OOM: AU Child! Ibani

[last_kallig]

The last few months have been even harder than usual, after the death of her mother figure. Perhaps grief made her weaker, more vulnerable to sickness, because she knows she's dangerously ill. She hadn't meant to wind up here, wherever here is, but it has shown up in the nick of time.

Ibani shivers against one of the walls of Milliways, her body wracked with fever and hunger both. She's somewhere between seven and ten, clothed in fabric with far too many holes in it, and wearing a slave shock collar around her neck. Her bones stand out too sharply against her skin, and her eyes are fever bright and darting around the room.

She's not sure if this is some dying hallucination, if she's gone mad, or if she truly HAS wound up somewhere utterly strange. Whatever this is, instinct and her body DEMAND food, fuel to fight the sickness that is killing her. Untrained in the Force, she's grasping on instinct for any energy it can give her.

Maybe, maybe if she gets close enough to one of the tables she can steal some food without anyone noticing. Yes, yes that's a good plan

Comments

[27_53]

"I need a bit of extra room, when I am not downstairs," he says. "I...have a bit of a secret of my own."

There is no good way (in his mind) to word an explanation as to the 'hey, so I have wings' discussion, so he simply reaches up to his collar and shoulders off his coat - exposing them to the space. He does not fully extend them, but does stretch them a bit, where they are poking through his plain t-shirt.

"I do not always wear my coat downstairs," he offers as explanation. "But I had just come in for dinner when you found me."

[last_kallig]

"Oh, your wings are pretty!" she tells him. In much the same way the average person might remark on hair color.

She tilts her head, a bit confused. "Why would you need to hide them? One of the guards in the mines is Toydarian, and none of the other guards ever gave him any trouble about HIS wings."

"And they weren't even pretty like your wings are."

[27_53]

Huh. Interesting. (Her lack of reaction surprises him a little, but he doesn't show it too much.)

"In my home world, it is not safe for me to walk around with them exposed," he says, after a brief pause to contemplate his answer. "Too much of a target."

He glances into the boxes.

"Bar packed our dinner to stay fresh," he says. "Would you rather eat now, or have a bath first, and then once I have cleaned up your neck a bit, we could eat afterwards?"

[last_kallig]

She scowls at the mention of it not being safe for him to walk around with them exposed in his home world. "That's not RIGHT," she huffs.

She thinks for a moment. "I should probably bathe first. If I eat more now, it might come back up," she adds with a faint tone of bitter experience. She hasn't eaten all THAT much, but when she's had so little food for so long, her body is inclined to reject the 'surplus'.

[27_53]

His smile is a tight one when she says that's not right in that huff of a tone, because SHE is right - it should not be that way, and yet, it is...

"You are smart to pace yourself," he grabs the set of clothes Bar gave him that look more like standard human pajamas, then nods his head towards the bathroom. "I will get it started for you, and then I can leave if you would prefer it? Unless you would want help with your hair, or around your neck, then I can stick close by and help if it is needed?"

The bathroom is just a relatively straightforward affair - but at the same time it is more 'modern' than the rest of the apartment, with clean-cut lines and warm wood tones. The basics, of course - toilet, sink (with a stepstool that was not there the last time, he notices), mirror and small closet for towels and other things. The central feature is the somewhat 'sunken' style tub which is large enough for him to soak most of his body in (while allowing him to climb in easily and sit, which helps when his body aches as it does sometimes more than others) and it is obvious also that he has taken time and discussed with Bar just how he wants this space.

(It is HIS nest, here in the Bar, and he is allowed to be particular about things, has the luxury...he is going to take advantage of it. Baths help him not hurt, so he spends a lot of time in them.)

She is staring again, so he goes and turns the water on, to at least start it while she looks around.

[last_kallig]

"I've never seen a space like this before," she confesses, still in awe. "I think I will be okay by myself," she assures him. And it might not be a bad idea to....process everything in private either, with how much her life has turned upside down today.

[27_53]

"I had not either, until I found myself here." He smiles at her. "So in that sense, we are similar."

Nodding, he grabs a fresh towel off of the rack and sets it beside the tub, along with the clothes Bar provided for her, and gathers up a stack of washcloths - those are fine to scrub off with, he reassures her - and some basic soap, shampoo, anything she might want.

"...and if you need to drain the tub and fill it again..." he walks her quickly through that process, as well as how to use the showerhead sprayer if she wants to do that. She is a smart kid, and clearly knows how to take instructions, follow directions.

Once has done that, he steps out of the bathroom - leaving her to her privacy - and goes to work on looking through what else Bar sent up in the boxes.

[last_kallig]

Ibani is in there for quite a while, and changes the water more than once because she's filthy. She hadn't realized HOW filthy, had no real basis for comparison. She scrubs everywhere, even her hair. She cleans the tub out after she's done, leaves it as close to the condition she found it in as she can.

She's pink from scrubbing when she comes out wearing the pajamas, the green fabric so soft it feels unreal. "I hadn't realized..." she begins, then trails off, flushing. "I will learn how to fit in, here."

[27_53]

The things that he has arranged out on the table fall into a few categories - a small pile of wound salves, bandages, and other 'medical' type things (which he will not truly need, because as soon as Ibani sits down next to him he plans on taking care of the rest of her injuries 'his way', now that she has cleaned up) available. There is another pile which includes the basic outfit she saw earlier, along with a pair of slippers (and a note saying if she prefers or desires something else, just send a note via the room service tube system) and some various sundries - toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb for her hair, etc. And then there is a pile of small treats and goodies, a 'sample pack' if you will, of things that Skellig does not recognize all of (some might be from Ibani's universe, he isn't sure) and some that he does.

(Even with the Bar ensuring that the pajamas would fit well, she looks so small when she steps back out of the bathroom that it breaks his heart.)

"You look as if you feel better," he says, encouragingly. "Bar packed up some soup for us, and it has kept warm well. Though I would like to finish healing your neck first, if you'd allow me to?" He motions for her to join him on the couch. "I want to get those wounds closed. It will not take me more than a few minutes."

[last_kallig]

She IS small, really, drastically underweight for her age. She's in slightly better shape than she 'should' be, thanks to the Force. (Someone TRAINED in the Force can theoretically sustain themselves without food or water for years, subsisting on the Force alone. Ibani has only managed to slightly blunt the effects of malnutrition.)

"I do feel better," she says, smiling. "And it would be good to have my neck fixed."

She peers curiously at the things on the table. "I have heard of soup, but never had it." She smiles wryly. "Before today I don't think I ever had anything that wasn't ration bars or whatever lichen or mushrooms I could forage for in the mines."

[27_53]

"It has...I think it is chicken," he sniffs slightly in the direction of the sealed containers. "Potatoes. Maybe a few other vegetables. I did not ask, she merely said it would be good for healing."

Once she is beside him on the couch, he carefully reaches over to the worst spot of remaining blisters and raw skin on her neck, placing his fingertips gingerly on the 'good' skin beside it and allowing his energy to work to heal the damage.

"And easy on the system," he adds. "We do not want to overwhelm your body."

[last_kallig]

She nods. "It feels awful when that happens, and I don't want you to have to fix more things."

"Does it, does it COST you somehow, to heal me?" she asks, as the thought suddenly occurs to her.

[27_53]

"I fix things," he shrugs casually. "It is my calling. It is not a problem to do so."

While he is tempted to say 'no', to alleviate any concerns she may have about the process - Skellig is not a fan of lying to children. So he shakes his head lightly.

"And not in any substantial way," he says. "I do grow weary, if I must heal a lot in a short timespan. But my energy is replenished quickly enough by simply being around those who are happy, who are positive. This place is full of Light, so I am in good shape, currently."

The wounds on her neck are closing nicely, and he is pleased. He allows his reach to 'work' slightly deeper, heal other spots or issues that may be lurking beneath the surface that are of a more immediate concern - but there are not many of those.

[last_kallig]

She is relieved by his answer, relaxes.

"I can't heal people," she says, "but I've made things...happen. And I sense what people feel, sometimes I hear their thoughts. I KNOW things, and I can't explain why."

"I thought I was like you, but I don't have wings." She sighs.

[27_53]

"I can sense emotions too," he says. "But I cannot hear thoughts."

Once he is 'satisfied' with his work, he shifts slightly and fetches the bowls of soup - they are easy to handle 'to-go' style, and he offers her up a spoon, though would not object if she just chose to drink it straight from the vessel itself.

"I do not know of any others like me." He settles back onto the couch a bit. "At least, I have not come across any in my travels."

[last_kallig]

"I had to learn to keep thoughts out, they make it hard to function. People are so LOUD," she grumbles.

"I think I am less likely to make a mess if I drink from the bowl," she says softly. She does just that.The soup is good, really good, but she's careful to sip slowly!

"I'm sorry you haven't found people like you," she tells him. "It's hard, being the only one." Feeling like a freak, an oddity.

[27_53]

"It is hard, but I have learned to adjust."

Skellig also chooses to drink straight from the bowl - he will use the spoon once the broth is gone, to get the last of the 'bits' from the bottom if he has to.

"You do not have to worry about making a mess," he adds. "This is...this is all new to you, is it not?" He uses one hand to motion around the room. "You are learning. If something happens, a spill, a mistake...it is fine. You will learn from it and we will learn together."

[last_kallig]

She nods. "Everything is new, strange."

"I, mistakes have always been...dangerous, for me." She has set the bowl down for a moment, and one hand unconsciously goes to her neck, where the shock collar used to be. "They resulted in punishment." In pain, in suffering.

[27_53]

Given the severity of the marks on her neck (and other places on her body) this is not something that he is truly surprised by - but it does not make hearing it, or seeing her reaction, any less painful.

"I understand that, and I know it will take time for you to adjust. But I promise...there will be no punishment here for you. No one will harm you again."

[last_kallig]

She laughs, the sound half hope and half grief. "I would not have dared imagine anything like this, this morning. Part of me keeps expecting to wake up, find that this was all a dream."

[27_53]

"I do not blame you for that," he says honestly. "The first time I found myself here, I was quite badly wounded, and I was hallucinating. I did not believe it for some time. I will help as I am able."

Speaking of sleep...he glances to the bed, then to her.

"I would give you the bed, if you would prefer it. I do not mind to sleep here on the couch." He shrugs a shoulder. "Or if you would rather not be alone, we could share it easily. Whatever is most comfortable for you. I do not know your habits."

[last_kallig]

"The ground," she replies. "I've never seen a bed before."

"I, I used to curl up with Ma'Vena, before she was killed in an accident," she explains, voice trembling a little. "She took care of me, as much as she could. I thought of her as my mother."

[27_53]

When her voice trembles the way it does, Skellig cannot help the lump that rises in the back of his throat, the wave of sadness that floods his system at just how broken she sounds as she speaks of her 'mother'.

"Then I would have you curl up with me," he says softly, his voice slightly rough at the edges. "I feel it may aid both of us?"

[last_kallig]

She nods rapidly, tears threatening at the corners of her eyes. It's only partly sadness, negative emotions, she's just feeling so MUCH.

She looks at the items on the table, trying to get their minds on another topic. "I, I don't know what all of those things are for."

[27_53]

Weakness makes a person vulnerable. Opens them up to attack. Deflection, redirection, subject change - Skellig recognizes it all easily, understands what it is she is doing (at least he thinks he understands - he knows there is a lot about this child that is still unknown to him, her powers being one of the big things) to control her emotions.

"Some of them are unimportant," he says, leaning forward to reach for the table. He pushes aside slightly the pile of medical supplies, focuses on the other things. "Bar sent me with some things you might find useful." He grabs hold of a small pouch with a cord on it, hands it over to her. "Maybe for us to hold your crystal, to keep it safe?"

He will have to get her a chest, for her things, as they start to add to them - he makes a mental note to ask Bar about that the next time he gets a chance.

"These are for..." he studies a small toiletry pack, there is a note stuck to it in Bar's handwriting: for the fresher. "The fresher? I guess that means the bathroom? There is a comb," he glances at her hair. "To untangle your hair, though both you and I don't need much help with that at the moment. A toothbrush...paste...you use that after you eat, to clean your teeth off." There are other various things, but he doesn't go through all of them. It is clearly overwhelming.

"...and those," he points at the table. "Are snacks, to eat later." Some things she...might recognize? There are what looks like ration bars, as well as some other things that can be used between meals or as a treat.