Serena & Din

Chapter 2: Hello Stranger

         The next she knew, Serena was awake lying down in a cot with a cool compress on her forehead, everything a blur. Her head was swimming with questions, but she ignored them as she blinked and tried to sit up. But a monstrous pain from her left ankle made her slide down into the makeshift bed. Then, a soft but stern voice came from the shadows of the cargo hold,

" Easy lass, you need a load off your feet for a while."

When her eyes adjusted to the light, a Mandalorian, she guessed based on his gear and helmet stepped into the light, his armour giving a light glint in the hue of the lamplight. He went near the beside and then asked gently, "What's your name?" She mouthed something, but her lips were swollen and dry from thirst, so he came toward the youth to try to hear more clearly. "Serena Tennet," was all she could whisper before her eyes closed wearily from the effort and fell into another fever wave. She whined slightly and tossed her head fervently as he wrung the compress and applied it again. She was burning up like a flame, the sheets soaked in her sweat, yet she felt like a piece of ice from Hoth, and her muscles ached like hell. Din didn't know how to consol other than shushing her gently and telling her it would be okay, but it still didn't help. It wasn't until he applied a cool towel on her abdomen, he breathed a sigh of relief to see her body relax as it fought off the remainder of the fever. When he wrung the cloth, he knelt and put a gloved hand on her forehead; it was gone. He stayed by the cot for a while gazing at the girl through the visor of his helmet. Getting through the desert on her own this far out was a miracle. He guessed she must be at least fourteen or fifteen, with hair as dark as Obsidian matted and clumped in some places.  She also had dark, purple bruises and cuts all over her body, one  scratch leaving a small scar on her right eyelid. The worst was her ankle, swollen like a balloon, possibly twisted. After cleaning the wounds with a salve with bacta spray and bandaged her ankle, he gently stroked the clumped hair out of her face. 'The hell people must go through,' he thought bitterly. Not that he hasn't been through hell either, what having to deal with the kid and everything. But still, at least when he was her age, he had the Creed to protect him, while she probably has no one now. With a grunt, he stood again and went up to the cockpit, preparing for entry into Mos Eisley. When he landed outside its walls, he decided to check up on his new and unexpected guest.

Serena woke again, feeling slight dizziness in her head and pain in the pit of her stomach. She felt like a Condor; filthy, ravenous, and thirsty. The Mandalorian was beside her the moment she woke; without his helmet surprisingly, helping her prop up in the cot. At first, Serena thought it was someone else, only when she recognized the signet on his left shoulder did she realize it was him. He nodded and handed her a small glass of pearlescent liquid, and in the other a small bowl of bone broth. At first glance, the drink looked like poison due to its unusual color, but he nodded in reassurance, so she took it and drank. Serena sipped the drink then gave a slight cough, 'probably deluded Spotchka' she guessed. As she drank, she began to study the man's face. He looked to be in what her culture would say in a man in his prime or slightly younger, his chiseled features making him look weather-beaten with brown eyes and smooth but tousled hair. He also had a few scars along the jawline. From the look, he couldn't get a good shave either. Then after she slurped down the broth, the man took a small cloth and gently scrubbed some of the grime and dirt off her hands and face. Serena was grateful and slightly surprised at his gentleness towards her, as she was told Mandalorians were rather barbaric, at least to their enemies. While Din was doing this, he began noticing more things about her too. One being her eyes, which were a strange aquamarine color that seem to almost shimmer in the dim light of the ship's cargohold. He also assessed her face, at how after he wiped it her rich tan complexion gave a slight glow. He had to admit, she had an almost angelic air about her.  All of these things were noticed and done in silence, and Serena was feeling an akward tension rising.

So, when he finished wringing the dirty cloth, she took a small breath and asked the stranger shyly, "Who are you, and where are we?" The stranger looked up at her with a small smile, "My name is Din Djarin. We're just outside the capital."  At that, Serena narrowed her eyes at her savior. Mos Eisley was infamously known for the underground slave trade that takes place around the planet and outer rim.  She then looks the Mandalorian dead in the eye and asks  

"You're not one of the slave traders, are you? Trying to make me healthy before I'm broken?"

 Din was surprised at such a question  and told of course not! But then a thought occured  "Are they the ones who attacked you?" he asked.  Soon, the memories flooded back, and Serena felt her lips tremble.  Her attempt to control them failed as tears came down her face slowly, then shuddered into quiet sobs. Din began to scold himself for asking so bluntly, how stupid could he be?  He gently squeezed the girl's shoulder and tilted her chin up with his forefinger to see her wet face and said, " Hey...It's all right. You're safe here nobody's taking you away. We've got to get you cleaned up now, don't we?" Then after wiping her tears away, he picked her up bridal style  and carried her to the cockpit. He kind of liked the way her arms laced on his neck, and her weight almost like a feather in his arms. She gazed up at him while being put down gently into a seat and strapped in. Once in the pilot seat, he put his helmet, his face disappeared by beskar once more. Soon the engines rumbled and they were up in the setting sky with the whole of the capital city unfolded beneath them.

 Din asked, "So, do you have any other relatives living in the sector?" Serena shook her head and then explained her family was from Alderaan, one of the many planets destroyed by The Empire. Niether side of her family survived the genocide, only her.

Din could relate, having been an orphan himself he knew how it felt to lose someone they loved, and think that one can never feel love again. But he did from someone unlikely once long ago.  "How old were you?" he asked as he landed the Razor Crest onto the landing dock, with a small hiss from the engine.

"Just three. I was then adopted by the family here. My parents had been executed for committing so-called treason," she air-quoted.  "Surprisingly, they left me alive, thinking I was no harm. But I hope one day to avenge them."