Saga - PT “I saw the wolf…” (Little!Ezra and animals, songfic; late birthday gift for Raissa Baiard)

Author: Findswoman
Title: “I saw the wolf…”
Era: Saga—PT, no later than 13 BBY
Characters: Ezra Bridger (6 or younger), his parents, some animals, some other Lothali citizens, maybe even the Force
Genre: songfic, childhood, kind-of-drama
Summary: Little Ezra sees the wolf, the fox, the hare… and sets them dancing.
Notes: A belated birthday gift for my very good friend @Raissa Baiard, whose birthday was on the 11th. Happy belated birthday, dear Raissa, and enjoy!
Also, a songfic of sorts, based on the old French folk song “J’ai vu le loup” (I saw the wolf), which seemed perfect for a young Ezra discovering his beastwarden talents. The notes at the end of the song give the translation of the quoted verses.

Spoiler: Recording by the Baltimore Consort

(There are many, many recordings of this song on YouTube; I’m just sharing one I especially like.)

---

J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard cheuler.
C’est moi-même qui les ai rebeuillés.
J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
C’est moi-même qui les ai rebeuillés.
J’ai vu le loup, le renard cheuler.

Little Ezra Bridger couldn’t sleep.

So he did what he always did when he couldn’t sleep, which was look out the window.

He pulled open the curtain with its cord (he’d seen Mama do it before). The moons were shining. They were full tonight and made a lot of light, which he always liked because he could see better that way.

He climbed up on the chair and looked out over the tiled housetops of the edge of Capital City. He looked out over the grassy land beyond them. He looked out over the stream that ran through the grassy land. He looked up the stream and down the stream.

And that is when he saw it.

An animal. Drinking from the stream. It was a pocket hare. He liked them, because they were so fluffy and their long, floppy ears were so cute.

Ezra watched it for a few moments, and listened, too. Lap, lap, lap. Thirsty after long day of running and jumping and eating grass. Mmm.

Then another animal came along and started drinking from the stream. It was a Loth-fox. It was bigger, brownish, with long, pointy cat ears and a long snout. When it came up the pocket hare ran away. And then it, the Loth-fox, was drinking by itself.

Ezra watched it for a few moments, and listened, too. Shlop, shlop, shlop. Thirsty after long day of harrying the hare over the steppes. Ahh. (What was harrying? What was steppes? Ezra would ask Mommy tomorrow.)

And then another animal came along and started drinking from the stream. It was big and majestic and silver-white and almost like a dog with kind of scales on its head but much bigger. Ezra didn’t know what it was; he only knew that it looked kind of like one the mythical Loth-wolves in one of his fairytale picture books, and he knew those didn’t really exist. Anyway, when it came up, the Loth-fox ran away, and then it was drinking by itself.

Ezra watched it for a few moments, and listened, too. It made no sound as it drank. But Ezra heard something else: Sense presence. Nearby. Hmm. Who?

And then it looked up. It had huge, shining golden eyes like fireballs. Shining golden eyes that stared right at little Ezra Bridger.

And Ezra ran back to bed as fast as he could.

—But I was watching and listening, too.—

* * *​

J’ai ouï le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
J’ai ouï le loup, le renard chanter.
C’est moi-même qui les ai rechignés,
J’ai ouï le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
C’est moi-même qui les ai rechignés,
J’ai ouï le loup, le renard chanter.

Every night after that, little Ezra Bridger watched and listened.

Sometimes he saw the pocket hare and the Loth-fox down by the stream, sometimes not. Sometimes only one of them. But every time he did, he heard them, too:

Mmm. Hungry, tasty grass. Ooh what was that a bird AAH! Never mind, back to nibbling. That was good, now drink. Lap lap lap.

Arright, hare! Could be tasty nibble…

AAH, RUN! LOTH-FOX!

Ah, stang, hare got away. Never mind, thirsty. Drink now, shlop shlop shlop. You know, sometime soon, need find new den. Need find someone share it with. But later. After drink. Shlop. Mmm.

And now and then the big, silver-white animal would come up to the stream too, sniff the air, and drink. One or both of the others would scatter, but Ezra stayed and watched and listened:

Sensing it again. Near, very near. Strong, but still small. Biped? Not usually so strong. And yet… hmm...

Ezra didn’t really know what the big one was talking about. But it was still so cool and fun that he could hear him, that he could hear any of them. So he decided to try talking back:

Hi! Hi, hare! Hi, fox! Hi, big... dog thing! See me? I’m over here!

The fox and the hare ran away the first few times, but the big animal stayed and listened and thought hmmm to itself, whatever that meant. But Ezra kept trying.

Hey there, fox, hare, big guy! How are you? My name’s Ezra!

And soon the fox and hare would stay and listen, too, and sometimes they’d talk to each other, without words but still with speech.

Hey there, everyone!

Hey there, Ezra!

How are you?

Just fine. Come down, have drink?

Nah, Mom and Dad’d get mad, but hello anyway!

Hello right back! Lap lap lap.

One night there were no animals at the stream at all and Ezra found himself feeling a little lonely. But he remembered how he had talked to them and thought to himself, why not try?

So he put out a little Hey, where is everyone? Hare?

And the hare ran up.

Wow! Uh, how about you, fox?

And the fox ran up.

Wow, wizard! Uh… um… big guy…? What about you, big guy? Big guy…?

And after a few moments, slowly, purposefully, the big silver-white animal loped up and looked little Ezra in the eye with those big, golden fireball eyes.

IT IS YOU. I AM HERE.

Woohoo! It worked! They were all there, hare, fox, big-wolf-thing. Ezra whooped and jumped for joy. Look what he could do! So wizard!

And just then Mommy bustled into the room and hustled him into bed with an Ezzie sweetie what are you doing it’s way past your bedtime. And closed the window.

But even as he nodded off to sleep, little Ezra Bridger remembered.

—And I remembered, too, and I was ready.—

* * *​

J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard danser,
C’est moi-même qui les ai revirés,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
C’est moi-même qui les ai revirés,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard danser.

“Friends, inaction is no longer possible. Indifference is no longer possible.”

Daddy spoke, and everyone nodded and murmured in agreement. Little Ezra Bridger clapped, too, but he was scared. Mommy and Daddy’s meetings at Chapel Street Marketplace were always kind of scary, because sometimes those troopers showed up. And he thought he had seen some on the walk over…

“We can no longer stand idly aside while the Empire tramples our lives and freedoms underfoot. We must resist them with all our strength. We must stand tall against them and never back down.”

Of course, Ezra knew his mommy and daddy were very brave to stand up there and speak up the way they did. They were speaking up so that no one would ever be hurt by those troopers, or that evil Empire they were part of, ever again.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t scary.

“We are Lothali. We were born to stand tall, like the spires in the steppes. No storm can knock them down. And, by the moons, it’ll take more than a few stormtroopers to knock us down!”

At this the people clapped and cheered. Ezra clapped, too, but he was still scared. And then—

“WHAT’S ALL THIS?! What d’you think you’re doing here?!”

Oh no. Oh. No. The troopers were here. A whole lot of them, too. One of them had gone right up to Daddy! Ezra clutched Mommy’s hand.

But Daddy spoke up, of course. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with. This is a peaceful gathering, and we are permitted by law to be here.” He held up his commlink, whose screen flashed a permit pass.

“That permit is invalid,” barked the trooper as he smacked the commlink from Daddy’s hand. “Those regulations have changed,”

“Oh? Since when?”

“As of yesterday, the Imperial sector authority has determined that public gatherings of over ten beings pose a threat to the safety and security of…”

And then the trooper rambled on with a lot of technical government talk. Ezra clutched Mommy’s hand tighter, because he knew that kind of talk was never a good sign. He knew the others thought so too, because of the way they glanced around and shuffled their feet and whispered to each other.

Then an idea hit him. It was a crazy idea, but he was going to try it anyway. He closed his eyes and thought very hard.

Uh, hey… hare? Fox? Big wolf? Could you… uh… help us?

But nothing happened. And now Daddy was arguing with the trooper, and the Sumars and Doueks and old Professor Yuhallam had joined him, and everyone was just getting madder and madder... and Ezra knew what was probably going to come next, because last time this had happened the troopers had arrested Daddy, and Mr. Sumar and Professor Yuhallam, too, and had kept them for a whole week before Governor Azadi had been able to appeal to get them out... it had been so scary!

So Ezra tried again.

Hare? Fox? Wolf? Help? Please?

Still nothing. Ezra hid his face in Mommy’s side as he saw the trooper grab Daddy and two more grab each of the Doueks...

...and then he heard it. A kind of rumble far away, like thunder but not really...

We’re coming!

We’re coming, too!

WE HEAR. WE COME.

And then, in a cloud of dust, a crowd of beings came stampeding down Chapel Street, straight for the little marketplace where the people had gathered! In no time it was swarming. All the other troopers scattered or tumbled or fell (or all three) as the stampeding animals plowed into them, bowled them over, snapped at their ankles, not minding the hard plasteel armor. A whole herd of pocket hares, a whole skulk of Loth-foxes! And—

—This is where I stepped in. This youngling was now beginning to learn of his own strength, but it was not yet time for Lothal to know of her full connection to me. That could only be when her true freedom is at hand, ready to spring forth like a nova. So let Lothal believe the ancient guardians long dead, a little longer. Their time will come.—

—and a roaring growling flash of light that flew through the marketplace like a starship through hyperspace, leveling everything in its path!

The trooper holding Daddy yelled a curse and let go and ran. So did the troopers holding the Doueks. Daddy and the Doueks and everyone else stood agape in astonishment. Were they safe now? Where’d the troopers go? What had just happened? How? Why?

And little Ezra Bridger jumped and danced and clapped with joy.

Because he knew.

J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard danser,
C’est moi-même qui les ai revirés,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,
C’est moi-même qui les ai revirés,
J’ai vu le loup, le renard danser.

Spoiler: Translation of the song verses

I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I saw the wolf and the fox drinking.
I was the one who spied on them.
I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I was the one who spied on them.
I saw the wolf and the fox drinking.

I heard the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I heard the wolf and the fox singing.
I was the one who imitated them.
I heard the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I was the one who imitated them.
I heard the wolf and the fox singing.

I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I saw the wolf and the fox dancing.
I was the one who set them dancing.
I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I was the one who set them dancing.
I saw the wolf and the fox dancing.

 

Oh my, but you really knocked another one right out of the park with this! Wow! This was so unique and clever! I like how the overall tone felt almost rather hazy and mystical - much like a childhood memory, or a bedtime story or fable. Ezra has such an amazing connection to the Living Force through his abilities as a beastwarden, and by further extension to Lothal itself, and to see that manifesting at such a young age was just as sweetly lovely as it was impressive and powerful for what it portends as he grows up. Just . . . wow, again!

Aw! I loved how there was such a cadence, almost, to your writing. The rhythm really fit Ezra's age and the subject and tied your prose in so neatly with your song! And I loved the individual thoughts of the animals, and how they began to communicate over time! I especially appreciated the weighty presence of the Big Guy, who not only hears but looks back right there from the beginning. That old, ancient sort of presence and primordial knowledge juxtaposed so nicely with Ezra's youthful innocence and wonder for his knack of speaking with the animals. Wizard, indeed.

This really cut in deep and twisted the knife. Ezra's parents really are setting a pattern for their son to follow in years to come! Doing the right thing and standing up for what you believe in is scary, and knowing the fate of this small family as the Empire tightens its grip is just heartrending. But, Ezra has friends - both here and now of the small furry variety, and even the mystical there with the Loth-wolf's intervention (wow, again!!) and in the future who are going to make that task just slightly easier to bear.

Just:

Goosebumps! Amazing!!!

This was a lovely, powerful piece, and a more than fitting gift that I am sure was much appreciated and cherished! Thanks for sharing it with all of us!

 

Thank you all so much!

Thanks so much, I’m so glad you enjoyed this! I had had the plot bunny based on the song in mind for a while, and with your birthday coming up it seemed like the perfect time to execute it at last. Yes, I admit I pulled the Loth-fox out of my ear a bit... that was partly to accord with the hare, fox, and wolf of the song, and in any case I have always figured that there must be several different kinds of Loth-beasts. And I always knew little!Ezra would be part of it, because the prompt song is partly a children’s song and such a good fit for how I imagine little!Ezra would start to discover his beastwarden talents. (And you’re right, those talents include empathy and friendship, not just plain communication—which is why Ezra’s abilities throughout the show are so compelling.)

Yes, of course you may call him Big Guy! He can sense Ezra’s connection to the Force and the fact that that connection gives him something in common with himself and other wolves like him. So yes, in a way, he is getting a lupine vibe from Ezra, and also, as you note, keeping that vibe in mind for later on. I don’t know if it’s established at all that the Loth-wolves can see the future at all, but for some reason it makes sense to me that their hyperspace-like abilities would extend to time, too.

Oh yes, I always figured that Ezra’s parents’ activities as dissenters would have led to some scary moments for him, even as he’s learning how important and courageous it is for them to do what they do. What kid that age wouldn’t be freaked out at seeing one of their parents hauled off, or even about to be hauled off? When I first planned out this story, I didn’t know that all-essential piece of background information that Loth-wolves hadn’t been seen on Lothal for hundreds of years, so their hyperspace-like manifestation was my way of bringing them in to Ezra’s aid without letting the cat, er, wolf, out of the bag. No one but Ezra knows what that really was, though see below, too...

That’s definitely possible, and perhaps the Force would even want it that way for now, in the interest of keeping the wolves secret until the right time. But as you say, the Force has definitely set things in motion—the revelation of Ezra’s beastwarden talent is perhaps the first step in a longer chain that will culminate in the liberation of Lothal.

[quote-Raissa Baiard]Thank you again for this charming story! Little Ezra and his Loth-critters are just adorable and this made me smile so much What a prefect birthday gift![/QUOTE]

You are so welcome, and I’m so glad this hit the spot and made for a happy day! Least I could do for all the friendship and inspiration you’ve given me!

Thanks, I’m so glad you enjoyed the song and the way it was worked into the story! I haven’t done many “songfics” per say, but this time the approach just seemed to fit, as did that singsong, dreamlike quality. Songs can really transport us to another world, can’t they!

Again, he might well have, and perhaps that was the Force’s will for now, just so that the cat, er, wolf, would not be let out of the bag too early. This beastwarden talent is something I see as Ezra’s first and most basic connection to the Force, and the dreamlike quality you note may be part and parcel of that connection—because it is indeed a connection to a world beyond the everyday, to the world of dreams.

Thank you again! Yes, they really are quite fascinating creatures and become very important to the story of Lothal’s liberation—and to Ezra’s own character development and growth. Now, that’s an interesting take on those em-dash asides... I kind of imagined those as coming from the Force itself, though they certainly could be from the wolf, too, given how closely he is connected to the Force—almost synonymous, really!

It’s kind of a “the wolf shall lie down with the lamb, and a little child shall lead them” type thing, I guess... hmm, perhaps the harmony Ezra’s talent is able to bring about among these usually antagonistic animals is a portent of the peace that his talents will be able to bring about later in liberating Lothal—the “peaceable kingdom” effect!

Oh yes, I imagine that first encounter would have been quite a scary thing for little Ez! These guys are roughly the size of SUVs, after all.

Oh yes, and again, given how heavily involved his parents were in resisting the Empire even in those very early years, I imagine there were many such scary moments for Ezra, and that they might even be kind of hard to reconcile with the knowledge that his parents were being very brave and doing the right thing in speaking up. It always seemed to me that Ezra’s character would very much have bee shaped by experiences like that—he wasn’t just a “street rat.”

Yes, and this is of course not the last time Ezra will use his beastwarden talents to come to the aid of his homeworld! See above about the little “retcon” with the wolves; I’m glad that worked, because I really, really wanted them to be part of this story!

Who wouldn’t be ecstatic at being able to pull something like that off? Especially since he knows that he just saved many people, perhaps even that he prolonged his homeworld’s safety and well being just that little tiny bit. And he learned the value of those things from his parents, and The Sumars, and the Doueks, and Professor Yuhallam, and all of them, of course! Those values and his newfound talent unite in a wonderful, joyful way, and he feels it immediately.

Thank you so much, so glad you enjoyed how this turned out! It was a bit of a new thing to write Ezra at this age and at this stage in his Force ability, but great fun, too. It was a blast learning about these various wonderful animals of Lothal (and hey, even making a few of them up, like the Loth-fox!), and even more of one to give little!Ezra a chance to use his talent to do something to help his homeworld even at this very early age.

Thanks so much! That was indeed the sort of tone I was going for, because the song is very much in that same mood as well, and again, it just seemed to fit.

Thanks! I figured it kind of made sense that his powers would have shown themselves very early in some form, even before he would be able to have any kind of full understanding of what they are or where they come from. That whole process that kids have of learning about their connection to the world around them really is an awesome and lovely thing to watch. My own little boy has always had a huge sense of awe and wonder about nature, animals, etc., and that was a lot of what I drew on here, bringing it into a sort of magical register with Ezra’s beastwardenism.

The rhythm of the song definitely was a huge inspiration here—it’s got that repetitive, singsong, childlike quality, and I wanted to try for the same in this story. The animals are learning to communicate with Ezra just as he is learning to communicate with him—it’s a learning process on all sides, and for all of them, in a way, it’s all about falling into a rhythm or cadence. (A kind of rhythm or cadence that’s just as ancient and primordial as it is fresh and youthful, as you note!)

Oh yes, these are the sort of events that shaped Ezra in his early life—I’m convinced of that. Even when times were scariest, that was when his sense of right and justice was being developed. And hey, that ability to find friends in times of need, and to connect with them, is something Ezra also no doubt has been learning his whole young life—and which, as you rightly say, will continue to stand him in good stead.

Thank you! I’m glad that part resonated with you; it was kind of a climactic part for me, where the Force itself intervenes to let us know that this is really just the first stage in a much bigger phenomenon centering around this young man and his abilities.

Aw, well, you’re awfully sweet! Thank you so much once again for reading and being here—it’s always a joy and a daymaker!

 

Thank you both for the comments!

Oh, thanks so much, Jen! Children can be tough to write in some ways but really easy in others just because life is so stream-of-consciousness for them, and I have to say this one flowed pretty well. Glad you enjoyed the source material, too—I agree that song is so much fun!

Just like something out of Disney, isn't it? Oh wait! Thanks so much; I'm glad you enjoyed this story about one of my favorite incipient beastwardens!