Public Buy One, Get Feelings Free

[Braze]

Tags: Leos ​

Shopping marts weren't exactly common back on Verdia. So following the chaos on Canto Bight in an attempt to bounty hunt Kinley Pryse , Braze decided to drag Leos along for a much more mundane kind of mission, a supply run.

Now, standing in the cool hum of the refrigeration aisle, Braze found himself locked in deep contemplation over the galaxy's true mystery: Why milk prices varied so much between brands. One hand rested thoughtfully on his chin, the other holding a carton like it contained the secrets of the Force itself.

"This one claims to be 'extra calcium'…" he muttered.

 

[Leos]

Canto Bight
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, YT-1760 small transport
​

"This one claims to be 'extra calcium'…"

"That's cause they water down milk to make it more affordable," Leos muttered. "You get less nutrition if you're poor."

His words were somewhat scathing, but more in a manner that seemed like going out of his way to be cynical than anything. In truth, Leos was just in a weird mood. He had gone through accepting that he may never see Braze again, only for him to be back like nothing happened. Okuma? They brought him back in bindings. So much didn't make sense, and Leos wanted answers.

"There's no local alternative on Veridia to get the stuff we need?" the Themian asked.

 

[Braze]

Tags: Leos ​

"Well... do you want camel or goat milk? We don't have any ewes presently, let alone any milking animals, but we can fix that if you're interested in animal husbandry," Braze chirped, moving to select a higher-grade milk, triple-filtered and calcium-enriched, promising a delicious chocolate flavor.

"Is there anything you want to grab while we're here? Creature comforts?" he asked, also picking out a nut milk with artificial sweetener and tonka-bean flavoring. Braze could feel how agitated his student was and knew things had been far from ideal when they last saw each-other.

"Anything on your mind?" Braze added with a curious tilt of his head.

 

[Leos]

Canto Bight
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, YT-1760 small transport
​

"Well... do you want camel or goat milk? We don't have any ewes presently, let alone any milking animals, but we can fix that if you're interested in animal husbandry,"

"Ewes?" Leos frowned. "N-nevermind. I don't really care what we get. Whatever's cheapest is fine..."

The Themian let out a sigh as Braze asked him if he had anything on his mind.

"A few," he remarked. "Like what the hell happened back on the Verge for starters. Or where you went. Or who that... crazy guy that broke the Duck's window was, or why Okuma came back arrested when you were calling him boss..."

He paused, calming himself.

"I... get very frustrated when things happen that I don't get an explanation for, and none of that made any sense."

 

[Braze]

Tags: Leos ​

Braze blinked. That was… a lot of questions.

He moved toward the yogurt section, perusing the shelves lined with fancy, high-protein varieties. "Well… that's long and complicated," he admitted, hesitating before continuing.


"Yeah… none of it made sense. You're right. The few remnants of the New Jedi Order wanted to punish me...to show the whole galaxy that they could be responsible and handle their own problems. Truth is… they can't. Not right now anyways..." He gave a small, humorless laugh. "They told me I should've done better... even though I was the victim.."

He trailed off, thinking about when Connel Vanagor had come to visit him. "I don't think anyone really cares about the little details… or the truth… or the moral high ground. When people are angry, sometimes they just need someone else to take all the blame." His gaze fell distant, thoughts drifting toward Jand Talo . "In this case, that someone's me. If that brings them peace, then I've served my purpose."

He sighed heavily, picking out a plain yogurt, then another vanilla-flavored one made from almonds, and finally one of coconut, chocolate, and almonds.

"I was taken to Ilum....it's a planet rich with Jedi Historical culture... It is covered in ice. Usually where we bring Padawans to find their first saber crystals. They took me there to stand a so-called 'trial' before my peers." He moved on to the cheese section, selecting a few fancy-looking ones with absentminded precision.


"The 'crazy guy'? He's not crazy. He's my Master… and my adoptive father. He sat on the Jedi High Council of the New Jedi Order. His name's Jasper Kai'el... Master Jedi, Sentinel of Harmony." Braze paused, debating between two nearly identical cheeses before deciding to just take both.


"As for Okuma… he's a mercenary who was working for my so-called mother...or rather, the entity that possessed her. His job was to bring me back to it. He was paid for it." Braze's tone grew quieter, his words slower.

"I gave him a lot of trouble… very carefully. Because if I upset him, well… he had a very specific set of words he could say...words that would let him control me. Turn me into a weapon against my friends, my family… anyone."


His eyes softened a little. "So… Jasper and Kaito....Kaito's my father.... they freed my mother from the dark entity that had taken her. It wanted me next… said I was the perfect host.It's creepy, honestly. When you've got that kind of latent potential in the Force, people start seeing you as a tool instead of a person. You unfortunately attract a lot of attention from people who'd rather use you as a weapon...or try to manipulate you," Braze said, his tone dipping with a faint unease.

There's a good number of very powerful Sith I've met who want exactly that. They're greedy, and they'd rather twist me to their own gain than take me seriously enough to just kill me outright." He shrugged lightly, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Let's see… I think that covers most things. Was there anything else?"

 

[Leos]

Canto Bight
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, YT-1760 small transport
​

"I mean, I kinda thought that Okuma guy was a thug of some sort," Leos muttered, "But that's..."

He thought back to his own father. The work that Kelos had done in mass producing that Vong technology to control the minds of others. To say Leos wasn't fond of that was an understatement.

"Awful. Yeah.... that's awful," he decided with a sigh. "I guess I can't really be upset that you didn't explain anything though..."

Leos paused before speaking again.

"I... guess I should be honest about something," he noted. "When I told you my father... was a bad man... on that station. He... did something. It's kind of like how others could use words to make you do things, but it's done through a biological implant. When a friend of mine came to save me from him, she got her brain all... all scrambled. Kyric saw her when we went to Veridia. Apparently she's been receiving orders through that thing in her head to take me back home. He likes to use people like how you described Sith. Sees them as tools... a means to an end. I... partially was looking for a way to get that thing out of her head."

The matter of Sari was frustrating. She was someone he very much looked up to, a strong person who looked out for others like her as though they were family. Some of the others had been grabbed by his father's men too. He hadn't been able to save them all.

He hated that fact.

"I don't know what changed," the Themian continued. "My father never cared about me... he threw me out cause he was certain he didn't need me. Now I'm all he can think about. That doesn't feel right to me."

 

[Braze]

Tags: Leos
​

Braze was quiet as he listened, pausing his comparison of prices to look instead at Leos. His brow furrowed as more pieces came to light. It was a lot to take in, but he was glad they were being honest with each other, that kind of candor was rare, and long overdue.


"Where is your friend now?" Braze asked after a moment, his voice softer. He already suspected that one of their healers might be able to help, if there was still time.

He didn't like the sound of those so-called orders, either. Something about Leos's story struck too close to home. Braze couldn't shake the feeling that the Force had brought them together for a reason, that Leos's father might need his own son for something dark, some twisted design not unlike what the entity had wanted from Braze. Perhaps Leos, too, possessed some specific trait or power his father required, or even some other specific item on a checklist.

"You said you wanted to become a Jedi," Braze said finally, tilting his head slightly. "Can you tell me why that is again?" His tone was calm but searching, as if quietly testing whether Leos's reasons had changed since their first meeting.

 

[Leos]

Canto Bight
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, YT-1760 small transport
​

"She's on my ship back on Veridia, but I think some of the Jedi there said they'd monitor her," he answered.

He hadn't had a chance to do much on Veridia. They hadn't been there long at all before Braze swiftly returned. He hadn't gotten a good idea of exactly what their healers would be doing to remove that... parasite. All he knew is that he wanted to be there when it happened.

"I... want to be a Jedi because I want to protect people," he stated, this time making his motivations more clear. "My family has caused a lot of pain to others. I want to bring down the empire they made. The one that has hurt my friends. That's what a Jedi does, right? They protect people. That's what I was told anyways."

Given how Braze acted, Leos trusted that this was true.

 

[Braze]

Tags: Leos ​

Braze smiled weakly and reached out, gently ruffling his student's hair. "I can see why you're so eager to be back," he said simply.

"Yes, that's what a Jedi should do… they're meant to protect all life. The Force isn't supposed to be used as a weapon, doing so only leads to harm," Braze explained softly. "Violence should always be a last resort, only in defense of yourself or others."

He knew he wasn't perfect, far from it, but he still remembered the lessons that mattered most.

"We can head back once we're finished here," he added, glancing toward the cart. "Is there anything your friend really likes to eat? Maybe we can pick up something she'll enjoy while she's recovering."

He smiled faintly. "Fortunately, the brain is a remarkable thing…"

 

[Leos]

Canto Bight
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, YT-1760 small transport
​

"Sushi," Leos noted in a softer tone. "We... never got it often. Imported sea food is expensive, and the littler ones don't really like fish and stuff..."

Leos remembered the first time he tried sushi. It was rainy. He must have been ten or so. He couldn't fathom why Sari had gone out in the rain just to indulge in something so mundane. He hadn't been on the streets for very long by that point. Something about sitting on the floor in that abandoned warehouse with the person he'd come to see as his own family, drenched from the rain and shivering cold.... and yet, it was the best meal he had ever had in his life. Not because the food was just good.

More so that he was happy. He had people he cared for to share that meal with.

"Fortunately, the brain is a remarkable thing…"

"Remarkable?" the boy echoed. "In what way?"

 

[Braze]

Tags: Leos ​

"It has elasticity," Braze chirped brightly. "Sometimes the brain can heal and even regrow if it's damaged... fish is great food for that. Some people take pills or drink fish oil for the omega-3s."

He perked up a little. "Sushi, huh? We can get fresh ingredients for that on Veridia, there's an abundance of that kind of food there." He glanced over with a curious tilt of his head. "Have you ever had any candies you really like?"

Braze paused, clearly trying to guess what Leos might actually enjoy. "Or maybe some cereals? Anything special you'd like before we leave?"

He smiled faintly, adding almost sheepishly, "I was hoping to get some pasta myself… I really like steak with mac and cheese."

 

[Leos]

Canto Bight
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, YT-1760 small transport
​

"I don't like cereal," Leos noted. "It's all just sugar. Every time I ate it in the morning I felt awful."

Leos was telling the truth about cereal. Candy was... different. A part of him wanted to enthusiastically mention what he liked, but the other part of him didn't want to. After all, he wasn't some little kid. That stuff was childish.

"I.... guess I've had chocolate I like," he stated, though notably less loud.

 

[Braze]

Tags: Leos ​

"We can get… plain shredded wheat or maybe a high-protein cereal," Braze mused, scanning the shelves. "Though honestly, we could always just eat eggs for breakfast."

He noticeably perked up at the mention of chocolate. "Oh~? You like chocolate?" His eyes lit up instantly. "I loooove chocolate! I absolutely go crazy for those little chocolate peanut butter cups, they're one of my absolute favorites. The peanut and caramel ones are amazing, and the chocolate with almonds, too! Oh, and the little truffles? Especially the ones with that creamy ganache filling. We should definitely get some of those."


Braze grinned and tilted his head playfully. "Any specific kinds of chocolate you like?" he asked while collecting a few pallets of eggs, then casually hooked an arm around Leos's and all but dragged him toward the candy aisle. Candy was a rare treat when he was young and living in the temple. He fondly remembered his first trip beyond the temple's walls to sample sweet connections all on his own. He was not at all shy about sharing his love for the things either.