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"It was an inoffensive joke," Maul defended himself immediately. "Even Savage laughed!"
And Savage was an adorable little boy, nothing to do with the fact that he was Maul's brother, it was just a fact.
"You set off the fire alarm," Master Rancisis reminded him with a quiet look on his face, still not phased by his antics. "In the middle of the night."
"Yes, but no one was in any danger and what's more, it was an evacuation training exercise for everyone, so you should even thank me."
"We do not thank you, it caused an unnecessary chaos," Windu snapped, looking at him again with that serious and intense terrifying look.
The scariest thing was that this was his face every day and not just in public. Did he have this facial expression even as a child? Force, his mother must have been horrified when he was a baby if that was the case.
But no matter, that look had almost no effect on him now.
"Chaos is part of life," he replied with a shrug.
"Is there any particular reason? You haven't caused any particular problems since you arrived-"
"Erm, Master Jinn's hand, erm," Master Koon recalled between two excessively marked coughs.
"... then perhaps something has happened." Eeth finished as if nothing had happened, because they all knew that the Kel Dor was good friends with Jinn. "Maul?"
"Nothing in particular, I'm just bored."
"You've been placed with Initiates five years older than you for this month."
"I'm still bored," he admitted with a shrug, crossing his arms defensively when several of the High Councillors moved at the same time to change positions, unaware of the tension that so many seemingly coordinated movements provoked in him.
Even if he felt more serene with them, he still was not completely confident with them all.
And he was bored. He was far too bored, if the Jedi were not keeping him busy he was going to have to find something of his own.
Could he create a criminal empire again even as a Jedi?
He missed it.
A pronounced cough drew his attention to... Master Tiin.
Iktotchi.
Was the guy one of those telepathic Iktotchi?
The sharp look he received was an answer in itself.
Damn.
Well, at least he would probably have an answer, would not he? As High Councillor, he would surely have some good advice on how to reconcile his activity as an aspiring cartel leader with that of a Jedi Initiate.
Perhaps he could even agree to play his role for some conversations so that no one would have the stupid idea of disrespecting Maul because of his age or size. It might work, if they kept him in the shadows, altered his voice and put a hood on him.
Hm... There was a good chance it would work, Maul knew that kind of interested look, and if he was curious, he was not totally against it, was he?
Or maybe it was the kind of burning look that said he was going to kill him in a corner as soon as this meeting was over, it was sometimes hard to tell. Maul continued to think about it but felt it was more likely the first option than the second, after all Jedi were supposed to support their own in their projects, not kill innocent little children.
"Not innocent at all," the Jedi muttered with a subtly desperate air, glancing at Master Yaddle who was smiling with an unruffled, benevolent expression.
... Maybe she would be willing to do it if the other guy was too uptight for that!
"I think that's enough for today," Master Tiin interrupted his thoughts as he spoke to the others. "If he promises not to do it again."
"I promise not to do it again without asking permission first," Maul repeated obediently, eager to get out to see Feral with the other babies.
"Without having 'asked and received' permission beforehand," Master Gallia added.
Damn! She was too attentive to words to be easily fooled.
"... fine."
He would find something else to do.
"While we're at it, solemnly promise not to set anything on fire."
Maul turned with honest confusion to Master Sifo-Dyas, not understanding why the other was discreetly rubbing his temples. Migraines?
"Not to set anything on fire?" He repeated, because... oh!
WHAT A GENIUS! Forget Tiin, this man was the one for him! If there was a fire somewhere, Maul could not be punished for raising the alarm, could he?
This man had a sharp mind and was less conformist than the others, he was perfect.
... However, he still seemed to disapprove his very presence, so maybe he would try a bit later and not just when he had just done something stupid.
"That too," he said seriously, "I'm not a pyromaniac, I swear I'm not."
"At last some good news," someone murmured and Maul was pretty sure it was Billaba, but then Master Yoda hummed approvingly and Maul preferred to look at the ground, vexed.
"Enough for today, I think it is."
Maul quickly got out and walked away in the opposite direction to what he knew to be the usual path of most of the High Councillors, a little annoyed. If he was supposed to be a normal kid, they should just let him do normal kid stuff and not bitch about it.
"Hoping to run your own criminal cartel isn't normal kid stuff."
"What in the name of the Force is that now?"
"His parallel career choice with being a Jedi apparently," the Iktotchi explained to Master Piel who was still close enough to hear the sentence spoken in the corridors.
Luckily there was no one else around.
"But if you want the Republic to be a safer place, wouldn't it be better for the Jedi to get involved in destroying this kind of network from the inside?"
"Not this way!" Master Piel finally shouted, actually surprising Maul. "Oh that's enough, please someone talk some sense into him, I've got someone to meet."
"A date?"
Maul only smiled at the Lannik's scathing stare, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively before looking expectantly at the Iktotchi, who turned to look away as Maul began to stare at him.
"Who ever thought giving a Padawan to someone like that was a good idea?"
"I think a thirteen-year-old teenager is more suited to his temperament than a child this small."
"I'm not small!"
The look on Master Tiin's face as he looked down at him, without even trying to be mocking, said it all.
"You are young."
Not so young, if you only knew.
Happy to have thought of protecting his thoughts, he showed his teeth to the Iktotchi, who replied with a toothy grin.
Oh those teeth! They were sharp! Wild!
"Getting back to your project, it would be better to abandon it."
"I don't want to, and besides, it wouldn't be a problem in the long run."
"I see. Shall I inform Master Windu?"
"This is... blackmail?!" he exclaimed, once again stunned by the hypocrisy of the Jedi.
"It isn’t? It's just the sort of thing he should know about, especially as you're probably vicious enough that we'll one day hear about this extracurricular project as a reality that's already well established so I wouldn't want it to impact the Order."
"But-"
"I'll talk to him about it."
"No! I won't, don't tell him!"
The other gave him a suspicious look, so Maul tried something he had only tried once before: acting cute.
"Please," he added, trying to focus his thoughts on a very strong expression of 'Please believe me, I give up!'
Finally the other sighed and motioned for him to relax.
"All right, just try to slow down with the anarchistic ideas. We're Jedi, and that means being masters of ourselves, our actions and our words. Improvisation and spontaneity shouldn't be goals, you'll learn like all children to become wise, just give yourself time to get there."
"It's funny though."
"This kind of action is not the way of the Jedi."
"Does that mean a Jedi can't be happy? You all always say there is no emotion, does that mean I have to stop doing what makes me happy to be a true Jedi?"
Genuinely curious, Maul frowned as Master Tiin stood still, staring into space as if lost in memory.
"Master Tiin?"
The man looked as stoic as ever, but something wounded and vulnerable never left his eyes even as he looked back at Maul with a composed face.
"No, that doesn't mean you have to be unhappy. Don't ever let anyone make you think that your emotions are unimportant or worthless."
Far from being an idiot, Maul realised that someone in the past – and it was probably someone close to him – had managed to convince Tiin of that. That his feelings were worthless.
Savage had been a bit like that too when he had found and rescued Maul before following him around like a lost puppy.
It did not feel right.
Oh fuck. This was it, he was starting to get infected by this weak compassion and empathy nonsense.
With great reluctance, Maul stepped forward and gave the Jedi a very brief hug, trying to hold him gently even though it only reached the legs of the tall Jedi, who remained carefully still and actually held his breath.
"If you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you," he threatened with a black look. "And that's the last time I do this."
He slept hugging Savage that night, glad that the Crib Masters no longer tried to get them back into their own beds when they joined at night.
That was the last time he had do that, he certainly would not be fooled by the miserable look of a Jedi adult again!
"Maul?"
"Sleep, brother."
This time, no one would touch a single one of his horns. He would protect him and Feral from harm.
They had not escaped a Sith to let stupid Jedi emotionally abuse them.