"That creature's been terrorizing these parts since long before Mos Pelgo was established." Cobb Vanth explains as he leads Din and Cordelia through town. "Thanks to this armor, I've been able to protect this town from bandits and Sand People. They look to me to protect 'em. But a krayt dragon is too much for me to take on alone." He stops and turns to look at the couple. "Help me kill it, I'll give you the armor."
"Deak. We'll ride back to the ship, blow it out of the sand from the sky, use the bantha as bait." Din says. Vanth shakes his head.
"Not so simple. The ship passes above, it senses the vibrations, stays underground. But I know where it lives." He says.
"How far?" Din asks.
"Not far." The Marshal responds.
They head towards their speeders, Cobb mounting his and waiting for the family to prepare. Cordelia sets the Child in his bag then gets on the speeder behind Din. Once the group is ready they speed off.
"You don't understand what it was like. The town was on its last legs. It started after we got news of the Death Star blowing up. The second one, that is." Vanth says.
Cordelia tightens her arms around Din as her brain tingles with faint recognition of the Death Star. She focuses on the feeling, but it fades as the Marshal continues speaking.
He explains how after the Empire left, the Mining Collective turned Mos Pelgo into a slave camp. He escaped and stole a camtono on his way out of the town. It was full of silicax crystals, which he used to buy the armor from the Jawas who found him wandering the desert. He returned to Mos Pelgo and liberated the town.
After his story, they continue the ride in silence. Until they hear growling from the cliffs surrounding them. They stop, climbing off their speeders and raising their blasters. The Child whimpers and hides further into his bag as the growling continues.
A massiff emerges from behind a rock in front of them, snarling at them. More pop up from behind other rocks, growling and snarling. Din lowers his pulse rifle and stands, shouting to the massiffs in Tusken. They stop and watch as Din rounds the speeders.
"What the hell you doin'?" Vanth asks. Din signals for him to wait as he approaches the massiffs. He speaks to them in Tusken as he nears, and the massiff closest to him trots to him. He crouches down and pets it.
He turns and holds his hand out towards Cordelia. She holsters her blaster and joins him, letting the massiff sniff her before she joins Din in petting it. She smiles as it growls happily.
Tuskens join their massiffs, and Din stands, speaking to them in Tusken. Cordelia watches as they talk, fascinated with the language.
"Hey, partner, you want to tell me what's going on?" Vanth says. Din turns to him.
"They want to kill the krayt dragon, too." He explains.
***
Cordelia sits on the ground between Din's legs, rubbing the Child's head and trying to get him to sleep. Her head rests against his knee as she grows more tired. She listens as Din talks with the Tuskens. The Marshal sits on Din's other side, watching the fire.
Cordelia's attention is drawn by the Tusken nearest to her holding something out. She takes it and sees that it's filled with a strange smelling liquid. She looks to her right and spots Vanth also holding one.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" He asks Din.
"You drink it." He responds.
"It stinks." He says. Cordelia rolls her eyes.
"Don't be rude." She says. She drinks, finding the taste interesting, but not terrible. She looks up at Din. "How do I say thank you?" She asks.
He takes her hands in his and guides her through the sign. He does it a few times until she gets the hang of it. When she's ready she turns to the Tusken who gave her the drink and signs to him. He signs back and she turns back to Din for the translation.
"He says 'Thank you for respecting us.'" He says. She smiles at the Tusken before setting the Child down, turning around, and kneeling in front of Din so they're level with each other.
"Thank you, Riduur." She says, leaning in for a Keldabe Kiss. He cups the back of her head to keep her there for a moment longer before letting go, so she can sit back down. Din turns back to the Marshal and sees that he was watching them.
"Cute. But I'm not drinking this." He says.
"Do you want their help?" Din asks.
"Not if I have to drink this." He replies. The Tusken speaks again.
"He says your people steal their water and now you insult them by not drinking it." He translates. The Tusken continues. "They know about Mos Pelgo. They know how many Sand People you killed."
"They raided our village. I defended the town." Vanth says.
"Lower your voice." Din warns.
"I knew this was a bad idea." He says. The Tusken stands.
"You're agitating them." He says.
"These monsters can't be reasoned with." The Marshal says, standing as well. "Sit back down before I put a hole through ya!" He argues with the Tusken.
Din shoots his flamethrower between them, stopping the argument. He stands, careful not to disturb Cordelia and the Child, who had fallen asleep. He speaks to the Tuskens first.
"What are you telling them?" Vanth asks.
"The same thing I'm telling you. If we fight amongst ourselves, the monster will kill us all." He responds. Vanth and the Tusken both sit down. "Now, how do we kill it?" He says and signs.
They strategize for a while, until the group grows tired and begins to split off. Cordelia is still sleeping, so Din lifts her into his arms, the Child asleep in her lap, and carries her towards the tent the Tuskens said was theirs.
He lays her on the bed before making a make-shift bed for the Child on the other side of the tent. He sets the Child under the blankets and moves back towards the bed, removing his armor and helmet before sitting down on the edge.
"Hey." Cordelia says sleepily, looking up at him. He lays down next to her and pulls her into his arms. She rests her head on his chest as he runs his fingers through her hair.
"Goodnight, Mesh'la." He says. She hums, closing her eyes. Din is about to close his eyes and try to sleep when she shoots up, looking at him.
"What are you doing?! Someone could come in at anytime and see you!" She says, looking around for his helmet. He laughs and cups her face, making her look at him.
"I told everyone that I need my privacy and they need to announce themselves and wait for us to come out. They won't enter the tent without permission." He tells her.
"Oh." She says softly, the panic leaving her.
"I love that you're so concerned about my Creed, Riduur." He says, kissing her forehead. She places her hand over his heart.
"It's important to you, so it's important to me." She says, kissing him. When she pulls away they lay back down.
"Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum, Cordelia Djarin." He says. She smiles and cuddles closer to his chest.
"Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum, Din Djarin." She responds.
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The Mandalorian's Bounties | Din Djarin
FanfictionCordelia wakes up with no memories. She doesn't know who she is, let alone why she wakes up in a strange building with a Child at her side. The only thing she does know is that she must protect him at all costs. After spending months with her appare...
