Promises are made to be broken. Deals are made to be kept.
[The Mandalorian Season 1-2]
I do not own the Mandalorian or any of the Star Wars Universe characters/settings. I own Alora and her unique story.
Prequel to Promises and Deals --> Truth...
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Din feels at home again. All this time, he has been searching for a place to feel included and familiar, and this is it. Mandalorians train all around him, just like he used to do as a young foundling, and it warms his heart. Some duel, some shoot, some even take to the skies with jet packs.
He should feel at home, but there is a pit in his chest every time he looks away and finds Alora.
This morning, she has her eyes closed, her beskar blades at her sides as she stands with her feet barely in the lake. Small stones surround her, jutting up through the sand, but she does not seem to notice as she takes deep breaths. With her eyes still closed, she begins her forms slowly, bringing the blades up and around, swinging them effortlessly and precisely. Like the air is nothing.
Her eyes remain closed as she picks up speed. The water surrounding her bare feet barely splashes as she moves, but there is no doubt in Din's mind that she is moving. She seems at peace with herself and with the nature around her, but then he catches a glimpse of her face: her expression is scrunched, her brows furrowed, and she is shaking her head constantly.
With a flip through the air, she brings her blades down and pauses just before their tips can touch the water's surface. Peeling her eyes open, Alora straightens her back and relaxes her face before she steps back onto the sandy beach and shakes out her muscles. If she knows he is watching, she gives no indication.
She only looks down at Grogu who is playing in the sand beside her with sharp rocks around him. With a smile, she squats next to him and runs a hand over his head, whispering something Din cannot hear.
Grogu grins up at her, holding up a rock that Din can barely tell is actually a shell of some kind of creature. Alora just shakes her head and turns back to the lake as she continues to stretch.
It is truly distracting. Very distracting.
Snap out of it.
But then she bends over at the waist and all thoughts fly out of his head for a moment. Until he sees her twist and glance back at him.
He recognizes that brief look. It was the same look she gave him on Sorgan: false belonging. Like she was trying so hard to maintain an appreciative and happy appearance until she was asked point-blank if she was happy. Alora rarely lies, and she is bad at it. She can pretend, but not unless her life depends on it.
He is the reason Alora is here. Though he does not know where she would go otherwise, a selfish part of him wants her to stay near, to be a part of their lives, but they had that conversation before they parted ways.
Din thought about that night every day since it happened. They had skirted around the issue of what to do next after Grogu left, but everything had exploded that night. He wanted to redeem himself, to find that belonging again, but Alora could not understand it. He knew she was hiding something, that she wanted to scream and shout at him but did not. Instead, she just told him the same thing she always had: "I won't stop you from going back. I just can't follow you."
