deercountry | The Building Blocks and other assorted tales!

Maul is in Lumenwood for a few hours. Now that he's shed his skin and gotten back to his normal Zabrak self, he's feeling pretty good, feeling almost shiny and new as if he was in tip-top condition now. He's walking along when he suddenly sees a fathier that's pretty much all legs go zooming past at top speed. And there on top riding the beast while screaming at the same time was....Luz? Yep, of course it'd be Luz.

Of course, rather than help, Maul just proceeded to laugh and laugh at the sight, especially when the fathier decides that the building now blocking its path is of no consequence, and subsequently goes vertical and starts running up the side of the building. Luz better hold on tight!

Oh sure, LAUGH at her misfortune! Granted, a little girl hanging onto a fathier for dear life screaming her head off is actually pretty funny, though Luz certainly doesn't think so right now.

"No, NO, DON'T RUN INTO THE BUI-"

And Darth Maul's warning about fathiers running up things is right on the money. Luz is holding on with everything she has, and scared as she is, she couldn't help but think this was a lot like riding the staff.

Only without any notion that she might be OK during this, and Luz let's out another yell once the fathier leaps off the building and hits the ground, continuing at top speed.

Maul continues to howl with laughter as Luz holds on while the fathier runs willy-nilly and goes wherever it decides it decides its whims will take it. He's keeping an eye on Luz to make sure she doesn't fall off from a great height while the fathier runs vertically and then leaps back down to the ground.

He lets this continue for another few minutes before he's able to get himself back under control. Deciding enough is enough, as he's afraid Luz might get hurt the longer this goes on, he goes into the nearest grocery shop and buys a bag of eggplants. He goes back out and takes one out, whistling loudly to get the alien beast's attention. "Do you want a treat? Come on. Come over here." The fathier makes a beeline for the Zabrak and skids to a stop right in front of him. He slowly feeds the eggplant to it, letting the animal naturally bite off large chunks of the vegetable.

He looks up at the small rider. "Having fun?" He says with a particularly evil glint in his eyes.

Seriously, why was he laughing while she was going on a dangerou-wait, no, it was Darth Maul. It would be strange if he wasn't laughing at her misfortune. Still, it was a little rude considering she was trying to make sure the fathier got proper exercise!

In any case, she was holding on as best as she could as the fathier continued to run as fast as it could and only seemed to stop when it heard Darth Maul's whistle and took off toward him. When it reached Darth Maul it's sudden stop had Luz sprawling, and she fell down in a heap in front of Maul.

She groaned, and looked up at the Sith. "Never better," she said hoarsely. "Give me a second, my spine is trying to get back into alignment."

"I recommend simply replacing it with a metal one. Any problems with my back have been cut in half since I did." Get it? Cause he was cut in half? No, he's not funny, someone tell him never to try and have a sense of humor ever again.

Having lived with the Sith Lord for many months before he'd given them to the Disaster House, the fathier is well-familiar with their old owner and happily nuzzles him after swallowing down a good bit of eggplant. He pets the soft nose while he speaks to Luz. "You're not doing too bad. There's room for improvement but the fact you stayed on as long as you did is a good first step." Maul never hands out compliments lightly, so when he does, you can be certain he means them.

"No thanks. I'll try to make do with my weak regular one. I'll hit you up if I ever break mine though."

Luz did think it was slightly funny but was pretty sure she'd never make a joke like that at his expense.

She looked over at the fathier, and even with dirt all over her face and some scrapes, she was still beaming at the pet.

"Aw, she missed you! Yeah, I've had practice with them, though I'll admit this was a the longest I stayed on. It's kind of exciting!"

In a terrifying kind of way, which was about the same thing in Luz's book.

"Yes, there is a reason they are used for racing back in my home galaxy. It is quite a beautiful sight to see a whole herd of them go galloping down a racing track together with all those long legs and lean bodies gracefully moving along." Maul's not usually an eloquent sort but occasionally he can string together a few words that sound a bit poetic.

Maul breaks off another piece of the eggplant and feeds it to the fathier, watching as its double set of teeth chews the stringy vegetable thoroughly before she swallows. "Have you decided to give them names yet? I didn't for I was afraid I'd grow to attached if I did. I'm certain Savage will make me start sleeping outside with them if I bring home anymore animals." No he wouldn't but he would make his displeasure known.

"I really did like the ride, even if it was totally unexpected and I thought I was going to die," Luz commented, realizing that it sounded very much like she didn't care for it when in fact part of her was a little thrilled (though less so about totally eating the dirt). "It'll be great to see them in their element once they get more situated!"

"I haven't, only because I didn't know if anyone in the house wanted to name them too. I didn't want to presume that only I got to name them!"

Says the girl who decided they NEEDED fathiers to begin with. Luz has a very strange way of thinking.

"I recommend a helmet if you are to continue," Maul suggests. He is very serious about that, falling off a fathier at top speeds is no joke, and as amusing as he finds watching Luz flail around on top of one he doesn't really want to see the young girl hurt.

There is no denying her logic, for it is rock solid...maybe. "Hmmm, well, there is no naming themes for fathier the way there are for some cultures in the galaxy--" Like the Nightkin Zabrak and the animals that they kept as pets, something that Maul has kept up with his own animals here as well. "--so anything really goes for them."

"I think that's a good idea. I got pretty lucky that I didn't bust my butt with these things, so it might be for the best that I don't tempt fate. Imagine if my first ever death was because I wasn't properly prepared for my own pet companions!"

He brought up a good point, and really, wasn't it time she came up with some names?

"Ok. In that case, I think..." She looked at the brownish one, "...I'll call YOU Delyn and I'll call YOU..." She stared at the Black one a moment, "Mila."

"Don't even joke about that. It would be the least-dignified death anyone will ever have here." Really, a shattered skull or snapped neck because she fell off was just lame. At least go out fighting a monster or something!

Maul considers the names for a moment before he nods his approval. "I am sure they will like them." He strokes the long nose of Mila, causing the ears of the fathier to perk up in a show of affection.

"I don't want that to happen! With all the monsters I avoided when I was in Deerington, to break my streak for not taking the right precautions would be pret-ty embarrassing. Besides, now I can think about making myself a helmet and knee pads for this exact situation!"

Definitely beat the idea of dying.

"Aw, they still like you! And yeah, I think the names will fit. I got it from two pretty strong people!"

"Good. Be sure to make some for the rest of the house," Maul says, taking his hand up further and rubbing behind Mila's long, pointy ears now. She made a trilling sound like she was happy. "Except for perhaps Fern. I'm not sure one can bruise or break when they are made of grass."

"Then they shall definitely grow into them," Maul observes. Names have a certain significance where he is from and he figures the same is true even for the pets one can own.

"I don't know who else would take them out for walks besides me though. Varian probably wouldn't because of his leg, and Ahiru and Luca would probably be risking life and limb there. Maybe if I asked Reaper or Fern, they might help there."

Yup, Fern would pretty much be fine there, and she couldn't think of anyone tougher than Reaper, save for Maul himself.

"They sure look like they're already getting pretty strong! I might have to find a really good place in the woods for them to safely graze and run around."

"This is true but you never know when one might be tempted by a fathier. Or when this place might suddenly compel one of them to become a daredevil." Granted, a helmet probably wouldn't be of much use if someone from the Disaster House suddenly became that reckless anyway, but it paid to be prepared!

"Yes, the two of them are best suited for this particular task. Reaper might if he grows fond of them. I gave him a rancor as a present some time ago and he loves the beast dearly now." Even if it still irks Maul he gave such a magnificent creature the ignoble name of Crouton.

"If you do need help with them, don't hesitate to call on me. I am no expert but I can at least share of what I know to make things a bit easier for you."

"Guess that means we better keep an eye on them then! That, or find a place for them to graze and take them there regularly. So far they seemed to be getting along well enough with our Omens and Lorraine."

Who knew that Fathiers would get along well enough with a chicken?

"Aw, who knew he was such a softie? Don't tell him I said that."

She had an idea that Reaper was very much NOT a softie, at least not on the surface level. He was clearly very scary if you weren't on his good side.

"Of course I'll ask you! I don't want them to forget you, after all. It looks like they're still pretty fond of you too!"

"Yes, they do seem to have very even-keeled tempers." Maul had made sure of that before he ever decided to give them to the Disaster House. He didn't want them to have to deal with bad-tempered pets on top of every else they dealt with on a regular basis.

"Never. He'd be irritated to hear I even told you this much," he says. Reaper likes his fearsome reputation just as Maul does, even if they keep finding themselves in situations where it shows off their softer sides.

Maul's face colors just a little bit with the Vileblood underneath the skin as Luz enthusiastically says she will call upon him for help. It's true, Maul is fond of them, given he took care of them from the time they were small babies for nearly a year.

"I won't lose hope though! They're a little untruly now, but I'm sure they just need to grow into themselves and get to run around more! Just got to make sure they'd properly fed and everything else!"

Luz was a bundle of enthusiasm when it came to things she really wanted to see through.

"Oh, I bet! But I'm not going to run that in his face: he's got his secrets just like anyone else."

Luz was learning that Reaper and Darth Maul were just kind of similar to each other that way.

"I'm guessing you're fond of them too then."

"You have the right idea of it. They just need to be trained up properly and they will be just fine." Hopefully to the point they weren't going to run around and destroy buildings willy-nilly with their indestructible bodies.

"Yes, he does. I know some of them but I doubt I'll ever know all of them." Reaper likes to play things close to the chest. It took over a year for Maul to even learn his real name, and even now, there's still much of Reaper's past that he doesn't know about that turned him into the undead wraith that he is today.

"Well.....yes," he finally admits, hating to show any sort of sentiment or favoritism towards the creatures he's kept as pets for any length of time. "It has been most satisfying to see them grow up from spindly-legged little colts, becoming bigger and bigger."

"I'll make sure I'm doing that with them every day! I think it'll just be a matter of time that they get used to where they live and how far they can roam around before they can come back. I'll probably have to find a way to keep them out of the BAD forests though."

The Fathiers were strong and would probably be fine against most regular forest animals, but the same could not be said for some of the darker places in Trench.

"That's probably most people! They all have their own secrets, you just have to let them slowly allow you in, and then maybe they'll tell you more. Better not to rush things though."

Sometimes Trench just made the secrets tumble out anyway. Annoying, but true.

"I thought so! They are pretty cute, and I'm glad they can still fit out back with Lorraine! I just hope they never get curious about the taste of chicken."

She doubted it though.

"I have faith in your abilities to train them right," Maul says with confidence. Luz is already a capable job with them, so Maul knows she'll be able to get the fathiers on the right track.

"Yes. I have my own ways of finding things out from him." Mainly talking with him when they were both in a post-sex haze but Luz hardly needed to know about that part of their relationship.

"Well, I shall leave you to the task of getting them back home." He pats Luz on the shoulders.

"You can count on me! Don't be surprised if you see me riding them again around Trench! I'll make sure they get their breath of fresh air!"

It would probably be awhile though. They were pretty strong, after all.

"Oh, sure, I bet you do!"

Meant in the most innocent way possible, because Luz was certainly NOT thinking of that at all.

"Yeah! Wait, really?"

Uh oh.

"Yes. Very much so." Maul's lips twitched at Luz's assurance he could find things out from Reaper. Really, it's completely amusing that everyone in the Disaster House pointedly does not think of the two of them as having a sexual relationship. Granted, considering Reaper and Maul were something akin to uncles to them all, that was a given.

He turns back at Luz's words. "Unless you would like some help getting them back to their stables."

Luz was going to stay in that happy, blissful unawares of courtship as she was still aware of how little she understood about all of it. Sexual relationships was just MORE uncharted territory she knew she wasn't ready for.

And no, she absolutely did not want to imagine Reaper and Darth Maul engaging in that.

"I wouldn't mind it, this time!"

The Building Blocks and other assorted tales!

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