•two journeys• din djarin

XVI

The road to the city was long a winding; outside the car, the sky grew dark and stars began to peek through the passing clouds above. As we grew closer, the sounds of cheering and laughing became louder and the smell of smoke filled my lungs. I looked over to Din, his hands were nervously rubbing his legs which were bouncing quickly.

"Hey," I called out while grabbing one of his hands, "are you okay?"

"Yea, I've just never had this many people see my face." I looked out the window at the people crowding the streets and the staircases. One man, in particular, had a mask on, one that only covered his eyes and nose but left his mouth visible. I tapped Din's shoulder and pointed to the man.

"Would something like that help?" He nodded his head, the nervous look beginning to fade from his face. The vehicle stopped at the base of a grand staircase; the building atop it had a large dome as a roof and pillars all around the front. "You stay here, I'll be right back." I stepped out of the car and walked down the street, back to the man I had seen just moments before. "How much for your mask?" I asked one I had approached him.

"Excuse me?" he replied.

Your mask, I need it, how much for it." He looked around at his friends and laughed sarcastically. I reached into the coin purse Din had given me and pulled out a handful of coins and offered them to him. The laughing stopped once they saw the currency and the mask quickly replaced the credits. I quickly walked back to the car, making sure to hold up the hem of my dress to keep it from getting stepped on and ripped. I pulled open the door to the car and tossed in the mask.

"How did you-" Din began.

"Just put it on," I replied. He did as I asked and placed the mask on his face. It hid the most identifiable feature of him, his eyes, while still making him appear human and non-threatening. I nodded in approval and stood from the doorway, shutting it and turning to wait for Din to walk around. I wrapped my arm between his arm and the side of his body but was quickly denied that as he wrapped the arm around my waist. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and prayed that the rouge I was wearing would hide my natural blush. We walked up the staircase together, every so often a group of people would look back and point at us as we passed. I did my best to ignore it, but the attention was making me feel lightheaded. Once we reached the landing, two men pulled open the large doors to the entrance. I nodded at the one closest to me as a thank you and stepped in, pulling Din along with me.

"What's the plan?" he asked.

"If we split up it would probably be faster, but that runs to the risk of not being able to find each other quick enough to confront the person."

"So together it is," he said. I nodded in agreement and grabbed his arm. We strolled through the casino, analyzing each of the thousands of tables for anything representative of a rabbit. My focus on the plan distracted me from enjoying the beauty of the building. The ceiling was filled with paintings lit up by crystal chandeliers. The molding around the tops of the walls gave an antique vibe to the room, making me feel as if I had been thrown back in history. We stopped at the final table and watched as the dice were rolled and the gamblers celebrated. I looked up from the table and searched the room. My eyes glazed over every person I could see, before landing on a certain individual sitting at the bar.

"I'm going to go get us drinks, you stay here." Din nodded at my words, but at that moment, I didn't care for his approval. I gravitated towards the bar, watching the man's every movement, making sure not to lose him.

"One glass of Tsiraki," I called out to the droid working the bar. The man was beside me taking a sip from his beverage, but I didn't dare look at him out of fear that he would know.