Jedi Fugitive (The Bad Batch)

51:

Astera:

Staying on the back of the Mylaya was remarkably harder than I thought. All of my concentration was narrowed to the tiniest shift in the beast's weight as it moved, just to keep myself from falling off every other minute. It didn't help that I had to sit behind Hunter and hold onto him, feeling his body heat even through the layers of clothing and armour between us. I was sure that damned blush that insisted on making an appearance every time I was too close to him was now permanently staining my cheeks, as was the strange jitteriness in my stomach.

The stubborn feeling had persisted for several weeks now and I was still no closer to figuring out why I reacted in such a way, and only to him. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before, and more often than not it was so utterly consuming me trying to figure it out that I was starting to lose track of things more often. At least it hadn't affected my reflexes in fights yet. Obi-Wan had spent too long training me to tune out distractions for it to affect me now. Though I was sure he hadn't thought to account for... whatever this was. Either way, it was strange, to say the least.

We were deep into the woods by the time we'd crossed into the second village. There weren't many Wookiees, I noticed, seeing the few wide eyed furry faces staring at us from their huts as we passed by. Maybe they were hiding from us, until they knew we were friendly. That thought was certainly preferable to the alternative.

All three Mylayas stopped at the foot of what could have easily been the largest tree in the entire forest. There was only one hut attached to this tree, right in front of us as we dismounted, two warriors and a wizened Wookiee female emerging from within as we approached. Her fur was streaked with grey, and just the way she carried herself suggested she was the leader of this tribe. The Wookiee warrior who had led us here approached her immediately, the two of them pressing their foreheads to each other briefly before the female addressed us, speaking quickly in a series of soft roars.

"Her name is Yanna," Tech translated for the others. "She appears to be leading them."

"We are returning him to his homeworld." I nudged Gungi at Hunter's words, the Wookiee Jedi glancing at me before cautiously venturing forward. "But he doesn't know which village he's from."

Yanna smiled upon seeing Gungi, crossing the remaining distance between them and lowering herself so she was at his level. One hand cupped Gungi's cheek, who glanced again at me in wide eyes confusion before the older Wookiee dipped her head forward, encouraging Gungi to touch foreheads with her in a sign of welcome. More words in Shyriiwook followed in rapid succession, directed at the four clones standing in front of Omega and I.

"We were soldiers of the Republic," Hunter corrected, carefully removing his helmet. "But let's just say we don't see eye to eye with the Empire."

Still eyeing the group sceptically, Yanna growled out another long question, asking Hunter what was in it for them bringing Gungi back.

"Gungi was in the Order with me," I interjected before Hunter could, holding out one of my lightsabers as proof. "We came because he was in trouble."

"Jedi or not, he's still a child," Hunter added. "He needs his people."

Yanna seemed to accept this answer, her tense shoulders relaxing as she spoke again, the harsh edge disappearing from her Shyriiwook.

"She's inviting us inside," I told the group before Tech could translate. "I think she mentioned food?"

Tech nodded, confirming my words. "I believe it would be in our best interest to accept the invitation."

Wrecker barged forward before Tech had even completed his sentence, muttering something about 'haven't eaten since this morning' and 'they better have real food up there.' Almost involuntarily, I glanced toward Hunter - another habit I'd found myself falling into recently - to find him already in agreement.