At the beginning of the Clone Wars, Moatia Rhaden is granted padawan status, made a Commander, and shipped across the galaxy. Nothing seems to make sense, and Moatia is lost at every turn.
But at least she has her Master and her men beside her.
~ T...
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"I'm sorry today was kind of a bust," Anneli said as they started walking back to the dress shop, where their speeder was still parked.
"What do you mean?" Moatia asked, holding her sabers tightly. Force help her, she was not losing these again. She looked down at the blue dress she was wearing. "We got me a new outfit, and I really like it." It was a bit dirty now, coated in dust and the stench of an underground alleyway, but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed. Her other clothes had seen much worse.
"I wanted to take you to do something fun. As a teenager, I went shopping all the time with my friends or my mother and you've never gotten to do anything like that." Anneli almost sounded guilty that she was able to have this experience, and Moatia wasn't. She sat down on the side of the sidewalk, with her legs dangling over the edge, and Moatia copied her.
Now that she thought about it, Moatia did feel a little cheated. All the people in her holomovies talked about growing up and their childhood experiences, stuff that Moatia could never take part in.
She could've reassured Anneli that all was well, she didn't mind, but instead she decided to answer a bit more honestly. "I don't really have friends my age. I used to have one or two but it's hard to maintain friendships when you never see them and can't freely send holo messages."
"I'm so sorry, Moatia." Anneli looked so sad, so ashamed, but Moatia didn't know what for. It wasn't Anneli denying her the so-called 'rites of passage', just the circumstances of the galaxy.
If given the opportunity, just about any person in the galaxy would end the war and cleanse the galaxy with a single order. But that wasn't possible, and that was why the Republic had the Jedi to do it for them.
"Don't worry, Anneli. I'm not upset over it. I wouldn't trade my life in the Temple for anything. They took care of me, raised me to the best of their abilities, and I love them. I love Neeka, and she's done more for me than my birth parents ever could. Neeka stuck with me, even when it was hard for her."
Anneli smiled.
"I had lots of fun today, too," Moatia continued. "Even if it wasn't a normal teenager hangout."'
They had finally reached their speeder, which Moatia was delighted to see had not been vandalized just yet.
"It had a Moatia spin on it." Anneli laughed. "How about we get you back to your Temple? I'm sure your Master must be worried about how late it is."
"It's fine. She probably doesn't know what time it is." Neeka had absolutely zero concept of time at any given moment and was probably trimming some deadly plant like it was three in the afternoon.
