Rebuilding (COMPLETE)

*Episode 15 (5)

Ezra looked very uncertain while Anakin put the shelves back in place and took a seat next to Artoo by the wall. Downing some more of his water, he asked, "How'd we look?" privately to the astromech. Artoo whistled in satisfaction which was enough for his master.

He was really glad that Ezra had seen a glimpse of Kanan in full throttle. He still hadn't really heard about the Inquisitor fight and he didn't know how much of it Ezra had seen. Still, people learn plenty just by watching. If Ezra saw what Kanan could do, maybe he'd believe that he could do the same one day. 

Anakin needed to step back, though. Guiding sparring was one thing, but he was just here to watch now. He had to draw that line early or it would get blurred later. Not that he had anything against training Ezra, but it couldn't be in the same way Kanan did. Master-Padawan relationships had certain boundaries that Anakin knew he ought to respect, even if Kanan wasn't aware of them yet. If Kanan wanted to know more about teaching, this was the place to start.

So he sat back and watched as Kanan had Ezra run through his basic sequences, although a lot more slowly than before. Ezra had the technique down, but it was clear it still wasn't natural for him yet. Not surprising given that he had only had his lightsaber for maybe a few months. 

From the sidelines, Anakin tried to take mental notes on what he saw in Ezra's form. It was clear that even though he was a rebel, his primary focus was survival. He was always moving, never really holding a position for too long. Kanan, for example, followed through a lot of his strokes and sometimes even held himself in place if he could spare the time, a habit taught by the Coruscant temple in order to perfect his technique. Ezra hardly ever did this, except for when Kanan specifically asked for it, and usually retreated almost immediately into a defensive position. Anakin could see the strategy in it: hypothetically he would be ready for whatever came next. It needed to be harnessed, though, because right now it was just a habit, not a tactic. If Ezra could realize what he was doing, he might be able to use it for something.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he also saw Kanan making sure to stay on his toes. He knew Kanan knew Anakin was watching him, and he wasn't wrong. He wasn't there to judge, though, just to watch. Despite having known Caleb in the past, Anakin had only met Kanan and Ezra yesterday. Getting to know them was the first step on a very long road he hoped would end well. Like he said, there was a lot to learn from watching. 

When they were finished with sequences (a good fifteen minutes later), Kanan turned to Anakin. "You think you could help go over deflecting blaster fire? I don't think the others are up yet, or I'd ask them to help."

"Sure," he responded, but he didn't grab a blaster. Instead he reached into one of his back pockets and pulled out a small metal sphere. "Do you think this would work?"

"How-? How did you...?" He shook his head. "What else did you manage to snag from the temple?"

"Some textbooks, holocrons, old manuscripts..." he listed, throwing orb into the air before catching it. "I don't have any of it with me, unfortunately."

Ezra stared at the little ball in his hand. "What is that?"

Powering it on, Anakin explained. "Training remote. It won't kill you, but it'll give you a nice shock if you don't deflect the charge. Do you have a helmet with you?"

"I've got a blindfold," Kanan offered, pulling a strip of cloth out of his belt. Wrapping it around his apprentice's head, he made sure it was secure before stepping away. When he nodded to Anakin, he started the remote on the first level and stepped back. 

When the shots came, Ezra's first instinct was to dodge them. Again, not surprising. The logic was that you shouldn't take a hit where you don't have to. In survival it was common sense, but a Jedi didn't always act out of common sense.