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The pub was unusually quiet for this time of night. But then again Jango wasn’t exactly in a partying mood either. The entire town seemed a little dimmer. Which was ironic considering the wildfires which were tearing through the forests.
Money was tight. Really tight.
Jango was used to hunting in those very same forests for game. But many of them, particularly big game like elk, were spooked by the fires and were moving further away. No game meant no furs or meat which meant nothing to sell or sustain himself with. And he didn’t dare dip into his reserves just yet. Winter was brutal enough as it was and Jango would prefer to keep the ice fishing to a minimum.
There were whispers of it being just a particularly bad storm season. But there were other quieter whispers as well. Ones that spoke of a magik.
Jango listened to them just a little bit closer. He knew it wasn’t any of his own --Tahl would have told him if one of the boys suddenly developed that ability-- so he didn’t feel as guilty about it. Thoughts of the boys still tore into his heart with as much ferociousness as it did when he left all those years ago.
“There’s a big bounty on this one too, but only if they're captured alive,” one man hummed to another as he swished the beer in his glass.
The man across from him frowned. “Why alive?”
It piqued Jango’s interest too. Magiks were more often than not killed on sight by order of the Emperor. They were exceedingly rare nowadays after the Great Purge decades ago.
“Not really sure. But the word is it’s a powerful one. Like Inquisitor level powerful,” the first explained. “I bet they’re looking to either cull him or recruit him. No one that powerful isn’t under empire supervision.”
Jango stood up to head out. He had heard everything that could have been of use.
Inquisitor level. Those who claimed to be the best of the best in terms of magik skill. They weren’t really. Not by a long shot. All they really were were individuals who had the more dangerous types of magik and were loyal exclusively to the Emperor. They didn’t have a lot of skill or finesse, brute forcing their way through practically everything that presented itself as an obstacle. That was part of the reason why they were so dangerous.
The chilled autumn air nipped at Jango’s skin as he left. Soon it would be time for the harvests.
There was a faint smell of smoke and the horizon wasn’t as dark as it should have been.
Clouds were rolling in though and hopefully there would be a strong rain tomorrow. That would most certainly be helpful if Jango was going to capture a rouge fire gifted Magik.
He hadn’t hunted one in years, but Jango reasoned to himself that it was because they were a danger to the people of the town. The Magik was starting erratic fires and disrupting their way of life.
The bitter feeling didn’t leave his mouth.
It got worse when he saw the fresh wanted poster with a reward of a quarter of a million credits. Interestingly there was no picture. Just a description of a male with blue-gray eyes and red hair. A rather unique description. Jango felt like he wouldn’t have trouble tracking down and identifying him.
Jango gritted his teeth and willed his conflicting feelings away. He collected Legacy, his trusty horse, and rode back to his humble little house.
It was well out of town. Jango liked the seclusion of it. A small house tucked neatly between the trees with a small garden and a small stable. It was simple.
Simple was good.
Jango put Legacy away and made sure to close the doors and cover the little windows if the rain started overnight.
He stepped into the house and lit one of the candles.
Its soft glow flickered off the things he had collected over the years. Some bits of furniture, a few books, Hunting trophies, some soft fabrics, a rug.
He set the candle in its holder on the table as he sat down. Out of his vest pocket, he pulled another letter. There was only one person who ever wrote him letters.
Not that he’d given the chance to the others. Technically he hadn’t even given one to Tahl --who surprised him every time she sent letters with ridiculously neat penmanship for a blind woman-- but Tahl was powerful in prophecy and even more powerful by sheer force of will. For the first year, she sent letters every month even though Jango never wrote one back. Eventually, he cracked and did.
He could picture her face. Beaming with a grin that touched on the side of too sharp. Jango wondered which one in the house would read the ones he sent back to her.
The many letters he had collected over the years sat in piles on the other end of the table. They were arguably Jango’s most prized possessions. He couldn’t be there for when the boys grew up, but Tahl --who was still as patient as ever-- was kind enough to keep him updated. Usually by sending letters once every month.
This one though was exceedingly early.
And part of Jango feared what that meant.
Dearest Jango,
I do hope the sudden arrival of this letter does not cause any undue stress upon you. I swear it that the boys are fine along with all others of the house.
But I write to you now concerning a vision that has grown in great intensity over the last few nights. A great change is upon us. You will have to make a choice and I fear it will set off a chain of events bigger than we could ever hope to imagine.
The vision has been frustratingly vague, and I’m afraid I cannot offer you much. But you will come across someone with hair that glows like copper ore in light and eyes that are similar to the seafoam scales of the West Bank sea dragons.
When you meet them, you will have to make a choice.
Listen to your heart and you will do what is right.
Best wishes, Tahl
Jango grit his teeth and tucked the letter away with the others.
That night he could barely sleep and when he finally did he saw bright blue and tasted burning blood in his mouth.
The next morning it was raining. Not heavily, but enough where it would dampen both the fire and the power of the Magik.
Tahl’s letter mocked him as he ate breakfast at the table.
He gathered his gear and set out with Legacy. The cloak he was using was keeping him fairly dry. Though cold still started to seep in the longer he road in the rain.
When Jango reached the edge of the burnt part of the forest it was probably about highsun. It was hard to tell with the cloud cover.
Jango tied Legacy to one of the trees that still had most of its leaves and would be able to protect her from the worst of the rain.
He proceeded into the scorched area alone. Ashes mixed with rain sloshed under his boots.
It was hard to do any decent tracking. The water was washing most of it away. Though Jango still caught small imprints of what looked like footprints.
There were no other hunters in the area.
Jango pulled out his crossbow and loaded a bolt. He felt very vulnerable out in the open like this. He was used to having trees and vegetation to hide him. Now it was only blackened remains of trees. They reached like narcotic fingers to the sky.
The tracks were faint and hard to read but Jango had been hunting for a very long time. Both magiks and animals. He knew how they moved.
Eventually, Jango came to the stop on a small ridge. There below were the remains of what once would have been a strong and old oak tree.
Jango’s instincts flared up. There would probably be a nice little hole to hold out in on the other side. His prey could be there.
With great care, Jango crept down the hill and around the base of the tree.
As he rounded it fully, crossbow raised he was not greeted with the sight of a raging man ready for a fight now that he had been found.
The crossbow nearly slipped from Jango’s hands as he rushed to disarm it and point it away from who he found.
It was a child who was shaking and looking overall miserable. He was all skin and bone, sharp angles and hallow cheeks. Tremors were running through his body while wide eyes full of fear stared back at Jango.
Jango moved quickly to the child, despite it probably not being the wisest of ideas. The child whimpered and curled further in on himself, never taking his eyes off Jango.
And then as Jango knelt before the child with hands held out and visible to show he was of no threat, he realized he would have to make a choice.
Somewhere Jaster was laughing at him. Tahl probably was too.
Despite being splattered in a concoction of ash and dirt, his hair was still a vibrant reddish hue. And upon closer inspection, those eyes were a startling seafoam.
There was no need to listen to just his heart because for once both his heart and head were in agreement. Like hell was he turning over a child to the empire.
He reached out with one hand. “Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you kid. Promise.”
The kid looked back at him with untrusting eyes and curled further in on himself. Those eyes looked too old to be on him. It made Jango’s heart ache.
“Listen you must be cold and hungry. If you let me help you I can get you food and somewhere nice and dry-“
“No!”
Jango nearly flinched back at the distressed cry.
“No dry! I’ll just set everything on fire again!” The little boy sniffled distraughtly.
Jango’s mind raced as he digested the new information. This kid wasn’t even liting the forest on fire on purpose. Jango would have bet credits that the boy was traveling with someone else. A teacher or trainer and for one reason or another they were not here to help the kid control his magik anymore.
Jango didn’t have that kind of knowledge. All he had were the suppression cuffs and he didn’t want to use them on a child. But the alternative was him not being able to convince the kid to come with him. “I have some bracelets. They could help you. They block the Magik so you wouldn’t set stuff on fire. Do you want to try them?”
The boy sniffled but seemed to brighten at the idea. “I won’t set things on fire?”
“No, you won’t.” Jango reached into a pocket and pulled them out. They were a little big, but Jango was able to get them decently tight.
The child let out a small gasp. “I can’t feel my magik anymore.”
“Yeah, that’s how they work, but it’ll come back when you take them off,” Jango assured slowly rising to his feet.
The kid scrambled out from under the tree and under Jango’s cloak. “Can I have food now please?”
Jango chuckled. “Yeah, I’m going to bring you somewhere safe with food.”
The kid nodded looking very enthusiastic about the prospect of it. And obediently stayed by Jango’s side as they walked back to Legacy and out of the burnt forest.
“Whoa.” The child peaked out from under the fabric at the horse. “She very pretty.”
“She is. Her name is Legacy and she's going to bring us home,” Jango said as he started to pack some of his gear away in the saddle bags and untie the lead from the tree. “I’m going to lift you up now so you can sit on her okay?”
The kid nodded and easily swung his legs over Legacy’s back as he got on. Jango was able to get on just behind him and with a little bit of nudging Legacy started to trot back home.
The ride home was going smooth even as the rain started to pick up in intensity.
Jango ignored his tearing heart as he realized that Cody would probably be about the kid's age now. How Jango should have been riding with his children.
“What’s your name?”
Jango looked down to see the kid looking up at him with curious eyes. There was still soot marking on his face.
“Jango.”
“Jan-go,” the kid repeated and wrinkled his nose. “That’s a weird name. My name’s Obi-Wan.”
Jango raised an eyebrow. “I have a weird name? What if I think you are the one with the weird name?” Obi-Wan was not a name Jango had ever heard before. Though it sounded vaguely Stewjon.
“Well, you’re wrong.”
That startled a small laugh out of Jango.
The rest of the trip went pretty much without incident, though there was a point where Jango had to pull Legacy off into some brush because he heard the sound of horses approaching.
The hunters rode by without noticing anything thankfully, but it prompted Jango to take the roads which were not used as often as they made their way back to Jango’s house.
They made it home before the really heavy rain started.
Jango was a bit damp but mostly dry. Obi-Wan was too, but he was also rather cold.
After securing Legacy, Jango ushered Obi-Wan inside and had him sit down in a chair after Jango was able to bundle him up with what blankets he had spare.
Obi-Wan sat there quietly as his shaking slowed down. Jango in the meantime quickly put together some chicken soup.
When it was ready and on the table, Jango had to urge Obi-Wan to slow down so he didn't choke. Obi-Wan slowed down a little bit, but still ate like a starving man. Which unfortunately made sense. Jango had no idea when the last time he would have eaten was.
It wasn’t recently.
Once Obi-Wan was done it was clear he was more than a bit drowsy. He didn’t protest as Jango scooped him up and brought him to his bedroom. Jango could spend a night with Legacy as, while hay was uncomfortable, it wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as the chairs he owned.
He gently tucked Obi-Wan into bed.
“Thank you, Jango,” Obi-Wan murmured as Jango turned to leave.
“‘Course kid.”
Jango shut the door behind him and let out a sigh. Tomorrow he would probably he to do some shopping. And get some clothes. He would need to hunt a bit more if he was going to make it through this winter. Hopefully the forest game would come back now that there weren't anymore fires.
The thought of turning Obi-Wan over to anyone made his gut churn.
And then he needed to see if there was anyone looking for Obi-Wan, either friend or foe.
But until then he needed to take care of a child. How the hell was he going to do that?