"Hello?" a voice broke out into the dark silence. Someone was standing a few yards away with a cloak on. It sounded like the blind woman.
"Miss?" Mando squinted his eyes to try and see the hooded figure.
"It's me. We need to leave sooner than you said to," Miss said.
"Why?" Mando asked.
"Not important."
"Alright," Mando sighed. This person might as well have secrets, Mando thought to himself, so he reholstered his blaster.
"Now can you please pack up?" Miss jerked her thumb toward the exit of the hanger.
"Don't rush me," Mando grumbles as he snatched up his disintegration rifle and a rucksack for camping and other bounty hunting things. He clumped down the ramp and locked up his antique ship. Strapping his rucksack and rifle to his back, Mando led the way out of the city. Miss's small feet patted behind Mando's thumping boots as they reached the forest before the first light touched the dewy morning air.
"What is this Smoggute?" Mando asked suddenly. He knew it was some mountain range but that was his extent of his knowledge on the subject.
"Oh, well, it's a mountain range that circumferences this planet. This planet is small but the sunsets were beautiful on those mountains. Not many people know just how beautiful it was or else there would be more tourists."
"I see," Mando said. He wondered if people had told her that the sunsets were beautiful or if she had seen them herself once upon a time. He caught the "were" and "was" beautiful which raised more curiosity in Mando's mind.
"We're in the forest," Miss said. She stopped abruptly and squatted down, patting the ground around her with her hand, "I'm going to need a stick to help me."
Mando wanted to kick himself for not thinking of how slow this was going to be with her searching her way through each terrain. As he looked down at her she went on her hands and knees to pat around for a walking stick. Mando sighed.
He found a staff-looking stick nearby without thought and started to shave the knots off with his boot knife. He wanted to get this done as soon as possible.
"Hey," Mando stooped down and tapped her on the shoulder with the stick.
She turned and asked, "What?"
"I got you a stick."
"Oh…" Miss stood and held out her hands.
Mando set the staff in her hands gently. It was as tall as her shoulders but it only reached his elbow. It felt smooth enough through his leather gloves and it looked to be the perfect thickness for her small hands.
"Oh…" Miss said again, gripping the shaved stick. She set it on the ground and held it out at arm's length, "Thank you, Mando."
"Let's go," Mando huffed. He wanted to say you're welcome but he didn't want to get too comfortable with this woman.
They trekked through the dark forest. Miss maneuvered quite well but when an occasional fallen log was in their path Mando always led her around instead of helping her over it. It felt strange watching a blind person walk through twigs and rocks. He wanted to help somehow but she was capable with her sturdy stick.
"How did you know where my ship was?" Mando asked when an almost uncomfortable silence settled around them with sticks crunching beneath them.
"Um, I asked. I asked where a Mandalorian was staying in town and they told me," Miss explained.
"Who's they?" Mando asked.
"Just some kids in the street. Our town keeps their eyes open," She set her stick ahead of her and took another step but this time her foot awkwardly landed on a rock, slightly twisting her ankle. She stumbled forward right into the back of Mando's rucksack.
Mando turned as a reflex and caught her before she face-planted on the muddied ground. He quickly let go of her arms when she had her feet planted. He picked her stick up that had been dropped and pushed it against her hand to let her grasp it.
"Thank you," Miss's cheeks glowed a light pink as she hugged her stick to her cheek.
"Yeah, try not to trip," Mando said before he could stop himself. What a fool. She was blind. It wasn't like he was helping her not trip into him.
"I'll try not to, Mando," Miss huffed and continued unfalteringly, leaving him to stand there in his foolishness. He sighed and walked on after her.
As they walked toward the Smoggute a few small creeks carved through the forest but as they came to the next one, Mando sighed. He looked to the other side. As far as he could see the other side was walled by a thicket and this creek was wider and deeper than the little trickling streams you could step across.
"Miss, this creek has a little more of a current and the other side is a thicket. What do you suppose we do to get us across?" Mando asked. He already thought that he could simply pick her and her staff up and walk across but he wanted that to be the last effort.
"How deep is it?" She stuck her staff into the creek and pulled it out to feel how far up the water had moistened her stick, "It feels like I would be wading up to my knees in this one. I can hear the rapids too. Do you think we could walk up or downstream to see if there is a better crossing place?"
"We'll go downstream," Mando decided. He started off along the pebbly creek shore. Miss followed the Mandalorian bounty hunter with no argument and kept clear of the creek to not accidentally fall in.
After hiking along the creek for twenty minutes it hadn't gotten better in condition. The thicket was still walling off the opposite side and the current kept a steady speed. Mando sighed as it was looking like they were getting too off track in trying to get around this obstacle. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Miss tracking with her stick carefully. She was keeping up very well.
"Mando?" Miss couldn't hear his footsteps anymore and that was her main guide. She stopped and flexed her ears to hear his breathing just ahead.
"I'm here. I was just thinking that we should cross if the conditions aren't going to change any time soon," Mando turned to her and looked down at her precipitating forehead. It was very humid near the warm creek.
"Well, alright," Miss chewed on her lip in worried thought. She gripped her stick more tightly and turned her head to the rushing creek.
"I'll be right here. You won't fall," Mando decided he could just hold onto her arm as they crossed. It would be just a few yards. It was deep enough to be able to sweep their legs out from under them if it was as fast as it sounded.
Each of them took a step onto the shore and Mando set his hand behind her upper arm. Miss shivered as her bare feet touched the water and her cloak quickly became heavy with water. She took shuffling steps further and further until her toes bumped into the river rocks that she knew would be a slipping and tripping hazard. She put her staff forward and made sure it was stable before searching for a stepping place out with her foot. The current pushed against her legs harder as they waded deeper.
Mando kept his gentle grip on her arm as he effortlessly waded alongside her. Mando could tell she was struggling to keep her footing on the large rounded rocks. When she took another step she put her weight on her foot too quickly and slipped. Her hand whipped out and she grabbed Mando's arm in an effort not to fall. Mando reacted by pulling her up off her feet and against him. He hadn't realized she would be so light in his arms. They stayed like that for a moment. Miss breathed more heavily as she hung stock still in the Mandalorian's arms.
"I'm sorry," Mando cleared his throat and steadied her on her own two feet.
"Thank you for not letting me fall," Miss whispered. She had been caught off guard as she was swept up. Her feet had been dragging in the water as she hung from being pressed into his side. Mando had very good reflexes to say the least. She felt his hand move to her back and she heard a quiet sigh from above her.
They continued for three more minutes and they were only halfway there. The water was now past Miss's knees and just reaching Mando's. Mando's patience was wearing thin. Why did he agree to find her kidnapped niece AND take Miss with him? This was taking forever.
Without a word, Mando scooped Miss up like cradling a child and quickly crossed the second half of the river.
"Hey!" Miss yelled. She instinctively wrapped an arm around the bounty hunter's neck and clutched her staff closer. Before she could protest further her feet touched stable dirt. Branches of the thicket Mando talked of scraped around them as they found a cramped spot among crowding branches.
"A little warning next time!" Miss huffed as she tried to move away from the forward Mandalorian.
"You're shivering," Mando chose to say. Her toes looked like they were turning purple and her cloak was soaked around her legs, soaking into her peasant dress.
"No kidding," Miss clenched her jaw to keep from chattering. The creek's cold had turned her feet numb and her legs were freezing.
"You need to keep walking to get blood flow," Mando said. He felt hot from embarrassment as he started to walk the clearest way in the thicket. Soon they got out of the thick, low trees to continue in a forest much like the one on the other side of the creek. It was probably noon by now. Mando could feel how dehydrated he was. It was humid and hot which made his mouth feel like rubber.
After trekking for an hour more Mando was stopped by Miss clearing her throat several times over a period of time. He could tell she was nervous about something when he looked over his shoulder. He decided to stop and rest. She kept walking distractedly and almost ran into him before he himself cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear that you stopped," Miss took a step back and looked up to where Mando's head probably was, "What is it?"
"Do you need a rest?" Mando shrugged off his rucksack that just started to dig into his shoulders. He needed one. Even as dehydrated as he was that didn't mean his excretory system wasn't working. "Stay here. I'll be back." Mando strode back into the woods, when he was out of hear shot and sight, he felt foolish again that he thought she would be able to see him. After relieving himself and carefully drinking some water from a creek, he headed back to where he set his rucksack down.
"Now it's your turn to stay here," Miss said. She stood and managed her way into a different part of the woods. Mando watched after her until she disappeared in the crowded branches.
Mando waited, stretching out stiff muscles and picking a thick, short stick to whittle. He carved sharpened ears, long-toed feet on skinny legs, a thick tail, and two small eyes. He heard branches shifting in the thicket. Finally, Miss came patting out with a small smile on her tired face. She stopped for a moment and looked straight forward. Her ears flexed to decide exactly where Mando had been.
"I'm here," Mando called, knowing what she was doing. She turned and walked to his voice. She found the log she had sat on previously.
"The Smoggute is a little less than twenty klicks from the town. How far do you think we've gone?" Miss asked as she got comfortable on the log.
"I'd say we've gone more than twelve klicks by now," Mando answered. He sat against a tree near Miss's fallen log and brought his leg up to rest his forearm against. He carved more details into his little figure of wood when he heard a grumble. He furrowed his brows as he tried to listen again. It was a strange sound but he realized what it was when Miss curled her arms around her stomach and her beautiful face turned a shade of pink from embarrassment.
Mando shook his head at the unnecessary embarrassment and pawed through his rucksack to find his dried fruit. He stood silently and walked over to Miss and tapped her shoulder. She jerked straight and looked up to where she guessed Mando stood.
"I have some food you can eat. Here," Mando dropped the sack of dried pears in Miss's lap. She picked it up and swallowed.
"You don't have to, really. I'm good," Miss tried to give the sack of food back but larger hands pushed her's back into her lap.
"Eat."
Her face turned a darker shade of pink, "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," Mando decided to say after a small pause. He slumped back against the tree and continued to give his wooden creature a wide mouth with sharp teeth.
"What are you doing over there…if you don't mind me asking?" Miss asked.
"I'm whittling," was Mando's short answer. He brushed off shavings and scraped out the wood dust from in between the creatures teeth. His knife needed to be sharpened sometime soon, he thought.
"Oh? What are you whittling?" Miss leaned forward as she ate another piece of dried pear.
"A loth-cat," Mando said. Looking to his sides instinctively, he lifted his helmet a tad to blow on the wood, "I'm done. Do you want to touch it?" Mando fumbled with how to ask, not wanting to ask if she wanted to "see" it.
"Sure," Miss said excitedly. Miss reached her hand out toward Mando.
Mando placed the small figure in her hand and she instantly smiled. She brought it closer to her face and she closed her eyes as she traced her small fingers over the wooden loth-cat.
"It's very well done, Mando," Miss ran her fingertips over the face and she could tell the craftsmanship was excellent with the detailed eyes and mouth grinning up at her.
"You can keep it for your niece, I'm sure a little girl would like it," Mando said. He watched her smile widen and she kept feeling the wood with gentle fingertips. She swooped her finger down the thick, long tail of the loth-cat like her finger was going down a child's slide.
"Thank you. She would love this. Now I have to be careful not to break its little legs and ears off," Miss said. She tucked it into one of her cloak pockets.
"We best be going now," Mando announced as he heaved on his rucksack and secured his disinigration rifle again.
Heya. This story has a ton more chapters ready to be edited and posted.
Thank you for reading and please leave a comment for constructive criticism or kudos. 3
This story is very far in the past of Mando's life so there are a lot of creative aspects I am going to use. It is still in the Star Wars universe, don't worry. I know this story may be a little choppy sometimes because this is the first real fanfiction I've posted. (:
Have a good day!