A Change of Pace (ARCHIVE)

Chapter Two: Arrival

Anakin fiddled with his short initiate's braid, heading towards the shop Kekrou worked at so he could buy some parts for his pod racer. Kekrou had encouraged him to build it, since Anakin was skilled with mechanical things and he was over all just curious how it'd turn out.

"I don't take Republic credits!"

Anakin turned at the voice of his former owner. He saw a man in a cloak, presumably the one who tried to use Republic credits. He only approached after Watto went inside, chuckling, "Watto only takes peggats, but I know a place that takes credits."

"Lead the way then." He followed behind Anakin, and an older girl joined them. Anakin made idle chatter with her, learning that her name was Padmé, and the man's name was Qui-gon. He led them into the shop, grinning as he saw Kekrou.

"Jaieh!" He called out, and Kekrou looked up suddenly. "Ani! Hey there kiddo." He ruffled Anakin's hair, then stopped in his tracks when he noticed Qui-gon and Padmé. He stood up straight and crossed his arms, "I see. The Order finally got back out in the backwaters huh?"

Briefly, Anakin felt Kekrou's distress, and looked at him in worry. Had Anakin done something wrong? "No, no I'm not mad you brought him here Ani. A little startled, that's all. Go get the parts you need, I need to talk with Qui-gon."

Anakin hurried off, leaving Kekrou and Qui-gon alone. "Sebra what in the nine hels are you doing out here? Why did he call you Master, don't you have a padawan?"
"Well first off, I'm not Sebra. My name is Kekrou Naru. Secondly, I started teaching him in case I could ever get back to Coruscant. So he can have a life better than this."

Kekrou rubbed his eyes, "Anakin and I already have a training bond. I recently freed him and his mother."

"Do you have a midichlorian count?"

Kekrou shook his head. "No. I didn't have anything to do that with. Take one if you must."

He started to walked away, signaling to Anakin that he could walk back over. They exchanged parts for peggats, and Anakin gave a grin. Qui-gon cleared his throat, "We were headed to Coruscant. We could give you passage."

Anakin and Kekrou shared a look, and Kekrou nodded, "Yes, please that would be great."
' 'Anakin go tell Shmi that we have passage to Coruscant.' '
' 'On it Jaieh.' '

"I presume you're looking for something? Otherwise he wouldn't have brought you here." Kekrou leaned on the counter, one of his lekku curling. He had to bite back a laugh as Anakin relayed to him what Qui-gon had tried. It was several seconds of held in chuckling before he finally managed, "If Jedi mind tricks worked on Watto, Jinn, I would have done one years ago."

"Anakin said you take credits." Padmé finally spoke up. "That we do, but if my intuition is right, Watto had what you're looking for. Give me a second." He stepped into the back, letting his rather understanding boss know that he was going to be leaving Tatooine soon, that it had come out of the blue as well.

He was wished well, and sent on his way. Kekrou walked them back to his house, needing to grab what peggats he had. Shmi and Anakin were in high spirits. Before they left, Shmi warned Kekrou that there was a sandstorm on the way.

Watching Kekrou negotiate with Watto turned out to be a fun spectacle. He was skilled in dealing with people like him, and he eventually negotiated Watto into a corner where the Toydarian had to concede.