Quick fanfic
Nov. 9th, 2005 03:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrilI am attempting to post this as my son runs rampant in the library, so I picked a short one. Hope you like it!
The Kid in the Junk Shop
He was a weird little boy. Not because he was a slave; no, I’d seen enough slave boys to think I knew what to expect of them. Slavery seemed to do one of two things to kids – either it made them scared little things that could barely say hi without darting their eyes around as if expecting a beating, or it made them angry, sullen – glaring at everyone who so much as smiled at them.
But this kid was neither. He looked straight into my face when I entered the shop, said hello. “My master’s out back,” he told me matter-of-factly. “Want me to get him?”
Weird. I raised my eyebrows at him. “Not just yet,” I said finally. “I’m just looking.”
“What are you looking for?” He hopped off the counter. “Maybe I can help you find it.”
Even weirder. “Uh…what’s going on, kid? Does your master give you treats if you bring in extra business?”
“Uh, no.” He flushed. “Actually, Watto might get mad if he knew I was talking to a customer.”
“So why help me?” I had to ask.
He shrugged. “I dunno. I like helping people.” His little chest swelled a bit. “I’m pretty good at it.”
“Yeah?” I glanced around. “Well, maybe I’ll come back here. Let me take a look at some of the other shops first.”
There were other dealers with bigger places, more likely to have what I needed, but for some reason I found myself going back to Watto’s place. I brought along a couple of my buddies who had just gotten back from deep space maneuvers. The two of them were full of stories. I was only half listening. Watto was in front this time, and haggling with him was a tricky matter. But the kid was all ears.
“Oh, the only money-making reason you go to Iego is the gems,” Rigg was saying with a shrug. “Tixilite, they call it – pretty, but only semi-precious. It wouldn’t be worth the trouble. Me, I go for the thrill of it.”
“Yeah?” I murmured, watching Watto demonstrate the workings of the used thruster he was trying to sell me. It sputtered and threw off a few sparks, then died. Watto laughed nervously.
“Just needs a little fixing, I think…” He flew out to get another.
“There’s nothing like it,” Rigg went on with a grin. “Bouncing from one moon to the next – their orbits are crazy, erratic – there’s no telling where the next danger will come from. And then, through the atmosphere –”
“The caves,” Adi finished, nodding in excitement. “Never mind the gems; it’s flying through those caves that makes the trip to Iego worthwhile. Mazes of tunnels and caverns like you’ve never seen. And if you’re lucky –”
He and Rigg shared a look. Rigg’s voice was solemn all of a sudden, reverent. “You might, if you’re really lucky, catch sight of an angel.”
“What’s that?” I asked absentmindedly. Watto was back, lugging another thruster that looked more beat-up than the last.
“Angels,” Adi repeated, and sighed. “Nothing else like them in all the galaxy, I’m telling you. You’re swooping through a tunnel, no light but the ship’s beams, and suddenly, out of nowhere –”
“One of them shoots in front of the viewscreen, all wispy and soft and perfect,” Rigg continued. “You haven’t lived till you’ve seen one. Take the most beautiful woman you’ve ever known, and forget all about her – an angel’s much better.”
“It’s the eyes that get me,” Adi said. “They can see right through you, I swear. Like they’ve seen everything there is to see, know everything there is to know.” He paused. “Maybe that’s why they look so sad.”
Rigg nudged me. “You’ve gotta see it.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not getting anywhere without a thruster,” I said, glaring at Watto. “You got anything better than this pile of junk?”
“Of course they’re the most dangerous thing on Iego’s moons as well,” Adi said thoughtfully.
“Why’s that?”
“Take you by surprise, dazzle you so much, you forget where you’re going.” Adi nodded at Rigg. “Almost crashed our ship into a cave wall, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember,” Rigg answered soberly. “And almost smashed the angel with it.”
Adi nodded. “Gotta keep alert, can’t lose track of where you’re going. An angel can confuse you so you can’t remember who you are.”
“But don’t forget there was the one that saved us, too,” Rigg reminded him. “We were hopelessly lost, and this angel showed up and led the way back out. Wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for that one.” He smiled crookedly. “All the danger’s worth it, I’m telling you, just for one look at one. Take your breath away, angels do.”
Watto finally found a thruster that wasn’t falling to pieces, and offered it for a price I could agree to without feeling like I was being cheated too ridiculously. We were on our way out when the kid was suddenly tugging at my arm. I glanced toward the back; Watto had flown out again.
“If you need help putting that in your ship, I’m done here for the day,” he said. Completely serious. I tried not to laugh.
“Uh…thanks, kid, I think I can manage.”
“Okay.” He looked up at me intently. “I’m going to go there.”
“Huh?”
“To Iego. I want to see those angels.”
Rigg was a little less tactful than me. Laughing uproariously, he nudged Adi. “You hear that? The kid’s a pilot. Hey, kid! Tell me about your trip sometime.”
The boy turned to him thoughtfully. “You don’t believe me. I’m not always going to be a slave, you know.”
“Right.”
I tousled his hair. “Hey, a kid can dream. You go ahead and fly to Iego. Just be careful about those angels.”
And what do you know – a year or two later, the next time I was at Watto’s, the boy was gone.
The Kid in the Junk Shop
He was a weird little boy. Not because he was a slave; no, I’d seen enough slave boys to think I knew what to expect of them. Slavery seemed to do one of two things to kids – either it made them scared little things that could barely say hi without darting their eyes around as if expecting a beating, or it made them angry, sullen – glaring at everyone who so much as smiled at them.
But this kid was neither. He looked straight into my face when I entered the shop, said hello. “My master’s out back,” he told me matter-of-factly. “Want me to get him?”
Weird. I raised my eyebrows at him. “Not just yet,” I said finally. “I’m just looking.”
“What are you looking for?” He hopped off the counter. “Maybe I can help you find it.”
Even weirder. “Uh…what’s going on, kid? Does your master give you treats if you bring in extra business?”
“Uh, no.” He flushed. “Actually, Watto might get mad if he knew I was talking to a customer.”
“So why help me?” I had to ask.
He shrugged. “I dunno. I like helping people.” His little chest swelled a bit. “I’m pretty good at it.”
“Yeah?” I glanced around. “Well, maybe I’ll come back here. Let me take a look at some of the other shops first.”
There were other dealers with bigger places, more likely to have what I needed, but for some reason I found myself going back to Watto’s place. I brought along a couple of my buddies who had just gotten back from deep space maneuvers. The two of them were full of stories. I was only half listening. Watto was in front this time, and haggling with him was a tricky matter. But the kid was all ears.
“Oh, the only money-making reason you go to Iego is the gems,” Rigg was saying with a shrug. “Tixilite, they call it – pretty, but only semi-precious. It wouldn’t be worth the trouble. Me, I go for the thrill of it.”
“Yeah?” I murmured, watching Watto demonstrate the workings of the used thruster he was trying to sell me. It sputtered and threw off a few sparks, then died. Watto laughed nervously.
“Just needs a little fixing, I think…” He flew out to get another.
“There’s nothing like it,” Rigg went on with a grin. “Bouncing from one moon to the next – their orbits are crazy, erratic – there’s no telling where the next danger will come from. And then, through the atmosphere –”
“The caves,” Adi finished, nodding in excitement. “Never mind the gems; it’s flying through those caves that makes the trip to Iego worthwhile. Mazes of tunnels and caverns like you’ve never seen. And if you’re lucky –”
He and Rigg shared a look. Rigg’s voice was solemn all of a sudden, reverent. “You might, if you’re really lucky, catch sight of an angel.”
“What’s that?” I asked absentmindedly. Watto was back, lugging another thruster that looked more beat-up than the last.
“Angels,” Adi repeated, and sighed. “Nothing else like them in all the galaxy, I’m telling you. You’re swooping through a tunnel, no light but the ship’s beams, and suddenly, out of nowhere –”
“One of them shoots in front of the viewscreen, all wispy and soft and perfect,” Rigg continued. “You haven’t lived till you’ve seen one. Take the most beautiful woman you’ve ever known, and forget all about her – an angel’s much better.”
“It’s the eyes that get me,” Adi said. “They can see right through you, I swear. Like they’ve seen everything there is to see, know everything there is to know.” He paused. “Maybe that’s why they look so sad.”
Rigg nudged me. “You’ve gotta see it.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not getting anywhere without a thruster,” I said, glaring at Watto. “You got anything better than this pile of junk?”
“Of course they’re the most dangerous thing on Iego’s moons as well,” Adi said thoughtfully.
“Why’s that?”
“Take you by surprise, dazzle you so much, you forget where you’re going.” Adi nodded at Rigg. “Almost crashed our ship into a cave wall, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember,” Rigg answered soberly. “And almost smashed the angel with it.”
Adi nodded. “Gotta keep alert, can’t lose track of where you’re going. An angel can confuse you so you can’t remember who you are.”
“But don’t forget there was the one that saved us, too,” Rigg reminded him. “We were hopelessly lost, and this angel showed up and led the way back out. Wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for that one.” He smiled crookedly. “All the danger’s worth it, I’m telling you, just for one look at one. Take your breath away, angels do.”
Watto finally found a thruster that wasn’t falling to pieces, and offered it for a price I could agree to without feeling like I was being cheated too ridiculously. We were on our way out when the kid was suddenly tugging at my arm. I glanced toward the back; Watto had flown out again.
“If you need help putting that in your ship, I’m done here for the day,” he said. Completely serious. I tried not to laugh.
“Uh…thanks, kid, I think I can manage.”
“Okay.” He looked up at me intently. “I’m going to go there.”
“Huh?”
“To Iego. I want to see those angels.”
Rigg was a little less tactful than me. Laughing uproariously, he nudged Adi. “You hear that? The kid’s a pilot. Hey, kid! Tell me about your trip sometime.”
The boy turned to him thoughtfully. “You don’t believe me. I’m not always going to be a slave, you know.”
“Right.”
I tousled his hair. “Hey, a kid can dream. You go ahead and fly to Iego. Just be careful about those angels.”
And what do you know – a year or two later, the next time I was at Watto’s, the boy was gone.
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Date: 2005-11-10 02:46 am (UTC)