This Is The Way

Paz Vizsla

Slowly his eyes flutter open. His vision is blurred as Din starts to wake from a deep sleep. Slowly he blinks to adjust his eyes to the ceiling above while lifting himself onto his forearms on the cot he'd been laying on.

His head aches with a mild pounding that causes a wince and brings a grimace to his face at the dull pain that begins to come alive in his torso as he slowly pushes himself up. Giving himself a second to breathe against the uncomfortable pain, Din then carefully one by one brings his legs over the side of the cot all while holding the edge with his gloved hands.

He gives an exhausted sigh before his head hangs and his eyes close. He feels the burning sensation traveling up his body from the bottom right of his torso. The lingering ache is tight and bundled as if the injury had been deep enough to cause that uncomfortable sensation. Trying to center his thoughts away from the feeling, Din tried to remember his last thoughts before he'd blacked out.

So far, nothing. He couldn't grasp any memory of what happened before he'd lost consciousness.

With the new feeling of anxiousness rising within his chest, Din took a deep breath, but now his breathing felt abnormal. Not only did his chest feel heavy, but with each intake he noticed his nose felt compressed.

Raising a hand to his face he'd brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose to feel a couple of butterfly stitches laying across it. Gently his fingers brushed across the injury on his nose feeling the three stitches that held it together. Apparently he'd taken a harsh beating. Harsher than he thought.

Someone had patched him up and it caused an immense amount of relief, up until  his stomach dropped when he'd realized his helm wasn't on.

Heart now drumming in his chest. Immediately his eyes darted to every corner of the square room. His breathes were becoming short and raspy before his scattered gaze laid upon the end table near his cot that held his helm.

Immediately, Din was relieved. Leaning over with a light painful moan, he grabs his helmet with the tip of his fingers and brings it to his chest before placing the cold beskar above and onto his head.

Out of breath from the little movement, Din rested his hands on his knees before closing his eyes once more. He felt out of place. He wasn't himself, but most of all he needed answers.

Knowing that getting up was going to be another challenge faced, he gave another deep sigh. Here we go. Slowly, he brought himself to his feet. A sharp pain jolted up his side when he'd done so causing a painful groan to escape past his cut lip.

He needed to get out of here.

With the familiar walls of stone that surrounded him, Din knew he was in a safe place. He was in the Mandalorian covert in Nevarro. Which meant who ever saved him was a mandalorian, so the child had to be in safe— Wait!—The Child—Grogu.

So many emotions and feelings whirled around his head fogging up his memory. Now he was really anxious to get out. He needed to find Grogu. Now the tight feeling in his chest grew.

Masking the pain he was in, he made his way toward the door with a limp in his step. Twisting the knob, he opened the door before walking into the stone hallway finding himself taking a brief stop in his step when he'd been met with other mandalorian's walking the hall.

A few turned helms to see him and others glanced his way before going back to their business. Taking a shaky breath underneath his helm, he continued to limp down the hall.

As he mapped out where he was heading, Din tried to remember. He remembered being hit with something. A bottle? Maybe? His memory was hazy, but he knew he'd been running away from a battle he'd somehow got caught in the middle of, but couldn't remember why..

He could recall being exhausted and finding a safe building that was only the opposite of what he'd thought it'd been when three outlaws decided to jump him rather than leave with no bounty over their heads.

There was a fight. Lots of shots fired with kicks and punches that followed. 

After walking for some time now, he took a left down the hall with a few more agonizing steps before taking a sharp right into the room that entered the Armorer's workbench.

The room had its usual dim lighted appearance. She was in the middle of hammering a enviously orange chest plate before she'd heard his ragged breathing from the entranced and stopped to look up.

Din watched as she slowly laid her hammer on the workbench before she glanced back up toward him.

"I see you're up."

Din limps another step into the room with a low groan," Where's the kid?"

Din hears the Armorer give a hum at the response just before she walks around her bench and grabs metal clamps.

"The foundling?" She asks before grabbing the beskar chest plate with the clamps," Do not worry Djarin, he's in safe hands." She assures with a glance his way before dipping the beskar plates into a hot oil that ignites into flames when she submerges the armor.

The flames are bright and hot even from his distance and it only reminds Din of the burning sensation thats crawling up his leg from standing on it. The pain is becoming overbearing and almost excruciating when he holds in another groan from a sharp pain that jolts up his leg and to the injury in his side.

Din has more questions to ask like, where's Grogu? And who's he with? He also wants to know who's chest plate is being made? His thoughts aren't clear and his questions are all over the place. All he can think about is the pain searing in his leg and throbbing in his side.

Din doesn't know he acknowledges the pain physically until he does. When his hand is consciously pressing more into his armor where he'd been bandaged, a firm yet strict voice speaks up.

Turning his head toward small table in the corner, Din sees a mandalorian that he's very familiar with. He knew that voice and helm from anywhere. It made his stomach drop and his chest uncomfortable and strict with nerves.

The mandalorian points a finger toward his hand that's pressing into his wound.

"You shouldn't be standing" Paz speaks before his hand falls back to the small table to grab his mug,"you were severely injured."

Din hears Paz loud and clear, but doesn't listen. He's in somewhat of a trance of pain and surprise. He wonders why and how he'd been found.

Did Paz really save him?

"Why'd you do it?"

It comes out raspier than Din intended, but it doesn't matter. Paz sits back into his chair and responds nonchalantly.

"Do what?"

Din gives a heavy sigh while dropping his eyes to his feet briefly before raising his helm back up to look toward the mandalorian he'd never gotten along with. Ever.

"Help me" Din speaks," why did you help me?"

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Hello, readers and WELCOME TO ANOTHER CHAPTER! I hope you enjoyed and if so let me know! If you have anything to say just leave a comment! It helps to motivate me :)

As always stay safe, be careful and be kind!

Sincerely, Disney Girl