A few days after The Antilles Extraction.

It had been six months since Fawn had left and the incident at Malacore took place. The rebels had found a base to establish their forces and keep their ships until attacking the Empire. A lot had happened over the months. The rebellion had recruited new allies and Maul had returned. Not to mention Ezra and Kanan finally reunited. But not everything was great...

"Commander Sato" Hera said, as the Ghost Crew entered the command center of Atalon.

"Have you received any word from the ships we sent out?"

"Indeed" Sato replied grimly.

"Let me guess, all captured?" Hera inquired.

Sato pressed a button on the hologram projecter and a transmission of a pilot came up. His face was full of fear.

"Phoenix Squadron to home base, we've been caught by the Empire, we need help..."

The picture went static before disappearing. The rebels exhaled sadly.

"That's the fifth time over these two weeks" Ezra said.

"We're losing pilots and ships so fast there may be no one left for the rebellion."

"Well what are we supposed to do? Go up to the Empire and politely ask them to release the captured rebels?" Sabine asked him.

"But Ezra does have a point. We can't let this continue to happen "

"Do you have an idea?" Kanan inquired.

"I do, but it involves permission, traveling and a lot of persuasion."

"Oh boy, here it comes" Zeb rolled his eyes.

"Remember when the odds were against more than other times? We had a little support at the worst moments."

"Hold on, you're not seriously thinking about her are you?" Hera stared.

"Who are we talking about?" Ezra asked.

"What other choice do we have? She helped us once and she can do it again" Sabine continued.

"Sabine, she left because her home was demolished" Zeb said.

"Fawn will understand, she came to us the first time didn't she?"

Ezra gave a sharp intake of breath at the name and went quiet.

"With Fawn and the dragons back on our side, think of how much more a chance we'll have. Besides, we all miss her and our dragons don't we?"

The command center become silent as the topic of the beloved winged lizards were brought up. The Ghost Crew all missed​ their scaled friends dearly. They all occasionally woke up with nightmares of getting Bonding Sickness. Ezra had taken the loss of Whiplash hard and over the days after the dragon left, he'd been about as depressed as Kyber after he lost Ben.

"I won't deny that Sabine" Hera said.

"But you remember what Kabera was like. Completely run down. There's no guarantee Kabera's even safe for the dragons again. There might be tons of work still left to be done."

"Yeah but Hera..."

"Fawn left to help her home" Ezra said sharply and suddenly.

"We need to respect her choice and let her be. We can't rely on her all the time, she needs to live her own life without us tagging along."

"Ezra" Kanan said.

He'd never heard his Padawan sound so firm voiced. It was like the boy wasn't just trying to force the others to believe what he was saying, but also trying to persuade himself.

"We can manage without her" Ezra said.

"Without her and the dragons."

With that, the boy turned and left for the Ghost. Arms crossed.

"Kanan" Hera said but it was all she had to say.

The Jedi gave a swift nod before following his apprentice who'd already disappeared into the ship.
_________________________________

Ezra closed his cabin door behind him and locked it. With a growl of frustration, he hit the door then exhaled, pressing his forehead against the cold metal frame. For a second or two, he stood there, frozen in that position as he breathed deeply.

'Control yourself Ezra' he reminded himself.

'You've fallen victim to the Dark Side enough.'

Moving away from the door, the teen went towards his drawers. He dug around and found what he was looking for. After wiping some dust from the glass, Ezra held the object up to the light. The Dragon Holocron glowed a gentle purple in the darkness as it rested in Ezra's hands. The boy sighed heavily, seating himself on his bunk as he gazed at the Holocron. It had been given to him by Fawn as a farewell present. He could still remember the day crystal clear.

*Flashback*

The rebels and dragons stood on the burnt fields of Kabera. Ezra and Fawn stood in front of one another, the teen avoiding his sister's gaze.

"Hey" Fawn said.

The boy looked up at her.

"This isn't the Ezra I know."

Ezra exhaled and studied Fawn.

"I never wanted to separate from you" Ezra admitted.

"You remind me so much of mum and dad."

Fawn's expression softened.

"That's good to know" she said then motioned to her dragon who came forward.
She took something from Hurricane's saddlebag and gave it to Ezra.

"Here, this is something to remember me by."

"Fawn is this your Dragon Holocron?" Ezra stared.

The object in Fawn's hands was a clear, faint purple triangle shaped box with a small indigo crystal in the center. Fawn called it the Dragon Holocron and Ezra recalled when she first showed it to him.

"Remember when she asked me if I would trust you with a Dragon Holocron?" Fawn inquired.
"Yeah?"

"Well, here's the proof."

"But this is the original. This is yours" Ezra said.

"I know, and I trust you with my life to look after it."

"Fawn...I...I can't accept this."

"You have to, I'm not taking it back. I want you to have it."

*End flashback*

It was the first Dragon Holocron ever made and Fawn had given it to Ezra. But there was something that always made Ezra feel bad. He'd never opened it. After the rebels left Kabera, the boy had placed it on the shelf beside his bunk. Then it moved to the dresser where it was buried beneath Ezra's clothes in his drawers. Ezra hadn't taken it out of there since they'd gotten back from Malacore. He'd been occupied with another Holocron entirely. The Sith Holocron. However, the strangest thing happened a few days after Ezra unlocked it. He felt a gentle but warning presence flowing from the Dragon Holocron. Like it was warning him. But Ezra pushed the feeling away and ignored the special box. Now, as he held it in his hands, an overwhelming feeling of guilt washed over him. He'd been selfish. Unbelieving selfish. He'd been so caught up in his problems that he'd thrown away the thing that his own sister had made with her two hands. The teen clenched his teeth as the feeling of tears started to arise.

'No' he thought.

'I'm not going to cry, crying dosen't solve anything.'

Then he remembered something Fawn had told him when he admitted this to his sister.

"Crying with others can relive pain, but crying by yourself can create more. That's an important lesson Ezra, remember it."

But he hadn't. He'd banished the memories completely. Grief and sorrow had consumed the boy that he had forgotten his sister's advice and guidance in moments of anger or pain. Ezra swallowed audibly and took a deep breath.

'What kind of brother am I?' He thought.

A sudden knock of the door made Ezra jump and almost drop the Dragon Holocron.

"Y-Yes?" He stuttered.

"Ezra, it's me. Can you unlock the door please? We need to talk" Kanan's voice came through the metal.

Ezra hesitated.

Crying with others can relive pain crying alone can sometime create more.

Ezra used the Force to unlock the door.

"Come in" he said.

Kanan opened it and stepped into the room. Ezra gazed at his Master, gripping the Holocron tightly in case he dropped it.

"Ezra, what's wrong?" Kanan asked.

Those two words. An easy question to ask, not always an easy question to answer. Ezra grip tightened so hard he was sure his hands were going white beneath his gloves. Then a single, shaking word uttered from the teen.

"Fawn."

Kanan seemed to understand. He went over to Ezra and climbed up the ladder. Sitting beside his Padawan, the Jedi placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You had quite an outburst at the briefing. Any particular reason why?" He asked carefully.

Ezra looked down at the Holocron again. He gave a one shouldered shrug in reply.

"Ezra" Kanan said firmly yet there was a touch of comfort behind the word.

"Please tell me."

It didn't sound like Kanan was pleading for Ezra to answer, it was a request. Ezra breathed in deeply as he reconised the tone. It was how Fawn used to talk when he was stressed or angry. A calm and gentle voice that melted the negative emotions.

"I-I guess I was just overreacting a little" Ezra admitted.

"Overreacting over what?" Kanan inquired.

"The fact that I might see Fawn again" Ezra answered.

"Shouldn't that be a good thing for you though? I mean after all, Fawn's your sister."

Ezra got off the bunk and gently placed the Holocron on the top of the drawers.

"Kanan, Fawn left because of her fear that her home was too vulnerable without her. I didn't understand that until now though. She was scared."

"And that surprises you?"

"She's so headstrong and such a rebel, I didn't think 'fear' was a word in her vocabulary."

"Ezra, everyone is afriad of something" Kanan told him, getting off the bunk.

"Yeah well Kabera would've managed just fine without her. She could've stayed with us."

"Ezra, Fawn went through a traumatizing experience on Kabera, can you blame her for wanting to stay there?" Kanan asked.

"She left her own brother just for her home!" Ezra replied sharply, voice raising.

"What kind of person puts their planet before family?!"

"The inhabitants of Kabera is her family Ezra. She was already crushed by the fact that some of her closest friends had perished to the Empire. Not to mention the damage inflicted on the entire star system as it is."

Ezra fell silent. He hadn't considered all that.

"Fawn was simply doing what was best for her people and planet. What would you do if you saw Lothal likd that?"

Ezra immediately went quiet, eyes on the ground.

"I don't just miss her" he muttered.

"I miss Whiplash."

He took off his glove where the spiral symbol was burned into his palm.

"It's been starting to itch lately."

"Bonding Sickness?" Kanan asked.

"Maybe. It's too early to tell."

Kanan sighed. Although he wouldn't admit it, his mark was also starting to tingle. And not in a good way.

"It's been months since our last transmission from Kabera" Ezra said sadly.

"It's like she's forgotten us...forgotten me."

"Ezra, you know Fawn would never forget you. She's probably tied up with everything happening on Kabera."

Ezra exhaled and slowly nodded in agreement.

"Maybe" he muttered but deep down, he felt like that wasn't the case.

Wow.
1893 words, what a way to start off with a bang huh? I feel pretty sorry for Ezra though, he clearly has a strong bond with Fawn and Whiplash. The next chapter should be up soon.
Suggestions are appreciated.

Star-Wars-Dragons out 🐲