AU: Kid Ibani Play Date

[last_kallig]

It's been a few days since the fight with the bullies and Ibani has been gleefully showing her new friend around and helping her get settled in. Despite the fact that Sabla is the only Miraluka in the Temple, nobody has been teasing Sabla. Possibly word got around about the reason Ibani was covered in bruises a few days ago.

Sabla's parents came and picked her up earlier, but right now Ibani is anxiously waiting for her dads to be finished with the classes they're teaching so they can all go and visit Sabla's house!

Comments

[idontneedluck]

"If you wear a hole in the tile with your pacing, you will only be tasked with replacing it." Chirrut warns as he ambles down the hallway towards her. "And you will make a dip in the floor your poor dad will trip over."

[iprotectyou]

Baze, arm in arm with Chirrut, laughs. "He's right, you know," the larger man says, beaming at her. "Being anxious to leave won't make the time pass any faster. Or are you anxious about the teatime?"

[last_kallig]

Ibani huffs at her Dads. "I wasn't pacing THAT long!"

Then she runs over to them to deliver hugs, because priorities!

"I'm anxious, just a little, I want to make a good impression!" she admits to them, while hugging.

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut grins and hugs her back, ruffling up her hair.

"If you didn't make an impression the first time you met them, I don't know if you were hitting people hard enough."

[iprotectyou]

Baze joins the cuddle pile, snuggling both Chirrut and their daughter. "You'll be fine, Ibani," her larger dad says, chuckling. "Shall we go?"


The trip to Sabla's house is a long one, with the family living on the outskirts of town. Baze approves of the neighborhood; it's small, and one of the poorer places in the city, but it has a lot of good people trying to make lives for themselves. Baze knocks on the door, and Culu answers.

"Guardian Malbus. Master Imwe. Ibani," the ebony-skinned woman says warmly, bowing her head to them. "Welcome. Sabla is upstairs."

[last_kallig]

"You'd complain if I hit them too hard!" Ibani sasses back to Chirrut.

Ibani settles during the trip, her nerves calming. "Hello," she greets Culu with a bright smile.

They are ushered inside a house that might seem oddly decorated, at first glance. There's little color anywhere, for one, because none of the house's occupants can SEE color. Instead, surfaces and fabric alike are textured, designed to be felt rather than seen. The furniture has clear edges, distinct, with no small fiddly bits to 'clutter' the visual field. And there is the smell of green, growing things. Plants have been trained to climb up many of the walls from small planter boxes where floorboards would be.

Ibani glances at her dads, her expression and the Force asking if she can go upstairs and see Sabla.

[idontneedluck]

... Chirrut wants to know if they would decorate the temple.

All of it.

"We won't keep you from your friend, Ibani." Chirrut laughs as he follows Culu inside. "Your home is lovely, ma'am."

[iprotectyou]

Baze beams at Ibani. "Yes, go see Sabla."

Culu thanks Chirrut for the compliment and ushers the two Guardians through the front room to a dining room, where Jerec waits at a table. He stands to greet them, smiling.

"Greetings," he says. "May I offer you water, or tea? Some light refreshment? Please, sit."

"Tea would be lovely, thank you," Baze says, settling his robed bulk at the table. Culu ducks out of the room to a kitchen to prepare the beverages and snacks.

Jerec shifts on his feet before sitting down himself. "Are you aware that your daughter is... Force-touched? To an extent I've never seen before."

[last_kallig]

Ibani scampers up the stairs to go see Sabla after hugging both of her dads goodbye.

There is the smell of sapir in the air as Culu brings in a tray with tea and pieces of fruit preserved in sugar. "Most people to our sight are like coals, putting only a little light and heat into the world. Ibani is a bonfire, brighter, warmer even than the one Jedi Knight I have ever seen."

[idontneedluck]

"The Force works in mysterious ways." Chirrut agrees, mildly as he accepts the cup she hands him. What, his daughter Force-sensitive? He has no idea what you're talking about.

[iprotectyou]

Baze has no idea why Chirrut is playing his cards close to his chest.

"The game is up, Chirrut," Baze says, accepting his teacup from Culu. "They're Miraluka. They know. What they will do with this knowledge remains to be seen."

[last_kallig]

"We will do nothing," Jerec replies calmly, facing Baze and Chirrut.

Culu sits next to him and reaches for his hand.

"Our Sabla, she has more than the sight that is our birthright," Culu explains. "We left the place where we were born, Jerec and I, because there were....pressures to give her up to the Jedi," she explains, the Force and her tone carrying remembered worry, remembered fear.

Jerec is more blunt, and his expression turns grim. "We were afraid they would TAKE her, whatever our wishes, and so we fled, changed our names."

Culu speaks up again. "We know the Jedi come here, but we could not teach Sabla the control she needs, that she MUST have as she grows stronger. Please, we only want her to be safe from them, as your Ibani is safe, that is all," she continues, the Force and her voice taking on a pleading edge.

[idontneedluck]

"We are not in the habit of giving the Jedi whatever it is they demand of us." Chirrut replies, his grin hiding knives. "It takes some of them time to learn this, but so far none have failed the lesson."

[iprotectyou]

"To keep Ibani safe, we take her out on camping trips when the Jedi arrive at the temple," Baze explains, plucking up one of the fruits and popping it into his mouth. "No doubt we could bring your Sabla along."

[last_kallig]

Jerec's grin mirrors Chirrut's at his answer, hiding knives. "An important lesson, it is good of you to teach it."

Culu relaxes slightly at their answers. "Thank you, Guardian Malbus. That would be a great weight off our minds."

She sips her sapir and smiles softly. "I do not regret leaving the home-world, but having a bit of it to drink is a comfort."

[idontneedluck]

"It is very hard to come by, we've noticed. Baze here has a stash in the temple, somewhere, but he won't tell me where it is." Chirrut's smile relaxes, along with his posture.

[iprotectyou]

Baze laughs, raising his teacup in a salute. "Of course I won't tell you where it is," he says, grinning. "You'd drink it all at once and make yourself sick of it."

This is a lie. Chirrut probably would drink all the sapir at once, but Baze doesn't think his friend would be sick of the tea. Not ever.

Baze turns to Jerec and Culu. "How long have you been in the neighborhood, as it were?"

[last_kallig]

Jerec and Culu both chuckle at the byplay.

"We've been here a bit over three months," Jerec replies.

"Give it another year, and my Jerec will have the plants that climb the walls in their proper glory," Culu adds.

[idontneedluck]

"Your home is lovely - most humanoid species forget texture in their decorating." Chirrut compliments.

[iprotectyou]

"Go ahead, Chirrut, ask them to decorate our rooms," Baze teases, though he's totally serious about taking their advice. "You know you want to."

Baze beams. "Ibani rooms with us, currently, but she and Sabla might be able to be roommates someday."

[last_kallig]

"Thank you," Culu replies, pleased with the compliment. "So distressingly flat, most of it, and people tend to be so tetchy when you touch anything!"

Jerec chuckles at Baze's teasing. "We'd be happy to assist with that, if you like. Especially since Miraluka styles seem to suit you."

"That would be good for both of them, I think," Culu replies, smiling. "We've moved around so much that Sabla hasn't had much of a chance to make friends."

[idontneedluck]

"Ibani has hardly stopped talking about her since they met." Chirrut reports. "I think we'd have a rebellion on our hands if we tried to separate them."

[iprotectyou]

"It's true, Ibani loves your daughter dearly," Baze says, with the warm tones of someone who clearly aapproves of such an arrangement.

He drinks his tea. "What brought you three to the Temple of the Kyber?"

[last_kallig]

Both of Sabla's parents smile warmly. "And Sabla has hardly stopped talking about Ibani since she met her, so I'd say the love is mutual," Jerec replies.

"Oh yes, she hardly paused for breath on our way home that first day!" Culu adds.

"We were looking for a place with people who could train Sabla, but who wouldn't take her from us," Jerec replies.

"There seemed to be few options," Culu replies, "although I will say that your Temple and the people in it have been wonderful to us so far."

[idontneedluck]

"We do attempt to follow the will of the Force." Chirrut agrees with utmost innocence, as if he didn't know those were practically fighting words against the Jedi Order.

[iprotectyou]

Baze slants a look at his friend. The larger man has seen that innocent act before, many times. He hopes Jerec and Culu aren't fooled.

"Do the kyber crystals sing for you as well?" Baze asks their hosts, sipping his tea.

[last_kallig]

"Oh, indeed," Jerec says in response to Chirrut's comment, smirking.

Culu chuckles. "Oh yes, the very picture of innocence you are," she adds.

Jerec shakes his head. "No, we cannot hear them, Culu and I. We can tell they are not ordinary crystals though, they appear in our sight as living things do, not inanimate stone."

"Sabla can hear them," Culu says. "She was so surprised when we couldn't." Her smile turns slightly sad at that.

[idontneedluck]

"Most cannot, one of the great tragedies of the galaxy." Chirrut points out, sipping his tea. "If they could, there would be little need for Guardians."

[iprotectyou]

Baze is about to add something about the functions of the Guardians when he's interrupted by a thump from upstairs.

His eyes trail to the ceiling. "Should we check on our daughters?"

[last_kallig]

"We're fine!" Ibani calls from upstairs. Sabla can be heard giggling over something. And then there's a strange mewling noise.

Jerec and Culu look startled at that. "That sounded like an animal, but we don't have any pets," Culu explains.

[idontneedluck]

"I officially vote that Baze be the one to tell Ibani about the rules against having pets in the temple." Chirrut declares quickly, and leans back in his seat.

[iprotectyou]

Baze scowls at his friend, an expression no one at the table can see. Chirrut will pay for that. Oh, yes. Baze doesn't know how, and he doesn't know when, but Chirrut will definitely pay.

The large Guardian stands from his seat. "Well, since I've been so nominated, I'd better go check on what animal our girls have brought inside."

He excuses himself from the table, and heads to the stairs, heedless if the rest of them follow.

[last_kallig]

Sabla is still giggling as Baze climbs the stairs.

"It's not funny!" Ibani mutters. "Okay, it's kind of funny," she allows.

There's another mewling noise. "No, no, come down from there, it's okay, you're safe!"

When Baze opens the door, he sees what might well be the descendant of the soft, adorable creature Baze snuck into his and Chirrut's room all those years ago. It's sitting on Ibani's head, and does not seem at all inclined to let go or move.

[iprotectyou]

Baze covers his mouth with his hand in an effort to stem the gigglefit that bubbles up from inside him. It doesn't work; he lets loose with a belly laugh--though it's quieter than his normal cackle, due to his not wanting to spook the baby animal.

The creature is impossibly small and impossibly fuzzy, with large, white-tufted ears. Baze approaches the two girls with a smile on his face. "Where on Jedha did you get it?"

[last_kallig]

"He was stuck in the gutter outside the window and he was crying for help," Ibani explains.

Sabla hms an agreement. "We rescued him, the poor thing."

Ibani sighs and temporarily gives up on trying to get the creature to move. "He was lost and he didn't know where his mother was, and he was so frightened!"

"But now he wants to perch on Ibani's head," Sabla adds, failing to stifle a grin.

[iprotectyou]

"You sure do rescue a lot of baby animals," Baze says, scratching his beard. He reaches for the little creature, and then draws his hand back. If the tiny beast wants to perch on Ibani's head, then that's where it will stay.

"Well, we need to put it outside. Let's take it downstairs. Maybe we can lure it off your head and into someone else's hands with the promise of food."

[last_kallig]

"They find me!" Ibani protests.

"Because you're very likeable," Sabla suggests as they head down the stairs.

Culu and Jerec stifle chuckles at the sight of Ibani with the tiny creature on Ibani's head.

The creature makes a small, mewling noise from Ibani's head height, it's feet making scrambling noises in her hair.