𝖜𝖎𝖘𝖍𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖊, 𝔡𝔦𝔫 𝔡𝔧𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

SLIPPING FROM OMERA'S hut, Sevara squinted her eyes, scanning the village as she searched for Mando and Cara. The woman had offered to watch the child as Sevara aided in the hunt for the Raiders, making a brief detour to rifle through Mando's crates and ensuring she had a blaster at her hip before setting off. Beneath the blue sky, her gaze fell on their familiar figures, both making their way towards the forests edge as she quickened her pace, falling into step alongside them.

Glancing to her, Mando halted, his gaze fixed on her's. With his head tilting, he asked, "New look?"

She nodded, a small smile creeping across her lips as she clumsily twirled where she stood, showing off her borrowed tunic and beige trousers as she asked, "Yeah, do you like it?"

He cleared his throat, briskly nodding as he said, "It suits you."

Cara raised a brow at the two of them, inclining her head towards the towering trees as she said, "Come on, lovebirds. We haven't got all day."

Sevara's eyes widened, shifting her gaze from Mando, who seemed to be as equally flustered, to the patch of green at her feet. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she nodded, saying, "Yeah— let's go."

They advanced towards the sea of green, crunching leaves and twigs beneath their footsteps as they manoeuvred their way past the soaring trunks. Shrubs sprouted beside them, filling in the sparse areas of vegetation that were scattered about the serene woods. Pausing in her tracks, Sevara took a quiet moment to breath in the nostalgic scent of the woods, a mix of fresh pine and crisp soil. A small smile graced her face as she recalled the days she would stroll through the forests of Takodana alongside her mother, their happiness unmatched as they lived without a care in the galaxy.

Sevara was brought from her musings, glancing to Mando as his arm brushed against hers, muttering a soft, "Hey."

"Hey, yourself," she said, looking to him with sparkling eyes as her heart fluttered.

"How's everything with the kid?"

"Good. Omera's watching him for us." Glancing around, she added, "You know, we should come out here after we're done— with the Raiders, I mean. I think it'd be good for the little one to explore what the galaxy has to offer."

"Yeah, that'd be. . . wait, hold that thought," he said, his gaze trained on the ground before them as he pressed a button at his wrist, a series of beeps occurring as he pointed to the dirt, telling she and Cara, "About fifteen or twenty of them came through here on foot." Mando's gaze wandered up towards the trees, adding, "And something big sheared off these branches

Sevara followed his line of sight, briefly glancing to Cara with raised brows as the two of them trailed the bounty hunter. He slowed to a stop before a large imprint in the soil and Sevara's breath quickened as her gaze fell upon it, the print eerily similar to the ones she'd seen etched within a blizzard, several years ago.

Cara's lip curled, stating, "AT-ST."

"An Imperial walker," said Mando, inclining his head to get a better look. "What's it doing here?"

"I don't know," Cara said, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the mark. "But this is more than I signed up for."

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

AS THEY TRAVELLED back to the village, Sevara's thoughts lingered on the AT-ST track, subconsciously grazing her fingertips against the bite mark across her stomach. Her mind churned over the endless possibilities of how the machine could have ended up on the sparsely settled planet, and what that meant for the three of them going forward. Gnawing at her lip, Sevara looked to Mando, asking, "What do you think we should do?"

He glanced to her, heaving a sigh as he shifted his gaze to the village, saying, "I don't think there's anything we can do."

Stepping beside her, Cara's eyes were narrowed as she said, "I hate those things." She turned to Sevara, asking, "How about you? Have you ever been in close range with one?"

Her eyes widened slightly, shaking her head as she told the former-rebel, "Not really. I've seen them though but. . . I was imprisoned before I could see the damage they could do."

"Oh. . . that's rough, I'm sorry." Cara tilted her head, adding, "Hey, you wouldn't be that same prisoner that caused the riots in Kessel, would you?"

Sevara came to a halt, turning to Cara with a raised brow, asking, "How'd you know about that?"

"Everyone knows about it," said Cara, her lips tugging up at the corners. "Or, at least my base did. We caught word of it over an Imperial transmission we intercepted. I've gotta' say, what you did was pretty badass."

She gave a meek smile, tugging at the ends of her sleeves, saying, "Thanks."

"How big was this riot you caused?" Mando asked, turning to her as they stood a before one of the ponds, adding, "It seems a lot of people have heard about it."

"Um. . . it took a while to plan, I guess," she said, giving a half-shrug as looked to him, "I'd already lost all I had, so if the riot went south. . . I thought I wouldn't have anything left to lose." Silently, a sad smile settled across her lips as images of bright, honey melon eyes that sparkled like a beacon of light in the shadows of the Spice Mines, flashed in her mind. "But, um. . . not everyone got out and I—" she paused, taking a fragile breath, "I'm sorry. . ."

"Hey," he said, quietly reaching out and lacing his fingers with hers, running a thumb across her own in soft, soothing motions, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, alright? I understand."

Giving a slow nod, she said, "Okay— sorry again, it's just. . ." heaving a small sigh, Sevara glanced down to their joined hands, continuing, "sometimes it feels like I went into the Mines as one person and came out completely different, you know?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding slightly as a familiar sadness laced his tone, "I know what you mean."

"Look," said Cara, glancing between the two of them as she inclined her head towards the huts, "as much as I hate to break it up, we really need to tell the villagers what we found."

Sevara's lips tugged at the corners, a quiet laugh escaping them, nodding as she looked to Cara and said, "Don't worry, we're right behind you." Cara nodded, turning to make her way towards the village as Sevara glanced up at Mando. She gave him a small smile, softly squeezing his gloved hand and saying, "Thank you— for always being there for me. I haven't had many people I can trust in the past few years but. . . you're someone I know I can count on, so, thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, gazing down at her through his 'T' shaped visor as he added, "and for the record. . . I trust you, too."

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

hey!

sorry for the delay, i haven't had the time to write because of the holidays and work, but i hope you enjoyed this chapter!

(i'm sorry if the ending is a little fast, i've been struggling with it all morning, so i hope what i came up with is okay <3)

but anyway, thank you for reading!