The New Girl from Earth - REWRITE (a Star Wars Rebel story)

Dume

"It's okay, Kanan, I think I can explain things to her."

Kanan looked up to see Ahsoka with a comforting smile. He then glanced back to Athena, only slightly startled by the presence of the togruta now. Better than before, at least. Kanan stood, thanked the Commander, and walked away. Ahsoka did seem to already have some sort of connection to this girl, anyhow.

Ahsoka sat on her knees in front of the hole in the ice shield, starting to drip as it slowly melted. The girl peered with scared, yet curious, eyes at her.

"So...you're Ahsoka? You're a Jedi?"

"Well...I used to be. I don't go by that term anymore," Ahsoka said.

"What am I?" Athena asked. "Kanan said that you guys don't do things like this-" she gestured to the ice around her. "You guys pick stuff up with your minds and are connected to the universe and all that."

"There's more to that, but yes. I've never seen anyone do this," Ahsoka joked as she gestured to the ice. "It's impressive."

Athena chuckled, "Call me Elsa."

"What?"

"Oh...it's a character from a popular movie on Earth. This character Elsa, she can control ice," Athena explained. "I'm sorry...I'm just so used to being on Earth. Everyone always knows what I'm referring to."

"It's alright," Ahsoka assured. "This must be very terrifying for you, being away from everything you've ever known and everyone you ever met." she sniffed the air and coughed a little. She waved her hand in a fan motion. "What is that smell? It smells like something was burning."

"Oh...uh sorry. I was smoking," Athena sheepishly admitted. "I- I know it's a bad habit, but it helps calm my nerves." she chuckled. "I actually had just quit before all this crap. Before I basically ruined my life."

"Why would you say that?"

Athena went solemn, seeming to remember a nasty memory. She leaned her back against the ice and looked down at her feet. "I- I messed up. I..." she remembered that girl in the cafeteria. All the blood. "I was getting my life on track. I- well I've always been a bit of a juvenile delinquent. Stealing. Fighting. Smoking. I wasn't really taught any better. Most kids who've spent as much time in the foster care system as me usually end up dead or homeless by the time they get to adulthood. It was just what I was expected to be..." she paused as she sadly reminisced. "Then I met this family. The Novellas. Though they couldn't legally foster or adopt me because of the size of their house, they took me in like their own...They got me some counseling, got me to quit smoking, got me to go back to school, got me to stop fighting..."

"What happened?" Ahsoka asked. "They sound like very nice people. Why were you in those streets looking for food?"

"I hurt a girl. Bad," Athena admitted. She didn't know why she was telling this strange woman anything, let alone this much. But...she felt something with her. It was stronger than that feeling she had with Kanan and the others on Earth. This was stronger. Warmer. Closer. "She was pulling my hair, calling me names, and spat on me. I got mad. I threw her too hard. She- she started bleeding and wasn't waking up. I panicked and ran. They would have arrested me, thrown me in jail as long as they physically could because they can. No one would bat an eye if they threw me in there forever."

"What about the Novellas? You said they cared for you."

"They did. They did," she sighed. "It's just...I was afraid they'd cut off the deal. See me as too dangerous to be let into their home."

"I thought you said that they couldn't legally adopt you anyhow. So what-"

"I was going to marry the son when I turned sixteen. That way I could legally be emancipated," Athena spat out. "Me and him had been dating for a while, so we decided that would be my best bet. No one was ever going to adopt me, so it was my only chance of getting out of the foster care system."