where did you come from, baby dear?

[blacklisle]

accidental child acquisition meme

For all your "whoops I guess I have a kid now?" needs. Did you always want to be a parent? Did you swear you'd never ever be a parent? Doesn't matter now.

Possible scenarios include, but are not limited to:

• Left on your doorstep with a tearjerking note
• Wandering around unsupervised
• Entrusted to you by a friend/stranger/enemy
• Has apparently adopted YOU
• Product of your past indiscretions
• Product of your PARENTS' past indiscretions
• Summoned from another dimension
• Rescued from a mad scientist's lab

The kid in question can be whatever character tags yours, or you can enlist that character to help you wrangle your new NPC rugrat. Suit yourselves. Have fun!

Comments

[forcecalls]

"Hi," he replies, unenthused, leaving it at that for now.

He has definitely noticed. And yes, he does want that explanation, but he can put together the pieces well enough. Rey would have gone out of her way to feed a starving child regardless, but one with that kind of Force signature, who was almost certainly entirely alone if Rey picked her up to bring her back here...

Ben has a sinking suspicion that this child may become a permanent fixture. Which he can't precisely argue with if the situation is what he suspects, but still. He spends a moment watching the girl swirl her foot through the sand before looking back to Rey. We're going to talk later.

[reydacted]

I know, just trust me on this. There's some... well, nervous probably isn't the right word. Confused, heightened, just sort of generally keyed-up energy coming from Rey's side of the bond right now.

"Cerra, this is Ben," the girl-- Cerra apparently just sorta looks at him again. She's apparently of few words. That's fine, Rey will talk enough for all three of them. "Ben, Cerra."

Anakin Skywalker this is awkward. Rey can't say she'd never thought about what it might be like to start a family after they settled into an almost painfully domestic routine, and while they might not be the kind to take the traditional route to anything, she's pretty sure showing up with a Force-sensitive kid without warning was not in any of her daytime fantasies. She'll give him the full story but her brain can't help but feed him bits and pieces in between polite conversation, Slavers. Had to act quick.

"Cerra are you hungry?" Her eyes grow wide and nods. Yeah, Rey thought so. "Why don't we go inside and I'll fix us some lunch."

[forcecalls]

Awkward is right. He's barely ever been around kids, much less unexpectedly had one to look after. He's happy to leave most of it to her for now. She at least has a short term plan in mind, which is more than he can say for himself.

His face contorts into an understanding sort of frown when he catches that message. That did a lot to explain why Rey had brought the girl here. He wonders how long it'll be before they get the opportunity to figure out what they're supposed to do with her from here on out.

For now, he just sighs slightly. "I could use food, too." With that, he heads inside.

[reydacted]

They all march inside, Rey helping Cerra with her shoes so she doesn't track too much sand inside.

Honestly, this girl would probably eat as much as she put in front of her, but as tempting as it is to spoil her, Rey's got first hand experience with the gastro-intestinal upset that comes from expanding your pallet (and your stomach) too quickly. She picks something mild and easy on the stomach for the three of them. Just some flatbread that she picks up in the local market and a sort of mild bean paste with a glass of blue milk for good measure.

Cerra looks at Rey with a kind of disbelief in her eyes as Rey puts it in front of her. Clearly, even this meager amount is more than she's used to. Rey offers her a soft smile, permission to dig in as she sets out two more plates for herself and Ben. Although she doesn't really eat. She just sort of picks at pieces of her flatbread and watches Cerra dig in. So fast that Rey is worried she's gonna choke. She reaches out her hand, rubs the girl's back in a soothing motion. She wonders how much of she can use the Force to help calm her. Rey's not sure if it's the Force or just a comforting touch, but it does seem to work.

The Hutt Clan and Crymorah Syndicate were trading stock, Rey's unease with that phrasing is palpable. She was the only kid among them.

So, that explains why they now just have one child instead of an entire tribe.

I had felt her a few times in Mos Eisley hanging around the Depot, but I assumed she had a guardian. I think she did, but it's not really clear to me what happened.

A bought of Crimson Fever tore through there a couple months ago. It's curable enough with access to medical care, but, well, this was Tatooine. The corners of Rey's mouth tugs down, although she does her best to continue shielding Cerra. She's not sure how in-tune she should expect an untrained Force sensitive child to be.

[forcecalls]

He eats a bit more than Rey does, but likewise, most of his attention is on the other people in the room, watching Rey attempt to keep this girl from choking in her excitement. It's obvious how desperately in need of food she was. He can be glad, at least, that she was the only child to be rescued from that situation. He wouldn't have any idea what to do with a whole village worth of kids suddenly under their care. He doesn't really know what to do with one.

Does she know about the Force? An important question, he thinks. It's obvious this girl has power, but he doesn't know whether she knows it herself. Maybe Rey doesn't know that, either, if the girl was as quiet on the way here as she has been since, but it's worth asking.

[reydacted]

I don't know. She's... perceptive. Rey would guess if she has, it's in the abstract way some kids have. A power to be yielded by legendary families rather than how Rey has come to know it in the last year or so.