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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He'd gotten (a little) better about letting Garth'zel eat without pestering him with questions or constant talk. He was used to mom and him taking about their days over meals because Watto kept them separated most of the day. He did ask him to identify what he was eating, both for curiosity and so if he liked something he could select it again or avoid it if he didn't care for it. Regardless he'd eat it.

But he did keep an eye out for those monkey-lizard things, eyes darting around pretty often.

Edited Date: 2022-05-22 06:14 am (UTC)

Garth'zel does, in fact, get to give one or two monkey-lizards a gimlet stare that results in them deciding to find somewhere else to be. Along with pointing them out to Anakin, so he'd know what they looked like.

Garth'zel had ordered grophet for both of them, although in varying amounts to account for species and size difference. The vegetables were more variable.

It was an impressive stare, yes, and Anakin can't copy it but he can and does commit the monkey-lizards to memory.

He liked knowing what he was eating, and he thanked Garth'zel for the information. Mostly he was quite happy to eat something new and figure out more kinds of foods.

Garth'zel's had plenty of experience with that kind of stare thanks to his role as a Dark Council member. Anything that made his job easier and spared him the need to fight anyone, the better, so far as he was concerned. Killing people wasn't always the most effective use of his time and efforts.

"After we've gotten everything we need for you, we'll take everything back to the ship and leave it in there, so we can wander the city without needing to worry about hauling everything around," he says once he's actually ready for an actual conversation while eating.

Anakin had known people to use stares like that, but they weren't people Ankain would think of as good. He wasn't sure Garth'zel thought of himself as 'good' but he was kind and in Anakin's opinion, good. No, kind was not always good. But sometimes it was.

"Makes sense. The monkey-lizards and pickpockets." More than the burden of carrying stuff. He'd gladly do that. Wasn't even near the heaviest burden he'd carried.

Garth'zel's aware that he isn't a particularly good person, giving being so doesn't mesh with being Sith. But what he is, is someone who manages to keep the not-good portions of himself on a tight leash.

"More the monkey-lizards, really. Well, and carrying everything around would get annoying after a while." Things don't have to be heavy to get irritating to haul around for long stretches of time.

Anakin doesn't have a great grasp on the finer points of morality, or on what being a Sith - or a Dark Side User - is. He's too young and not really experienced enough with the subject to pull out the differences.

Anakin shrugged - it most likely wouldn't bother him, as he was still used to hard physical work, and while the bags got bulky, they weren't heavy. He'd be fine, and wouldn't care if he did need to carry things. "I don't mind." They couldn't vanish if he was physically touching them.

"Mmm." Garth'zel goes back to focusing on his food, finishing it a few minutes later. "Are you going to need to have some boxed up to store in the galley to be reheated for you later?"

Having more than he could eat in one meal, enough that if he tried to eat everything would result in a seriously ill stomach was still not something Anakin was used to. There was some part of him still convinced that if he didn't eat everything offered, when it was offered, he wouldn't get it back. Garth'zel had shown no signs of that cruelty, but even still it was a worry in the middling area of his mind.

But he still had nearly a third of his plate left. Worrying on his lip with his teeth for a moment, Anakin swallowed and nodded. "I think so."

"All right. I'll let the server know you need a box when they next come by," Garth'zel says with a nod; doing so when the server comes to check on them and also asking for the bill. He handles paying while Anakin deals with putting away his food.

"Okay. Next up, school supplies for you and then putting everything away in the ship before our exploring," he says, taking a quick moment to finish his drink before standing.

Anakin still picks at his food, putting away as much as he could. And when presented with a box, he packs it quickly and carefully, but he's still watching. Most others aren't paying any attention to the pair of them and those who are, are glancing at best. Anakin likes that.

Once Garth'zel stood, Anakin rose and gathered the bags up and wove them around his arm and back so no one - person or monkey-lizard - would be able to snatch them off his back. "All right." He was somewhat excited to look at real school supplies.

"I asked about where to go while you were busy poking at things to figure out what you wanted," he says as he starts towards the required store after taking a quick moment to check on a mental map of where they were in relation to where they needed to be to make sure he would start in the correct direction.

"Ok." Anakin followed - again, closely, although not grabbing Garth'zel's hand (yet). People weren't looking at him (them) in a suspicious way that Anakin felt the need to make a statement on.

Anakin was trying to do the same, memorize things to use as landmarks in case something happened and they got separated. He didn't that was likely, but it wasn't impossible and Anakin didn't want to be a burden or be caught helpless.

"Kids who get a better start in life than we did typically start school when they're about six or seven. Which one mainly depends on where their birthdays fall during the school year. So try not to get too annoyed with whatever extremely basic sentences are being used for teaching how to read," he says wryly, as he makes a turn to go down the next street needed.

"Yeah. Amiee's owners sent their kids when they um. Four or five for lessons." He didn't know really how old those kids were, just that the oldest was roughly twice Amiee's age, the middle two roughly her age, and they have just had a baby when he'd left. Amiee's job was to keep the nursery and children's rooms clean and she like it when the kids were in lessons - it made her job easier.

"I'll try." He thinks he won't be annoyed but really how can he be sure?

"Mmm. Some of whatever they were learning was probably preparatory for proper school, but some was likely just keeping them occupied so their parents could work or have some time to theirselves." He didn't know them, he couldn't say for certain.

Time for another turn to get onto the proper street and to keep an eye out for the correct building.

Anakin shrugged. "They bought people to take care of them, from what I heard." And saw, but he'd keep that to himself. He knew how many slaves that household had. But he also didn't understand 'busywork' in that sense. He understood it in Watto's, largely.

He stepped quickly to keep up, but as he didn't know what he was looking for, he was no help.

Garth'zel twitches slightly. "So maybe not in terms of letting the parents go to work in peace."

Right, that's enough of that. He spots the shopfront he was looking for and starts heading in. "If you see anything you think you might need that I either haven't thought of or simply hadn't gotten to yet, let me know."

Not. That he has much confidence that Anakin would know what those things might be, but may as well give him a chance to feel involved.

Anakin doesn't have the faintest idea of what he might need but he does gravitate towards the technical looking things. Items meant for trade schools and even if he doesn't read he recognizes some of the manuals on repairs his mother had and by process looking through them in the order they were stacked finds the ones which are more advanced. As well as on racers and such. Its only four volumes. And he's carrying them carefully over to Garth'zel.

"What about these?"

"Um." Give him a moment to finish with what he's doing. His own picks for Anakin piled in a convention spot later, he snags the top of Anakin's choices so he could see what had been brought to him. "Well, they'll be useful once you can actually read them."

He was hoping for something with less advanced vocabulary. Oh, well.

He shrugs slightly. "Add them to what I've got for you so far."

"There are diagrams too, I double-checked." Because the ones before these did, which he'd used and his mom had taught him from. And he'd checked these because he often used the diagrams and technical drawings. And Anakin knew most of the definitions of the words - even if he couldn't read them.

He obediently adds them and takes a step back to look at the stack prepared. Not that he can read the titles but he can appreciate the stack. As well as try to sus out any other supplies.

It takes Garth'zel about twenty minutes or so to find what he figures is enough to start with. It's not like he can't get more sometime later if he's missed something. Or alternatively, if it's just time to move on to more advanced things.

"Find anything else you think you need?"

Anakin isn't even sure what he'll need so he's little help there, other than the merchant making sure the instruments and styluses weren't too large for his hands. Thus satisfied, Anakin was too.

"No. I don't think so anyway."

Edited Date: 2022-06-12 08:05 am (UTC)

"All right. If there's anything we missed, we can always get the missing items another time," Garth'zel says with a nod. Everything gets piled up so they could be accounted for. Along with paid for.

This bag, Garth'zel carries, leading the way out. "Time to leave everything in the ship, maybe take some time to let lunch settle, and then we can head out to see how the city's changed since the last time I was here."

Edited Date: 2022-06-14 08:48 am (UTC)

Anakin nods, as if he really had a say, about the educational plan.

"You need to let your lunch settle?" Has Garth'zel not yet realized Anakin had almost a pathological need to move and he's on a new planet and he's supposed to hang out aboard the SHIP for while?

He might be considering just grabbing and dragging.