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

Taming the Elements

It was an early morning for Hera. As a captain should, she had a list of to-do's for the maintenance for her ship to be done. She got dressed as Ahsoka still slept on the cot in her room and headed out to start on today's work.

When she finished the check-ups in the cockpit, she headed towards the kitchen for a quick cup of caf.

She froze in her tracks when she reached the common room.

Her lips broke out in a smile as she saw the sight before her.

Kanan had his head leaned back and resting on the back of the couch as Athena's head laid in the middle of the Dejarik table. Both sound asleep. The holograms were still up and running - Athena's head and arms on top of them.

She peaked over Athena's shoulder to see that Athena's side won - making Hera chuckle even more.

"So, the mighty Jedi got his butt handed to him by his little sister in Dejarik?" Hera chortled. "How adorable."

She turned to the closet Athena usually slept in to see frost erupting from the inside. The captain got concerned. Did this mean Athena got scared last night for some reason? Was it a bad dream?

Hera looked over Athena to see almost no frost or frostbite on the girl's body, prompting a sigh of relief. That meant she probably got calmed down once Kanan talked to her.

The cups sitting on the couch near Athena and Kanan told Hera that the two must've shared a drink of tea.

Kanan did that a lot. He would get people a drink of caf or tea and talk with them. Hera always did appreciate an occasional cup of caf and talk with him. Kanan was the kind of person you could really talk to. He helped lift that weight of worry of a person's chest.

Hera couldn't imagine the kind of worry this girl must be facing. Being ripped from everything she ever knew and thrown into a galactic war where she was a part of a group that was persecuted by the tyrannical government? That must've been hard.

She lightly petted the girl's messy hair after picking up the cup from beside her.

The captain jumped back when the girl sprung up. Hera yelped as she saw Athena whip out a small knife as her eyes seemed panicked beyond all belief.

The yell prompted Kanan to wake up as well.

When Athena finally realized it was Hera who had touched her, she dropped the knife and had wider eyes than before, hand trembling. "Oh my god! Hera, I-I'm sorry! I-..."

"Holy crap, do you sleep with a knife on you?" Hera was gobsmacked. No child should be that frightened by that light of a touch in their sleep. That kind of defensive reaction made Hera's stomach churn. To think what happened in this girl's life that she would see a simple touch as a threat...That's not a natural reaction. That's learned.

"I'm sorry!" Athena was panicked. It was like she was pleading now. Hera and Kanan could tell there was complete sincerity behind it. Her eyes were panicked. "I-I thought..."

"No, no, hun," Hera assured. "I didn't realize..."

What kind of life does a kid live to where keeping a knife on her body as she sleeps is natural to her? What horrors happened to her where she felt the need to have a knife by her as she slept?

"Do - do you always have a knife on you when you sleep?" Kanan asked, concerned.

Athena was absolutely petrified. She just pulled a knife on Hera - the woman who offered her a place to stay.

"I...yeah..."Athena started. "I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry. I-I-"

Hera spoke in a calming voice, "Athena, you didn't realize it was me. It's okay. You wouldn't have pulled it on me if you knew it was me, right?"