Star Wars Rebels: Teenage Response

Scarred

Sabine slowly walked across the dry ground of Atollon, under the darkening sky as the sun began to fade. She was heading back to the ship, after completing her patrol around the sensor marker fence. She had a lot on her mind, her friends had returned from Malachor a few hours ago...a LOT sooner than she expected. While their mission was seemingly successful, they came back with news that would likely change them forever.
This is all really depressing...
"Ahsoka didn't make it then...?" The Mandalorian asked saddened. "Manda..."
Rex is taking it harder than anyone...but we cared about her, too.
Ahsoka did not return with the Jedi from their mission to Malachor...she was told that she stayed to face off a Sith Lord before an explosion killed them both. An Inquisitor was one thing...two Inquisitors was manageable...but a Sith Lord? It's a good thing they were dealt with...but losing Ahsoka alone made the whole thing feel like it wasn't worth it. Even if three Inquisitors and a Sith were killed...more could easily take their place.
My people had fought alongside the Sith for centuries in the past...the legends I've heard...the tales I've been told...
But they were not tales, they were reality...Ahsoka would have learnt that in person. Knowing that Ahsoka was gone hurt...Sabine didn't know her all that well, but she liked the Togruta...she was a good person.
And it wasn't just Ahsoka who had been effected by all this. Ezra was unusually quiet...he had locked himself in Zeb's cabin and rarely came out...but it wasn't the sort of isolation that Sabine often subjected herself to...it was different, uneasy. Something wasn't right about it...Sabine supposed that he was mourning Ahsoka, but it seemed there was something more to it than that.
And Kanan...
The girl looked behind herself to see whom she was holding hands with, whom had offered her company during her patrol...whom she was assisting back the Ghost. Kanan was being led by Sabine's hand, with a blindfold across what was left of his eyes and his other hand raised slightly in front of him.
Kanan...
It was an upsetting sight to Sabine. Never had she seen Kanan so...vulnerable, so in-need. Unlike Ezra, who appeared mostly fine physically, Kanan was clearly scarred and left impaired. The Jedi claimed that he would only need some adjustment before he would be fine again, but Sabine found that hard to believe...losing your sight must be a terrible thing. No fancy space magic was going to change that.
But Kanan says otherwise...if he's right, why do I need to hold his hand?
When Sabine and Kanan made it back to the Ghost, Sabine helped the man up the ladders from the cargo bay and followed after him.
"Thank you for the walk, Sabine" Kanan thanked her casually. "Always nice to have a chat with my favourite Mandalorian"
Kanan was acting like his injuries were no big deal...Sabine didn't like that. She had proposed having cybernetic eyes implanted, but Kanan deemed it a waste of resources...though, after inspection of his wounds a cybernetic eye may not have even worked. Sabine found out that it wasn't just his eyes that were damaged, but his entire socket was burnt out from a lightsaber strike...Kanan was lucky the hit wasn't much deeper.
The damage looks permanent...he may never see again.
Sabine looked sadly at her friend and sighed. She wanted to do something, ANYTHING to ease whatever pain Kanan would be feeling. She felt she owed him that much.
"Kanan...is...is there anything I can do for you?" She asked, almost begging him to say there was indeed something. "Anything at all? This must all really suck for you..."
Kanan shook his head and told Sabine there was nothing she could, or would need to do. The loss of sight was startling at first, but as a traditional Jedi he was taught not to rely on his eyes...it was one of the first things a youngling was taught.
"Trust me Sabine, I can handle it" He assured her. "You don't have to worry"
It was Sabine's turn to shake her head. Even if Kanan could still somehow learn to "see" again, using the Force...there were still so many things he had lost.
"...Kanan, all that you'll miss..." She went on, almost choking on her own misery. "You'd never see how appetising your food appears before you eat, you'll never be able to tell me how I look when I change my style, you'll never even be able to gaze on Hera again..."
She sniffed as her emotions began to overwhelm her. Kanan comfortingly placed a hand on her shoulder, but it did little to stabilise her.
"You'll never see me and Ezra growing up..." She barely managed to say.
It was difficult to see the sadness on Kanan's face, without his eyes he appeared a lot less expressive...Sabine never knew that eyes were so important to displaying emotion until she saw how it was without them.
"Sabine? I'm...I'm not your father..." He quietly told her.
Sabine rubbed her arm and looked down at his feet, unable to look at him even if he couldn't look back.
"You're the closest thing I've got..." She said. "The closest to it I've had in years..."
And he knew that as much as she did. He always knew it.
Urgh, I'm getting so emotional.
They stood for a moment, taking in each other's words. While Kanan didn't seem to think too much of his injuries, it was clear to him that his friends thought otherwise. Still, it wouldn't change the fact that there was simply nothing any of them could for him...any recovery he could make, he had to do for himself.
"Hey, c'mon...I'm still alive" He told her, being Mister On-The-Bright-Side. "And I'm still going to be here for you, for Ezra and for anyone else. I'll just be bumping into walls a bit more often, eh?"
Sabine lightly chuckled, and it was pleasing for Kanan to hear any happiness from her. A good mood was very much needed in this time of difficulty.
"Now, why don't you go check on Ezra?" He proposed to her with a smile. "Or call your girlfriend, hm?"
Suppose I should see Ezra...he hasn't even spoken to me since he got back. Hasn't spoken to anyone.
"Oh, and hey?" Kanan brought her attention to his pauldron, and he patted it. "Not a scratch"
Sabine sighed and was unable to hold back a smile. She shook her head as Kanan walked past her carefully to the Lounge.
"Sorry for getting emotional" She apologised. "I...heh, seem to cry a lot more these days"
Kanan did not accept her apology, for there was nothing for her to apologise for.
Kanan still manages to find humour in all this.