Unsettled/Disillusioned

Chapter 3: the Ritual

Cal was kneeling on the floor by the spare cot when Kallus returned from the base's communal refresher. Cal was wearing a spare set of Kanan's sleeping clothes, his dirty clothes were neatly folded in a corner on top of the bag he'd brought from Pasaana. His lightsaber hilt was also piled on top of everything, along with the strange green-and-gold charm Kallus saw hanging from his blaster holster earlier. Cal's hilt was longer than both Kanan's and Ezra's, by far. BD-1 was on the floor with him, his legs outstretched, wiggling his little metal feet as he diligently watched over the ginger man as he meditated. Kallus knew Kanan could meditate in absolute silence for hours, a feat Ezra sometimes struggled with. He'd never heard Kanan speak while he was taking the time to meditate unless it was to scold one of the kids or joke shortly with Zeb.

But when Kallus walked in, Cal's lips were moving and he was whispering something like a mantra under his breath.

BD-1 looked up at Kallus as he entered the room and Kallus froze. He gave BD a look that said 'I'll be quiet' as he stepped softly and carefully into the room so he wouldn't disturb the ginger Jedi's meditation.

Cal's back was straight, face forward and eyes closed, a serene look on his face that made his freckles, and scars, stand out more than before.

"Jaro Tapal. Trilla Suduri. Eno Cordova. Cere Junda," Cal whispered over and over like a quiet mantra.

Kallus tiptoed into the room and made a beeline for his desk so he could put his dirty clothes and towel away and start working on his reports for Captain Rex. He accidentally kicked his chair against the desk and it made a noise, crashing loud in the relative quiet of the room. Cal stopped mid-sentence and took a breath.

"You shouldn't feel the need to sneak around in your own quarters," Cal said flatly, his eyes still closed and his face hadn't even turned to Kallus. His voice was soft and quiet, even in the cool night of a still and silent Chopper Base.

"I didn't want to disturb you, I know how important meditation is for a Jedi," Kallus explained.

BD-1 gave a series of whistles Kallus thought was a laugh. Cal slowly opened his eyes. Bright green, soft.

"Thank you for the consideration," Cal said, a delicate smile playing on his lips, "I wouldn't want to be a distraction to you either," he nodded his chin towards the desk, "will you be working for much longer?"

"I just have a few reports to work on for Rex," Kallus shrugged as he put his things away, "I'll give it an hour, then I'll turn in for the night."

"I'll be quieter, then," Cal teased as he closed his eyes and bowed his head, the words soon fell out of his mouth like a gentle breeze. For the next hour, Kallus tried to focus on his work.

But he still couldn't remember where he had seen Cal before. He finished up the reports later than he wanted to and finally crawled into his cot. Cal was already fast asleep, with one hand on the companion droid, who was nestled into a corner of the room and charging.

It wasn't until Kallus was half asleep, feeling heavy from the long day, that he realised Cal's meditation mantra wasn't just words.

They were names.