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.

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"There's some little creeks here and there that's shallow enough to be safe for you so long as you don't decide that laying facedown in them's a good idea. We'll just need to keep an eye out for the local predators." Needless to say, he'll deal with them.

He also doesn't know if any of that was absorbed. Once the ship's parked and turned off, he unstraps himself from his seat and stands. "Come on. I need to get things like the refueling handled and then we can head out into the city.

To be fair, once again, Anakin heard every word and would be capable of spitting it back like a dictation droid. Absorbing? He got 'you get to play in water' and given how he'd temporarily ended up owning a gaffi stick (until Watto took it away because no slave deserved something that valuable and sold it off), he wasn't even that concerned when the phrase 'local predator' penetrated the excitement.

Not to mention he'd not been strapped in at all once Garth'zel had started landing procedures and wasn't available to shove Anakin into one. But then...the boy loved racing pods. Anakin's sense of self-preservation may, just MAY, be too loosely calibrated.

But he did follow Garth'zel, sticking close to his heels but not so close as to be a tripping hazard. He was, at least, used to space docks and comfortable enough to know how to watch and how to stay out of the way. "How long are we going to stay here?"

Edited Date: 2022-05-07 07:08 am (UTC)

"At least a couple of days, I think. Probably not as long as a week. Some of what we'll be doing is getting you clothes that are suitable for non-desert planets." Not to mention traveling in the ship, since the kid needs something warmer than what he's got. "Not to mention things for your schooling so we can get started on that."

Now hush child, so he can focus on his negotiations with the dock master. Once that's done, he starts heading out into the city. "Time to find out how the place has changed since the last time I was here."

Beyond the addition of the spaceport and there being plenty more people around.

He wasn't asking for a schedule! Just how long they were going to be here. Given they had to dock the ship, that was just...the basic thing.

However, the relative isolation of the planet both worked in their favor and also made the pair stand out. While Zabraks and humans could interbred, Anakin looked nothing at all like what one would expect a hybrid child to look like, especially against Garth'zel and there was the matter of the very clear difference in their conditioning. Sure, Anakin was being fed much better than he ever had been, and getting proper physical training, but he was still underfed looking, hair cut cheaply and very very sun-bleached. And his clothing wasn't just suited for the desert but old, worn, patched, and stained - mostly because they's had to leave quickly and that hadn't left time to get him the higher quality clothing. Compared to his guardian...well.

One could almost suspect him of being a stowaway or a pickpocket. He felt the looks and glances and chewed on his lip for a moment before sliding sideways and reaching up to take Garth'zel's free hand. Making it clear they were together and that the Zabrak was his guardian - and Anakin wasn't just baggage.

He hoped. He'd apologize later.

One of them being very dark-skinned while one's light-skinned does rather make it obvious there isn't any sort of genetic relationship there, yes.

Garth'zel blinks down at him and shrugs. Okay then. He can ask about it later. Moving on. "Do you happen to know what your clothing sizes are? In the interest in not having to have you try on a bunch of things to find what fits."

He's pretty sure the kid would get tired of that very quickly despite the novelty of genuinely new clothes rather than just 'new to him'.

Vastly different eye color and bone structure as well. But Anakin would hardly have been the first child bought at market for the purpose of securing an heir. And him being unable to hide his expressions at everything being so new to him probably lent more than a little weight to that idea.

"No. Normally Mom traded for clothes and they all started out too big." Removable pleats and smocking were just a fact. "One of the old ladies at the market would measure me with a string sometimes, but she just had it marketed with knots. I know my boot size?" Because those were better fitted and well marked.

"Well, at least the people at whatever clothing store we end up at should be able to work out your clothing size fairly easily," he says philosophically. On the bright side, at least boot size won't be a thing that needs to be figured out.

Anakin's clothing - on top of being used - was made in a quick and dirty homespun style. Cheaply, with coarse fabric. Buying something new from a storefront was novel and not something Anakin had really thought about doing, even in his dreams of being free. He always saw himself in an open-air market, crowded with stalls and shops crammed into doorways. In his defense, it was really all he knew. "I'll stand still." He hated it, but he could, for a brief time.

"It wouldn't surprise me if whatever employee ends up working with us is able to gauge your size just looking at you," Garth'zel tells him. "Might be off by a size or two, but at least it should help work it out quickly."

He's fairly certain it would be a good idea to get some clothes that were the next size up as well, for when the currently correctly-sized ones get outgrown.

"Now that I think about it, we should probably get things appropriate for swimming in, since I'll need to teach you how to do that," he muses.

"Mom always gets them too long so I can grow." He didn't think about it, but Shmi tended to get things that had smocking that would add length pinned by smocking that would add width, as children tended to grow round and then long. On Tatooine and dealing with what they had been, it had made sense and she could unpick the smocking as needed.

Walking beside Garth'zel, and still holding onto his hand, Anakin's posture was more confident, even if he was still constantly looking around. "...are they different?" He'd seen people in little clothing in water but given the circumstances, he had assumed it was for masters and their guests to ogle rather than for practical use.

"Wet clothes get heavy. It's why there's separate clothing for swimming, since it's of a material that doesn't absorb as much water," Garth'zel explains. Hopefully, Anakin understands why wet heavy clothes while swimming is bad. Granted, there's likely to be times when they won't have much choice, but may as well save inflicting that on themselves for when they actually have to.

He does know that water is heavy - full water barrels are often the only thing Tatooine's winds can't knock over, and water on ships is rationed (generally) because they add to fuel costs. He's never experienced truly wet clothing so he can't really work out how heavy that would be, and he's seen things float on water and broth. So he's quiet while he works out how much of a problem it could be. "People don't float in water?"

"Not if they're too heavy, they don't," Garth'zel says drily. "Not to mention, someone who doesn't know how to swim is likely going to be too busy panicking and flailing around to have the presence of mind to attempt to float."

A clothing shop catches his eye a moment later, and he starts steering Anakin towards it. "Let's get you some clothes appropriate for non-desert planets, hmm?"

Around half a dozen changes of clothes of varying weights should do it for now, he figures. With one set being intended for anything Anakin may be getting into that involves grease and who knows what else.

"Why would they panic?" Says the boy who has never even been in a full bathtub. "I mean, I guess if it was really cold?" Anakin's never even been in knee-deep water, much less had to think that water has a current much like the wind - and he likely wouldn't understand it with experience anyway.

Luckily, for clothing Anakin entends to get greasy and work-stained, he's fairly smart about what works and doesn't, having learned what it takes to scrub clothing clean(ish). Left to pick something out, he'll go for something dark bluish-grey, and if it's a coverall set with lots of pockets, even better. And if he's given a choice between colors, he tends towards blues. Some dark, some bright, but after all of Tatooine's beiges, washed out whatever, and suns bleached fabric, having color is refreshing.

Even if he can't quite make himself believe he gets new things.

"Probably because of being afraid of drowning and not particularly wanting to die," Garth'zel says drily. Don't make him re-explain drowning, boy.

He's perfectly happy to let Anakin make his own color choices, given Anakin's going to be the one wearing the clothes. He'll just veto any color combinations and such that are too 'out there'.

The problem is he doesn't understand what downing is. After a few attempts at swimming he'll understand but not yet.

Even while shopping, Anakin looks often to his 'adult' and between shops takes his hand again.

Anakin has a (possibly surprising) grasp of proper clothing. Medium browns and dark greys for neutral colors - mostly pants - and blues for tops, covers, etc. Outer clothing, such as a cloak or wrap he goes for heavy, durable, and subdued pattern. Tiny toothy pattern so it blurs into a grey pattern. Heavy boots with deep lugs (and he does indeed know how boot size) not easy to wear, a 'nicer' pair of ankle boots that shine nicely but are still made for practical walking than show - traction on the sole, padding around the ankle foot support. A heavy work belt and pouches to carry things. A bandolier that locks to the work belt. A nicer one for 'dressy' things.

Heavier work clothing was not present at that store and it took some questions and reassuring to find a places which offered work clothing in Anakin's size. Gloves, knee pads, safety goggles. An apron for protecting his clothing and space.

He does want fabric to do wrapping on his arms (and sometimes legs) but he doesn't ask, instead wandering slightly away to look at the fabric. Not touching but looking longingly. Given some of his sleeves are loose and more flowing it makes sense but he doesn't was to push his luck. He also really wants to touch the fabric.

Anakin's jewelry that he's wearing he made is easily visible while he's shopping, a collar that was loose on his neck and spread five to seven centimeters over his shoulders, rounded and dipped down over his back and chest between twenty and twenty size centimeters. Is handmade, carved from bone and wood, hand polished and painted, mostly beaded with quilling scrolls centered on his chest and back. He could have honestly sold it for a tidy sum as it's well made. And it's not the only one he has - there are five of then which Anakin has been wearing over the trip. But he picked the nicest one for this.

Edited Date: 2022-05-14 05:14 am (UTC)

"I'm reasonably sure that no kowakian monkey-lizards will fall out of the sky at you if you touch that," Garth'zel says in an amused tone, noticing the way Anakin was looking at the fabric.

"If one of those damn things have gotten into my shop, I'm turning it into dinner," the shop owner mutters, having overheard.

"I remember having to chase one of them around to get a datapad back," Garth'zel says with a nod. "So I understand the sentiment entirely. Even if I'm not sure if they'd taste any good."

"Kowakian monkey-lizards. Those weren't in my lessons." He tried to picture what that might look like. Even given permission, he touched the fabrics lightly. Feeling texture, feeling weight.

"You did what? You couldn't just," Anakin mimed reaching and grabbing something midair.

"They're annoying and will be seen around here sooner or later," Garth'zel says drily. "There were a lot of identical ones around, and I wasn't about to use the Force to pull every single one to me. So, an irritating amount of chasing them around for the right one. It wouldn't have been a problem if it didn't go around a corner, breaking line of sight."

"Are they predators or pests?" Because that was important. Anakin ran a thumb along the cut edge, seeing how it frayed. "They are fast?" He had to assume so.

"Pests, although they're happy enough to eat smaller animals." They're certainly fast enough to snatch them up. "Mm-hmm."

Garth'zel raises an eyebrow at Anakin. "Is that something you're intending to get or are you just messing with it?"

"How small?" Because well. People's definitions varied. He was small!

"I. Um. I would like to have it." There was only a slight pause, not quite a stutter but it could have been, in his speech.

"The full-grown ones are generally about half your size. Maybe slightly over," he says, after taking a moment to gauge things properly.

He shrugs. "Okay. Tell him how much you want." Relax, kid.

"Oh. That's good." Puntable then if needed.

It's going to take time. Weeks wouldn't be enough to rid years of trauma. But he did know those measurements, because arm and leg wraps were a lifesaver, and he knew how to turn a square of fabric into long strips. He can do more math in his head than he realizes, even complex math that he doesn't even know is math really. Width of strip by length, converted into total width of fabric and length when the numbers isn't actually translate that way. But he could still spit an accurate number out. Of work quality fabric and dressy-er fabric.

Good thing those numbers are getting relayed to the shop-keeper, because there's risk of Garth'zel's eyes glazing over if they get fired off at him too fast.

After they're finally done at that shop, Garth'zel takes a moment to see what time it was. "Close enough to time to eat, we may as well find someplace. Might get in before the main rush." He'd rather not wait forever to eat.