Arani Jakal was not ready to be stranded on an unfamiliar planet, causing her whole life to change. But in the chaos, a friend or two popped up - seemingly from nowhere - wishing to help. Ari gladly accepted and quickly became part of a small town...
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ARANI HAD FALLEN ASLEEP in her chair again. She shifted moving her neck, however as she turned halfway to the right, her muscles yelled out. She slapped a hand onto the sore spot, groaning. Never again, will she sleep here. The girl struggled to sit upright as she tried to look around the cockpit. Both the kid and Din were gone, probably in some other part of the ship.
Din. She had fallen asleep with his name rattling through her head. It was now an echo that led her to him, a lifeline that kept her sane. In all her known memories, no one had ever made her feel like he has. Yet, her mind ran ramped over the question if he felt the same. He said he cared, but caring is very different than loving. Vanth cared for her and she cared for Peli, never had she loved anything as much as she did Din or even the kid.
The door sprung open and Ari found Din looking through a small hole just outside the pit. "Whatcha doing?" she hesitantly asked him.
"Fixing wires."
"I can see that but where's the kid?"
Din shrugged and inclined his head towards the wall.
Ari blinked and took a breath, controlling her breathing. "The moment you need a droid . . . Din-" He glanced at her. "-if the kid gets hurt, I'm going to hurt you."
"He's doing fine. Look, he's got everything under control." He gestured for Ari to come closer. She looked into the hole, finding the child deep inside the wall, holding a few wires. He glanced up at her and cooed, proudly lifting up what he held.
"Did you get the wire out? The red wire?" Din asked. The kid lifted up the wrong one, ears perking. "No, no, no. No, the red one. Show me the red wire."
The kid showed him the correct one. "Yes, good. Now, you're going to plug that red wire where the blue wire goes in the board."
Ari rolled her eyes. "Din . . ."
"You see where you took the blue one off? No, don't put the blue one back. Put the red one where the blue one was, and put the blue one where the red one was."
Ari sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Din was doing a whole better with being patient with the kid than she was.
"Be careful," continued the bounty hunter. "They're oppositely charged, so keep them away from each other. Make sure you hold them apart - no, hold them apart."
Ari gasped and jumped slightly as the kid put the two together, creating sparks and a cloud of smoke.
Din sighed. "Are you okay?"
The kid coughed in response.
Din looked to Ari, who seemed less than pleased. "Well, it was worth a shot."
Ari bit the inside of her cheek and then smacked Din on the back of his head. "You are so dead." She looked back at the kid and reached out a hand. "Come on, kid, let's get you something to eat."
The kid crawled out of the space, taking Ari's finger in his hand and cooed for her to pick him up. She did so and sat at the ladder, her legs dangling off the edge. "Come down and join us once you're ready," she told Din and grabbed the ladder, swinging down.
The kid pointed to the little kitchenette that was built within the walls of the Crest and climbed down the side of Ari's leg, waddling over to it. He pulled a cupboard open and started to take items out with banging and smashing, a few pots and dishware spilling onto the floor.
The young woman let out a sigh of amusement before joining the kid and pulling him out of the cabinet. "You are so much more trouble than it's worth," she told him, holding him so they were face-to-face. He cooed at her and showed her a topato root. She took it from him. "Thank you, little one."
She grabbed a pan and a container full of broth, deciding to heat the liquid. While she waited for the broth to start steaming, she chopped the topato. Every so often, she would watch the kid. He waddled closer and pulled at her pants. When she looked, he pointed to the spoon she was holding. She handed it to him, knowing he wanted to play with it.
"Don't hurt yourself," she told him as he banged the utensil on an upside-down pot.
At that moment, Din had come down, having decided to join them. He stopped and leaned against the ladder as he watched the kid play in the chaos he created, Ari trying to step around him as she cooked. He grinned, loving the scene that unfolded before him. Domestic bliss wasn't his forte, but as of that moment, it was. And he let himself hope and dream. He dreamed that every minute could be like this, him, Ari, and the kid just enjoying each other's presence. The chaos of the world felt so much different than that of the kid's - it was peaceful, and ever since Din joined the Watch, that was all he was trying to find, and he finally got that with them.
The Mandalorian quietly joined them, sneaking up on the two as their backs faced him. He peered over Ari's shoulder to see what she was making and she chuckled.
"Hello, Din."
"What are you making?"
"Just broth." She glanced behind her and smiled at him, she then took a piece of the chopped topato and handed it to the kid. He dropped his spoon and gurgled, happy to eat the vegetable. "Ah, uh, small bites." She told him when he was about to stuff the whole thing in his mouth. The kid shyly turned away, but listened to his mom, doing what she told him.
"I wish he'd listen to me as he does for you."
Ari placed her ladle down and leaned a hip against the stove. "He's comfortable with you, that's all. Besides, he's in his rebellious stage."
As the brunette finished her sentence, a loud crash came from behind her. Next to her, the kid lay on the ground covered with more dishes, this time cups and plates. He looked at the two adults and cooed, his eyes wide and ears bent.
Din huffed. "I don't think 'rebellious' even starts to cover it."
Ari continued to stare at the child as he started stacking cups in the shape of a tower. "No, no it does not."
