child neglect

Ah fuck me some more up with kybertears, maybe some Qui-Gon point of view?

Posted on av swmoddy

Settling
down on the gurney in the medbay, Qui-Gon glanced worriedly down at
the precious bundle in his arms as he waited on healer Hukada
to
be ready to see to the young boy, Obi-Wan
sitting on his lap while looking around with wide, shocked eyes that
seemed almost desperate to take in everything they could.

‘Poor
thing has never really
seen
anything outside that room has he?’ Qui-Gon felt his heart break
even more, considering the violence, the outright torture
the child had been through along with the isolation and desolation he
must have been in.

When
the council had gotten in reports that the black markets had been
flooded with drop formed kyber crystals, there had been an instant
rescue mission launched, Qui-Gon,
Healer Hukada, council member Yaddle and knight pilot Fredda Miraga
roped into it and sent out.

And
it was a rescue mission, everyone knew the moment that blue kyber
crystal sang to them of mournful captivity and terrified pain, making
it clear that it was not just an odd cut but a star child’s tears.

But
Qui-Gon hadn’t expected…

He
knew that he was going to rescue a Stewjon star child.

He
hadn’t thought he’d find a literal child,
who looked
like he couldn’t
be more than three with how small and skinny he was but he had the
terrifying suspicion that he was older than he looked,
his
skull so little when Qui-Gon cupped it.
Dirty matted brown hair hung in clumps down his back and his ship
pale skin was almost translucent from
the darkness he had been kept in if it wasn’t for
the dirt coating him.

He
reeked, most
likely had diaper rashes
and yet Qui-Gon hadn’t put him down since he found Obi-Wan, the
little boy burrowed into the Jedi with
his tiny hands caught in the knight’s tunic.

‘Does
he even know what a Jedi is? What the Force is? What he
is?’ Qui-Gon wondered even as he doubted it, fighting with himself
to not whisk the boy away somewhere safe. It was an illogical
reaction, they were already safe but Obi-Wan had been hurt for so
long and
Qui-Gon just wanted… he wanted the child to be safe, not this
terrified, untaught and dirty human made of someones cruelty.

He
must have spent all his life as someones credit bank, crying kyber
tears.

After
a moment, Qui-Gon shifted and brought over the
bowl
of luke warm water Hukada had prepared and
sat on the medical trolley
but done nothing with, picking up the rag to gently run over
Obi-Wan’s face.

The
boy flinched at first before letting out a quietly surprised noise at
the soft flannel and maybe at the warmth of the water.

‘Did
they take care of you at all little one? Don’t they know how
special you are? Your kind isn’t born that often and you’re
getting more rare… you may even be the last of your kind. And
they hurt you and squandered your gifts for credits and riches.’
Qui-Gon swallowed heavily even as he smiled down at the child when
Obi-Wan looked up, exposing more of his face to Qui-Gon. “Feels
nice?” He asked softly as
he continued slowly with the flannel.

Nodding,
Obi-Wan gave him a gap toothed if
tiny
smile. “Warm.” The boy slurred out, the word slightly wrong,
slightly off.

But
Qui-Gon only smiled at that and continued washing the others face and
down his neck and the back of his nape when Obi-Wan tilted his head
back and forth to get it there. He had to rinse the flannel four
times but
he got around the ears too, Obi-Wan tensing slightly before relaxing
as the gentleness continued, alerting Qui-Gon that something must
have happened with his ears at some point for that reaction to
happen.

As
he put down the flannel for the last time while eyeing the matted
hair, the rodian healer finally came over to the two humans with a
smile on her face, keeping it even as Obi-Wan hid in Qui-Gon’s
chest. “Hello there little one, I’m Mira, the healer.” She
introduced softly while bowing.

Supporting
Obi-Wan’s skinny and frail body, he tried to give the boy assurance
as
he hesitantly responded to Mira when she offered her aid to him to
feel better, Obi-Wan once more hesitantly agreeing to aid after a
quick look up at Qui-Gon.

It
was a battle.

Obi-Wan
would flinch or withdraw and they had to be patient,
forcing him would only make him withdraw even more and Hukada
had
to go slowly forth and speak softly with him as she healed and worked
bacta into injuries that made Qui-Gon sick to see.

They
often had to pause just for Obi-Wan to settle once more.

Both
adult Jedi could feel the vibration of the ship suddenly,
alerting them that the knight pilot must have gotten permission to
fly off, which meant that Yaddle would soon come to observe.

But
Qui-Gon was more occupied staring at Obi-Wan’s feet as the boy let
the healer take care of them.

He
was missing three of his toes on the left foot, all the nails on his
right and at the moment Hukada was working on the underside of the
feet, which meant that they were also injured. ‘They hurt him under
the soles and made him walk on them… constant pain, constant
tears.’ Qui-Gon closed his eyes for a long, painful minute as he
considered it.

When
he opened it he saw Yaddle, the small master watching Obi-Wan with
sad eyes as she placed an apple sauce pod on the tray closest to
Qui-Gon.

Obi-Wan
was switching between looking at the two females, shaking a bit with
uncertainty even as Hukada was allowed to continue healing him.

But
he only relaxed when both were gone, only Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan left in
the medbay. His small stomach growled quite loudly then and the
master picked up the apple pod. “I think it’s about time to get
some food into you, have you had applesauce before?” He asked
softly, smiling sadly when Obi-Wan shook his head and peered at the
pod. “Well, lets see if you like it then.”

Obi-Wan
did, he ate the whole pod as Qui-Gon feed him spoon by spoon.

And
then he was exhausted, the poor boy shivering as he curled against
Qui-Gon’s body.

He
still reeked, he still needed to be cleaned up more and put into new
clothes.

But
he was also so tired and Qui-Gon loathed the idea of denying him
sleep and yet…

“There’s
a sonic shower through there,” He pointed, Obi-Wan following his
gaze. “Would you like to be cleaned up in it? It vibrates the dirt
off your skin.” He explained.

The
child seemed to contemplate that for a few seconds, tired eyes
drooping, then he nodded and cautiously wrapped skinny and bandaged
arms around Qui-Gon’s neck.

Heart
breaking a bit at the trust he was being given, Qui-Gon stood to take
a sonic shower with his clothes on.

By
the time it was all done, Obi-Wan was asleep in his arms but he was
actually clean enough for Qui-Gon to find that he was not a brunette
but a redhead, copper hair no longer hidden but still matted.

‘He
needs a haircut.’ He sighed to himself as he got Obi-Wan out of the
gross shirt and underwear the slavers had kept him in, sliding him
into one of Qui-Gon’s sleeping shirts and tying it around him like
a dress.

It
was the best they could do for now.

They
hadn’t expected a child!

Qui-Gon
almost wished to go back to exert some much needed revenge instead of
handing the slavers over to the judicial but breathing deeply and
letting his emotions into the Force helped and instead he settled
down with Obi-Wan on the medbay, not willing to leave him.

‘Little
star child, little star child, you’re safe now.’ He promised,
resting his bearded cheek on the matted but clean hair.

Akinderuniverse: Is Ezra going to be scared of Caleb or is the bond going ot make it easier for Caleb to interact with the kid?

Posted on av swmoddy

Settling
on the bedside, Caleb shot Ezra a small smile as the boy peered at
him curiously. So far Ezra had shown signs of not being too paranoid
but if that was due to his bond to Caleb or an understanding that he
was safe thanks to the Force was anyone’s guess as Ezra hadn’t
actually said a word since he woke up.

Instead
he communicated in head shakes and at this point Caleb was getting
worried that between the war and living on the street that Ezra might
be mute.

Maybe
from being alone or from trauma.

So
he was trying his best with talking around the boy in a way to
encourage him to pick up on language or encourage his safety to talk.
The young Jedi lifted the two small bowls in his hands. “Tabs
suggested we go easy on the kind of food we gave you since your
stomach is kind of fragile, so I got some white rice here for you and
some nice warm broth,” He said softly, smiling when Ezra’s eyes
lit up at the mention of food, settling the bowl of rice down on the
bedside table before holding the small bowl. “Do you think you can
feed yourself or do you want me to do it?” Caleb questioned
carefully.

Ezra
stared at the spoon before lifting a skinny hand, picking it up and
staring as the spoon shook in his grasp before dropping it back in
the bowl with a little splash, wincing and peering up at Caleb before
pointing at the knight.

Nodding,
Caleb picked up the spoon. “That’s fine kiddo. Tabs said you
weren’t doing so hot still
and I wasn’t about to expect great feats just yet.
Though your fever has gone down which is good.” He grinned
reassuringly as he feed the boy a spoonful of lukewarm broth.

Ezra
happily swallowed it and opened his mouth for more, eyes wide and
hopeful.

Smiling
softly, Caleb continued feeding Ezra the broth slowly and steadily as
he knew that overeating could prove to be a real problem for Ezra and
the last thing he wanted on top of the fever was for Ezra to also get
a stomach ache.

Spoon
after spoon of broth disappeared until eventually the bowl was empty
which was when Caleb switched to the rice after checking that Ezra
was indeed still hungry and not showing sign of an ache.

They
got halfway down into the rice bowl when Ezra started to hesitate.
“Seems you’re full now, that’s good but if you get more
hungry…” Caleb set the half eaten bowl of rice on the table.
“Well, I’ll set this here right now and we can always get more
food for you though Tabs is most likely going to feed you some
pudding after two hours or so.” He hummed.

Ezra
blinked at him, looking at the bowl then wrinkling his nose and
pointing at the medical office Tabs
disappeared into sometimes to write down medical reports.

Blinking
back, Caleb had to think. “Tabs?”

The
boy nodded.

“…Oh
you’re curious about Tabs feeding you in two hours?”

Once
more Ezra nodded.

“Well
we want you to gain weight,” Caleb poked Ezra gently in the
stomach, knowing it must be full and
therefor not wanting to make Ezra ache with too harsh a poke.
Happily all Ezra did was squeak and cover up his stomach with a
little grin. “You’re much too little but eating a lot of food
isn’t the way to gain weight healthily, you have to eat small meals
several times a day full of nutrients.” Caleb explained with a
wink.

Scrunching
up his nose, clearly trying to absorb and understand, Ezra nodded
slowly in confusion before just shrugging and sticking out his
tongue.

Chuckling
faintly, Caleb reached up and gently ruffled his fingers through
Ezra’s greasy hair, promising himself he’d get the boy into the
sonic very soon, Ezra giggling squeakily under his hand.

Akinderuniverse: Is Ezra going to be scared of Caleb or is the bond going ot make it easier for Caleb to interact with the kid?

Posted on av swmoddy

Settling
on the bedside, Caleb shot Ezra a small smile as the boy peered at
him curiously. So far Ezra had shown signs of not being too paranoid
but if that was due to his bond to Caleb or an understanding that he
was safe thanks to the Force was anyone’s guess as Ezra hadn’t
actually said a word since he woke up.

Instead
he communicated in head shakes and at this point Caleb was getting
worried that between the war and living on the street that Ezra might
be mute.

Maybe
from being alone or from trauma.

So
he was trying his best with talking around the boy in a way to
encourage him to pick up on language or encourage his safety to talk.
The young Jedi lifted the two small bowls in his hands. “Tabs
suggested we go easy on the kind of food we gave you since your
stomach is kind of fragile, so I got some white rice here for you and
some nice warm broth,” He said softly, smiling when Ezra’s eyes
lit up at the mention of food, settling the bowl of rice down on the
bedside table before holding the small bowl. “Do you think you can
feed yourself or do you want me to do it?” Caleb questioned
carefully.

Ezra
stared at the spoon before lifting a skinny hand, picking it up and
staring as the spoon shook in his grasp before dropping it back in
the bowl with a little splash, wincing and peering up at Caleb before
pointing at the knight.

Nodding,
Caleb picked up the spoon. “That’s fine kiddo. Tabs said you
weren’t doing so hot still
and I wasn’t about to expect great feats just yet.
Though your fever has gone down which is good.” He grinned
reassuringly as he feed the boy a spoonful of lukewarm broth.

Ezra
happily swallowed it and opened his mouth for more, eyes wide and
hopeful.

Smiling
softly, Caleb continued feeding Ezra the broth slowly and steadily as
he knew that overeating could prove to be a real problem for Ezra and
the last thing he wanted on top of the fever was for Ezra to also get
a stomach ache.

Spoon
after spoon of broth disappeared until eventually the bowl was empty
which was when Caleb switched to the rice after checking that Ezra
was indeed still hungry and not showing sign of an ache.

They
got halfway down into the rice bowl when Ezra started to hesitate.
“Seems you’re full now, that’s good but if you get more
hungry…” Caleb set the half eaten bowl of rice on the table.
“Well, I’ll set this here right now and we can always get more
food for you though Tabs is most likely going to feed you some
pudding after two hours or so.” He hummed.

Ezra
blinked at him, looking at the bowl then wrinkling his nose and
pointing at the medical office Tabs
disappeared into sometimes to write down medical reports.

Blinking
back, Caleb had to think. “Tabs?”

The
boy nodded.

“…Oh
you’re curious about Tabs feeding you in two hours?”

Once
more Ezra nodded.

“Well
we want you to gain weight,” Caleb poked Ezra gently in the
stomach, knowing it must be full and
therefor not wanting to make Ezra ache with too harsh a poke.
Happily all Ezra did was squeak and cover up his stomach with a
little grin. “You’re much too little but eating a lot of food
isn’t the way to gain weight healthily, you have to eat small meals
several times a day full of nutrients.” Caleb explained with a
wink.

Scrunching
up his nose, clearly trying to absorb and understand, Ezra nodded
slowly in confusion before just shrugging and sticking out his
tongue.

Chuckling
faintly, Caleb reached up and gently ruffled his fingers through
Ezra’s greasy hair, promising himself he’d get the boy into the
sonic very soon, Ezra giggling squeakily under his hand.

Akinderuniverse: Little Ezra! Oh no get him some help Knight Caleb!

Posted on av swmoddy

Glancing
down at the sleeping boy, Caleb looked back up to Tabs. “So he’s
going to be alright?” He noted quietly.

Nodding,
Tabs adjusted the IV a bit before giving his focus back to the Jedi.
“The kid is going to be alright as long as we take proper
precaution and take
care
of him. He’s clearly not been taken care of in a long while
considering how malnourished and sick he is and considering the state
of Lothal, that’s not so shocking.” He sighed while rubbing the
back of his neck.

“It’s
that bad here?” Caleb questioned quietly, the bright lights of the
medbay having removed him from the outside. But he remembered the
broken buildings and skeletons he’d seen.

Tabs
breathed out heavily. “You have no idea General,” The troopers
never quite got out of the habit even now after the war though some
were better than others. “I imagine this little one might have been
left alone as no one wanted to get a target painted onto themselves
in
fear of their family security by
taking him in but he does show sign of proper nutrition at some point
so I imagine people tried feeding and caring for him when they could
when the CSI groups weren’t watching to closely.” He noted
quietly as he pulled the sheet more up around Ezra’s tiny body, the
large bed making him seem even smaller.

Hesitating,
leaning on the rails of the bed, Caleb rubbed his face. “I… did
notice there were a lot of broken buildings but… I didn’t…
wouldn’t they have needed the infrastructure to keep things going?”
Caleb asked quietly with a dark frown.

“I
imagine at first they were keeping things as normal as possible but
as the blockade progressed, supplies diminished and people were
getting desperate… well violence would have grown,” Tabs sighed
and shrugged before ruffling Ezra’s dark hair. “Hopefully this
little guy managed to stay out of most of it. “I didn’t find any
major evidence of abuse though he has bruises everywhere.” He
settled on.

Caleb
sat back on the stool, catching onto what Tabs wasn’t saying.

When
the Republic was finally breaching the blockade, a scorched earth
tactic was taken into practice from what the troopers could tell so
far and people were suffering for it, especially in the main cities
such as Capital city.

A
hand squeezed Caleb’s shoulder and he looked up into Tabs amber
eyes. “They’re going to recover sir, this isn’t our first
attempt at helping people, it won’t be the last and the kid is
going to become better with the temple’s aid.” The medic promised
quietly.

Letting
out a deep breath, Caleb nodded with a small smile and focused on the
kid. ‘I guess I’ll just focus on the mission I’m here for while
the clones do their mission. I wouldn’t want to cause any delays
after all.’ He mused to himself as he leaned back on the rails and
picked up a small hand.

The
troopers were more effective in their jobs without Jedi interference
and the Lothal population would really need it if a scorched earth
tactic had been used on the surface.

The
Arida would be leaving as soon as most of the cargo had been
offloaded though, heading back to Coruscant with a skeleton crew
while the rest of the ships stayed to help. ‘And you finally get to
see the temple Ezra, I’m
sorry we were so slow at fetching you, that we painted a target on
your back. I’ll make sure you get there now
though.’
Caleb promised, stroking the skinny little hand gently.

Small
fingers wrapped around his bigger ones and Caleb’s head snapped up
hard enough to give him whiplash as he meet lidded blue eyes.

He’d
seen the picture of Ezra but nothing could do justice to the color of
Ezra’s eyes even through the thin slits of his barely opened eyes.
Bluer than any sky or gem he had ever seen and deeper than any ocean
had the right to be set in a sun tanned, emaciated face with feverish
red cheeks.

Reaching
out slowly with his other hand, Caleb didn’t notice he was holding
his breath as he gently stroked Ezra’s hair out of his face.
“…Hello little one.” He greeted quietly, feeling a bond snap
into place with the consciousness of the other.

Ezra
didn’t answer verbally but his fingers tightened even more on
Caleb’s own before blue eyes shut tiredly.

“…I
think the kid is going to be just fine.” Tabs decided with a quiet
chuckle as Caleb continued stroking the dark hair.

Akinderuniverse: Little Ezra! Oh no get him some help Knight Caleb!

Posted on av swmoddy

Glancing
down at the sleeping boy, Caleb looked back up to Tabs. “So he’s
going to be alright?” He noted quietly.

Nodding,
Tabs adjusted the IV a bit before giving his focus back to the Jedi.
“The kid is going to be alright as long as we take proper
precaution and take
care
of him. He’s clearly not been taken care of in a long while
considering how malnourished and sick he is and considering the state
of Lothal, that’s not so shocking.” He sighed while rubbing the
back of his neck.

“It’s
that bad here?” Caleb questioned quietly, the bright lights of the
medbay having removed him from the outside. But he remembered the
broken buildings and skeletons he’d seen.

Tabs
breathed out heavily. “You have no idea General,” The troopers
never quite got out of the habit even now after the war though some
were better than others. “I imagine this little one might have been
left alone as no one wanted to get a target painted onto themselves
in
fear of their family security by
taking him in but he does show sign of proper nutrition at some point
so I imagine people tried feeding and caring for him when they could
when the CSI groups weren’t watching to closely.” He noted
quietly as he pulled the sheet more up around Ezra’s tiny body, the
large bed making him seem even smaller.

Hesitating,
leaning on the rails of the bed, Caleb rubbed his face. “I… did
notice there were a lot of broken buildings but… I didn’t…
wouldn’t they have needed the infrastructure to keep things going?”
Caleb asked quietly with a dark frown.

“I
imagine at first they were keeping things as normal as possible but
as the blockade progressed, supplies diminished and people were
getting desperate… well violence would have grown,” Tabs sighed
and shrugged before ruffling Ezra’s dark hair. “Hopefully this
little guy managed to stay out of most of it. “I didn’t find any
major evidence of abuse though he has bruises everywhere.” He
settled on.

Caleb
sat back on the stool, catching onto what Tabs wasn’t saying.

When
the Republic was finally breaching the blockade, a scorched earth
tactic was taken into practice from what the troopers could tell so
far and people were suffering for it, especially in the main cities
such as Capital city.

A
hand squeezed Caleb’s shoulder and he looked up into Tabs amber
eyes. “They’re going to recover sir, this isn’t our first
attempt at helping people, it won’t be the last and the kid is
going to become better with the temple’s aid.” The medic promised
quietly.

Letting
out a deep breath, Caleb nodded with a small smile and focused on the
kid. ‘I guess I’ll just focus on the mission I’m here for while
the clones do their mission. I wouldn’t want to cause any delays
after all.’ He mused to himself as he leaned back on the rails and
picked up a small hand.

The
troopers were more effective in their jobs without Jedi interference
and the Lothal population would really need it if a scorched earth
tactic had been used on the surface.

The
Arida would be leaving as soon as most of the cargo had been
offloaded though, heading back to Coruscant with a skeleton crew
while the rest of the ships stayed to help. ‘And you finally get to
see the temple Ezra, I’m
sorry we were so slow at fetching you, that we painted a target on
your back. I’ll make sure you get there now
though.’
Caleb promised, stroking the skinny little hand gently.

Small
fingers wrapped around his bigger ones and Caleb’s head snapped up
hard enough to give him whiplash as he meet lidded blue eyes.

He’d
seen the picture of Ezra but nothing could do justice to the color of
Ezra’s eyes even through the thin slits of his barely opened eyes.
Bluer than any sky or gem he had ever seen and deeper than any ocean
had the right to be set in a sun tanned, emaciated face with feverish
red cheeks.

Reaching
out slowly with his other hand, Caleb didn’t notice he was holding
his breath as he gently stroked Ezra’s hair out of his face.
“…Hello little one.” He greeted quietly, feeling a bond snap
into place with the consciousness of the other.

Ezra
didn’t answer verbally but his fingers tightened even more on
Caleb’s own before blue eyes shut tiredly.

“…I
think the kid is going to be just fine.” Tabs decided with a quiet
chuckle as Caleb continued stroking the dark hair.