When Adhara thought of Mirialans, she thought of her father.
In her youth, Adhara didn't know many other Mirialans, but she'd been certain he had the most tattoos out of any that ever existed. They swept under his eyes and down his cheeks, cascading over his chin and up to his ears. They brought out the purple in his eyes, the startling green of his skin.
"This one is for slaying a desert monster on Mirial," he'd say, pointing to a diamond tattoo on his forehead. "This one, for saving a Jedi."
"What about this one?" Adhara had asked, tracing a small finger across the tattoo on his chin, arranged in way that looked like a phrase. Like it meant something.
Her father's face softened. He caught her little hand, her white skin stark against his, deep green like pine needles.
"It symbolizes love. It's for your mother, the best decision I ever made. For Aitor. Arus. Anali. And you." He lightly tapped on Adhara's nose, and she laughed.
As she grew older and reflected back on her short time with her family, Adhara began to understand things she never had before. That her father had to leave Mirial for her mother, because his traditional family didn't believe in mixed species couples. It was the same reason why they lived in isolation in Eshan, and why they had ended up dead.
But still, she knew, her father never regretted it. He held his family as close as he held his tattoos, scrawled across his skin.
After becoming a padawan, Adhara got her first Mirialan tattoos, of five diamonds underneath each eye. They brought her immense pride, and reminded her of why she was there. Of hhat was important.
Now, she knocked on the door of the tattooist at the Jedi Temple, ready to complete the set with two large diamonds at the ends of her eye after facing General Grievous on her own.
The door swung open she saw Barriss Offee on the table, getting more tattoos inked onto her nose. Behind her stood her master, Luminara, arching an eyebrow at Adhara.
"Master," she said, bowing slightly. "Padawan Offee. I didn't realize you were here. I'll come back later."
Luminara arched a brow at Adhara, looking at the few Mirialan tattoos she had.
"Let me escort you," Luminara said, and Adhara read her body language, a trait she picked up from her Echani heritage, and saw hostility. It made her throat close up.
"Of course, Master."
For a moment they walked in silence, until they stepped out into the bright light of day. Adhara continued to read Luminara's body language, and saw a smug streak go through her as soon as they stepped outside.
"I see you sport Mirialan tattoos," Luminara said, just as Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka walked closer from repairing their ship.
"Yes," Adhara said, keeping a close eye on the Mirialan Jedi. "I am half Mirialan. I don't remember him well, but I remember that the culture was important to my father."
She remembered him well enough. Enough for it to mean something to her, like it did for him. Enough for it to hurt every time he crossed her mind and she saw his body falling to the ground.
"And what is the other half of you?"
"Echani, Master."
Luminara pursed her lips, looking Adhara up and down, at her pure white skin and purple eyes, hair half black and half white, piled onto her head. Behind them, Ahsoka cocked her head in curiosity, and Obi-Wan radiated confusion.
"You don't look Miralan."
Her words hit Adhara with a jolt, and she fought to keep the stiffness out of her body and the hurt out of her voice. Her father's face flashed before her – green as the grass, eyes purple like her own, tattoos covering so much of his skin you knew he was honored and beloved on Mirali until he left it all for her mother. For love.
And then he had died for her, and for Adhara.
"I'm aware, Master," she said, voice tight, "but I ensure you I am."
A smile pulled at Luminara's face, a smile Adhara didn't like. The blade of her saber extended, pointed at Adhara's chest. "Prove it, padawan."
Adhara's voice caught in her throat as she stared at the lightsaber, her brain struggling to process. The Echani part of her wanted to fight so bad – it was part of the species, to get to know each other and prove oneself through battle. But the part of her that was Mirialan was deeply offended that she had to do this.
She was Mirialan, and she was Echani. She did not have to prove herself to be either or.
Obi-Wan stepped up beside her, shooting Luminara a scandalized look. "What's going on here?" he hissed.
Luminara shrugged. "I don't take kindly to one flaunting my culture if they don't have what it takes to be Mirialan."
Adhara gaped, but Luminara's face was serene and impassive, only her eyes betraying her anger. It made Adhara's teeth grind together, but she swallowed down her rage.
"This is ridiculous," Obi-Wan snapped, glaring daggers at Luminara. "If Adhara says she's half Mirialan, then she's half Mirialan. You can't make her fight for her identity."
"It's fine, Master," Adhara said, letting her lightsaber out. Letting her Echani half take over, that relished in a fight. She glared at Luminara. "If I must prove myself, then I will."
He ground his teeth together. "Adhara..."
But he couldn't say anymore, because Luminara was jumping at Adhara.
She rolled out of the way, rising onto her knees to parry Luminara's blade. She shoved Luminara back, flipping onto her feet as she met the Jedi's onslaught head on.
The thing about Mirialan's was they were flexible and fast, making them truly amazing fighters. Luminara had those skills, but so did Adhara. And Adhara was half Echani, meaning she could read people through their body language and anticipate their next move. So Ahdara's saber was already there to met every strike, their bodies moving so fast they were a blur.
Adhara leaped forward, beginning her own onslaught. Sweat poured into her eyes, but she gritted her teeth, swinging her saber and spinning and refusing to be beaten.
I am Mirialan, she thought forcefully in her mind. And I will prove anyone who says different wrong.
Suddenly, she was hit with the Force square in the chest, making her, stumble backwards. In her peripheral she could see Luminara do the same, and Anakin and Obi-Wan stepped up, hands outstretched.
"That is enough," Obi-Wan snarled before freeing them, and Anakin did the same, glaring at the Mirialan Jedi. "Luminara, was that proof enough for you?"
The Jedi master brushed sweat off of her forehead, cocking her head at Adhara.
"I think so," Luminara said, sheathing her lightsaber. She inclined her head at Adhara. "It is nice to see another Mirialan in the Jedi Temple."
Adhara exhaled as Luminara walked away, letting her own lightsaber retract. Obi-Wan's nostrils flared, and Ahsoka moved closer, trying to read Adhara.
Anakin clapped Adhara on the back. "You did it, Adhara! You proved her wrong!"
Adhara worried her bottom lip as Obi-Wan turned back to them, his arms crossed over his chest. "Yes," he said, his voice still hard. "But she should not have had to."
It was exactly what Adhara had been thinking. That she did not have to prove who she was or was not to a Jedi who had decided to be the keeper of half of Adhara's identity. She felt a connection to both. She should not have to fight for that.
And yet she did.
She inclined her head to her master, to Anakin, and to Ahsoka, forcing a smile onto her face. "If you'll excuse me." She turned and walked away, her head hunched, and went to the temple to meditate. She felt as though it was the only thing that could truly bring her peace in a world that didn't see her as anyone at all.
***
Adhara meditated for so long she was floating off the floor when Obi-Wan walked in.
"Adhara." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I've been trying to summon you."
Adhara stood up, brushing invisible dirt off of her clothes. "my apologies, Master. I left my comms link and my lightsaber over there." She gestured to the other side of the room.
Obi-Wan arched a brow at her. "You are letting her get to you."
Adhara feigned innocence, walking over to strap the comms link back to her wrist. "Who?"
"Luminara."
Adhara flinched. "No I'm not."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Adhara, please. You can't let her get to you. You know who you are."
Adhara sighed as she grabbed her lightsaber. "I know. It's just... I will never fit in with either."
His face softened. "You fit in here, on Coruscant. In the Jedi Temple. You're one of us."
Adhara swallowed down the hollowness in her throat, trying to let her master's words be enough even though she knew they were not.
To be Echani and Mirialan...it was all she had left of her family. She didn't think she could give it up, even though they were long gone.
"Thank you, Master. I should not let my emotions rule me."
"You will learn how to control them in time, Adhara. You are still young."
She inclined her head at him, and a small smile played at his lips, lighting his eyes up. "You fought well."
"Thank you, Master."
"I will be at the ship. Meet me there when you're ready."
She nodded, listening to the fading of his footsteps as she dropped down to her knees, leaning her head back against the wall and letting her eyelids flicker closed. Images of her father flashed through her mind, of him laughing, of him holding Anali as he fed Arus, of him teaching her and Aitor how to use the Force, and of him and her mother, sweeping across their living room in an intricate waltz when they thought Adhara was asleep.
They hate us because of our hearts, Addie. Because we dare to love.
She sensed Ahsoka slip into the room before she opened her eyes.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, opening her left eye only a crack.
Ahsoka sat down across from her, leaning back on her hands. The sun caught her eyes and lit them up like the sea painted blue.
"Luminara was cruel. She does not know your identity, Adhara, and she doesn't know you. Not like I do."
Adhara sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "I shouldn't let her bother me. I know who I am. It's just... it dawned on me. I am Echani, but I am also Miralan, and now I realize that I will truly never be either." She looked at Ahsoka, face bleak. "I will never fit in."
Ahsoka's eyes searched her face. "Do you have to fit in with either?"
Adhara shrugged. "It didn't matter as much, I think, when my family lived because they were just like me. But now... now I am the only person in the entire galaxy who is half Echani and half Mirialan. I am all alone."
"You are unique. You are the only one like you, and you decide who you are, whether that's Echani or Mirialan or neither or both."
Adhara exhaled, soaking in Ahsoka for a moment. Ahsoka gave her a fierce look, betraying the emotions inside of her - anger on Adhara's behalf, but also her own rage, for seeing someone treat Adhara that way.
"Who do you think I am?" Adhara asked, her heart thudding in her throat.
A wry grin slipped across Ahsoka's mouth, and she shrugged, speaking as if it was easy. "You're Addie."
A jolt like lightning flashed through Adhara's veins. It was the first time she'd heard that name since her time as a youngling, slipping through the Temple with Ahsoka by her side.
It felt like going back in time, and yet at the same time, the start of something new. The beginning of a new path with Ahsoka by her side.
Ahsoka smiled, clasping hands with Adhara. The feeling of her palm was Adhara's tether, as it had been so many times before.
"I believe in you, Addie." She hoisted Adhara to her feet, and all Adhara could see was blue. "And you are never alone. I am with you."