PURPOSE | The Mandalorian

IV

By the time we reached the little wooden town, the blisters on the back of my feet were worn raw and bleeding from the walk through the forest. Every step was agony, and when we found ourselves a table to sit at I sighed with relief, kicking them off and assessing the damage.

"You okay?" Din asked, setting the child down in the stool between us.

Well, I was right about them bleeding. Blood trickled down the backs of both heels. I used the hem of my dress to gently wipe it clean and it stung like hell. I grimaced. "Never better," I replied sarcastically.

"Can I get you guys anything?"

Both Din and I glanced to the waitress standing next to the table. "Nothing for me, but the kid will take some bone broth," Din answered kindly, waving to the kid. He then looked at me and said, "Get whatever you want."

I wanted to deny her offer, but my stomach growled loudly. "Um," I said, waving my hands around as I made a decision, "Just surprise me."

The waitress nodded and smiled. "Sounds good. I'll be right back." She tapped the edge of the table with her fingers.

I turned to ask Din where we could go to buy me some new clothes, but I noticed his attention was focused on a fierce-looking woman sitting the the corner of the cantina. She was intimidating, half of her raven hair braided back tightly, the other half let loose to hang around her shoulders. She was staring at us, her face set in an unsettling frown.

"Who is that?" I asked, but Din launched himself out of his seat to follow her as she exited the cantina. "Hey!" He didn't hear me.

Reluctant to leave the kid by himself, I yelled at the lady behind the bar, who I now realized was our waitress, "Watch the kid!"

I ran after them barefooted, following the sounds of clashing fists and clinking beskar. Cursing myself, I remembered I left the blaster Din gave me on the Crest. When I finally found them, both of them were lying on the dirt, blasters pointed at each other's head.

"Want some soup?" Din asked her breathlessly.

He got to his feet first, holding out his hand to help the woman up. She smirked, clasping his forearm as he helped her to her feet. The woman began walking back towards the cantina, winking at me as she passed. Din followed close behind, and I walked next to him.

"Who is that?" I asked again, making sure he heard me this time.

"Did you leave the kid?" He asked pointedly, deflecting my question.

I replied sharply with a frown, "Don't run off next time and I won't have too."

Din sighed as he stepped back into the cantina. We made our way back to the table where the child was still sitting, a bowl of broth to his lips. A plate of spiced noodles was placed in front of my seat. My stomach growled at the sight of it.

Sitting back down, I watched Din walk up to the woman, who was standing at the bar sipping a drink, and motion for her to sit with us.

Din lowered himself in his seat on the other side of the kid while the woman sat in the last open stool across from us. "Sorry about earlier, Mando," She said, gulping down another mouthful of her drink, "I thought you had a fob on me."

"Who are you?" I asked for the third and hopefully the final time.

She glanced sideways at me. I noticed the small tattoo under her left eye, which meant she was from Alderaan. My heart ached for her and her home planet that was completely annihilated by the Death Star.

But she just tossed me a warm smile. "Cara Dune," She said, "Ex-Rebel Shock Trooper."

Now the tattoo wrapped around her bicep made sense, too. Beside me, Din said, "We were hoping to find some lodging."