Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Star Wars or See. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Note: Been a bit of a wait for this chapter. Apologies there. Got caught up in my other works for a bit, but I hope you'll enjoy where this goes.

Note: The travel time is a bit long in this chapter but it makes sense when you think about it. Baba and Tomacti Jun are on foot, and they are further slowed by the time it takes the man to teach his new protege about the ways of the Alkenny. It takes a while to get places under those circumstances.

Chapter Three - A Tribe Reunited

"Come on, listen!" Tomacti Jun smacked Baba atop the head once for good measure and backed away again to his ready position. They were only using wooden staves but he knew the blow would still get his message across.

With the addition of special healing paste the older man had formulated from the sap of a nearby tree, the cuts in Baba's chest had healed enough to march within a week. Another two weeks of marching and he was fine enough to begin training, which brought them to their current circumstances today.

"I don't know how." Baba gasped, his robes drenched with sweat. Tomacti Jun was truly a harsh teacher.

"I know." Tomacti pulled a sash from his belt and tossed it to his new student. "Hold that and watch." When Baba did so, the older man knelt before the ground and placed his hands upon it, and then he did something that absolutely took Baba's breath away. He opened himself to the force. The padawan could sense it with every fiber of his being, the former witchfinder's consciousness filling the air all around them, the trees, the plants, and staves that they held within their hands.

When the will vanished and Tomacti came back to his feet, the student blurted out, "You can use the force!?"

He chuckled lightly, "Hardly. No, Baba. The people of our world all have some small manner of force sensitivity, and much like our sister tribe on Dathomir we use it to commune with our planet. Over the course of generations this led to greater acumen of our senses of touch, taste, and hearing. We can literally feel every movement as it happens." He gestured to his ears, "We see without seeing, it is a skill born to us, and born to you as well."

"I-I don't know how to use it."

"Yes you do, you just don't realize you do. Wrap that sash over your eyes, and bind it tight. It's past time we did this."

"Did what?"

"Forced you to live without them. The way of your people is the way of the blind, and to live amongst them you must know it. Those who choose the gift of sight leave to the city and work to protect our world in their own way. Which do you choose?" It wasn't even a second until the sash was put in place and tied. "Good. Now…." Tomacti swung his stave again, but this time something was different. His sight gone, Baba's other senses went into overdrive, the skin on his arms prickling as something came ever closer to contact with his body shocked him almost as much as his reaction time. He dodged at the last second, a look of wonder on his face.

"H-How?"

"Don't talk, dodge!" Another swing, another miss. This carried on for several minutes until the padawan fell to the ground, spent from his exhaustion. "W-What just happened?"

Tomacti laughed out loud. "It is as I said, boy. You had the skill all along, you just needed a shock to activate it. We live by instinct on Paya, and now so do you. Congratulations."

Baba ran his fingers over his covered eyes, ignoring the flash of insight he got off of the sash. It had belonged to Tomacti's daughter. A memento he'd sewed and weaved himself during a long deployment for her birthday. "Would it be better if I had my sight removed entirely before returning to the tribe? It's not too late to go back to the ship and use the medical kit to make it happen."

"No." Tomacti shook his head in the negative. "Your mother would not wish you to mutilate yourself for an operation that was not of your choice, but you must learn to live without sight amongst the Alkenny. Only use your eyes when you need the utmost advantage in a situation, or the need is beyond desperate. Otherwise it will only become a crutch to you. The eyes can lie, your feelings cannot."

"Well, then I probably need to get used to this sash, or I guess I could call it a blindfold."

"Yes, now let's get back on the trail. You can practice moving this way. Later tonight we'll train again and see about getting rid of the bad habits the Jedi taught you now that you actually know how to perceive things the right way."

"You do realize I just learned this is possible right?"

"Did I say it would be easy?"

The next four months were a struggle beyond any Baba Voss had known during his time at the temple. Every day he trained for hours in the ways of an Alkenny warrior. Learning the patience of the blade that had long been impossible for him under the tutelage of Qui-Gon. He adapted, earned muscle memory, and learned to feel the changes in the very air around his body and react in an instant to any attack. His lightsaber hilt had been fashioned into the grip of a walking cane, and he'd developed a method of drawing it forth in only a flash of thought and movement, his mind and body acting with a synchronicity he'd only before dreamed of. Even for a Jedi he was fast.

What was more, Tomacti had also instructed him in the ways of the forest and hunting. He could not yet aim an energy bow by ear as his mentor could, but the man assured him that such a thing was not necessarily a requirement of the tribe and thus he should not be overly ashamed of it. Only a select few had the facility for hearing strong enough to do so anyway.

The constant travel, training, and activity had left their mark on the growing young man's physique. Perhaps it was just his genetics. Maybe puberty had kicked into high gear during his travels. Or most likely, in Baba's opinion, his newfound connection to his home-world had jumpstarted his body's potential in a major way. He'd grown over three inches, and he felt sure there was more to go, gained over ten pounds of muscle, and his hair had started growing long and shaggy over his head and face. Baba had never pictured himself with a beard before, and now he literally couldn't, but he did like the feel of the new growth beneath his fingers.

When he'd asked his teacher if beards were common amongst the Alkenny, the man had sat him down for a talk. "Yes," he'd said, "beards are very common. Beards and hair are often grown out, styled, and groomed in unique ways as they are things that can be felt, identified, and enjoyed by family, friends, and husbands and wives. Along those same lines, scarification is used." When Baba said he'd already learned this last from the Jedi archives, Tomacti had let out a sigh of relief, clearly worried his young charge had not known of it to prepare himself. "When we get to the village you will receive the scars of your mother, clan, and tribe. When you go to a festival and choose a wife you will receive a scar for her, and her one for you as well. These are typically on your face, chest, or back."

"A festival?"

Tomacti grew silent for a moment, and Baba assumed he was thinking on his own wife once more. "Every few years the tribes of a region get together for a big meeting called a festival. At this event three things occur. First, trading between the tribes is done so the people can get things they need but cannot create on their own. Second, disputes between clans are heard by tribal heads and decided upon. Third, a great bonfire is erected, bands perform for a dance, and then the tribespeople sing, dance, and choose a partner. It is how most people choose a spouse on this world."

"Why such a large gathering?"

"This world is large but our people are not so populous. What is more, most tribes are of only two or three clans so there is a great risk of inbreeding should you couple with someone within your own tribe. The festival is a way of introducing new blood and allowing people to travel from one tribe to another for marital duties and responsibilities."

All this talk of marriage, spouses, and marital duties had the former padawan blushing and he was grateful that no one for many hundreds, if not thousands, of miles could possibly see it. "I… never really considered the prospect of ever gaining a wife. The Jedi are supposed to be celibate."

"Really?" There was a note of clear amusement in Tomacti's voice as he said, "Well you can forget about that, kid. The Voss clan is the head of your tribe and even though your brother is set to take over from your mother, you will be expected to marry and carry on your line."

"Brother? I have a brother?"

"Did I not mention that? His name is Edo. I'll admit I have only met him once several years past so I don't have much to tell you of him. But let's go back a bit. If Jedi are celibate then I imagine your master never informed you of the facts of life."

Suddenly feeling a chill in the air, Baba said, "I'm not sure I like where this conversation is going."

Tomacti grinned and Baba could feel the movement of his facial muscles in the air, "Oh you won't, but I'll find it hilarious. You see, when a man and woman desire to couple and create offspring, or even just gain a small bit of pleasure they-"

That conversation was pure hell for Baba and he was more than happy to get back on the road after, especially considering how close Tomacti claimed they were getting to the village. Finally, he was almost home.

The next day the 3-D render his mind created for his four senses showed him the village that lay ahead. He could smell the smoke of chimneys in wooden houses along with the sweet aroma of baking bread. He could hear the chattering of adults and humans meandering around. Finally, he could feel the slight tremble in the earth as a number of bodies moved to and fro all around. He smiled after all these months in the wilds, civilization lay before him.

Their approach through the main gates did not go unnoticed. Within moments of entering the small settlement a crowd had gathered all around them, full of excited voices, and no small suspicion leveled at Tomacti Jun. All fell silent however as two figures cut through them all. A woman, and a boy about a head shorter than Baba himself.

The woman stopped only a foot from them both and sniffed the air before tilting her head in confusion, "Tomacti Jun? What has brought you back to us? And who is this?"

The former witchfinder smiled wide and said, "It is good to meet you again, Mira. I have returned with something you have long missed, or rather, someone."

The woman, Mira, grew very still. "What is your name, boy?"

Swallowing the lump of nerves in his throat now that he had finally come face to face, as it were, with his mother, the padawan stated, "I am Baba Voss, and I have come home."

A fresh wave of gasps and whispers fell through the crowd, and as they riled themselves up into a frenzy, Mira reached her shaking hands forward and ran them slowly over his face, stopping slightly at the sash over his eyes, before following the curve of his skull. She was crying now, he could taste the salt of her tears on the air.

"I-I remember the feel of your skull beneath my hands, and now… you have your father's face. Oh my boy. My baby boy has returned!" She lurched forward and pulled him into her arms as the crowd cheered with raucous approval. It was the single most emotional moment of Baba's young life, and he never wanted it to end.

Though end it must, as all things do. The two newcomers were taken to the home of Chieftess Mira, and given rooms next to her own and Edo's, and Baba was immediately introduced to his younger brother of ten. It was clear that the child didn't know what to make of him just yet, but Baba's clear friendliness and eagerness to know him won him over easily enough. Especially when he promised to let him hold his lightsaber in the future.

That last had not gone over well with Mira, who had been preparing a meal for them all, and had led to an in depth explanation of the last twelve years of her eldest son's life.

When he was done, his mother sat beside him and pulled him close again, whispering fondly into his ear, "My son, the warrior. Your father would have been proud."

"He found me on Coruscant, mother. In a city of billions we managed to meet."

"The force willed you home, so home is where it sent you. You are where you belong, Baba." She ran fond fingers over the covering of his eyes, "Even if you can see like the New Age young."

"You are not disappointed by my sight?"

"Why should I be?" She scoffed. "It was not your choice to go against our ways, and you came with respect after learning to move and live as we do. That being said, I have no true dislike for the New Age young. They live in their city and provide discourse and travel with the greater galaxy, providing a service to us all that is worthy of respect all of its own. That is key, my son, understanding and respect on both sides."

He leaned into her touch, some primal thing inside him craving the thing he'd not known he was missing, a mother's affection. "I'll remember that."

"Good. Now eat, rest, and this evening I'll properly introduce you to the village, and together we will give you your scars. Traditionally you'd have received them on your sixth birthday, but I don't think anyone in the village will begrudge you this circumstance."

It was as she said. The village came out in its entirety to welcome him home and that very night he knelt shirtless before his mother to receive his scars. Three lines above his left eyebrow to indicate the three clans of his tribe and four beneath his left eye to represent his mother, father, brother, and himself. For the Voss clan itself he received two scars parallel to his spine about five inches in length. He'd expected a great deal of pain for this measure, but it was the opposite. The people of the village formed a chain of hands on each other's shoulders, with the final four placing their own hands upon his. A show of support and acceptance so great that the scrape of the sterilized knife on his skin felt barely more than a tickle. The healing paste applied afterwards though, that stung like nobody's business.

It took three days for the scars to close enough to avoid risk of infection, and in that time Baba met the acquaintance of every person in the village. By the end he knew their names, scents, and life stories, and once more he was so glad to have left the Order. Before he'd have had to stay detached from all of this stay objective, not letting anything impact him. But now he could actually listen, feel, and internalize. It let him actually be a part of the community instead of simply standing apart from it.

Then came the true measure of his journey, building a home and a life.

Seven Years Later

Baba Voss, now twenty years of age, was a far cry different from the padawan of his youth. For one thing he was much taller. Standing at six feet and four inches while weighing in at roughly two hundred and fifteen pounds he was a veritable mountain of muscle and strength, and he'd put it to good use. Many of the newer homes in the village had been made by his hands along with the craftsmen.

Long hours with the warriors, hunters, and Tomacti Jun had made him the most lethal man with a blade several villages over if his performance in the yearly clan wargames were anything to go on, and everything he learned he passed onto Edo. The younger brother had been raised since birth to take over the clan in Baba's absence, and the older brother saw no reason to challenge that, so he did his best to help him be ready in his own way. Edo was seventeen himself and had become Baba's closest friend. He bemoaned his lack of hair, but his beard at least was full. For his own part, the eldest son of the chieftess had grown a strong mane of hair and a more pointed beard that followed the line of his jaw instead of growing down as Edo's did.

His years amongst the Alkenny had done many things for the former padawan. He'd learned inner strength, patience, and the true meaning of the force. The people of this world felt it in all measures from the swiftness of the streams to the thick resilience of the tree branches and roots. Everything they touched allowed them a glimpse into the way the force moved through their world and once the process had been explained to him, Baba found that equal parts light and dark made their way through Paya's heart. The force was the same, equal measures of the light side and the dark. And this revelation had led to discoveries and powers beyond anything the Jedi could or would have ever taught him. Many he knew were considered the domain of the Sith, such as his mastery over lightning. For the first time in his life, he felt complete.

He was just returning from a successful hunt, a large stag-like beast over his shoulder when he felt it, a tinge in the air, excitement. Baba tilted his head to try and get some inkling of what was going on and perceived the rapid movement of many feet, bags being pulled across floors and filled with all manner of mystery objects, and several voices in tandem murmuring one word, festival.

The word brought a mix of excitement and fear to the big man and it showed in the way his feet shuffled up the steps of his home if his mother's fretful sudden presence was anything to go by.

"Baba, what is wrong?" She asked as Edo retrieved the animal from him to begin skinning it.

"Mother, are we to attend the festival this year?"

Mira traced his face with her hand, "Yes, my son. The blood in our village is getting thin and needs replenishing. Also, our trade stock is full and ready for purchase with the other clans. Then there is the matter of you and Edo."

"Us?" This was it. The thing that had been worrying him.

"It is time you found yourselves wives. I am not getting any younger, you know. I want grandchildren, and our village needs the next generation of leaders." She felt his flinch and added, "Does the prospect of a wife displease you?"

"It makes me… nervous. What know I of husbandry? I know this is our way, making matches at the festival, but it just feels so sudden."

Mira chuckled softly, "It is how your father and I became one, and he told me once that he was just as nervous as you claim to be before the dance began and we found each other. When the time comes, you will know what to do. Now come, we must pack and make ready. It's a three day trek to the neutral grounds and the last tribe to arrive always gets the worst campsite."

The next few days were a bustle of activity. The entire village seemed to be an anthill scurrying about to all parts, until finally it was time to go. Only the very young, elderly, and a small detachment of warriors stayed behind to guard their homes, but everyone else set off en masse. For three days they marched through the wilderness. Mira, Baba, and Edo at their head as was proper. Their staves sweeping the ground as they moved.

It always amazed Baba how easy it was for the blind to traverse this world. Just the barest of signals was necessary to navigate. The twitch of a rock or obstruction on a staff, a slight taste of fresher air that spoke of a gap in the trees, and sound of the world around them, and finally, the connection they all shared to their planet. One touch on any surface and they could feel the memory of all that had come before.

Many in the tribe carried mementos on their belts for just such a reason. To remember viscerally the lessons of the past, and the hopes of their future. As he gripped the lightsaber that made up the handle of his own staff, Baba couldn't help thinking of his own. Contrary to his words to his mother, the man was not averse to the idea of a wife. Indeed the thought of having someone to share his life with was rather appealing. The only problem was the slight twinge he felt in his mind every time he meditated. Paya, his own connection to the force, and the greater will of the galaxy, he could almost swear they were all trying to tell him something, point him somewhere, but for the life of him he could not figure out what or where. It put a bit of a damper on his marital plans in his opinion.

True to Mira's words it did take three days to arrive, and when they did, mercifully they were not the last. Their position was only one field from the festival ground, and once their tents were erected and their packs dropped, pretty much everyone went out to explore. Baba and Edo were no exception.

They visited merchant stalls and held all manner of trinkets that imparted to them visions of their creators' lands. Tried food that was beyond their current palate level of understanding, and sampled the work of scent artists and audio storytellers that left them absolutely awed. All things had to come to an end however, and the two men had that fact pointed out to them when they felt a set of strong hands grip their shoulders.

"How did I know I'd find my boys over here?" Mira laughed happily with the atmosphere of joy that pervaded the air. "Come on. It's getting late and the mating ceremony will start soon. You two need to get cleaned up first. I've had fresh water and soap brought to our tents and laid out your combs. Baba, try to straighten that mane of yours. Edo, comb out your beard, and perhaps braid it a bit."

The three began their trek back to their camp, and Baba just needed to know something. "Mother, I know I've asked before, but now that we are actually here could you at last give me a true answer? How are we to choose our wives at this ceremony?"

Mira chuckled good-naturedly and decided to explain. "It's tradition to keep the method secret until just before, but I guess I can tell you now. Paya decides."

"What?"

"Well, Paya and the force. Tonight, when the music starts, and the great pyre is lit, we all shall lay our hands upon the earth, and open ourselves entirely. Senses, bodies, and souls, shall be bared to the force. You will not know what this experience equates to, you will find yourself inexorably pulled to someone, perhaps more than one someone. That happened to your grandfather you know, he had three wives. This person will 'feel' different from the others around you. Unique scent, unique presence, trust me, you will know them when you feel them. The force will see to it."

"Hm." Neither Baba nor Edo could think what to say to that, so in the end they quieted down to consider it further as they set about grooming themselves adequately for the night to come.

They bathed themselves, tried to manage their hair, though Baba eventually allowed his mother to tame his (he wondered if that was why she shaved the sides of her own head, so that the remaining hair was easier to deal with?), and finally they donned the traditional silk night robes and made their way across the field to the center of the grounds where they joined hands with each other as the other tribes did the same.

For several moments they just stood there. Tribes representing eight different villages facing off against each other. Then a set of drums began pulsing an irregular beat that was soon taken up by the feet of the Payans. With them came a set feeling of expectation that was ignited in equal measure with the great heat plume of the pyre set between them all. Then a set of flutes started to sound and all gathered knelt before the ground and placed their bare palms against the dirt.

Doing as directed, Baba opened himself entirely to the force and he was amazed. He felt everyone, everything, and he knew that the others felt the same. The emotions and presence of his friends and family were practically singing to him in time with the music, and as the people began to move and dance around the fire in a concentric circle he absorbed everything he could. He began to dance, to sing, to feel as he never had before, and when he could somehow tell the time was right he began branching his awareness out beyond his own people to the others.

It seemed his people were doing the same as they began to merge and mix with the other tribes, each rotating again and again until some ended up in pairs and trios while others continued their search. Baba was pleased to sense Edo had apparently found his partner at once. However, his own was eluding him.

Again and again the former padawan made his way around the fire, and again and again he felt a twinge of… something. It was right there, at the edge of his senses, yet he could not pin it down. His partner, his wife, was here, he knew it, but he could not hear her, smell her, or detect her in any way that he had been taught. In the end, only one way presented itself, and it was troublesome. He'd spent years learning to live without his sight, but now there was no choice.

He danced around the fire once more until he felt that twinge once more and slowly reached to his face to pull the sash of Tomacti Jun back from his eyes and over his forehead. It took several seconds for his eyes to adjust to their sudden use, but perhaps his open communion with the force aided the process because when he was finally able to make sense of the lights once more his gaze was firmly locked on a beautiful woman, naked, painted in a thick white substance, and dancing between the crowd in a series of complex movements that clearly distributed her weight in a manner that made no sound.

One word to describe her sprung into his head at once, Shadow. He'd heard of them of course, but for obvious reasons he'd never seen one before. Most people believed them to be a myth. A person with the ability to move amongst the villagers without leaving any trace in the force, nor any indication of scent or sound. He smiled, she truly was perfect for him then.

Closing off his own presence entirely he hid himself in the force as she was doing and danced back over to her position. It was clear she had no idea he was coming, and when he wrapped his arms around her she jolted in place for a second, and then calmed as they both released their shields. As they moved slowly against each other Baba could have sworn the force itself was singing with congratulations, warming their bodies even further than their current position.

The woman leaned her head back to whisper in his ear, "My teacher told me that my husband would find me regardless of what I am. I did not believe her."

"When my mother said I would 'feel' my wife I didn't really believe her either."

They both laughed at that. "I am Bow Lion."

"Baba Voss."

"Well, Baba Voss, would you dance with me?"

"As long as you'll let me."