Not How Your Stories End

Chapter 6

TW for vomiting and severe illness. Summary at the bottom for those who may be sensitive to this material.  

Kanan almost immediately gasped at the mental contact with his Padawan. It was immediately clear that whatever was plaguing Ezra was severely affecting his brain function and sense of consciousness. Ezra's mind was now little more than a fever-riddled warzone of conflicting thoughts and sensations. In that moment, there was no way Ezra had a solid grasp on reality, and his default reaction was to panic.

Knowing that calming him down would be instrumental to treating him, Kanan went to work, trying to bring some semblance of peace and clarity to Ezra's strained mental state. It was a difficult task, and Ezra was feeling the effects of it as well. The pain and fear was so physically straining for the already ill boy that Kanan could feel Hera at one point guiding the boy to the edge of the comforter to retch, losing the only bit of nutrients he had received in the past few hours. It was deeply disheartening and uncomfortable for both Master and Padawan, but just as Kanan was on the brink of giving up, he began to feel the steadying of his student's erratic breathing patterns, as well as the glimmer of recognition within their bond. It wasn't perfect, but Kanan decided to take the small victory. Looking back up, he relayed his success to their Captain.

"Hera, I think I've got it. If you need to talk to him, now would be the time to try."

She gave a brief sigh of relief, put aside the cleaning rag she was forced to gather after the earlier incident and centered herself once again before taking action.

"Alright. Zeb, I need you to bring us some towels and a bucket of cold water - as cold as you can get it. There should be some ice in the freezing unit". The Lasat huffed in affirmation and left the room without a word. Returning her attention to the boy on the ground, she carefully laid a hand on his forehead and began to speak.

"Ezra, Ezra can you hear me?" she called, internally praying to any gods she knew of for a response.

The room was entirely silent for a moment, and Hera was sure her heart was about to pound right out of her chest. But after a few seconds that felt like an eternity, a weak groan sounded throughout the cabin.

Taking hold of the small opportunity, she continued to try and keep hold of the the boy's focus. "That's good, Ezra. You're doing great. You don't have to worry about speaking if you're not able to. Just keep focusing on my voice. Now, can you open your eyes for us, love?"

The room was silent for a moment more before a sharp whine permeated the air around them as the Padawan tried to shift on the comforter beneath him. It was truly a pitiful sight. Trying not to feel defeated quite yet, she helped Kanan still him before Zeb returned with a stack of towels and rags. Chopper, complaining about being "awoken" by Zeb when he wasn't fully recharged yet, filed in behind with two large buckets of ice water. Ignoring the droid's snarky comments, she gave a silent nod of thanks to the two, then began to soak the various rags into the freezing water and drape them over every inch of Ezra's exposed skin.

Still hoping to engage the Padawan's consciousness in some manner, she turned to her Jedi for help.

"Kanan, I'm kind of occupied right now, can you try talking to him?" she asked without tearing her attention away from the cloth she was now vigorously wringing out over a bucket.

Kanan nodded, shifting slightly to prop his student's upper body against his own the best he could without disturbing Hera's work. Gently, he reached out a hand and began to run it through Ezra's hair in a manner he hoped was comforting. "Come on, Ezra," he pleaded, "open your eyes for me".