Ezra looked up from his desk when he felt a strange but familiar presence in the Force. Looking around the room, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but that feeling still lingered. It reminded him of the feeling he had when Sabine had found him back on Peridea. Her Force signature was burning brighter than a supernova in that moment, and her overwhelming joy was contagious. After reuniting, the pair had fallen right back into their old best friend chemistry, fighting together like nothing had ever changed.
"I still can't believe she unlocked her connection to the Force", the young man chuckled as he poured himself a mug of caf. He looked back to the desk and saw the leather-bound book he had been reading. It was a journal, but not just any journal.
It was Sabine's journal. At first, Ezra had felt bad anout perusing the pages, but after telling himself that it was okay because he wanted as many reminders of Sabine in his life as possible, he had made it halfway through an entire year of entries in a matter of hours.
"Sabine... I miss you", he sighed as he sat back down at the desk and ran his fingers across the page he had stopped on. He froze when he caught a glance of his name, tracing back to the start of the sentence.
It's days like these that I really wish Ezra was here, Sabine had written, Ahsoka's abandoned me, my family is dead, and Hera is too busy to worry about comforting me.
Ezra's heart ached for his best friend. She had lost so much, and now he had lost her. Sure, he knew she was probably alive, but she was now stranded the same place he had been for a decade, and he had no idea if or when he would ever see her again. He continued reading.
If Ezra only knew how much I miss him, his 14-year-old self would probably be doing cartwheels.
That sentence almost made Ezra choke on his caf. He blushed as he was reminded of the childish crush he'd had on Sabine back when they first met. He was a teenage loner who had been on the street for half his life and had met the most beautiful girl ever, surely the universe could cut him some slack. Anyway, what exactly did Sabine mean by "how much she missed him"?
I guess the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is more than just a saying. I was already starting to see Ezra differently before he left, but now I'm losing sleep over him. I want nothing more than to bring him home so I can tell him that I-"
The entry came to an abrupt end, and the rest of the journal was blank. What did Sabine want to tell him? Ezra needed to know now more than ever. He closed the journal and put his head in his hands, sighing heavily.
"Sabine..."
The young man closed his eyes and concentrated, searching through the Force in attempt to find his friend. He wondered if it was even possible, due to the sheer distance between them. Suddenly, he found her. The signature was much dimmer than it had been when they reunited, but it was undeniably her. He focused on it as hard as possible, wanting to burn the memory of it into his brain.
"Sabine", he muttered.
On Peridea, Sabine and Ahsoka were riding their Howlers across the plains, hot on Baylan Skoll's trail. They came to a stop when Ahsoka noticed a small cairn that looked like it was only recently assembled. The Togruta dismounted and examined the stack of rocks with a curious eye.
"This is the fifth one I've found..."
"You think they're being left on purpose?", Sabine asked as she walked over, "Like maybe Skoll wants us to follow him?"
"It's possible. Who knows what he has planned?"
Suddenly, Sabine froze as she felt something... it was the same feeling she had in the pod that morning. Then, like a phantom calling from the grave, she heard a voice she wasn't sure she'd ever hear again.
Sabine...
"E-Ezra", she gasped, falling to her knees in disbelief. Ahsoka quickly stepped over to her Padawan. "Sabine, are you okay?"
The Mandalorian clutched at her chest, not in pain, but in elation. Ezra's Force signature felt so close, and yet so far. She wanted this connection to last as long as possible, and it broke her heart when it began to fade. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, panting heavily.
"What happened?", Ahsoka asked with concern in her voice.
"I... I felt Ezra... it felt like he was right here with me... Like he was... part of me."
"That's the second time today", her Master mused, "I have a theory. Come on, let's get back to the camp."