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"WHAT?" DIN ASKED. Tess frowned at Ahsoka's comment. She couldn't train them? How was this possible? Tess wanted to be angry, like the Mandalorian was, but then she looked down to her quivering hands, to the metal sphere encased within her palm, and a flicker of understanding dawned.
"Why not?" Mando continued, turning on Ahsoka, his hand leaving Tess' shoulder. "You've seen what they can do." Tess flinched a little, and the sphere dropped from her hand. A wave of exhaustion, as always, pooled over her, an inky rich blanket that smothered in the need for sleep, despite only being midmorning. Tess' legs threatened to give way beneath her.
Ahsoka spoke as if Tess and Grogu weren't standing right beside them. "They're attachment to you makes them vulnerable to their fears." Tess' frown returned, this time in full force. "Their anger."
"I am not scared." she spat out, her voice lined with an icy venom. Ahsoka looked at her sadly, pitifully, and it only made Tess more frustrated.
"That is all the more reason to train them." Din argued, cutting in between Tess and Ahsoka.
"No." the older woman said, her tone too quick to be just an argument. She stepped forward. She looked at Tess, and the girl hesitated, noticing a new layer to the woman, a new side, a pained side; a weaker side. "I've seen what such feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi Knight. To the best of us."
Din and Tess said nothing, their hearts softening.
Ahsoka looked at the girl, her face as sincere as could be. "I will not start you down that path." Tess turned away, her eyes finding the child, sitting on a rock, watching them innocently. She couldn't help but wonder how someone so small, so blameless, could hold the same power she did, and not let it consume him. Tess couldn't even think about the Force without her hands starting to ache.
"Tess," Ahsoka's voice drew her eyes back to the adults in front of her. "You said you wanted the Force gone?" Tess nodded slowly, her eyes alight with fire. "There is a way." It felt as if she'd dropped into bottomless space. The Mandalorian could see this, see her slightly swaying on her feet, and he walked closer, prepared to catch her, as he always seemed to be doing, but Tess was able to gain ground again, coming back to reality.
"How?" she asked swiftly, her voice hoarse. Ahsoka's eyes were downcast, but she didn't hesitate for long.
"Your abilities will fade." She answered plainly, and Tess sucked in a breath. "Over time, they will simply... wither away."
