- 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦.
For as long as Kasia Torelo can remember, luck and survival have gone hand-in-hand.
Kasia was only seven years old when the Empire attacked her planet. Singled out for their telep...
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"Come on Cara, you can do it!" Kasia encouraged as the ex-shock trooper and the Mandalorian both breathed loudly, straining to force the other's hand to the table. From his cradle, the child watched the arm-wrestling match with concern as both the competitors grunted in effort.
Thanks for the support Kas, Din complained wryly.
Kasia rolled her eyes, still grinning, "Fine. Go Mando! Happy now, nie'we?"
"That some kind of a nickname?" Cara asked, though her voice was shaky as she spoke.
The Eulentian girl shrugged, "Of a sort. It means assho- asshat in Eulentian so I figured it was suitable."
At the response, Cara chuckled before glancing back up at an evidently straining Din with a competitive gleam in her eyes and tightening her grip on his hand. "I got you Mando," she stated, confidence in her voice.
"Care to double the bet?" Din challenged, his biceps straining perceptibly even through the cloth of his armor.
At the words, Kasia tossed him a look of faux confusion, furrowing her eyebrows and resting her pointer finger against her lips thoughtfully, "But Mando, you were the one who insisted we didn't have the money to waste it on game of chance—particularly games of chance that are staked very highly against us."
Din didn't even look at her as he continued to push against Cara's hand, shut up, di'kut.
Kasia merely grinned at him, lowering her voice as she cooed, "Aww, the asshat and the idiot—how romantic." She leaned back in her chair, "But my money is still on Cara."
The ex-shock trooper's grin seemed to widen, and she looked as though she were about to say something when suddenly there was an almost tangible shift in the energy of the room. Kasia watched in confusion as an unnatural stillness crept across the woman's body, rigidity flowing where before she had merely been tensely focused. Then suddenly, Cara dropped Mando's hand altogether, garbled choking noises coming from her mouth as she grabbed for her throat.
Kasia and Din both stared at Cara in shock for a long moment, before Kasia happened to look down at the child, her eyes widening as she found his features set in anger and his hand held in a fist.
"What th- no! No, no! Stop!" she grabbed the kid from the cradle, shaking him slightly. At the touch, whatever hold the kid had had on Cara seemed to drop and she fell forward, gasping for air. "We're friends, we're friends. Cara is our friend!" Kasia frantically continued as Din appeared at her side to show the kid that he was completely fine.
"That is not okay!" Cara said as soon as she regained the ability to speak, pointing a shaking finger at the child while her other hand remained at her throat.
Kuiil peered down at the kid in Kasia's hand with an inquisitive brow. "Hmm. Very curious," he mused.
