Chapter 2: The Call

Din observed his new surroundings with incredulous wonder, the scenes invading his senses like a maelstrom. The dome that towered above the city was brimming with brilliant hues of grey and blue, the metals of the gigantic sphere extending around and above him as far as his wide eyes could see. Without a word, he followed Two Stripes' footsteps as they weaved through a crowded bazaar, nearly bumping into several of the inhabitants as he was so distracted. They were Mandalorians, Two Stripes had said. They were his people.

"Stay close, kid," Two Stripes called out in Din's native tongue, peering back at the trailing boy. Whoever invented this damn translation visor was brilliant, he thought. If it hadn't been for that, he didn't know how he'd be able to communicate with the kid. Interpretive dance, maybe? "Almost there."

The journey to Mandalore had lasted several days. Despite the lack of mistreatment by those that he had travelled with, Din's anxiety grew as time passed, the severity of his situation sinking deeper and deeper into his psyche. The quiet life that he had known had been stripped away from him in a violent instant, his days now plagued with grief, pain, and uncertainty. At that moment, the only thing that the boy was sure of was that these Mandalorians - Two Stripes, in particular - had saved him and had not yet abandoned him.

So, he followed. He followed the armoured man until they eventually stepped inside a soaring, stone structure.

Din's breath caught his throat at the sight before him. The edifice consisted of a large hall adorned with intricately-carved, stone archways that soared above them. Thick pillars lined either side of the main area, its surfaces painted with multicoloured markings and adorned with drawings of stories past. The stained glass windows upon parallel walls shone bright, illuminating the portrayals of battles in Mandalorian history. Without need of coaxing, Din ran up to and curiously examined each one, with Two Stripes at his side describing the history behind each station.

"This one depicts the first Mand'alor, Mandalore the First, who became the sole ruler of the first Mandalorians." The brawny warrior couldn't help but admire the artistic wonder himself, his light blue eyes regarding it with reverence. He realized that he hadn't been in this Mandalorian temple for ages. The fighting had kept him busy. "Only a Mandalorian deemed worthy could claim the title of Mand'alor. If the Mandalorians did not agree with the Mand'alor's abilities or authority, others could make a claim for the title; by creed, it is a Mandalorian's duty to make sure that we have a good, strong leader."

"Whoa." Din breathed out in admiration, hand reaching up for the cool glass. "Mand'alors must know how to fight? And they have weapons?"

Two Stripes chuckled as he nodded, a small smirk forming upon his thin lips. "Weapons are a part of our religion, kid."

Din's eyes grew even wider. "Big weapons?"

"Especially big weapons."

Two Stripes noticed the gleaming excitement in the boy's eyes, magnifying as he persisted to tell him about the Mandalorian religion. As a child who had grown up on Mandalore himself, these tales and folklore were a part of his daily life, as it continued to be to this day. Though, he quickly realized through his teenage years and beyond that there were some more practical applications of his religion in real life. Perhaps, he thought, this was a good segway into why he had actually brought the kid here.

"Kid...how would you like to be a foundling?" Two Stripes began in a light tone. He knew that the kid really had no choice now, but he wanted to give him a semblance of a choice. After all, it would be easier to train someone who's compliant. But he was going to be a foundling, period. The creed had deemed it so. Two Stripes thought himself a relatively pious man, so he, too, had to accept that he was now a father. The logistics of the new role? He'll warm up to it sooner or later.

He had to.

Din furrowed his brows, giving Two Stripes a sidelong glance. "What's a foundling?"

"A Mandalorian not born Mandalorian, but adopted into our culture." Two Stripes shook his head from side to side, waving his hand in a circular motion. "For all intents and purposes, I'll be your father."

Din blinked up at him in bewilderment.

"We'll care for you. Train you. Raise you." Two Stripes knocked upon the side of his helmet with a closed fist. "Once you wear a helmet like this, you will no longer be permitted to take it off in front of anyone. You stop being Din Djarin. Your old life will be no more." His chin rose, his shoulders squaring. "You become one of us."

Yeah, that was a damn good speech, Two Stripes thought smugly. The kid won't be able to resist…

In response, Din turned on his heel and ran.

Haar'chak. Ok, maybe not. Two Stripes sighed. He never understood why foundlings were always so scared in the beginning. A promise of a full belly, a roof over their head, a sense of pride and purpose? Sure, bodily harm and death would be normal occupational hazards, but, damn it, he personally would take his chances with Mandalorians in a heartbeat if he were them.

They were, after all, the fiercest warriors in the galaxy.

Two Stripes calmly followed the boy's heavy footsteps outside of the temple, yawning and scratching at his abdomen as he did so. He was just about to turn on his helmet's thermal vision capability when he abruptly stopped in his tracks. He rolled his eyes. "Kid, who the hell taught you how to hide?"

The child's breathing was so loud that even a Wookiee would have been deafened.

Two Stripes looked down.

To add insult to injury, the kid's feet were clearly exposed behind the stack of crates that he so desperately tried to hide behind.

Two Stripes easily extended his arm and firmly grabbed Din's shirt, pulling him promptly forward. "Osik, it's like you're not even trying!"

Din appeared as though he was just about ready to burst into tears. Two Stripes cringed, moreso because this was probably the first time he'd seen the kid not crying since he had rescued him. Perhaps it was time for a different approach. He released the boy and took a knee, resting an arm upon his thigh. "Look, kid, I get it. I get the shab that you're going through. It's rough."

Din released a sob as he met Two Stripes' piercing gaze. His own reflection stared back at him.

"Trust me, it ain't gonna get easier from here," Two Stripes continued, the scenes of his checkered past flashing briefly in his mind. "Life will chew you up and spit you out. But we'll teach you how to fight back." He placed a firm hand on Din's trembling shoulder. "Do you wanna fight back, kid?"

Din remained quiet for a while, his countenance contemplative. His parents were gone. He was alone.

Where else could he go?

He stood there motionless for so long that Two Stripes momentarily wondered whether he had fallen asleep standing up with his eyes open. He even waved a hand in front of Din's face just to be sure.

"I want to fight back," Din replied.

Two Stripes felt a surge of pride then - an emotion that he hadn't felt in a long time in response to someone else's actions. He didn't think that the kid would be this compliant this quickly. But the look in his eyes then exhibited that there was something about the boy, something that he hadn't seen in many foundlings before him - a raging fire that was fighting to be set free.

A phoenix that wanted to rise.

"The way of the Mandalore will not be easy," he warned the boy, "but I'll do what I can to help you through it."

"Thank you," Din said in almost a whisper. The fear and panic within him seemed to have slowly dissipated. "Thank you for saving me."

Two Stripes visibly reared back, head cocked to the side. He'd seen a lot of foundlings give in to their fear, allowing it to wholly consume them, or only reluctantly agree to accept their fate, having no other choice. But Din's exhibition of appreciation actually astonished him. Despite what little the boy knew at that moment, he was open to the creed, extending his arms wide to embrace it.

Two Stripes drummed his fingers upon his leg, thinking. He then pulled at the collar of his shirt and the clasp of his cape until he was able to grab what he was looking for. He tugged it upwards around his helmet and eyed it fondly upon the palm of his gloved hand. "Take this, kid," he said, extending his hand out to Din.

Din stepped forward and stared at the necklace upon the Mandalorian's hand.

"This is a mythosaur, a symbol of our people and history," Two Stripes explained, reverently tracing the pendant with his fingertips. "Wear it with honour. Always."

(V)(V)(V)

A/N: Thank you to Biberflub, PrincessStarberry, and Love. Fiction. 2020 for their reviews and to all of those who have favourited and followed this story! I must say, I was inspired to make it into more of a full-out story because you guys seemed to like it so much, so thank you for that. Given the scope and style of this fic, I've planned out at least 20ish chapters, and I'm planning to explore many of the things that I still haven't been able to in "The Captive", so I'm super excited. Whereas the scope of "The Captive" is wide and grand, I really want this fic to be very focused and internal. Din is such an interesting character so he is the perfect person to explore in a "coming of age" fic. Thank you again. Cheers! xx IFHD