Kuiil had the decency to distract me while the others caught and slayed some poor animal for dinner. I watched mortified as the scary man- or Greef and Karga as I heard others address him- had his goons stick the creature's corpus on a spit to put over a fire. Then they made sure everyone had something to eat after it was done cooking.
It was dark out by then; the night sky sprinkled with stars was gigantic over us and the blackness was overwhelming. We all sat in a circle around the fire with the blurrgs tied up behind us. I was positioned between Kuiil and Mando, allowing me to share a plate with Kuiil. While we busy eating, I kept feeling Greef's eyes drift onto me. And I'm sure I wasn't the only one who noticed. Carl glared at one of Greef's thugs who also had his attention my way. It was fairly uncomfortable, to say the least.
Eventually, Greef chose to break the awkward silence by raising his hand up to point straight at me- only for a second, mind you. "Quiet, isn't she? Never seen anything like it. They were ready to pay a king's ransom for her. Maybe someone at the top's lookin' for a highfalutin wife," he chuckled callously. "Or an addition to the harem," one of his goons added. The other two chortled and I frowned, along with all the men accompanying me.
"Let's go over the plan again," you could hear the strain in Mando's tone; I think he wanted to get off the topic as much as I did. Greet finally, finally glanced away from me. "We both enter the common house; we show the Client the bait; we join him at the table, and you kill him," his finger motioned to the Mandalorian. "Tell me about his reinforcements," Mando refused to look at him. I saw that… I noticed. "They're all ex-Empire. Soon as they lose their paycheque, phuch- they'll all scatter." That's when Carl sent Greef a suspicious glare; he was still eating off to the side.
"And what if they don't?" Mando pressed the issue. "They will," Greef tried to reassure the Mandalorian. "That's not good enough," the Mandalorian peered at Greef for the first time that night. The scary man gazed at me, like he was figuring out where Mando was coming from and how to push his buttons. Bad move, I'd say. "If for argument's sake, a few of them don't realize that I'm their best path to alternative employment, and they elect to… react impulsively, then these fine guild hunters- along with that battle-hardened shock trooper- will cut down anyone who bucks." "How many will there be?" The Mandalorian questioned. Greef sighed, then stood up to get some more meat. "No more than four. He travels with at most a fire team. Trust me; nothing could go wrong," he said that but Mando and Kuiil didn't look so sure. Again, I don't blame them; I didn't trust him either.
Greef was about to grab some food when out of where this winged monster zoomed through the darkness. I screamed as it's shriek echoed in the air. Everyone leapt to their feet, save me; one of the thugs began shooting out into the sky. Mando, Carl, and Kuiil soon joined him, but only after Mando yanked my hood up and curled my huddled body around in the cloak like an invisibility shield.
Admittedly I didn't see much of the ensuing battle between us and the creatures- whatever they were. I assumed they must have been dangerous since men were constantly hollering and shooting in what seemed like aimless directions. "No! Let go of him! Drop him now!" I heard Kuiil's voice cry. I peeked to see one of the beasts trying to fly away with a blurrg. But my eyes didn't say open long- they instantly shot at it.
Things got quiet for a moment, but only a mere minute. Greef's shrieks could be heard from a mile away suddenly. I had to cover my ears as they tried to save him. "Drop him!" Kuiil yelled again; I guess the blurrgs were still being attacked. Mando must have used his fire at some point because I heard that too. More loud noises; more blasting. The monsters flew away in defeat eventually; I heard Mando's footsteps run back over to my side. I blinked surprised when I felt my cloak being pulled back- both Mando and Kuiil were looking at me.
After a quick check to make sure I was ok, all our attention turned to the gasping and groaning Greef. He was laying on his back with his top half elevated up; his leg had a big wound on it. Bleeding, with what looked to be claw marks running along his skin. Kuiil was the first to reach him, placing his hand on his shoulder and examining the injury. "He's hurt badly." "I'm fine; I'm fine; I'm fine," Greef hissed. He was clearly not fine. Carl came over too, where he helped Kuiil.
"Hold still; they got you good," Carl stated while giving him what appeared to be a shot. Greef grit his teeth in agony. "How bad?" Mando asked Carl. "Bad. The poison's spreading fast." Greef's men looked at each other with worried expressions. "S-so this is how it happens," Greef exclaimed bitterly. "Don't be so dramatic. I need another mud pack; got any other mud packs? Anyone?" Carl called out. "I'm guessing that's a no…"
It was around this time I got up. I didn't even hesitate on what I was about to do; I may not trust Greef, but I'll save my enemies if I can. That's what a healer does. Everyone blinked startled when I approached him. Wordlessly I knelt down beside him and pulled back my hood, letting my hair flow all down behind me. I held my hand, ready to reach for his wound. Unfortunately, Carl stopped me by grabbing hold of my wrist. "No! Don't touch it!" I'm sure he said more for my sake than Greef. But Kuiil was the one to stop Carl. "Wait," he told him.
The stunned Carl reluctantly released my arm and I reached for Greef's arm. Once my skin made contact with his, I drew in a deep, deep breath and shut my eyes. "Do not be frightened; you are never alone. Remember that whenever it seems that life is too much to bear. We are here- all of us." Master Obi-Wan, my lips opened a sliver. I hope I am doing as the Force wills, and you wish…. I want to save him.
Although I was unable to see, I could sense all eyes on us, or rather Greef's now-healing arm. I concentrated, using the Force to heal him and save his life. When his arm was fully intact again, I retracted my hand and opened my eyes- a speechless Greef was staring back at me. I smiled warmly at him; my eyes low and soulful. Carl's jaw was also dangling open dumbfound; even Mando acted astonished. The only one who understood what was going on was Kuiil, who merely nodded my way. I think this event was so shocking in fact that no one said a word for the rest of the night. While I slept on the ground covered by my dark cloak, Mando stayed beside me, keeping watch the entire time.