Chapter Title: Tattoo

Series Title: Unlikely Brothers

Ages in this chapter: Tanner (30), Dashen (36), River (6)

POV: Dashen

Chapter Summary: The brothers decide to have River's slaver tattoo removed from his wrist.

"The tattoo. Remove it. It is a danger to him every second it stains his skin. Every stranger that may see it, it marks him. Others, they can try and claim him. Trust me, my friends, you don't want that battle."

Our longtime friend, local shop owner, Declar'Bin. Short in stature, dark gray skin, long and narrow face, four skinny arms, big yellow eyes. Odd looking man, he was, but also one of the best people we knew. A trusted friend for years upon years. Two decades now. If he said it, we listened.

For the first time since the kid had come into our care, Tanner and I had brought River into town and to Dec's shop.

This place was one of those little stores that had it all. Tanner and Dec, in particular, were paper-book enthusiasts. Yes, boring and tedious and one of many things my brother and I did not have in common. Thankfully, Dec had been around all these years to yammer on with Tanner about all things uninteresting.

We'd brought River so he could pick out a few things for himself. Maybe for his room or his person. Whatever he wanted. The decisions were his. Never in his young life had he been given the opportunity to choose for himself.

Under our care, that was changing.

Tanner wandered the store with River. Slowly. Methodically. Taking it all in, the sounds and smells, the textures, the visuals. Me, having little interest in any of this, stood back with Dec for a chat.

We'd shown him River's 'R47' wrist tattoo during the introductions. Dec was a man who knew a lot about a lot. His profile was low, but he was full of information. If there was anything to know about the slaver that had held River for those two years, the the tattoo would offer hints. First glance and Dec knew the thing had to be removed.

"It's a sickening agreement slavers have with each other. A slave lost can be claimed and then battled over or sold for higher dollar back to the one that lost him. This boy's slaver is dead you say, but that thing," he tapped a large finger on his own wrist for emphasis, "That thing marks him. There is a process to remove them, which I am certain your healers have mentioned. It's not pleasant and in truth can be quite painful, but you need to have it done soon. I mean that, Dashen. If you truly want this boy to live free life, you do this as quickly as possible."

We certainly wanted River to life a free life. And Dec was correct, we had discussed it briefly with the healers, but at the time had decided to wait. So many changes happening in his life, so much trauma, we didn't want to add more to the fire just yet. Now it seemed we might have to jump into that fire sooner rather than later.

"I'll talk to Fen this evening. For the moment," I motioned toward the pair still meandering though the shop, River with big eyes and an unwavering smile. "For the moment, this is what I want."

The kid was mesmerized by the variety in Dec's shop. Items he'd never seen or even imagined existed were all right there in front of his face, blowing his little six year old mind. There was one object though that he kept coming back to, even now after three trips around the shop. A crystal stone, bright blue in color. Matched his eyes almost perfectly. When held to the light, lines of silver were visible. Even I had to admit, it was quite the stunning piece of rock.

"I would like to have this stone, Tanner." He said to his much older adoptive brother. "It's the most beautiful thing ever." Then his eyes darted to something he'd missed the first and second time around. A carving of a sort that had fallen over and was only uncovered after he'd moved the blue stone.

This other something - the carving - was as ugly as the blue stone was beautiful. Far as I could tell, River was a lot like Tanner in that he could find the allure in almost anything. Like in the Ronto carving that Kossi made for me years ago. Yes, just like the Ronto, this carving was the damndest, most unattractive object… but the kid, for all the ugly he'd known in his young life, he saw the grace behind the ugly. He did that again now, handing the stone to Tanner and gently picking up the figurine. I could tell he had no idea what it was. Tanner helped him along.

"Looks like a Dewback, River." My brother said. "Except it's the wrong color. Dewbacks are green. They are these really big, strong lizards that you can ride. This one is... hmm... several colors."

Yup, it was the same weird brownish, orangish color of the Kossi's Ronto. Must've been a sale on those stain colors at some point in the past.

River repeated the name, "Dewback," as he ran a finger over the creature. "Can I get this one and the rock?"

Tanner nodded. "Your choice."

They kept moving around the store. A fourth time. Tanner of course landed on a few new paper books. I knew it was only a matter of time. He'd never lost his love for those, especially with Dec as his reading partner. River put his hands on one of the books. I could see the cover art, definitely a tale aimed at a younger audience. From my distance, looked like some type of adventure story. Probably a series, and probably one that...

"Yes, young man, that is a fantastic adventure book series you have in your hand!" Declar'Bin said excitedly.

Yup, a clump of books that River was gonna be hooked to. Figured he'd take after Tanner in the category of the bland. But, eh, who was I to judge. I had very few hobbies. Maybe it was me that was the bland one.

Dec moved toward River (but not too close) and located the first three books in the series.

"You take these and if you like them, I'll make sure to find you the rest of the series. This story is about a boy not much older than you, and the adventures he finds himself on when he uncovers a wounded creature called a Fathier that has magical powers. The boy helps the animal and they become friends and begin their travels. Your brother, Tannerlin read them when he was a youngster."

"I would like to read them too. Tanner, that's okay, right?"

I smiled from my perch a few feet away. River seemed to have this need for confirmation about most things. His new life was still shining before him and it was taking time for him to understand it all. Tanner of course, nodded enthusiastically and started rambling about the books, all excited. He looked much younger than this thirty years.

"You can read all of them, River. We'll let Dec know when you're finished with these and then he can locate the others. Is there anything else you want to get?"

"Maybe... Mr. Bin, can you walk me around the shop once?"

Mr. Bin. That was cute. I was sure Dec would find it the same.

"I'd be glad to, young one. And you can just call me Dec. All my best friends do."

Smile wide, River! There it went. Being called a best friend, that did it. They began their methodical stroll around the shop. River's fifth time. I motioned for Tanner to step out of the way. We needed a quick talk.

"Dec says the tattoo has to come off. It's an identification that other slavers can capitalize on. The quicker it's gone, the less danger. I'm gonna put a com into Fen about it. It's a procedure that's uncomfortable but maybe she can give him a sleep hypo or something. Either way, we need to talk to River about it when we get home. I don't want to ruin his day, but..."

Tanner nodded. "I figured this was coming. It's part of why I wanted Dec to see it. He knows a lot about a lot of things."

No doubt about that, as I mentioned in my head earlier.

We turned back toward River and his new friend. River had his hands full with more stuff to take home. That bare bedroom of his wouldn't be bare for long. I was glad. A kid needed stuff to call his own. A kid needed a place that was his and his only. Kossi and I hadn't had much of that when we moved into our crap apartment after our folks died. We'd practically lived on top of each other, but I'd have given anything to have provided him a room that was truly his. Not possible then. It was possible now. For everything that Kossi could not have, River would.

An armful of treasures loaded onto the shop's front counter. The blue stone. The ugly Dewback carving. The three adventure paper books. A wall sculpture that seemed to be in the shape of mountains and a setting sun. There was a hint of purple to the mountain color, not dissimilar from the hills that our home overlooked. Hills that had been Kossi's favorites.

Huh. Interesting.

Also in the bundle of possessions was a hanging metal chime consisting of soft-sound blue tubes with moons and planets as the tube strikers. There was wall-chrono in the shape of a star that kept time and days in order. Lastly, there were three flat stones. He picked them because they felt warm when he set them in his palm. Dec explained they were called Force stones. No true power behind them, but they offered the sensation of calm with the gentle heat they exuded. Dec had a small basket of them, all different, but River picked the obvious colors. Green for me. Brown for Tanner. Blue for him. Our eye colors. It was a trio River had become attached to.

And lastly, River had found a shelf for the wall with cubbies for various knickknacks. His compact nightstand clearly wasn't cut out to hold all the items he'd found, so we'd put that sucker on the wall give him a place to set his very first possessions.

"I like your shop, Mr. Bin." The kid said to Dec. "There's so many things here."

"I keep a variety to make sure my favorite customers are happy. And you, young man, will are definitely one of my favorite customers."

Dec smiled a big toothy grin, River's eyes lit up in response. "I can come back here too, right?"

"Anytime you wish, as long as it's okay with your brothers."

"I like that."

"As I knew you would."

Tanner helped River gather up his new belongings into the travel bag we'd brought with us, paid Dec what I gathered was a much cheaper price than other customers might pay. Family discount of sorts. I held back after River said goodbye.

"Thanks, Dec. I think you made his day."

"Ah, Dashen. He's a good boy. And he certainly fell into the right hands. Just get that tattoo issue handled."

"We will. Appreciate the intel. See you soon, my friend."

—-

Home now and River couldn't stop grinning as he put his room together. We hung a few things and he set his trinkets on the shelf. The ugly Dewback, the beautiful blue stone, the trio colored Force rocks and a few other odds and ends. The three books, the first of them he set on his nightstand, excited to start reading. The other two he set on the shelf to await their turn. The purple mountain sculpture, we hung on the wall directly in front of his bed. It would be the first thing he saw in the morning and the last thing he saw before lights out. It's what he wanted.

When we were all done, he sat there admiring every detail of every single thing, unable to truly conceive that this was his. Tanner and I let him alone for a time. I'd put a com into Fen, she agreed about the tattoo removal and we set an appointment for tomorrow.

We just had to convince River.

Part of him had an odd connection to his slaver tattoo, and removing it meant letting go of those he'd known. Those who had either been killed in front of him or left to rot. The other Numbers. He never referred to them as friends, but he hated the idea of ever forgetting them.

I wasn't about to let him forget. I had an idea.

—-

The surgical procedure to remove the entire tattoo from River's wrist went off without a hitch. It was complicated in that the slaver's ink contained metal fragments that had embedded below the skin surface. Fen, however was determined that every last grasp of that evil mark was off the kid forever.

With the aid of some drugs and the promise that Tanner and I would be close when he woke, River slept for the entire surgery.

Part of the deal in River agreeing to have the dreaded thing removed was the knowledge that he'd soon have one to replace it. One that meant everything that the original R47 tattoo did not. And one that he would share with his brothers. The three of us agreed on an emblem and it was one that not only represented River's new life, but also those in the life left behind.

In the end, on the underside of our left forearm, me, Tanner and River were marked forever as family. A symbol that consisted of three colored vertical bars. One of green, one of brown and one of blue. Each representing a brother. Carefully camouflaged within the bars were there letters. R, F and C. Standing for River, Forest and Caves. River's past, those fellow Numbers that had been lost. His old life merged into his new and in a way that he'd not completely let them go. In a way, it was odd that he wanted to remember such a horrible time in his young life. In another way, it showed the type of child he was, and the amazing person he'd grow to be.

As ideas went, this new tattoo thing was one of my better ones. See? I can mange to do something without screwing it up. They are rare occasions, but they happen. Colton would be proud.

The three of us held out our forearms once Fen had completed the art work. Yes, amongst other things, Fen also had the skill of an artist. Really, there was little she could not do.

We matched. The emblems were identical in every last detail.

"I like that." Responded River in his typical fashion.

I said to him then, "Looks good on you, Pup." Then pointed to his bandage right wrist where the other had been removed. "Fen put a bacta patch on the old one. That wound will heal in a few days and you can take that off."

"Then no slavers can take me, right?"

"Right. We can't promise someone won't try; it's a dangerous galaxy sometimes. Your family will do everything in our power to protect you. Me and Tanner, Fen, Colton and all his crew."

That seemed to satisfy him, though there was still some uncertainty on his face. It has been a busy couple of days. We needed some down time.

"Let's grab some take out dinner from my place," I said, "and then go home and relax. Maybe you can start on that first adventure book."

"Dashen, I don't read good yet. The slavers didn't let us read and... well, maybe I need some help with my book."

Okay, stupidly, we'd not thought about that. River not being able to read. It was easy enough to teach, Tanner being the crazy good teacher that he was, but yeah, the kid would need a little help.

Tanner and I exchanged a look as he took a hand that River held out and said, "I loved story time when I was very young. The crèche masters at the Jedi Temple would read to us and teach us to read at the same time. I remember those lessons well. Some of my favorites. We can help you, River. Always, we can help you in anything."

So we did. After dinner and cleaning up, we took our places on the couch. River in the middle as always. Tanner and I spread out on the ends, close enough to him, but alway careful with proximity until the kid gave indication. He did that this evening and we ended up sitting shoulder to shoulder. Tanner started reading book one of the series, starting by showing River a few small words and getting him to follow in pronouncement. A lesson that lasted about twenty minutes before my brother dove into the story. With Tanner working with him, River would catch on quickly. As it was, he fell immediately into the story about a boy and his magic Fathier, appropriately titled "The Adventures of Ridge Ember and the Magic Fathier."

At the end of the evening, I put a com into Dec to see about finding the rest of the series. Already enthralled, no doubt the kid would want them.

Story time went on for thirty pages before River faltered. Yup, a long couple of days for a six year old going through things that few his age ever did. Breathing even, his head bobbed off to the left, landing squarely on my shoulder as Tanner set a bookmark on the last page they'd read. To be continued tomorrow.

"We got a lot accomplished in the last two days, little brother." I said over River's head to Tanner.

"We should file for him, Dash." Tanner said out of the blue. "The laws have changed since I came to Kaolin. There was no official adoption then. I looked into it recently. About ten years ago that changed. We can file for him. I want to make sure that no one can ever take him from us and that when he's old enough, he can make his own decisions on his future."

I nodded affirmatively. "You'll get no argument from me. We can explain to River what adoption means and also run it by Colton and Fen to make sure we're not missing anything legally speaking, but yeah, he'll have us for as long as he wants."

My eyes floated downward to the small form leaning against me. How many times had I done this now? I must be doing something right with my life that these kids think enough of me to trust me as their pillow. Kossi. Tanner. River. A string of the best kids anyone could ever know coming into my life to keep me upright and to push me forward.

My life wasn't always as bad as I liked to think it was.

—-

So, by the end of our third month of rescuing River, we'd filed to officially adopt him. We listed ourselves as brothers. We listed Fen and Colton as guardians should something happen. He was officially our family. The slave mark was gone. He had his own bedroom and trinkets. He was even learning how to read.

At some point we'd get him into a school setting, he'd make friends, move along a path to a normal life; a path that every kid in the galaxy deserves. It may not be the adventure that Ridge Ember and his magic Fathier enjoy, but it'll be a path of freedom and choice and decisions all his own.

That Tanner and I could give those things to him, it meant the galaxy.

—-

That evening of his official adoption, we put River to bed, set his book on the nightstand and tucked his sleeping form into the soft bedding.

"Tanner, I swear it, he's gonna have the best damn life." I said emotionally.

Grinning and reaching up, my brother put an arm around my shoulder. Always short, he had to stand on his tip-toes to do it. To this day, it still made me laugh. Always the little things…

"You've perfect the art of giving your little brothers the best." Tanner said to me in all sincerity. "You and me, we're not perfect and we'll definitely make mistakes with River, but after these months, I am absolutely confident that all of this was meant to happen - for whatever reason. He needs us. We need him. He's that final piece to this weird journey of ours. That piece we didn't know we were missing until he appeared dirty and helpless on that shoreline."

"Heh. You're not kiddin' about that one, Mouse. This journey has been weird." I took a glance around the tiny bedroom and nodded approvingly. "The room looks good. More like what a six year old deserves."

"You know, I had a bedroom not much different than this at the Jedi Temple. Compact. Sparse. The Jedi didn't encourage making a home out of your home, if that makes sense. Many field Jedi were gone from the Temple weeks, months at a time. Some for years. Master Ayden made a point to come back after each mission for downtime. Said it kept him grounded. Also, he liked to collect interesting objects from those missions over the years. Most of them came before me, before I was even born probably. When I became his apprentice, he gave me two of his treasures. One that he picked from his collection and the other that I got to choose."

Tanner didn't often fall into memories these days. With teaching and living his non-Jedi life, those times were long past. When he did share, his two years with Master Ayden were always prime and center in that memory. We both had our soul wrenching losses that we'd spent years (decades?) trying to accept. Mostly, we'd been successful, but those types of pains never truly vanish. Nor should they.

"What did you choose?" I finally asked him.

A warm smile lit his face. It was a good look on my little brother, even as an adult.

"You'll laugh." He said.

I shrugged. "Probably."

"A stick."

"A stick."

"A stick."

"Okay," my head was involuntarily nodding as I waited to explanation. "And?"

"It really was just a stick."

"Tanner, Ayden didn't keep an old wooden stick as a keepsake."

"Not wooden, dummy. It was petrified."

"So a stone stick. Of course. A stone stick. That's a thing."

"He petrified it."

I stared at my brother hard. "Ayden turned a piece of wood to stone? There's no way Jedi had that kinda of power."

"Well, okay. It wasn't a Jedi thing. He was on a mission to Corellus to help a tribe of hill people who were apparently terrifying the local villages. The hill people wanted the locals to better understand them and not consider them crazy wizards. The hill people had strange powers, but not Force related. And don't ask, I don't know any more details. But they could make this silver fire that actually burned wood until it petrified. Ayden negotiated on their behalf, made peace with the locals and in return the hill people gave him the power to turn wood to stone. But... only with their help and only in their presence. He considered it one of his most successful missions. That's why he kept the stick."

"Fine. Weird - as usual - but fine. So, what made you choose the stick? You didn't know the story before you picked it, right?"

"Nah. But there was this strange draw to it. It was soft,but not soft at the same time. Looked so much like a regular stick, but it really was stone. Hard to explain."

"And the object he choose for you?"

"Oh, that was a pendant made from beskar, Mandalorian iron. He said it was one of the strongest substances known to exist. I was very small at the time and so young, but Ayden would tell me that none of that mattered. Under what some would see as weakness, I had great strength inside. He was convinced that I would do great things as a Jedi. So he gave me that beskar to represent that strength."

Well, the man had been spot on about that. Tanner may not have gotten his chance to be a Jedi, but he was one of the strongest people I knew. Not so much in the physical sense, but heart wise and strength of character? He had it.

"Huh. You never shared that memory before. It's nice. You lost those two objects though."

"I did. Jedi traveled light and took only necessities on missions. I'm sure the Empire just trashed it all after the slaughter. Objects that Ayden took such pride and love in collecting." Tanner sniffed back those damn pesky tears that usually got the both us of when thinking of the past. "I still remember though. And... anyway, when I became his apprentice, he said that I should make my bedroom my own place. My own comfort. Where I could go to get away or hide for a bit. To meditate or decompress. River... this can be that spot for him. I'm sure at some point, he'll get tired of two much older brothers driving him crazy. In the meantime, he can hide here. I'm okay with that."

"Me too, little brother." One last look and I dragged Tanner away from the door. "You've got some of those sweet pala cakes left over from yesterday. Let's have a celebratory dessert. I mean, look at us. Tattoos, bedrooms, knickknacks and adoption all in the span of two weeks?"

"We are efficient."

"And hungry. Come on. Let the kid sleep. Plenty of time to pester him tomorrow and all the days and years after."

"I've never had a little brother before, Dash."

"You never had a big brother before, until me. And look at you now." I smiled. "You're a natural."

He was. Tanner would take his new role and run with it.

Without a doubt, there was no possible way that River could be in any better hands.

END