Author's Note: This one is for Jadedsnowtiger, who requested a scene between Ahsoka and Shaak Ti. Hope you like it! This also takes place in the Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex Are Dead timeline, though you don't have to read that to understand this, as it takes place several years earlier.
Smile
Traditions 2.
The little girl was waggling her butt, throwing her arms around wildly, and spinning around in circles.
Her lekku were entirely too stubby to spin out around her, so instead her hands flapped in the air, patting it, fingers curling into fists, then, as she jumped, opening again to reach for the ceiling. She tilted mid-spin, toppling over with a startled yelp as she landed on her rear. A moment later, she was giggling, on her feet, and spinning again. The entire spectacle was disjointed and silly looking, as well as completely out of whack with the tempo of the rolling drums filling the air.
Ahsoka, sitting cross legged on the floor, put an elbow on her knee and her chin in her palm, and watched as one of the newest Initiates in the Temple flailed around in what could only be an attempt to dance. Ahsoka wrinkled her nose. Granted, Ashla was only about three, so she had no real echolocation to rely on, and coordination wasn't exactly a strong point for echodeaf young Togruta, but still. The younger girl leapt into the air, trying to spin around at the same time, and there was a faint pulse as the little girl tapped into the Force to give herself a few extra inches off the ground. Ahsoka's brows knitted as she shook her head and mumbled, "What is she doing?"
"Enjoying being alive."
Ahsoka stiffened, wincing. Of course one of the elders was right behind her to hear her comment. Her level of embarrassment would be proportional to the rank of the elder now kneeling down beside her - Ahsoka cast a narrow glance to her side, and tried not to groan.
Master Shaak Ti was a gently spoken woman, often with an encouraging word, but she was also quite intimidating, from the elegant rise of her lekku to her impressive skills with a lightsaber – and most recently, an appointment to the Jedi Council. She was the most highly ranked Togruta in the Temple, and this little celebration was happening because of her desire to provide her fellow Togruta a little bit of home and tradition. Criticizing a three year old for dancing around didn't exactly sound very mature, and Ahsoka, as one of the older Togruta Initiates, should be encouraging Ashla's interests rather than rolling her eyes at them. She colored deeply, the grey chevrons on her montrals flushing from grey to charcoal.
"Sorry, Master Ti."
A pair of amused grey eyes shifted momentarily in her direction, before Master Ti turned and reached out, picking up a small teapot sitting on a warming pad, then a cup. She poured herself tea, the scent fragrant and flowery, then set the pot aside and took a sip, cradling the bottom of the cup with a hand as she tilted her head back to drink.
There was an array of food spread out before them, placed on a wide burgundy rug with woven grass mats set out before each man, woman or child that attended the small celebration. They were all traditional foods from Shili: heaping platters of barbecued thimiar steak, steaming crocks of spiced curried kob sitting beside bowls of long grained rice. There were trays filled with sweet turu-seedcakes, their tops stamped with the patterns of bao tree leaves, the crevices of each design glistening with creamy glaze. Teapots and cups dotted the rug, but there were decanters too, filled with spiced mead – one of the elders gave her a sip at last year's celebration. Just a sip. A taste, he'd said, of grown up things. It was heady and sweet and burned her tongue a little bit.
Ahsoka fiddled with the sweetcake sitting on her plate, breaking off a bit to reveal the red bean paste packed inside, and she popped the piece into her mouth as she tried to get past her sense of self-consciousness, from having Master Ti sitting beside her.
"What do you know, of Ullambana?"
Ahsoka grimaced, briefly, but schooled her face to neutrality and straightened her back. Master Ti was a Jedi, just like the teachers in the academy. When she did something wrong, she was taught why it was wrong, but it often wasn't approached directly. A lesson was always made out of it. She breathed in and out once, preparing herself, just as she scraped together whatever she could recollect about today's festival.
"Ullambana is the Togruta Festival of Ghosts. It's for remembering the dead, and celebrating that we're still alive." Ahsoka glanced towards the front of the room; it wasn't an overly large space, but it was large enough to hold about thirty Togruta of varying ages, their food, and a clear area towards the front. Several sitting pillows were arranged in two short rows facing a round table filled with candles – the Ullambana fire, or the closest thing to it they could have inside the Jedi Temple. There were many sizes and colors of candle, some squat and thick, others tall and dripping melted wax, all brightly shining in the dimness of the room. The seats were for any deceased Togruta that might be passing through – probably Jedi ones, since they were in the Temple.
"And what can you tell me, of the fire dance?"
Ahsoka looked over at Yabi and old Hashi, standing in one darkened corner and speaking in low tones as they fixed headdresses over their montrals; Yabi was weaving a simpler band around Hashi's head. She would dance the lead this year, since he was getting too old; Hashi's stoop was getting more pronounced, his fingers a little more gnarled as he aged, but he was smiling as he beamed up at his dancing student and clapped his hands over hers, squeezing them a little in encouragement. Yabi grinned and said something to him that made him laugh. Both were barefoot, in long robes – Yabi's a little longer because she would lead and because she was female. Long, loose pants were visible under Hashi's calf-length tunic.
Ashla had given up her twirling and leaping, and was running over to them, bouncing excitedly as they finished preparing themselves. Yabi bent down at patted her on the head, between the little lumps that would someday grow into montrals.
So that was Master Ti's point. She'd meant no disrespect to the dancers or to Togruta tradition. Ashla just looked silly spinning around, was all, without knowing what she was doing. Ahsoka fidgeted. "It's supposed to represent being alive?"
Master Ti set her teacup down and placed her hands lightly on her thighs. "When is it, Ahsoka, that you feel the Force most strongly?"
She should probably say 'when I try to meditate' because that was the point of meditating, but Ahsoka had never been good at it, and Master Ti would probably know that, plus Master Ti was a Master, and she'd know if Ahsoka lied or tried to fudge the truth. So she was honest. "Lightsaber practice."
Master Ti smiled at her a little, wryly. "Somehow, that does not surprise me, young one."
The drumming music playing through the room lessened, and the murmurings of several conversations in Togruti quieted along with the music. Heads turned to see Yabi manipulating the music system, while Hashi gave Ashla a quick scoot towards some other adults before folding his hands and bowing once towards the crowd. "Please accept this dance, as we remember those who are gone."
As Ashla was enveloped in a hug from one of the other spectators, Yabi pressed a button on the sound system, and took a place before Hashi. They quickly slid pairs of small wooden castanets onto their fingers, just as the first notes of a soft, soprano voice filled the room. With those first sounds came a gentle click of castanets, the two dancers snapping their fingers together and apart as they lifted their hands high, then back, snapping them again.
From their place near the wall, they moved forward, each bare foot placed carefully before the other, pivoting so that they could bend their knees, dip low; Yabi's long lekku swung low to the ground, ash colored tips sweeping the surface of the floor before she turned her face skyward, pulled her arms around to her chest, and clicked her castanets again. Longer, her skirt swirled further than that of Hashi, but the two dancers moved in unison, until they stood shadowed against the candlelight, and their shadows chased each other across the ground. They faced each other, placed hands together, and bowed before turning, Yabi to the right, Hashi to the left, and they circled the light emanating from the candles.
The movements were not easy, Ahsoka knew. Learning kata was not easy, learning the footwork to fence with a lightsaber was not easy. Learning how to bend and twist, pause and balance in a dance, it had to be the same.
She heard Master Ti shift forward slightly, inching somewhat closer to Ahsoka's back, though her attention did not waver from the two dancers, moving with such deliberate grace around the source of light. Master Ti said, quietly, "There are times, different for each of us, when the body and the spirit are closer to each other than others. Those are the times we feel the most alive. For you, it is lightsaber practice, when you feel the flow of the Force most strongly within you. Perhaps for Ashla, it is when her feet leave the ground, and she spins and turns. It is so for Hashi, and for Yabi."
The next maneuver was difficult, executed as a swell of drums built up in the music. Legs wide, feet firmly planted, Yabi and Hashi tilted their bodies until they stood on only one bare foot, the other in the air in perfect balance and symmetry with each other. They paused that way, hands out and up, slanted towards the sky, until they lowered, and their feet came down in a grounding stomp, only to serve as a segue into the next step. The shadows kept them shrouded, light playing off the planes of their faces and the curves of their montrals. Their shadows danced on the walls.
Master Ti's voice continued, "The fire dance is not so different from knowing when to move your lightsaber. You let yourself flow, forget your clay body and become luminous, like a star. Our bodies are temporary, crude matter. We are luminous inside. The body is a mere shadow of reality. When you look beyond the shadows, what do you see?"
Mere silhouettes, Yabi and Hashi moved, their steps slow, deliberate, poised and perfect. Behind them were the candles, yellow-gold and warm. Their castanets clicked as they bent low but lifted their hands, opening them as though to cup the air.
There was only one thing beyond the dancing shadows.
"The light," Ahsoka responded, keeping her voice low.
A hand was placed lightly on her shoulder, and Ahsoka turned her head to see Master Ti's smile. "Those moments when we dance – we come closest to shedding our skin and becoming stars. Pure spirits, luminous beings. True selves." She nodded towards the empty places before the dancers, the pillows reserved for the ghosts. "Ullambana celebrates being alive, but it celebrates death too, for there is no death. There is only the loss of the body, for the spirit is already a part of the Force."
Ahsoka glanced towards Ashla, sitting in the lap of one of the other Togruta, a middle-aged Knight. She was bobbing her head and kicking her bare feet idly, trying to match the rhythm of the drums and the trill of the flute and the movement of the dancers. There was a delighted, babyish smile on her face.
She returned her attention to Master Ti. Everyone was a little different, in how they felt the Force. It wasn't her place to judge how others expressed that feeling. Ahsoka smiled a little, allowing her expression to match that of Ashla, that of Master Ti, that of the onlookers, that of the dancers, who smiled while they danced. Besides, Ashla was a sweet little girl, even if she wasn't very coordinated yet.
Maybe one of these days, Ahsoka should show her some simple Shii-Cho movements. Help her out. Ahsoka was one of the best fighters in her age group. She was quick and she was clever. Kata and dancing weren't quite the same thing, but they both required balance and coordination. Ahsoka could help Ashla with that. Besides, Ashla was Togruta. It wouldn't be right for a Togruta to be toppling over all the time, even if Ashla's echodeafness was a result of her underdeveloped montrals, and would fade as she grew and gained proper Togruta echolocation and balance.
To Master Ti, Ahsoka nodded once, her chin-length lekku twitching an apology. "I will remember, Master Ti."
Master Ti smiled as she nodded once, her hand slipping away from Ahsoka's shoulder, and her attention returning to the dance.
The two dancers turned, and spun, and though they cast shadows across the ground, Ahsoka looked past and saw the candlelight behind them, and smiled.
Music for this ficlet is Lords of Kobol, from the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack. You can hear it on YouTube, if you look for it.
~Queen