A Star Among Planets (Star Wars Rebels Fanfiction)

Chapter 6: Warnings From A Master

    Halftail slunk forward and pushed into the cockpit where Kanan and Hera were sitting in their respective seats, deciding where they were going to next. "Do you need any assistance," inquired Halftail as he swayed a bit on his paws.

    A beeping sound sounded behind Halftail and he turned to see the droid that they had picked up on one of their supply missions. He pushed Halftail and Halftail pushed him away in response. "Get away, Chopper!"

    Chopper beeped again and rolled away as Halftail rolled his eyes. "Try not to kill Chopper, Halftail," chuckled Hera as she looked back over her shoulder.

    Halftail whisked his tail behind him before he looked up to Hera. "I won't as long as he doesn't do that again," he muttered before he looked to Kanan. "So, do you need any help?"

    Kanan shook his head. "I think we're good until we decide on another mission. How about you go and get some rest."

    That struck Halftail like a nerve. He hadn't slept well in moons. Every night his sleep was plagued by nightmares and he rarely slept. Only Kanan and Bine knew, so Halftail knew it was a silent jab at him.

    He dipped his head and took a step back. "Okay," he meowed quietly before he turned and strode out of the cockpit. He certainly wasn't going to sleep, but he was going to find Bine and see if he could speak to her alone. It was difficult since Molis always seemed to want to be around her.

    He bounded down the hallway and heard the soft voice of Bine behind her. "Who are you looking for?"

    Halftail turned around and his eyes glowed. "Who do you think?" He turned and darted forward and touched his nose to hers, purring warmly.

    She then wove around him and curled her tail around his tail. It was much shorted than hers, but she never seemed to mind it. "How are you doing? Did you have another nightmare last night?"

    He frowned as he hung his head. "I think you know the answer to that, Bine," he pointed out as he pressed his nose against her cheek.

    Bine wished she could help, but she couldn't. All she could do was offer support after they happened. "I'm so sorry this keeps plaguing you. I wish that I could really do something to help you."

    Halftail shook his head. "It's not your fault." He suddenly gasped as pain shot through him like an electric current. He fell to the ground, his body beginning to convulse and seize madly. His limbs tensed and shook while his claws jutted from his paws. His toes seemed to sprawl despite Halftail's futile attempts to stop it. His eyes stretched wide in agony as his tail buckled in strange positions and even his throat had tremors passing through it.

    "Halftail," wailed Bine as her eyes widened in terror. "What's wrong?"

    Halftail raised a paw and it shook madly and he felt his throat almost closing as he tried to speak. "Go into my room. The bag near the drawer. Hurry."

    Bine didn't need to be told twice. She surged forward and opened the door easily. She easily spied what she was looking for and darted forward, She sunk her teeth into the bag and darted back toward Halftail, who was now shaking madly as his jaw fixed at an awkward angle. She dropped the bag and Halftail struck out a paw and dug inside. Bine watched as he tugged out a syringe and thrust it into his vein. He injected some strange colored liquid into himself, emptying the syringe quickly. Almost instantly he sighed heavily and pushed the syringe back into the bag and slumped to the ground in an exhausted heap.

    "Are you alright," fretted Bine as she touched her nose to his trembling shoulder.

    Halftail sucked in a rattling breath and coughed heavily. His body shook as blood dripped from his mouth. "I'm alright," he rasped as his eyes grew cloudy and milky.