What's a Mandalorian? || Din Djarin

4|Companion|

I followed my new friend down the hill, away from everything I own. Am I making a mistake? I'm not usually the type of person to make rash decisions like that... but I'm intrigued by this man. I trail only a few feet behind him. He hasn't said anything since we started walking. Why did he ask me to join him? I mean, we're basically strangers. He doesn't seem like the type to have friends... or travel companions. Am I his travel companion now? His employee? So many questions buzzing around my brain. 

I have no idea what I'm doing.

I elongate my stride to keep up with his quick pace. His long legs carry him quicker than my short ones do. I have all of my belongings in my brown canvas bag slung over my left shoulder, which is starting to ache. Coins really get heavy after some time. It's after midday now, so the sun is beginning its descent back into the shadows. The beams of light shining through the trees make me feel like I'm in a movie. 

Eventually, we find the end of my trail and have made it back to the entrance to the town. 

"I've got to grab a few things before we leave," my companion says. I continue following him to the produce stand I was at yesterday. He waltzes up to the stand and looks at all that is offered. During the hot season, there are a lot of fruit harvests, which yield the most vibrant, juicy fruit you could ever sink your teeth into. Today, there are some especially good looking koyo fruits set in the center of the display. 

"Can I get two of these," he points to the koyo fruit, "two of these," then to the melons, "and four of these," finally at a bunch of green leaves I'm unfamiliar with. The shopkeeper tosses his choices into a sack and mutters a number. Mando tosses a few coins her way, and we turn back toward where we came from. 

"Two whole melons?" I ask. That seems like quite a lot of food for one man.

"There are two of us," he leans his gaze toward me to remark. He slings the full sack over his shoulder as he saunters down the road. I wasn't expecting a free meal. "And you fed me a meal already, the least I can do is return the favor."

He caught me by surprise. I hardly meet anyone that generous. I have sweet customers at the tavern, but nobody who buys me a whole meal just to 'return the favor'. This man is full of surprises. I remain quiet as I follow him out the village and into the forest once again, but this time, the opposite direction from my house.

Soon enough after our lengthy walk, we come upon a somewhat small ship parked on the opposite side of the mountain from where my house is. It's a shiny silver metal, similar to Mando's suit. It looks like some kind of Starfighter ship: small and fast. Mando raises his arm and pushes a few buttons on his wrist to open the hatch atop the vessel. A loud hiss escapes the ship as the glass lid opens slowly. 

"Wait, this is yours?" I ask, dumbfounded. My steps have halted, and I stood in place. Mando looks like he couldn't even fit in this thing. It's his ship? Mando's shoulders look far too broad and muscular to fit inside this tiny ship. And he said he had an extra seat? Where, on the roof?

Mando nods his head and continues walking toward it without missing a beat. I jog a little to catch up to him as he climbs up the side of the ship to hop inside. He tosses the bag of produce somewhere in the back and turns to looks back at me.

"You coming?"

A wave of energy washes over me. This is real- this is actually happening. It feels like excitement, but more; like there are a million-billion happy sparkles being shaken up like a snow globe inside me. It's intoxicating. A frenzy for adventure. 

It's not even about Mando, it's about the opportunity to do something wild. There have been so many years of the same thing in my life: work, hunt, train, sleep, repeat. The idea of something new after what seems like an eternity of doing the same thing is... unexplainable. Unfathomable. And, a little scary. This is probably the thing in the back of my head that said yes to joining a stranger on his quest to find a Jedi.