Last time: Sasha and Oppie faced off against a set of brothers. They were killed and Sasha was hurt.

Now: Sasha is feeling the wear of the fight against the brothers.

Chapter 19- Guilt

After they had left the dead brothers behind, Sasha and Oppie moved as quickly as she could away and towards somewhere else where they could camp for the night. She had to stop a couple times to readjust the crutch as it dug into her armpit and had to stop a couple other times to have Oppie help her over some rougher terrain. It was getting tedious and it was exhausting her. The bacta she had taken had thankfully helped dull the pain, but compared to what was on Haven or any proper medical station, this stuff was only okay. It was like taking a couple of painkillers and expecting it to heal a broken leg, which Sasha was sure now that she had one as they walked. But Sasha just wanted to stop. She couldn't walk any further. She needed a break. And she was going to collapse any minute if she didn't.

But she couldn't stop, not with one, potentially two more bounty hunters out there looking for them. She wasn't sure if the brothers counted as one or two. Anyway, they needed to press on until nightfall. Plus walking was keeping her distracted. Her mind kept circling back to the brothers. What happened to them and what she did to the youngest. Only the walking and Oppie were able to keep her mind off of it as he conversed with her for the majority of the time they walked. But it still bothered her everytime she thought back to them, which was when there was a moment of quiet in their conversation.

Finally, her body couldn't take it anymore. Sasha came to a stop, out of breath and sweaty, her body aching as she leaned against her makeshift crutch heavily. Her good leg wobbled as it tried to keep her standing and any weight she added to her left would only make her wince. All she wanted to do was sit and rest, but they had to keep going until it was closer to nightfall. They still had another hour or two until then. She could go further. She needed to go further. She just needs a brief break first before continuing.

"Let's stop for a while, I'm getting kind of tired." Oppie said.

Sasha nodded in agreement. "Same," she said, exhausted.

Oppie helped her down to a likely looking log that would let them sit for a while. The forest was getting sparser as they moved up into the foothills, so it gave them a clearer view of their surroundings. Oppie kept a wary eye out for any movement, for any other bounty hunters who might assail them this evening. "How is your leg?" He asked.

"It hurts," Sasha groaned as she adjusted on the log and set her makeshift crutch aside. "That bacta is only doing so much."

"Think it might be time for another dose?" He asked.

"No, we should save the other two," Sasha said. "I'll be okay."

Oppie looked at her worriedly. "We need to treat the wounds you have, not save it for what might happen. It's not doing anyone any good just sitting in the kit."

Sasha sighed. "I guess you're right. I'm just trying to be... prepared," she said, not thinking of a better term.

"I know. But if you end up worse for not having it now, that's not going to be helpful." He looked at her with a grimace. "Do you think you need a splint or anything?"

"Fair point. Maybe when we make camp you can give me another," she agreed after a moment. She then looked down at her leg and bit the inside of her lip. "And we probably should. It probably wouldn't hurt to treat all of our wounds now when we still have light."

Oppie nodded, "I'll go get something to use for the splint." He said, getting up again.

Sasha nodded and watched him go. She sat there, trying to relax as her injured body ached. But as she sat there alone, her mind kept flashing back to the brothers. To the blaster wound. To what they said about her. About the bounty. All of it repeated over and over again in her mind while she sat there alone, waiting for Oppie to return. And with it came back the tears and the trembling. She held the tears back as she wrapped her arms around herself and tried to stop shaking. It wasn't working. Their deaths were really bothering her.

Oppie came back with a few stout sticks that looked like they would do the job. He slowed as he approached her and frowned. He sat down on the log next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leaving the splint for another moment. "It will be okay."

"How? How will it be okay?" Sasha questioned as she trembled. "Both of those hunters tried to kill me and died because of me. And more are still coming for us. For me... I think."

"The others will find us soon. Our sister probably knows exactly where we are, she can find us." He said quietly. "We'll be out of here soon. And they didn't die because of you, all we did was defend ourselves."

She lowered her chin as she closed her eyes. "My blaster was on stun when I dropped it and it wasn't on stun when I shot him. It had somehow switched. And when he died… he said… he..." She trailed off as what he said rang through her head again.

He hugged her a little tighter, trying to be careful of her wounds. "What did he say?" He asked.

Sasha felt a few tears escape as she sat there trembling. She sat there in silence for a long time trying to compose herself. Finally, when she found her voice again, she said. "He called me a useless, weak... bitch wasn't the word he used, but that's a nicer way of putting it than what he actually said." Her voice wavered as she said that. "He said it in Huttese before he died."

"Well it's not like his opinion mattered." Oppie said. A dark part of him was glad the man had met his fate. "Coming from someone like that I'd take it as a compliment."

Sasha snorted, but couldn't find it in herself to smile. "I guess," she said quietly.

"You're not useless, and you're not weak." Oppie asserted. "Those were just the hateful words of someone who wanted to get one last attack in."

Sasha nodded. "Yeah… I'm sorry I let this affect me so much. I'm sorry about everything. I feel like this may truly be all my fault," she apologized. "I mean everything they were saying it sounded like they were after me." She shook her head as she looked up, tears staining her cheeks. "Or maybe I just misheard."

"Well, you are such a master criminal, we knew all your bounties would be served eventually." Oppie joked, trying to get his little sister to smile.

Somehow that made Sasha laugh, lightly. "Stop trying to make me feel better," she said, trying not to smile. "I'm upset right now."

"I know. I hate camping too." He said.

"Oppie," Sasha started, giving a wry look.

"And look on the bright side." Oppie started.

"What's that?" She asked, raising a brow.

"He said five of his best, think that means we only have one left?" Oppie asked.

"I guess that would be the case, yeah," Sasha said with a sense of hope in her voice. "Meaning, we could be done with this hunt tomorrow."

"Yeah, maybe this Von guy will meet us with a prize and a ticket home." Oppie said.

"I doubt it, but he may have a way off this planet," Sasha said as she reached up and wiped her face. The trembling finally stopped.

"That's a thought." Oppie said, thinking. "These hunters have to be traversing the forest somehow. Maybe we could borrow some transportation from someone."

"Yeah, that would be nice." She chuckled. "At least for now. I'm kind of done with walking for the day," she said as she looked down at her leg. "Speaking of which, we should splint that now or it's going to hurt worse tomorrow when I try to walk on it."

"Okay." Oppie said. He unslung his pack and pulled out his blanket and one of the knives and started cutting strips from it. "With all these weapons on me I feel like a proper Mandalorian now." He said as he ran the vibroblade through the cloth.

"The family would be proud," Sasha said with a slight smirk.

He smiled lightly at that, and picked up the handful of sticks he had found. "Got a preference?" He asked, holding them up for her to inspect.

"Whatever feels the studeriest," Sasha said as she looked between the sticks.

Oppie nodded and picked some out. "Can you extend your leg a little?"

Sasha stretched out her left leg. She released a hiss and wince of pain as she did so. She tightly gripped the bark on the log as she kept her leg out.

"Sorry." Oppie said with a grimace. He set the sticks in place and tied the strips of cloth as gently as he could.

"It's okay," she said through gritted teeth. "Thanks." She added with a sigh once he was finished.

"No problem." He said, sitting back on the log tiredly.

"Should we just make camp here for the night?" She asked as she gently lowered her leg.

Oppie considered for a moment. "Honestly this place is as good as any other." He looked around. "Do you think we could make it to that little rise over there? It's a little better position."

Sasha followed his gaze over to the rise. Her lips formed a thin line. She really wanted to rest and not do anymore walking today, but that rise would provide them with cover and potentially a vantage point over the area. Meaning they might be able to spot the hunters first the next time they encounter them. With that in consideration, she nodded. "Yeah, I think we can," she said, then looked up to the setting sky. "But we should get moving before it's too dark to see."

He nodded. Standing up and offering his arm out to help her up. Sasha grabbed the makeshift crutch from where it sat next to her then with her right hand she grabbed his arm. She then pulled herself to her feet, wincing at her injuries as they were still aching. Once on her feet, she tucked the crutch back under arm and adjusted it until it was somewhat comfortable. Sasha then put a little weight on her left leg to test the splint. Already, she was feeling a difference, but she still winced at whatever fracture existed in her shin. As soon as she was ready, she looked over to Oppie as he slung back on the packs.

"Alright, let's get going," Sasha said. "Lead the way."

Oppie nodded and started forward.

Poor Sasha... REVIEW FOR MY GIRL!