Revenge Leads to Pain

Silver Lothcat

Kanan crouched in the snow, eyes closed as he listened intently to the stirrings of the force.

A low hum disrupted his thoughts. He opened his eyes and glanced upwards. A Trandoshan craft was approaching. Cursing silently Kanan thought of Ezra, alone and helpless back at the shelter. To attempt to reach him now would give away his position.

The ship landed a short distance away and the hatch hissed open. Kana slowed his breathing, preparing himself for the fight that was sure to follow.

"Kanan!" a female voice called as a form appeared in the ship's opening.

"Hera?" Kanan asked, standing.

"Oh Kanan, thank goodness you're alright!" Hera exclaimed, jumping from the ship and running to Kanan. He swept her into a hug, feeling his heart pounding as he did so.

"How did you escape?" he asked. "Where are the others?"

"They took Sabine and used some sort of mind-control on her," Hera explained, releasing Kanan and stepping back. "We never saw what they did with Zeb. Where's Ezra?"

"Something happened to him," Kanan admitted. "When I came back to our shelter he was ice cold and unconscious. He hasn't woken up since."

"We can't escape until he's awake. This ship was stripped of all communicators and doesn't have a hyperdrive, so we need to get back on the command platform and find one of their ships that does have a hyperdrive. There's no way we can find Sabine and Zeb and get a ship to escape with while dragging Ezra's unconscious body with us."

"I'll go back to the shelter and try to wake him up," Kanan decided.

"While you do that, I'll prep the ship for takeoff. When I'm done I'll come to the shelter."

"The shelter is that way, in a break in the trees." Kanan pointed in the direction he meant. "Watch out, we still don't know what lives in these woods."

---

An hour or so later, Hera was trudging through the snow on her way to the shelter. She had done as much as she could for the ship and couldn't put off going to the shelter any longer. She could only hope that Ezra would wake up in the time before she reached the shelter.

She reached a break in the trees and approached the shed that had been constructed there. As she laid a hand on the door, she heard a faint voice. She leaned closer. It sounded like Kanan.

"Silver lothcat in the sky, silver gem in my eye . . . when I'm lost you help me fly . . . high into the . . . high into the clouds. Come on, kid. Open your eyes. We need you."

Hera's heart ached. So there still wasn't any luck waking him up. They could only wait so long.

---

Ezra was flying in the starry night. When he glanced over his shoulder he saw mighty black feathered wings unfurled from his back, guiding him through the clouds. He grinned and cheered, feeling more alive than he had in a long time.

He slowed to a halt, hovering in place as he stared at what was before him. A glittering lothcat sat in the air, staring at Ezra with unblinking eyes.

"Hi there," Ezra said, waving. The lothcat tilted its head. Ezra heard faint words in his mind.

Silver lothcat in the sky . . . silver gem in my eye . . .

"This has got to be a dream," Ezra told the lothcat. It yawned and stretched.

"Want to play?" Ezra asked. The lothcat tilted its head before turning and bounding away through the sky. Ezra raced after it, flapping his wings to keep up.

When I'm lost you help me fly high into the clouds . . .

"Come back! I'm not going to hurt you!" Ezra promised, but no matter how fast he flew the lothcat always remained just out of reach. Ezra noticed the sky around them brightening, as if the sun was rising.

I wish that I could always see . . .

"Where are you going?" Ezra called.

The lights that glitter where they be . . .

"Hold up!" Ezra was panting, losing his strength. His arms and wings felt like lead and despite the sunlight he felt cold.

But the sun hides you from me . . .

The lothcat leapt forward and vanished. Ezra was shivering and he searched for where it could have gone. Suddenly his wings were gone and he was falling into the unbearable cold.

Until night comes again.

Ezra woke up with a jolt on the ground of the shelter.