Stellan raised a palm. “Please don’t apologize. Animals don’t like me.”

Bell flushed. “I’m sure it’s not that.”

“Maybe not, but it’s true nonetheless. Back when I was a youngling, I had trouble bonding with animals. I think Master Gidameen was about to give up on me before my final Padawan trials.”

“What happened?”

“I scraped through … just.” The truth of the situation was more complex, of course. Stellan had been asked to influence the flight of a bora-finch but had been failing terribly until Elzar had prodded the finch with the Force, putting the little yellow-and-blue bird back on track. It wasn’t exactly cheating, as Jedi were expected to help one another, but neither did it quite meet Gidameen’s strict requirements. Fortunately, the old Master hadn’t noticed.


Star Wars The High Republic The Rising Storm Chapter 23