Day 27: Breakfast

[lighthearted]

Day came too soon.

Sora hadn't been able to find Rena, had instead been forced to crumple onto the grass of the recreational field and bleed all over himself, and hadn't even accomplished what he'd been sent out to do. What he'd been entrusted to do. He didn't know how he was going to be able to face Renji and the others, but he also knew he wasn't going to hide from them, either. That would just be low, after all, and he was ready to face up to the consequences.

He didn't try to make excuses for himself. Even though there had been a Special Counseling patient, they had managed to take her down by sheer numbers. The fact that he hadn't seen any sign of Rena was what had him the most worried. He hoped he could find her today.

The boy laid in his bed for a good while that morning before his nurse finally came in to collect him. She clucked over the bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and leg, and asked him if he was okay to walk.

Once Sora assured her he was fine (he didn't really want to use crutches, as that would just attract attention to himself, and he didn't need others worrying over him), they made their way to the cafeteria. Sora yawned and winced against the bright light of morning - it seemed even earlier than usual, and he realized why when they entered the cafeteria and found it empty.

The boy shuffled over to grab a chocolate chip pancake, a bowl of cereal, and a glass of milk (good for the bones, or so his mom had always told him) before settling at a table. He kept an eye on the door, hoping he would see Rena walking in soon.

Comments

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo sighed, outwardly pretending to be slighted, but all the while plotting in his head. "I guess you've done this a long time, huh?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"My entire life." He was hatched from a cloning vat on Kamino thirteen years ago. He'd trained for nine years, then gone to war. That was it.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

"Woooooow!" Hellmaster continued to act interested. "What did you parents think of that?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"I never had any." He hardly had a concept of what a parent was, really. The definition seemed to vary.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Ah, one of those sorts. The warrior "without parents". Yes, he knew that type.

"No parents?" He blinked, playing innocent, "Surely you had some."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"None. I'm a clone. A genetic replica of another person." Not totally a replica- he had heard that Jango Fett had been far too antisocial to make a good infantry man. The only pure clones had been part of the GAR, and were all dead or too old to fight anymore.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Clone?

"Oh! Like a copy?" Phibrizzo nodded. Yes, that sounded about right. "Clone" was just a synonym for copy, wasn't it?

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Sort of." It wasn't totally accurate, but most people never understood it anyway.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Hmm...Copy technology was limited to the best of Phibrizzo's knowledge, and that which was known wasn't any where near perfect. Still, if this guy was a copy, he must have been worth something. Ordinary people generally weren't copied.

"Who are you a copy of?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"The galaxy's best bounty hunter." Dead for twenty-one years now, at least. Long before he was hatched. Still, the Fett clones still out-performed the rest of their fellow soldiers.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Bounty hunter? Bounty hunters were hardly impressive, though the best one in the...galaxy?

"I...don't believe I am familiar with this individual." He put a finger to his mouth. "What's his name?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Jango Fett." The last widely known Mandalorian in recent history. He knew next to nothing of the culture that had shaped Fett's success, apart from the fact that they were the last people you wanted to see fighting on the side of your enemies.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo beamed. "And what was his gimmick?"

Every bounty hunter had a gimmick, like that one with his "howling sword". What was his name? Oh, it didn't matter...

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

622 blinked. "He didn't have one. He just survived everything that no one else could." The Jedi had needed 'gimmicks'. And look where that got them.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo kept the grin plastered on, but rolled his eyes mentally. So this meant that he didn't have SKILL, per se, just luck. Pathetic.

"What did he survive, Mister?"

Yes, keep buttering him up- why not?

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

He had to think about that. It wasn't really common knowledge among the clones. Commander Akobi had found it interesting, however. "Several wars, serving as the leader of the Mandalorians, and over a decade in bounty hunting."

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

"What's a Mandalorian?"

If nothing else, he could at least learn a few local terms. Assuming this man was local.

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"A race of fighters. They choose their leader by consensus over whoever is the most powerful and fit for the job. I personally know very little about them. I'm genetically Mandalorian, but not raised as one." And he had never really felt like he was missing anything important. He probably should have, but there just wasn't really time or the ability to think about it.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo looked him over. "You look like any other person." Then again, who was he to judge? He never paid much attention to humans on an individual basis. "You're a strange copy, Mister."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"I look like all the rest. And it's not strange for a clone." Did this kid think he was supposed to have Fett's memories or something? Why would he? You couldn't pass on memories like that.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo decided not to push the issue further and instead motioned to food before the Storm Trooper. "Is something wrong? You're not eating all that quickly."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"No." He hadn't been paying much attention to his food, once the kid had really stopped making much sense with the questions. He started eating again. It all tasted funny, but really nice, compared to rations.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo smiled at him. "Are you going to eat all?" He pointed with his fork. "Or can I have some?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"I'm going to eat it. You can get more food here, can't you?" He had taken what food that was enough for now, and no more than that. It didn't make sense to take more than that.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

"Hmmm," The child lord cocked his head. "You really are a no nonsese sort."