A.N: One name: HONDO! Ok I'm good. Just a little tidbit: reviews are much appreciated, especially ones with constructive criticism. But hey, i'm getting a lot of views and readers, thank you so much!

I don't own Star Wars.


Chapter 10: Meeting Her


After another few hours of not being able to find the girl, I had decided to stop. I knew if I kept going she would feel the pressure of the chase and try to change her course. In my misfortune she would probably do it without me knowing. She could make a left and I would go straight past her and then miss her by miles. I remembered the fear in her eyes, the danger she felt all around her. The reason the girl was running away was because she was afraid of what I would do. Pursuing her made me feel like a hunter to her. If she didn't feel threatened, then she would feel a lot safer to come near me again. I had to stop the chase.

Knowing this I decided to get ready for camp. First thing I did was look around the woodlands for what was deemed edible to eat. I found a bush with some familiar yellow berries growing from it. Realizing as the food the stranger girl gave me, I packed some in my bag and then found the nearest clearing to make camp. Finding some broken dry wood, I put it all together in a pile in the middle of a dirt clearing. It only took me seconds to start the fire and then sit down and relax.

It was by the time I sat down that I felt it. The Force was tugging at my chest, telling me that the girl had returned. So far I'm doing the right thing and not going to look for her. She's round, and that's all I need to know. I pretended to look at my fire and see something wrong with it, hoping that where ever she was she saw me and thought I was in need of more firewood. I stood up, left my satchel behind, and began to walk out of the clearing and into the tree line. I waited until I went past two trees until I decided to hide behind one and peek around the edge. Getting a good view of the clearing, I waited patiently for something to happen. After a long few minutes, a clump of bushes from the other side of the clearing on the tree line rustled. Coming out from behind it was the girl on all fours. She managed to keep her body low even though she used her back feet to support her and not her knees. Her knuckles scraped the ground as she walked closer to the fire. She's like a little animal…

Finally, the girl stood up on her two feet feeling perfectly safe being alone. Walking around the fire, the first thing she did was go to my satchel. Normally I wouldn't let just anybody go through my stuff, but I was curious to see how she moved and observed. The way she crouched intrigued me and she even made me chuckle a little when she stuck her head into the bag. I took this chance to get closer, tip toeing towards a tree that made up the edge of the tree line to the clearing. I watched as she moved her head out of the bag and then reach a hand in to pull out a small metal box. My eyes widened. My marks. The girl opened the lid of the box and held out my two beads of Illumination. They glistened bright yellow against the fire, making the girl's eyes twinkle with the reflection of light. She eyed them curiously as she held them in the palm of her hand.

I sighed in relief as the girl put them back in the metal box and then set the whole thing on the floor. I'm starting to think I shouldn't have left her my stuff, but then again she hasn't broken or misplaced anything yet. Reaching into the bag, the girl pulled out my lightsaber. Or cut her arm off! I quickly ran out from behind the tree and said to her, "Careful…"

The girl gasped seeing me run out and then she dropped all my belongings so she could scoot back on all fours. I froze, not wanting to scare her anymore, but as I stopped so did she. From where I was, I could see her eyes dart between me and the forest behind her. Not wanting for her to choose the latter I held my hands up in surrender and slowly walked on over to the campfire. As I took a step forward she took a step back. Once I had gotten to a spot in front of the fire the girl had backed up so that she had stood up by the tree line and put her back against a tree trunk. I continued to look at the girl as I sat down in front of the fire and began to put my belonging she had taken out back into the satchel.

But I didn't put the metal box with my beads in it yet. I looked down at my box and then back at the girl. Her body screamed fear for sure as she trembled in my presence, but her eyes were a mix of caution and curiosity. She was afraid of what I would do with the beads as well as interested. I should show her it's nothing to fear. I opened the box and just as I looked at the beads and held out a hand to pick them out, I froze. In my mind, all I could see was my reflection in the mirror back at my room in the Jedi Temple. Then it quickly flashed to how I looked in a mirror after Order 66. I didn't want to put them on, because I wasn't the Jedi I had been before, but deep down something in me wanted me to put them on. I followed the instinct and affixed a bead on the bridge of my nose between my eyes, and then I put the other just above on my forehead. Seeing something move in the corner of my eye, I slowly turned my head as I put on the last bead. I watched the girl tip toe slowly on two feet towards me. She's trying to understand what I'm doing.

I smiled and put the empty metal box away in my satchel. Then, I decided to turn my head all the way and look at the girl. She was now just a few feet away from me, standing up and not making another move to come forward. Here eyes trailed my face and as she took her right hand went up and she put a finger on her forehead to. The finger is in the same place where my my bead would be on my forehead. This little motion made me chuckle, which spooked her a bit and made her put her hand down. Then she gave a small smile. That's the first smile I've seen on her since I first saw her. She must be warming up to me. Now that she was standing by me, I finally got a good look at the girl. She still wore the same wrap of fabric that acted as clothing just like when I last saw her. There were more splotches if dirt on the cloth as well as her body. There didn't seem to be more bruises then there was before, but now that she was standing up with stomach facing me I could see her ribs. They weren't so obvious but if one looked closely enough you could see three lines of bone sticking out from under her skin on each side of her chest. She's starving. How long had she gone without eating?

I remembered the berries that I had picked earlier and reached into my bag. The sudden move made the girl step back and almost turn away to make a run, but when she saw the branch of fruit I had in my hand she stopped. Eyes going wide and mouth slightly ajar, the girl watched as I held out the clump of berries in my hand and held it up towards her. She looked back between the forest and the berries. Once the girl looked at me, I hoped the sincerity in my gaze told her I wasn't planning on hurting her. Then, with little steps the girl got close to me and then stopped just two steps away. She leaned down slowly and reached out a shaking hand. Her eyes went up and down, from the berries to me. That's it, go ahead and take them. With a quick hand, she grabbed the berries and then jumped back so that she was several steps away from me again.

I understood why she was still afraid of me, but I also understood why she was hungry and risked taking the berries from my hand. She was the one who introduced me to the berries in the first place, but we both knew it was not enough to feed even a small child. Little fruit could only do so much. One needed al the nutrients to survive, and not just berries can help. This got me thinking about how she was here and was like this.

If the girl had not eaten a full meal in a while, then she was alone and no one could provide for her. Even her dirty cloths told me she hadn't been able to keep tidy by herself. She had to make due with the forest. But her clothing told me that she had not always been alone. She had been provided before, but was no where near anyone who could. Was she lost?

The girl sat down to face me and proceeded to eat the berries ravenously by grabbing a fist full of berries and stuffing them in her mouth. Now that she was relaxed, I finally asked the nagging question. "Are you lost, little one?" She instantly stopped filling her mouth and swallowed what she had eaten. She blinked several times and gave me a blank stare. Did she not understand me? I was on another planet so the language could be different. Yet, I remembered when I rescued her from falling down from the cliff edge. The girl had reached a hand out when I told her to, and she stopped swinging around frantically when I told her to stop. She most know….

To answer my question, I heard a small, "No," escape her lips.

I blinked in surprise, both in reaction to the girl speaking and understanding me as well as the fact that she wasn't lost. She meant herself to be alone. Did she not even have parents who could care for her? "Oh…" I could only say at first. I didn't know whether to continue talking about it or not, but her well being was a concern for me. She looked mal-nourished and needed help. I asked, "Don't you have anyone to take care of you?"

She put her branch down on the floor and then played with her wooden wrist bracelets nervously. The girl dared not look at me, for I may see something in her eyes that hinted at the truth she didn't want me to know. I guessed even though I had given her food and showed no intention of doing harm, I was still a stranger to her. There were so many questions in my head, but starting out with a simple question would probably be the best to start the trust bond. "What is your name?"

She looked up at me finally, raising an eyebrow as if she had never heard this question asked to her before. She must not be used to meeting new people. After a few seconds she answered, "Demira." I smiled to let her know I heard. What a beautiful name….

"And may I ask how old you are?"

Demira seemed to ponder as she put a berry in her mouth. When she swallowed, Demira answered slowly, "Eight... full seasons."

"Full seasons?"

"In your…. language…" She struggled to say, "There term…. all four seasons …. Together."

"You mean spring, summer, fall, and winter."

"Yes."

"That would be a year."

"Yes…. that is the word. A year."

I nodded. Only eight years old. She was small for such an age, but appearances are deceiving. As I reached into my bag and grabbed another branch of berries. I put one in my mouth, swallowed, and then said to Demira, "When you say 'in my language', I'm guessing the tongue we speak in together isn't your first."

"No." she answered simply.

"Where did you learn how to speak it then?"

She answered without thinking, "We learn from Trader Rack. He comes from the stars. He says he travels to all around them. He used to visit our world…. bring us trade from the stars. He has taught us the language."

"You said he comes from the stars?" I asked.

"Yes. Up there." Demira pointed to the starry night sky and I looked up. Since all three moons weren't in full phase, the light from there sun that had set earlier didn't reflect off them so much. The little light helped make it easier to see all the other stars from nearby systems shine bright against the darkness. The stars… this Trader Rack journeys to different systems. "He's not from this planet, but he's from another one, correct?"

"Yes… planet. That is what Trader Rack called our world."

"How often did you say he visits?"

"Elders…. say he come very other full season…but he has been away…. long time. We think he has no more interest…. I know most of the common language is because of Chief and Chief knew Trader Rack."

I nodded. So this Trader, probably a collector or business man who trades, comes and not only brings artifacts but also teaches the basic language. But what about….

"When you say 'us' and 'we', who else do you refer to?"

"My Tri-" Demira quickly stopped when she realized how much she had spoken. She put her bare branch down on the floor and looked at the fire. I got the feeling she didn't want to explain for it would tell me too much of who she really was. Though she didn't want to let me know, I managed to understand a little more about her background. Demira had been surrounded by people, that's why she mentioned a group of elders and someone called Chief. As for this Trader Rack, I suspected the way he gets around from planet to planet is by ship. So ships do come and go from here, or at least where she is from. I needed her to take me there. So far though, I had only gotten Demira to trust me with giving her food, but she still did not seem to want to tell me too much about herself. There needed to be more trust set between us.

When she suddenly yawned, I realized how late it was and how tired she looked. I yawned too and then stretched my arms to the side. "Well, it's been a long day. After being chased by those monsters I believe some rest is need."

"Kurujiri." Demira said with a peculiar accent.

"I'm sorry?"

"The monsters. They are creatures. They are Kurujiri."

"Oh…" I said surprised. "Well, I will remember to call them that from now on. Do you happen to know why they attacked me?"

She shrugged her shoulders and then said, "I never knew. I think they attack… no reason."

"There is always a reason…" Suddenly, I remembered Captain Styles holding a giant gun and aiming it at Caleb. What was the real reason?

I scooted forward and began to scope up some dirt to throw it in the fire. As the fire began to diminish and dim so only the embers within the wood glowed, Demira stood up and looked around. I turned my head to look at her in time to see her walk away. I asked, "Where are you going?"

She stopped and looked back at me surprised. She said, "Leaving."

"Where too?"

"To…." Demira began to say and the faltered when she started to think of an answer. But we both knew she had no where to go because right now she was alone.

I didn't want her to be, though. No one as young as her should live alone like this. I patted the ground next to me and said to her, "I can't provide a bed, but I can at least let you stay with me for the night."

Demira's eyes widened and her mouth had a hard time staying closed as her jaw dropped down in shock. "I stay?"

"Of course. You said you were alone, right?"

"Yes…" she answered uncertain, her face crunching up to match her tone.

I motioned to the dirt spot next to me and then I laid my back down on the ground using my robe as a pillow for my head. For the first few moments I faced the stars high in the sky above me, and then I turned my head around to see what Demira would do. She was still there standing by the spot she sat down on earlier and she looked between the place I motioned for her to lay down on and then to me. Slowly, one foot at a time, she walked over to the spot and then kneeled down to get herself comfortable. Once she had her back to the ground, she looked up at the stars and her frown turned into a smile. She must feel wanted. By her reaction earlier, I knew that she wasn't used to this kind of welcome. I had a feeling it had to do with the same reason she was alone, but I was too tired to dwell on it. I let sleep close my eyes for me but just before I could nod off, I heard Demira ask me, "What is your name?"

Without a second thought, I told her, "Depa Billaba." My eyes flew open. No, no, no, she can't know your real name! What if she tells someone? What if the Empire knew that she knew me? Oh by the Force….

"That is…beautiful name." She said. "It is quite long, though." Her sweet tone and her tired face made me ignore the doubts and just focus on the happiness of saying my full name again.

It felt wonderful to tell someone my real name. I said to her, "Just call me Depa."

"Depa…" she repeated tired, and then closed her eyes.

I closed my eyes too and with a smile. But as I finally began to fall asleep I asked myself a question. Was I still Depa Billaba?


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A.N: Aw, Depa, don't say that. So we finally get to meet the girl, but out of all the questions, where she lives remains a mystery for now. Will Depa be able to find out more? And if she does, how? We'll see next. I'm KikaKatTIOI, peace out!