Solivagant-The Mandalorian

38

" padawan "

As night fell, the four set up camp. Din and Lana let Ashoka and the child have their moment alone. They sat away from the two, still within seeing distance. Lana sat, her legs crossed, holding her helmet in her lap. Din stood in front of her, pacing back and forth.

Ashoka gently grabs the child from in front of her, grabbing the lantern, and walking to the two. Din and Lana wait eagerly as she approaches. In front of them, she sets down the lantern, setting the child on the rock across from Lana.

The child coos to Ashoka, she nods to him. "Is he speaking?" Din asks. "Do you understand him?"

"In a way. Grogu and I can feel each other's thoughts."

"Grogu?" Din asks, the child's ear perk up when he says his name. Lana smiles.

"Yes. That's his name."

Grogu

"He was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Many masters trained him over the years. At the end of the Clone Wars and the Empire rose to power, he was hidden."

Din moves to sit beside Lana, putting his hand over hers on her knee.

"Someone took him from the Temple. Then his memory becomes... dark. He seemed lost. Alone. I've only known one being like this. A wise Jedi Master named Yoda." She smiles at Grogu. "Can he still wield the force?"

Lana and Din poke their heads up. "You mean his powers?" Din asks.

"The Force is what gives him his powers. It's an energy field created by all living things. To wield it takes a great deal of training and discipline."

"We've seen him do things that we can't explain. Our task was to bring him to a Jedi." Din explains.

"The Jedi order fell a long time ago."

"So did the Empire yet still it hunts him." Lana speaks. "He needs your help."

Ashoka sighs. "I'll test him in the morning."

•·················•·················•

Ashoka leads them to a small opening in the forest. She stops and turns to the child rested in Lana's arms. "Let's see what knowledge is lurking inside that little mind." She gestures her hand to a rock; Lana sets him down gently. She walks to find her spot beside Din to the side of the child. She crosses her arms over chest as Ashoka reaches down to pick up a small pebble across from Grogu.

She holds it on the palm of her hand, turning her hand around to let it float through the air to him. The child reaches his hands out to happily grab it. She lets out her hand again, "Now, return the stone to me, Grogu." The child looks from the stone in his hand to her.