spncentral | When Sith Beat Jedi To The Prize (Of The Chosen One)

Garth'zel had intended never to go to Tatooine again. The entire experience the first time he was there was hot and miserable. The only good point, so far as he was concerned, was meeting Andronikos. But as luck would have it, his ship ended up deciding to need minor repairs. Nothing too bad, but it did require him to land somewhere to get the parts he needed, because of course, the bit that went was something he didn't have spare parts for. The only planet within reasonable range? Tatooine.

It didn't take long for a Force-sensitive boy to catch his attention. One strong enough that he was surprised the Jedi didn't already find him. Well, their loss was his gain. ...Once he pried him loose from Watto, anyway. He suspects he actually had an easier time of it than a Jedi would, although he's not going to hang around and give one the chance to give it a shot. At least, unlike them, he's willing to come to Tatooine from time to time so Anakin could see his mother. Probably not more than a couple times a year or so, due to it being best to go there when they're at least vaguely in that part of the galaxy anyway, but it's far better than 'sorry kid, we're never bringing you back'.

Of course, there is one tiny problem with this whole thing. He's never had to raise children before and doesn't know what he's doing. With the ship safely in hyperspace and not due to come out of it for a good long while, enabling him to do things that didn't involve sitting in the pilot's seat of the ship, he's in the lounge area. Time to figure out what he's doing. "Have you managed to get any kind of schooling? Like from someone you know, sitting down with you for an hour here and there as time permitted to teach you things like how to write?"

May as well figure out what he needs to teach besides how to use the Force consciously instead of unconsciously drawing on it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well, yes, although if you ever have to see me in a real fight, not just teaching you to fight, you'll realize that I can be considered a weapon since I can take people down without needing to touch my lightsaber," Garth'zel points out.

Anakin studies Garth'zel for a moment, quiet and almost still. Almost, as he's never really still. "Is that just because of you using the Force? Or being a skilled fighter? Or both?" He thinks it's both.

"Both," Garth'zel says with a nod. "Being able to use the Force in a fight doesn't do one much good if the person doesn't know how to use it effectively."

"How long did it take you to learn to do both?" Anakin swipes his hair back from his forehead. "Or...how do you?"

"Not long, given that among the Sith, it's pretty much learn quickly or die," Garth'zel says dryly. "Jedi training is rather more, mmm, forgiving."

Not necessarily comforting, he knows. "You're starting younger than I did, so in some ways, it should be easier." He makes a face. "I'll just need to remember to account for the fact you're still growing so as not to push you too much too fast."

"Kinda used to first one." Which is why he got so antsy with nothing to do, why he is so aggressive in learning things and being good at them.

"Why does that matter?" No one else seemed to care, excepting to make sure some tools fit his hands.

"If I push you too hard, it could hurt you. Possibly doing permanent damage," Garth'zel points out. "Which is not helpful, to say the least."

"No it's not." Anakin finally gives up standing still and walks over to Garth'zel. "How could it hurt me though?" He reaches for his hand.

Garth'zel absently accepts the handhold as he thinks over how to answer.

"What happens when you try to carry something too heavy for you, too long?" he finally settles on.

Anakin can't quite manage to hold onto Garth'zel's entire hand, but still, it's a nice tether that keeps him from spinning off on a tear to find something to hold his attention. "I hurt the next few days and it's harder to carry stuff than it should be, but I can still do it."

"Now think about doing that long-term, never giving yourself time to heal or otherwise recover properly. Resulting in always feeling like that because you've done permanent damage to yourself," Garth'zel tells him. "Which is why I need to be mindful, because you just can't do what an adult can. Not yet."

Edited (Missing word.) Date: 2019-08-19 01:11 am (UTC)

"That happens a lot in the mines. And other places too. They end up kinda deformed." So he does at least understand, a bit. "But I can do some of what an adult can do. I'm not a little kid, really." Even if he is holding on Garth'zel's hand and only ten.

"Some, yes, but not all." Garth'zel shakes his head slightly. "Have you had enough of a breather before I work on teaching you one or two moves, or do you need to get a drink of something, first?"

Anakin stops and thinks - had the other offer not been there, had it been 'do you need more of a breather or are you ready?' he would have said yes, even if he wasn't. But 'do you need something to drink?'. "I want something to drink." He doesn't know if he needs it - he's always been thirsty since they were sold on Tatooine, and he doesn't remember much before, and while it's better now, he's still always thirsty.

Takes more than a couple days to make up for dehydration on scale he's endured, who knew?

"All right, go get your drink," Garth'zel says with a nod, letting go of Anakin's hand so he can do so. "I'll be here."

Given he's fairly certain the kid is capable of getting a drink of water or juice without him. "Just remember not to drink too fast."

'Not too fast' would be a struggle for a while, as would thinking of juice as something he could just drink - he reaches for water and drinks an entire glass, before cleaning it out and putting it to dry before going back.

"Ok, I'm ready." Even bouncing on his feet a little.

"All right, we'll work on a couple more things, then you're getting sent off to get cleaned up," Garth'zel says, shoving off from the wall he'd been leaning against. "Now..."

Once he's satisfied that Anakin's gotten what he was going to teach him down, he does instead get sent to the 'fresher to clean up while Garth'zel made something quick to eat. Not a meal really, something more along the lines of a snack to help avoid getting too hungry before it was time for him to make more food; plenty of energy had been burned off in the hold of the ship.

More difficult than dealing with learning something new is dealing with his own frustration for not getting it right the first or third time. And getting frustrated leads to more mistakes.

So when he (to him, finally) gets it right enough for Garth'zel to call the lesson to a close and send him to clean up, playing in the water is soothing and a good, anchoring reminder that he's probably not in trouble. At least he doesn't look half drowned when he reappears, even if he's surprised by the snack. More so that it's a snack - he's used to meals this size.

"Thank you."

"I figured it was best to keep us from getting too hungry and cranky while waiting for it to be time for me to make food again," Garth'zel says with a shrug before taking a bite of his sandwich.

Yeah, he's just going to inhale his food. He believes there's going to be food later, and really, he doesn't feel hungry. Hasn't, since Garth'zel has taken an interest in him. But it's still habit - eat quickly.

"I don't get cranky? What're we gonna do now?" After cleaning up the galley, anyway.

"I was thinking you taking a break to work on your personal project some more or whatever while I get some reading in," he says with a shrug.

"Ok." He can do that, fairly easily. "You'll..." He motions between them, meaning Garth'zel will nudge him when he's needed right?

"Come get you so you don't unknowingly lose three hours again?" Garth'zel says in an amused tone. He can afford to be amused by that now, but it was fairly irritating at the time.

"Yeah, that." He's glad for the amusement, it was a little scary at the time. Although he didn't think three hours was that bad a time to spend working.

But reassurance given, he'll scamper back to the crew quarters - he doesn't walk, he doesn't quite skip, it's an in-between gait that's motion effective if fast. But it's not a normal one.

It's a long time to someone who'd been waiting for you to show up so he could teach you something, kid.

Garth'zel just raises an eyebrow at Anakin's mode of getting around before doing the minimal amount of clean-up needing and going for his current read. Time for them to both have their respective versions of down time for an hour or so.