merging | happy father's day

happy father's day - blindrun

[Honestly? He's been here wayyy longer than he planned to be. He knew it'd be hard to escape, but it had to be possible. That's what he kept telling himself. Days turned into weeks turned into months and now? It's been over a year.

The other Inquisitors still don't completely treat him like one of them. Or maybe teasing is their way of doing so? He rolls his eyes whenever they call him "baby brother", thinking they could at least have some sense of professionalism. But everything's been going okay for the most part. As okay as it can be when you're an Inquisitor-in-training.

Except today was... well, it was something else. They were assigned to ambush a small rebel cell that was said to be working with a Jedi. It should've been easy, except for the part where it wasn't. The rebels got away and the Inquisitors had failed. Now Ezra's standing outside the Grand Inquisitor's office while the adults debrief. It's frustrating, being left out like this, but he also knows there isn't much he can do about it.]

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[ the dull light of the morning sun crackles across the sky, as the sun slowly rises to overlook the planet atollon. an undesirable planet with little life, little resources, and no great use to the empire. a perfect hiding spot for rebels.

the base is small and could use more staff, but you take what you can get when you're one of many cells fighting the empire's tyranny. ahsoka isn't normally here as often as she has been in the last month, but there's not many who can really help ezra bridger the way she can.

a shame he has a bad habit of being late to training! though she can't help but smile that the empire's strict regime didn't wring that habit out of him. he's a tough one for sure. she's glad he contacted her for an extraction when he did, and gladder more that they made it out after a quick scuffle with seventh sister and fifth brother. nothing she couldn't handle.

she doesn't bother knocking on the door of his small room before tapping the button, stepping in with a grin. the rooms are even smaller than the ones he had to deal with in the academy, forget comparing it to the gracious space of an inquisitor's room, but again - you take what you can get. ]

Wake up call.

[One good thing about the base is that he has to fear for his life far less than he ever has. Mostly. Sometimes Zeb makes a few threats, but it's not like he ever acts on them?

Even so, when someone suddenly steps into his room, he wakes up with a jolt and ignites his lightsaber. Except it's Ahsoka. Thanks for nothing, Force instincts. Ezra sighs and turns off his saber.]

Sorry. I thought- [Inquisitor stuff. Initiation. All that.] You know.

Edited 2020-03-10 01:40 (UTC)

[ ahsoka takes a quick step back through the doorway when the saber goes off, hands going up, but shrugs when he comes to his senses proper. ]

Bad dreams? [ nightmares - haunting and never fading. ]

Let's just say I'm not used to friendly wake up calls.

[He stretches and pulls himself out of bed properly. As he talks, he pulls his hair into a ponytail. It's been getting pretty long lately, huh...]

What's up?

[ she leans against the doorway, arms crossed, eyes wide. ]

Training? The thing we do every morning. You slept in.

Oh.

[That's a thing. Yeah.]

Wait! I gotta get dressed, get out!

[And he pushes her away lightly and closes the door with the Force. Can't become a not-Jedi if you're stuck in your pajamas! Gotta become a not-Jedi in your old Inquisitor uniform, obviously! Once he's ready, he opens the door again.]

Okay, now what's up?

[ she just snickers at the push, not even bothered, and waits outside against the wall until he's out. hrm. ]

We really should see if we can get you clothes. [ the uniform does not spark joy! but they don't really have a lot of clothing resources here. ] Come along.

[ she'll turn and walk down the hall, which leads out to the open bay. the night crew will be wrapping up guard duty as the rest of the base wakes up. before that she wants to bring him to a quiet place. as she leads him she deigns to ask- ]

What did you dream about?

[Ezra shrugs.]

Why? They still fit me.

[And he hasn't even ripped anything and they're comfortable! He outgrew his civilian clothes a long time ago, not that he kept those around for long after joining the Inquisitors.]

It was nothing. I'm not gonna let it distract me, so don't worry.

That's not why I asked. [ her head turns over her shoulders to catch his gaze. ] I asked because I'm concerned for your well-being.

[ something tells her he hasn't had anyone do that for him in a while. ]

Well you don't have to talk about it. I'm here if you want to.

[Feelings? What are those? He does feel like he should be a little grateful towards her for checking in.]

... thanks, but I'm fine.

[Nailed it. Very grateful.]

What are we working on today anyways?

[ very! but ok she can take the hint, prodding will come another time. ]

I want to see if we can purify your kyber crystal. It isn't a good idea for you to use your lightsaber as is. I can't make guarantees but it's worth a shot.

That's possible?

[He is dumb and thinks her crystal is white because that's how it is.]

How? When I first- I didn't want to...

I'm sure. [ her voice is soft, understanding. ] Like I said, no guarantees. I've only done it once.

[ with her own, taken from sixth brother some years ago. finally she stops, taken to an out of the way area on the outside of the base. it's quiet out here and no one should come by. she turns around and drops to the floor, crossing her legs in a meditative pose. ]

Sit. Remove the crystal from your saber.

[He sits and does as he's told, more serious than usual. Not out of fear for disobeying orders, but because he really is curious if this is possible.

Ezra holds the red crystal in his hands, thinking of the day he had caused it to bleed.]

What now?

Set it down in front of you. We must meditate, together, and revitalize it.

[ ...she thinks. she sounds sure of herself at least, it's a bit of a gift after so many years, but this isn't something she's entirely sure about. ]

Okay...

[He sets it down and begins to attempt to meditate. Being calm and meditative's never come easy to him, and it's even more difficult when you throw in dark side training.]

[ years of practice make it easy for ahsoka to fall into meditation, clearing her mind, focusing her energy outward. however as she does she can feel his resistance, even slight, and breaks the silence- ]

Breaking something, hurting it, is easy. Fixing, healing, takes patience. It takes will. But first, you must let go.

[ he can't undo the pain he caused it, but he can make it better. he can try. ]

Well, that's great because it was actually really hard to hurt it.

[He's being a smart ass, he knows, especially because according to Third Brother, he'd done well when it came to bleeding his crystal. But it had felt really hard on his end!]

Let go of what?

I don't know. They're your feelings.

[ a little cryptic, yes, so she decides to fix her answer. ]

What are you holding in? What are you using as a crutch? You need to release it. Clear your mind of everything, and then connect.

[Clear his mind... sure, like that's easy.

There's one obvious answer when it comes to what he's holding onto. Since he escaped the Empire, he's worried over his parents. Third Brother said they could be released, but now... would they have been punished in his stead? But, he reminds himself, they wouldn't have wanted him to stay an Inquisitor. They would've wanted him to fight back, like they did. And he's finally getting the chance to do that.

Then there's something else, something that surprises him. He remembers Third Brother, unable to say his own name. Protecting Ezra from the other Inquisitors, saving him from the academy. He had tried to save him in return, but he barely had a grip on the light side then. Did Third Brother care for him if he wasn't Eleventh Brother? Would he ever be something beyond an apprentice, a pawn for the dark and the light?

And there's those he's killed. The lives he's taken to survive. Whatever justification he offers isn't worth it, but neither is dwelling on it. He's alive now, whether he wants to be or not, and it's his responsibility to use that life, use his powers to help others.

He has to let go, if he ever wants to move forward. Ezra reaches out towards the crystal, not with an apology, but with a promise. A promise to do better.]

[ ahsoka loses herself in the silence that follows and falls into meditation with ease across from ezra. she keeps her feelings detached, in a void, and opens herself up to the energy between them. the crystal, too, feels. she can hear its melodic hum, the soft tune silenced and suppressed by a boy's anger and pain. it understands. it promises him a new hope in return.

the crystal lifts and floats between them. ever so gradually the burning red loses pigment as it restores and heals, until finally its melody returns in full. only now it's a new song of overcoming pain and tribulation. no longer bound to light or dark, purified in blinding white. ]

[Finally hearing the song of his crystal- no, not just hearing it, but listening>/i>- Ezra opens his eyes. The now white crystal starts to fall, and he quickly catches it in his hands.]

I... I did it. I did it, Ahsoka!

I know. [ she smiles, not even opening her eyes. ] Well done. Put it inside your saber. See what happens.

[He places the kyber crystal inside, then stands up to ignite it. The blade shines brightly, no longer the symbol of an Inquisitor.]

Whoa... it's just like yours.

What is damaged can never be repaired. It can, however, be mended under the right circumstances.

[ well done young gremlin. her eyes flutter open, glad with what she sees, and stands up. ]

What did you let go of?

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