Epilogue – Phoenix

Maz relaxed in her favorite seat, centered before the impressive view of her personal library while sipping a glass of her favorite wine. The flavor curled around her tongue, stimulating old taste buds and memories as she enjoyed the solitude which was found here. Business was slow tonight, so she felt few qualms about stealing away. The droids would alert her concerning any trouble which might brew, but she doubted anything would arise. She knew the patrons currently relaxing in her cantina, and they wouldn't cause any trouble. The opportunity allowed her this rare time to herself.

Or, it had.

"I know you're in here, Kanan Jarrus," Maz said without rousing herself from her seat. "I should teach you some manners like I taught Ezra."

"Ezra's always been well-behaved," Kanan said as the sound of his footsteps manifested in muted taps where his boot heels struck the floor behind her. "I am too, for that matter."

Maz sniffed, still waiting for the headache of a man to show himself. "Hardly. Sneaking up on an old woman like you are? You could have at least had the decency to knock."

"And ruin the surprise?" Kanan asked as he stopped before her, a grin on his lips. "Nah, Maz. Wouldn't do that for a million credits."

As Maz studied him … she quietly admitted that if she'd been in Kanan's position, she'd likely have done the same – though she'd never tell him that. After all, the boy was finally showing her his real face. Wouldn't want to make his head any bigger than it already was.

She did, however, allow a smirk as she sipped her wine.

"It's about time," Maz said. "I was wondering when we'd have a real face-to-face conversation."

Kanan snorted before nodding at the empty seat next to her own. Maz assented, then gestured to the wine on the small table between them. He shook his head as he sat.

"No thanks, and we've had plenty of face-to-face conversations."

Maz rolled her old eyes. Who did he think she was?

"You putting up a front all these years would hardly be called 'face-to-face'. At least not in my book, boy." She let her tired eyes glide over the man next to her, taking in the cleaned-up appearance, strong posture and brightened vitality which had solidly replaced the deep shadows corrupting him. No blindfold covered his blind eyes or the distinctive burn across them.

A peculiar weapon hung on his belt, and her smirk curled higher, even if she didn't point it out.

Instead, Maz said, "I received word about something which happened above Mustafar several weeks ago. Something involving a pair of Jedi who've been moonlighting as vigilantes for some time." The smug look in her eyes softened. "How are you and Ezra?"

Kanan's body relaxed into his seat, and she studied this cleaner version of the Kanan she'd known for so long. She hadn't seen him for over a year, and the last time she had, she'd been deeply troubled by the darkness which had clung to him in the Force. Now, it had lightened. Significantly. Maz considered using the word 'miracle', but she could still sense some darkness in him, like a lingering taint.

But hopefully not a permanent one.

"We're doing good," he replied with a faint chuckle. "Real good, actually. Everyone's safe and alive. Certain Imperial problems won't be bothering us again, though we lost our base in the process. Our home."

"That's a shame," Maz replied. "You hardly seem bothered by the development. Have you come here to ask me for a job, Kanan Jarrus? I believe I might have a position open on my janitorial staff, for you. Your boy would make a brilliant pirate, on the other hand, and I can think of many ways to use Proxy."

Kanan smiled at the teasing, and it warmed Maz's old heart to see him light up without restraint.

"As tempting as the offer is, Maz, we've got another job. Another home."

"Another home?" Maz dug. "So soon after losing your last one?"

The man across from her rubbed the back of his neck as his blind eyes glanced away. A fond smile edged his lips. His voice was uncharacteristically soft.

"Uh, yeah. It kinda came with the new family we've got."

"Oh?" Maz said, her lips curling even higher. "A new family? You don't say."

"Uh-huh." Kanan cocked an eyebrow. "And who do I have to thank for that?"

Maz shrugged, unperturbed as she sipped her wine. "I might have pointed a lovely Twi'lek woman in your direction some time ago. What happened next was out of my hands."

"Just you, huh?" Kanan said, catching her eyes with his blind ones. Maz met them boldly.

"I felt certain tides shifting in the Force," she admitted. "If you hadn't been so busy with your hobby harassing the Empire, I'm sure you would have felt them as well. Since you didn't, it was clear to me you needed a push in the right direction."

Kanan snorted. "That 'right direction' you sent me was something else, Maz. She should've come with a warning."

"Hera Syndulla was exactly what you needed," Maz said. "And I sense she still is."

Kanan didn't deny it. "You're right."

"Of course I am." She eyed him, then raised her chin. "What about the Reaper and his partner?"

"Gone." The firmness in Kanan's voice was exactly what Maz wanted to hear. "I'm starting over. We both are. Besides, I doubt Hera would let us stay with her if I kept up with that nonsense."

"That's because that woman has a good head on her shoulders," agreed Maz. "You'd be a fool to give her up."

Kanan's grin softened as his gaze turned inward. "Don't worry. I know." Slowly he looked at her, blind eyes open and honest. "Thank you, Maz. For everything."

Studying him, Maz shook her head.

"There's nothing to thank, boy. I merely saw potential in you and didn't want it to go to waste." With an old but contented smile, she looked at Kanan with wise eyes which hid none of the pride she held for him. "And I think you're finally finding it."

"That's the hope," he agreed.

Companionable silence built between them as Maz sipped her wine. When she swallowed the sip, she tilted her head at him.

"I have the sense showing me these new changes in you and visiting me isn't all you're here for."

"You should be a Jedi, Maz," Kanan said from behind relaxed, closed eyes. "Nothing gets past you."

"I am old enough that little gets past me."

Taking a deep breath, Kanan opened his eyes and stood, turning away to retrieve something. "There are some things I'd like you to have. Things I've collected over the years."

"I have no use for junk."

Kanan smirked at her over his shoulder. "Do you think the Kasmiri's junk?"

Surprise slipped through Maz Kanata. His ship? Why was he giving her his ship?

"I know it's no surprise to you that I was on a pretty bad path for a while there," Kanan said as he lifted a small sack from where he'd placed it earlier. "But I talked with some people. Saw some things. An old friend of mine told me I needed to let the past go if I want to get back on track." A saddened smile sat on his lips. "And I think he was right."

"So, you're giving me your ship."

Kanan nodded. "It's a good ship. She's served me well, but … she's also a reminder of the past for me, and I can't go back to that. Not when I have to start looking at what's around me, and what might be in the future." When Kanan smiled this time, it lacked that saddened quality. "But I couldn't just sell her or get rid of her. I thought, maybe, the best place for her was with you. I can't think of anyone who'd treat her better."

"I see," Maz said before her eyes fell on the sack in his hands. "And that?"

"Same sort of thing," Kanan replied. "Relics. Maybe a few valuable ones."

Maz took the bag from him and riffled through it. These were obviously sentimental items. A strange helmet. A Miraluka's mask — an odd find, but it did color the picture of Kanan's past a little better — and, surprisingly, a lightsaber. A lightsaber Maz had once seen in the hands of the late Master Depa Billaba.

What she reached for, however, was the most colorful thing in the sack. A crystal carving in the shape of a bird, colored by transparent shades of beautiful oranges, crimsons, and golds.

"A lovely piece," Maz praised as she studied the carving, letting it catch the light and causing the crystal to burn with brilliance. "Thorilide, but someone's colored the crystal."

Kanan's brow furrowed as he stared at her with milky eyes.

"It's colored?"

"Of course it is," Maz said as she turned the carving, marveling at the craftsmanship. "The shape is simplistic, true, but the coloring is distinctive, boy. This is a phoenix. A bird of rebirth." The pirate queen arched a brow. "What did you think it was?"

"Not a phoenix," Kanan said as he took the crystal from her hands to turn it himself, his eyes squinting as if trying to make out the color. Kanan shook his head with a wistful smile before handing it back to her. "I can see a lot, but I guess I still can't see everything."

"Clearly," Maz teased as she placed the lovely reddish-orange crystal bird back in the sack with the rest of Kanan's history. She set it on the floor to take into her vault later, then watched as the man turned to face the door. "Leaving already?"

"Got work to do, Maz. Hera's got missions lined up for what feels like the next month, and I think it's time I start making a new name for myself. A better one."

"Then I won't keep you," she replied as she watched Kanan go. "Bring Ezra along, next time. It's been a while since I've seen that boy. I'd love a visit."

"I know he would too. How about the next time I come?" Kanan paused at the door to flash a roguish grin over his shoulder. "I'll bring my whole family with me. Introduce you to all of them. Properly, this time."

Maz's old heart lifted with concealed approval and happiness for this man. Kanan Jarrus. She knew he'd had it in him.

"I'd like that."

The old woman settled back in her seat after pouring a little more wine and listened to the door close behind Kanan. This time, as he left, she was content to find she wasn't worried like she usually would be.

She smiled into her glass and listened to the silence of her library. Felt the subtle shift of the Force around her, and was pleased to find it felt smoother. Like something errant had been put in its proper place.

No. Maz Kanata wasn't worried about Kanan Jarrus at all.

A/N: And that's it! The end. Blackbird's complete!

What a journey this has been and I hope you've all enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. In case you forgot, the crystal Maz finds in the sack is the same one Okadiah gives Kanan on Gorse which Kanan mistakes as a blackbird. Thought it would be nice to end on a phoenix visual like that.

Now I bet I can guess what you're wondering. What's next? Will there be more Blackbird AU stories in the future? The short answer is yes. I'll still be writing the Time Missions from the shorts in chapter 20, and those might start coming out in a month or two. The longer version? Maybe. There's the potential for a few big sequels, but for now I'm taking a break, and I probably won't write any massive Blackbird AU stories for several months as I focus on other stories.

If you're still reading this author's note (and I hope you are) I have one final thing to add, and that's on reviews.

PLEASE DON'T BE AFRAID TO REVIEW IF YOU HAVE THE URGE TO REVIEW.

For those of you who are already reviewers, hugs and kisses and lots of love. For those of you who are nervous about reviewing, who think it's been too long since the story came out and that I won't want to hear your words ten years from now, and those who are worried you'll say something wrong, or that you won't be able to appropriately express yourself, please don't be. You could pound your fists on the keyboard and put a smiley face at the end and I would be over the moon.

I will always want to hear your reviews and comments. I will always want to see and answer your questions if you have any. You might find this story a year, or five years, or ten years, or whenever from now and I WILL ALWAYS WANT TO HEAR ABOUT HOW THE STORY MADE YOU FEEL/THINK/WHATEVER. I worry sometimes that readers feel nervous about reviewing, but if you have something to say about Blackbird, I hope you won't be :]

Anyway, that's it! A super great place to keep up with me and my work (and to find out where my stories are going next) is on my tumblr (just search for my username). I'd love to hear from you there too :]

- Oka