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The Dewback moves painfully slow, and the suns have risen high by the time Din makes it back to the rocky ridges. As the beast approaches, Din can spot two forms lying prone on the golden sand, one twisted awkwardly and the other curled on its side. Both are unmoving, and the speeder is nowhere in sight.
Panic cascades into his chest like a tidal wave.
Zoya.
If it were Toro and Fennec on the ground, she would've used the speeder to come find him. The realization sends Din throwing himself off the Dewback and sprinting for the two bodies. "No, no, no, no—"
When he's closer, he can differentiate between the two corpses. One is Fennec, and there's a blaster hole in her stomach, blood pooling into the sand beside her and forming it into sticky, dark brown lumps. Zoya's a few feet back, facing the opposite way from him, and Din runs directly for her, falling to his knees beside her form.
Carefully, he touches her shoulder, rolling her onto her back. He waits for a tense beat, then her chest rises and falls, sending a wave of relief tumbling across his shoulders. Din slides an arm underneath her back and lifts her into a sitting position, sliding his legs underneath her. One of his hands finds blood at the back of her head, matting her dark hair and threaded through with grains of sand.
"Son of a bitch," he hisses.
Taking great pains to ensure his touch is gentle, Din brushes a few strands of hair off her face, cupping her cheek as he cradles her limp form.
"Zoya," he whispers. "Come on."
Just when it seems like she won't wake up, her eyes flutter open, the bright blue sky stinging her pupils.
"Fuck!" she chokes out, squeezing them shut again.
"Oh my god," he mutters, releasing a breath. "I thought—"
Her brows knit, and she curls up, closer to his chest, trying to get underneath his helmet's shadow to block out some of the sunlight boring down upon them. "My head hurts so bad," Zoya mumbles, fingers rising and fluttering around the spot, aware of the crusted blood and sand and hair stuck to her skull.
"It's okay," Din says softly, pulling her closer. "It's okay, I—"
"Shit!" Her eyes fly open, and she pushes away from him. "It's fucking Toro—he fucking knocked me out, and I—" Barely restrained fury clouds her features, and her lips tremble, rage coloring her words a harsh crimson. "I'm going to fucking kill him." Zoya tries to fly to her feet, but she stumbles onto one knee, wincing.
