Hello all,

I won't lie to you – I had to reread this so many times to make sure that I was laying the framework correctly and did the interactions justice. I hope that you are able to feel what I am trying to convey through this, it has been quite a work.

Enjoy the read, my friends.

Happy Writing,

Eliana

IOIOIOIOIOI

That morning, when it finally did come, was breathtakingly perfect. Ahsoka woke to the soft tickling of a breeze floating through the open window in her shared room with Anakin, the scents of the woods and the mountain water flowing nearby mixing with the smells of cooking meat from a nearby tent. The sunlight shined through the window happily and warmed her face, the twittering of birds and the gentle rustling of leaves the most overpowering sounds that greeted her senses as she woke.

She typically wasn't an early riser but today she made an exception, stretching with a satisfied squeak before letting her head flop back onto her pillow and staring out of the window to the woods beyond. She felt the dopey smile cross her face to mark her contentment as her mind wandered. Why couldn't all mornings be like this?

She allowed herself a couple more minutes before she finally decided to get up, noting with a bit of curiosity that her master was already gone. If Ahsoka wasn't a fan of mornings, Anakin secretly planned for their destruction…so where had he gone? She was quick to wash her face in the water bowl in the makeshift fresher (showers would be a later project, she was told) and pulled on her day clothes, making a mental note to come back and make her bed later before she left the small cabin.

The sun had just begun to peak past the trees and Rabbit's clones were all hard at work already, many of them hailing her with a bow of the head and a formal greeting as she passed. Her own clones were in and amongst the crowd – she was quick to spot Rex with Campion and Sam, another Praetorian who she had been introduced to the night before, chuckling over mugs of kaff from where they stood on one of the balconies that had been hurriedly crafted into the makeshift wall around their camp. Rex raised his mug to her in greeting, Sam and Campion doing the same, and she gave them all a short wave as she wandered on. There still wasn't a full legion here, perhaps only a couple hundred.

She was determined to find Anakin: he owed her some explanations and he was going to give them whether he wanted to or not.

The troopers that gathered by the opened gate were happy to give her directions to where they had seen her master head off to: a hill that was just beginning to be warmed by the sun on the other side of some flowering weaver trees. He was there alright, standing next to Rabbit who sat on a boulder in the sun with his cloak still on. She took that to mean that he hadn't been back long, but she was glad to see that he didn't seem any worse for wear.

The two were contently chatting softly to one another, the scent of Rabbit's mint tea carrying in the soft breeze that tossed both of their hair about. His mask was gone now, allowing Ahsoka to spy the marble skin that lay beneath but still hid his face – not for much longer, she hoped as she approached. The two nights were seated on the cusp of the hill with the rising sun warming their backs, overlooking a flower-laden field that peaked out from the trees that grew around the river. She hated to put herself in the middle of their conversation while Anakin looked so happy… he never looked so carefree these days, but when he turned to greet her with a heart-felt grin it eased her nerves.

"Morning, Snips."

"Good morning, Masters," she greeted them both, noting the soft smile that played on Rabbit's pale lips.

She settled herself to stand in between them loosely, only half-invested in the conversation that they were having. Her mind was wandering elsewhere, looking for the other Jedi who had yet to be accounted for. Silently she noted that Rabbit was more lightweight and without his armor, spying the spare folded cloak on the ground by his feet and her heart jumped – he had to be here somewhere. But…

Her heart grew momentarily heavy, and the beautiful morning turned dark. The hope that she had could be completely wrong. Anakin had always told her that the mind presents you with what it is that you hope, or fear, to see the most when it was your soul focus… and with this being on her mind now, she wondered if she had made up all the things that she took as evidence of her friend's presence. If he had been here, they would have made that clear by now she was sure, and certainly whoever this person was had taken every avenue to remain anonymous. It weighed her down.

Unintentionally she let out a sad sigh, feeling her lungs shudder as she hung her head. She didn't notice Rabbit look up to her after he took a sip of his tea, nor did she notice the grin that he shared with Anakin as they both came to agreement. She didn't notice him move to place the mug in the grass at his feet, nor did she notice when he raised the thumb and index finger of his right hand to curl into his lips. What she did notice was the whistle that he made.

That mid-pitch sound made her pick up her head in surprise as her montrals vibrated with the waves, calling her attention. This was a softer whistle than the one he had used at their meeting point, one that calmly beckoned for her attention and earned her eyes. Rabbit, for the first time since they had met, reached up to pull off his hood – and Ahsoka swore that her breath froze in her lungs. The moment she saw his face, she recognized him.

The snow-white hair that was wrapped in a messy bun behind his head, the light scars that mottled his temple and neck, the warm steel-colored eyes that smiled at her… She knew this Echani, she had met him before at the Temple. It was Tombur. Tombur was the new master of one of her dearest friends, one that she hadn't seen in over a year, one that she swore she had been seeing signs of this entire time. She wanted to speak but stopped short with her mouth open, mind running a hundred miles an hour. If Tombur was here, that meant –

Her attention snapped back down the hill to the edge of the trees that both knights had been gazing into when she first approached, eyes searching sharply for the creator of the high pitch trill that sounded readily from the cover of the woods. It grew quiet again for a moment and all Ahsoka could focus on doing was squint toward the shadowy line of shadows, the light sounds of the clones behind her echoing faintly in her mind. Then, there was motion. It was subtle at first, a glance of legs walking and skipping over exposed tree roots as they approached. Then the sunlight broke through the wall of leaves to splash against the vibrantly colored skin and gave him life, illuminating him as he came trotting carefully out of cover and into the light of the sun. He shot a look toward where his master had called him from, clutching a small basket of plants he had been collecting.

The wind tickled the furred, bristle-colored hairdress that encircled his montrals and carried his scent to her.

Sandalwood and koiya flowers.

Molten red skin.

Bright, golden eyes.

Four lekku spiraled with ruffled indigo stripes.

And that mark – one so unlike hers that she knew she would never forget it. That stark white blaze that ran from the tip of his nose to burst on top of his third eye in an infinitely pointed star. The starlit streak.

Ahsoka let go of the breath she didn't realize she had been holding, hearing the sound that came with it that seemed so foreign…yet so right. His eyes focused on her when he understood why his master had beckoned to him and a smile spread across his lips, and that now-familiar call that Ahsoka had heard before, once at the hospital and once at their meeting point, sounded again. Before she even knew what she was doing she heard herself respond and was off that hill like a bolt from a blaster, her friend having enough time to put down his basket before he had his arms full of his friend.

He hardly hesitated this time, his call to her was muffled into the fabric of her shoulder where his face pressed eagerly. She did the same to him, locking them into such a tight embrace that she couldn't believe that either of them could breathe.

There he was after all of that wondering, all of that emptiness – solid, breathing, sturdy, strong, and confident – and Ahsoka wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but she could almost swear she could feel his Force signature finally emerge from its hiding place. When she finally held him at arm's length to take him in whatever shadows had passed over the morning were chased away by light.

"I knew it was you," she told him, "You clever fox."

Djibourdi gave her a loose-lipped smile and a tilt of his head, golden eyes peering through her shields to what lay beneath. With a soft huff he raised his left hand, her right approaching his in the space between them until their fingers met, his softly forcing hers out so that they could press their hands together. They stood, palm to palm, like two sides of a mirror – and the surge of Force energy through Ahsoka's mind played her so many wonderful sights and memories.

"No doubt, General," Sam laughed as they walked back while also gasping for breath, absolutely flabbergasted at his loss, "He got a fire inside of him."

"Run them down, Red!" And he did, like thing possessed he thundered straight through that wall of hostiles.

The Chargers had taken to calling him by his nickname that the general had bestowed upon him – and to him, there was no greater honor than walking down the line of men who were ready to throw themselves headlong into a fight to the death, watching each of them bow their heads and temper their weapons with a respectful call of that name. There had never been a deeper feeling of gratitude and honor tied to one single word before. He had earned their respect.

"Let him walk, Tom, walk off his nerves," Warren instructed his former padawan, both guiding the young Togruta with light touches and calm voices as the sharp spikes of panic finally began to ebb back. Every nerve in his body demanded that he run far from here and, if not for his guardians, he would have been blitzing away faster than a blaster bolt. Even after all this time he couldn't manage to run himself over water, and the sudden surge of self-hatred at that inability was intercepted by the eldest who nudged his shoulder, "We'll get it, Djibourdi. It'll just take time – we'll try again tomorrow."

That unyielding warmth was most prominent here as he felt his eyes droop and the data disc lower, keen eyes taking in his master, whose head rested on his stomach, and his grandmaster, who had woven an arm around his smaller shoulders and snoozed with his scratchy bearded face resting between his montrals. These runs were hard, the crashes after were harder. They all smelled of blood, sweat, fatigue, and dirt… but the warmth here was worth the sacrifice.

I knew I would find you.

Ahsoka shouldn't have been surprised to hear that soft voice of his in her mind again – but even if it was a slight shock, the warmth and presence that came with it was worth the trade. Her friend broke their contact to tap the diamond-shaped pearl around her neck with an inquisitive look.

"I told you I'd always wear it," she told him evenly, brushing it with her own fingertips.

Suddenly a realization dawned on her as she blinked back to reality, and she planted her hands on her hips in mock irritation.

"You got taller."

About two inches or so taller than her, actually. He only chuckled.

"How dare you?"

IIIIIIIIIIIII

He would enlist her help later with something that brought his heart to his throat, and when the time finally came to address it he found himself unable to take those steps forward.

"Go on, Red."

Tombur spoke to him softly from his right, and when he looked at his master, he knew the echani had felt the bubbling emotion through their bond. Those two stormy eyes pinned him down warmly, Tombur leaning in the slightest bit to speak to him.

"We have time. And I think it's about time that you give him that," a snowy finger tapped the piece of shined durasteel his padawan cradled in his hand, "don't you think?"

Djibourdi gave a small gulp and turned to look back down the gently sloping hill to where Ahsoka laughed with Eddy. She had managed to draw him out to this quiet space with Kachina under pretense of some playtime with the youngling, sitting him with his back to where her friend stood watching. When she pulled the snoozing toddler into her arms and headed back toward the camp and the med tent, Eddy was alone.

"Go ahead now, Djibourdi," his master whispered to him with a surge of confidence through their bond and a soft hand on his shoulder, "I will be with you."

With that he was gone and the padawan shifted on his feet nervously, eying the back of the doctor's head. Finally, with a final look down at the piece of durasteel and a shaky breath, he took the first step down to where the elder sat. They were alone. Just the two of them. Perhaps that was why when he finally crossed into Eddy's sight it took him a moment to process exactly who it was that had come to join him. At first it seemed as though he was confused, but when their eyes met the teenager could see the instant hint of reality in the older's expression.

When it registered he suddenly couldn't breathe, his eyes locked into the padawan's as he started to stand – only to sit quickly again when hesitant hands lightly grasped his forearms and the teenager sat down next to him on the log.

"Djibourdi…"

His name was a strangled whisper from the man's lips, almost like he couldn't quite make the sound a reality without testing it first. Djibourdi felt his lips twitch in a smile, and he looked down to his hands that were now cradled carefully in his lap. How many times had he practiced what he was going to say when he saw this man again – only to suddenly have absolutely no clue how to start?

Tombur brushed against his frazzled mind calmly, a warm coaxing to cure the anxiety, and it was enough to remind him to breathe and tap the Force for guidance. It was happy to remind him: he just had to speak, that's all.

"When we run," he started quietly, not missing how the body next to him physically jumped at the sound. Eddy was hearing his voice for the very first time, registering the soft tenor notes that were as softly played as a windchime bell on a spring day, a sound he was committing to memory from the millisecond it started. He could feel his older friend's emotion pouring out of him through the Force, and only Tombur's soothing calm kept him grounded as the older Togruta looked on him with so much care, "we carve a name of someone or something we want to honor into a bracket that we wear with us on our armor. It stays with us through the charge."

He turned the piece of metal in his hands carefully.

"…This is the one I have worn until now."

With great care it was passed into the hands of the man who cradled it as though it was the most precious thing he had ever seen, one thumb passing over the carefully etched letters of his own name. It bore its fair share of nicks and scratches, stories of battles and hardships etched in the scars.

"I want you to have it – it has honored me in battles passed and now that honor can be given back to you. …it is a gift, if you would like it."

He nearly leapt out of his own skin when he was suddenly engulfed by a larger body, Eddy not minding the fact that he tensed and raised his arms in reaction to the sudden move. Whatever hold anxiety had on the padawan ebbed enough that he hesitantly met the adult's eyes when he was held back a bit with his face framed in warm hands, almost shying away at the tear tracks that were suddenly present on the doctor's cheeks.

"My lene, the greatest gift I have ever been given is sitting right here next to me," two thumbs rubbed over the red cheekbones tenderly. Just like that there was no more shy hiding, and a soft smile trembled its way onto the younger lips before he was pulled back into that embrace. This time, he timidly returned it, "I have missed you, my dear boy."

"I have missed you too, fa'dra."

IIIIIIIIIIII

By the time night fell again his heart was so much at ease that his chargers felt it – it was an odd thing for them to be so cordial to those who were not in the ranks, but their commander had called these visitors as his own, so they were obligated to do the same. The evening was marked by Ahsoka telling some grandiose tale of glory at the front of the large tent the clones had pulled together into a ramshackle mess hall, drawing some hearty laughs and shouting from the men who listened. Eddy and Anakin were content to let her have her spotlight as they watched her from the table they sat at, and Djibourdi smirked around the small piece of jerky that he nibbled on. He was perched on one of the support logs near the entrance about ten feet off the ground.

She was going to go on for a while, he was sure – she was recounting an encounter she had with rebels on Alderaan not long ago, and just watching her unwind put him at ease. It wasn't so long ago that they were in much different circumstances, and this change was most welcome…yet exhausting. In all his training he had yet to learn how to full curb the anxieties that pulled at him constantly nor how to stop the ever-proceeding freight train of thoughts that flooded his mind at all hours – and it was a battle in itself to find the energy to process much at the end of the day. Added to the last two rotations of running, sounding, concentration… yes, he was done for the night.

With a soft grunt he hopped down from his nest and headed for the exit, offering a soft pat on the shoulder to Sam who whispered a goodnight to him on his way by. He and Tombur had transitioned the two-story building at the heart of the camp into a makeshift sleeping place, the larger buildings reserved for medical, their guests, and supply storage. He could hardly complain, the rafters and staircase inside their shelter left the perfect place for him to dry herbs and flowers he collected as he rummaged the land around them.

This was a habit that his master had initially found amusing. Every time they would head to a planet with vegetation his padawan would bury himself in data discs and archives, pouring over volumes of guide logs and books on the native plant species and what properties they had. He had been content to lightheartedly tease the young Togruta at first, but when Djibourdi had finally come full circle and used those plants to not only medically aid their runners but also Tombur himself, he had decided to encourage every moment of it. He couldn't argue with the results that it had – not only in the confidence that his young apprentice found in it and the respect he earned from their men, but also for capacity for healing that he had. More often than not, should he not be able to find Djibourdi buried in plants or nature or books in his downtime, he would find his padawan in the healing tent with Bones.

Tombur gave him a warm smile when he finally reached the top of the stairs, watching from where he was reading a book as his worn young friend grab a change of clothing then head into the rigged refresher. With it being just them now, the once-clouded glass walls of his mind started to become clear again and the fatigue showed through. The soft scents of the herbs and plants that were hung all around him didn't honestly do much to ease the ache that bothered his heart. That fatigue wasn't just physical.

He lost his thoughts in the abyss for a while, only coming back to when his padawan returned to their room and hung the now-removed headdress softly over his armor that was neatly displayed next to his master's in the corner. Oh yes… it was still causing him quite a bit of pain.

Grey eyes watched the Togruta as he almost refused to relinquish the hold on the headdress for a long moment. That pain was so palpable it tore him up. Finally, Djibourdi frowned and then moved to rummage next to his bedroll, fishing out the jar of herb-infused rub he had created before they left Sicemon. So, he was hiding physical pain, too. His padawan was still spending energy hiding.

"Red," he called to him softly, earning the younger's attention. He patted the space to his left on the makeshift bench of furs and blankets he sat on, "Come here. Let me."

Djibourdi complied, moving to sit next to his master who accepted the jar. One hand turned his padawan's body to face away from him, a careful palm rubbing a sleeveless red arm before reaching to shift his apprentice's back two lekku. He felt a frown crease his face seeing the sealed-over wound.

It had been a close call – when Warren fell it had left Djibourdi alone, completely outnumbered against their well-trained enemies. They had not found a panicked child incapable of defending himself – Djibourdi held that prized external calm of his, and his ground, eventually fighting his way out while dragging his grandmaster's body behind him on a rigged piece of a downed fighter… but not without having one of their enemies nearly skewer him on a sharpened dual-blade sword. Lekku were very sensitive and vein heavy - the bleeding had been incredible enough that Tombur had nearly panicked thinking he would lose two people in one night. Djibourdi was lucky to only have this wound.

The mint-smelling salve that Tombur applied delicately would warm over time, releasing the tension in the torn lekku and scarred back that was leaping and twitching under his fingers as he maneuvered the sleeveless shirt around. He had to question how much of this pain was a phantom and how much was the wound itself.

Djibourdi was exhausted, he could feel it through their bond as it bled through to him. He had refused to sleep since then, only crashing enough to stay cognizant for a few hours at a time… so the echani was going to take the opportunity to try and convince him to try again. He hadn't had the opportunity until now to offer any form of remote care to his padawan with their sudden detour and the chaos, and it was beginning to worry him.

It took the younger a while to catch on to what was happening. The pain that bothered him had ebbed and his master's calming hands convinced the knots in his back and neck to ease, their bond rumbling softly just as his montrals did to Tombur's humming. The next thing he knew he found himself leaned back next to his friend, his head gently guided to rest on a warm shoulder and chest as the hidden sleep suggestion wormed its way in.

He fought to wake back up, attempting to maneuver himself upright only to be held fast.

"You need to rest, Red."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Djibourdi was quiet for a moment. Then, exhausted, he whispered:

"Because then I can't stop you from seeing him."

Force, that snapped him in two – and Tombur had to steady himself before he responded.

"I can handle that, vly'Dji."

The violet and white head shook a negative against his shoulder and chest.

"He was your master."

"And your Grandmaster," Tombur corrected with a firm tone, signaling the end of the argument. Djibourdi didn't want to sleep because he knew he didn't have the energy to keep up his shields anymore – he had wormed himself into this predicament to spare his master the view of Warren's death, and now it would be inevitable, "This is too heavy of a burden to carry alone, my padawan. We stand together, never divided. Warren made a molehill out of a mountain because he didn't want you to worry. He wouldn't want you to harbor his passing on your own shoulders now…he was ready to join the Force if it meant you being here."

He got a half nod before the teenager became quiet, but when he considered that maybe he had fallen asleep he heard the hoarse whisper.

"…but why that way? He was scared, and sad, in so much pain… there is no atonement for me letting that happen…"

That argument was loaded in so many traps and pitfalls designed to tear himself apart, and Tombur would have gladly corrected it fiercely – if it were any other circumstance. Those words only slipped past Djibourdi's guard due to his absolute fatigue and that was starting to throw every alarm in Tombur's head into action. That would have to be a conversation for later.

He pressed the sleep suggestion a little harder as the furred blankets reached his hand at his beckoning of the Force. He paused when his apprentice turned his head to look up at him, eyes glazed in exhaustion and a pitiful pout on his lip as he started to lose against the suggestion.

"Cheater."

That made him laugh.

"Oh, am I now?"

He received an exhausted nod in return before Djibourdi's head flopped back to its original position, the lack of protest to the blankets being drawn around him signaling that he had finally fallen asleep. Tombur gave a hum, taking the small book he had been trying to read (Djibourdi was trying to teach him Togruti, but the language was still escaping him) on the trunk next to where they were reclined. Unconsciously his left hand scratched small patterns in his apprentice's back as he rubbed his face with his right.

The light from one of the moons peered through the skylight directly above them and he admired its face, noting that mercifully he couldn't see any of the lights from the firefight in the atmosphere. In moments like these he felt oddly content…yet still torn in two. The Code that put him here also demanded that he walk a razor's edge on a whim, and that razor's edge was merciless in its pursuit of debt collection. This trip was far from planned – not that he wasn't pleased to see his padawan breathing easier in the presence of given company, but Tombur's own frustration with the Council only compounded when he realized that there would be no rest for the young one yet. Just how much further could he push before Djibourdi cracked?

The teenager in question gave a mumbling huff in his sleep and Tombur pressed through their bond to his side – asking gently for consent, which was granted. He settled himself in for a long night, humming in the glow of the moon and watching the flashed images of his Master's passing that haunted his padawan. The burden was too heavy for one to carry alone… and he loved it and hated it at the same time that he and Djibourdi were bound together by an unbreakable line of honor and guilt.

They stood together, never divided.

IOIOIOIOIOIOI

I am beyond relieved to have Djibourdi and Tombur back in my world… what plans I have for them. I hope to do them justice.

Please be safe, enjoy the read, and let me know what you think my friends. Blessings to you all in these difficult times.

Happy Writing,

Eliana