Disclaimer: Though I am a fan of Star Wars I am not as well versed as many, so there very probably will be some discrepancies with my story. Please note that this entire story is a divergence from canon, so if you have a problem with some of my mistakes just think of it that way. Thank you!

3

ex·u·ber·ance

the quality of being full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness; ebullience.

"Cassian, do not move." The sound of Jyn's voice woke him up the next morning. He almost wanted to ask what was wrong but upon opening his eyes he could see. Some kind of creature was crouched over him, it's maw open revealing hundreds of razor sharp teeth. A string of saliva came from it's mouth and was very nearly touching his nose.

Jyn was crouched a few feet away, slowly inching towards their packs where their blasters were.

"Be very, very quiet." She murmured as she opened and slowly pulled out the blaster. But as she did the pack fell over causing a large thud. The creature looked up and let out a blood curdling screech and slithered off of Cassian and began to run at Jyn.

She squeezed the trigger and it exploded, sending chunks of flesh everywhere.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment, "Maybe we should do a night watch after all." Jyn suggested.

"I think that is a very good idea." Cassian agreed, plucking a piece of flesh that was already starting to stink off of his bedroll.

They packed up quickly after that, not knowing how many more creatures lurked in the swamp around them and didn't want to stick around to find out. Their second day of travelling wasn't as idyllic as their first had been.

The swamp was ridiculously humid and damp causing mosquitoes to target any of Cassian and Jyn's uncovered faces. By the time mid-afternoon rolled around, Jyn's arms were covered in pink welts and she couldn't put her jacket on because of the heat.

"Maybe you should put some cream on that." Cassian held out a metal tin to her which she snatched out of his hand. The heat had been causing them to snipe back and forth at one another like little children.

"I know what I should and shouldn't do for my arms, thank you." She replied curtly but began to liberally spread it on her arms, trying and failing to not let out a little sigh of relief.

They sat and ate their dinner, which was a pittance of soup, in silence. Jyn's stomach growled later on that night as she offered to take first watch. She wished they could eat more but Master Yoda had given them no time-frame as to how long their journey would take and neither of them had any idea of what plants around them were edible.

"Jyn?" Cassian asked about three hours into her watch causing her to jump with surprise because she thought he'd been asleep.

"You should be sleeping it's not your turn to watch yet." She chided as he rolled over to face her.

"You never told me your story last night, it goes both ways-remember?" His dark eyes danced in the dim firelight and she couldn't help but smile, her earlier irritance at him quickly fading.

"When I was four years old we escaped Coruscant and the Empire and went into hiding on Lah'mu. I didn't fully understand at the time why we did this, though I do now. I was sad because I had to leave all of my toys and things like that-all of my creature comforts."

Jyn ran her fingers over her Kyber crystal necklace and it glowed faintly in the firelight as she continued on; "I hated Lah'mu, there was nothing to do and no one to talk to. My father who had always been my best playmate no longer had time as he was putting all of his time in trying to grow food to put on our table. One day, when I was about seven, I decided that I had had enough of being ignored by both of my parents and that I would run away."

"Always a good idea for a seven year old." Cassian laughed.

"Wasn't it? Anyway, I had it all planned out. One morning before my parents woke up I gathered my pack and put my blanket and pillow inside and just left. No food or water of course and no compass either. By the time that lunch rolled around I was hungry and lost."

"What happened?"

"My parents found me an hour later crying in the sand, not one of my best moments. My mother shook me soundly, I think they thought that Imperial soldiers had somehow taken me, and then hugged me so tightly I thought she'd squeeze the breath right out of me."

"My mother would have killed me and then brought me back to life if I had tried that." Cassian said and they shared a laugh before Jyn continued soberly.

"They then began to plan, they created a secret room about a mile away from our homestead that was hidden by rocks. They told me that this is where I needed to go if we were ever in any danger. A year later thats where Saw Gerrera found me after my mother was shot by Imperial soldiers and my father was taken."

She hated that all of her good memories of her parents were tinged by tragedy. Cassian watched her face turn from nostalgic to indifferent.

He hesitantly reached out and grasped her hand in his own, he didn't know if he was pushing her boundaries. They'd gripped each other so tightly on the beach when they died, but they had been near death then, things were different. He held his breath waiting for her to pull away, but when she squeezed his hand he relaxed.

After a few moments of silence he sat up, "I'll take the rest of the watch." he offered and held his hand out for the blaster.

Jyn almost protested since she had only been on watch for three hours, but sleepiness had settled in for her as she told her story and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open.

The third day was much easier than the first two. During the day Cassian regaled her with tales from his younger days in the rebellion.

He spoke about the men who he grew up with and fought beside and the shenanigans that they had pulled together. He also spoke of their deaths, and how he continued to fight for them even though he very probably would die himself. He also told her the few stories about his short childhood that he could.

That night Jyn, in turn, told him about becoming a child soldier for the rebellion and Saw Gerrera's odd amalgam of being a father figure to her but also her superior. She also told him about being left for dead by Gerrera when she was sixteen because of who she was and how she'd had to turn to crime in order to survive.

They made good time together and by the fourth day they came upon a cave, the entrance to the cave was about thirty feet up and water streamed from it in a sparkling waterfall.

"Think this is where Master Yoda wanted us to go?" Cassian asked, looking over at Jyn who was staring at the mouth of the cave.

"Only one way to find out, right?" She placed a hand on an outcropping of rock and began to climb, "Come on, race you to the top!"

Never one to back down from a challenge, Cassian scrambled up the rock after her-reaching the top just before she did.

"Not fair." She groaned as she sat next to him on the ledge, panting and not caring that she was getting completely soaked by the stream of water. "You're taller than I am!"

"And you," he gasped "Got a headstart!"

She got to her feet and held her hands, which he took gratefully, and helped him to his feet. Together they turned and stared into the cave with was more of a tunnel than anything. Vines hung down from the domed ceiling concealing whatever lay beyond.

A tingling sensation covered Jyn's body as wind blew through the tunnel from the depths and ruffled her hair.

"Should we go further in?" she asked.

"Yeah, why not, whats the worst that can happen?" Cassian joked and was rewarded with a withering look. "I'll be with you all the way." He reassured her holding out his hand to her, which she took without hesitation. Their clasped hands were a comfort to both for reasons they couldn't quite fathom just yet, but they had been prone to do it over the past 48 hours.

Together they headed further into the tunnel.

-LittleMoonLover-