A/N: Thanks for the feedback and comments. As always, we greatly appreciate it!
Fan: Eeth does have issues with his past but he tries hard to ignore him. Eden will certainly not be with him for long enough to break through his shell, nor will his first padawan, Lakhri, have much success with that. Things will only change when Eeth is with his second padawan, Raven, and it will take a number of threads for us to get to that point. Sorry, folks. But we'll get there. Promise. :)
After they had got dressed and recovered from their swim, Eeth took Eden back to the ship where he provided him with another massage and some cream for his sore muscles. He did not want the boy to be in serious pain, after all. He just wanted to help him improve his physical condition.
After they had packed for their trip, they went back to their hut for their last night at the shore. A few other people were already there, waiting for dinner. The family they had talked to yesterday was just approaching.
Eden waved to his two friends and their mother and was silently relieved when, like the other night, they moved to their preferred table and sat down. It was not that he did not want their company, it was to the contrary, but nor did he like the idea of having his friend's mother chatting for too long; if she mentioned lunch, the shit would hit the fan. After all, it was bound to come up if they spent the entire dinner together, he was sure of it.
Other families joined Eeth and Eden for dinner that evening, their conversation mostly centred on their pending journey to Taktaw and other safe topics. It wasn't until later in the evening that Sage and Taram came to say hello. Their mother was busy cleaning up their baby brother and talking with the other mothers. "Hello, Eeth, Eden, nice to see you again," started Taram and sat down opposite them, resting his arms loosely around his knees.
"How did you go with the cryonic acid?" Sage asked. She didn't know a lot about starships and had no idea if Eden had managed to collect enough to help.
"Not enough. Apparently, on this particular ship we have to fill the entire tank which takes more than a few canisters," Eden replied honestly.
"Does that mean you'll both leave tomorrow?" asked Taram. This time he looked to Eeth.
"Yes," said Eeth. "We need to return to Coruscant as fast as possible. This ship is needed for another trip. We will be back for a short while after our return from Taktaw, though, to finish the repairs on our ship."
"Fair enough. Although I doubt a trip to Taktaw will be 'short.' It's not a pleasant journey, at least in my experience," the boy admitted.
"We will have to make it as short as we can, I suppose," Eeth replied with a small smile. "If we find a speeder for rent in B'tik, we will have to see whether our budget allows for it. If not, we will try for a fishing boat. – I lived near the beach on Corellia for a couple of years," he explained upon seeing Sage's questioning look. "I know how to work boats."
Eden glanced at Eeth. He wasn't exactly surprised that the man knew how to work a boat, but he was still relieved as he did not know a bilge from a barge. They talked about boats for a little while, Taram and Sage both having a solid grasp on the mechanics and offering them a little local knowledge about the tides and other peculiarities specific to Taktaw. As it turned out, strong currents were running along the point where the Jedi would be travelling.
"Yeah, you don't want your motor to die going across that section," Sage warned. She was about to tell them which model she thought was the most reliable when their mother approached. It was time for them to leave.
Both Taram and Sage were on their feet immediately; neither wanted their mother around lest she said something about Eden's visit for lunch. "We're ready," Taram told his mother.
"Yeah, I'm tired. Thanks for the company, Eeth, Eden. We might see you tomorrow before you leave," added Sage.
"You two are eager for once. Usually, I have to pry you both away with a crowbar," their mother commented, thinking something wasn't quite right here, but not really bothered. She glanced at Eeth and Eden, giving them both a kindly smile. "I hope you have success with the cryonic acid. Oh, and of course you are both welcome to join us for lunch. Eden can attest that it is much nicer spending the midday hours with us at the boulders than it is to stay in the township. The water is cold, clear and free from sand; I think you'd enjoy it as much as Eden did."
Taram winced, as did Sage. However, it was Eden's expression that seemed a little out of place to the woman.
"You didn't enjoy yourself, hon?" she questioned, a little concerned that perhaps she had missed something that happened yesterday.
"Yes'm, I did. Thank you. If the boat doesn't leave beforehand, I'm sure Eeth and I could come?" Eden replied quickly, turning a slightly paled expression on the man. Maybe he hadn't picked up on that?
Eeth was a fast thinker, though, and he had realised immediately what was going on. He also thought it would save all of them needless diversions if he did not let on that he had until he was alone with Eden. "Unfortunately, the boat will already leave in the morning," he said politely. "If there is time after our return from Taktaw, we will certainly try to make it." He rose. "Eden and I should turn in now as well," he said. "We need to make an early departure tomorrow, after all. Have a good night." He beckoned for Eden to follow him to their cabin, his features quite calm.
"Goodnight," chorused the family, although the expressions on both kid's faces were far from pleased. They didn't know if Eeth had caught Eden out on that as they had no idea what bullshit he'd spun since they last met.
Eden rose and smiled to the others before following along at Eeth's side. He said nothing.
As soon as they had reached their hut, Eeth rounded on Eden.
"Is it true that you joined this family for lunch and went swimming with them?" he asked, his voice carefully controlled; but there was no mistaking the grimness in his features.
Great, the man had noticed. Eden sighed; he really didn't want to have this conversation. "Yes," he answered, his stance shifting from square to side on.
"And what," Eeth continued, still in that same carefully controlled tone of voice, "might have been wrong with that?" His grim look had turned into a downright glare by now; his eyes were practically boring holes into Eden's face.
Eden did not want to answer what was obviously a rhetorical question, but the expression on the man's face had him reconsider his silent approach. "I lied to you," he admitted, his chin coming up and gaze lifting. He had had his reasons, of course, but they all seemed to have left him now.
"So you did," Eeth said evenly. "What else?
The boy frowned. "I disobeyed." He was not at all enjoying this line of questioning, and so he added: "What more do you want?" in the hopes that he could cut this talk short. It was brazen, he knew, but admitting to having neglected his duty was not something he wanted to do.
"For a start," Eeth said icily, not believing for a second that the boy really had no clue what was expected of him, "I want you to talk to me respectfully. Secondly, I expect a complete answer. Obviously, you are unwilling to give one. Very well. Bare your bottom, bend over and touch your toes." He pulled the paddle from his belt, waiting for Eden to comply with his instructions.
Eden backed up, one hand outstretched to ward the man off and the other one reaching back to cover his backside. He wasn't a coward, but neither did he want this. "No, wait! I disobeyed and went swimming instead of doing my duty and then I lied to you about it," he rushed to get out. "When you asked me about it just now, I gave you an attitude. I'm sorry."
"That," said Eeth sternly, "is correct. And it is quite a list of wrongdoings. I could ask why you did not ask for permission, but I am sure you would tell me that I might have said no, and we both know that is not acceptable. Just as we both know that I need to know where you are at all times."
There was no doubt in Eeth's mind that Eden deserved quite some punishment for this. He was also reasonably sure that the boy's master would have felt the same way; but he had no clear idea of the standards the boys was used to. "Tell me," he said. "Had you done something like this with your master in charge of you, what punishment would you have expected?"
What punishment would he expect? Something spectacular, Eden knew, not that he wanted to admit that to Eeth; the man had one hell of a swing on him, and he was sure that he had been holding back last time. He lowered his hand and tried to keep his gaze on Eeth, but it was hard. Eventually, when the silence had drawn out a little too long and he was practically squirming, he admitted: "A very physical one." Of course, it had crossed his mind to lie, to say that his master would have let him off with a talking-to, but he knew that if Jay ever found out, he would kick his ass into next week and then hand what was left of it to Eeth for good measure. The kid shuddered at that scenario, and this prompted more of an answer, so he added. "It's my duty to obey," to further mollify the man.
"Oh yes," Eeth said grimly. "And you neglected that duty, plus some others. My approach to misbehaviour on this scale is about the same as your master's would have been." He glanced around their hut. It did not hold much besides their mats, but there was a wooden box that could be used to store things in or, turned around, as a low table. Eeth turned it around and sat down on it, still holding the paddle. "Bare your bottom and get over my lap," he ordered. He was never one for drawing things out needlessly.
When Eeth started looking around the hut, Eden knew what it meant. When the man turned the box around, the kid wrinkled his nose, and when he sat down, the boy let out a groan. If Eeth was putting him over his knee, it meant he was probably fixing to give him more than he could be expected to take in a standing position without moving. This thought was sobering: that paddle had hurt like a son of a bitch over his trousers, Force only knew how bad it was going to be on his bare ass. He cleared his throat, moved to stand by Eeth's right side and dropped his trousers. Bending over was not pleasant; it was downright humiliating, but he did so. The first thing he noticed was that he fit. Sure, he was not exactly comfortable, but he doubted his comfort was Eeth's top priority right now. "My master doesn't use a paddle on me," he said in a last-ditch effort to get the man to put the thing down.
"Is that true?" Eeth asked, entirely unimpressed, while tilting Eden forward so that his bottom was pointing upward. "What else does he use, then?"
Eden's brow furrowed as Eeth shifted him around. He was just short of resting his elbows on the ground, so he had to stretch his arms out longer to prevent himself from doing a header into the floor. Eeth's question had not at all been the response he was after. He had wanted the knight to relent and use only his hand, not enquire about possible options. "Uh, nothing, it's okay," he managed to get out. Eden did not know what was making him redder, all the blood rushing to his head or the embarrassment of having his ass flapping around in the breeze while he waited for Eeth to start whaling it. He squinted. Jay was going to be seriously displeased if he found out about this, and that probably trumped the lot.
Eeth understood exactly what Eden had been trying to do here and he did not appreciate it one bit. "I do not take kindly to attempts at manipulating me, Padawan Eden," he said coolly. "You misbehaved in a serious way and your punishment will reflect that. You might not like it, but I expect you to accept it as a consequence of your own behaviour." With this, he raised the paddle and brought it down onto Eden's bottom smartly. And then proceeded to spank hard and fast.
The boy lowered his head at the rebuke, tucking his face into his arm. Okay, so he had walked right into that one. He also had earned this punishment, not that such a thing was easy to admit, especially so when you were about to have your ass handed to you. He scrunched up his face at that first smack, his hips instinctively trying to push forward to save his ass from being blistered off. It wouldn't be, of course, but by the time Eeth had landed the sixth, Eden would swear blind that it was. That thing was horrible. The initial sting was fierce enough, but then it seemed to burn right into his muscle! He hissed, grunted, kicked out, pounded his fist on the floor and eventually let out a yelp. He could not help it. "Ahh, Force! C'mon, man, you gotta be j- AHhh - oooking me!"
Eeth did not respond to that; if anything, he increased the speed of his swats and the force behind them slightly. He had barely started. When he was done, Eden would think very carefully whether he ever wanted to pull such a stunt again.
Unbeknownst to Eeth, Eden already thought that it had not been worth it. No amount of fun was worth this! The kid kicked and squirmed; it was now entirely out of his control, he couldn't help it. Well, at least now he knew why Eeth had chosen to put him across his knee: there was no way in hell he could have stood still for this. No way. He wasn't one to tough this sort of thing out, so when a few more attempts to talk Eeth into stopping fell on deaf ears, the boy started wailing. What else could he do? Besides, crying might make Eeth stop, and, it hurt badly enough that Eden would try anything to make him stop.
Eeth did his best to use the Force to soundproof the cabin. Of course, such things worked better when the room in question was moderately soundproof to begin with; but then, Eeth was a rather proficient Force user and thought there was at least a chance for this to work. He did not particularly want to attract attention, but nor had he wanted to lose time by choosing the safer option and taking Eden to the ship.
After a very thorough paddling that left Eden's bottom dark red, he finally put the implement aside. "That," he said sternly, "was your punishment for shirking your duty, lying to me about it and being disrespectful when I confronted you over it. Now for your disobedience. Knowing how the Jedi feel about obedience, you might agree that this warrants more than the paddle." He stabilised Eden with his left arm and opened the clasp of his belt with his right hand.
The second Eden registered that Eeth had stopped, he made to push himself up. He had half an ear tuned to what was being said to him, but mostly his focus was on removing himself from this situation as fast as humanly possible. Still sniffling, he paused when his efforts to right himself were denied, and then it dawned on him: Eeth wasn't done. He turned to look over his shoulder, the expression on his face morphing from that of inquiry to fear as he registered movements and sounds that coincided with the removal of a lightsaber and belt. Okay, so shit was trumps! The belt was Jay's weapon of choice, and something Eden was well accustomed to. That didn't mean it hurt less! It was to the contrary; a belting would hurt him a lot more than the paddle had. The only thing that rated over Jay's belt was his grandmaster's cane. Fuck, did that thing make an impression. He'd only ever gotten it once, and those six licks had reduced the then ten-year-old to a bawling mess and seared their way into more than his ass. Eden had never forgotten it. Nor had he ever tried sneaking out of the Temple while in the man's care again. EVER! He didn't know what to do. He'd surely earned a belting, but after having the ass paddled clean off him, he did not think he could take it. The kid started to sweat, his gaze returned to the floor and he unknowingly held his breath. Eeth's belt was standard, which meant it was made to last. It would be thick, broad and was going to hurt. A lot.
Eeth could sense the fear emanating from Eden, and he paused briefly. "Padawan Eden, you earned this," he said calmly. "It is going to hurt, but I will not harm you; nor will I leave you unable to sleep or to make it through the trip. I do, however, intend to give you a very good incentive not to disobey me again." He doubled the belt over and brought it down onto Eden's bottom with considerable force.
The kid's head whipped up as Eeth addressed him, but then it lowered again at his words. Eden had been on the receiving end of enough punishment to know what to expect; hence he did not truly fear for his life, just his ass! He supposed that was probably the point. Well, at least Eeth did not make him stand up and bend over as Jay was fond of doing. Just when he thought this, any hopes that Eeth's swing would suffer from the proximity were dashed. "Ahhhhffffk! OW!" Eden wailed. That lick had lifted him, as did the next few, the effect cumulative and increasing with each swipe. He kicked with both legs and then cried all the harder when his hands were pinned. Eden was never going to disobey, shirk his duties or lie to Eeth ever again.
Eeth wondered briefly how many strokes he should deal out. He did not actually have much experience with meting out corporal punishment on the level he was doing now. He had supervised creche groups any number of times, but these had been composed of small children and he had not been authorised to give them more than a few firm swats with his hand over the seats of their pants. He had also worked as an instructor for groups of senior initiates and junior padawans. There, he had been allowed to discipline his students as he saw fit when their behaviour warranted it, and he had quickly gained a reputation for being a very strict teacher. Still, this had rarely involved anything more serious than students showing up late for class, not paying attention or slacking off. For this, he had made them bend over and had given them between six and twelve swats with his paddle. In more serious cases, he had kept them after class and administered the swats on the bare. But none of this had involved anything like the infractions Eden had committed today. For Jedi padawans, disobedience and neglect of duty during a mission were serious offenses, as was lying to the person who was in charge of them. Thus, Eeth was sure that no one was going to blame him for dealing out an impressive punishment. This still left him with the task of drawing the line between "impressive punishment" and "abuse". His own experiences as a padawan were of little use here. Being a Zabrak, and having lived through a childhood in the slums of Nar Shaddaa, he had an unusually high tolerance for pain. Consequently, the punishments his master had dealt out had been beyond anything that most other humanoids could be expected to take. Eeth was well aware of that.
Judging by Eden's reactions and the state of his bottom, he decided to give him a full dozen strokes, and to offer some healing later, after Eden had meditated on the reasons for this punishment. That way, the boy, as promised, would be able to sleep, and by tomorrow, only a lingering sting would remind him of this punishment. Having come to this decision, Eeth dealt out the remaining strokes at a steady rhythm, making the last two particularly hard. After all, he wanted Eden to remember this.
Eden knew to expect punishment for misdeeds, but he usually forgot just how much it was going to hurt until it was too late. He kicked, bucked, squirmed and eventually outright fought his way through this, not that it did him much good. That had hurt, it hurt a hell of a lot, and he was sure that, despite Eeth's intentions, he would never sit down again. Not ever! He was not sure when exactly it was that the man stopped, but the moment he became aware that no more pain was accumulating, he began pushing himself up.
Eeth helped him up and, noticing the mess of snot and tears on the boy's face, groped in his pockets for a handkerchief. He did not find one. From now on, he would see to it that he always carried one, he vowed to himself. He reached for a towel that was draped across one of the crossbeams stabilising the hut and handed it to Eden. "Clean yourself up a little," he said. "After that, you will meditate for half an hour on why exactly your behaviour earned you such a punishment, and what you can do to avoid a repeat occurrence."
The help up was appreciated, not that he wanted to let that show, no, Eden was not ready to forgive Eeth yet. That punishment had been on par with what he'd have expected from Jay, and he was sulking. He got to his feet, shucked his trousers and briefs entirely and accepted the towel, wiping it across his face to hide his tears. He didn't want to meditate; he couldn't! How could he sit? He met Eeth with a plaintive expression. "I can't sit," he said morosely, his gaze not meeting Eeth's as, despite his reaction, he knew he had deserved what he got.
Eeth had little tolerance for sulking. He did not see the point. Either a punishment had been unjust, in which case sulking did not help to solve the problem, or it had been just, in which case sulking made no sense. "Then stand or kneel," he told Eden firmly.
That was not the answer Eden had wanted. His sullen expression morphed to one of surprise, but only briefly. What had he expected to hear? He wasn't entirely sure, just not that. Resigned, he set his watch for half an hour, pulled a cushion from his bed, tossed it on the floor and knelt to do as Eeth said.
Half an hour later, he deactivated the timer on his watch, his expression no longer sullen. The meditation had been challenging to maintain as his ass hurt so badly, but he had done it. It had also created a lot of introspection which left him feeling guilty and remorseful about the way he had acted. Eden stood and gingerly pulled on his trousers; his briefs were not going anywhere near his ass. He moved to where Eeth was sitting and knelt. "I'm sorry I disobeyed you, that I lied and didn't do my job. You were right to punish me for that," he said. He stopped short of thanking the man for taking the time to correct him. Jay had often scolded him for sulking after punishment, saying that correction was a privilege and something to be learned from. Eden wasn't quite there yet; the kid was only eleven, after all. He looked at his hands. The fire raging across his ass had downgraded from the surface of Mustafar to a less spectacular burn. It still hurt but was now bearable, or perhaps he was just used to the pain; he wasn't sure about that.
Eeth was pleasantly surprised at the shift in Eden's attitude. Demanding as he might be, he did not actually expect an eleven-year-old to thank him for punishment; a sincere apology was more than sufficient. He gave the boy a rare, small smile and said rather kindly: "Thank you, Padawan Eden. I accept your apology. Would you like me to perform some healing on your bottom? I presume you have learned your lesson, and I would prefer you to be able to sleep."
Eden too would prefer it if he were able to sleep and his expression said as much. "Yes, absolutely, I want healing. Do you have bacta or something?" Eden stopped before saying that he was tempted to sit in their water bucket. He did not think that would be appreciated. The mental picture of the expression on Eeth's face, had he entered to find him doing just that, caused his lip to twitch into a tiny smile. "Where do you want me and how do you do this?" he enquired, getting to his feet. He'd never had anybody heal this part of his anatomy before, but he sure as hell wasn't going to start complaining about it; his ass hurt!
"I will use the Force to take away the worst of the pain," replied Eeth. "Simply lie down on your mat."
Eden didn't need to be told twice. He dropped his trousers, lay down quickly and waited. Eeth had managed to take the pain away when he'd barked his shin on their table the other night, so that he could do this probably shouldn't have come as a surprise.
Eeth was not going to take away all the pain, nor could he; he was proficient at Force-healing for a field knight, but he was not a trained healer, after all. In any case, he thought that some lingering sting would help Eden remember this for a while. And that would certainly be a good thing. However, it would be no more than that. Eden was not going to suffer unduly.
Kneeling next to Eden's mat, he lightly rested his hands on Eden's bottom and focussed. Slowly, the dark red color turned into a lighter pink and the welts receded somewhat. "There," said Eeth. "It should be better now."
"Thank you," said Eden, giving Eeth a genuine smile. "My master never does that," was added in a tone that conveyed he did not expect Eeth to comment on that. He stood and twisted at the waist, trying to get a look at his ass. It wasn't nearly as painful now, nor did it look like a stoplight. It did, however, still sting a bit but he guessed it was meant to. He gave his butt a rub and pulled up his trousers.
The sun had long since gone down, but the light on their small table gave off a comfortable soft glow. It was nice here. Eden liked the sound of the ocean, and the waves crashing on the beach sent him to sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
