Chapter Text
Jango woke up to something vibrating under his chin, and Mij’s big hands starting to card through his thick fur.
“Come on, big guy, we’ll be landing on Manda’yaim in an hour, and your Buir wants you scrubbed up so we can move you to your quarters.”
Jango considered shifting back, but that sounded like it’d end in a mess, and also, that he’d just realized the vibrating under his chin was kitten purring, so he’d be sitting naked on an ik’aad.
Or, was it an ad’ika? Trasi had said he was too… hairy? Too much fur? She said he didn’t look like an ik’aad. But, if the ad wasn’t an ik’aad, then what species was he?
Jango didn’t remember much, if anything, of the rest of that conversation. He’d been rather disoriented for the past few days, barely coming in and out of focus for the little one to suddenly appear with more prey.
Okay, that made more sense. An ik’aad wouldn’t be catching as many lizards as the kitten did, maybe bugs, if particularly advanced, but not the amount and size of prey the kitten had managed while Jango had been a useless lump under a dead tree.
Jango glanced down at the kitten, noting that they were making air biscuits while dead asleep on their back. It looked like the kind of sleep you could only pray for. Jango was just a little jealous.
He looked up at Mij, who raised an eyebrow in question. When Jango snorted and started pawing at Mij’s lower stomach, he gave a nod, accepting that Jango would stay in that form. “Alright, this will make it easier for you when we get back. We can wheel you off to the Mand’alor’s medical suite, and you’ll be getting a human bacta bath. You’ll need at least two hours in your humanoid form to properly set and start to fix up your thigh. Luckily, this means you’ll only need a pair of crutches and two weeks in a thigh brace, instead of a month and a half in a full leg cast.”
Jango huffed, but was pleased with that idea. If he accepted a bacta bath every other day, he might be able to cut it down to only a single week, in the end. Hell, he’d accept one every day if he didn’t have to deal with bringing a brace to a humanoid every time he wanted to shift without hurting himself.
Mij was pulling out towels, probably bigger ones than the little one had used to dry off, since he clearly still smelled like overripe fruit and hadn’t had a real bath.
Speaking of, Jango sneezed once, startling the kitten awake, who gave a startled hiss before he looked around a moment, clearly embarrassed. Jango shook his head as Mij started to snort behind them, and then he sneezed again. “Alright alright, calm down, let me help you clear your nose out.”
It was weird to blow his nose as a husky, but it was leagues better than getting the neti pot. Jango and Arla would do anything to avoid the neti pot. Jaster was weird and accepted it. The kitten watched him from his cautious perch a foot away, meowing every once in a while. Jango gave him a funny look as he got his nose cleared of the tingling bacta and Mij started draining and removing him from the sling. He cocked his head to the side, and the little one mirrored it.
Jango gave a soft noise of pleasure as Mij started scrubbing down his back so he could soak up the thinned bacta. The little kitten gave a sigh of approval and slumped down on his stomach to watch them, looking pleased with himself for unknown reasons. He gave a little kitten yawn, which made Jango’s heart ache, and accepted the little lick Jango gave to the top of his head before Jango started getting scrubbed down.
Maybe he was just happy as a whole, to be well and in an area of safety. That made sense. He had been in such a little cage when the slavers had brought him out- was he his pronouns? Should he ask? He’d have to shift back to ask.
They were such a tiny little thing, and that cage had been so very small, Jango wondered if they’d been able to stand in it, and they definitely couldn’t have stretched out like they were now- oh big stretch! Jango watched with heart eyes as the little kitten raised their little rump so they could stretch their little paws as far as possible in front of them, giving a good muscle shuddering movement, and plopped down again in front of Jango’s right paw, leaning in so they could lick along the fur, before Mij gently nudged their little head off.
“Don’t lick that, ad’ika, your ori’vod has been soaking in that bacta for hours, doesn’t it taste icky?” The little one gave a little kitten growl, before going right back to Jango’s paw when Mij moved on, determinedly cleaning off Jango’s paw for him. Mij just sighed, going back to gently cleaning his back leg so he could prep it for a temporary cast.
Jango was stuck on that. Ori’vod. Mij called him an ori’vod! Does that mean he doesn’t think the kitten was little enough to be Jango’s ad -thank the manda, he’s too young for his own kid, he’d do it, but he’s too young for it- and Jango would be a big brother to them, or, does it mean that Jaster has maybe taken a liking to his sweet cub? Is Jaster going to adopt them?
He watched the kitten cleaning his paw, and the little one moved onto his ankle next. Mij was sighing again, swapping to a new towel so he could finish cleaning up Jango’s torso. “At least bacta shouldn’t hurt his tummy. Still kind of gross, though.”
Yeah. It was kind of gross, but the kitten had been eating lizards and bugs for the past day or two, so it probably wasn’t that gross for them. At least they were a nice little one, grooming him. He felt sort of pleased at that.
Trasi bustled in when Jango was just about dry and they were down to wiping him over with the fur wipes, and had a fitted cast for him, one of those ones that can be removed so Jango wasn’t stuck in one form or the other. “Finished synthesizing the fit for him a bit ago. Thank you for cleaning him up, Mij.”
Mij nodded, handing over the wipes so she could use a much gentler touch for the wound on his leg. She really was the shifted form specialist here, and seemed to have a sense of where Jango shouldn’t be touched. Mij had avoided that area himself. Shifted bones always seemed so fragile to him, and he was a little too conscious of the fact that both his forms were much bigger and stronger than their young alor’ad. It was her specialty to know how to handle shifters. “I hope Mory and the others are settling in?”
Trasi gave no sign she knew Mij was prodding, other than the light flush of indigo on her cheeks. “Killi and Resii will be fine when they get through the integration program. It’s always a little less intense for those born into that life, but even then, neither of them have been through what Mory was subjected to. She’s agreed to stay with me in the palace when we get to Manda’yaim.”
It wasn’t unusual to adopt people in this situation into your aliit, but Trasi had never actually dealt with this exact situation. She’d come with them since they weren’t sure what form Jango would be in, and if they’d need a veterinary physician instead. She typically took care of the aloriya’s new citizens as they came in shifted and unwilling or unable to transform for medical, plus the palace occupants themselves.
As you might imagine, that wouldn’t lead to much conversation with her patients, unless they were particularly good with force projection.
She finished with Jango’s broken leg, and had Mij hold it in place while she closed the cast around it, trying not to snap any of his fur in the latches and hurt him. Jango still gave it an annoyed look when it closed, and Mij could only hope it wasn’t hurting him. He’d already been given enough pain killer to last him a few more hours, unless he shifted, since that would gain him quite a few pounds.
Trasi and Mij started cleaning the rest of him so he wouldn’t dry all gross and crusty. “Don’t worry, Jango, when we get back to the palace you can shift and sit in a bacta tub for an hour. You should feel miles better after that.” She gave him some nice scratches to the space behind his ears as she cleaned around his scruff, feeling nice.
Jango just sighed, turning over when they asked so he could get his bottom half cleaned up. The kitten came over to press into his neck, purring as they licked up more bacta from the fur there, and Jango just huffed in amusement. What a weird little cub.
***
Jango was trying so hard not to shake his back leg. For one, any hit to it felt like sparkles at the moment, and for another, he shouldn’t try to remove the cast. That was just asking for Jaster to freak out and refuse to let him walk on his own.
To be honest, he needed to stretch his muscles out, and the walk to their quarters would work nicely.
Arla was transformed too, the border collie running out her energy by being the world's most annoying bother, zigzagging around the ship’s landing bay while Jaster tried desperately to get her to sit still, from his pathetically trapped position next to Jango, the little kitten sitting on his foot. The kitten had their little tail wrapped neatly around their paws, staring off at a random bolt on the floor when Arla dashed back into his line of sight, going down to the floor and wagging her tail as she looked at Jango.
Jango was trying to sit properly, but the cast was in his way, so it was splayed out to the side and Myles kept laughing at it.
Jango was going to sneak into his room when he was sleeping and just scream at Myles. Humanoid or husky, the man deserved it.
He huffed at Arla’s playful bouncing, noting the way she’d neatly rounded them all up in the hold near the landing ramp, even though they still had a good ten minutes till they landed. Arla came in at Jango, slowing down at the last second so she could lightly press her nose to his, and he ducked down in a shy manner that made their buir sigh in that lovestruck way that buir’e do when their ad’e were too cute to handle.
Gross.
Jaster moved down to a crouch, making an effort not to move the boot that tu’ika was sitting on, reaching out to scrub through Jango’s soft fur behind his ear. “Oh, my good ad’ike, being so sweet to each other.”
Jango went just a little lower, fully embarrassed now, and ended up laying down, wriggling over so he could nose into tu’ika’s side. They were just so tiny, and they startled a little at the nudge and mewed so sweetly, moving off Jaster’s boot and climbing right onto Jango himself, curling up in a little ball on Jango’s ruff. It was adorable.
But now Jango was the one trapped. He looked pleadingly at Jaster, who just laughed. That’s so rude.
Jango just gave a long sigh. And the little body on his neck inflated and deflated in their own little sigh. Yeah, that was adorable. Jango couldn’t help the happy tail wags at that.
“Are you sure he’s okay? He’s been so quiet since we woke him.” Myles asked, still amused, but clearly concerned. The only time Jango wasn’t talking in this form, was when he was passed out or sick.
Jaster gave a little shrug. “I think he’d prefer to be in his human form now. Unless he wants to go through having to put clothes on and find a wheelchair to get back to our quarters in, he’ll have to stay like this. We’ll be quick, and then you can sit in a bacta bath.”
Jango huffed his agreement at that. He would be stuck in this cast -as well as the human cast- for a good week or two, but at least after the bacta baths he’d be more steady and capable on two legs. He couldn’t imagine shifting right now without going cross eyed, maybe losing his lunch at this point.
Lunch. Right. His last meal was lizards. He shuddered a little, which managed to dislodge the kitten from his ruff, who gave a potions mew at their little paws landing on the metal floors, and Jango thought he finally got why they were jumping from person to person. The floor was probably cold on their little toe beans. Jango probably had a rougher texture to his paws, having grown up on a farm before they moved to Manda’yaim, and he likely felt the cold in his beans less than the little one.
He gave a low little growl as he felt them start to descend, something that made the kitten go low to the floor with a queasy look on their face, and finally struggled to stand when it felt like they weren’t moving anymore.
Arla, beloved ori’vod that she was, shoved her head under his side so he could lean against her while she helped him stand. The kitten cautiously stood up from their nervous creep, and darted back to Jango’s paws, leaning against him nervously as the ramp started to lower.
Jango didn’t give it much thought, but he leaned down to gently take hold of their scruff, getting a few piteous mews from them, but no actual struggle.
Jaster sighed. “I’m sure he can walk on his own, bubbas, I know you wouldn’t want to get carried to your room after getting hurt.”
Jango gave him an unamused scowl, and Myles was laughing at them again. “Jas, I think he’s just trying to keep the kitten from getting scared and running off. Plus, his little legs are very small, the walk to your quarters are practically a city away.”
Jango huffed once, giving Myles a thankful look, and started his slow hobble down the ramp to the port they’d landed in. It was a private port, but Jaster didn’t exactly care enough for decorum to be bothered about it. Arla slunk along at his side, their bodies touching as they walked and in eyesight of the kitten so she could nose at him.
The kitten proved they weren’t exactly frozen by the scruffing when they started to playfully bat at Arla when she nosed too close to them, the two of them turning it into a game of boops and swats. It was precious.
Kal was coming behind at a fast pace, and stopped at the guards at the entrance to the door out into the palace proper, speaking in low tones about Montross, asking if he was still in the cells and if anyone had tried to infiltrate to get him removed.
Jaster noted that there had been exactly one attempt, and Montross had been swept of any explosives and poisons, and hadn’t otherwise tried to harm himself.
Which meant he wasn’t brainwashed by Death Watch. He was a high ranking member. Jaster gave a little sigh, focusing on his ad’e and the new kitten.
If nothing, this whole situation got three women and a kitten shifter out of the hands of slavers. Trasi might as well say the adoption vows for Mory now, and Jango was proudly holding his little prize for any to see, which did result in a few soft coos from some passing maids as they welcomed their Mand’alor back home and asked if he needed a new set of rooms set up for the kitten.
Jaster gave Jango and the kitten a firm look before shaking his head. Jango settled the kitten on the floor for the moment, tongue lolling out in a pleased expression. “I think we’ll be keeping him with us for the time being. Maybe send a few baskets and a couple scratching and climbing posts to our quarters. He might appreciate somewhere to hide if he gets overwhelmed.”
Then maid nodded, giving a pleased Jango a gentle pat to his forehead that made him lean into her touch. She served them well, and rarely ever forgot personal preferences in the palace’s residents, if she had anything to do with their homes. She had quickly figured out how to get Jango and Arla settled in the palace years before, and the two of them adored her. “I’m glad you’re back, Alor’ad.”
She paused, getting a good look at the kitten, eyebrows furrowed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to set up a nursery?”
Jaster shook his head, giving a little smile. “Turns out, he’s not as young as he looks. Probably a preteen. Our guest room already has a bed in it, we can find out what he prefers when he’s back to a speaking form again.”
She nodded. “Alright. I’ll tell the quartermaster to get some ad sized kutes and playclothes for when he changes back, and maybe get him set up in the palace daycare if he doesn’t change back anytime soon. Oh, I just know a good little kitten will want a blanket or two for nesting, don’t you, cyar’ika?”
The kitten mewed once, sitting halfway on Jango’s front right paw, looking pleased with the idea. Jaster would leave any nesting ideas up to her, since she was always so good at that.
“Alright then, I’ll get those orders into the quartermaster’s office, you all settle in. It’s been a long few days, I think. I’m just glad all this fuss seems to have brought you a new little, Alor.”
They parted ways there, Jango scooping the kitten back up as Mij caught back up to them, looking pleased in a way that meant their medical staff had been properly doing their jobs while he was gone. Jaster considered the maid’s words, wondering if the kitten was his new little. Right now he seemed like Jango’s new little, but Jango as just too young to give Jaster bu’ad’e. Jaster forbade it. He wasn’t ready for all that.
But the little one needed an adult, since he didn’t have one himself.
Mij took over when they got back to their quarters, helping a nurse set up the foldable tub they used for bacta baths. Jango looked at it in dismay, gently curling up on a dog bed big enough for Jaster’s adult Pyrenees form, setting the kitten down.
The kitten looked around the room with interest. The karyai was the heart of any home, and Jaster had chosen quarters with a big one. It was a huge room a conversation pit that had been filled with nesting material for dogs, mostly a few blankets and too many pillows to count. The Pyrenees sized dog bed Jango was on was along a wall, halfway between the hallway to their rooms, and the opening to the kitchen. Jaster couldn’t help himself at times, often feeling the need to watch his aliit at a vantage point, till Arla got annoyed with him not joining the group and tried to herd him back into the nest.
The kitten seemed to zero in on the pit, coming over so they could get a good look at all the nesting material, but before they could take a leap inside, Arla shifted back to human, gently scooping him up. “Oh no no, if we give you the chance to get in there, we’ll be looking for you for days. Let’s get a good meal in you before you go explore the blankets, okay?”
She cooed, walking off with a grin to the kitchens while Jango huffed at his kitten being taken out of his sight. Rude.
“Arla, please put some clothes on before you cook.” Jaster’s voice was rather unconcerned, but Arla was a bit particular about clothes at times, saying it felt like just too much, which had led to a few bacon grease incidents in the kitchen. She made a huffing noise, but didn’t complain when Kal threw her the dress she’d accepted earlier that day, even though Jaster wished she’d get on something cleaner.
“Jan’ika, I’m making you pasta, one bark for red sauce two for white.” Jango responded with one bark and one spicy sounding growl. “Red, make it spicy, got it.” His next bark sounded thankful.
Jango laid his head on his front paws sadly, already missing his little purr machine. They had been with him for days now, and now, they are stolen. By his ori’vod.
Jaster knelt down next to him while the front door opened and a couple bacta concentrate containers were brought in, leaning in to pet him gently. “Don’t mope, bubbas, your leg will be safe to walk on in a couple days, you can go back to torturing my council then. Won’t that be fun? Ba’vodu Adonai already misses you screaming at him when his advisors are annoying.” Jango did perk up a bit at that, tail thumping against the bed a few times. Adonai was the leader of the New Mandalorians, and often had issues with his advisors getting out of control. It was easier to have Jango start screaming at them when they were saying something bad, since they often saw Jango’s annoyance before they’d listen to Adonai’s admonishment.
Jango was half sure they’d break off into an extremist group at some point, but what could extremist pacifists do? Not much. Maybe a sternly worded letter.
The medical bath was already smelling strong, and Jango put a paw over his nose in annoyance. “I know, bubbas, I think it’s time to change back to human, they’ll be done soon.”
Jango huffed, putting his head back on his paws. Give him a minute, he’s dealing with a lot here.
Jaster laughed, moving so he could unlatch Jango’s cast for him, holding it in place without it being closed around Jango’s leg. Casts were tricky, since the bone was broken in both forms, but at least Jango had leg bones in both forms, so he wasn’t exactly stuck in one form or the other. “I know I know, take a moment before you shift back, I guess. At least Ori’vod is making you something to eat. Get some strength back.”
Jango sat up again, taking a moment to breathe. This was going to make his head spin.
He could feel himself clenching his eyes tight against the sensation of the room spinning, but it actually distracted him from the feeling of broken bones shifting in his leg. For like, a second. “Ossik, it feels like it’s scraping my insides.”
Jango opened his eyes to find he was leaning against Jaster’s chest, Mij kneeling next to the broken leg so he could give him a new cast to hold his calf stiff, and it looked like he had a bacta injection for him as well. Jango just breathed hard at the feeling of being rewrapped. Hopefully his kitten was faring better than him.
***
Obi-Wan didn’t really know what to think about the Mand’alor of all people deciding he was going to be staying with them for a while, but at least he knew he had a place to stay that night. He hadn’t known that Jango was the son of a ruler, just that the slavers had said they were both going to the same owner, and Jango was sure to fetch an even higher price than Obi-Wan would in the end.
He’d accepted Jango scruffing him. He was still kitten sized, and the masters back in the temple said it wouldn’t actually hurt him till he was bigger, but he needed to start yowling about it the day it felt like the pressure was too much. They probably just wanted to make sure he didn’t run away. Someone his size could disappear into the palace and no one would find him for months.
They were going to put his new big buddy in a bacta bath, which was good because his leg was pretty bad off right now, and the living room they brought him to was really nice.
Arla, Jango’s sister, had said he could go to the nest in the center of the room after he’d eaten, which was good, because it looked so comfortable and nice. Maybe it’s where they slept when in shifted forms. Arla and Jango were both dogs, and he’s pretty sure their dad was too. At least, he thinks Jaster had talked about that when he’d cleaned Obi-Wan up.
Arla was sweet, and she felt like a big warm hug in the force, and she had really warm skin. He’d grumbled a little when she set him down on the table to pull on her long dress again, but she brought him up to her shoulder afterwards, letting him curl up against her neck as she looked through the cabinets.
She brought out something that made him start to purr the moment she opened it, making her laugh. “Yeah, I thought you might be hungry. Zipper fish are pretty close to tuna fish from the core, I think. It should be fine for your little tummy.”
She let him climb down her arm to the counter after she put half the can on a little saucer, and he eagerly chomped down on the best fish he’d had in months. Delicious.
He went between trying to neatly eat his meal, and watching her pull out some packages of sweet potato noodles, and a jar of premade sauce.
Honestly, that smelled delicious too. A little bit spicy for him, and she seemed to be adding more, but it smelled divine. It was such a shame that this little body could likely not handle any of that, plus, he was nearly full already, and he’d only had half his plate. It was sad, being so tiny. He wanted pasta too.
A single cut piece of noodle, rehydrated while Arla had been making the sauce, with the tiniest bit of sauce was placed on a lid in front of his plate, and Obi-Wan looked between the noodle and Arla for a moment, who gave him an amused smirk. “You won’t get the full flavors in that form, but a little taste can’t hurt.”
Obi-Wan chirped excitedly, giving the noodle a few delicate sniffs, before deciding it was a very good smell, and took it up.
Oh yeah, that was a very nice taste. It reminded him of when Master Ti made the younglings some dishes from her homeworld. She’d always adored cooking with the younglings, even if she’d carefully noted that a lot of what Obi-Wan made was edible to pretty much no one but himself. Fair.
He finished that, and started cleaning his paws, deciding he was finished for now. Maybe Arla would save the rest of that fish for him for later. He went over to her and bunted his head into her arm, purring heavily in thanks. She laughed, but gently nudged him back again. “Careful, stove is hot, tu’ika.”
Obi-Wan gave a happy little chirp, accepting being pushed back with a perk in his step. He was happy and full and Arla felt like hugs. He wondered if Jango was feeling as good as he was.
Wait… Jango was human now. He hadn’t had the chance to glimpse Jango’s human form on the ship, and now was his chance to see. He pawed at the edge of the counter to get Arla’s attention. He could jump it, but he still felt a bit tender all over, and didn’t want to risk falling and breaking something. “You want down, tu’ika?”
Obi-Wan nodded firmly, and she scooped him up, bringing him to the entrance of the kitchen. “Alright, don’t let anyone step on you. Don’t be afraid to hiss or screech if it comes close.”
Obi-Wan nodded again, not planning on doing so, but he could dart away fast enough if big feet came close. She left him there, and Obi-Wan sized up the room now.
Jango was in the medical tub, human, and he looked exhausted. He had dark hair, and the same skin tone as Jaster, and dark smudges under his eyes from days of sleeping rough with injuries. Mij had him hooked up to a monitor, but seemed to be talking to Jaster now, the two of them leaving Jango be for the moment.
Obi-Wan bounded over to where Jaster was standing at the bottom of the tub, and before either of them could ask if he needed something, started to climb the man’s leg. It must have startled them, but Obi-Wan ignored their gentle questions for his motives. Shh, he’s got a goal here!
He got to around Jaster’s hip, and lifted a paw to bat at Jaster’s fingers that came too close. No thanks, he has a goal!
Jaster replied in infectious laughter that he clearly tried to muffle so as not to shake him, and Obi-Wan just gave a few amused chirps back. He looked back at the tub, sizing up the height of it, and before any of them could stop him, took a leap at it.
“Tu’ika!”
“Oh my-“
Obi-Wan ignored them, looking up at Jango’s amused face while he paddled around in the nice warm water for a minute, making victorious little chirps of delight. Obi-Wan swam a while till he felt good and pleased with himself, and made his way to the head of the tub, climbing onto Jango’s abdomen and curling up into a little ball between his pecs.
It was nice here, and Jango brought a single finger up to rub between his eyes, and Obi-Wan just loved the way they all felt like love and family and hugs. He drifted off, warm and full and
Pleased.