"You're still here, Mandalorian."

Din glanced down at Kanata's voice. He was standing in the open doorway of the cantina, looking out at the lush greenery of Takodana. Winta was utterly taken with it, and even Din had to admit it was more pleasant surroundings than anywhere else they'd been recently. The cantina itself was finally beginning to pick up for the day, an increasing number of guests appearing to take a midday meal. Evidently none of them were early risers.

"It won't hurt to stay a little longer," he replied.

Kanata scrutinized him carefully, and Din had the peculiar feeling that she could see right inside his head. He assumed she, too, had the Force - whatever exactly that meant. She turned away, tipping her head in a gesture for him to follow. "Come on then. Let's talk." She led him to a table near the back, a good distance away from anyone else. When they were both seated, she spoke again. "Are you eating?"

Din looked at her, perched opposite. "No."

"Hmm." She hummed. "You don't remove your helmet."

He tipped his head. "I'm a Mandalorian." He would have expected someone of Kanata's years and experience to know something of the creed.

"There are Mandalorians who do," she said then. "Remove their helmets in the presence of others."

"No," Din corrected. "You must be mistaken."

"Not mistaken," she challenged. "I've met them, in years past."

"If they removed their helmet in front of you," Din asserted, trying and failing to keep his voice from rising. "Then they were not Mandalorian."

"I mean no offense, Mandalorian," Kanata assured him, her tone placating. "I am only telling you what I have observed. I've lived many years and seen much of the galaxy, and you are not the first of your kind I've encountered. The sect of Mandalorians to which you belong, who follow the creed as you do, are called the Children of the Watch. But there are others sects who do things differently." She leaned back in her chair. "But far be it from me to tell you what it is to be Mandalorian."

Din's head was spinning. He wondered if she was telling the truth. He couldn't imagine why she'd make it up, but the idea of there being other Mandalorians, who didn't remove their helmets, didn't follow the way, was unfathomable. Perhaps she was mistaken after all. He didn't see the point in arguing with her about it, in any event, so he should either take his leave or move the conversation along. And there was something else he wanted to ask her.

"This is the way," he offered, and Kanata inclined her head in acknowledgement. Then: "The kid - she really has these… abilities?" He wondered where the kid was, actually; he hadn't seen her since breakfast, after which she'd disappeared with their host.

"Winta is practicing some skills I've shown her," Kanata said, answering his unasked question. Which in turn answered the one about her reading his thoughts. He hadn't intended to ask the question at all, not when Winta was no longer his responsibility. "She'll be along shortly. And yes, she has the Force. She mentioned she'd shown you."

"Accidentally," Din quipped.

"The Force is difficult to control when you're young and untrained."

"And you can train her?" He pressed. "You do have the Force."

Kanata paused. "I do," she affirmed. "But I never studied it or trained in it, as many did. No, Winta will need a teacher, and I am not suitable for the task."

"So she can't stay here?" Din wasn't sure why it mattered to him, honestly.

Kanata studied him for a long moment, and Din got the impression that she was deciding what - or how much - to say. "I am making arrangements for her to shortly join a ship in the Alliance fleet," she said finally. "There is a Jedi,-" She must have sensed his bewilderment. "-a Force user, there."

"The Alliance?" Din repeated, sure he was misunderstanding. He thought the purpose of this entire exercise was to protect Winta, not send her into a war zone. "You're sending her to an Alliance ship?"

"Yes," Kanata inclined her head. "There are not as many Force users as there once were. Known ones, anyway. The Jedi were all but wiped out when the Empire rose to power."

"She doesn't need to begin training right away," Din reasoned. "She should stay here for now. The Alliance is in the middle of a war."

"Precisely." Kanata was looking at him again, in that way of hers that made Din feel she was seeing his every thought, his every intent. She adjusted her goggles and peered closer. "And a Force user is a great asset."

Beneath his helmet, Din blinked. "Are you sending her to be trained or to fight?" He couldn't keep the edge out of his voice.

Kanata spread her hands. "One does not exist without the other. Not these days. Without the fight, the future of the Jedi is dark indeed."

"She's a child."

"Interesting that you of all people would question training a child for battle, Mandalorian," Kanata challenged. Din supposed she had a point. "And indeed, no one is intending to put Winta on a battlefield. There are far better uses for such power as she has."

Her choice of words did not get past him. "It's unusual, her power. Even for a Force user?"

The corner of Kanata's mouth turned up in a smile. "Very observant. Winta has demonstrated a natural ability for a skill known as battle meditation. Jedi past have used this skill, but only with great study and practice. Her instinctive use of it is quite atypical."

"Battle meditation?"

"She can alter the outcome of a fight, by influencing the minds of the combatants. Many Force users can influence the weak-minded, but those skilled in battle meditation can stop entire squadrons in their tracks. They can make their opponents lose the will to fight while simultaneously strengthening the resolve of their own forces."

Din remembered the cantina on Tatooine. "That's what she did. We got caught up in a fight, and she affected our attackers. Their shots suddenly all went wide." Kanata inclined her head in a nod. "But there were two of them, at close range," he pointed out. He wasn't sure what difference distance made, but as with any weapon, it was probably a factor. "That's a long way from taking on a squadron."

"And that's why she needs training," Kanata pointed out. "Although I understand she has taken on larger groups before with some success."

"And this…Jedi. With the Alliance. They can train her in battle meditation?"

Kanata sighed. "There aren't any Jedi left who possess that particular skill. But it's the best place for her to learn everything she can."

"And be used as a weapon. An untrained, unpredictable weapon. " Din shook his head disbelievingly. "None of you have any idea what you're doing, do you?"

Kanata actually chuckled at that, although it didn't hold much mirth. "These are desperate times."

"Does she even know about this?"

"Winta and I discussed it this morning. She is willing to join the Alliance. She wants to help."

Of course she did. "She can't possibly understand what she's agreeing to." The kid was smart, Din knew that much. But how was she supposed to make sense of her unusual power, her potential role in the galactic conflict, the risks she'd be taking - at her age, with how little she knew of the galaxy? And all in the space of one morning? What kind of choice was that?

"She understands enough," Kanata replied. "And as you said yourself, Mandalorian, this is a war. One that could use your own services, I might add, were you so inclined."

Din was not so inclined. "It's not my fight."

Kanata raised an eyebrow. "It's everyone's fight. It's just a matter of which side you're on."

He cocked his head to the side, considering her. "Odd sentiment coming from a neutral planet."

She smirked. "My allegiances are no secret. But anyone is welcome here, so long as they leave their quarrels at the door."

"And I appreciate your hospitality," he replied. "But when I leave, I'll be heading back to the Outer Rim."

When I leave. His own words weren't lost on him. He'd intended to have left already and wasn't entirely sure what he was still doing there.

They weren't lost on Kanata either. She peered at him through her goggles again. It was honestly rather unnerving, and Din wasn't easily unnerved. "You care for her," she stated. "Winta."

"It was just a job."

"Mm." The tiny alien got to her feet, reaching up to pat his arm with a long-fingered hand as she went past, her many bracelets jangling. "And yet you're still here."

Winta joined him at breakfast the following morning, plopping down into the seat opposite with a plate of food in one hand and a glass of something in the other. Din assumed she was eating courtesy of Kanata and from the look on the kid's face at every meal, it was the most food she'd seen in many years, if not her entire life. Even he had to admit that the food at Takodana Castle was pretty decent, although he'd consumed his own meals in the privacy of the Crest.

He waited until she'd made it partway through the plate before speaking.

"You're training with Kanata again this morning?" It's what she'd spent most of their time here doing, thus far, although the exact nature of the training was a bit of a mystery to Din.

Winta swallowed, giving her head a slight shake. "Maz had something to take care of first thing, so we're not starting until later." She paused, considering. "Do you think it's safe to explore the area around the castle?"

No, was what he'd meant to say. What actually came out was: "Not unless I'm with you," and why in all the galaxy had he said that?

Winta looked up from her plate, an unmistakably hopeful expression on her face.

Din sighed. "Fine."

She brightened instantly, and it had absolutely no effect on Din whatsoever. None at all. "Really? Thank you!"

He shook his head in mild amusement as she resumed eating. It didn't seem to take much to make her happy, and that after everything she'd presumably been through. He supposed he could take a little more time to indulge her apparently endless curiosity, and then he really should be getting on his way.

He let Winta take the lead as they headed down the castle steps into the warm morning sunlight, scanning all the while for anything of potential concern. The area around the castle seemed peaceful and quiet, and it hopefully would stay that way. The kid didn't seem to have a particular goal or destination in mind, which Din found rather strange, but he was surprised to realize that he didn't mind trailing after her as she wandered into the forest near the lake, exclaiming over what seemed like literally every tree, flower, or small animal she spotted.

"I've never seen so many trees before," she confessed, peering up at the canopy overhead before turning to face him.

"You lived in the city on Corellia," he observed.

Winta nodded. "In Coronet City. And I left when I was little, so I don't remember much of that either."

He was tempted to ask about the circumstances of her leaving - was her family fleeing the Empire? - but she was already spinning back around to continue her explorations. It wasn't any of his business, in any case, and she was all alone in the galaxy now.

He spotted a clearing off to the right. The idea had occurred to him the previous night, and he might not get another opportunity.

"Come with me." Din headed for the clearing without looking back, fully expecting that Winta would follow.

She did.

"Where are we going?" she wondered, hurrying to keep up with his longer strides.

He made no reply.

When they reached the clearing, Din left her in the middle of the space to retrieve a rock from the ground and place it atop a nearby stump. Returning to where the girl stood, he drew his blaster and held it out to her, pointed downwards.

Winta blinked at him.

"Take it."

She did, looking between him and the weapon in her hand as though she wasn't sure what it was for.

"I'm teaching you to shoot." Force-whatever abilities aside, Din wasn't about to let the kid go off on her own in the world without some practical self-defense skills. When he'd started to care about what happened to her, he wasn't sure.

"Oh. Really?" She raised the blaster, and Din stepped quickly to the side as it wavered in his direction. Even with the beskar, he didn't particularly want to be shot at close range.

"First rule," he directed, covering her hand with his and guiding the blaster to aim downwards again. "Don't aim a blaster at someone unless you're prepared to pull the trigger."

Winta winced. "Sorry."

He removed his hand and nodded towards his makeshift target. "Face the target. Feet apart. There will be some kickback, so you want to be secure in your stance." She followed his instructions, keeping the blaster carefully pointed down. Stepping behind her, he nudged her feet further apart with his boot, eyeing her posture. Good enough. "Now raise the blaster. Use two hands. Arms straight out in front of you." Her grip was steady as she complied, raising the blaster to aim towards the stump.

"Now see if you can shoot the rock."

The first shot went wide. She wobbled slightly on her feet from the kickback and then cringed. "Oops."

"Try again. Now you know what to expect. Aim, then shoot."

The second one wasn't much better. Nor the third. She was steadier on her feet with each attempt, but her aim was still off. "I'm not very good at this," she muttered.

"You're not focused," he observed.

"I am too," she retorted, sounding exactly her age.

Din thought for a moment. "When you… affect someone's mind," he asked. "How do you do it?"

Winta glanced over her shoulder at him. "I think about what I want them to do."

"That easy?" He pressed. "Just think of it and it happens? Or do you have to concentrate?"

"I have to concentrate," she admitted. "It's like, everything else fades away and I'm just focused on them. Kind of like meditating, I guess."

"So do that."

She blinked. "You want me to shoot the blaster with the Force?"

"No. I want you to focus on the target the way you focus on a person. Forget everything else." She turned back to the target, raising the blaster. Din rested his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe." She complied. For a moment, the only sound was the rustle of air moving through the trees, and the chirping of a bird. "Concentrate. And when you're ready, shoot."

He waited a beat, then another, watching her breathing steadily, eyes trained on the stump. Perhaps fifteen seconds later, she fired, and the shot went right through the center of the rock, sending it into the air in a spray of granite.

"I did it!"

Din released her shoulders and stepped out from behind her. At the tilt of his head, she quickly lowered the weapon, and he crossed the clearing to the stump. The rock had indeed been reduced to bits, so he snagged another one and set it in place.

"Do it again."

Winta looked at him as he returned to her side, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "Seriously? That's all you have to say?" He just stared back at her, impassive, until she huffed and turned back towards the target. "Ugh." Din was glad his helmet concealed the smile he was trying hard to suppress.

Her next shot missed, and she groaned in frustration. "You're distracted again," he pointed out. By pride in her first successful attempt or irritation at his lack of enthusiasm, Din wasn't sure. Maybe both. "Clear your mind."

And it worked.

"If someone's shooting at me, though," she said, after giving off a little cheer, watching him as he again replaced the target. "I can't exactly stop and meditate in order to shoot back."

Din huffed. "No," he agreed. "But it will get easier, more instinctual, with practice."

"Can we do this again tomorrow?"

"We'll see," he answered. He wasn't even sure he'd still be on Takodana tomorrow, and why was that even a question? He should be long gone already. "But right now, you're going to keep going until you hit three more rocks, and then I'll teach you how to load it."

Winta gave him a look that was an odd mix of enthusiasm and exasperation, and then turned back to the task at hand.