GALDANA || the mandalorian

PART FOUR

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Fwega was the first to jerk awake.
A flood of emotions hit her like an enraged mud horn. Relief, happiness, joy, but underneath it all was a profound sense of sorrow. This tribe had lost people before. And, judging by the sting of their guilt, they didn't pass away peacefully.

The sun greeted her weary eyes, and she rubbed them, adjusting to the sudden shift in light.

The child was already awake, looking at the village curiously. The villagers had become to arrive in front of them, cheering and laughing.

Mando awoke and quickly adjusted to his surroundings, followed by Cara.
Fwega shifted so she was sitting up in the transport.

"They're here!" One of the children cried, running up to greet them. They stopped and gasped at the child, leaning down to get a better look. The other children joined, and exclaimed how cute the little creature was.

"Looks like they're happy to see us." Cara hopped down from the transport. Mando followed her lead, but paused to help Fwega down before replying.

"Looks like."

°°°
After unloading the transport, Mando and Fwega followed the lead of a woman to their quarters. Fwega didn't talk, for fear of tripping over her words (that tended to happen when she was around beautiful women), and Mando didn't have anything to say at the moment, so the bustle of the village was all that was heard in the morning air.

"You'll like the barn. It has two beds just in case, and we added a cradle for your child," the woman said, looking over her shoulder. The child itself followed closely behind her, glancing back every few seconds to be sure it's caretakers were still behind it at all times. Fwega tried not to blush after the woman's eyes found her's.

She stopped at a fairly nice shack and pushed away the curtain. Fwega stopped at the entrance.

"Please, come in," the woman encouraged, "I hope this is comfortable for you."

Fwega smiled at her, "this'll do great. Thank you for your kindness."

She merely smiled. "I stacked some blankets over there." She pointed to one of the beds.

The curtain shifted and Mando drew his blaster forcefully, stepping forward. Fwega yelped and caught his arm, not letting go until he lowered it.

The woman brought the little girl out from behind the curtain and held her against her chest, making no threatening movements.

"This is Winta, my daughter. We don't get a lot of visitors around here. We're not very used to strangers." The girl looked scared. Fwega smiled at her gently, and she relaxed somewhat.

"These good guys are going to help protect us from the bad ones," she whispered to her.

"Thank you." The Mandalorian said in his stoic way. Fwega knew he was feeling vulnerable.

"Come on, Winta."

After they left, Fwega turned to Mando, "what did you promise these people?"

Mando sighed and shook his head.

"They have a barbarian problem, they want me to solve it."

"Just you, alone?"

"Cara too."

Fwega placed her hands on her hips.

"And why not me?"

Mando tried to avoid the subject and busied himself with splitting the blankets between the two of them. He added a couple more of Fwega's pile before spreading out his own.

Fwega sighed and picked the up the child, whose hands were held up so she would do just that. She deposited him in his cradle to stay comfortable, and walked up the the hunched over Mandalorian.

"Mando." She set a hand on his shoulder. "I can look out for myself."

He looked at her, and she would see his worry through his helmet.

"You can't fight."

She smiled. "I can run?"

"That won't get you out of a war zone," he snapped back, shaking off the hand still on his shoulder. His back faced her from the other side of the hut.

She sighed and her smile fell. She gave in, defeated.

"Knock knock?" A voice from outside.

"Come in," Mando replied gruffly, not turning to see who it was.

Fwega smiled at Winta and her mother, trying to gather their thoughts.

"Lover's spat?" The woman whispered to Fwega. She laughed loudly, and Mando looked over.

"Hardly."

"Can I feed him?" Winta interrupted, gesturing towards the child. It was looking at them from over the rim of the crib, cooing at Fwega.

Fwega laughed again and nodded. Mando tensed from across the room, but she ignored him. Winta giggled as she fed the child, and soon looked back up at Fwega. Her mother watched them, smiling softly at the scene.

"Can I play with him?"

Mando walked over and voiced his consent.

Winta picked the child up and set him on the ground coaxing him to follow her.

"I don't think-"

"They will be fine," Winta's mother interrupted.

"I don't-"

"They'll be fine." She said forcibly.
Fwega set a hand on Mando's arm as she passed him, nodding gently, but refusing to meet his eye. She followed Winta out the door.

"I brought you some food, I noticed you didn't eat out there. I'll leave it here for when I go."

"Thanks" he paused, struggling for the right words, "very thoughtful of you."
Omera, as her name was, crept closer.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead." He said this without hesitation.

"How long has it been since you've taken that off?"

This time he hesitated, considering how to go about answering.

"Yesterday." He looked outside to see Fwega running around the child with the other kids, teasing them as they bumped into her.

"I mean, in front of someone else."

He continued watching the children play outside.

"I wasn't much older than they are."
Omera gawked at him. It seemed so long, too many years suffering in solitude.

Fwega's laugh traveled to them, and Mando relaxed again.

"You haven't shown your face to anyone since you were a kid?" She said softly, "not even to her?"

He closed his eyes under the helmet, feeling a painful regret in his chest.

"This is the way," he replied, eyes still sealed shut.

"Let us know if there's anything you need," Omera said. He didn't watch her leave.

He looked up at the scene in front of him. Fwega had her back to him.

She was teaching the little boys and girls how to dance.

•••

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