Of Sith And Street Rats

[neverwantedtobesith]

Between thinking it best to steer as far away from the Core as possible given the current regime, and needing repairs to his ship, he finds himself on some backwater planet in the middle of nowhere. Not only that, but so far as he could tell, there were only a handful of cities worth the name with one of them being the capital city. Which was also oh-so-imaginatively named Capital City. It seemed to be his best bet, so it was the one he chose to land at.

While his ship was undergoing repairs, he heads out into the city. The workers don't need him breathing down their necks, so he may as well see what, if anything, was of interest. So lightsaber firmly hidden in his jacket, and anything the mechanics didn't need access to firmly locked, he heads out. May as well start with the market. Wherever it is.

Comments

[lothrat]

"School?" The question seems to come out of nowhere. Ezra blinks, caught off guard. "I dunno. I went there a couple years?" And he's probably forgotten a lot of what he learned, honing only what he's needed to survive. "Why? I'm not going back there if I'm goin' with you."

[neverwantedtobesith]

"No, you aren't going back to your old school. That doesn't mean I'm going to be letting you escape having lessons with me as the teacher instead," Garth'zel says patiently.

He already figured on Ezra forgetting some of what he's learned and was intending on starting the year the kid had been in over again. Which should thrill the kid, he's sure. Not.

[lothrat]

Ezra shifts in his seat, unsure of how he feels about the prospect of resuming his old school lessons. On the one hand, he remembers school being a little boring, but on the other hand, it won't be the same with Garth'zel, will it? It's been okay when Garth'zel was teaching him about stuff he wanted to learn. But on the other hand, what about the stuff he's not interested in?

"You don't have to," he finally decides, magnanimously absolving Garth'zel of any feeling of obligation. "I learned enough already to take care of myself."

[neverwantedtobesith]

Garth'zel arches a brow at Ezra. "So you already have all the skills at reading, writing, and math you need? Along with an ability to understand the most common languages out there besides Basic?"

He already knows the answer to that. He's also not mean enough to present Ezra with his usual reading material and math problems far beyond his skill levels to make his point.

[lothrat]

Ezra's little shoulders hunch defensively, and any mood he'd been in to hug Garth'zel evaporates instantly. "I've been doin' just fine already," he says mulishly. "I've been fine for a year!" Other than being lonely, but this isn't about that one bit.

[neverwantedtobesith]

"As you get older, you're going to need to know more of all of those things. Among others," Garth'zel informs him patiently. "Particularly math if you're ever going to fly this ship when you're old enough."

"That's leaving aside needing to be able to do math to help make sure you aren't getting cheated or swindled and to help you understand how valuable something actually is."

[lothrat]

Most of Garth'zel's argument fails to win any ground with Ezra. He's pretty sure he can tell if he's getting cheated or swindled, or how much something is worth. Even if it's something he doesn't know yet, he thinks he can figure it out.

But one thing Garth'zel said catches Ezra's attention, and his eyes widen a little, not sure if he heard right, or how math relates to it.

"You'll let me fly your ship?"

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Not until you're at least fifteen," Garth'zel says firmly. "By then, you should be tall enough to see what you're doing without needing to have something stacked on the seat. Among other reasons, which yes, involves having the needed math skills to properly calculate things like the ship's path."

At least this time he remembered to use a word an eight-year-old was likely to understand rather than 'trajectory'.

[lothrat]

"But you'll let me?" Ezra presses, regardless of the stipulations Garth'zel just set. "If I learn, you'll let me fly your ship?" His eyes are fixed on the taller man now with single-minded attention. This is big. This is bigger than almost anything he's ever been promised.

Look at that, Garth'zel. Looks like you've just found a carrot for your stick.

[neverwantedtobesith]

"If you learn what you need to know in order to do so," Garth'zel says, still in that firm tone. "It's harder than it looks when you start watching me do it."

[lothrat]

"I'll learn!" Ezra makes that declaration with as much determination as a little boy can feel. "Even if it's got math! And- an' I'll do it before I'm fifteen, too!" Fifteen is too long to wait.

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Fifteen is already earlier than I probably should let you start learning how to fly the ship," Garth'zel points out before shrugging. "I've already looked into where to get to the things I'd need for teaching you, so I can just get them tomorrow. I think I'll get what's needed for when you were slightly younger than you are now since you dropped out of school then, then another couple years' worth of schooling materials. You'll catch up quickly, I'm sure."

[lothrat]

"Why do you gotta wait 'til tomorrow?" Still on his kick of determination, Ezra doesn't want to wait that long to prove he's capable. Never mind what time of day it is, or that he's physically a little worn out. Never mind that they're still dealing with his laundry. "Can't we start today?"

[neverwantedtobesith]

"We need to deal with your laundry," Garth'zel reminds him. "Getting it clean and sorting it into 'keep' and 'trash' piles along with me determining what I have available as patching material is probably going to eat up enough time that trying to do too much outside the ship probably won't be worth it as we'd likely not be making it back before dark." Which means so much for Garth'zel's original supper plans and eating out somewhere.

[lothrat]

"But I don't wanna do my laundry," Ezra complains, childish voice high in a whine. "Nobody's here to care if my clothes are dirty. I wanna learn stuff right now!"

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Saying I'm nobody?" Garth'zel asks cooly. Not what Ezra meant to imply, he knows, but still, there is a point to be made about how things are worded.

[lothrat]

"That's not what I mean!" Ezra argues, put out. "We won't get in trouble if it's just you. It's only other people we gotta worry about. You said so!"

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Ezra. Considering that I have other things to do in town tomorrow, I may as well get it all handled at the same time," Garth'zel says in a tone that's more patient than he's actually feeling.

"Coruscant wasn't covered in buildings in a day. Likewise, your schooling will be a long-term thing. It'll start soon enough." He doesn't add that also starting soon enough will be Ezra wanting to do basically anything else, because being a child, of course he will.

[lothrat]

Best not to say that to Ezra, no. Why spoil the short time Ezra will be enthusiastic for school?

"That doesn't make sense. You still gotta start, even if it takes a long time. I wanna start now so it doesn't take as long!" He takes a breath, emotions riled, but he's learned enough from his time on the streets to know that arguing doesn't always get you what you want.

Sometimes you have to try bargaining.

"What if we get my laundry done? Then can I learn some things?"

[neverwantedtobesith]

Garth'zel's irritation starts to bleed through in his tone. "We will start. When it doesn't cause an unnecessary extra trip to use up time I could be using to get something else accomplished. Do you honestly think the only thing I was intending to work on tonight is your laundry?"

[lothrat]

"But you already know stuff! Lots of stuff!" Maybe Ezra should be taking heed of the shift in Garth'zel's tone of voice, but he doesn't want to just give up. Maybe Garth'zel just doesn't know what he was getting at. "You could just teach me some stuff you already know. You don't have to leave an'- and make an extra trip!"

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Ezra, enough," Garth'zel says in a firm tone. "Weren't you the one arguing you didn't need school earlier? And playing sick before then? How do I know you aren't going to suddenly change your mind again today?"

He's not really up for more childish nonsense today.

[lothrat]

"'Cause I won't," Ezra insists, and thinks that he's telling the truth. If Garth'zel has even the most passing experience or knowledge of children, though... "I don't need to pretend I'm sick 'cause you're gonna let me stay with you now, and... and... maybe I don't need school, but now I wan't it 'cause I wanna fly your ship."

[neverwantedtobesith]

Garth'zel gives Ezra a skeptical look. "So you're saying you won't try to find a reason not to work on things as soon as you decide something's boring."

[lothrat]

It is really, really hard not to fidget under that piercing look. Or maybe it's because a small part of Ezra knows Garth'zel maybe isn't wrong, because sometimes stuff is really boring.

"But what else am I s'posed to do?" he tries. "My clothes won't take us all the day."