Hey everyone! I'm finally invested in this book again and have some good ideas. Hopefully this will be the first chapter of several that will be coming out soon.

Media picture is "Coruscant Nighttime" by Impossible—Dreams on DeviantArt.

   
    "Ahsoka, if you make one more sassy remark with your hand on your hip, I will throw this holopad at you."

    Shaak knew that she was going to regret leaving Ahsoka unattended with the cadets. She knew that they were going to put their own little spin on her personality. What she didn't expect was that she would be sitting here an entire week later, still having to remind Ahsoka that insulting the Jedi in the training holovids she was watching was not acceptable behavior.

    "But..."

    "Nuh-uh. I don't want to hear about how he looks like a fish out of water trying to flop away from a flock of birds. Just watch the video for Force's sake."

    The young Togruta huffed and sank down further into her seat. When Shaak had turned away to continue reading articles from her holopad, the padawan stuck her tongue out and muttered, "He still does, though."

    Once the video began to be too repetitive (which happened quite often, since for some reason the Order still didn't believe that younglings would understand what they were being instructed after saying it five times in a row), Ahsoka allowed her mind to wander off.

    I wonder what Tripp, Dagger, Twitch, and whatever the other cadet's name is are doing?

    Were they sparring? Doing simulations? Learning another language? Pranking each other? She felt a sigh tumble off of her lips. Any of those sounded better than watching these stupid holovids. Every ounce of her hungered for thrill and action, which seemed to be exactly what she hadn't seen since moving into the Coruscanti Jedi Temple. The most nail-biting thing she had done over the past several days was ride in an air speeder with Shaak driving underneath the speed limit.

    Before the older Togruta could notice, Ahsoka hastily skipped to the end of the training clip and powered off the tablet.

    "I'm done, Master. Can we please go train now?" She pleaded. Ahsoka could see Shaak inwardly groan before turning to her padawan.

    "Patience is an important virtue, young one," Shaak gently reprimanded her, though she was already standing up from her lounger. "It's something I've apparently failed to teach you. That'll be a lesson for another day."

    Completely disregarding the hint at another boring training session that would be occurring in the near future, Ahsoka leaped out of her chair and bolted for the door. While it wasn't truly dangerous or exciting, learning hands-on with Shaak was her favorite pastime.

~

    "Now, relax your arm..." Shaak instructed, lightly grasping the sturdy, wooden pole Ahsoka was wielding and tweaked its position. "Your arm, Ahsoka. Not your whole body. Keep your core engaged and widen your stance. Almost all of your power is coming from your legs and abdomen."

    By now, Ahsoka would normally be getting frustrated with how nit-picky Shaak is. Though, to the older Togruta's pleasant surprise, the padawan nodded reverently and made her adjustments accordingly. Such behavior for a youngling in general was uncommon, and even more so for the girl who seemed to always be teeming with energy and never with patience. Nonetheless, Shaak took the padawan's change of attitude gratefully and delved deeper into the training session.
   
    "This is a exceptional offensive stance," the Jedi Master simultaneously explained and complimented, "but would you be able to react if..."

    She paused abruptly and thrust out her hand, which instantly was met with a flying wooden pole she had called and used to swing at Ahsoka's back. The youngling hastily, and not-so-gracefully, scrambled away from the attack and clumsily brought her own weapon up to deflect Shaak's.

    "...something unexpected were to happen?"

    Ahsoka contemplated her master's words and stepped away from their clash, though she now remained in a prepared stance incase Shaak would try anything again. In the life of a Jedi, even if they had enhanced senses from their connection to the Force, there were going to be countless times that the unexpected would strike.

    Would she be ready when it did?

    This time, when Shaak swiftly sliced her pole through the crisp air of the training room, Ahsoka adeptly countered the strike. Given, she did stumble a bit from the force of the blow, but that was to be expected since she was just a small girl.

    The older Togruta continued with this and delivered a series of strikes. None of which were close to being at full force or speed, but it was more than enough to keep Ahsoka on her toes and exerting herself. In only a few minutes, the girl was already huffing and becoming slow.

    "How are you so strong?" Ahsoka questioned between sharp inhales. There wasn't even a hint at perspiration on the woman's forehead, and she was wearing heavy cloaks nonetheless.

    "Do not admire the abilities of others, Padawan. Only focus on yourself, and your strategies to reach your fullest potential. Admiration leads to idolization, and idolization will lead you astray from good virtues," Shaak said, never missing a beat as she continued to swing her wooden weapon and effortlessly deflect Ahsoka's counterattacks. "Though, it was countless years of training and conditioning."

    "Got... it..." Ahsoka breathed heavily. Upon seeing her padawan's exhaustion, Shaak relented and resumed a neutral stance.

    "That will be all for now, Padawan. Replenish and hydrate quickly, though, because we are needed in the medical bay in approximately..." she hesitated to check the time, "...six minutes."

    They exchanged respectful bows before Ahsoka rushed off to her water flask. Though, as the water swished across her tongue, her thoughts were plunged into handfuls of memories from her home planet. She and Embala had particularly taken pleasure in playing in a river near to their village, which eventually became jokingly referred to as their second home. It was along those banks that she had built her first sandcastles, and in those slow currents that she was taught how to tread water. Now, as an avid swimmer and water-loving Togruta, she grew to be thankful of those memories and the times she had spent with her family before her life was uprooted and twisted into one of a Jedi.

    "...Ahsoka? Is everything alright, my padawan?" Shaak prodded, seeing that Ahsoka hadn't heard her first question.

    "Yes, Master. I'm sorry," she apologized when she snapped out of the flashbacks and turned her attention to the older Togruta.
   
    "I was saying that we needed to depart for the medical bay. Come along, now," Shaak said and turned on her heels. The Jedi's robes gracefully flared out behind her, which enhanced her exit and caused Ahsoka to marvel for a second too long. Her short legs had to maintain a hasty pace to catch up to her master. The trip to the infirmary seemed shorter than usual, but that could've been from the girl's distraction of trying to keep up with Shaak.
   
    "Wait here," the woman instructed, gesturing to an uncomfortable, pristine white cot that lied unoccupied in a medical room. "I'll inform the staff that we've arrived."

    Ahsoka nodded and hopped up onto the cot. As she waited for her master's return, her legs absentmindedly swung back and forth. Occasionally, she'd accidentally over-swing and cause the heel of her shoe to collide with the metal frame of the bed, and she'd cringe from the metallic ringing.

    "Padawan Tano," a voice unfamiliar to the young girl resonated. Ahsoka looked up and took in the Pantoran male she assumed to be a Jedi standing before her. His outfit hinted that he was a healer in training. Behind him stood Shaak, who wore the usual small smile.

    "That'd be me," Ahsoka grinned. "Is everything alright?"

    "Certainly. I'm just here to draw a bit of blood for a sample, then you'll be on your way. Now, have you ever had blood drawn before?" The Pantoran asked, all the while walking to the other side of the room to retrieve some syringes and gauze from a cabinet.

    "No sir," she responded, slightly apprehensive. She didn't have anything to fear, right? It was just a little bit of blood and a tiny needle...
   
    "Alright, then. There's no need to be nervous! I'm just going to attach this around your arm here," his voice trailed off as he secured a band around the Togruta's upper arm, "Then I'll need you to look over to your master. She has a few questions to ask you before we can continue."

    Ahsoka nodded and swiveled her head to Shaak.

    "Now, Padawan, who would you consider to be the person you were closest to before beginning your life at the Temple?"

    She pondered for a moment before responding, "Definitely my mother. She's always been there for me, even if it was just the two of us. But Embala is a close second."

    "Very well then. And what do you hope to accomplish during your journey with the Force?"

    Ahsoka didn't allow herself to wonder why Shaak was asking such random questions at a time like this. Though, with a shrug, she vaguely responded, "I wish to make a change and make everyone proud of who I become."

    In the middle of her answer, she felt an odd, minuscule prick on the arm that the healer was next to. However, she kept the Pantoran's instruction to keep her gaze locked on her master in mind, and decided to write it off as more of the preparations for the bloodwork. Besides, these questions were supposedly supposed to be answered before any needles were put in her skin, so there shouldn't be a reason for her to be concerned.

    "Very well done, Padawan Tano. I'll be right back with the results," the Jedi Healer beamed vibrantly before removing the band from Ahsoka's arm and giving her a good-hearted pat on the shoulder.

    "I thought I had to answer the questions first?" The Togruta asked in bewilderment. Besides, weren't needles supposed to be painful?

    "The questions were just a distraction," he explained, winking to Shaak. "But I'm glad to hear about your mother and Embala. They seem like lovely people."

    With that, the Jedi was out of the room with the blood sample in tow.

    "That... wasn't so bad," Ahsoka admitted.

    "Indeed. There are many things that one can grow to dread, when all the misery they are frightened of is simply in their mind. A figment of their anxious imagination," came Shaak's response, never failing to incorporate her daily dose of wise words and lectures in it.

~

    It was imperative for Ahsoka to grow accustomed to silence. More frequently than not, Shaak remained reserved in her mind, leaving the young Togruta to have nobody to converse with besides herself. Foreign and unnatural— that's the words Ahsoka would use to describe how it felt.

     Her whole life, she had thought that Shili was beautiful, but confining. Life beyond her home planet often danced about her dreams, and the freedom that would come with being set loose from Shili never relinquished its taunts.

    The more silent time that passed though, the more wrong she realized she had been.

    Maybe there was a version of her fantasies in another life that lived up to her dreams. If other choices had been made, perhaps there would've been a future she could've reached instead where she could live her life at her own will.

    Wishes and dreams would never change her reality and everything it had failed to live up to, though. The padawan found it difficult to come to terms with the disappointment she felt with her life now.

    Chains. That's all she ever felt. Everything in life was dictated for her. When she slept, where she went, what she ate, who she was allowed to interact with, how she spent every waking minute of the day... it was decided by someone else.
   
    Because, in the eyes of the Jedi, freedom led to choices, which consequently led to mistakes. Mistakes were simply unacceptable. Only perfection was to be expected from the Force-sensitive younglings, and anything that fell short would be shunned.

    Today marked two months that she had resided in the Jedi Temple, and a month since she had spoken to anyone besides her master. There was something off with Shaak—Ahsoka could sense it in the Togruta's wringing hands, restless gaze, and irritating level of precaution. Ahsoka had no recollection of when and where it began. All she knew is that the peculiar behavior of her master was growing even more concerning with each passing day.

    "We'll train for longer today, Padawan," Shaak announced as she entered the common area of their living quarters. Ahsoka hadn't been able to get much sleep from her restlessness, so she had been awake long before her master. The young Togruta was currently sprawled across a sofa with a holopad in one hand and a stick of dried meat in the other. Using her sharp teeth, the girl tore off a piece of the food before sighing in frustration.

    "But we've been training longer every single day, Master!" She whined. "Why can't I do something else? Like talk to Padawan Skywalker or meet with some cadets? Or even walk around the city?"

    "You're leading a much different life than most, Ahsoka," the Jedi Master said, though her words were softer than before. "If I do not prepare you for what is to come, then I will have failed as your instructor. Friends and touring can remain on hold."

    "Yes, Master," Ahsoka dejectedly replied. Any previous excitement or energy that was laced into her tone promptly deflated.

    Seeing Ahsoka's melancholic reaction weighed on Shaak's conscience, but she knew what she was doing was for the best. If her padawan wasn't provided with an opportunity to reach her fullest potential, she wouldn't be prepared for the deadly obstacles that were unmistakably waiting for Ahsoka in the future.

    Whether she was ready or not, there was something dark lurking, prowling the shadows and waiting for its time to reveal itself, and only the girl's master was aware of it.

Hello all! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and feel to comment any questions, constructive critics, and ideas you might have. Please excuse any grammar/spelling mistakes. Grammarly wasn't working for me and I didn't have the energy to thoroughly proofread the chapter.

Also, please get accustomed to the song I'm Ready by Jaden, as it will be important soon.