𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 ── ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴᴅᴀʟᴏʀɪᴀɴ ✓

1.7

SEVENTEEN.
the child's safety

🔹️🔹️🔹️

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Mando walked up to me as I took a bite out of a piece of bread. I nodded, following him over to the front porch.

"What's up?" I asked, turning to face him with my arms crossed.

He sighed, looking out at all the children. "It's clear that the kid's happy here."

"Right," I smiled, watching the child as he played with the others. "And? What about you..?"

"Me?"

"Are you happy?" I looked into his helmet, crossing my arms.

"I don't know," He answered, pausing a little. "I don't belong here.. but he does."

I furrowed my eyebrows, tilting my head to the side. I frowned, ".. You're leaving."

"I know it sounds--"

"No, I understand," I said, pursing my lips together. ".. But I'm coming with you."

"What?"

I shook my head, "You heard me the first time."

".. Are you sure?"

"Well, as long as I know the kid's safe here in Sorgan, I can move on. I don't want anything to hurt him or endanger his life." I said. "Plus, I have some other things I need to take care of.."

He leaned against the homestead's entrance, sighing once more. "I guess we're not so different after all."

We stayed silent, watching the kids play with the fresh krill. The silence was pretty relaxing, but it still felt like we had a lot of things to say to each other. It wasn't until a couple of minutes had passed when I'd finally gathered up the courage to say something.

"Actually," I began, turning to face Mando. "I wanted to talk to you about something a few weeks back but just didn't have the chance to."

"Okay," He replied, shifting his head over to look at me. "Shoot."

".. I'm sorry." I said as my eyes wavered about. "I was being really impulsive after you'd turned me in. I was just surprised that you actually came back -- that's not something that a lot of hunters do."

"But.. I guess there's blame to share." He acknowledged, shaking his head. "I put you through all that trouble, even though you were the one who wanted to help me in the first place."

"Sure," I smiled softly, holding my hand out in front of me. "10%."

He stared at my hand for a bit before responding, shaking my hand. "10%."

🔹️🔹️🔹️

I had gone back into the forest, practicing my Force and lightsaber skills once again. The adrenaline that ran through my veins felt amazing -- I felt alive. It was almost like the part of me that was missing my whole life had returned.