Across the skies

Chapter two

Guinevere's head tilted to the side as she watched the child sit across from her. He mimicked her stance, sitting on the floor with his legs crossed in front of him. His tiny hands were folded neatly in his lap as he tilted his head just as she had.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she shared the memory of their Mandalorian friend the first time she met him. She put every last minute detail into it, down to the way his fury swallowed her whole as she joked about the shiny beskar armor.

The child giggled, making her open her eyes to see the sparkle of mischief lighting his innocent, brown orbs.

"What are you doing?" The Mandalorian questioned her as he watched from the back wall.

"I'm showing him how we met," she answered simply as she continued to watch the child giggle. "He also thought it was funny when I said I like shiny things." She twisted around to look up at him innocently. "It appears you're the only one without a sense of humor."

The Mandalorian dropped his crossed arms as he stood from the wall. "You were disrespecting Mandalorian armor."

She rolled her eyes as she turned back to the child. "See?" She rose an amused brow. "Absolutely no sense of humor."

Anger drenched the air around her like moisture right before a thunder storm. It added an electricity that caused every last hair on her arms to stand on end.

"Aren't you supposed to be teaching him?" The Mandalorian asked her with a hint of fury tinting his words.

She hummed as she ticked her chin up to look down on the child. "What do you suppose I teach him? We're on a ship floating dead in space. I can't really test his Force abilities out." She animatedly rose her eyebrows to make the child laugh once more. "If you wish me to give him proper training we'll have to land somewhere remote. Until then-" she looked back at the Mandalorian with the same smile she showed the child. "We're swapping favorite memories of you. I'm going to show him how flustered you got when I insinuated that you flirted with me." She dropped a wink before turning back to her pupil. 

With an infuriated grunt, the Mandalorian walked past them on his way to the cockpit. She watched him climb the ladder, then with the last swish of his cape she looked down to the child. "Has he always been that grumpy?"

He didn't speak, but as he reached out a hand towards her, she realized he had something to say. 

She lifted her hand for him to take, then as his three little green fingers squeezed her index finger, she closed her eyes to listen. 

The fuzzy white overtook the black, and soon she had the image of the cockpit above them, and from his perspective they sat in the backseat while the Mandalorian flew them. 

All of her concentration was on a small metal orb, but she didn't know what it was or where it came from. Despite that, she wanted it. The child wanted it. But as it stood at the end of a lever it was out of reach to her. 

The child lifted his hand towards it and wanted it desperately, but it was futile. 

Then, the Mandalorian twisted the ball off its joint and reached back to hand it to him. 

The small memory faded, and she opened her eyes to look down at the wonderment in the child's eyes. 

"He isn't always grumpy," she relayed what he wanted her to know. "He can be sweet." She ran her thumb along his fingers delicately. "You care for him, and he you... I hope it's enough for him to protect you, my sweets." Her thumb pressed harder over his fingers. "The galaxy is a cruel place for our kind. They want so much and we have little to give..."  She bowed her head and closed her eyes in remembrance.