A Star Among Planets (Star Wars Rebels Fanfiction)

Chapter 28: Bonding

Flashback

Brist curled in a ball in the waiting room where other Jedi Masters were waiting for their Padawans as well as the other way around. He saw their fear and felt it, as well as his own. In this room the rules about keeping your feelings about loss to yourself exploded. Brist couldn't imagine working in here all day. It would drive him mad!

"Brist," called Master Tice at the doorway.

Brist lifted his head and his whiskers twitched. "Is he-"

Master Tice raised a weary hand. "Follow me," she ordered as she strode back down the hallway with Brist struggling behind her. Every step he took seemed to be two steps back. A wail rose in his throat in worry, but he managed to suppress it.

Master Tice looked back at him and shook his head. "I feel through the force your hostility and fear toward this place. Is this because of your brother?"

Brist's legs locked as he walked so he wouldn't snarl at Master Tice. "Perhaps. You know that I took his loss rather harshly," he muttered.

Master Tice sighed. "And you also know those with Down Syndrome don't live the longest. Also your kind with that condition usually doesn't live long at all."

"He was gone way too soon," breathed Brist as he hung his head, grief showing in his eyes.

Once Master Tice opened a door, Brist saw Mietro sitting in a bed, wires and all kinds of monitors hooked up to him. Brist's heart leaped in his chest and he almost cried at seeing his Padawan like that. He darted over to Mietro's side and reared on his hind legs to see him on the bed. He grasped his paw and squeezed. "Oh, Mietro."

Master Tice came up with Sparik right behind. Her eyes softened. "I managed to stabilize him. Once he wakes up from his 'nap' he should be fine," assured Sparik as she glanced fearfully to Master Tice. "However, I do think I know what was making him so sick."

"What," gasped Brist as his mouth went dry.

Sparik worked her hands together firmly. "Have you ever heard of Epilepsy?"

Brist frowned. "I supposed I may have heard of it, but I'm not familiar with it."

Sparik sighed heavily and nodded before rubbing a hand uncomfortably against the back of her neck.. "It's a seizure condition. It can cause tremors, cognitive issues, and those fits that you witnessed. We're going to need to put him on some intense medications to see if they can help calm his neurological system and limit the amount of seizures that he has."

"What do you mean, intense medication," wondered Brist as he drew back a bit, his ears plastering against his head. That didn't sound good, to anyone.

Master Tice looked to some liquid hanging in a bag from an IV pole. "You'll have to do this once a day for a moon for it to pass through his system. Once that's finished he'll need to use syringes filled with medication that can only be absorbed intravenously. He'll need pills as well as well as-"

"Can he at least be a Jedi," rasped Brist as he shook his head grave. From the heartbeat he had met Mietro he knew that's all he wanted was to be a Jedi. He didn't think it was possible because of his tics and tremors, but Brist had promised that he would make him a Jedi. He wasn't about to go back on that promise just because things got difficult.

Sparik and Master Tice exchanged a glance. "Well, I suppose that you two can try. It'll be hard, but with effort it could work," answered Master Tice as she smiled at Mietro as his chest rose and fell. "He's a determined little wolf-heart, so I'm sure if he puts his mind to it then he'll be able to."