Metanoia | The Mandalorian ON HOLD

Chapter 48

The next day had a slow start. Din had Juno help him put away the blankets and then get something for breakfast. After eating and getting ready for the day, Din moved them to a nearby clearing where Juno would start her new training. The sun was shining and the birds were singing happily as Din explained how the training was going to go. Juno listened attentively, watching him standing before her dressed in his armor except for his helmet that laid on the grass.

He then showed her the moves he wanted her to learn for the start. They practiced for hours and Juno actually enjoyed it. She loved spending time with him, loved listening to his voice that wasn't changed by the modulator. She was a quick learner, picking up on the things that he had showed her so many months ago on Pillio. But there was this one thing that she just couldn't get right.

"No, Juno. How many times do I have to tell you." Din shook his head and moved to her. "Don't think about it."

"I'm trying." She grumbled.

"Don't try. Just do it." He said and helped her through the moves. When she still didn't do it the right way, he sighed. "Let's just take a break." She nodded and let out a deep breath, looking down, ashamed of herself and thinking that she was not good enough. "Juno." He said when he noticed her look and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. "You'll get it right the next time. Don't worry, you're doing great."

"But how do you do it?" She asked, looking up at him. "How am I supposed to not think about it?"

"I don't really know. I just do." He answered honestly. "Let's do something else. On the way back, close your eyes and try to feel your surroundings." She looked in confusion at him. "It can help you navigate through an unknown place."

And so, on their way back to their camp, Juno did just that. However, Din didn't mean for her to have her eyes closed on the whole way back.

"Feel the surroundings. Feel the surroundings." She whispered to herself as she walked behind Din through the forest, her eyes closed.

"Juno!" Exclaimed Din when he turned to check on her.

"Feel the-ugh." He was a second too late as Juno collided into a tree, making her lose her balance and fall to the ground. "Felt it." She chuckled and looked up at him. He laughed at her and went to help her stand up.

~

Their week on Eramis passed rather uneventfully. Din continued to train the girl and she was getting better every time. They were walking to a town that Din had found a few days ago. They were going to be leaving the planet as Din had to get back to his work as bounty hunter, so they had to restock their food and ammunition. He just hoped that the vendors would have the things that they needed.

"So, what are we going to do when we leave?" Asked Juno, walking next to Din, his armor gleaming in the sun.

"Well, I'm going to go get some pucks for bounties. That's the main plan." He replied. She nodded. When they finally found their way to the town, Din gave her some credits. "Go and get us some rations and some other food. I'll go and try to get some ammo. We'll meet here in half an hour."

"Alright." She said and pocketed the money. "See you later, dad." And with that, she was gone, running through the little shops and looking around the things that the town had to offer, while Din went to find what he needed.

Din had been lucky. By the time that he had to meet with Juno, he had found most of the things he wanted. This surprised him as he had thought that such a small town consisting of mostly fishermen would have the specific ammo for his weapons. When he came to the place where he told Juno to meet him, she wasn't there. He waited for a while, checking the time every few minutes. When she didn't show up after fifteen minutes, he decided to go look for her seeing as he was getting nervous. After a few minutes, he found the girl in a nearby shop, looking through some clothes and jewelry.

"There you are. I was looking all over for you." He said, walking towards her.

"Sorry. I must have lost the track of time." She apologized, smiling at him sheepishly.

"It's fine. Come on, we have to go." He said and took the bag of food that she had bought.

"I'll just take these." She said, holding out some bracelets. Din tilted his head at her. "Come on, dad. Please. It doesn't even cost that much."

"Fine." He sighed and turned to the older woman behind the counter. "Just these." As he went to pay, out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Juno was holding a rather expensive black cloak. "Put that back. You don't need that." He told her. She ignored him and moved to stand next to him, giving the cloak to the woman, making him sigh again. "And the cloak." He said reluctantly.

~

Their way back to the ship was long. Juno skipped happily in front of Din, bracelets on her wrist and her new cloak flowing behind her as Din shook his head at her, carrying the bags. Suddenly, Juno stopped and frowned slightly.

"Wait, I hear danger." She said, looking around.

"What?" Asked Din.

"Hornet nest. Over your head." She said as she looked up at the branch with the nest hanging on it, making Din look up as well.

"Very good." He praised her. They walked for a few moments before Din spoke again. "Wait. I see danger." Juno stopped, looking around again.

"What? Where?" She asked.

"Rival Mandalorian. Right in front of me. Oh, wait. It's just a little girl. She's no danger." He teased her when she turned to face him.

"Is that so?" She smiled, raising an eyebrow. "I can be plenty of danger." She bent her knees slightly and raised her arms, hands in fists.

"Oh really?" He copied her moves. "Bring it on."

She ran to him and they started their little fight. They wrestled for a few minutes. Juno tried to get the upper hand, jumping on him and locking her hands and legs behind his neck and suddenly bringing him down, surprising him. He did not expect her to do that. They both looked at each other in shock, eyes wide open. Din took off his helmet to see her properly.

"That was incredible." He told her as he helped her stand up. "I'm so proud of you." He hugged her and kissed her temple as she laughed, still in shock of herself. "Come on. Let's go." He pulled her with him, his arm around her shoulder. They arrived to the ship, getting on and soon leaving the planet.