(A/N If you were expecting an action scene, I apologize. I'm crap at that.

Also, if you get to a certain point in the chapter and feel the need to facepalm...I get it. I did too. But I already had the character named! and I needed to make her an alien to make the Path of Mand'alor more personal! So now we have an unintentional Disney reference.

Anyway! I hope you enjoy!)

By silent agreement they sat together in his bunk. Din didn't know how to start, so he did the only thing he could think of. He removed his helmet.

"I am dar'manda," he whispered, looking to the ground. "I have lost my way." [not Mandalorian]

He could hear her move, and the unmistakable sound of her removing her own helmet.

"I am no longer a Child of the Watch," her voice was clear and mourning, "I have been forced from my path."

Din took a breath, not wanting to look at her. Wishing he could pretend everything was as it should be.

"Your captain is a kind woman. She allowed me my affects before rejoining your presence. She let me pretend for that while longer."

"She is very knowledgeable of the Ways of Mandalore."

"Din," her voice was the softest he had ever heard it in their many years together and he finally met her gaze. He had never tried to picture her face beneath her helmet before, and yet, even with nothing to compare her to, he was still surprised by the light fur covering her face and the slanted feline eyes looking at him with compassion. "Our path was forged by Mand'alor himself decades ago. We have considered ourselves the true Mandalorians by following his example, but we are far from the only ones. You are not apart, only changed."

Every emotion in him was in conflict. He despaired at his loss of the Way, yet rejoiced in his adherence to the overarching code. Her words were truly bittersweet.

"What happened to the foundling?" she asked after some silence.

He explained Grogu's story to the Armorer.

It was strange to think of her as Nala, as an individual. She was the Armorer. She was the matriarch.

"You have done well, Din."

"There's more." He didn't want to, but needed the guidance, so he pulled out the Darksaber to set before her.

"So. We have a new Mand'alor?"

"I didn't want that. I only wanted to save my son."

"And yet it has come to you," she said, eyeing him critically before nodding an affirmation to herself. "You will make a fine Mand'alor."

"How can I lead the Way for others when I have lost my Way?"

"Perhaps you must let another guide your way for you to lead. Yes?"

"I have always relied on your guidance."

"You're kind, but I was referring to another." He furrowed his brows as he considered who she could mean. "You said the captain is knowledgeable on our way of life. She is also young which makes her see the word in a way I no longer can. Would she take the Creed?"

Din blinked, thinking of Teena being a part of his future. She was fierce and loyal. She knew the Way. She carried Beskar for reasons of her own. She even raised her children in such a way that could loosely translate to the Creed.

"I cannot speak for Teena."

"But you can speak to her. Offer her a home in your clan and the protection a leader inspires."

"My clan? I am a clan of one."

"Din, you asked for my advice."

"Sorry." He took a deep breath and stared at the helmet in his hands. "Can I truly wear this again? I feel like I've betrayed...everything."

"The Children of the Watch follow Mand'alor. So, I will follow you, my Mand'alor," she said with a reassuring hand on his arm.

He gave her an appreciative smile and returned his helmet to his head. He had a lot to think about, but his burden felt lighter than it had in quite some time.

.

They'd been in hyperspace for six hours, en route to a secluded location to sweep the ship for tracking devices and she wasn't avoiding him. Really, she wasn't. She was just busy. There were three kids under 10 on board and that alone was a lot of work. She was also scrounging up as much yai'yai as she could find for the four malnourished passengers. [food with lots of calories]

They spoke and interacted as normal, just never alone. Never where he could try to request her Beskar. Never where she would have to face her past and future with a single question.

The ade did not speak. She wasn't sure if it was because they were afraid to, couldn't, or just spent too long in the prison facility and became used to silence. They wouldn't even give their names.

She was with them again, coaxing orikih to eat, when Din found her again. He'd spent a while with Nala, as expected, but she mainly needed rest now, so he was free to roam the ship and seek out Teena. [tiny]

He nodded a greeting to her and took the food from her hands and seamlessly transitioned to feeding the child. She tried to picture him with his own ad, the one he described as a wrinkly green infant. She moved over to the eldest adiik to redress a burn on his arm. [child]

They worked in silence for a while, but when the children finished eating and all the wounds, old and new, were cleaned and covered, Din was the one to break the silence.

"How much have your gifts manifested?"

The two older children exchanged looks before the middle one bit her lip and nodded to herself.

"It was only a few months after Emmy was born that they took us. We didn't know why until we were already there. I still don't really even understand," she said in a raspy voice.

"The first time I noticed was when Mum fell off a roof. She was still pregnant. I caught her. I didn't… I don't…" The elder sighed and shook his head.

"Don't feel guilt for other people's actions," Teena warned him. When he met her eye she gave him a smile, but she couldn't be sure if he took her words to heart.

"We can take you to your kind," Din spoke behind her. The children looked at each other questioningly.

"You are not the first force-sensitives he has found," she explained. "There is a Jedi who can train you. Or at the very least take care of you better than we can."

They gained contemplative looks and then nodded to her. She smiled and motioned Din out of the room.

Teena had counted on Na'sara being in the cockpit, but fear gripped her as she found the room empty.

"Where is the Jedi?" She felt a small amount of relief as her voice retained a neutral tone.

"I don't know."

She gave him her best 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"The Jedi are few, even fewer than the Mandalorians, his secret is his strength."

She sighed and slumped back in her pilot's chair, swiveling to better look at him and exaggerate just how annoyed she was.

"But I know how to signal him," Din continued before she could begin her antics.

She pursed her lips, noticing that 'signal' was a fairly ambiguous way to contact someone.

"Explain," she prompted when he fell into his annoying silence.

"We're going to Tython."

Teena perked up at the name.

"Tython?! The Tython?"

"I don't know what significance it has to you."

"It's supposed to hold the first temple of the Jedi Order! The Order wasn't exactly founded there, but it's where they began spreading their teachings and growing their legacy," she explained excitedly. He chuckled at her amusement and continued to explain what happened the last time he was there.

He never brought up her bracers.