The Child's Keeper: A Mandalorian FanFiction

Episode 5, Part 1: An Old Friend

Din soon charted a path out of the system. He was tense and on edge for a while, and Lys sat silently, holding the kid in her arms until he had fallen asleep. She held him until finally she watched Din's shoulders relax, and he was clearly confident about having escaped for the moment.

That was when Lys found her chance.

"I want you to teach me," Lys suddenly said, startling the child, who had curled up in her lap and had nearly fallen asleep.

Din turned and looked at Lys, and in her mind, she could tell that he was looking at her, a curious expression on his face.

"I want you to teach me how to defend myself," she restated, louder this time, and more confidently.

"Why?" Din asked, turning to face her. "You've got your blaster, and Cara taught you a few things on Sorgan."

"Why?" Lys sputtered. "Because I've been surrounded by him-" she waved her hand down at the child before looking up again and pointing a rather direct finger in Din's direction. "And you! If we're getting chased across the galaxy for the rest of our lives, I feel as though I deserve a chance at survival."

Almost as soon as her outburst had finished, she felt her face burn red with embarrassment and she snapped her jaw closed and looked down at the ground, her conditioned response of silence taking over.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No need," Din shook his head. "I can train you in basic defenses. Your aim with the blaster is already half-decent, but you could use some work to stay balanced."

"Oh," Lys said, peering back up at him. "Thank you."

Din nodded his head and turned back to the cockpit, pressing a few buttons before standing abruptly.

"Where are you going?" Lys asked.

"To train you," he replied, heading towards the ladder. He paused, seeing that she was still very much seated, staring after him as he stepped down a few rungs. "Are you coming?"

Lys nodded. She placed the child down in his little pram, noting that he was returning back to sleep before following after Din. They had a few more days until they would reach the next port, which would give her ample time to learn at least something.

She peered over to see Din standing in the middle of the cargo hold, where there was a clear space for them.

"Let me see what you've got," he said, motioning her forward.

Lys nodded and approached him cautiously. Before she could get too close, though, Din had reached out and pulled her down, swiping her clean off her feet. Lys cried out as she was pretty much flattened beneath him.

Din stood and shook his head, "Nothing. You gave me nothing."

"What? How was I supposed to know you would attack me like that."

"Again," Din said, reaching his hand down to help her up.

Lys furrowed her brows for a second before taking his hand. Only, instead of allowing herself to be pulled up, she yanked on his arm, trying to pull him down. But it was as if he had known she would do that, and she found him rolling to the side and flinging her over to the side.

"Come on, you can do better than that," he said. "Again."

Lys stood on her own this time, moving to attack him once more. She got only one good hit in, but she snapped her hand against his armor and hissed in pain, which gave him the upper hand, and she found her back against his chest, his arm wrapped around her neck. She tapped him on the thigh, and he let go.