spncentral | Of Sith And Street Rats

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.

Current Mood: calm

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ezra makes a show of thinking about the question, putting his hand to his chin and everything. "Maybe I better talk to him alone first," he says judiciously, unaware of the possibility that Garth'zel might still be able to overhear him. "Just 'cause he's not used to me bein' with anyone. Just wait at a table, okay?"

"Uh-huh," Garth'zel says dryly before eyeing him. "Try not to find a new way to get into trouble today, hmm?"

Yes yes, today's incident wasn't really Ezra's fault, but still.

He makes shooing motions at Ezra. "Off with you. I'll find a place for us to sit."

Ezra huffs at the remark about him getting into trouble. "That wasn't my fault!" he protests. Sheesh, it's like Garth'zel thinks he's a trouble magnet.

With a glance just to see which table Garth'zel is headed for, Ezra takes off to go find the bartender. He's easy to find, of course, as bartenders usually are. The Ithorian turns an eye on him (just one eye, because he can do that) when Ezra climbs into one of the stools at the counter, though once he recognizes the boy, he soon gives him his full attention.

"Young Bridger," he greets through the translator at his mouth. "What brings you here today?" His head swoops sternly, body language firm. "I've no scraps for you today unless you've got something in return. I can only be so generous with a business to run."

Ezra refuses to duck his head, even with that mild scolding. He has begged from Jho a lot recently. But that's not what he's here for today. Jho shouldn't assume like that! "That's not what I'm here for," he says, then amends- "I mean it is, but it's not. I got a customer for you." And just in case that emphasis wasn't enough, "He's gonna pay."

"A customer, eh?" Jho's mood visibly lightens, though his voice also tinges with amusement. "That's new. Should I ask what you're getting up to here?"

"He's hiring me," Ezra says, puffing his little chest up with pride, even if that still feels so surreal. "I'm gonna give him a tour. But we gotta eat first, okay? An'- an' I told him about your pie, but I didn't bring you a rat. Can you still make it?"

Eye rolls from Ithorians are kind of funny things, but Ezra's mostly used to them from Jho. "You are not my only supplier of rats, child. If your customer has the money, I can bring some pie out."

"He does!" Ezra promises, then hops down from the bar. "Don't worry, you'll see!" With that settled, he scampers back to the table where Garth'zel sat down.

"Jho says he's got Loth-rat pie, if you want it." Look, it's the only part of the conversation Garth'zel needs to know.

He may need to only know about one part, but he knows all of it. Sorry, kiddo.

Garth'zel shakes his head slightly. "You can have some if you want it."

He'll have something else. Possibly stew, even if it's a little early in the day for it. He looks meditatively at the list of food available this early in the day to decide what he actually wants. Regardless, he knows he's not getting something alcoholic to drink; it's far too early in the day for it.

"I want pie," Ezra confirms instantly, to nobody's surprise. "And fruit?" he asks, not quite sure how far Garth'zel's generosity will extend, but figures that asking won't hurt. Fruit's easier to stash in his pocket for later, though, just in case.

Just in case.

(And because it's going to take him a long, long time to unlearn a habit of saving food for later, for when he's not so lucky getting food.)

Garth'zel nods. "Having fruit would be a good idea."

He doesn't know how healthy the pie Ezra wants is, after all. May as well make sure the kid eats something he knows is good for him.

He also decides for certain that yes, he wants the stew. And that he'll just be getting water for the both of them in terms of things to drink.

The pie probably isn't as unhealthy as it could be, honestly, but considering the variety of vitamins and minerals a growing human boy needs, adding fruit can only be a wise move. Regardless, Ezra's expression brightens visibly. Look, he loves fruit too.

Once the waiter droid comes by their table, and Ezra's recited his order, he settles into his chair, feeling much more optimistic about today. Sure, it might have started off badly, but things are looking up now.

And looking up even more once the food arrives. Ezra doesn't wait to dive right into his pie.

"Are you sure you don't want some? It's really good. I'll share with you!"

Garth'zel gives the droid his own order as well, making sure to get the request for Ezra's water in as well.

He later shakes his head at Ezra as he starts in on his own food. "This will be enough for me until it's time for lunch."

Just a reminder there's another meal coming later. The kid needs the food.

Ezra's fork pauses on its way to his mouth. Even though Garth'zel had told him he'd be fed on this job, it's still something amazing for someone to feed him more than once. Lunch would be the third meal in a row.

Don't question it, he tells himself, sticking his fork in his mouth. It won't last anyway. He's gonna leave in a few days, when I run out of stuff to show him. He deflates at the thought, eyes dropping down to the table. He still hasn't figured out what to do about that.

He finishes his pie in silence, fruit going into his pocket out of habit. A promise of lunch is all well and good, but it's not certain. Besides, he's feeling too full to eat anything else right now. His small stomach's not used to so much food. Sipping his water, he tries not to fidget while he waits for Garth'zel to finish his stew. (He's not very successful at not fidgeting. He is only eight years old.)

It doesn't take Garth'zel too much longer to finish his food before motioning over at the waiter droid to find out how much he had to pay and to hand over the money.

Then he finishes his water and stands. "Are you done with your water? If so, we can go now."

"I'm done." There's still water in his cup, but he's not as concerned about finishing that as he would be if it was juice or milk. Water's a lot easier to obtain. Putting his cup down, he hops down from the table, reassured by the comforting weight of the fruit in his pocket.

Once they're out of the cantina, Ezra points as he takes the lead. "We're going this way now." Time to do his duties as tour guide, even if it's just leading Garth'zel to the city hall to find out what kind of stuff there is to see.

Over the next few days, Ezra gets to learn almost as much about his home planet as Garth'zel does along with showing him plenty of things he already knew about.

Not to mention Ezra finally deciding to spend nights on the ship, which let Garth'zel make breakfast in the morning as soon as he was ready for it, rather than waiting for Ezra to put in an appearance first. (Not to mention let them avoid any more 'incidents' while Ezra was on his way to meet Garth'zel in the morning for breakfast.)

"So. Where are we going today?" Garth'zel asks as he sips at his caf over the remains of his breakfast. He only has a few bites left. May as well give his stomach time to deal with what's already in it first.

Sleeping on the ship had just begun to make sense after the first couple days. He wouldn't have to worry about getting home in the dark if he stayed with Garth'zel too late, and he wouldn't have to worry about getting back on time in the morning, or whether or not Garth'zel would still be here. That was a niggling fear at times, that Garth'zel would get bored and leave, and maybe not even say goodbye. Not to mention that this means he gets breakfast sooner.

But even with those problems solved, there's still the bigger one. How can he convince Garth'zel to stay? Every day they've spent together has just made him want it even more. Garth'zel is... maybe not fun, but he pays attention to Ezra and cares about what he thinks, and he knows so much, and he's interesting, and just being around him fills some kind of empty space Ezra hadn't realized was there. He doesn't know how to describe it, just that he doesn't want it empty again.

If he can't keep coming up with things to look at, though...

"I was thinkin'," he says, trying not to show that he's been wracking his brain all morning. "Do you wanna see the flowers? They like people." He doesn't even know if Garth'zel likes flowers. He just can't think of anything else.

Garth'zel arches an eyebrow. "Flowers like people?"

Ezra's going to need to explain that one before Garth'zel says yes or no. Although he has the feeling it's going to be 'no'. Going somewhere just to look at plants doesn't exactly appeal to him.

Ezra perks up, interpreting the question as interest. "Yeah!" he says. "They bloom if you spend time with them!" And what else would that mean except that they like him?

The concept of plants that thrive off of heat or something else exuded by living beings was probably a little too advanced for him when his mother first introduced him to the daisies of Lothal.

"Are you sure they aren't just reacting to something in the area somehow?" He's not sure the plants actually have any sort of awareness.

Although it might be worth investigating to see what's going on with them.

"No, they bloom when you get close," Ezra refutes. "If you're not too close an' you just watch, they don't." See? That's totally proof.

Garth'zel raises an eyebrow. "Interesting. Where exactly are these flowers?"

He's leaning towards figuring out what's with them. He doubts they react for the reason said by Ezra.

A little knot loosens inside of Ezra, relief washing over him. It worked. He's found one more thing to keep Garth'zel's interest. That means more time to come up with something else to keep him on the planet.

"They're in the grass," he explains, then realizes that's not very specific. "The tall stuff outside the city. Sometimes people grow 'em in their gardens, but we'd have to ask to look at them, and- an' there's more of the ones outside. There's a big patch by the tower my mom and dad used to go to out there."

Not exactly a very specific description, but fortunately for Garth'zel there aren't too many towers outside of the city itself. The one communications tower, abandoned since the Bridgers disappeared and people became too spooked to use it, sticks out of the surrounding grasslands plain and clear.

"I know what grass is," Garth'zel points out in an amused tone. Honestly, child.

He finally sets down his caf to finish the last of his food. "After we're done here, I'll check what the weather for today is supposed to be like to help decide if we should go in the morning or afternoon. We'll work on other things for whichever segment of time gets spent here."

Said things involving teaching Ezra to use the Force. ...Along with probably paying a visit to one or two portions of the city, since it was probably about time Garth'zel get more food.

"But there's more than one kind'a grass," Ezra says. "I was just sayin' which one." He wasn't trying to say Garth'zel didn't know what grass was. Garth'zel's way too smart not to know about that!

His own food finished, Ezra glances one last time to be sure he didn't leave behind any crumbs. It's just not in him to waste any food, even if he's gotten more confident that Garth'zel will feed him again. It's only a quick glance, though, because he's quickly looking back up at Garth'zel. That hint of other things...

"Are we gonna do more practicing the Force?" Maybe he hasn't really gotten the hang of it yet, as new as he still is, but what Garth'zel's been teaching him feels special. It's something only they can do, and it's a secret. Ezra can't help but feel eager for the next lesson.

"We are," Garth'zel confirms with a nod. "Along with possibly a trip into the city to buy more food; I need to see what I need to get more of."

There's a couple of things he should get more of, now that he thinks about it, but he should see if there's anything else. Probably in a half hour or so.

His food finished, he rises to collect their plates and utensils to put in the dishwasher; leaving his mug and Ezra's glass out for now.

"I can help with that!" Ezra's always down to help buy food.

But first they're going to find out what the weather's going to be like. Not rainy, Ezra hopes. He doesn't really like when it rains. He always ends up wet because he can't just stay home and hole up. Not unless he got lucky earlier and already got some food. And then it takes hours for his clothes to dry out, and since he doesn't have any clothes to change into...

...although maybe Garth'zel will let him borrow a shirt again. And he can put his clothes in Garth'zel's dryer. He'd only have to wait fifteen minutes or so to have dry clothes of his own to wear. If only I could always do that... A pang of longing makes him trail behind Garth'zel almost close enough to reach up for his hand. He doesn't reach, though. It just doesn't feel like he should.

"When you go away, will you ever come back?"

"I honestly have no idea. Sometimes I go back to a planet I've been to before, sometimes I don't." It depends on if there's a reason for him to do so. Such as with Taris, back in his own time, he could see no reason whatsoever to return. Not with it being a Rakghoul-infested mess. Now, he's more willing to go back since he doesn't need to worry about things trying to eat him.

Things loaded into the washer, he closes it to let it get started. Then he deftly avoids running over Ezra to reclaim his mug to head out of the galley with it. "I'm going to see what things are supposed to be like today. I think we would prefer not to head out if it's going to be too hot or something."

The answer to his question isn't as clear as Ezra wants - sometimes, sometimes not - but it's still enough to deflate his hope more than a little. There's still a chance, of course, but still. Experience has taught Ezra that people who leave Lothal don't usually ever come back again. Too backwater, too far away from anything important, too boring, or any number of other reasons he's heard passing spacers grumble. He doesn't know which reason would be Garth'zel's, or if it would be a reason he hasn't heard before, but it still feels too likely to him.

Unless Ezra can give him a reason to stay.

Biting his lip, the little boy lets himself fall behind while Garth'zel goes to check the weather for the day. He needs time to think. He's got to come up with something.

When Garth'zel comes back, he's going to find Ezra laid out on the lounge couch. "I don't feel good," Ezra complains. (His acting is nowhere near as good as he thinks it is.) "Can we go look at the flowers tomorrow?"