Call Me Corbin

He chews on the inside of his cheek, rubbing the back of his head.

“I’m just worried.”

“OK, THAT’S IT! TIME’S UP!” He began to walk toward the door. ”I’ll take that as a ‘no’. I hope you enjoy the rest of your life, however short or lonely it might be.”

“No.” She walks up behind the man, her gaze strong, “What are you doing, offering people things that do not exist?”

He turned his attention back to the little man.

"Yeah, why do this?"

“Two minutes? For what?” Estelle turned sharply to face Corbin, frowning deeply in concern, “Corbin what is going on?”

Corbin shifted slightly.

”..This man says he can grant me any wish I want, for a price. He said the price is my first born child. He’s offering in return to either make me a great jedi, or to keep my family safe at any cost.”

“Or both!” he pipped up helpfully. ”Tick-Tock, dears.”

Estelle raised an eyebrow, sighing somewhat sadly, “Corbin….you already are on your way to being a great Jedi, for your age you are, and I trust your family is strong. Sometimes things will happen, trust me, I know. But you cannot expect all to always be well, and you cannot place it all on your shoulders. And this does not sound safe.”

He chews on the inside of his cheek, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm just worried."

He looked over quickly.

“Estelle?”

The golden man turned to the young woman and he looked her up and down. ”Ah! Young love, is it?” He made a squeal of delight deep in his throat. ”How lovely. Two minutes.”

“Two minutes? For what?” Estelle turned sharply to face Corbin, frowning deeply in concern, “Corbin what is going on?”

Corbin shifted slightly.

"..This man says he can grant me any wish I want, for a price. He said the price is my first born child. He's offering in return to either make me a great jedi, or to keep my family safe at any cost."

He swallowed and ran his fingers through his hair, thinking.

“It’s a simple question, dearie.”

“There’s nothing ‘simple’ to me about it. This is my future family I’m considering giving up”

Estelle walks into the room, having heard voices, and frowns at the sight of Corbin talking to some strange man.

“What is going on? Is everything alright?”

He looked over quickly.

"Estelle?"

He swallowed and ran his fingers through his hair, thinking.

“It’s a simple question, dearie.”

"There's nothing 'simple' to me about it. This is my future family I'm considering giving up"

“Must I decide now? Or may I think about it over for a while?”

“I’ll give you…five minutes.”

“I…don’t know.”

He looked at his bare arm as if checking a chrono. ”Four and a half minutes.”

He swallowed and ran his fingers through his hair, thinking.

A Simple Outing

He sits down across from her this time, catching his breath lightly before carefully setting up the board.

“This, is chess. The object of the game is to capture the king.”

He touches the piece in question.

“Each piece on the board here, can move a different way. So you have to plan very carefully on how you are going to move each piece. The game is one of strategy, my mom taught me when I was little”

He gives a quick smile before carefully giving her a run down of what each piece does. Showing her so she’d remember better.

“Understand?”

She listens carefully as he explains, running her finger along the edge of the table absently, then nodding at him.

“I think so. It seems rather straightforward.”

He smiles at her nod.

"Excellent. Then I'll move first."

He takes his first piece and moves it. The game taking quite a long time, going on for hours easily.

“Must I decide now? Or may I think about it over for a while?”

“I’ll give you…five minutes.”

"I...don't know."

“…IF I agree….what would happen to my children I may have to give you?”

“They’ll be safe. I promise, as part of the deal.”

“What if I end up having no children?”

“Then I guess I’m out of luck, aren’t I?”

"Must I decide now? Or may I think about it over for a while?"

“…IF I agree….what would happen to my children I may have to give you?”

“They’ll be safe. I promise, as part of the deal.”

"What if I end up having no children?"

He frowns.

“My first born??”

“Well, who knows if you’ll even HAVE children, dearie. It’s a fair deal. Though if you want to both protect your family AND be a great Jedi, I’ll need two children.”

He grinned at the boy and steepled his fingers. ”It’s not that hard of a decision. Either you want to protect your family or you don’t.”

"...IF I agree....what would happen to my children I may have to give you?"

callmecorbin

A wish to protect your family, no matter what the cost. To be a great Jedi. I can make that happen.

thepricepaid

You can?…How?

~*~

A simple deal, for a simple price.

…What kind of a price?

Nothing much.

Your first born.

He frowns.

"My first born??"

callmecorbin

A wish to protect your family, no matter what the cost. To be a great Jedi. I can make that happen.

thepricepaid

You can?…How?

~*~

A simple deal, for a simple price.

...What kind of a price?

A wish to protect your family, no matter what the cost. To be a great Jedi. I can make that happen.

You can?...How?

A Simple Outing

He grins.

“Well then, I’ll teach you. Right now.”

Corbin gives a firm nod, standing with a grunt. Wincing lightly, rubbing his ribs carefully as he shakes his head. He turns, carefully limping over a little cupboard on the other side of the room.

She frowns in obvious concern about him, fidgeting awkwardly in place until he returns to the table with the game. She stares at it, confused, having never seen anything like it before.

He sits down across from her this time, catching his breath lightly before carefully setting up the board.

"This, is chess. The object of the game is to capture the king."

He touches the piece in question.

"Each piece on the board here, can move a different way. So you have to plan very carefully on how you are going to move each piece. The game is one of strategy, my mom taught me when I was little"

He gives a quick smile before carefully giving her a run down of what each piece does. Showing her so she'd remember better.

"Understand?"

A Simple Outing

He smiles, kissing the top of her head.

“Good, now drink your coffee. Trust me, it’ll help keep you awake. So, what should we do to keep ourselves entertained? I have chess, if you play”

She smiles warmly back, taking another drink from her mug, and shrugging.

“Honestly I have never played. There was not too much that we did back home when I was younger, game wise, and on Coruscant I worked the majority of the time.”