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To be fair, Ezra knew that he was in the wrong here. But what was he supposed to do? He hadn’t been prepared for the lost and hungry expression on their face to be so… coercive.
So now he was sneaking a Loth-cat aboard The Ghost. Surely this was gonna go well.
Oh, who was he kidding? Hera was gonna toss him out the airlock when she noticed.
To his credit, he managed to keep the cat hidden from the others until they went into hyperspace. That was longer than he expected.
Then Hera was entering without knocking because he hadn’t come to dinner. Because of course, he’d forget something so obvious and get himself caught.
Kanan would probably say it was the “will of the force” or whatever that got him caught but that seemed like a load of bantha kark to him.
Hera didn’t say a word when she saw the cat in his lap, only stared at him with an eyebrow raised. And he, who couldn’t stand the disappointment in her gaze, was rambling before he knew it.
“Oh come on, Hera, he was starving! And… I don’t know, I guess it reminded me of me when I was on the streets. I couldn’t just leave him, and honestly, what’s one more stray on The Ghost? It’s not like picking up new passengers is anything new for us, and you know I’ll take care of him! Besides, we need something hairier than Zeb on this ship or I’m gonna lose it-”
“Her.” Hera cut him off as she moved closer, looking the cat over with a critical gaze.
“…huh?” Ezra gaped, dumbfounded.
“The Loth-cat. You said ‘him’, but she’s a girl.” Hera corrected, reaching out to pet the cat.
“Oh. Uh… her, then.” He stammered, not sure how to continue.
He was saved from having to keep talking by Zeb entering the room behind Hera.
“Hera, did you get the kid or-”
Zeb froze, taking in the sight in front of him with surprise.
“Zeb, this is our new crewmate. According to Ezra.” Hera added, shooting him a look that promised retribution if he didn’t take responsibility for his actions.
Thankfully, Ezra had been on board long enough to realize this and quickly catch on.
“Yep, I’ll be taking care of her! She’s certainly cute, huh Zeb?” Ezra grinned, lifting her to give him a closer look.
Zeb narrowed his eyes and leaned in, sniffing incredulously.
“Really? We’re actually keeping that thing?” He asked her.
“Ezra has promised to take care of it. His stowaway, his responsibility. Besides, it could be good for him.” She said with a smile, glancing at the cat that was now curling up in Ezra’s lap.
Zeb came a little closer, leaning in to examine the cat.
“Hm. Well it certainly is more behaved than he is.”
The cat then raised its head, hissing and swiping at Zeb when he came too close. Zeb retreated slightly and Ezra laughed.
“You were saying?” He teased. Zeb only smirked and crossed his arms.
“Not seeing anything that changes my mind, honestly.”
“Hey!”
Kanan, apparently hearing the commotion, came to investigate as well, walking in without hesitation and staring at the scene with surprise.
Ezra pouted. “Doesn’t anybody knock?”
Kanan glanced at him, down at the cat, over at Hera, and then promptly turned and exited the room with a quiet: “I don’t want to know.”
And that’s the story of how Spectre Seven came on board.