Calamity || The Mandalorian

thirty-three

Kasia and Mando were again walking alongside Ran, both trying to look much more at ease than they felt as he guided them to meet the rest of their crew for the job.

"Hey Mayfeld," Ran called out as they approached a bald man who had his back turned towards them.

At the name, something in the back of Kasia's memory seemed to trigger, and she frowned as they got closer. She recognized the name from somewhere, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Yeah?" the man who Ran had introduced as Mayfeld responded as he shifted to face them.

At the sight of the bald Caucasian male with a faint red-haired beard, Kasia felt her body go slightly rigid for a moment before she regained control over it and tried to look as casual as possible.

Shit, she thought, trying to look nonchalant even as she continued to internally panic. She had met Mayfeld only once in the past, and very briefly. Of course, that one meeting had consisted of her stealing a couple thousand credits from the man in a few rounds of Sabacc. As she gave him a strained smile, she could only pray to the Gods that he wouldn't remember her.

"This is Mando, the guy I was tellin' you about," Ran introduced, luckily drawing Mayfeld's attention to the Mandalorian and away from Kasia for the time being. "We used to do jobs way back when."

Mayfeld looked almost surprised as he frowned at Mando and furrowed his brow, "This is the guy?"

Kas, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost, Kasia heard Mando's voice in her head. At the concern, she turned and gave him a tightlipped smile, shrugging slightly in an answer that wasn't really an answer.

"Yeah, we were all young, tryin' to make a name for ourselves," Ran responded to Mayfeld's disbelief, a touch of what might have been reminiscence in his voice. "But I tell ya, runnin' with a Mandalorian, that was... That brought us some reputation."

"Oh yeah? What did he get out of it?" Mayfeld asked curiously.

At the question, Ran gave a small chuckle as both Kasia and Mando remained quiet. "I asked him that one time. You remember what you said, Mando?" Ran turned to look back at Mayfeld as he answered his own question, "Target practice."

Kasia unwittingly choked on a laugh as she glanced at an obviously uncomfortable Mandalorian. Target practice? Seriously? her eyes seemed to say as she chuckled alongside Ran and Mayfeld.

I had a flair for the dramatics in my youth, Din told her a moment later, smiling faintly under his helmet as she laughed again. It was the truth, he supposed, and looking back now he couldn't help but cringe slightly.

"Not much has changed then," Kasia quipped under her breath.

Unfortunately, making noise proved to a bad decision as it reminded Ran that she was there. And it brought Mayfeld's attention to her as well. Kasia fought the tension that crept upon her body as his eyes scanned her, a sense of familiarity wafting from him.