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Ethaluca was tired and confused. Tired like she had never been before in her four years as a padawan and it was all the Council's fault. She knew that was a bit of an unfair thought but that is where all of this began anyways. After all they had been the ones who had assigned her Master, her men and her to this assault on another Mid-rim planet that was producing Separatest weapons. The catch was that the Open Circle Fleet was with them as well. She had been excited for a good second. For Master Kenobi and Knight Skywalker along with Padawan Tano had made a name for themselves on the battlefield. That's excitement quickly faded upon remembering that those three had also made a name for themselves for their missions never going as planned.
The Disaster Trio.
Not the kindest nickname she could admit but it was accurate. It was well known throughout the Temple that not one mission they went on went as planned when you had one of them, let alone all three of them. In that moment she had hoped to the Force that this time would be different
It hadn't been.
The battle had been rough and more drawn out then any of them had expected. The planet more heavily fortified than had been originally suspected. Her Master had even considered pulling back when they all heard the tell tale sign of an explosion.The only thought she had at that time was that it had to be them.
Later as she sat in the Medbay getting her after battle check done alongside Ahsoka, she found that she was right. That's also when her confusion made itself known to her.
Ahsoka had been telling her about her version of events on the battlefield. It should have been easy for her to follow along, truely, but it wasn't. She was having a hard time following who was doing what and who she was referring to as 'Master'. She also didn't want to ask because really she had spent all this time with them and had no idea, it would just be rude at this point. So she just nodded along hoping that if she listened enough she would be able to peice it together.
"So that's when Master saw the fuel tanks and well....I'm sure you can guess what happened from there." Ahsoka finished with a slightly sheepish look. "Think he almost blew out our eardrums."
"I see that Padawan Tano is keeping you entertained." Her Master said as she approached with Master Kenobi and Knight Skywalker.
"Yes, Master." She replied a bit tiredly.
"I've spoken to Coric and you have both been cleared to go get some rest in your rooms." Skywalker told them."Yes, that means you do have to sleep Snips." He had added seeing Ahsoka start to protest being sent to bed.
Slumping back she reluctantly mumbled, "Yes, Master."
"Come, Ahsoka. I have some of your favorite tea still. We'll make some before you rest." Master Kenobi offered.
Ahsoka clearly brightened before jumping off the Medbay bed she had been sitting on and stepped quickly towards his side with a, "Thank you,Master."
Both Skywalker and Kenobi made their goodbyes before each putting a hand on Ahsoka's shoulders and steered her out. Ahsoka calling out a goodbye over her shoulder as she left.
Ethaluca started after them as they left and still felt her confusion clearly. She turned towards her Master once they were gone and asked, "Exactly which one of them is Ahsoka's Master? I had been trying to follow along to her story but couldn't tell who she was talking about."
"Both Kenobi and Skywalker were with her the entirety of the battle." Taylpho Culoro said vaguely.
"You don't know either, do you?"
"Not a bit." Taylpho admitted.
_____________
By the time she had next met up with Ahsoka she had almost forgotten about her earlier confusion. She had agreed to spar with her this afternoon when she had ran into her that morning and now she was running late. She dodged Jedi throughout the halls as quickly as possible. Breathing a bit harshly she busted through the doors to find Ahsoka doing her warm ups.
"Sorry I'm late. The errands took a bit longer then I thought they would ." She apologized.
Ahsoka waved it off. "It's fine. I was just stretching."
Nodding she quickly took off her extra layers and fell into her own stretches alongside her. She had seen and heard of Ahsoka's lightsaber skills on the battlefield and was looking forward to seeing how that transferred to lightsaber combat.
Maybe she should have stretched more she thought. She could feel the burn in her muscles. They had started off with joint katas before moving onto some light sparring to get the feel of each other. Ethaluca had been feeling confident that she would be able to hold her own against Ahsoka's dual sabers and Djem So. They were deadly but her own form was just as forceful. That was until Ahsoka switched from her aggressive form to Soresu and went on the defense. Ahsoka's guard held under all of her attacks and Ethaluca realized quickly that she was losing strength the longer she attacked.
A slight misstep left her open for an attack and Ahsoka seized on it. Side stepping to her side Ahsoka checked her boldly causing her to stumble backwards. Righting her footing she quickly raised her saber to block. She needed to end this soon.
With a grunt she pushed back and aimed to knock Ahsoka's shoto saber out of her hand. She heard the tell tale sign of a lightsaber hitting the floor before risking a glance down to connect her foot to send it out of bounds.
"Nice move." Ahsoka acknowledged.
Her thanks was barely out of her mouth before Ahsoka rushed her. Their blades clashed once more and Ethaluca was sure that she was about to win. That is until she saw the glem in Ahsoka's eyes that had her own widening. With a quick step back Ahsoka put a small distance between them but never disconnected their sabers. With a quick twirl of her saber she tore Ethaluca's out of her hand and into the air. Stunned, she could only watch as Ahsoka jumped and grabbed it out of the air and landed perfectly with both of them lit in a defensive stance.
"Solah." Ethaluca whispered.
The sudden loud applause startled the both of them. Looking towards the entrance they found both Kenobi and Skywalker heading their way with large grins. Ahsoka answered their's with one of her own and made to step towards them before quickly stopping.
"Sorry! I almost forgot to give this back." She apologized, handing Ethaluca her saber and recalling her own."It was a great spar. I had a lot of fun."
"Me too. We should do it again sometime." She agreed.
"You both should be proud. Excellent control of your sabers." Master Kenobi praised the both of them. It drew a shy smile of her own at him.
"Thank you, Master Kenobi." She bowed towards him.
"You should go freshen up and hurry along to get some food. Your adrenalin will be failing soon and you're going to need some fuel." Skywalker added.
Nodding her acknowledgment she made her goodbyes and started to make her way towards her things when she heard them speaking.
"Did you see that spin Obi-Wan? She learned it from me." Skywalker's voice was filled with pride and a hint of playfulness.
"And you learned it from me." Kenobi countered, his own amusement clear as well.
"So you say." Skywalker evaded."Come on, Snips. You need a shower and food too."
"I'll take a shower but if you're cooking Master, then I'll pass." Ahsoka said.
"Hey!" Skywalker's protest followed by Ahsoka's and Kenobi's laughter.
"I was thinking Dex's." Master Kenobi proposed, "You did well today Ahsoka."
"Yes! Thank you, Master!" Ahsoka's excited answer was the last thing she heard before exiting.
She was almost to her room before remembering her earlier confusion and replaying the conversations she had had with Ahsoka and what she had overheard today to see if it gave any indications. Unfortunately not, she concluded. Now she was just curious at this point. A puzzle she'd like to solve.
Her stomach grumbled.
She'll find out later. After food.
______________
She started where all good padawans should.
Her friend's padawan group chat.
However she quickly found that if she had wanted a conclusive answer she should have asked them separately and not in a group chat. It was chaos.
She could barely pick out responses such as;
"How should I know?", From Raz.
"Who cares?", From Yun.
"Skywalker, obviously.", From Kevin.
"Definitely Kenobi.", From Jeni.
And a very confused, "I thought she was already a Knight." From Sib.
She silenced her comm after that one. The influx of messages in response to Sib had her head hurting.
If her Master wasn't an option and neither was her fellow padawans then that left one other source of information she could try.
Her padawan sibling Haskan.
She adored her brother padawan. Truly she did. He just tended to get a little over zealous when he gave his undivided attention to something but if she asked him to find out he would with that overzealousness.
She started in the hanger bay first in her quest to find him. He was a bit of a ship fanatic and usually found under one.
And she was right. He hadn't even noticed her arrival yet. She quickly grabbed his legs and pulled him out without warning. Getting a high pitch squeak in reward. That was well worth the glare he sent her way.
"That was unnecessary."
"You should be more mindful of your surroundings." She sounded like their Master to her own ears and to his apparently too for a dull flush coated his cheeks.
"Does our Master need something or are you just bored?", he changed the topic quickly.
"More like I need something and well....I got time on my hands." She replied.
His eyebrows raised at that. "Dangerous combination there. Alright, I'll bite. What do you need?"
"You know Ahsoka Tano, right?"
His snort was answer enough. "Who doesn't? She's The Apprentice."
Well the media wasn't the most creative with nicknames either it seems."Great and do you happen to know if Kenobi or Skywalker is her Master?"
He leaned closer towards her, "You want to know a secret about that?"
Her curiosity once more pricked, she nodded and leaned closer as well.
"Literally no one knows. Maybe the Council does but well no one's been brave enough to ask them. I got credits riding on Kenobi though."
Her mouth dropped in shock. Too caught up in the bet to be disappointed by him not knowing."You bet money on this?"
He gave her a half shrug."Half the Temple has."
"So if I went to ask someone else my question...?" She trailed off.
"They probably won't know either." He admitted."Why do you want to know so badly? I admit it's a fun bet but not something to actively seek out." He peered at her.
"It's not that." She assured him.Telling him of how she hadn't asked when they first met and later had been too embarrassed to ask after so much time had passed.Then her curiosity once more gets the better of her and her trying to find out on her own.He seemed to get where she was coming from and nodded along.
"I could find out for you if you really wanted?" He proposed. She nodded quickly and then stopped.
"Wait.This isn't about your bet is it?"
"Not entirely .Though it would be nice to win."
_______________
She had been relaxing in the Room of a Thousand Fountains when she felt two bodies sit down in front of her. Startled, she quickly opened her eyes to find Kenobi and Skywalker there.
"Uhm. Can I help you?", She asked shyly.
"Heard you've been asking around wanting to know which one of us was Ahsoka's Master." Skywalker announced.
She nearly choked on her air. Which seemed to amuse the both of them.
"I apologize for Anakin, young one. He tends to forget to be more subtle in his approach." Kenobi said tiredly as if he spent a lot of time apologizing for Skywalker.
"I just like to get straight to the point." Skywalker defended.
She decided now would be a good time to interject before they started their bantering she had witnessed every time she was around them."I was. I mean that I am. How'd you know?"
"Haskan approached us and asked. Said you wanted answers. Lovely sibling you got there." Kenobi told her. She mentally groaned. Of course Haskan would go straight to the source."Is it about that ridiculous bet?"
"No! Not at all." She denied. At both of their peering looks she elaborate and told them what she had told her brother padawan. Her confusion, embarrassment and her curiosity. "Didn't even know about the bet until Haskan said something about it."
They seemed more relaxed by the end of it all and a bit amused.
"Leave it to Ahsoka to forget to mention names." Skywalker said with a slight shake of his head. "How about this we'll make you a deal. We'll tell you which one of us is her Master if you can keep it a secret from the rest of the Temple."
She eagerly nodded. "Yes. I promise!"
Kenobi lowered his voice and said conspiracy, "We both are."
Her eyes widened and mouth dropped."Is that even allowed?!"
"Normally? No. But we're not exactly normal." Skywalker clarified for her. "Besides,Yoda loves the chaos that we are together."
"We are not chaotic Anakin." Kenobi replied quickly. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped at that. Skywalker sent her an approving grin.
"Sorry Master. It's just that...you've all earned quite the reputation as being....well chaotic." She finished a bit awkwardly. She had almost said disastrous before thinking twice about it. Changing the subject she asked. "Why don't you want the Temple to know?"
"It's fun to watch people guess," Kenobi said, "and Ahsoka is oblivious. At this point we're wondering how long it will take before she realizes."
Well that made perfect sense. At least the not telling the Temple part. She was still somewhat shocked at the two Masters bit. That was going to take time. She went into auto pilot in her goodbyes as they made to leave.
"You should place a bet too. It's eventually going to get out and someone may as well win." Skywalker advised. "Oh and Ahsoka wants to spar tomorrow. Same time, same place. Hope you'll be there."
With that they left her with a great deal to think about.
But that could all wait. She had a bet to place and a brother to torment for putting her through such an awkward conversation.