First Reply Blade Dance

[Aris Noble]

"Mom wouldn't care if I paid or not. She's not some villain or someone to be feared." Aris nodded once. "You can pay." That he wasn't going to argue on though. He didn't have a big allowance, so saving money meant he could buy more things, whenever he figured out what he might actually want to buy anyway. He took up one of the menus, frowning. A lot of this was incredibly greasy.

Damn.

"I'm too young for now. But I do plan to try for it. It will be difficult for some things, since I can't use the Force, but I think I can manage if I'm clever."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Aris Noble

"Eh, 'fear' might not be the best word to describe it," Gatz admitted, "let's just say... I prefer not to give your mom any reason to be irritated with me. My life is generally easier when she's not displeased."

Gatz chuckled. He was pretty sure everyone's life was easier when Valery wasn't upset with them. That definitely couldn't be something unique to him. It was just that he excelled at annoying Aris' mother in a way that most others simply couldn't replicate. He took pride in that, often to Valery's chagrin.

And frankly, if Gatz wasn't annoying someone, then was he really living up to himself?

"You know my father had a saying," Gatz looked up from his menu, as Aris mentioned his own shortcomings, "'a man who understands his limits can achieve anything in spite of them.' Now, the man was a freighter pilot—and not a particularly well-read one—so I doubt he coined that wisdom himself. But I think, as long as you have a full understanding of your own capabilities, you can do anything you set your mind to."

Gatz paused for a moment, before adding:

"Also you're a Noble. I'm reasonably certain there's nothing you lot can't do."

 

[Aris Noble]

"You should really stop assuming she's going to be upset or frustrated with you." Aris flipped again through the pages of the menu before settling on a burger. The most simple of burgers with cheese and tomato. Then, he frowned. "Don't say things like that, especially to the triplets. There's already so much pressure to live up to mom and dad. There's a lot we can't do that they can, and it's unfair to put that burden on any of us."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Aris Noble

"You should really stop assuming she's going to be upset or frustrated with you."

"Probably. Just an old habit. I wasn't exactly a good kid, when I was your age. At some point, I just got used to frustrating people."

He frowned at what Aris said next though. Gatz knew a thing or two about trying to live up to impossible standards. He didn't want the kid to think that was what everyone expected of him.

"You misunderstand Aris," Gatz shook his head, "it's exactly because of your parents that you can do whatever you set your mind to. They're not a burden, they uplift you. And I don't know your old man very well, but I do know your mother: all she'll ever care about is that you're happy and that you can take care of yourself. You don't have to live up to them. You just have to live up to you."

He was quiet for a moment, and then added with a smile, "she's probably never going to stop smothering you though."

 

[Aris Noble]

"In turn, you misunderstand. We know that they'll always support us. But.. It's not the same thing as what you said. We will always have people who think there's nothing we can't do because of who are parents are, and when we don't live up to that, there will be people who are disappointed." It was a good sentiment, and one he could agree to. But the other meaning was just too much of a shadow cast over it.

Especially for the triplets.

"Aurra isn't Force Sensitive. So please, don't say something like that again."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Aris Noble

Failing once again, Derrevar, his mind whispered to him, why do you even keep trying?

Maybe he shouldn't. Maybe he ought to stop.

"Sure thing, Junior." He didn't know what else to say, other than to agree to Aris' request.

He looked back at his menu then, pretending to look for something to eat, but in truth his appetite was gone. How was it that he always said the wrong thing? Never got anything right? He was trying to help the kid, but all he was doing was making things worse! Is this all he was good for? Mucking everything up? A quick trip to get a burger, and keep the kid from overexerting himself, and he couldn't even manage to get that right.

What kind of Jedi couldn't even placate a thirteen year old boy? What kind of man was he, if all he could do was make things more tense?

For all his efforts, he hadn't changed one iota. He was still that same piece of garbage who was only good for aggravating. And to make things worse? Now he was doing it to Valery's son. And if his influence was so poisonous that it threatened to make her children sick...

Then maybe he shouldn't be around at all.

"You, uh, figure out what you want yet?" His voice was uncertain, almost timid.

 

[Aris Noble]

"You're doing that thing where you're beating yourself up in your head again."

Aris set down his menu, tilting his head slightly. "I have. A burger with cheese. That should be within my calorie limits. Have you decided?"

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Aris Noble

In spite of everything, Gatz managed to laugh at that. How odd, that a straight-laced child's straight-forward remark could cut through all the bullshit in his head just like that. What in the hell had he been thinking? Because he worded something poorly, rubbed Aris the wrong way, that suddenly that meant he'd regressed back to being a murdering scoundrel?

When was he going to stop doubting himself?

"You're as astute as your father, Aris," Gatz chuckled, and then added, "that's not me comparing you to him, for the record. Just noting some similarities, that's all."

Gatz had promised himself that he'd keep an eye out for Aris and Vera when Kahlil and Valery weren't around. It was the least he could do after all their family had done for him. Was he really going to give up on that, just because he'd flubbed a few words?

No. Let his self-doubt whisper whatever insidious things it wanted. He was done listening to it.

"I think I'm gonna try this bourbon bacon burger they have. Might actually put some meat on my bones. Or fat."

 

[Aris Noble]

"I'm better than my dad, since that's how me made me."

Aris was, after all, a clone of Kahlil. One free of the dark corruption that had crippled Kahlil all his life. Aris himself was very aware of it himself, though it was possible that others didn't know that yet. Not that he was going to explain. He nodded, flipping open the menu briefly to look at what Gatz had mentioned.

"That burger looks good. Good choice."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Aris Noble

"I—wait what?"

Gatz wasn't entirely out of the loop: he knew that Aris was, technically, a clone. But like Kahlil, Gatz had always assumed that Carnifex had created him. That, somehow, Valery and Kahlil had found and freed Aris from his creepy ass grandfather. Maybe there was still some truth to that, he didn't know.

But Kahlil had been the one to do it. And Gatz had... questions about the timeframe in which he'd done it.

"Huh. I thought Carnifex had been the one to—I'm sorry, what is the correct term for describing how a clone is born? I don't want to say something that might upset someone."

As opposed to the days where he always said something to upset someone. Intentionally. Because he'd been a jerk.

 

[Aris Noble]

"I don't know a word for it."

Aris shrugged indifferently. There probably was a word, but he wasn't thinking much about what his birth was. "But no, grandfather wasn't the one who made me. Dad did when he was still young."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Aris Noble

"Huh. Well... I'm glad you're around regardless."

At the end of the day, did it really matter who had created Aris? Kid was still here, sat across from him in the diner, and enjoying some leisure time as he should. Things had, eventually, worked themselves out. So why waste time wondering why Kahlil had created him when he was younger?

It really wasn't his business anyways.

Their food arrived then, and not a moment too soon. Gatz felt his stomach growl as his plate was slid in front of him. He took a bite... and hummed in contentment.

"So," Gatz started again, once his mouth was no longer full, "why Battlemaster? What got you interested in pursuing that?"

 

[Aris Noble]

"Mom was, and when I saw her holocron I saw something I could and wanted to do." That was the simple truth of it. Aris pulled over his own burger once it arrived, lifting it up to take a bite before smiling. It was good. Greasy, but good. A chew and a swallow and he shrugged. "It's a goal, and one I plan to put my all in. But if something changes and I find something else I want to do, I will put my all in that. There's no reason to do things half way."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Aris Noble

Well, at least the kid knew what he wanted. Gatz wished he'd been half as dedicated when he was Aris' age. But all he'd wanted to do when he was thirteen was hotwire speeders. That wasn't exactly a great life plan. Still, there was no room in Gatz's heart for jealousy. That Aris already had a path laid out for himself put Gatz at ease—even if that path could change.

More importantly, he saw the kid smile after he took a bite of burger. That, in Gatz's humble opinion, was true success: that he could do something, however small, to make the usually straight-faced kid smile.

"Gotta admit, Junior, I'm impressed," Gatz smiled, "not a whole lot of kids your age have your level of focus and determination. I think you're gonna be a fine Battlemaster, if that continues to be what you want in the future."

 

[Aris Noble]

"I guess it's impressive."

For Aris, it was just how things were supposed to be done. There was no reason to think of it any other way. Whatever he was going to do, he was going to do it the best with all his might and capability put behind it. He took another bite before pausing after he swallowed. "What about you? What do you aim to do?"

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Aris Noble

Much to Gatz's own surprise, Aris asked after his own ambitions. He blinked for a moment, unsure of how to answer the question. Truth be told, most people just didn't ask him things like that. And even when they did, Gatz didn't particularly like to explain the details of his sordid past, and how they drove him to be better now. He didn't exactly want to tell a thirteen year old boy that he was a cold-blooded killer. Or, at least, had been once.

But there were versions of the truth that omitted the darker details. He felt comfortable telling the kid that much.

"I don't have any grand designs, admittedly," Gatz set the remaining half of his burger down, "but from the time I was your age, until a little over a year ago, I was a pretty selfish person. I'd like to change that: to be able to look back on my life one day, and feel proud that I tried to help as many people as I could. I guess that's what I'm really aiming for."

 

[Aris Noble]

"Then there's your goal. I won't say I understand it, but it is something that you can do."

Aris shrugged, but smiled regardless. There was a lot he didn't understand about Gatz, but he could see the man was putting effort into what it was he'd chosen to do. That alone was what mattered, especially to Aris.

"Thanks for the burger, by the way."

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Aris Noble

"It's something I'm already doing." Gatz, for once, admitted that he might not be total trash, "just... not as efficiently as I'd like, yet."

He'd get there, Gatz reminded himself. Not today, probably not tomorrow, and probably not next week. But, eventually, he'd get there. He'd learn how to save people, instead of killing them. One day, he'd manage to complete an assignment without getting hurt, and without anyone dying. It was an almost embarrassingly low bar to strive for, but he supposed all things came one step at a time.

He was just... taking baby steps.

"Thanks for the burger, by the way."

"Don't mention it," Gatz smiled, "I was already coming here, and I figured maybe you could use a break. Happy to oblige."