Broken Soul | Din Djarin

chapter thirty-eight: til the end

"You ever see a mamacore eat?"

You look up from your stare out into the sea, the Quarren's question catching your interest. Din shifts by your side, turning so that he could look at the man with a gloved hand hovering next to your own.

"Quite a sight. The child and your woman might take an interest."

Your slight smile falls at the name used in reference to yourself, and Din shares your distaste at the Quarren's choice of words. But the man doesn't seem to notice, and he continues on with his statement, gesturing towards the grating at the center of the ship deck as he speaks.

"You should take a look. Come on over here."

Glancing back at Din, you offer him a slight shrug as the two of you silently converse through shifts of body language.

"Might as well, cyare. I don't see any harm," you murmur, offering Din's hand a small squeeze of comfort. Din simply sighs and nods, following you and the hovering pod over to where the Quarren's crew has gathered to observe the mamacore.

Your movement seems to excite the Quarren, who continues to ramble as he gestures to the seawater that laps at the hole in the ship.

"Get a good view. Let the kid see."

"All right, close enough," Din huffs, checking on the kid before looking down at the darkness of the ocean.

Your eyes widen slightly at the sight of the creature that sat in the dark water, impressed by its size and strength.

I do NOT want to mess with that thing.

"There we go. She must be hungry." The Quarren sighs as he rises from a crouch by the hole, setting his arms on his hips as he addresses the two of you. "Oftentimes we'll feed her in the early morning, but we missed that 'cause we were goin' out of port-"

Your mouth opens in a silent scream as you watch the child's pod suddenly fly into the water. A small green hand reaches out to smack the hatch button, making the pod seal the kid safely inside right before it hit the water. Thoughts reeled through your mind frantically as you tried to piece together what was happening around you.

One of the crew members stands by you with an oar in hand, staring at the disappearing pod with a disgusting smirk on their face.

"NO!"

Din dives into the water without hesitation, disappearing into the darkness while strange arms wrapped around your torso from behind.

Only a moment ago, you had been standing with your family. 

And now you're watching as, not one, but both of them disappear into the dangerous waters.

You struggle against the crew members that have rushed over to hold you back, letting out a screech of rage as they tried to strip you of your weapons and kept you from getting to Din.

"Lock it up! Go, go! Now! Go! The beskar is ours! Drown him!"

The metal grate has been replaced over the watering hole, preventing Din from returning to the deck of the ship. You let out a scream in frustration as you manage to knock a man off of your back, flipping him off the side of the ship.

There's a flash of silver as Din bursts from the dark water, grasping at the grate as he sputters for air. His grip on the grate slips as oars and spears jab at him through the slots, and Din groans in pain as he tries to stay afloat against the crew's attack.

"Get him! Get him! There we go!"

"CYARE!" You scream, ripping yourself away from the men with a sudden burst of energy at the sight of Din.