Metanoia | The Mandalorian ON HOLD

Chapter 46

As the days passed, they turned into weeks, weeks turning into months. It has been almost a year since Din last saw the children. He missed them dearly but he always told himself that they were safe and where they belonged. He had done everything he could for them and they could now live their lives like they were supposed to. Juno with her people, the seers, and Grogu with the Jedi. But still, there was not a day when Din didn't think about them.

After Luke Skywalker had come for Grogu and the Captain of the Royal guard for Juno, Din closed himself off from everyone, taking on the role of the heartless Mandalorian he was before he met the kids. He returned to his work as a bounty hunter, taking on more bounties each time. He drowned himself in work, trying not to think about the children.

Over the months, he found the armorer from Nevarro. He came to her whenever he was in need of restocking his supplies and in return gave her a large part of his rewards for the bounties, helping her to find a place to rebuild the covert.

Then, one day, a year after he said goodbye to his children, he sought the armorer again, bringing with him a small amount of beskar he got as a payment, asking her to forge something for the foundling, Juno, as well as keeping some of the beskar for other, future foundlings.

~

With a ship he had borrowed from Greef Karga until he found a replacement for the Razor Crest, he arrived on the planet Eldrys where Juno was brought to reunite with her people. The once abandoned planet reminded him of the princess's home planet, Pillio. Sea covering most of the planet and meadows covering the land around the small town in the distance.

He clutched the small package in his hand nervously. She was right there, somewhere in the town. He could go and see her today. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and looked at the package, but before he could take a step forward, a voice from his right side stopped him.

"I knew you would come here." It was an old woman.

"I wanted to see how she's doing." He told her. She smiled slightly with a knowing look on her wrinkly face.

"She is doing just fine. Training her seer abilities, and to one day become the queen she was meant to be." She replied.

"Well, I still want to see her." Said Din, clutching the package tighter.

"Let's take a walk, shall we." She told him and started walking the opposite way of the town. Din sighed but followed the woman, knowing that she would either allow him to see the young girl he saw as his own, or talk him out of it. They walked in silence for a while, before she spoke again. "Juno misses you so much. She cried every night for the first few weeks, asking for you, before she started to be like before. She started her training and her studies again." She explained. Din had mixed emotions, he felt terrible about the girl crying, but proud that she overcame it and continued her training. They stopped and the woman turned to face him. "If she saw you now, it would be so much harder to let go again. For both of you." She finished with a sad frown.

Din looked down and sighed. He knew she was right, of course she was.

"But she's right there." He mumbled. The woman nodded, still looking at him sadly. He looked at the package in his hand and nodded to himself. "Could you please give this to her?" He asked, holding out the package to the woman.

"Why? So that she will remember you?" She asked.

"She's a Mandalorian foundling, part of my clan. She should have this. It's her right." He said. The woman sighed but took it. As she touched the package, she breathed in deeply and closed her eyes for a second.