Troublemaker, Part 7: The Fun Multiplies
Qui-Gon sat beside Obi-Wan as he helped the little one and his friend Garen Muln build a castle of blocks. Actually, it was more like he was helping Garen build it as well as keep Obi-Wan from knocking it to pieces; he had grown a relish for waving his arms through the wooden construct and giggling gleefully as the cubes tumbled apart.
After the last collapse of the structure, Garen threw his little hands in the air. "Stop it, Obi-Wan!" he cried. He did not appear to be truly upset, a laugh escaping along with his plea.
Nevertheless, Qui-Gon scooped the little wrecking ball into his lap. "All right, cut it out, you little imp." Qui-Gon held his diminutive hands, minute in the Jedi Master's own larger ones, as Garen rebuilt the fallen fortress by himself, Obi-Wan squirming to reach it the whole while.
"Yay!" Garen stood up once he had finished and cheered. "Done!"
Master Trajun came over to have a look when she heard him. "That's very nice, Garen. Good job."
"Thank you, Master Trajun. It was a lot easier once Master Jinn made Obi stop knockin' it down!" He pouted and stood with his hands on his hips.
Mola Li, with surprise on her face, looked down at Obi-Wan. "Did you really do that, Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
He just looked up at her with the most angelic expression, yet his very position of confinement gave him away.
"I hope you won't do anything like that when we go on our trip," the Twi'lek woman said.
Qui-Gon looked from the little boys to her. "What trip is this?" he asked her.
"Obi-Wan didn't tell you?" Both adults looked at him but Obi-Wan's gaze had quickly been diverted elsewhere. "We are taking the initiates to the park on Letinn in two days."
Obi-Wan's attention was immediately drawn back to them because he suddenly had a really good idea. "You should go with us!" he cried, one hand grabbing the Master's while the other tugged insistently on his tunic.
Qui-Gon was suddenly surrounded by all the little ones who heard Obi-Wan's cry, many little voices shouting and seconding Obi-Wan's proposal. They all were very fond of the big lovable Jedi, and he was always kind and caring to them.
"All right! All right!" he shouted until they quieted. "I guess I have no choice. I'll go."
Cheers rose up, only to be silenced by a loud crash. Turning, everyone saw that in the excitement Obi-Wan had escaped from his Master and was now standing amidst the yet again fallen castle.
"Obi-Wan!" Garen shouted before both boys broke out giggling.
Qui-Gon sighed. /What have I gotten myself into?/
******
The park was gorgeous. Tall trees stood up all around like green sentinels guarding the sanctuary and its visitors. Scattered about were buildings housing various exhibits. The initiates were separated into groups, and the groups were to take turns visiting the exhibits. The bunch under Qui-Gon's supervision consisted of Obi-Wan and his friends: Garen, Reeft, Taron, Nosnibor, Charra, and Bant. He hoped he could keep them in line.
At the moment, the young ones were chasing circles about his long legs as he received the group's schedule from Master Trajun. When she finished, she looked at the hyperactive children and flashed Qui-Gon a sympathetic yet teasing smile. "Good luck, Jinn."
He returned a jesting thanks and sighed as he attempted to herd his charges together. After five minutes they were relatively calm, all except Obi-Wan, who thought because his Master was chaperone he could get away with more than usual. He learned differently as Qui-Gon grabbed the back of his little collar to stay his rapid movement. Obi-Wan pouted as he took his spot with his friends.
That sulking mood vanished abruptly as they entered their first stop: the aquarium. On the outer walls of the first floor were enormous water-filled tanks, the homes to aquatic lifeforms transported from varied origins throughout the Republic. The children's eyes grew wide as they took in the big fish in the tanks.
"Hey, Master! Look at me! I'm a fish!" Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan and laughed at the way he puckered his lips in a fishface. Soon all the children were doing it and running around.
"All right, that's enough," Qui-Gon said as he gathered them together. In the center of the building there was a large circular tank with blue and yellow spinnfish surrounded by a ramp leading up to the other floors. Qui-Gon led them up the ramp.
There were more fish on the second floor and some terrariums too. One held a fat twelve-foot rapa snake from Ardev Nrat. Obi-Wan rushed up to the glass container and started to tap on it. Qui-Gon stepped forward to stop him but felt his leg weighted down. Looking down, he saw a little child hiding behind his leg, little hands clenched on his pants.
"What's wrong, Charra?" he asked gently.
"I'm s-scared of snakes, Master Jinn," the blue-skinned boy answered.
"There's nothing to be scared of. It can't get out." Qui-Gon pried the boy from his leg and, lifting him onto his shoulder, carried him to the tank for a better view. "See, Charra? It's just another of the Force's creations. Obi-Wan, stop that." Qui-Gon batted the other boy's hands from the glass.
"Sorry, Master." A brief repentant look crossed Obi-Wan's face but quickly vanished.
"All right, I see it," Charra nervously stuttered. "Can we go now?"
"Yes, I think we can. Come, children." He placed Charra on the floor. Charra ran back to the first level, followed closely by the others.
As they headed for the exit, Nosnibor said, "Hey, Bant, why don't you jump in and go for a swim?"
"Only if you go too," she said and winked at him.
"Nuh uh, I'm not getting in trouble," he said.
"Me either... Hey, wait for us." Bant dashed off to catch up to the group, which was halfway to the next building. Nosnibor scurried after her.
The next building was the petting zoo. There were lots of animals, and even some the children could ride, including the four-legged riding animals from Alderaan with long tails and flowing manes.
Qui-Gon kept a close eye on the children while they were around the animals. The last thing he needed right now was to have to take care of any sort of incident involving younglings.
Fortunately, there were none... aside from when Obi-Wan thought the Tarangian malla was about to bite his hand off so he pulled it back and the food he held went flying in all directions. That, at least, was nothing Qui-Gon could not handle.
It did, however, bring up Reeft's favorite subject. "Master Jinn, I'm hungry. Is it time for lunch yet?"
Qui-Gon laughed as he watched the malla eat up the spilled pellets. "Almost."
After escaping from the animals with all hands intact, the group made its way to the dining hall for a quick lunch.
Once the nutritious but delicious lunch was downed, Qui-Gon and his horde of young ones headed to the gardens and greenhouse. These were not like the artificial gardens on Coruscant but were instead natural areas conducive to flowers. They were just as well tended as the Temple gardens, but there held a special brilliance in this place. Qui-Gon was particularly receptive to it through his strength in the Living Force.
They followed the meandering path through the green patches. "Master, Master," Obi-Wan called from beside Qui-Gon, who looked down. "I picked this for you." The initiate held up a yellow cup-shaped flower on a long green stem.
"Thank you, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon grinned, and Obi-Wan smiled sweetly in return.
As they were making their way to the day's final location, the big Master noticed Bant was getting a little behind. He guessed she must have been getting tired; after all, she was the youngest and the smallest. He gently hefted her into his arms, slipping the yellow bud into her hand so he could better support her.
"Thank you, Master Jinn," she whispered wearily.
Qui-Gon smiled at her and quietly replied, "We'll let those dirty old boys walk."
She giggled and laid her head on his shoulder.
As they approached the building that housed the museum, Qui-Gon thought it unfortunate that their schedule had brought them here last. The children were too young to appreciate the art and historical artifacts, so it would likely be a rather dull way to end the day.
As he suspected, the exhibits held little interest for his charges. Obi-Wan started staring at him and giving him his look. Qui-Gon knew what he was doing and only gave his stern Master look in return. Finally, Obi-Wan blurted it out.
"Master, will you carry me?"
"No," was the blunt reply.
"But you're carrying Bant!"
"She's younger than you, Obi-Wan, and you aren't even tired. Now keep walking, little one."
Obi-Wan adopted his indignant pout, but there was nothing he could do to change Qui-Gon's mind and even young as he was he knew it.
So he turned his attention elsewhere.
"Hey, Garen, come over here."
"What is it, Obi?"
"Look at that big bug up there. I want a closer look at it." Obi-Wan, speaking in hushed tones, pointed to a green moth pinned in a display case.
"But we'll get in trouble... won't we?"
"Nuh uh." Obi-Wan glanced at Qui-Gon. When the Jedi's back was turned, he grabbed Garen's wrist. "Come on!"
The two boys ducked under the rope perimeter and rushed toward the display, but as they got within a meter of it, an alarm started to beep at them, and they hastily scuttled back to the proper side of the barrier. The alert ceased when they did so. Qui-Gon turned, slowly so as not to disturb Bant, when he heard the alarm. All he saw were two innocent faces looking at him.
"All right, you two, get over here before you get left behind." They scampered to his side. "That's better. Come along, we have one more stop."
He led them to the area where science experiments were set up. The children's excitement was suddenly renewed as they rushed to play with the presentations. Qui-Gon woke Bant so she could join in, taking back Obi-Wan's flower and tucking it in his hair.
After a frantic few minutes of keeping them from breaking anything, it was time to go. "All right, children, come here, stay together." Once again, he had a storm of whirlwinds flying around him.
"All right, this will stop right now or there'll be no ice cream when we get home."
All motion stopped except for Garen until Obi-Wan and Bant grabbed him.
"I thought so." Qui-Gon sighed to himself; dessert was not originally part of the planned day, and now he would have to make sure they got some. He looked at the still bodies around him and listened to the quiet, and he decided it was worth it.
He would only come to regret this decision a short while later when he had to clean up after the ice cream fight.
Qui-Gon sat beside Obi-Wan as he helped the little one and his friend Garen Muln build a castle of blocks. Actually, it was more like he was helping Garen build it as well as keep Obi-Wan from knocking it to pieces; he had grown a relish for waving his arms through the wooden construct and giggling gleefully as the cubes tumbled apart.
After the last collapse of the structure, Garen threw his little hands in the air. "Stop it, Obi-Wan!" he cried. He did not appear to be truly upset, a laugh escaping along with his plea.
Nevertheless, Qui-Gon scooped the little wrecking ball into his lap. "All right, cut it out, you little imp." Qui-Gon held his diminutive hands, minute in the Jedi Master's own larger ones, as Garen rebuilt the fallen fortress by himself, Obi-Wan squirming to reach it the whole while.
"Yay!" Garen stood up once he had finished and cheered. "Done!"
Master Trajun came over to have a look when she heard him. "That's very nice, Garen. Good job."
"Thank you, Master Trajun. It was a lot easier once Master Jinn made Obi stop knockin' it down!" He pouted and stood with his hands on his hips.
Mola Li, with surprise on her face, looked down at Obi-Wan. "Did you really do that, Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
He just looked up at her with the most angelic expression, yet his very position of confinement gave him away.
"I hope you won't do anything like that when we go on our trip," the Twi'lek woman said.
Qui-Gon looked from the little boys to her. "What trip is this?" he asked her.
"Obi-Wan didn't tell you?" Both adults looked at him but Obi-Wan's gaze had quickly been diverted elsewhere. "We are taking the initiates to the park on Letinn in two days."
Obi-Wan's attention was immediately drawn back to them because he suddenly had a really good idea. "You should go with us!" he cried, one hand grabbing the Master's while the other tugged insistently on his tunic.
Qui-Gon was suddenly surrounded by all the little ones who heard Obi-Wan's cry, many little voices shouting and seconding Obi-Wan's proposal. They all were very fond of the big lovable Jedi, and he was always kind and caring to them.
"All right! All right!" he shouted until they quieted. "I guess I have no choice. I'll go."
Cheers rose up, only to be silenced by a loud crash. Turning, everyone saw that in the excitement Obi-Wan had escaped from his Master and was now standing amidst the yet again fallen castle.
"Obi-Wan!" Garen shouted before both boys broke out giggling.
Qui-Gon sighed. /What have I gotten myself into?/
******
The park was gorgeous. Tall trees stood up all around like green sentinels guarding the sanctuary and its visitors. Scattered about were buildings housing various exhibits. The initiates were separated into groups, and the groups were to take turns visiting the exhibits. The bunch under Qui-Gon's supervision consisted of Obi-Wan and his friends: Garen, Reeft, Taron, Nosnibor, Charra, and Bant. He hoped he could keep them in line.
At the moment, the young ones were chasing circles about his long legs as he received the group's schedule from Master Trajun. When she finished, she looked at the hyperactive children and flashed Qui-Gon a sympathetic yet teasing smile. "Good luck, Jinn."
He returned a jesting thanks and sighed as he attempted to herd his charges together. After five minutes they were relatively calm, all except Obi-Wan, who thought because his Master was chaperone he could get away with more than usual. He learned differently as Qui-Gon grabbed the back of his little collar to stay his rapid movement. Obi-Wan pouted as he took his spot with his friends.
That sulking mood vanished abruptly as they entered their first stop: the aquarium. On the outer walls of the first floor were enormous water-filled tanks, the homes to aquatic lifeforms transported from varied origins throughout the Republic. The children's eyes grew wide as they took in the big fish in the tanks.
"Hey, Master! Look at me! I'm a fish!" Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan and laughed at the way he puckered his lips in a fishface. Soon all the children were doing it and running around.
"All right, that's enough," Qui-Gon said as he gathered them together. In the center of the building there was a large circular tank with blue and yellow spinnfish surrounded by a ramp leading up to the other floors. Qui-Gon led them up the ramp.
There were more fish on the second floor and some terrariums too. One held a fat twelve-foot rapa snake from Ardev Nrat. Obi-Wan rushed up to the glass container and started to tap on it. Qui-Gon stepped forward to stop him but felt his leg weighted down. Looking down, he saw a little child hiding behind his leg, little hands clenched on his pants.
"What's wrong, Charra?" he asked gently.
"I'm s-scared of snakes, Master Jinn," the blue-skinned boy answered.
"There's nothing to be scared of. It can't get out." Qui-Gon pried the boy from his leg and, lifting him onto his shoulder, carried him to the tank for a better view. "See, Charra? It's just another of the Force's creations. Obi-Wan, stop that." Qui-Gon batted the other boy's hands from the glass.
"Sorry, Master." A brief repentant look crossed Obi-Wan's face but quickly vanished.
"All right, I see it," Charra nervously stuttered. "Can we go now?"
"Yes, I think we can. Come, children." He placed Charra on the floor. Charra ran back to the first level, followed closely by the others.
As they headed for the exit, Nosnibor said, "Hey, Bant, why don't you jump in and go for a swim?"
"Only if you go too," she said and winked at him.
"Nuh uh, I'm not getting in trouble," he said.
"Me either... Hey, wait for us." Bant dashed off to catch up to the group, which was halfway to the next building. Nosnibor scurried after her.
The next building was the petting zoo. There were lots of animals, and even some the children could ride, including the four-legged riding animals from Alderaan with long tails and flowing manes.
Qui-Gon kept a close eye on the children while they were around the animals. The last thing he needed right now was to have to take care of any sort of incident involving younglings.
Fortunately, there were none... aside from when Obi-Wan thought the Tarangian malla was about to bite his hand off so he pulled it back and the food he held went flying in all directions. That, at least, was nothing Qui-Gon could not handle.
It did, however, bring up Reeft's favorite subject. "Master Jinn, I'm hungry. Is it time for lunch yet?"
Qui-Gon laughed as he watched the malla eat up the spilled pellets. "Almost."
After escaping from the animals with all hands intact, the group made its way to the dining hall for a quick lunch.
Once the nutritious but delicious lunch was downed, Qui-Gon and his horde of young ones headed to the gardens and greenhouse. These were not like the artificial gardens on Coruscant but were instead natural areas conducive to flowers. They were just as well tended as the Temple gardens, but there held a special brilliance in this place. Qui-Gon was particularly receptive to it through his strength in the Living Force.
They followed the meandering path through the green patches. "Master, Master," Obi-Wan called from beside Qui-Gon, who looked down. "I picked this for you." The initiate held up a yellow cup-shaped flower on a long green stem.
"Thank you, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon grinned, and Obi-Wan smiled sweetly in return.
As they were making their way to the day's final location, the big Master noticed Bant was getting a little behind. He guessed she must have been getting tired; after all, she was the youngest and the smallest. He gently hefted her into his arms, slipping the yellow bud into her hand so he could better support her.
"Thank you, Master Jinn," she whispered wearily.
Qui-Gon smiled at her and quietly replied, "We'll let those dirty old boys walk."
She giggled and laid her head on his shoulder.
As they approached the building that housed the museum, Qui-Gon thought it unfortunate that their schedule had brought them here last. The children were too young to appreciate the art and historical artifacts, so it would likely be a rather dull way to end the day.
As he suspected, the exhibits held little interest for his charges. Obi-Wan started staring at him and giving him his look. Qui-Gon knew what he was doing and only gave his stern Master look in return. Finally, Obi-Wan blurted it out.
"Master, will you carry me?"
"No," was the blunt reply.
"But you're carrying Bant!"
"She's younger than you, Obi-Wan, and you aren't even tired. Now keep walking, little one."
Obi-Wan adopted his indignant pout, but there was nothing he could do to change Qui-Gon's mind and even young as he was he knew it.
So he turned his attention elsewhere.
"Hey, Garen, come over here."
"What is it, Obi?"
"Look at that big bug up there. I want a closer look at it." Obi-Wan, speaking in hushed tones, pointed to a green moth pinned in a display case.
"But we'll get in trouble... won't we?"
"Nuh uh." Obi-Wan glanced at Qui-Gon. When the Jedi's back was turned, he grabbed Garen's wrist. "Come on!"
The two boys ducked under the rope perimeter and rushed toward the display, but as they got within a meter of it, an alarm started to beep at them, and they hastily scuttled back to the proper side of the barrier. The alert ceased when they did so. Qui-Gon turned, slowly so as not to disturb Bant, when he heard the alarm. All he saw were two innocent faces looking at him.
"All right, you two, get over here before you get left behind." They scampered to his side. "That's better. Come along, we have one more stop."
He led them to the area where science experiments were set up. The children's excitement was suddenly renewed as they rushed to play with the presentations. Qui-Gon woke Bant so she could join in, taking back Obi-Wan's flower and tucking it in his hair.
After a frantic few minutes of keeping them from breaking anything, it was time to go. "All right, children, come here, stay together." Once again, he had a storm of whirlwinds flying around him.
"All right, this will stop right now or there'll be no ice cream when we get home."
All motion stopped except for Garen until Obi-Wan and Bant grabbed him.
"I thought so." Qui-Gon sighed to himself; dessert was not originally part of the planned day, and now he would have to make sure they got some. He looked at the still bodies around him and listened to the quiet, and he decided it was worth it.
He would only come to regret this decision a short while later when he had to clean up after the ice cream fight.