Ezra's eyes snapped open, opening, closing, then closing again. All the while Kanan studied his apprentice, making note of the bags under the youth's irises. They were heavy seat, giving him a sense of weariness that he had no right to. Along with this, he seemed to have thinned out, as well. His hair, once slicked back and neatly cut, was now a matted, disorganized mess. Some small part of the former jedi saw his teenage post clone wars self in his apprentice; for more years than he'd like to admit, Kanan had been in a similar state. A half starved, depressed shadow of his former self.

But that was then. Now he had a decent look at what Maul had done to the youth: Shattered his very being.

The hopefulness and bravado that had once gripped his apprentice was gone, in its place coming a sobered, shell of suppressed truths that were left buried far too long. An internal sigh came and went, and Kanan felt Ezra's eyes settle on him. The former jedi stared back with melancholy, vaguely aware that Hera had motioned for the others to leave. After a few low mutters of dissent from Sabine, the trio exited.

The pair of beings remained silent, words unable to express what each wanted to tell the other. Ezra attempted, and failed, to apologize through eye contact. His mentor simply stayed silent, waiting for the youth to extrapolate on the events of the past two weeks. Eventually, in an awkward and weak voice, Ezra spoke up.

"Uh...hi?" he started, discomfort displayed clearly on his normally unreadable expression. He sighed.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, leveling his gaze to the snow-white sheets of his cot. Kanan raised a brow behind his mask.

"For what?" He inquired, his tone teetering between mentorial criticism and disappointment. Ezra's eyes darted upward, narrowing in thought before he let out another sigh.

"For not telling you…" his master crossed his arms and the youth added, "about any of this. All of it. I knew you would've came over immediately once you knew-" Kanan huffed false and cut in.

"You didn't want me to get involved because you were afraid that my disability would render me vulnerable - Is that right?" Ezra opened his mouth, closed it, then let his shoulders slump.

"Yes." he said in a guilty monotone. Kanan frowned, crossing his arms over each other.

Honestly, he could understand Ezra's reasoning - despite how ignorant it may have been. In the weeks directly after Malachor, yes, he was all-but helpless in combat. For a short time it seemed he'd be viable again...then one stormtrooper just had to get lucky. That sent him to Yavin IV, and, from what he could tell, that was when Maul had begun assaulting his apprentice's mind. In just two weeks, Ezra had broken. Mentally shattered beyond anything Kanan could imagine.

Kanan slowly reached up for the mask that obscured his eyes. Ezra's eyes snapped upward at the movement, then froze when they reached the lowering face mask. The pair of irises followed it until Kanan set it down on his lap, looking back at the youth. Ezra's breath hitched, his body frozen: where Kanan's eyes should have been were instead scorched and blackened holes, with bland, empty irises. Kanan gave a small, sad smile and spoke.

"Ezra, listen: I'm here for you, the crew's here for you. Even chopper. What happened on Malachor is something I've forgiven," Ezra's expression was something of enigma; his face and features were unreadable, though the eyes gave it away. The ocean-blue orbs showed everything: the self loathing, the guilt, the pain. The youth's eyes summed up the past two weeks better than Ezra ever could've done verbally. Ezra's emotional mask began to crack. It was instinct that compelled Kanan's arms to encircle Ezra's frame, and hold him close.

Kanan felt the blue-black hair of his apprentice tickle the crook of his neck. The cloth on his right shoulder began to feel damp as small, nearly inaudible sobs shook the youth in his arms. Kanan ran a few fingers through Ezra's locks, speaking soft words of comfort to him. Minutes passed, though time meant little to the pair. A pneumatic hiss and soft footsteps drew Kanan's attention. Hera stood in the doorway, eyes traveling from Kanan, to the youth in his arms, then back to Kanan.

"Is he alright?" Three words, such a difficult question. Kanan glanced down, only realising then that Ezra had fallen asleep. His breathing was steady, his state a serene calm. Kanan flashed Hera a small smile and let Ezra lay softly back against his cot. Pulling the covers closer to Ezra, Kanan spoke quietly.

"For now, yes. But I need him to sleep in my quarters from now on." The pilot in front of him nodded, turning on her heel. Kanan followed her frame until it disappeared from view. Rising, he watched Ezra's sleeping form for a few moments, before he exited the youth's quarters.

"An...interesting development, but nothing that will stop me, apprentice." Ezra's body snapped up. He sat, straight-backed, glancing around wildly for any sign of the voice.

"I thought that you would have learned that is pointless," Maul. That bastard was in his mind again. Ezra's hand darted to catch his head a second later, hissing.

"Manners apprentice, Manners." A million different remarks passed through Ezra's mind, each detected by Maul. The zabrak laughed eerily, making Ezra cringe.

"You have lessons to learn, apprentice. I'm here to teach you." Ezra bit his metaphysical tongue, letting his anger siphon off into the force. Maul gave another chuckle before throwing Ezra's anger back at him.

"Anger makes one strong, apprentice. And after all, where would you be without it?" Ezra didn't respond for the dathomirian had a point. Anger had saved him from many sticky situations on the streets, by triggering adrenaline rushes, his connection to the force, or just plain bloodlust. Either way, Maul knew he had touched a nerve.

"Yet this jedi insists on having you push those emotions down," Maul drawled, speaking to Ezra like a teacher that had just found the flaw in their pupil's equation.

"It only hurts you - look at what came of your 'training'." Ezra glared at the wall, clenching his fists.

"It couldn't help you on Malachor - anger did. You know this full well, apprentice. I showed you," Ezra clenched his teeth.

"It saved you in the temple. Remember the chasm? I do. Your anger allowed you to jump that distance. Not your training under that jedi." Ezra snapped. Sending the strongest wave of energy he could at the former sith,destabilising Maul'sgrip for a moment. The zabrak was surprised, yet he stuck back with double the force of Ezra. The youth bit his tongue to halt the scream that threatened to come out.

"There's hope for you yet, apprentice."

Hi. I apologize for the late update: a combination of creativity issues and my country officially downing the kool aid that is our new president caused a few problems. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also, if anybody has any art I could use for this story I'd be immensely grateful - I can't draw to save my life. As is procedure, any reviews/follows/favorites will be duly noted. - Raging Celiac