Family by Heart - REWRITE(a Star Wars Rebels story)

Fiery Flames of Fear

It was nighttime now. The sun on Bakunyuu had set and the dark clouds and fog got only darker with the lack of sun.

Kanan yawned, rolling the stiffness out of his neck as he walked down the Ghost's halls. It had been a boring and mostly uneventful day for himself, but that didn't mean he didn't need to sleep at night. He pressed the button to his cabin.

"Wh- what?" his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he looked into his cabin - already occupied by trespassers.

A little holo projection showed two little pod racers. One side danced with confetti with the word 'WINNER' displayed over it.

Ezra leaned his back up against the lower bunk as Athena lied across it on her side. She was already asleep and Ezra was just about there. His remote controller barely clasped in his hand as his eyelids drooped.

"What are you two doing in my cabin?" Kanan questioned, stepping further into the room.

The boy padawan looked up to Ezra and spoke in a soft voice, "Zeb kicked us out of my cabin. We just came in here to play pod racing."

"Isn't it late for you two to be playing holo-games?" Kanan chastised in his dad-voice.

Ezra groaned and yawned, "Yeah...but we kept getting ties."

Kanan looked to Athena who was already deep asleep. Her controller by her head as drool poked out of the corner of her mouth. With Ezra having reclined his left arm back onto the bunk, Athena took his arm captive and tightly held it like a pillow.

Kanan chuckled as he looked to his sleepy Padawan, "What? You can't win at your own game? Athena never even played holo-games before."

"They - they got games on Earth," Ezra could barely keep his head up. He turned to the girl who held his left arm captive. "Athena, you gonna play another round?"

"I think she's asleep, Ez," Kanan said. "Good luck getting your arm back now."

"I just..." Ezra leaned his back so it rested against the metal side of the bunk. His eyes closed and he mumbled. "Sleep."

"Wait, are you two seriously going to just sleep here?" Kanan questioned.

Ezra mumbled something but it was so mixed up that Kanan couldn't even decipher it. The boy was so out of it. Sleep took him captive.

Kanan rolled his eyes and turned off the holo-game console. He turned around and shut off his lights, figuring the two wouldn't wake up even if he tried.

He saw what happened when someone woke Athena. He didn't want to repeat the mistake Hera made. For all he knew, she was in the middle of training with the Ones.

The male Jedi climbed up the ladder and reclined on his top bunk, letting out a sigh.

He glanced down to the two and chuckled. Athena cuddled Ezra's arm just as she had Ahsoka's when she had returned after the whole Jalo-kidnapping fiasco a few days ago. Ezra didn't seem to mind.

Kanan turned back onto his bed and looked up to the ceiling above his head, his hands holding each other in a worried clasp.

Ezra didn't know any better. He didn't know this kid was so deeply connected to the Bringer of Chaos. He didn't know she could be so dangerous. He just saw a cute girl who shared a similar background with him. He didn't see the pupil of the Gods. He saw a girl.

Kanan wanted to see Athena as a kid more than anything - that's what she deserved. But, he couldn't help but be reminded of the whipping winds and crackling lightning in the desert. He couldn't help but be reminded of the devil shadow that had clung to her feet for so long.