The boy who had called himself Jaster Mereel was a pretty scrappy little kid. At only ten years old he had a lot of fight in him for one so small.
Once their initial greeting had been over with the kid asked if he was new to the city and reluctantly Din nodded. A bright grin crossed the kid's face. "Usually I charge for tours of the city but for you I'll do it for free! Besides, you're not an outsider." He said, motioning toward Din's armor with a look of awe. Biting down on his bottom lip so as not to chuckle he gave another nod and stood. Again he noted the distinct lack of pain in his joints, his left knee in particular. The knee that had been busted on one of the rare jobs he'd absolutely botched.
"I'd appreciate it." A low gurgle caught his attention and the boy flushed beneath his messy brown hair. "How about somewhere affordable to eat first?" He asked, looking down the street so as not to make the kid feel any more self-conscious. The kid mumbled something under his breath before holding out his arm. Din looked down at the square of cloth and grimaced at the blood coating it. "Keep it. I've got plenty." It wasn't even a lie. He was so used to Grogu making an absolute mess of himself when eating that he still had a habit of carrying around a pouch of wipes and cleaning cloths.
"Uh, right. Kay. This way!" The boy grabbed his closest wrist and tugged on him. Din huffed and let the kid lead him out onto the main street. If he didn't want to go all he had to do was stop and the kid would probably fall backward onto his shebs. "So this is the biggest post office we have, but it's usually really busy and the Journeymen Protectors use it a lot so anyone from the Dim uses the one of Akth street." The child prattled on but Din was only partially listening to him.
From what he could see of Jaster the kid was far too skinny for his age and height. His clothes were patched and at least a size too large, his hair was uncut but it was at least clean, and his shoes were wearing out. The idea that a kid had not only been struck by an adult but seemed to react as if it was a normal occurrence made something inside him twist painfully. The picture he was getting wasn't a good one and he had to wonder what kind of backwards world he had found himself on where there were dar'manda wearing armor. As they walked none of the adults looked twice at the child. It could have been the symbol he saw stitched onto the shoulder of the kid's tunic but what it meant he had no idea.
The rest of his focus was on the people around them. Everywhere they went people stopped and stared at him. It wasn't unusual, a Mandalorian Beroya in full beskar'gam made entirely out of beskar was exceptionally rare. He was a little out of the loop when it came to galactic politics but he wasn't stupid. He knew he looked like a threat and target all in one. What was unusual was just how awestruck they seemed to be by him. There was fear, there was always a little fear, but it was overshadowed by an emotion he couldn't quite pin down.
"We're here, alor!" The boy cried, stopping the two of them in front of a local eatery. Din shifted his attention back to the kid and shook his head.
"Just Din, kid. I'm no one's boss." The boy gave him a cheeky grin and excitedly pulled him inside.
At first the staff hesitated, looking as if they wanted to toss the boy out. One look at Din standing behind him quickly squashed the option as they offered the two of them a booth.
Sitting down on the fairly clean bench he realized that this was an actual diner, rather than a cantina. Looking at the kid he should have known someone his age wouldn't take a stranger to some seedy underground bar. Unfortunately it didn't look as if they had any private rooms for him to take off his helmet to eat either.
When the waitress arrived she looked between them with a smile so fake he wondered why she'd even bothered. "What can I get for you?" He motioned at the kid.
"Whatever he wants and something cold to drink, with a straw." Both the boy and the waitress looked at him oddly for a moment and he shifted awkwardly in his seat, not wanting to explain.
"I'll have the special, and a milkshake!" The kid beamed at the woman who clicked her tongue at his loud tone, jot down their order, and headed toward the back. Jaster's dark eyes watched him for a quiet moment. The intelligence he saw in them was almost unsettling. "You don't want to show your face." He said quietly. Din flinched, his hands curling into tense fists on his lap. The boy was perceptive for his age. "It's fine." The waitress returned with his drink and set it on the table near him. The boy watched her from the corner of his eye, waiting until she was out of earshot before speaking again.
"Either you're a criminal and you saved me anyway or you're a duke or something and trying to hide it." Din had just taken a sip of the jogan juice when the kid spoke again and he choked when some of it went down the wrong tube. His momentary flailing almost knocked the glass over and some of it spilled onto the table. Jaster snickered at him and Din glared as he wiped up the mess.
"A duke?" He asked incredulously. The kid scoffed at him, crossing his arms and leaning back in the seat.
"Well, duh. What else would you be? You're wearing pure beskar and carrying a spear! It looks like it matches your armor so it's probably beskar too." Well, he wasn't wrong about that.
"I could just be lucky." Din countered as he leaned forward over the table, lowering his voice. "I could have stolen it." The kid rolled his eyes.
"If you stole it the Manda would never accept you. The past Mand'alor'e themselves would declare you dar'manda and wouldn't let you in." Din swallowed as dark eyes stared up at him, judging him. "Anyone who would steal beskar armor and wear it without shame wouldn't help a kid like me." He stated, as if it were a well known fact. "Besides, the armor looks like it was made for you. If you'd stolen it then it wouldn't fit right." He pointed out easily.
Din couldn't help but to smile. The kid was wicked smart. "What if I stole the ingots and threatened someone to make it for me?" The kid had the nerve to actually grin.
"Fat chance! If you stole it every bes'goran would know! You'd have to be an utreekov not to know each bes'goran stamps their own ingots. One look at them and any other bes'goran would beat you bloody. Not to mention whoever's clan you stole from. Everyone tied to their House would be after you." Din felt his chest constrict as the boy continued talking. He was acting as if there were enough armor smiths and clans around to actually enforce those kinds of things. "I gotta go." The kid said suddenly, sliding out of the booth.
"Where?" Din asked in confusion. The boy pointed toward an area behind him and Din leaned out of the booth to look. There was a sign for restrooms. Ah. "I'll watch for your meal." The kid smiled and scampered off, dodging around a couple of patrons who were getting up from their table. He shook his head and settled back into his seat only to jump as a familiar form sat across from him.
"Cute kid, isn't he?" Din gaped at the specter, who was looking a lot less solid this time around.
"I-" She shook her head at him and raised a finger to where her lips would be if she took off her helm.
"No one but you can see or hear me, and I don't need you to speak out loud to know what you're thinking. Just pretend you've answered your comm." Clenching his fists he took a deep breath before calmly doing as he was told.
"That boy, Jaster Mereel, is the one I sent you here to find." Din bristled.
'And where is here?' He thought bitterly.
"Concord Dawn. To a time before the purges." His eyes widened. He followed her gaze as her helmet turned to look out the shaded window. Seeing all the people walking around freely in armor…
'How the kriff?' Vizsla laughed openly.
"I couldn't have done it without the temple, one of the last remnants of the Holy City. You should have seen it before the Empire blasted NiJedha off the surface of the moon." She turned to look at him, her helm canted slightly. "I suppose now you will be able to see it, if you so choose."
'I don't care about that. I just want to go back to my son.' There was a feeling of regret and Din knew he wasn't going to like what came next.
"Grogu… at this point in time he hasn't even been born yet." She admitted. "He won't be born for another twenty years at least." Din felt as if his heart was breaking.
'Why!?' So many emotions were running through him he didn't even know where to begin. Maybe he should start with the gaping hole where his son's presence should be.
"Calm yourself, Mand'alor te Udesla." Following the tilt of her helmet he sucked in a sharp gasp of surprise. Beside him the darksaber was floating off of his belt, humming angrily. "When you were a child your presence in the force was much brighter. But someone must have recognized the danger you were in and chose to seal your ability to touch the force away." Din bit down on his tongue to keep from speaking aloud, he didn't care about any of that. He just wanted to return to his son.
"Din." Hearing his name spoken so gently, with such regret, made the raging fire inside of him dim. "I didn't send you back just to save Mandalore. Before I became Mand'alor I was a Jedi. They are my people as well. If you help me save Mandalore it will in turn save the Jedi. Grogu can grow up in a world where he would not be hunted. Where he could learn and grow with other Jedi adiike. For someone who can touch the force it is important to be around others who can guide them." His shoulders sagged. That was the whole reason he had given up his son in the first place.
Vizsla reached over and he felt a faint warmth as her hand pressed against his chest plate, almost as if it weren't there. "By the time Grogu is born you will know enough to train him in the force. This I can promise you." Din looked at her, radiating confusion. "You are force sensitive and in need of training. That is why I still remain, and why I was only able to partially heal you." Din froze.
'Heal?' Vizsla nodded.
"Time means nothing to the will of the force. While the temple had enough power to send you back through time there was only enough left over for me to turn your own biological clock back, rather than heal the wounds you had already sustained. At this moment you are about twenty standard years old." Din felt as if he was about to have a breakdown.
Best to ask something else.
'So… what do I do now?' What was it this ghost of a former Mand'alor wanted from him?
"Are you okay?" Turning to blink down at Jaster in confusion he looked back at the seat across from him to find Vizsla gone. Letting out a sigh he motioned the kid to sit back down and tapped the side of his helmet where the internal comm was normally located. The boy nodded and hopped up onto the seat. "Something bad?" The way the kid hunched in on himself to make himself seem smaller made Din want to comfort him.
"Something happened to a friend, but they'll be okay." As the kid relaxed and started to pelt him with more questions about his kit the food finally made its way to the table.
The way the boy fell on the burger reminded Din of those days when he and the older teens went hungry, just so the younger kids in the covert had a little more. "Slow down or you'll just make yourself sick. Plenty of time, kid." Jaster swallowed his current bite and contemplated him quietly for a moment before he took Din's advice.
When the kid was finished his meal he shifted in his seat, eyes darting around warily as if expecting something to happen. When the boy spied the waitress from before he ducked further into the booth and glanced at the door.
Oh.
He should have known. The kid looked like a troublemaker and it was obvious he didn't have any credits.
"Stay here." He ordered, voice gentle but firm. The boy startled and looked up at him, eyes narrowing slightly.
Getting up from the booth Din went to the counter and quickly paid for the meal. He was lucky they took different currencies, and that he was smart enough to always keep a sufficient amount of funds on him at all times, especially after the Crest had been destroyed.
He tried not to think about that. It was in the past… or the future. Either way it didn't matter now.
Once everything was squared away he came back to the booth and smiled when he found the kid still there. He motioned toward the door. The kid slid out of the booth and followed him outside, shoulders relaxing when no one tried to stop them. Din snorted in amusement before he sobered. Whoever was taking care of the kid wasn't doing their job, not if he was a frequent dine and dasher.
"So… where to next?" The boy stood there a little awkwardly, though he hid it well behind a wide grin.
"Some place I can sleep." He suggested.
The boy turned away from him suddenly, looking down the street. "This way." He said confidently, though it sounded a little hollow, and started walking. Din followed him with a concerned frown, wondering what had come over him.
As they walked down the winding streets his worry only grew as the boy's hands clenched at his sides. Feeling as if he had somehow caused the rejection-anger-disappointment that seemed to cover the kid like a cloak Din reached out and gripped his shoulder gently to stop him. Spying another alley he tugged the kid inside and crouched.
"What's wrong?" His helmet scanned the street, as if he could find the reason the boy had become so tense.
"Nothing." Jaster said sullenly, crossing his arms. Din sighed.
"I can tell you're mad." He hesitated. "Did I do something?" There must have been a hint of insecurity in his voice as the kid slowly looked up into his visor.
"No… just-" The boy uncrossed his arms, one hand coming up to rub at his arm nervously.
Several things happened at once.
First, a sudden and intense feeling of being watched came over him. Second, there was a loud yell from his right. Third, a heavy weight landed on his back, forcing him to one knee if he didn't want to fall on his face. And lastly, someone swung a piece of wood at him.
"Get away from him you shabuir!"
Bringing up his arm he blocked the piece of wood, which shattered on impact. Reaching back he grabbed whatever, or more likely whoever, was on his back and yanked them off of him, tossing them aside. Standing he reached for his blaster before the height of his attackers finally registered.
"Wait! Haj, Dax, Mala- gev!" Jaster dove between them, arms in front of him to stop what Din could now see was a group of children. Immediately his hand fell away from his blaster and he looked over at the one he had thrown off of him. Another child.
Din felt sick to his stomach- he had attacked a child! Even knowing he had only been defending himself he couldn't help the guilt and worry that rose inside his chest.
"He's a good guy, haat!" Jaster was still speaking as Din pivoted on his heel and strode over to the fallen child, kneeling once he was close enough. The kid stopped rubbing their shoulder and stared at him, wide-eyed.
"Adiik I- ni ceta. Are you okay?" His voice shook slightly and he hesitated as he reached out, worried his help would be unwanted. The child looked between him and Jaster for a moment before tentatively taking his arm and letting him help them to their feet.
"Uh, I'm okay… I mean, I kinda jumped you so…" He nodded in understanding and released their arm. Jaster grumbled as the other kids came closer, no longer interested in a fight.
"Anade, this is Din. He saved me from some shabuir'e JouPros." Din let out a disgruntled noise and gave Jaster a disapproving look for his language. Even through the helmet the kid must have recognized the look as he shifted guiltily on his feet. "Uh, Din, these are my vode." Din felt his heart clench in his chest as he got a good look at them. All of them were wearing clothes that were less than adequate and were far too skinny.
"This is Saviin, she/her." He motioned toward a pale purple twi'lek girl who grinned at him, her sharp teeth pricking her bottom lip. "And her sister Mal'afan, also she/her." A second twi'lek, this one with blue skin, smiled brightly and waved, looking at his armor curiously. They didn't look much older than Jaster.
"That's Hak'ruul'ujak. They go by they/them." The kid made a simple hand motion at Jaster and Din perked up slightly. It was a gesture of thanks. Looking at their headscarf, mouth covering, and goggles he figured they must be distantly related to a Tusken tribe.
|I will honor your name.| He signed at the child. The kid straightened in surprise before he felt something about them brighten.
|You speak the language of the Children of the Dunes?'| Din nodded.
|I stayed with a tribe of the Children for many suns.| He admitted easily.
|Do you know the Song?| Din was surprised at the formal greeting and shook his head.
|I do not know the Song.| The child nodded, expecting his reply.
|Then we seek it still. I will find the song, or another will find the song, but the song will be sung in this year or in another year.| It was an old ritual, a way to show that both parties were non-hostile. The lost Song was sacred to all Tuskens and no one would dare reference it if they didn't come in peace.
"Uh, Haj?" The child turned to Jaster and Din was surprised at the raspy voice that came from beneath the cloth covering the lower half of their face.
"He is a friend. My clan would welcome him into our compound." The other kids looked up at him in surprise.
"Woah, that's so wicked!" Jaster snorted and playfully pushed the blonde boy next to him.
"This is Daryx. He's a pain in the-" at Din's stern look the boy faltered, "behind." The children all snickered at the boy as he pouted at them.
"It's nice to meet you all." He said quietly, trying to seem less threatening.
"Your armor is so cool!" The blue twi'lek said with excitement, bouncing in place. "Is it all beskar?" Din chuckled.
"It-" A shuffling sound and a wail caught his attention and he spun around. At the other end of the alley, up a set of fire escape stairs, was a small child with dark hair and dark eyes.
"Eli! What are you doing here?" Bolting around him Jaster stampeded up the stairs to the child and gathered them up in his arms. The child clung to him, babbling happily as the boy returned to the group. "Why is Eli here?" The fierce scowl on his face was adorable, if concerning. Give him ten more years and it would be something far more intimidating.
"She wouldn't stop crying for you and the ba'jur'ade were all busy." Caretakers? Did none of these kids have families besides the Tusken child?
"Ora'bod!" The girl agreed easily, hanging off of Jaster's neck and staring up at him. "Shiny!" Jaster sighed and glared at the other kids for a moment before shifting the toddler in his arms.
"Din, this is Elenore Mereel, my sister. Say hi Eli." The girl waved her arm at him, smile bright.
"Su'ci!" The slurring of the simple Mando'a greeting made him chuckle.
"Su'cuy adiik."
As Din looked down at the group of children, Mandalorian children, he wondered again who was supposed to be taking care of them. Who let a group of kids, all younger than twelve by the looks of them, take a three or four year old out into a bustling city without adult supervision? Normally Din wouldn't have worried, because any Mando'ad worth their armor would see a child and instantly protect them. But after what he'd seen earlier with Jaster he didn't think it was very safe for the kids to be wandering around. Especially with the little girl.
"So if you weren't being stolen, what were you doing?" Jaster huffed and moved his sister's hand away from his face as she tried to show him something and miscalculated the distance.
"The usual. Was taking him to Tarvi's…" The boy quieted for a moment before looking up at him. "You asked, I mean…" The boy's cheeks flushed slightly and Din cocked his head to the side, waiting patiently for the boy to gather his thoughts. "Tarvi owns the inn I was taking you to. You're not going to need me after that… right?" There was something unsettling about the way the kid watched him, eyes dimmer than before. As if Din was about to disappear entirely.
It was a look of someone who thought they were about to be abandoned… again.
Din swallowed down all the foolish things he wanted to say and simply nodded.
"I wanted to book a room early, but I also need supplies. If you know where I could buy them I'd appreciate it… Someone stole my ship." He shifted on his feet, feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable lying to a group of children. But it was for the best. He couldn't just tell them he was from the future and that a magic Mand'alor had rudely tossed his shebs into an alleyway in the past.
There was a faint feeling of amusement from the darksaber, which was still hidden beneath his cloak. He scowled at the feeling from the safety of his helmet, thankful the children couldn't see his face.
"Really?" The blonde boy said, eyes wide. "Who would do something dumb like that?" He asked loudly.
"Someone already dead." Din grumbled honestly before freezing.
He shouldn't be talking that way in front of a group of children. Not that they seemed bothered by the statement at all, assuming he meant to kill the thief and perfectly accepting of that idea.
Jaster's sister squirmed until the boy sighed and put her down, taking her hand firmly in his. The sight of it reminded him so much of himself and Paz, back when they had been on much better terms.
"Why isn't your armor painted?" Blinking away thoughts of his own tumultuous childhood he looked at the purple twi'lek, who cocked her head to the side as she looked him up and down.
Din didn't know what to say. His first answer probably wouldn't have made much sense to them all things considered. Beskar wasn't easy to paint, it required a special kind of paint that had been expensive and hard to find outside of the covert. "I haven't had the time between jobs." He said, giving them the simpler yet no less honest answer. After all- unpainted beskar was, in its own way, a statement.
"I could take you to one of the bes'goran'e." Jaster suggested. Din glanced down at his bracer and the empty chambers where beskar needles should sit.
"After I find a place to sleep and somewhere to work." The boy nodded and tried to hand his sister off to the blue twi'lek girl. The child let out a loud wail and clung to his waist, sniffling miserably.
"Come on Eli, you need to go to Mala." The boy said gently, trying to uncurl her fingers from his tunic.
"No!" The girl said stubbornly, shaking her head violently and clinging onto him even harder. The boy let out an exasperated sound and looked at his friends for help.
Din cleared his throat and gained everyone's attention. "She can stay, I won't be bothered."
Jaster relaxed and hugged his sister to him. "Vod'ika, stop crying. Din said you can come too." The little girl sniffled a few times before peeking up at him.
"Haat?" Din crouched down so he was closer to the girl and smiled, letting everything about his posture read as positive and friendly.
"Yes. You want to stay with your ori'vod, right?" She nodded frantically. "Then you can come too." Force of habit had him reaching over and patting the girl on the head, as he might do to one of the children of the covert. The little girl beamed at him and latched onto his arm.
"Up!" She demanded. Din looked over at Jaster who was trying to hide a smile.
"What do we say, vod'ika?" The girl's face screwed up slightly in concentration.
"Get'e?" She asked, looking up at her brother. Jaster snickered.
"Gedet'ye, Eli." He looked at Din and nodded his permission.
The girl weighed practically nothing, though it was still more than Grogu. The moment she was in his arms she clung to his armor and snuggled against him, her head on his shoulder. Din adjusted his hold carefully so as not to hurt her and looked down at Jaster. "The inn?" The boy nodded and turned to his friends.
"I'll be back later. Cover for me?"
"Sure thing, Jas. But we can't stall them all day, not with Eli gone." The boy grimaced and nodded.
"You gonna be okay?" The blue twi'lek asked, glancing over at Din in a way that might have been discreet if he wasn't so used to catching small details like that from his hunts.
"Yeah, we'll be fine." The kid waved off her concern with an easy smile.
The kids gave their own good-byes and turned to go.
|May we both live to meet again.| The Tusken child signed.
|Suns and sand watch over your tribe.| The child gave him a slight bow and followed the other children out of the alley, leaving only Din, Jaster, and Jaster's sister behind.
"Come on, Tarvi's isn't far." Exiting the alley with an extra child, and Jaster in a far better mood, the three of them received some strange looks from those who passed by. Jaster didn't seem to notice as he started pointing out more places of interest.
Eli supplied her own commentary as she babbled, small hands grabbing at everything within her reach. She was particularly intrigued by his cloak and he had to untangle her hands more than once.
At least she wasn't going for his spear.
"This is it!" Jaster said, stopping just in front of him. The boy turned and held out his arms for his sister, who Din relinquished easily. The girl made a noise of distress that tugged at his heartstrings. Thankfully clinging to her brother calmed her some. "We'll wait here." The boy said, hiking his sister up in his arms. Din nodded in understanding.
Before he entered the inn he glanced back once. Jaster was murmuring to his sister, pressing his forehead against hers and smiling with the innocence of youth.
Din turned away, ignoring the faint huff of impatience in the back of his mind.
Mando'a
Shebs- Backside, rear, buttocks, can be used for back of a building. Also ass.
Dar'manda- To be declared soulless, no longer a Mandalorian.
Alor- Boss, chief, leader.
Bes'goran/Bes'goran'e- A smith, or smiths, that work specifically with beskar.
Utreekov- Empty headed, an idiot.
Adiik/Adiike- Child/Children between the ages of 3 and 13.
Shabuir/Shabuir'e- Bastard/Bastards
Gev- Stop, stop it.
Haat- Truth, truly, honest.
Ni ceta- Literally meaning 'I kneel,' used rarely as a groveling kind of apology.
Anade- Everyone, everybody.
JouPros- Disrespectful term for the Journeymen Protectors, the planetary police force of Concord Daw.
Vode- Siblings, companions, comrades in arms.
Ba'jur'ade- Caretakers, child-minders.
Ora'bod- A mispronunciation of the word Ori'vod, meaning elder sibling. Also used for friends who are older than the speaker.
Vod'ika- Younger sibling, also used for close friends who are younger than the speaker.
Mando'ad/Mando'ade- Mandalorian/Mandalorians
Get'e- A mispronunciation of the word Gedet'ye, meaning please.