The second hunt had been easy, Mando letting her and the kid roam in the small town, while he did his work. The planet was mostly oceans but they were on a large island, charming white plaster buildings and thatched roofed stands selling fruits, spiced meats, and trinkets of shells and sand. Tourists meandering about and kids playing in little wave pools as their parents watched. She had put the kid in a simple top instead of the heavy robe, not wanting him to overheat, putting a small hat she bought on him to protect his skin from the sun. She wore blue leggings and a white flowing top, having bound her breasts down and the vibroblade holstered under her top and the flute in the bag slung over her shoulder. Andora kind of hoped this job would take a while, the breeze was refreshing on a sunny day. The kid had been excited about the water playground but there were teenagers that were too aggressive for her liking with smaller children. But hesitantly she let him go, watching in interest at how easily he swam. The hint about amphibian like species seemed even more on point now. The kids were all excited by the little guy, but some of the teenage boys moved over as well. One of the teens picked him up, about to toss him like a ball, the smaller children all crying out.
"ENOUGH!" Her voice echoed in the suddenly silent space, all the kids and adults turning to look at Andora. She was used to bullying when the tour groups came in, her voice booming through the normal volume of children to refocus their attentions. The boy who picked up the kid looked her over, not seeing the threat and not releasing her current charge. She walked over swiftly into the water, shoulders squared, and looked into the boy's eyes. "I do not care what manners your parents allow! You will gently put him down and go play somewhere else!" There was a strange quality to Andora's voice. The teen obeyed her, the kid swimming behind her, clutching her leg. Andora might have used a bit too much control with the teen as he walked away, his friends all piling on him for backing down to a woman. Good thing she had not worn boots, sandals would dry soon stayed standing in the pool, smiling and chatting nicely with the smaller children and they seemed much happier now that the teens had abandoned the small play space. A drunk woman eventually came up to Andora, manicured nails pointing in her face as the woman spoke in slurred words.
"Who you th-hic think you are? Yelling at my-hic my son?" Andora ignored the woman, the little guy starting to get tired from so much play time and she scooped him up. "Excuse me! I AM TALKING TO YOU." The woman tried to grab Andora's shoulder to force her to stay so the drunk woman could get her attention. Andora gripped the woman's wrist and gave it a slight twist, the woman howling disproportionately in her drunken state, falling to the floor. Other parents watching in interest, seems they also did not like the way the teens had been playing but had not stood up. Other passersby watching for the gossip.
"Ma'am, your son was about to throw a baby. You should consider it lucky all I did was yell at him. Raise him with some honor. If he needs to harm babies to be accomplished with his friends, you have failed greatly as a parent. Have a pleasant day and enjoy your vacation." Andora once more spoke in her tour guide voice, the overly polite tone at heavy odds with the woman sprawled on the floor, her drink spilled on her bathing suit, her pride and drunken bravado gone. Taking the kid Andora walked off, feeling the woman's frustration and shame, the rich woman not used to being talked down to. "Hey kido, let's not tell Mando about that."
"I could hear you from across the Island." She yelped in surprise as he spoke up from behind her, not expecting him there. He was chuckling at her as he took the babbling child from her. "Didn't see me coming?"
"Who could predict you." She said with a roll of her eyes, walking off with him towards the town center. There were retaining walls surrounding the island, the beaches all protected calm water, but waves could still be heard crashing against it. "Done with your hunt?"
"They're loaded on already." The kid was cuddled into Din's arms, resting after swimming. Andora was a bit sad he was so efficient, she wanted to stay a little longer.
"I was hoping to take a swim before you were done." She said wistfully, looking at the sparkling blue water between the shore and the retaining wall. "This is wonderful to be outside with real...everything. No dome, no artificial cycles."
"You and the kid were just in the wading pool back there." His tone was matter of fact, his own stomach grumbling for a meal.
"I couldn't swim in the shallow water. Plus I was busy keeping him safe." He could see her pale skin turning slightly pink from being in the sun.
"He would have saved himself." Din said confidently.
"Yeah, and then everyone would have been gossiping about a magic baby instead of an angry woman. Angry women are common, magic babies not so much." Andora stopped walking as she spoke, the urge to just cool down her heated skin so strong. She reached under her top and removed the blade and its holster, putting it in her bag and marching off towards the beach. She heard his heavy footsteps in the sand behind her, and she left the bag safely on the shore. She removed her shoes as well, walking into the calm water, letting her senses reach out into the water, sensing nothing but small fish and farmed sea life off near the fish market. Before Din could stop her she had already walked out in the crystal clear waters to her shoulders, ducking her head under to wet herself and lazily floating. "Why is no one else out here?" She swam out a bit further, the water only a few feet deeper, but still crystal clear.
"Because the local fish eat flesh. Now Get Back Here." He sounded really pissed with her, and she realized he was going to drag her back to shore quickly with the grapple hook. There was a rush of water as a school of small fish rushed over to her, swimming around her in a circle. She wasn't panicking, just remaining calm as the fish sized her up. The kid was giggling, reaching out towards her and the fish, the idea of swimming again exciting him. Andora's eyes widened, and she began making thrashing motions in the water, but instead of screams of distress she was laughing. The fish were barely as long as a trigger finger but their sucking mouths latched onto her skin. His wire wrapped around her and the motor dragged her back to shore, fish releasing her as she left the water, the school of fish waiting at the edge of the water as she was being coated in sand. As he looked her over he saw there was indeed no damage to her flesh, but her white top and the white fabric of her breast bindings now soaked through.
"That tickled a lot. Little buggers must be starving." She smiled up at him. "Take off a glove, it's a really interesting sensation. They eat dead flesh." She once more stuck her feet into the water, squealing in delight as she had the little sucking mouths on her feet. Feeling the little fish sucking and scraping away the callouses on her feet from normal wear and tear. "It's a free natural spa treatment." The kid walked up to the edge of the water, the fish ignoring him for the most part, swimming around him but apparently his skin was not enough to feed from. He unlatched his grappler from around her, annoyed with her recklessness. But as the fish got their fill of the skin on her feet she rolled up the legs of her pants and walked back out further, making sure the fish did not swim up her left pant leg past her knee by tying that leg. Fish rushed up under her shirt as she stood deeper in the water. Giggling less as the fish striped her of dead skin. Her and the kid seemed fine, so he pulled off a glove, putting just his pinky within the water, the fish rushing to his hand, and she watched in interest as his shoulder twitched. He pulled his hand back after the experience.
"I wonder why they claimed these fish were dangerous." Din watched as she swam around in the water, the fish leaving now that they had eaten their fill or all they could from her. The kid was following her as best he could, but she was not watching him now. Din was here, and could take over for it. She was fairly competent as a swimmer, not professional but fast and able to hold her breath for long spans of time. The kid squeaked for her attention, and Din could see the hesitation before she swam over to the kid, putting him on her stomach as she floated.
"To bad you have armor on, once the tickling stops it's really wonderful."
"I can swim in armor." He stated, Andora just rolled her eyes as she drifted in the calm water.
"Hey, I get the helm rule, but when did you last have a briikasak of any type without the rest on?" (run-ashore) Andora dunked her head under water and held it there for a long beat, the kid tapping her out of concern before she brought her face up.
"No time for it anymore." There was a hint of fondness as he reminisced. She walked back to shore, passing him the kid as she looked around.
"Can you please hold your cloak out to the side a bit?" He relented to her request, wishing he had turned around as she stripping her clinging wet top off, now standing there in just her pants and her breast bindings as she wrung out the excess water in her top, getting as much water out as she could before slipping it back on. "Thanks." She reached out and squeezed his ungloved hand lightly. "And thank you for saving me. I'll buy you something nice for dinner. Narir gar epar heturam?" (Do you eat spicy?)
"Cuyir Ni va Mando?" (Am I not Mandalorian?) Din chuckled, pulling his glove back on, feeling in a better mood for some reason. She put the bag over her shoulder, the kid protesting at having to spend more energy on walking after lots of swimming, both of them turning to pick the little guy up. She stopped and let Din pick the kid up, the pair walking away from the shore. "We should leave soon."
Unknown to them the small school of friendly fish they had been swimming with was being eaten by a large clam that blended in near perfectly with the water that was a few meters away from where Din had originally dragged her back from, the school of fish being sucked in. Had she swam a little further she would have been dragged into the current created by the shell opening and locked in the shell like the fish that were now going to be digested.
"Let me bathe on planet so we can save water, I'll wash Pirpak with me so he doesn't smell too. I'm pretty sure he will sleep for a while after all the exercise today."
"You named him soup?" His voice was firm but she could feel his amusement in his relaxed posture.
"Just a nickname, I couldn't stand having no name to call him." She was walking towards a cheap motel near the landing docks, the sign outside saying hourly rates. "If you get a room for him and I to bathe in I will run to the ship for fresh clothes." She pressed her credits in his hand and left without giving him a chance to refuse her. Her taking off at a light jog towards the ship.
She did grab fresh clothes for both of her and little Pirpak, collecting his floating crib so he wouldn't need to be carried. Stopping by a vendor that was selling very spicy food Andora probably spent more credits than she should, but it was fine. She could earn more. Carrying a few travel trays of food she went back to the motel, asking about which room the Mando was in. The local aquatic species shopkeeper told her and she went to the room, her hands full so she tapped the door with her foot. "Skraan." The door opened and she was greeted by her own reflection in his glistening helmet. He stepped aside and let her in, locking the door behind her and she saw how dark the room was as he had pulled the curtains tight. She set the food on the table, the pram followed behind her. "One is for him, you take anything else you want. I'll take a while, I am going to change my hair color while I have the counter space." She did not wait for his words as she went into the bathroom, glad to see the massive bath and shower that was supposed to be used for lovers but she planned to use to pamper herself.
Using some of the motel supplied soap she had a bubble bath started with lukewarm water as she washed Pirpak, taking care to get into his wrinkles and wash the ears for any sand that might have stowed away. The kid was barely keeping his eyes open, his little body exhausted from more playtime than he had in decades. Wrapped in the towel Andora pulled out a freshly washed robe for the little green guy, him falling asleep as soon as he was dressed and laid down on the cushioned bed. Satisfied with his hygiene she striped down and washed their clothes in the draining water from his bath and turning the water to hotter for herself. Hanging the clothes up to dry in the shower she plugged the tub again, filling it with more soap for her own bubble bath. Sliding into the steaming water she let herself moan, her skin much more sensitive from the skin eating fish. Now that the child was asleep she felt herself coming down from a slight happy fog she had been in since Mando found her earlier. She looked towards the sleeping child as she washed the sand from her waist long purple locks. Andora couldn't bring herself to be annoyed with the kid. He was doing what all kids did. He was looking for a safe loving home.
The child had claimed the Mando as his father, and was just trying to build a safe life. The kid was much too strong for his lack of skill and understanding. Pirpak has been influencing her and Mando to be more friendly towards each other. That was why he had been so relaxed, and why she had flirted so shamelessly with him. She would have to figure out a way to help teach the child to not manipulate others emotions. It was probably her fault, he must have picked up on her use of Force to calm the teenager into freeing him, and his instincts responded by wanting the two caregivers in his life to get along. Washing her hair and body free of sand, Andora did allow her mind to think on her escort, and had to admit that the flirting was not completely the kid's influence. This Mando was the strong silent type, a skilled warrior, and him being such a sweet dad was really appealing.
In her late teens and early twenties she had been attracted to the bad boys, the ones that 'rebelled' and earned her father's glare of disapproval. Drawn to boys that picked stupid fights, because she was just lost after being freed from the camp, missing her fulfilling life on Barab 1 of hunting and feeling like she was a warrior with purpose. Being striped from all that and being told to fit back into the mold of a well behaved girl, not the warrior she had been clawing her way towards. It always felt like the bad boys would be the only ones that could understand her adventure off world, but her affections for them fell away quickly when they called her a freak and monster when she tried to share any of her experiences. It wasn't until she went back to playing music and advancing in her academics did she find her experiences were as exciting to others as to herself. Her friends inspired to write songs while her practical experience with bone crafting helping lead her into the position she had at the museum.
Now in her early thirties she cringed as she thought back on all those young flings, saying if she were going to crush on anyone, at least it was a man who was a massive step up. He was wary of her for good reason, but he was smart, picked his battles, and that mysterious face hiding under his mask meant she could imagine any face she wished under his helmet. He was not a hulking man, but he was taller than her, and his confidence was definitely sexy. As proud as he was as a warrior, he also took his responsibility as a father seriously. That sent a shiver down her spine. An excited shiver, and she blushed as she let that simmer in her mind. She was at the age where she wanted kids, and finding a man who was so paternal really kicked that attraction into a higher gear. That or she was just missing a mans touch after a few years without it.
The water was getting cold and she decided to actually start on coloring her hair. Standing at the bathroom counter she opened the bottle of dye. When she had done the purple hair she had left her eyebrows her natural brown, but in order to avoid looking like herself she would color them as well. She pulled the vibroblade from her bag, turning off the vibration so it could just cut normally. Andora was going to miss the length. With an ease that only came from correctly sharpened blades she cut her hair to a few inches below her shoulders on both sides. Collecting her cut hair she put it in a knot to keep from leaving behind evidence of her changed appearance, going to throw it away somewhere else. From purple she was going to a rich cobalt blue color, easily putting the color through her hair and applying it to her eyebrows. She washed the eyebrows first before moving the dried clothes to the counter and starting a shower. The time she had spent applying color allowed for more hot water to fill the shower. Rinsing the color was faster than her bath, and it had been over an hour of her in the bathroom. She put on her grey pants and the purple shirt again, leaving the blue sweater on the ship since it was warm out. A knock at the bathroom door had her attention as she finished cleaning up her hair dye.
"You and the kid should come eat." That was his permission for her to exit the bathroom, seeing that the lights were on now as she entered to join him at the table. He rose to stand and meet her. Andora looking into his visor at where she figured his eyes were as she smiled, noticing his head tilt and his gloved hand touch her cobalt hair. "It looks different. Good choice." Damn it. His simple statement made her heart skip a beat like she was a teen again. The lack of reflecting light drew her eyes down to where he was not wearing armor anymore, just in his fabric armor layers. Heat rushed to her cheeks, and Mando walked into the bathroom, the pair of them trading places, her being free to eat and relax while he washed up.
The heat from the spices in the food was a welcome relief from the blush that he had caused by simply leaving his armor laid out with care on the bed and being so exposed. The only non-spicy food was what she had ordered for Pirpak, but he was still peacefully sleeping. She saved his meal and tossed the empty trays into the trash. The sound of the shower running was doing strange things to her, wondering about the water running over his body. Like she had taken her time to indulge in the bath and shower he took a longer shower than she had heard him take on the ship. The water must feel wonderful against his skin since he had been wearing so many layers of fabric and the heat would ease his muscles from having to carry the heavy armor itself. The beskar was glinting tantalizingly from the bed, and she bit her lip. Sucking the last of the spicy sauce from her fingertips she eyed the armor pieces, listening as the shower to gauge if he was coming back. His armor could tell her so much about him, and unfair amount to be honest. It would sing of all the things it had been there to witness. Hesitating she found herself inching over to them, wanting to listen to the songs it would sing, but knowing it wasn't right. This was not a fallen warrior or a warrior from ages past. He was very much alive, and naked behind that door. It would be a complete breach of privacy and his trust to touch his armor and learn his stories when he was choosing not to share.
She looked at herself reflecting in the pieces, wondering if she would ever get to wear anything like it herself. Her bone and plaster affixed to the cheap imperial pieces had never made her feel as powerful as this armor did by just looking at it. At the museum she had been under imperial watch to not wear the armor she was restoring, the armors calling her to wear them and be a true Mandalorian. The day Empire had fallen, she had allowed herself to slip once into listening to that voice. Putting Tarre's helm on, and it had moved her to tears hearing the glory of his battle song. It had shown her how to find the burial tomb that he and others of their clan were buried in, out hidden in cliffs of the once beautiful planet. After she had found it she had dug up her family's graves up and moved them to join their clan. She had left a space for herself to join them too one day. The call to wear armor didn't stop, but she channeled it instead into the efforts to reclaim stolen armors and bring them home, hoping that them being seen by others would continue to kindle the fire of Mandalore.
It was how he found her, staring at the glistening plates but her mind walking down a very different road. He had washed himself and redressed in his fabric armor layers. He observed her quietly as she just looked at herself in his armor, and she hated that he had seen her wipe away tears.
"The food was good, thank you." He said evenly as he started redressing in his armor, and he felt her eyes watching him closely. Normally it would unnerve him but he understood. It wasn't really 'him' Andora was looking at. They had quietly left the hotel, and he watched her throw the cut locks of hair into an open fire pit as they passed, the smell of burning hair very unpleasant but it was the only way to fully remove evidence. The sun was setting as they got back on the ship. "Any leads for the kid?"
"I'll check my encoded messages. I had a friend looks into the Jedi temple's registries on Coruscant from before the Empire. Hopefully we will get a lead in any of the kids born 50 years ago." She walked up into the ship, him quickly following her and locking the ship to keep out prying ears.
"Wait, you mean these wizards had a secret base on Coruscant?" She couldn't tell if he was hopeful or worried she had a real lead.
"Jedi used to have their main temple on Coruscant, they were exterminated by the Empire after the Clone War. Their temple wasn't a secret, they acted as generals during the clone wars, and before that they were peacekeepers for the Republics. Part of why our two cultures clashed. They wanted us to stop the expansion of Mandalorian space and our more...brutal war tactics. We did not want to so it lead to the war between our groups." She was pulling out her data pad, checking for the email.
"But as recent as the Clone Wars these wizards were part of the Galactic order?" He put back weapons into the locker, mulling over this new information.
"Not Wizards, Jedi. They were battle monks." She corrected calmly. "They stayed mostly in the inner and middle rims, they did come to the outer rim in search of force sensitive children to take into the order though." She followed him up into the cockpit, them leaving the kid down below to sleep.
"Why did they look for children?"
"They didn't believe in having families, so...once a student became a Jedi they never had children. Only way for more Jedi to be trained was to find them. Part of the reason Tarre Vizsla left the Jedi order, he wanted children, to raise them as Mandalorians, so he had to leave. I'm grateful he did, or else I wouldn't be here." Sitting to his back left she looked at her data pad, thinking of her next step. "That and being called to be Mand'alor, which he could not be our leader and serve another master." She watched his hands move along the switches and buttons with skill and ease, the pair falling into a comfortable silence. He was checking the star charts to see the best route to the last hunt he had. This one would be a bit more dangerous, but after that they could park and give her some time to 'freshen up' on her hunting skills. "I think I'll get some sleep, I'll be up in a few hours so you can get some rest to."
"I'll be good for a while." His tone was soft, but she could tell he appreciated her offer. Once more dropping down she opened her cot. Andora began her routine before sleep, unbinding her breasts and slipping into a sleeping outfit as she set aside her clothes. As she laid down she let her mind drift back over the days events.
"Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum. Adkote, ner ori'vod. Catul, cyare Buir. Ner echoy'la sayri'r, A'sarad." (I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal. Adkote, my older brother. Catul, beloved father. My lost mother, A'sarad.) Andora recited as she had a moment to herself while Mando was occupied flying the ship, the two bounties not able to overhear her in their carbonite sleep.
Din could hear her soft recitation, and silently recited the names of his own family. Both his birth parents and all the members of his clan that had been decimated to make amends for his failure. He had not traveled with another Mandalorian since his teens when he had first been shown the process of the hunt, and then it had been another man, the veteran hunter who taught him so much. It was the same man that had rescued him from the night of a thousand tears. That man had sponsored Din, and had become his father, much as he was father now to the kid. That man had been the last one to see his face. When he was certain she was deep asleep he turned off the lights, and removed his helmet gain, running his hands through his dark hair, feeling better after the shower and washing the clothes he wore under all his layers.
When Andora had asked him when was the last time he had a "shore leave" before being so forward with him by standing there without her top, the suggestion of the seedy motel had been slightly mortifying but she had left without giving him time to argue. When she came back with food and then locked herself away in the bathroom he had been relieved, she had genuinely wanted a bath, and was not going to try and seduce him in poor taste with his child in the room. The spicy finger foods she had bought for them was a pleasant surprise, and while he normally would not be swayed by food, it had been a good way to buy good will with him. He doubted she realized she sings or hums while relaxing, hearing her through the door. Where he had seen more pronounced scars the first time he saw her skin it seemed the fish had eaten the old wounds and left smoother skin it their wake, the scars more faded. He had seen the swell of her breasts bound down firmly, so when the fabric was wet, he could see the hints of the nipples beneath. He would treat it as nonchalantly as she had. She had been trying to dry her shirt, and asked him for more modesty in the task, but no further sexual advances.
Maybe he was just starting to miss some female companionship after a very long time without it. Most women wanted the helmet off, not understanding why he couldn't, or used the relationship as leverage against him. His last run in with Xi'an was a reminder of how scorned lovers were a problem. But thinking back to Omera, it had been tempting, so tempting to give another relationship a chance, but to be with her would be a loss of himself. Shaking his head, he needed to focus his full effort on the kid. The kid needed him, so his own desires would be neglected till he was positive he had done everything he could. He was pulled from his thoughts by an alert of an incoming transmission for him.
"My friend, I don't know if you have heard the news, but there is a massive reward being offered for anyone that can rescue the kidnapped Andora Vizsla and the relic. The Government of Mandalore is offering half a million credit reward since they say she has been kidnapped by a radical group of terrorists called Death Watch. When the guild members heard it would mean going against more Mando's they all turned coward. Knowing how much you need for fuel while on your search I figured I should tell you about it, maybe you could at least convince the other mando's to release her and turn her over for the reward. Good luck friend." Greef Karga's voice was echoing within the ship, and Din felt a knot in his stomach. She was still sleeping peacefully below. Erasing the message Din took the ship out of hyperspace to think. He had already agreed to take her in exchange for her help with finding the Jedi for the kid. Even if he hadn't, something felt wrong with the whole situation. He had rescued her while the New Republic had been searching the skies. How could anyone have known about him?
He let her say what she wanted about Death Watch because she had a very different view of their actions as both a relative of a former leader and as someone that lived on the planet dealing with the aftermath of their failed actions. It was clear she did not understand that the Death Watch was not a monolithic group. The Death Watch had rescued him and given him purpose after saving his life. But for her, she saw their actions as a division between two pieces of a whole she wanted to join together. He and the kid were Clan Mudhorn now, so why seek out that argument. She had changed her looks as much as she could right now, and the planet they just left did not have news broadcasts because vacationers wanted to get away from the galaxy. They were fine for now, and as long as they stayed out of too much trouble this would not be a problem. He needed her help, so a little extra heat wasn't going to change their agreement. He heard her shifting a bit, standing up and coming stand at the foot of the ladder below.
"Hey...did you call for me?" She said softly, her voice heavy with sleep.
"No...news update about you. They are offering a half million credits for your return to Mandalore." He didn't put his helmet back on just yet.
"Damn...to bad we can't keep the little guy, could turn myself in and retire." She laughed at her own joke, no doubt it was a much stronger delivery in her mind. "Need anything while I'm up?" She mumbled.
"Get some sleep Andora. I'm fine." He hadn't used her name before.
"Okay...I'm down here if you change your mind." He listened as she settled into her bed again. Putting his helmet back on he calculated the hyperspace route again, needing to get to them through his last puck so they could get some time to get her back into fighting shape before going way out into the edge of the galaxy.
Chapter end