Battle for Earth - REWRITE(A Star Wars Rebels Story)

Beach and Games

Ezra groaned as his eyelids fought to open up. His head was on some sort of soft fabric now. He slowly shifted his eyes to see his head was in Athena's couch square - but the girl absent once again from her space. His skull just beyond Rae's curled up legs.

The room was a notch off from being completely dark. The Christmas lights were now off and the sun had not risen yet.

He heard some shuffling from the other side of the room and shifted his eyes to see Athena up and about. The girl wore a tattered hoodie now, her backpack slung over her shoulders as she fiddled with the shoes on her feet. He waited to see what she was up to, pretending to sleep so as not to disrupt her.

When the girl made her way out of the house, Ezra sat up to watch as the door closed behind her. He threw off his blanket and went to the window to watch Athena walk down the road. He waited until she got just out of sight to open the door and follow her into the streets of Cleveland.

The girl was in no hurry, it seemed, to get anywhere. It was more of a stroll than anything. Her hands in her pockets, her earbuds connected to her MP3 player in one ear, she seemed to be on a stroll more than anything else.

Ezra felt something off with the girl. Even without the Force, he could tell she was different. The look on her face didn't sit right with him.

She bared no frost on her face like she always would when she was frightened. It...was in her eyes. The desolation. The bleakness. The confusion.

It seemed like he'd followed her for several kilometers through town - heading north. He eventually made it to where her destination must have been, because the girl finally took off her bag and plopped down to sit. Her pants now covered in sand, she watched the shallow waves of Lake Erie fall and recede.

Ezra frowned as he hid himself behind a tree, watching the girl with curiosity.

She...looked sad.

Her eyes filled with nothing but dread and despair as she gazed into the grey horizon beyond the grey lake in front of her. The sun once again struggled to rise this morning.

The boy yelped and jumped back from the tree as he heard something rustle within the green leaves.

His eyes went wide as he laid eyes on a white owl perched on a tree limb just above his head. It's piercing green eyes looking down at him.

He was too far to sense Athena at the moment - his connection to the Force being cut as her Earth immunity no longer wore off on him. But with this owl, it was as if he were standing right next to the girl once more. Receiving clarity within the Earth's Force once more.

Ezra nodded at the owl, understanding the message loud and clear.

He stepped out from behind the tree and cleared his throat.

Athena snapped her head in his direction and was wide-eyed to see him there.

"I- I kinda followed you," Ezra blurted out before Athena could even get a syllable in. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

She scoffed and turned back to the lake. "I can take care of myself, Ezra. Trust me, I'm not a damsel in distress."

"I know you can take care of yourself. I know you were safe," Ezra walked over to her side in the sand. "I was talking emotionally, yah know? You seemed off."

She stayed quiet.

Ezra slowly eased himself into a seat in the tan and brown sand. It was far more chunky and sharp than he was expecting. The clumpy and moist sand sloshed under him as he sat down. The small rocks and tiny mussel shells causing slight discomfort. It felt more like mud from a roadside than it did sand on a beach.