A Star Among Planets (Star Wars Rebels Fanfiction)

Chapter 73: Reunited Again

    The black panther's ears suddenly twitched as she took a step forward, her muscles tensed as if she was ready to fight. Her ears were constantly turning on her head and Halftail wondered if hearing was her strongest sense.

"Mother, it's us," meowed Birchfoot as he took a hesitant step forward, Adlerleaf right behind.

The she-cat growled quickly and Birchfoot got the warning. He took a step back and warned Adlerleaf to do the same. "Mother, it's Adler and Birch," Adlerleaf introduced as if they had never met before.

The she-cat's eyes changed from the misty blue to now a hazy blue. "Adler, Birch," she asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

Birchfoot couldn't stop from purring out loud. "Yes, it's us!"

Realization dawned on her. The she-cat sprang forward and touched her nose to Birchfoot's cheek before turning and pressing herself against Adlerleaf. "Oh, my precious kits!"

"This is your mother," Swifttail gasped in surprise. "What a small galaxy."

The she-cat puffed out her fur. "Who is this," she sniffed as she wrinkled her muzzle at Swifttail. "He smells like a cross between a snow leopard and a puma."

Swifttail took a step back in surprise. "I smell like those creatures? Can't you just tell by looking at me?"

Hurt flashed in the she-cat's eyes, but it was replaced quickly by fury. Before she could say anything, the other rebel leaned down and rested a hand on the she-cat's shoulder. "Brook was born blind. She can't see."

Swifttail shuffled his paws in embarrassment, feeling like a complete jerk for not realizing it sooner. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know," he apologized quickly as he struggled not to let his embarrassment show.

Brook just huffed before Adlerleaf wound around Swifttail. "Mom, this is my mate, Swifttail."

"Mate," Brook and Halftail echoed at the same time.

Adlerleaf nodded shyly before she flicked her tail to Halftail. "And this is Swifttail's father: Halftail. He's the leader here along with Kanan."

Brook dipped her head respectfully to Halftail. "I've heard a lot of good things about you, Halftail. I hope that your son lives up to your legacy," she meowed gently.

Halftail dipped his head back before shooting a look at Swifttail. "You and me both," he muttered. "Thank you, I suppose, for saving all of our lives."

"You did most of the work," pointed out Brook as she flicked a paw toward the crew. "You all did. We've heard a lot about each and every one of you."

Keen took a frightened step forward. "Who are you two?"

"Fulcrum," answered Hera as she looked to the rebel.

The rebel smiled. "It's Ahsoka. Ahsoka Tano. And as I said before, this is Brook."

Bluefeather shuffled her paws. "Those are both beautiful names. How did you find us," she wondered intently, her eyes blinking slowly.

Brook purred softly. "You're not that hard to find, believe it or not. We've just been following wherever we got the most news about you. You're certainly are the rebels that your legacy has made you out to be. I'm just glad that we could help you when we did."

"Does this mean that the war is over," asked Sabine as she looked to Ahsoka.

Ahsoka shook her head gravely. "I'm afraid it's far from it. We are going to have a lot more fights to fight and a lot more battles to win before this war is over."

Halftail blinked his eyes. "Then we'll stand together and fight," he meowed as he pressed against his son, nodding fondly. "After all rebels fight together."

The whole crew cheered before Adlerleaf kinked her tail over her back. "Would you like me show you around," she offered to Brook and Ahsoka.

The two nodded while Adlerleaf bounded forward with Ahsoka and Brook following. Birchfoot staggered behind, managing to keep up quite nicely. Once everyone was mostly gone and settled for the evening, Halftail lowered down and nearly collapsed in utter exhaustion.

Kanan lowered down and picked up Halftail gingerly. "I think we could both use a good night's rest."

Halftail purred warmly. "You got that right! I feel like a starship fell on me," he chuckled as Kanan carried them to their room before pushing past Brook, Ahsoka, and Adlerleaf.

Kanan set Halftail at the foot of the bed before passing him the serum. "Here, you might need this."

Halftail took it gratefully and injected as much as he possibly could into his vein. Once he was finished he cast it aside before falling on his back. Kanan came over and sat on the bed with his head in his hands. "I'm glad this is all over," he sighed.

Halftail let out a low sigh. "You know that won't happen," Halftail pointed out as he licked a paw before combing it over his ears. "I mean, you can pray that it does, but don't expect it to. Optimism isn't going to save us now, Kanan."

Kanan sighed as he laid back, his head facing the ceiling. "You know that I don't think any less of you because of your history, right?"

Halftail twitched his ear before he drew close to Kanan and touched his nose to Kanan's shoulder. "And I don't think any less of you. You may have ran, but I did too. I guess that makes us both cowards." He chuckled as his whiskers drooped.

Kanan ruffled the fur between Kanan's ears. "I would never think of you as a coward."

Halftail's eyes gleamed as he looked up. "And I have never, nor will I ever, think of you as a coward either," he meowed silkily as he wove around Kanan with his tail itching.

Kanan stroked him down his spine until he yawned and used the force to turn off the lights. "Let's get some sleep. It's late and I know that I really want to sleep laying down."

Halftail purred in amusement, but it was quickly choked by an unyielding grief. The image of Fallowfern falling to her death flashed in front of him when he closed his eyes. She was happy now; that much was known. It didn't mean the sting of her death hurt any less. Halftail had been through so much and he wasn't sure how much more he could take.