Mother and son (Dae, closed)

[Kwiet Ideya]

The Jinns have settled into their living space on GJO's grounds quite nicely. Kwiet, being the very curious child he is, has taken the time to learn all he can about his mother. Upon finding out that her last name is Jinn, he's started testing it out on his own name. Kwiet Jinn. It sounds kinda nice, but he's not learned to introduce himself that way yet. So Kwiet Ideya he will remain, for now.

He's learned also that his mother is of a special race that isn't human, but he doesn't mind that in the least. He's learned every detail of her appearance, and with thorough illusions practice can make an exact replica of her. The illusion's clothing changes frequently though; normally it wears whatever he saw on her last.

Right now the illusory Dae is sitting on the sofa at 7AM, slouching down lazily and watching cartoons. This illusion is dressed in a loose fitting tanktop and pair of shorts that could almost be considered undergarments. It quickly fades though as the villains start to beat the heroes.

"HEY!" he yells, forgetting that his new-found mother is asleep in the next room. "That's not fair!"

[Dae Jinn]

Dae stirred. Just barely. She was getting used to all the things that went along with raising a child - from the early bed-times, the even earlier wake-up calls, the playing all day while trying to get "grown-up" things done, and everything else she had to do as a Jedi padawan.

Her heavily lidded eyes squinted in the darkness of her room, trying to find the crono. 7 am...Ugh. She slowly gets up, pulling on a silky robe and a pair of ratty slippers, making her way out to the living room. She leans down, planting a kiss on the little boys' head.

"Good morning Kwiet."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Good morning mom!" he says back, standing up on the cushions in his sock-clad feet to hug and kiss her back. "I slept really good last night, and I practiced my illusions during commercials this morning."

He plunks himself back down, scooping all his blankets and things aside to leave space for her.

"Watch it with me!" he says, pointing at the cartoon.

[Dae Jinn]

She stiffled a yawn. "How about I make us some breakfast to go with our cartoons, okay Squirt?"

Dae ruffled his blonde hair as she walked into the kitchenette. "What do you feel like having?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Pancakes with syrup and eggs with ketchup!" he calls, wrinkling his nose at the commercial break. It's a soap commercial. Soap stinks. He pads into the kitchen and hugs Dae's leg, looking up at her. "I love you, Mom."

[Dae Jinn]

"Love you too, kiddo."
She lifts him up, setting him on the counter as she goes into the cupboard and fridge and gets out the things they need to make breakfast. She starts making up the pancake batter, letting the little boy stir everything together with a large wooden spoon.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He's a little over-zealous and spills some of the batter, but manages to do a fair job of it. His cartoon is forgotten; he's being a big helper for his mom, and that's much better than any cartoon show.

[Dae Jinn]

Meanwhile, Dae starts the eggs, taking the bowl and spoon from her son and pouring two small pancakes into another fry pan. She isn't the best cook in the world, but since she's had Kwiet, she's been trying her best.
She smiles as he kneels on the counter, taking plates out of the cupboard. It was their "day-off" -- a day with no training classes or previous engagements -- and they were going to spend it together. "So, Squirt, what do you want to do today?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I want to sit around here and do nothing! I want to watch cartoons and lie around and be a slug!"

Kwiet's been active all week with classes, and on top of that, his own training with illusions and throwing. He's tired of being active. He wants to be lazy.

[Dae Jinn]

"Be a slug?" Dae smirks, filling their plates with eggs and pancakes. She lifted the boy off the counter, tickling him before setting him down on the floor.
"That's no way for a Jedi to talk! Silly!"

[Kwiet Ideya]

He giggles as she tickles him, hugging his sides when she lets him go to protect them.

"Sure it is! Abel used to say that when we were all just lying on the floor doing nothing that were were acting like big ol' slugs! Once he poured salt all around us!"

[Dae Jinn]

Dae laughed. "He did, did he? Well, if you were really a slug, you'd be a melted mess."
She took their plates into the living room, setting them on the table before piling up Kwiets blankets and pillows and tossing them onto a nearby chair.

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I'd be goopy," Kwiet agrees, getting forks for them both and following Dae into the living room. He settles himself on the floor in front of the coffee table, taking a deep breath. The breakfast is nice and hot, and it smells delicious. He starts to eat, but gets up and runs back to the kitchen. The boy returns, armed with syrup, ketchup, and a jug of chocolate milk. "I forgot it," he explains, putting it all on the table.

[Dae Jinn]

"And I forgot glasses. I guess we're just having a forgetful day," she said, getting up and bringing two glasses back from the kitchen. On the holoscreen, two giant robots were fighting each other with lazers and rockets.

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet laughs, grinning at his mom.

"That means we're doing really good at being lazy today!"

He smothers the eggs with ketchup and drowns the pancakes with syrup, then starts to mix the eggs up. He tries his best not to spill it while watching the cartoon.

"HEY! I know this one!" he says, sitting up on his knees. "I watched this one once with the furry lizard guy!" He points at a robot that looks like a group of spheres connected together. "He's Impact!"

[Dae Jinn]

Dae swallows a mouthful of eggs. "Yeah? Who's the other guy? He looks really tough."

Dae is trying her best to learn each and every cartoon hero -- but considering they all look the same, it's been a bit hard.

[Kwiet Ideya]

"He's Gutter," answers the boy past his pancakes. "He's good at stabbing things, like how Impact is good at punching things."

Next a big spoonful of eggs follows the pancakes to their digestive doom in his stomach.

"Gutter stabs stuff and they lose strength really quick. His cuts aren't like normal ones."

[Dae Jinn]

"Ah."

Dae doesn't really understand half of these shows. It's always robots fighting each other, or kids playing card-games that come to life, or something that would amuse only a 6 year old.

She gives Kwiet another pat on the head, stretching out, putting her legs on the table, her plate on her lap. Even if she doesn't understand the holo-show, she loves the time the two of them spend together.

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Yeah! Impact's gonna knock his block off in a minute! See!?"

The appropriate guy in a robot suit pulls back and swings hard, blowing the head off a dummy of Gutter. Kwiet cheers, dropping his fork onto the plate and almost knocking over the closed milk jug.

"Haha! But since Gutter has his head still, he can keep coming back. That's lame."

[Dae Jinn]

The jug nearly slips off the table, but is stopped by a slight telekinetic nudge from Dae. It slides across the table, stopping in front of her. She pours them each a tall glass, passing one to her son.

"Yeah, but if he lost it, there wouldn't be anymore fights. That wouldn't be any fun."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I didn't think of that," the boy says, picking up the glass. "You're really smart, mom."

He drinks most of the milk, wiping his lip on his shirttail before filling his mouth full of eggs again.

"But it's be dumb if he didn't beat Gutter sometime. Good is supposed to beat bad."

[Dae Jinn]

"Yeah, I guess so. But if good beat bad, there wouldn't be a need for Jedi, and then you couldn't be the greatest illusionist ever."

She give him a wink, taking another biteful of her own breakfast. Kwiet was doing great at his Jedi training; his illusion skills were better than her own.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He turns to look up at her, smiling back with her face.

"Hee hee...yeah, you're right," he admits. He puts the illusion down and attacks his pancakes again, looking to see what's next on TV. "I hope its a good cartoon."

[Dae Jinn]

The next cartoon starts out with a giant rainbow flying across screen, followed by several flying ponies and stars. A female voice starts singing a song about love and the ponies that are frolicking on the screen.

Dae smirks, grabbing the remote. "Alright! My favorite cartoon!"

She's joking of course, knowing Kwiet would never watch anything so "girlie and gross."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"AAHHH! NO!"

He reaches frantically for the remote with a look of horror on his face. How can his mother watch this junk? It's mind rotting and reeks of cooties!

"Change it! Change it!"

He climbs up on the couch with her, using the better vantage to try and get it back.

[Dae Jinn]

"Aw, put it has ponies! And rainbows!"

She's laughing, holding the remote tightly in one hand, her plate in the other. "Hey hey! What do you say when you want someone to do something?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Eww! That's gross!"

He makes a face, falling into her lap and barely missing the plate. Her admonition stops him short of trying to steal back the remote.

"Please?" he ventures, sitting up on his knees.

[Dae Jinn]

The plates barely makes it to the table before Kwiet plops down on Dae's lap. She gives him the remote, giving him a hug.

"You are one silly boy."

[Kwiet Ideya]

He giggles, hugging her back as tight as his little arms will let him.

"I like being silly," he answers, letting go after a long moment. Kwiet's plate is mostly empty. There's a few remaining bits of pancake and egg, but he's done a good job cleaning his plate. Of course, he wouldn't dare do any less for his mother. Her cooking is the best in the world. He told the barman at Yogs so, and made him really grumpy.

The channels begin to flicker as Kwiet tests how fast it can react. His eyes go out of focus, letting the channels fly by as fast as they will. He stops suddenly, then goes back a few channels.

"Here's a good cartoon! Super Speeders!"

This one features a group of rowdy teens who hold a racing tournament throughout the galaxy, using any vehicle from podracers to X-wings to swoop bikes.

[Dae Jinn]

"Oh no, not this show."

Dae cringes as the Super Speeders logo flashes across the screen. The last time they watched this, Kwiet pretended to be one of the characters for a week. A week full of him zooming around the LQ as fast as he could go.

She sits him on the couch, getting up to take their dishes into the kitchen.

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Yeah, this show!"

He's grinning ear to ear. The main character, cool-headed Mantis Keare, is his favorite. He drives a modified swoop bike, armed with nothing but twin blasters and covered in a strong durasteel shell that totally encompasses its driver. The boy sits forward eagerly, waiting to see what's going to happen next.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae sighed, putting all the dishes in the sink, rinsing them off.

"You know I don't like you watching this show, Kwiet Ideya-Jinn."

[Kwiet Ideya]

Oops, she used all three of his names. Now he's in trouble. "Why not?" he asks, turning away as the officials and commentators begin a long section of stating the obvious. "What's wrong with it?"

[Dae Jinn]

"Because, it's dumb. It's a bad example -- if you did the stuff that happens on this show, you'd be dead."
The sink slowly fills up with soapy water as Dae starts to wash the breakfast dishes.

[Kwiet Ideya]

"But MOM!" he whines. "I like this show! There's really fast swoop bikes and stunts and neat fights!" He turns to look over the back of the couch as commercials start. "C'mon, mom..."

He can't see her in the kitchen from here, and can't help but wonder if she's mad. Carefully he sneaks to the door and peeks in.

[Dae Jinn]

"I know you like this show, but I don't think you should watch it untill you're old enough to know not to imitate what they do on it."

She looks over her shoulder to where he's peeking in. "You can watch it today, but if I catch you imitating it, you won't be watching it again. Okay?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Okay," he says sheepishly. He goes back to the couch to watch, lying quietly on his side. She's just being a worrywart. He wouldn't do any of this stuff, especially not since she's worried about him. The next commercial seems to come much faster, and he wanders into the kitchen to hug her leg again. "I don't wanna make you worry," he murmurs.

[Dae Jinn]

She pats his head reassuringly. "I know. Go watch your show, silly kid."

She smiles down at him, making sure he knows it's okay for him to watch his show, even if she does worry about him.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He nuzzles his face against her.

"Okay. I love you," he says, smiling back up at her and walking back to his show. Mantis is dueling with another character, Jarl-Tes, atop his swoop bike. The characters dodge and flip nimbly, balanced perfectly on the bike. Jarl apparently lost his wheels to Mantis, and wants to return the favor before he gets disqualified at the race's end.

"Get him!" whispers Kwiet. "Heroes don't lose."

[Dae Jinn]

Just as Kwiet is leaning forward, getting into the action of the show, two hands grab him from behind, slipping up under his arm-pits. Dae starts tickling him from behind.

"Gotcha!'

[Kwiet Ideya]

He squeals, curling into a ball as he starts to laugh.

"Not fair! You snuck up on me!"

The protests are half-hearted, however, as he squirms and wriggles to try and turn himself around. Little arms strain up towards his mother as he gets himself turned sideways. He is going to tickle her.

[Dae Jinn]

"It's fair!" Dae quickly stops as Kwiet gets turned around, picking him up in her arms and spinning him around. She plants a kiss on his forehead, walking back around the couch.
"You can't tickle me, I'm unticklable"

[Kwiet Ideya]

It's true that she's unticklable; his arms are too short to get her while she's holding him. He chooses to just hold on tightly to her, shutting his eyes and resting his head on her shoulder. He's happy right here like this, and could sit here all day if he were given the choice to do so. He gets an idea though, as he settles there in her arms, of something else they can do.

"Wanna see my target?" he asks.

[Dae Jinn]

"Sure." She waits for him to show her which direction to go in, carrying him to his target.

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Um..."

He looks at how they're dressed. Both of them are still in their pajamas, and that might not work.

"It's outside. Do we need to get dressed?"

He'd be just fine parading around outside in his pajamas, seeing as it's just a t-shirt and loose pants, but his mom's wearing a robe. She might want clothes.

[Dae Jinn]

"Hmm, I guess we probably should, if it's outside."

She sets Kwiet down outside of his room, before going into her own to change.

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet runs inside and throws his shirt on the bed, tripping over his pants as he tries to get them off quickly. Next he gets a solid white t-shirt and a pair of blue pants, since his favorite orange ones are in the wash, then pulls his shoes on without untying them first. The belt of stars and knives clips around his waist as he goes thundering to his mother's door.

"I'm finished!"

He pauses, lying flat on the ground to peek under the door and see if he can spot her. Having no luck, he sits up, folding his legs and resting his palms on his calves.

"Need any help?"

[Dae Jinn]

The door opens, and Dae steps out, dressed in a pair of sweats and pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail. She grins down at him.

"No, but thank you anyways. Let's go see this target of yours."

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet stands up and goes to the door, opening and holding it for her. Once they're both out in the hall he grabs her hand and starts to walk off towards the garden exit.

"Yesterday I was out throwin', and I made a big target on a tree! I hit the bullseye every time! Ya gotta see!"

[Dae Jinn]

They walk out into the garden, Kwiet pulling her hand harder now. She can see the tree now; it has a target carved into it, and is full of pock marks and scars from his knives and throwing stars. All are concentrated in the center of the target.

"See?" He says, grinning proudly. Dae grins back.

"Wow! You did really great Kwiet!"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I hit it forty times!" he says with a broad smile. "All the other ones are from pinning leaves. I messed up at about fourteen. I was trying to hit twenty."

He lets go of her hand and runs up to the tree, pointing down at a mark near one of the roots.

"That one almost got away!"

[Dae Jinn]

She chuckles as the boy points to each mark on the tree. "That must've been one sneaky leaf then."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Yeah! There was a guy talkin', and I almost didn't get it b'cuz I wasn't lookin' and it tried to get by. Then I did these four with one throw!"

A set of marks on the tree almost form a square.

"I did those ones with two stars in each hand!"

[Dae Jinn]

She raises a brow.

"A guy, huh? What guy? One of your teachers?"

Now she's curious. She runs her fingers across the squarish marks.

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Not a teacher guy. He was, um, a lightsaber guy. He said his name was Shade. He sat down by my throwing line and talked to me."

[Dae Jinn]

"Ah, I see."

She smiles down at him. "I'm really proud of you, Squirt. You're becoming quite the little Jedi."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I can throw good, and I can illusion good, and I'm learning to do other stuff good. One teacher's showing me how to meditate. She says it'll make me really strong, and that I should have to do it in the morning or night."

[Dae Jinn]

"Hmm," Dae takes a seat under Kwiets' target tree. "Maybe you could practice your mediation before you watch your cartoons in the morning? Or before we tuck you in at night?"

Dae has been trying not to add her own "words of wisdom" to Kwiets' training. Much of her own training has been in the darker areas of Force use, and wouldn't be much help to the boy.

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Yeah. I did it for a little bit this morning, but my show was about to come on."

He squats under the tree, placing his fingertips together and turning his hands upside down.

"They said to think of something good when you meditate. I thought of the day you became my mom."

[Dae Jinn]

Kwiet gets pulled into another big hug. Dae gives him a big kiss on the forehead, sniffling a bit to keep the tears back.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He hugs her back, smiling to himself.

"You're great, mom," he murmurs.

He looks up upon hearing her sniffle and frowns a little.

"What's wrong? Are you sad?"

[Dae Jinn]

"Nah, just proud of you and happy." She gives a half-hearted shrug, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I didn't think I'd have a chance to be a "mum", and now I have a wonderful son who I'm very proud of and who I love very much."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"But you're crying," he says, hugging her tighter. "I'm happy too, though. I like being your little boy. I've always wanted to be a mommy's little boy."

[Dae Jinn]

"Good." Dae sits him on her lap. "And sometimes people cry when they're happy, Kwiet. They're happy tears, not sad ones."

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet nods.

"I like 'em," he says, but he's reaching up to wipe them away as he does so.

[Dae Jinn]

"Heh." Another hug and a kiss from his mum. She leans back and grins.

"Speaking of liking things, I heard you met a nice little girl the other day."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Not one of the icky ones in the classes!" He sticks his tongue out at the thought. "Her name was Hana, and I saw her at Yog's the other day! She shared her ice cream with me and was cool. But she kissed me twice! Ick!"

[Dae Jinn]

"Whoa-ho! She kissed you! She must think you're something special then. And what's wrong with the girls in your classes? They must be alright."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"No, they're stupid! One of them thinks dodgeball is bad, and the others are all spoiled brats with cooties! They all think they have better moms than me, but that's a lie!"

[Dae Jinn]

Dae laughs and shakes her head.

"Kwiet, you know that you shouldn't say that kind of stuff about people -- even if they are "brats". All of you are going to grow up and be Jedis together, so you should try to get along, okay?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

He wrinkles his nose.

"I guess. I'd rather work with you though! Or at least get a BOY to hang out with. Then I wouldn't have to worry about cooties or uneven dodgeball teams."

[Dae Jinn]

"Well, aren't there any boys in your class? Maybe that Hana girl could come and take classes here?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Yeah, there's one, but he doesn't do much. Hana said something about coming here for classes. I dunno if her parents would let her though. She said they might not. Besides, she's in normal school."

[Dae Jinn]

"Oh, I see."

Dae pretends to think about this for a little while, but she knows what she wants to ask her son next. "So, Hana goes to "normal' school, hmm? What about you, would you like to go to normal school?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

No, he wouldn't, really. But if he does, it'll give him another thing to make her proud and happy with! Thinking of it like that, of course he'll go! He'll go right now!

"Yeah! I'll be the bestest kid in the class!"

[Dae Jinn]

"I'm sure you would be, squirt. But I'm being serious -- I know they don't teach the same things here that they do in normal school. And there are more kids in a normal school," Dae fixes a stray strand of his hair that was sticking up. "I don't want you to say yes to it just to make me happy, alright?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"But if I don't go to normal school I'll be stupid!" he complains. "I wanna be smart!"

He pokes his lower lip out and folds his arms.

"How can I be the bestest Jedi if I'm not smart?"

[Dae Jinn]

"You are not stupid Kwiet. A lot of Jedis don't go to normal school; I didn't go to "normal" school."

She sighs. "If you want to go to school, we can always look into the private school around here. But there are different rules at normal school. Like no throwing."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I can do that!" he says quickly. "I can leave my stuff here at home! I'll miss it, but I can do that. Mom, will I get to be in Hana's class if I go to normal school?"

[Dae Jinn]

"Well, we'd have to find out which school Hana goes to, and then maybe you could be in Hana's class. We'd have to find a way to fit in with all of your Jedi studies, but it shouldn't be a problem."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I can practice Jedi after school!" Kwiet suggests. "I can come home and do my homework then practice my Jedi! Or I could do it on weekends when there isn't any school. Then I would be able to practice by myself and not put up with the other kids."

[Dae Jinn]

"Yep. The next time you talk to Hana, ask what school she goes to. Then we can look into getting you enrolled there. But," she looks up through the leaves on the trees. The sun is almost directly above them. "How about we head back and grabs some lunch? Then we can go to the park or something."

[Kwiet Ideya]

He gets up so she can stand, nodding as his stomach gurgles. "Food is good. What are we gonna have?"

He can't think of anything he'd prefer to have. Anything's fine really, he's not a very picky eater at all. Not once has he turned his nose up at what was cooked for him, not even at the vegetables!

[Dae Jinn]

"I don't know, what do you feel like having?"

She stands, stretching, then takes his hand as they walk back to their quarters. "We could go to the bar and grill if you want. Or order in."

[Kwiet Ideya]

Uh-oh, neither one of them knows what to eat. But if they get to order out...

"I want a pizza with everything on it!"

Kwiet is probably the only kid in the world who can handle vegetables on his pizza. It just makes it that much better, if you asked him. Besides, that way he gets to share pizza with the adults who ordered it, and be just a little more grown up because of that.

[Dae Jinn]

"A whole pizza all for yourself? You must be hungry! Do you want it from Yogs' or from a real pizzaeria?"

Dae has always been surprized by Kwiets' eating habits. Unlike most kids his age, he was not a picky eater. He would eat what the grown-ups were having, instead of complaining about it being something "gross".

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Yeah! A whole one for me, from a real place!"

He won't eat a whole one of course. He's not big enough to manage more than two or three slices. But he'll try, and talk big about eating a whole one, simply for the sake of bragging.

[Dae Jinn]

"Okay, a pizza with the works for you, and some wings for me. That sounds like a a healthy lunch for growing Jedi."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"With the works!" he repeats, jumping up and down with anticipation. He gets a whole pizza! Abel never let him have a whole one! He runs ahead to the room, bouncing as Dae arrives to open the door. He can't wait for his pizza.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae follows him, opening the door and watching Kwiet rush inside, straight for the comm unit. He hands Dae the reciever with a grin.

She punches in the comm number, and orders a pizza "with the works" and an order of wings for herself. After hanging up the comm, she slouches onto the couch, stretching out.

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet kicks his shoes into his room from the living room and jumps up on the couch, laying his head on her lap with a happy sigh.

"Mom, you're great."

[Dae Jinn]

She strokes his hair and smiles. "I'm glad you think so, Squirt. You're great, too."

[Kwiet Ideya]

He rolls onto his back and looks up at her.

"You're great because you're the most awesomest mom in the universe. You're the nicest one, and the smartest one, and the best-looking one. I'm very lucky to get such a great mom."

[Dae Jinn]

Dae kisses Kwiet gently on the forehead and smiles. "Thanks, but I think I'm the lucky one. I'm the one who has the best son ever."

[Kwiet Ideya]

He smiles broadly.

"I'm tryin' really hard to be the best for you. I want you to be proud of me all the time. I'm working real hard, just for you."

[Dae Jinn]

"Whether you're the best Jedi or not, it doesn't matter. You'll always be the best you can be, and I'll always be proud of you, no matter what. Okay, squirt?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Even if my best isn't better than everyone else's best?" he asks. That's what he's really worried over. Will his best be the best, or just a mediocre best? It'd be best if his best was better than everyone else's best, because then he'd be the undeniable best, and Dae would have the best bragging rights amongst mothers and guardians in the GJO dormitory.

[Dae Jinn]

"Yep. I'll be proud as long as you do your best; I don't care about other people's best. As long as you try, and you're happy, that's all that matters."

[Kwiet Ideya]

She has a knack for making him feel good. He supposes that all mothers do that to their little boys, and is quite certain that his does it best. He hugs her tight, snuggling up next to her with a happy sigh. After a moment or so he becomes aware of a strange noise. Curious eyes seek its source, and find it when he looks down at his tummy.

"I'm hungry."

[Dae Jinn]

"Yeah, our food should be here soon, I hope they didn't get lost," Dae shrugs. "Maybe the pizza man is having a slug day too."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I hope not," Kwiet answers. "Then we won't have any food!" He sits quietly for a few moments, trying to be patient for her, when there's a knock at the door. His pent-up impatience explodes as he leaps up and runs to the door, flinging it open and bouncing on his toes.

"PIZZA!"

[Dae Jinn]

A very surprized pizza-delivery boy jumps back, eyes wide as Kwiet swings open the door with gusto. Dae laughs, getting up and moving to take their food and pay the man. Once that's done, she brings everything into the living room, setting the pizza box on the table.

"I'll grab some plates and drinks for us and then we can dig in." She said, disappearing into the kitchen.

[Kwiet Ideya]

When Dae comes back, she finds Kwiet sitting by the table, eating a slice of pizza with all the gusto he has, holding it over the box lid which is stretched out to take up the rest of the space on the low table.

"It's good!" he mumbles, swallowing his mouthfull and reaching up to take his plate. "Have some! It's the best!"

[Dae Jinn]

Dae sighs, shaking her head with a smile as she hands him a plate and sets two cans of pop inside the pizza box lid along with a handful of napkins. She takes the small container that has her food in it and dumps her wings onto the other plate.

"Just couldn't wait, could you squirt?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I had to wait?" he asks confusedly. "The pizza lid works, doesn't it?" Even as he asks it, he transfers his pizza to the plate and pulls the tab on the can of pop. "You should have some pizza, mom. It's good."

[Dae Jinn]

"It's polite to wait untill you have a plate to eat, and I have my dinner. That pizza is all yours." She says, taking a bite.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He wrinkles his nose at the word "polite", but nods anyway. It won't kill him to be polite every now and then. It'll make his mom happy, which is more important to him than being sloppy.

"Okay."

[Dae Jinn]

Dae smiles at him, handing him a napkin, and in the process, wiping off his face, "Thank-you. Now, what should we watch while we eat? tv, or a video?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet makes a face when she wipes his mouth, taking the napkin and putting it on the side of his plate. He finishes his first slice of pizza and leaves the crust on his plate, going after the next slice within reach.

"Um...we can do anything."

[Dae Jinn]

Dae shrugs, flicking on the holo and changing it to the kiddie channel. Another robot is fighting on the screen. She sighs lightly and opens her own pop.

"Are all cartoons about 'bots now?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"No," Kwiet says. "There's the racing one, and there's a Jedi one, and one about sand people..."

He stops to bite the pizza.

"And the one with the NR Intelligence girl, and the one that has bounty hunters..."

[Dae Jinn]

"Ah, I just always end up watching when it's the Robot hour."

She takes a large sip of her drink, setting the can down on the table and picking up another wing. "Why don't they have a Sith cartoon? I think that would be a good one; or do they have Sith in the Jedi cartoon?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"There are some in the Jedi cartoon," Kwiet answers, pausing to eat the pizza down to the crust. "They always lose though."

[Dae Jinn]

"Heh, just like real life."

Dae has yet to tell her son about her past as a Sith, and is more than a little relucant to -- Kwiet has taken to being a Jedi so well, and finding out his mother was once a "bad guy" might be a shock. She knows she'll have to tell him soon, but can't figure out how to.

"So..what do you think about the Sith, Kwiet?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Um...they're bad?"

He says it almost reluctantly.

"They use the darkside, which is bad. But...hm...meh. I dunno. I used the darkside once. I just got really angry, is all." The boy shrugs. "I don't get it."

[Dae Jinn]

"Me either."

She smiles across at him. "A lot of people don't get it -- if you used the Darkside once, it's okay. You're training to be a Jedi, and that's really good."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Um...not once. A couple of times."

He looks embarrassed, squirming as he stares down his next slice of pizza. Kwiet suspects he may be in trouble, but also thinks it's important for his mother to know.

"I used it all the time before I met the smelly grampa and everyone at the restaurant. My second daddy taught me to use it some, to boost and throw good."

[Dae Jinn]

"Oh."

Now it's Daes' turn to be embarassed. She wasn't aware that Antatsu was teaching the boy the Darkside, and now she's even more glad that she took him that moron.

"I used to use it too, when I was a student, like you. Before I came to GJO. So, it's not bad that you used it, because I did too."

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet smiles with relief.

"Okay. That's good...I promise I won't use it anymore."

He picks at his slice of pizza, feeling a little full, but not wanting to stop. He said he'd eat the whole thing, and he will.

[Dae Jinn]

"Okay."

She doesnt know what else to say; most of her dinner is finished and Kwiet is already on his third slice of pizza, picking off the toppings - a sure sign that he's full.

"You know, you can save your pizza for later, Kwiet."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I said I'd eat it all though," he protests, tossing the toppings back onto his pizza slice and taking a lazy bite. "So I'm gonna eat it all."

[Dae Jinn]

"Yes, I know. But if you're getting full, you can eat the rest later. You'll eat it all, but I don't think you can eat it all at once. Silly. Even I can't eat a whole pizza by myself."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Oh." Kwiet's voice carries a little disappointment. "Okay. I'll finish this piece and save the rest for later."

He piles his crusts on his plate and closes the box, nibbling his last slice.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae wipes her hands and mouth once more with a napkin, leaving it on her plate. She smiles at her son.

"I'm sure you'll be able to finish a whole pizza when you're a bit older, Kwiet. You ate an awful lot tonight."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Yeah," he agrees, slowly picking the pizza down to the crust. He sighs and pats his full stomach, finally picking up the soda to drink it. "It's very good. I still think you should have tried it."

[Dae Jinn]

"I'll probably snag a slice tomorrow. I think these dishes can wait till after dinner. Do you still feel like being a slug, or did you want to go out and do something this afternoon?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I don't know what to do," he answers, sitting up on the couch and making sure not to spill his drink. "I don't wanna see a movie or anything."

[Dae Jinn]

"Hmmmm. Well, you do need some new clothes and shoes. Maybe we can do that?"

She knows Kwiet will most likely answer with a resounding ewwwwwww, but the boy does need some new clothes. Now would be a good day to go out and do it.

[Kwiet Ideya]

His nose crinkles as he makes the disappointed groan Dae had been anticipating.

"Clothes shopping is stupid. I already have clothes!"

Sure...enough clothes to last a week.

[Dae Jinn]

"I know, but you're growing, and you need new ones. That, and you only have enough to last you a week. I don't think the other Jedi would appreciate you running around starkers when you run out of clothes."

She gives him a pat on the head. "After we go clothes shopping, we can stop at the toy store. But only if you're good, okay?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Starkers?" he repeats. That's one he's never heard before, but he can guess at what it means. "Hee...starkers. Ok...I'll go clothes shopping..."

He pulls his shoes back on and waits by the door for her.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae gathers up the dishes and the pizza box, making a stop in the kitchen before meeting Kwiet at the door. She slips on a pair of shoes and holds the door open for him.



Soon the pair are walking hand and hand down the streets of the near-by shopping district. Dae stops to look in a store window, letting go of Kwiets' hand for a second.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He looks in too, pressing his face and hands to the glass.

"Are we going in there?" he asks. The clothes in there look just plain terrible to him, but then, most do to little boys.

[Dae Jinn]

"Sure, why not? They have some nice clothes here."

Dae disappears into the store, Kwiet trailing behind. She can tell her son really isnt interested in clothing. She stops at a rack of shirts, sorting through them. She holds up a plain dark blue polo. "How about this?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

His nose wrinkles in that now-familiar expression of discontent.

"It's got a collar though," he complains. "And buttons." Clearly it's a horrible thing, for a shirt to have a collar and buttons. Kwiet equates them with boring stuff, like meetings and church, and thus wants nothing to do with them.

[Dae Jinn]

"Okay, I'm sure they have it in a different style," Dae continues looking through the rack, humming softly to herself. She suddenly reminded of her last real shopping trip; she had bumped into a Jedi, Zeke, and they had spent the day together. She could still remember his face when she dragged through the lingere section of one store.

She begins piling a few shirts in the crook of one arm, keeping one eye on her son.

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet doesn't look thrilled with what she's got, but has already resigned himself to wearing it. The place is boring. There's no toys, nothing for him to play on, and he'll get in trouble if he uses his illusions here. He wanders away to a rack of t-shirts, looking for one with a cool picture on it. He keeps his hands on the ones with pictures of Jedi, and tries to find one with a neat animal on it.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae meanwhile has moved on to pick out a few pairs of pants, and comes up behind Kwiet. She smiles down at him. He's looking through a rack of shirts, his hands full of Jedi ones.

"Find anything good, squirt?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

He pulls out a ton of shirts, each a different size, and holds them out to her.

"These ones."

A great deal of them feature the same design, but he's not sure what his own shirt size is. He tried to look, but couldn't turn his head far enough to see.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae picks out the ones that will fit, careful putting the larger (and smaller) sized ones back on the rack. She shifts the shirts to her other arm, holding up the pants she's picked out.

"Do you like these pants?" Mentally, she's ticking off the list of things he still needs - he has shirts, pants. He'll need socks and underwear, and maybe a new pair of shoes.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He makes a quick check for khakis and formal wear. Finding none of it, he nods.

"Yeah, they work."

He looks around the store a little.

"Can we go? I've got more clothes now."

[Dae Jinn]

"You need new underwear and socks Kwiet. Then we can go."

Dae heads towards the back of the store, starting to look through the underwear displays. She grabs a few packs, stopping to look at the socks.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He doesn't particularly care about this part. So long as none of it's pink, he's ok. Socks are his favorite thing. His feet get cold easy and he hates how random dirt and dust feels on the bottoms of his bare feet when he walks on floors that aren't carpteted. Socks help it a lot.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae hands him a pack of socks, her arms now full, and heads to the counter. As the woman behind the counter ring everything in, she smiles down at Kwiet.

"My, aren't you such a well-behaved little angel." She says, taking Dae's credits and handing her several bags.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He nods, reaching up to take some of the bags for his mother.

"I try," he answers, mimicking Abel. "What now mom?"

[Dae Jinn]

"Now, we can do whatever you want. Go to the toy store, the playground, for dinner, Anything. Your choice, squirt."

[Kwiet Ideya]

HIs choice?

"I don't wanna carry the bags everywhere. Let's go home first. Then...um...I'll think o' that part when we get there."

And with that he turns and walks determinedly out, carrying more than he effectively can.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae follows behind him, carrying less bags than Kwiet, but not wanting to hurt her sons' pride by taking some of his load from him. The walk home is quick, and soon all of Kwiets' new clothes are hung neatly in his closet or folded up in his dresser. Dae takes a moment to tidy up her sons' bedroom.

"So, where to now?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Toy store!"

He's been wanting a new action figure. His old one got left at Abel's place all those months ago, and he probably won't get it back. A new one will be fine, especially since the newer ones have better stuff and do cooler things.

[Dae Jinn]

"Okay."

Dae smiles as they head out again, with jackets this time, since by now the sun is slowly going down. They walk slower this time, since the streets are not as busy. It's a good time for the two to talk more.

"Kwiet, do you ever think about having a dad?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"I don't want one!" he says candidly, zipping up his orange jacket. "I've had a bajillion of them, and they all stunk! I'm sick of dads."

[Dae Jinn]

"Oh."

Dae's face drops a little. Kwiet is her number one priority, but...she's been lonely since Jeran disappeared for the last time. She pushes a smile back on her face, but inside she's hurting.

"What if I wanted to have someone to go out with? What would you think of that?"

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Um...I dunno."

Abel used to date people sometimes, but he always left Abel alone. Now though...it's his mom. That means a guy she dates might be his dad someday. He wants Dae to be happy, and he knows that dating makes people happy, but he doesn't want a dad. He's torn.

"I dunno," he says, finalizing his thoughts on the subject.

[Dae Jinn]

"Okay."

She pats him on the head, smiling wider. An "I dunno" is better then an out-right "no".

"It's alright Kwiet. I guess we'll deal with it when it happens. Which won't be for awhile. Just remember, you'll always be the most important person in my life."

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Okay," he says simply. He's not sure what else he can say to that. It hasn't occurred to him to return her words. They hold true for him as well. No one will ever, ever be more important to him than his mother. She holds an almost sacred position in his heart and mind, sitting head and shoulders above everyone else.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae picks him up, giving him a tight hug and a peck on the cheek. She sets him gently on the ground as they near the toy store. It's only a block away now, and she gives her son a mischievous smile.

"Last one to the toy store is a rotten egg!"

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet's off like a shot, making a dead sprint for the store. People move aside as he comes charging at them, so there's no need to dodge or weave. He starts to tire half-way there though, but doesn't give up.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae jogs behind him, passing him for a bit, then slowing down like she's tired. Kwiet beats her to the door, rushing into the shop. Dae leans forward, looking disappointed.

"Darn, I'm the rotten egg! You beat me."

[Kwiet Ideya]

He sticks his tongue out at her and marches proudly into the aisles, looking for his favorite heroes. He spots Impact and Gutter, along with most of the cast of the bike show that his mother hates. There are a few Jedi and Sith figures too, and a few NR and Imperials.

"Too many."

[Dae Jinn]

"Too many?"

Dae raises a brow. "What do you mean, too many?"

She recognises a few from the cartoons they had watched that morning - the robots, the bikers, along with Jedi, Sith and Imperials. She picks up one of the biker figures, reading the back of the box.

[Kwiet Ideya]

"Too many good ones. I can't pick."

He looks over a Jedi figure. It comes with a blue transparent piece of plastic that fires from the Jedi's hand...a Force push, it seems. The other arm swings the toys' lightsaber with the push of a button. He hangs onto it and sighs wistfully up at the big Impact and Gutter figures.

[Dae Jinn]

"Well, I suppose you could get more than one. I'd expect you to be extra helpful around the house this week though. And to be good for all your teachers at the academy."

She reaches up, taking down one of the larger robot figures; one that comes with extra guns that fire small plastic missiles. "Maybe I'll buy some of these for myself. "

[Kwiet Ideya]

"For YOU?"

Kwiet's surprise is unmistakable. Mommies don't play with toys! Toys are for kids! But he soon catches up with himself.

"Can I have both robots and not get a little Jedi one?" he asks, putting back the toy he had taken.

[Dae Jinn]

"Yeah for me. That way I have something to use when we play robots. Silly,' she ruffles his hair, taking down the other robot figure. She hands them both to her son.

"Yes, you can get both robots."

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet hugs them both and starts to wander off towards check-out. Now he has toys, and he wants to play with them as soon as possible.

"C'mon, let's go!"

[Dae Jinn]

She laughs softly to herself, following him to the check-out. As soon as his toys were paid for, Kwiet was out the door. Dae walked behind her son, keeping an eye on him as they made their way back to the Jedi complex.

[Kwiet Ideya]

He's got a happy spring in his step and a smile bigger than the world. Already he's planning the fights they'll have in his head, and figuring out how he'll pose them when he's not doing anything with them. Each character has a few classic stances from the show, but he has some ideas of his own. He'll figure it out...probably will be up all night doing it, too.

[Dae Jinn]

Once again, the Jinns return to their home. Kwiet rushes in, eager to start playing with his toys, while his mother flops onto the couch, kicking off her shoes and stretching out. She closes her eyes, resting quietly for a moment, listening to Kwiet playing in the background.

[Kwiet Ideya]

There's a great terrible ripping sound as packaging is dismembered and flung every which way, leaving the toys lying on their back on the carpet. He leans against the back of the couch, kicking his shoes into the far corner of the room before taking a seat and picking up the figures, attaching their various parts to make them ready. Impact's fists need to be attached ( they shoot from his body) as well as Gutter's head (it can be knocked off) and Gutter's various pointy implements need to be positioned properly.

[Dae Jinn]

Dae's eyes briefly open as she hears the ripping sound, but close shortly after. She soon drifts off to sleep.

[Kwiet Ideya]

Kwiet's ready now and stands up, running around the other side of the couch to offer his mother one of the toys, but she's already fast asleep. He sneaks off quietly to his room, shutting the door and posing the figures atop his dresser. He doesn't want to play if he can't play with her. The boy lies on his bed, staring for a long time at the ceiling, mulling over the various events of the day before crawling beneath the sheets to catch some rest himself.