Kanan's POV

The creatures treated me as if I were a god or other magical being. At least they weren't still trying to kill me. They kept me away from their inhabitants until the next morning, when the chief and my little translator came to see me.

I sent mental messages to the creature I had connected with, trying to explain to it that I needed to go back to the place they had taken me from. I tried to add images of Ezra, but I don't think they really understood. They might have thought that I was telling them that I was looking for another magical being. My translator spoke to the chief and he waved his staff in the air. I was finally allowed out of the hut they had left me in.

A whole herd of the little creatures gathered around and began escorting me through their little village and down to the forest floor below. I followed them, hoping that they knew where we were going. I certainly didn't.

Up above, dark clouds blocked out the sunlight. It would probably rain soon. I hoped that Ezra was ok. I hoped that he was alive and had found somewhere safe to hide from the Empire.

After traveling for a good while, we reached a large tree that I recognized. It was the same tree where I had seen Ezra fall. I walked closer, dreading what I might see.

At the far side of the tree there was an Ezra-sized hole in the ground. I knelt beside it and glanced down. I couldn't see a bottom. Something was attached to the roof of the cave. I pulled it closer for a better look. It was an old republic grapple gun. I searched the ground around the hole. There were signs that something had laid on the ground there.

Ezra must have broken through the crust of dirt and stone when he hit the ground. He had probably explored, found the grapple gun, and managed to get himself out. Which meant the Empire probably hadn't found him yet. The question was: how long ago did he escape?

I searched the area, trying to piece together the rest of the story. I was never as good a tracker as Sabine and Ezra were, but I could tell the difference between human footprints and pawprints. It looked like after Ezra had escaped the hole, he had wandered around a bit. At some point I lost his footprints among those of other humans. Probably stormtroopers. Had he been captured, or had he been following them? I wished the rest of the rebels were with me.

I sent my translator images of Ezra again while pointing in the direction the tracks headed. The little creatures held a quick meeting. I didn't have time for this. I began following the stormtroopers footprints. To my annoyance, the creatures all followed me. They were going to make it very difficult to be stealthy.

I followed the tracks, but they were old and difficult to follow. To make matters worse, it looked like it could rain at any moment.

Lightning flashed overhead and thunder shook the earth. I dropped to the ground as the little fuzzy creatures scattered. There went my army. Rain began to fall. Before long I was wet, cold, and muddy. Not exactly the rescue mission I had in mind.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and I glanced at the ground. The tracks were a muddy mess. I couldn't tell where they were or what direction they were heading. I could only continue heading in the same direction I had been going and hope that the tracks didn't turn in either direction.

Lightning flashed again, followed by the rumble of thunder. I hurried forward, anxious to either find Ezra or get out of the rain. Thunder continued to growl in the distance, accompanied occasionally by lightning.

I paused suddenly, not sure why I was doing it. I glanced around before turning my gaze upwards. At first I could see nothing except trees. Then my eyes fell on a dark shape a good distance upwards, hugging the tree trunk as if it were the last person in the galaxy. I squinted at it. I recognized that form.

"Ezra?" I called up. His head turned.

"Kanan? Is that you?" he called down.

"Yeah, I'm right here," I told him. "Why are you in a tree?"

"The Inquisitor is nearby. This was the best I could do under the circumstances," Ezra replied.

"How about you come down?" I suggested. There was a silence that was broken only by the rain.

"I can't," Ezra admitted.

"Are you afraid of heights?" I asked.

"No, there was this flash of lightning. I couldn't see or hear afterwards," Ezra told me. "I just barely got my hearing back, but I still can't see anything."

I looks up at the tree. There was no way I could climb up, grab Ezra, and climb back down with him. It was time to turn to the force.

"I'm going to levitate you down, but you need to trust me," I told Ezra.

"Ok," Ezra said hesitantly.

"That means you have to let go of he tree," I reminded him. Slowly, he released the tree trunk. I used the force to move him away from the tree and lower him to the ground. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he blinked and glanced around. I waved a hand in front of his eyes. He didn't react.

"We need to go somewhere safer than this," I said as lightning flashed. Ezra jumped as the thunder rumbled. I took his hand and led him through the mud and rain.

We were reunited once again, although we weren't any safer than before.