Before:

Fein is desperate to prove himself.

The days after Jedha left him haunted, stalked by the memories of the riot, of the picture of his own face illuminated on the Empire’s screens with the glow of a lightsaber he barely remembers how to use. The burn on his arm is barely healed, a pinched and throbbing reminder that he failed because he did not prepare. 

When his Master steps forward as leader, there is no other option but to step forward to follow. They’ve spent the last few weeks sparring, learning, preparing - now is the time to show her he’s been learning. Now is the time to prove that he is an asset to the Rebellion, not a liability. 

During:

This mission is a test of Fein’s restraint. When battle rages and the Inquisitors encircle their leaders like the predators they were raised to be, Fein lets himself be pulled away. For a moment, he ignites his saber. For a moment, he takes a step to stand beside his master. For a moment, he fighting in wars long dead alongside another Master, in another life; and then Noa tells him to ‘Go. Remember and go,’ and for the second time in his life he abandons his Master. 

He runs, with Xavis & ___, towards the call of the crystals - acolytes at their heels. Around corners, the hurricanes raging against the walls around them, and through it all the crystals call - a pulsing primal energy that beckons. They will not leave without the purpose of the mission accomplished. 

After:

Crystals in hand, one at his heart, Fein can’t help but feel triumph. There’s a grin between Master and Padawan as he races past her into the ship, and suddenly the Rebellion is full of possibilities. As the base begins to hum with the creation of a new generation of lightsabers, Fein turns to a giant of his past for help - he needs a weapon he feels comfortable wielding. A weapon that is less of a remnant of the Jedi he wanted to be, and more a symbol of the man he has become. 

This is loosely what Fein is up to during the mission Crystallize. There are open spaces in this for others to join in, and I am very much down for pre, post, or during threads! 

Note: If we are still involved in any Revenant threads that you would like to drop or wrap up, please let me know! I do not mind in the slightest! 

As they crept along hurricane slick walls, down ill-lit hallways through the scent of mildew and rusting gears, they knew the mission was falling into place too easily. Fein could feel it itching along his skin like what Master Kenobi always called a disturbance in the Force; but instead of a padawan timing his attack too early, the disturbance revealed itself as two dogs of the empire and their blood red acolytes.

Noa didn’t wait. She and Jezha spun into action faster than Fein could register the fight had begun, and as the acolytes closed in a circle around them, as he prepared to leap to his Master’s side, Noa turned and told him to run. He stands frozen in the alcove her whisper screaming in his ears. He can’t leave her, he won’t leave her. She looks him in the eye and tells him to run, and superimposed over her form – fluid in battle, deadly in her grace – is another master, blood choking in her throat, along her chin. Noa’s whip flashes in the air as she dodges another attack, and Fein takes a step forward.

One solitary half step towards her (he’s made his choice he won’t leave another Master to die, another mother behind, another mentor to leave him alone and reeling) and then there’s a hand wrapped around his forearm.

“Let go,” he snarls, the Force rising up in his throat like bile, like an oil slick along his skin, but they don’t let go, they grip him tighter, hold him there. Fein looks back, and meets Xavis’ eyes, “Let me go to her.”