Private Over The Garden Wall

[Jackie Rosso]

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Location: Veridia
Tags: Braze

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“Pfft, might as well have.” Jackie lamented, as if it it would’ve been better if The Strange Swordsman had finished the job. Clearly the zeltron was rather attached to his black leather jacket. “A new jacket wouldn’t be what I’d want, this one is all- Eh forget about it.”

Jackie then watched as Braze precisely collected a large number of the scattered credits around them into a nice pile. “Thanks… I can’t lose any of them. Not just so Master Valendale is disappointed, but so that fuzzball Roten won't nag me about it for the next month.” Jackie said as he knelt down to start picking at the pile of credits. Stuffing them in his pockets since now since the pouch he had was busted.

“Huh?” Jackie asked, looking up at Braze. “You’re the one who was holding his own. I only got my hit in because they made a mistake. I was just lucky.” A common excuse that Jackie employed. He’d always been pretty ‘lucky’. Lucky enough to not end up like his friends.

Despite how panicked Jackie was a moment ago the shock had subsided pretty quickly. His natural love of thrill seeking making near death experiences is not all that uncommon for him even at his early age. Jackie knew how to take these things in stride. “Well I’m pretty pissed about them tearing up my jacket. Not really thrilled with my performance either.” After saying that Jackie looked around some before running his hands over the ground, digging through the leaves. Looking for the lightsaber hilt Braze had handed him.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jackie Rosso

Braze scanned the area, searching for a few more stray coins before moving to scoop them up.

"You still had to use your noodle to knock him out the way you did. Give yourself some credit—you definitely made the difference," Braze said, offering an encouraging smile. "My friend Loomi 's pretty handy with a needle. She might be able to patch up your jacket for you."


He adjusted his stance, shifting the weight of his thoughts before continuing, "I train my sword arm pretty much every day. It wouldn't be fair to compare you and me." Braze paused, the realization dawning on him—how often others told him not to measure himself against anyone else. It was advice that sounded simple but felt infinitely harder to follow. Deciding to steer the conversation toward something more productive, he added, "But if you want to get better at combat, I'd be happy to practice with you. I could show you a few techniques to help you improve. I've had a lot more time to train, but with some effort, you'll be holding your own in no time."

He scooped up another stray coin, his tone softening. "And you're alive and unharmed—that's what I call a victory."

As he walked, ferrying the gathered coins into the pile, his expression turned curious. "Is Roten giving you a hard time?" he asked, tilting his head. "Because if he is, I could go have a word with the little purple fuzzball." His brow furrowed briefly before his voice grew more thoughtful. "Would your master really be disappointed if you told them what happened? Accidents happen, you know. Everyone makes mistakes."

Braze's gaze wandered for a moment as he considered the situation. While he didn't know Matthew well, he'd heard the man had a habit of donating large sums of credits to good causes. That kind of reputation spoke volumes, though it left Braze wondering how much pressure came with it.

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[Jackie Rosso]

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Location: Veridia
Tags: Braze

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“That could work. Either that or I’ll go beg Matthew to have one of his most talented tailors to get it fixed up.” He did recall the brief encounter he had with Loomi at the orientation. He didn’t know that she was some kind of seamstress.

“It would probably be nice to practice, meanwhile I’m being taught the value of not spending money. Maybe I can just get by with chucking sacks of credits at bad guys. Also that saber you handed me was curved, it was kinda weird. Is it broken?” Jackie asked curiously, while still digging through the leaves to try and find it. Wondering if the hilt had been deformed from damage it had taken. Eventually backtracking to where he had been when he lost it. Scrambling around before he finally found it it held it up for Braze to take back.

“Roten is just paranoid. Just want to assume the worst. Big part of the reason I don’t wanna lose any of the credits. To prove him wrong. That I’m not just an irresponsible brat. But I guess you’re right. I don’t think Matthew would be too upset if I lost a few credits over what happened… Well… I weren’t supposed to be out here anyways, so maybe he will.” Jackie said as he finally picked himself up off the ground.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jackie Rosso

"Matthew has tailors?" Braze asked curiously, tilting his head. "I suppose that makes sense," he chirped softly before adding, "Did you tell him you're interested in combat training?"

When Jackie mentioned the saber, Braze's expression shifted into mild indignation. "Broken? No, it's not broken! It's specially designed for better, quicker control. The curve makes the blade align more naturally with your arm when you hold it. It's easier to aim and 'point-shoot' that way—especially since it's also a blaster," Braze explained with a bit of pride in his voice.

His grin turned wry as he added, "Sounds like you and Roten don't get along very well. Do you guys need some friendship counseling?"

Braze tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I'm sure we can get her fixed up right as rain. I've got this reptile-skin jacket I pulled the sleeves off of—I could probably give you some material to patch up any holes." He offered a small shrug before his tone grew slightly more serious.

"But yeah... this is exactly why you shouldn't wander off. Not that I'm one to lecture—I hated being stuck on Coruscant all day. That place was awful. You don't know what it's like, feeling trapped within stone walls all the time. It's so... suffocating."

Braze glanced at Jackie, his expression softening as he continued, "We should probably notify the local authorities about what happened. I won't tell your master—it's not my place—but I do expect you to come clean about it on your own. Don't blame me, though, if they interrogate me about it later."

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[Jackie Rosso]

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Location: Veridia
Tags: Braze

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“Well, no not yet. I guess I kinda just presumed he’d wanna start teaching me that since I figured that’s what Jedi are supposed to learn and do.” Jackie replied before listening to Braze’s explanation over why their saber hilt was shaped the way that it was. “Oh… Well it felt weird to hold, I also didn’t realize that it was a gun too, that also sounds strange.” The zeltron added, expressing his opinions on the weapon even if they were unwelcomed. “Although the balance was nice I guess, good sturdy craftsmanship as well.” He could at least add some positives he saw briefly. As something of a mechanic himself he could recognize that.

“Huh? Of course not. Roten is just a weird fuzzball. Probably off burying the credits like the little pirate he is. Also I don’t know if I wanna ruin my jacket with some nasty reptoid skin.”

As Braze explained what being ‘stuck’ in coruscant felt like Jackie gave him a skeptical look. “Well I’ve been in my fair share of holding cells so I think I can empathize a little. You’re probably right. But before that I gotta make sure I clean up any of the missing credits. I don’t want any Espos confiscating it as “evidence” Jackie said, making sure to add finger quotes at the end.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jackie Rosso

"Typically, when a youngling becomes a Padawan, around the age of twelve, that's when they get their first lightsabers," Braze explained, his tone steady. "It's part of a tradition called the Gathering. Most younglings only get to practice with training sabers before that, though. Those usually have safety locks on them, so they're pretty limited... You probobly need to learn the basics. "

He brightened visibly at the kind words, "Well, thank you," he said lightly. "It's okay. I guess it is a bit weird."

With that, Braze nodded and began scanning the area, intent on gathering any other stray credits he could find.

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