ash'ad | the mandalorian

éíghtééń

art credit: zhia2chen on DeviantArt

Beth's mind slowly awoke, followed by the gently opening of her eyes. She looked over to Din who was still asleep, watching his bare chest fall and rise as he breathed. His arms were still loosely wrapped around her frame from the night before, reminding her of its events almost instantly.

She smiled brightly at the thought and took one last look at him before carefully slipping out of his grasp. Her feet crossed the floor silently as she walked around the bed, picking up her and Din's clothes and placing them in the dirty basket. She would have to do the wash later, seeing as she had other things to attend to today.

Careful not to make any noise, she dressed in her usual black armor and walked over to the pram. She put her ear to the metal to listen and heard Grogu breathing softly, telling her he was still fast asleep.

"I'll be back, vorpan'ika (little green one). Look out for your buir for me," she whispered, pressing her gloved hand lightly against the pram.

With that, she stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind her. The lights were dimmed, but slowly starting to brighten as time passed. Her mother had made many renovations to the covert, including lights that corresponded with the time of day. It was a necessary tech to have seeing as the clan was underground for the majority of the day, so her mother accommodated for it.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she thought of her mother's dedication to her people, and consequently, her father's. When he left, she only grew stronger in her leadership, not once letting her weakness show.

Beth knew that she was sad. Of course she was; her mate for life had just left her forever, disowning his religion, people, and family. But she persevered, teaching her daughter to do the same.

Mandalorian's always said, "Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya,"

Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger

Her father had made it his chance for redemption to gather the stray Mandalorians in search of security, and he had done an honorable job. That was one of the only reasons she was able to forgive him for leaving her. But for leaving her mother; she would never forgive that.

As she turned from the main hall into the entrance area, she wasn't surprised to see it empty. It was still very early in the morning, meaning Alik would be asleep. The old Alor used to keep someone posted at the entrance 24/7 but changed it to less and less over time as he realized no one was going to find them.

They had been extremely fortunate to find a system of tunnels with large maintenance rooms and confusing hallways, allowing for a safe and spacious place to live.

She glanced into the bag slung across her chest, making sure all the credits she would need for the weekly food purchases were there. It was the job of the Alor to provide most of the supplies for the covert, so she used the money from Din's bounty hunts to go to market.

The heavy metal door creaked as she pulled it closed behind her, finally locking into place with a dull thud. She turned into the first long sewer tunnel and marched the familiar path to the ladder. The sunlight from outside was already streaming through the grate, highlighting the metal rungs as she climbed to the top.

Pushing the grate aside, she lifted herself onto the alley floor before securing the metal back in place. Her shoulders sat straighter as she walked seamlessly into the crowd, making sure no one saw where she came from.

She was starting to think the market wasn't ever empty, as even now, it was bustling with people. It was fair to say the New Republic jurisdiction had brought more trade, seeing as the area was cleaner and safer than before. Now, children could play freely without getting trafficked and patrons could shop in peace.