indeed still awake. And while she knew that Bram was here for six weeks at the very least and that they'd have other opportunities to spend time together, it was still new and, well, she was still excited at having him here.

Decision made, the padawan crept to her door – why she crept was a mystery even to herself but she did – and palmed it open. Eeth was sitting at the dining room table where he had been before she went to bed, and she could hear her brother shuffling around in the kitchen. "Master?" she hedged, approaching their dining room table cautiously. "Would it be alright if I sat up with Bram for a little while?"

Eeth looked up and frowned. "Padawan, I sent you to bed because you have a class tomorrow," he said sternly. "Bram does not. Go to sleep."

"I know, but I was, I – I mean, I just…" Raven hedged.

"Padawan," Eeth said, a wealth of warning in his voice.

Raven didn't need to hear more than that and she was gone in a heartbeat. She still wished to spend time with her brother, but it wasn't worth pissing off Eeth.

The next morning, Raven woke at the usual time, bright and ready for the day. Eeth was already up and waiting for her to join him for their morning meditation when Raven entered their common room quietly, so as not to wake Bram. "Morning, master," she whispered, offering him a smile and a formal bow as he stood to head to their balcony. Raven had grown to love meditating with Eeth; his presence had become so familiar that she couldn't imagine life without it.

Eeth enjoyed his meditations with Raven as well. Only a few more years and she would be knighted. It would feel lonely, he knew; it had felt the same after Lakhri had been knighted, not that he'd ever admitted it.

"I will be gone well into the afternoon," he told Raven during breakfast while Bram, miraculously, was still softly snoring on the couch, unperturbed by their activity. "I need to attend a Senate session. You may go out if you want to, but please make sure your homework and chores are done before you leave. Including your reading for tomorrow's class. It is only a half-day class but it will require you to be well-prepared. Be back by dinnertime or, if you have dinner without me, by seven thirty; I will book a gym for us then."

"Yes, master, I will. Thanks," she said, relieved to have his permission today.

Today's class gave her more homework than usual which did not sit well with her. Still, Raven wasn't worried. It was nothing she couldn't handle.

"Hey Bram," Raven greeted as she entered their quarters that afternoon. Bram was playing one of her hologames, and given that she didn't want to distract him, she sat on the couch to watch. He was doing quite well for a non-Jedi, which was to say he'd cleared the first two levels and was currently being shot to shit by droidekas. Raven flinched as he took another shot to the arm. "Force, that's gotta hurt," she said. "Good thing you're a paramedic."

"Yeah," said Bram, grinning at her. "You wanna join?"

Raven was certain that Eeth would not approve, given how much prep work she had to complete for tomorrow's seminar. But then, Eeth was not there. Oh well, it was only one game, she thought. And her short outing the day before had not worked against her either.

… One game turned into five, and by the time they were shot out of the sky for the third time, they both gave up. "I'd better get a start on this work for tomorrow or Eeth will hit the roof," Raven said unenthusiastically.

At this exact point, the comm unit buzzed. It was Lakhri, whose own padawan had miraculously already completed his homework and chores.

"Hi, Raven," he said cheerfully. "Flynt and I are going to watch a catchoo concert in Tshegan Park. Very educational, and not far; we will be home by six or so, or maybe seven if we decide to have dinner on the spot. Would you like to come? You can bring your brother if he's free."

Bram's ears perked up upon hearing this, and he moved to stand behind Raven, grinning at Lakhri. "I'm free," he said. "And I'd love to come."

He shot his sister a hopeful look. He kind of knew she had work to do, but if she came along, this would just be so much more fun. He was not going to try and persuade her, though; it was her decision, he reasoned, feeling very angelic.

Raven looked from Bram to Lakhri, and then to Flynt who had just entered the transmission wearing his typical thousand-watt smile. Eeth had told her not to go out before she'd finished the prep work, and the truth was, she had not even started it yet.

"I would love to, but…" Raven started to say. And hesitated. Force, how often did she get to attend a concert in Tshegan Park? Never! she thought. Besides, for all she knew, Lakhri and Flynt could be called away tomorrow and it was not as if they all got to do things like this together often. Raven's gut was churning because disobeying Eeth had never worked out well for her. Then again, she'd gotten away with it the other day, so maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Besides, she was an adult now and well able to manage her workload, which she would finish when they got back or, worst-case scenario, get up early tomorrow morning and do it then, no harm done. Still feeling a little unsure, but managing to convince herself that she would not be lax in her duties, Raven nodded. "We'll meet you at the speeder garage in half an hour," she told Lakhri and ended the transmission.

"Cool," said Bram enthusiastically. "Let's go!"

Raven summoned the datapad and stuffed it into her pack, her rationale being that maybe she could get a little done over dinner if they chose to eat out. Heck, maybe Lakhri might even help her! The idea worked wonders towards easing her conscience and so it was that when they met up at the garage, Raven was no longer projecting guilt.

"I have to be back by seven thirty. Eeth's in a council meeting that will probably run late," she told the two and climbed into the speeder. Flynt was flying, but Raven didn't mind so much. She still loved to fly but she also knew that Flynt needed to work on his skills and she couldn't hog the pilot's position during every speeder ride.

Tshegan Park was only twenty minutes away and turned out to be absolutely jam-packed! "It's mobbed down there," Flynt commented, angling the speeder to circle the topmost parking bays and finding nothing free.

"There!" Raven said, pointing to a yellow speeder that had just exited a park, only for it to be filled again immediately. "Uh, almost…"

"You're too slow," said Lakhri, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Let's switch." And indeed, after Lakhri had taken over the controls, the speeder shot into an empty lot, outmaneuvering two other speeders in the process and nearly, but only nearly, causing a crash. Lakhri completely ignored the angry hooting behind him and beckoned the others out of the speeder.

Lakhri's stellar parking moves had Raven, Bram and Flynt chuckling, and they were still grinning when they reached the concert.

The music was weird and wonderful, Bram thought; slowly, the vastness and diversity of the galaxy that had mostly terrified him in the beginning was starting to reveal its wonders to him, and he felt daring enough to order something entirely unknown and strange-looking for dinner. Lakhri had told all of them to grab some food at a take-away stall. He also made sure that Bram picked something that was edible for humans and was not going to make him hallucinate or do funny stuff later.

Raven had a ball, too, so much so that she completely forgot about the prep work. That was until they sat on the lawn to eat, but the conversation was so lively and interesting that the last thing she wanted to do was be a killjoy and ask for help with work. Force, how would that go anyway? "Hey Lakhri, I know we're discussing that awesome mission you and Flynt went on to Ostar but, say, could you help me organise myself for tomorrow's seminar on the very riveting topic of Coruscant's political climate?" Yeah, right.

Suffice it to say that she did not bring it up.

Lakhri made them all collect their garbage and head back for their speeder by a quarter to seven.

"If I get you back to the Temple after seven thirty, Eeth is going to have my head," he told Raven. "And that will be nothing compared to what he's going to do to you. So let's get a move on."

"True," said Raven, "although I don't think he will be home until late, not that this would save me." A fleeting feeling of guilt washed over Raven, but she hid it well.

The ride home was animated. Flynt told them about a pod-racing event that was being held in sector C the next night and – given that he was not yet eighteen – begged Raven and Bram to take him, since Lakhri had a meeting to attend. Pod-racing was not exactly Raven's idea of fun, but one look at the expressions both Bram and Flynt were aiming at her had the padawan acquiesce.

"Alright," she said. "I have most of Sunday off and Bram's also free. I can't see why we wouldn't be allowed to go, if, of course, it's okay with Lakhri?" Raven gave him a smile that was all teeth.

"Yes, sure," said Lakhri. "I've already told Flynt that he may go as long as at least one legal adult is coming. Be back at eleven, at the latest."

"I think Flynt is looking forward to that pod-racing event more than his knighting. I hope nothing urgent pops up overnight. He wouldn't be happy about missing out," Raven told Bram as they made their way towards their quarters that evening.

Bram shrugged. "I could still take him, even if you were called away," he said.

It was just seven thirty when they entered their quarters. They were right on time.

"Master," Raven greeted Eeth, a little surprised to see him home so early but covering it well. Her bedroom door was thankfully still closed, concealing her unfolded laundry – one of the chores she had not yet done in order to go out with the others.

"How was the Senate session?" she asked.

"The usual," said Eeth, smiling at Bram and Raven. "Have you been out? I hope you have already eaten because I booked a gym for us in half an hour, padawan."

"Lakhri and Flynt invited us to the catchoo concert at Tshegan Park. It was very educational," Raven said, parroting Lakhri's words with a grin. "And yes, we ate on the lawn." Raven glanced at her watch. She had half an hour and she planned to use it. "I'll go shower, I feel itchy from sitting on the grass," she said and took off for her bedroom, sliding the door shut behind her.

The moment the door was closed, Raven grabbed the pile of washing from her bed and jammed it into her drawers. She was planning to fold it properly tomorrow. Then she turned on the shower to make it sound as if that was what was going on and pulled the datapad from her bag to start on the prep work for tomorrow's seminar. There was at least an hour's worth of reading more than she could cram in right now, but she planned to do that later tonight in bed.

Twenty-five minutes later, Raven emerged from her bedroom, ready to go. "Which gym did you book for us?" she asked, curious to know if it was something fun or the standard fare.

Eeth frowned at her. The haste with which she had retreated to her bedroom had not gone unnoticed. Nor had the fact that the shower had been running for an unusually long time. Besides, he could sense a very slight sense of guilt emanating from his padawan.

"The aerials gym," he said. "Padawan, are your chores and course work done?"

Raven's face lit up at hearing he'd booked an aerials gym for them, and then fell ever so slightly at the question that followed. She paused just a little bit too long while pulling on her cloak, contemplating how to get out of this. Unfortunately, when she was done messing with her cloak, Eeth was still there – not that she imagined he would suddenly vanish, but, well, a padawan could wish. Raven swallowed and glanced sideways at her brother, and then back to Eeth. Yep, he was still there… So much for wishing. "Mostly," she said. "It's nothing I can't finish later." That was a half-truth, she reasoned, since "later" was subjective, after all.

Raven had never been a particularly good liar, and Eeth had never been particularly prone to buying any of her lies or "half-truths" either. From her evasive behaviour, it was obvious that there was something she did not want to tell him; not to speak of the distinct sense of guilt she now radiated.

"Padawan, kindly join me in my room," he said in a low, stern voice, beckoning for her to go ahead.

"What for?" she asked. Quite legitimately, she felt.

"I would like to discuss your work habits with you," said Eeth coldly. "As should be fairly obvious. If you want us to do it right here, with your brother watching, you need only say so."

Bram's face was burning with embarrassment at this point; he sidled off to the kitchen under the pretence of making some tea. He would have loved to be able to think of anything that would help his sister right now, but he couldn't.

Raven, too, had no desire to push Eeth, given his tone. Thus, she slinked off to Eeth bedroom wordlessly.