It's Not Stealing, It's Property Redistribution (Kahne)

[Izzy Aureth]

Corellia - An open market

Izzy stood in the shade of a building just watching, waiting. The opportunity would present itself soon enough. Far too young to have to survive alone, but that was the unfortunate situation that she was stuck smack in the middle of, when her parents disappeared without a trace only a few months prior. Her eyes fell upon a man only a short distance away.

Her thoughts were solely on what would get her through today. That was going to require money, or perhaps something to barter with. Both things she sorely lacked, her own family hadn't been well of and with her parents now gone, there was nothing left for her to work with. There was a single option for the little child, and that was to take what she needed first and foremost. With some luck the rest would fall into place.

Finally Izzy pushed off the wall, and stepped into the streets. She'd selected her mark, and now it was only a simple matter of seeing what she could snatch away from him, and slip back into the shadows before she was noticed. Being small, had it's advantages. Most adults never noticed her, or simply didn't pay the little girl any mind. Stalking her prey, she quietly snuck behind the man, and carefully, quickly reached for his pocket to attempt to snatch anything she could. With luck there'd be some credits there, maybe a wallet, even a datapad would at least get her through today.

[member="Kahne Porte"]

 

[Kahne Porte]

"I assure you, your faith won't be misplace, I won't let you down." Kahne voiced his grand opinion to the folks as he left their place and smiled in response. There had been much traveling in the Master's absence from the Republic. But now there was much work to be done. Regardless of what anyone had said, he was going to do the best with what he had. If someone could fault him for such a thing, then they weren't truly what he considered, a friend. Kahne rounded the corner and breathed a little easier as he had just secured more hands, and what would be force potential for the Republic, not by force, but by their own choice. The galaxy was getting dangerous each and every day and they would need all the help they could get.

However, there was something that caught his attention just a bit, as he gave the smallest of turns with his head to the side but the chose not to notice it so much. But it seemed he had an admirer, either that or someone just want to follow him. Kahne couldn't be to sure, but as he took another small glance using his peripheral vision, it was a young girl. And at that current time, the people of the street had come to stop as to cross the street. And that is when she seemed to make her move.


"Is that truly the right thing to do?" Kahne voiced, with a slight humor to it, not turning to face her, but seeing if she was still going to go through with it, as he now saw fully noticed her.

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy gasped and froze hearing his voice, with her hand just a hair's breath from her goal. "I... Uh..." Part of her wanted to dart away, run, it was the normal thing to do when she was caught. But never had anyone noticed her before she actually got her hands in their pocket. "How did..?" She shook her head, not quite following the chain of events that led her to that moment.

She huffed a sigh dropping her eyes to the ground as she fidgeted, frustrated but she didn't run. "No." She said firmly, almost guilty.

A few quiet moments passed, as she thought about the situation. Finally she looked up, "You won't turn me in, will you?" Spoken so very timidly, fearful of the consequences for such a small girl. Jail was the last place she wanted to be.

[member="Kahne Porte"]

 

[Kahne Porte]

Kahne turned on a dime and looked down at the young girl, had Kahne been someone else he might have turned her in, yet he just looked down at her and with a small smile on his face. People around started to move again, just glancing by at the situation and Kahne ushered them forward telling them to pass.

He knelt down in front of her. "I really should turn you in..." Kahne said, but if you knew him and how his voice was in that moment, he was being rather playful at the comment. Kahne had a child of his own, well not a child anymore but it looked to him that she needed some help.

"But I won't, I suppose." Kahne said with smile on his face. He used a finger and raised her chin so that she could look him in the eyes.

"What's your name?"

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy was quick to take a tentative step back as he turned around to face her, uncertain of the stranger. If anything in the past few months, she'd learned most adults weren't trustworthy. As he knelt down in front of her, she started to tremble, nervous and worried.

Hearing his words, she didn't quite pick up on the playful nature, but soon breathed a sigh of relief as he said he wouldn't. "Thanks." She mumbled softly, as he lifted her chin.

Biting at her lip, she nervously met his eyes, "Izzy. Izzy Aureth."

"And your name?" She asked, curiously, growing a little bolder.

[member="Kahne Porte"]

 

[Kahne Porte]

"Don't mention it." Kahne mused with a soft chuckle. He could sense that she was nervous, which was a good feeling to have given that she didn't know Kahne. However, Kahne meant her no harm whatsoever and was overly curious as to why she was doing what she was fixing to do. He had his thoughts, but he much preferred to hear from her personally.

"Izzy, my name is Kahne Porte, it's a pleasure to meet you." Kahne said still in a knelt position as he held his hand to her.

He quickly glanced over to the side and there was a small diner across the way.

"You feeling hungry kiddo?"

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

The little girl searched his eyes, looking for a sign that she could trust him. Though, his simple actions spoke volumes. No one else had ever bothered. Most assumed she was just a runaway, a street rat and never gave a care about her. He seemed to have an interest in her, but to what degree, she wasn't sure. "It's nice to meet you too." Not quite sure if she meant those words, only time would tell.

Slowly, she wrung her hands, just looking up to him. Catching the glance to the diner, she found herself staring at it, hungry was an understatement to say the least. "Yes, sir." Not able to remember when or what the last thing she ate was.

[member="Kahne Porte"]

 

[Kahne Porte]

Kahne stood up slowly after she shook his hand and said her formalities at which he turned and looked back towards the diner. She said that she was hungry and he just nodded his head. "Good, I say let's get you something to eat? Shall we?" Kahne said as he moved across the way hopefully with her at his side, as he extended his hand out to her. While he was curious of her upbringing, she was just a little girl and he didn't like that she was out here, seemingly by herself.

The diner itself wasn't to packed which was a good thing, he chose a booth for them to sit at as he sat on one side across from her and the waitress came by. "What can I get for you"

"I'll just have a cup of jawa juice, my friend here can order as much as she can eat?" Kahne said with a soft smile on his face as he looked to see exactly what she would order, as the waitress passed her a menu.

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Cautiously she reached out and took the hand he offered, to walk beside him. "How did you know?" She asked, still a little baffled that he'd managed what most adults never did. "That I was ..." The little girl looked up, a small frown upon her lips. "No one noticed before you." Once inside the restaurant, she climbed into the booth across the table from him, and glanced nervously between him and the waitress.

"Really?" To her, food was expensive and something that was few and far between for her. The idea of whatever she wanted and however much she wanted was an exciting prospect to her. Still a kid at heart, she didn't wait for a reply as she searched the menu. Finally she paused and found what she wanted, "Can I have a nerf burger? And, and a fizzypop?"

[member="Kahne Porte"]

 

[Kahne Porte]

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

Kahne nodded to the waitress and let out a small chuckle. "You heard her." The Jedi's tone was light and humorous so that waitress didn't think that Kahne was being rude by his simple words.

The Jedi Master just smiled and her and nodded his head. "True, perhaps no one before me has noticed. But did you ever try to pickpocket a Jedi Master?" Kahne inquired of the young lady.

"If I may ask, why exactly are you on the streets Izzy?" Kahne knew that these streets were a dangerous place, especially if there was high gang activity around. He didn't want her to get mistakenly caught up in something.

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy's eyes widened by the sudden realization of who exactly she'd pickpocketed, or well attempted to pickpocket. "Whoops." She said sheepishly, "So, you're a Jedi? Never seen a Jedi before." The little girl gave a small shrug, "Heard stories, but never met one."

All her happiness and joy seemed to fade away as he asked why she was on the streets, on her own. Her eyes fell to the table, as she wrung at her hands. "Mommy and Daddy, I woke up one day and they weren't there." The slightest trace of tears started to glisten in the corner of her eyes. "I waited, and waited. They never came back." Reaching up, she tried her best to wipe away the tears before they could fall, "I ... After a bit, there wasn't anymore food... So, I packed a few things and left. Been alone ever since." The little one sighed, "I even tried looking for my mom and dad, but no one seemed to know anything. They're just gone." Izzy said flatly. "I wish I knew where they were, what happened to them. Why would they just leave me? It's not right. Not fair."

[member="Kahne Porte"]

 

[Kahne Porte]

[member="Izzy Aureth"]


"Stories huh?" Kahne said as he rested his arms beside him and just watched the little girl, she seemed so.....' Was the word lost, or something else. Kahne in his own right new was it was like living without any family for the earlier part of his life.

"I'm terrible sorry, Izzy. I lost my parents when I was just a young boy. They were, taken from me." Kahne said as he reached across the table and his hand gave her hand a small gentle squeeze. In his own right, ensuring her that the world wasn't as dark as it seemed to be.

"Sometimes, when things like that happen, it never is fair. If I could take that pain away I would, the best thing I can offer you is hope." Kahne said with a small reassuring smile, in many ways, he wasn't going to do the whole Jedi pitch of becoming a Jedi, she would make that choice on her own, what he was offering was quite different.

"I can help you if you would like. I could never take the place of your parents, but I could help you with providing you a place to stay, and I could look out for you until you find what you are looking for?" Kahne cleared his throat as the waitress brought Izzy her food and he just waited, as he knew that she must have been very hungry.

 

[Izzy Aureth]

The little one nodded slowly, "Yeah, like Luke, and Anakin. Everybody knows about them, but I didn't think they were real. Ya know, just ... stories."

She nodded slowly, glancing to his hand as he squeezed hers. Swallowing hard, she wiped away the rest of the tears that had slipped away from her. There wasn't time for that, she couldn't break down, not now.

"I miss them." She whispered, "A lot.."

Izzy's attention was quickly drawn to the plate set before her, and the drink she'd happily selected, not remembering the time she'd last actually sat in a diner, and eaten a meal with anyone, not even her parents. For a long while, she only dug into her food, not really saying anything at all between bites. Once her plate was cleared nearly entirely of food, she looked back to her new Jedi friend.

A sigh came, "I'd like that." Spoken softly, knowing all too well she'd not survive forever on her own. She needed help, somehow, someway if she was going to make it through.

[member="Kahne Porte"]

 

[Kahne Porte]

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

He really felt for the young girl, and he truly wanted to help her. And he would do whatever he could to make sure she had a good shot at life, and wasn't just scraping along by. He knew that there were many that needed that shot at life, and he was going to give her that shot.

He crossed his arms, and had the smallest of smiles on his face as she just ate and he in turn took a drink of the jawa juice. He would help her as much as she wanted to, and in turn he would care for her as if she was his own daughter, even though she wasn't. It was the right thing to do. And despite all the things, from what he heard had gone wrong in her life, he could see something in her...

Courage...

"My ship is at port, I'll be leaving here at the end of the day. If there is anything you need to get before that, that would be good."

 

[Izzy Aureth]

The little girl finished off her soda and pushed the plate away, rather content when the food she'd gotten. It was about four times the size of any meal she'd had in nearly a month. A frown crossed her lips as he spoke, "I don't have much." She said softly. "Nothing important really." Part of her just wanting to say good bye to the already oh, so painful life she'd experienced. The necklace around her neck, hidden beneath her shirt, from her mother was about the only thing she cared for. "So, nothing to go back for..." She said quietly, her eyes down upon the table not willing to look up. "But I want to go with you, if you are okay with that?" She had to be sure.

[member="Kahne Porte"]

 

[Kahne Porte]

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

Kahne leaned back into the seat as he just watched her for a moment as she stared at the table. She said she didn't have much, nothing important really, nothing to go back too. "Have a comfort now, Izzy. I promise you everything will be okay. If you can trust me, then I will guide you, help you as much as you let me." Kahne said as he stood up and stretched just a little bit as he placed a few credits on the table for the bill.

"Well, Izzy. Shall we, get going?" Kahne said looking down to her as he used a finger or two to raise her chin. "No more stealing, deal?" Kahne said with a small smile on his face. She wouldn't need to do that as he would be looking out for her. Caring for her as if she was his own. It hurt to see such pain and despair in a child, which was one of the reasons why he was going to help her. No one deserved such a thing, they deserved a chance at life.

Izzy Aureth would fully receive that chance.

 

[Izzy Aureth]

The little girl sniffled and managed a nod. "It doesn't feel like its going to be okay." It felt like, to her, that everything she'd ever known was falling apart. Everything that had once been so stable, was gone and now, if she hoped to have any chance of survival, she was going to have to rely on the Jedi Master for help. Admittedly she knew it was help she needed, but none the less, leaving now, felt like she was saying goodbye to her family forever.

Slowly she scooted out of the booth, not really looking up as they both got ready to leave the diner. Once he lifted her chin, he might have seen the slightest trace of tears glistening in her eyes. Though, the mention of stealing, did bring a small hint of a smile to her lips. "No more stealing, I promise." She said softly. With some luck she'd be able to put that part of her life behind her. As for how much he was going to help her, or for how long, that was something she wasn't sure on.

Izzy reached out for his hand, to take it with a bit of a squeeze, as if clinging onto him for dear life. A part of her really didn't want to leave this planet behind, but her parents had been gone for months now. If they were coming back, if they were still alive and wanted her, surely they would have sought her out already. She nodded once more in reply to his question, "Let's go. I'm ready." She declared, or at least tried to make it sound like she had some confidence in her words. Truly, it was more for convincing her than anyone else.

[member="Kahne Porte"]