6

I was already familiar with the different spots of the camp we were passing through. I noticed yesterday the large lake that was close to one of the caves that led into the tunnels. I slowed my walking a bit, and Paz noticed and looked in the direction I was gazing at before looking down at me.

"You cannot swim for the waters there are filled with danger." he said. My stomach tightened at his words.

"Which makes me even more curious of what creatures are here." I replied honestly. I loved to swim and saddened me that the waters were not safe enough for me to do so here. He gave a low hum in response and continued to walk, so I followed. I looked the side of him over. "Do you like to swim?"

"Only if I have to for a hunt or an assignment." he replied. I nodded slowly looking down at the ground.

"What do you like to do for fun?" I asked.

"I like to hunt and do assignments." he replied collectively. I gave a gently sneer. Was this religion all he knew or cared about?

"You have a son, is being his father not enjoyable?" I asked. He suddenly stopped and turned to me.

"Of course, it is!" he said with a louder tone than before. I was mildly tensed, but I was used to having a man raise his voice to me, but my husband was the only one I would allow it from.

"Okay then so being a Mandalore is not just something you live and breathe by. Can your tribe even marry?" I asked. He looked away for a moment before continuing to walk. I followed.

"Yes. Through marriage that is the only way I am allowed to show my face. My child and wife are the only ones allowed." he said.

"Your son's mother never saw your face?" I asked.

"No." he replied.

"So, you chose not to marry her then, did you make this decision because she did not wish to mother your offspring?" I asked.

"Enough questions!" he commanded stopping sharply and looking down at me, his tone hard and commanding, his fists clenched. I paused and looked down clearly embarrassed.

"I am sorry, Paz I should not have pried it was disrespectful." I replied. He continued to look at me for a moment before turning to walk on. I followed silently feeling guilt in my stomach for bringing up the subject of his son's mother. I didn't know how much he was impacted by her absence. He slowed his walking before the training grounds where children were wrestling. He then turned to me.

"I wanted to marry her yes, when I found out she was pregnant. I didn't love her, but I felt it would be the responsible thing to do. But once she told me she didn't want to be a mother and did not want to terminate the pregnancy, we both came to the agreement that she would carry the child and leave it in my care." he explained lowly, his voice hinting sadness. I winced at his explanation. Abandoning your child was highly taboo in our world unless it was death that separated the infant from its mother. I could hear it in his voice he was saddened by this discussion.

"Your tribe helped you raise him?" I asked. He nodded looking in the direction of his son.

"They did." he replied.

"Alright take a few minutes to rest!" a Mandalorian replied. He was obviously the teacher of the class. I noticed children moving off either alone, together or over to other adults who embraced them, their parents.

"Ragnar!" Paz boomed almost making me jump. Now a boy in grey and brown pants and shirt and gloves came running over. I kept my body straight and fingers laced together as the young child approached.

"Father!" the child said happily and wrapped his small arms around Paz who placed one hand on his helmet and the other on his shoulder.

"You have been practicing your grappling technique. You are getting better." the elder complimented. The boy nodded stepping back.

"Thank you, Father." he said before his little helmet looked my way. Now Paz looked at me and then him.

"Son, this is Alithya." he introduced.

"The Celestial." he replied, and I smiled warmly and Paz nodded looking at me.

"My son, Ragnar." he said with a light tone. I looked from him to the child and smiled politely.

"Hello Ragnar." I replied.

"Hello, Alithya." he said suddenly sticking out his hand making me jump a bit. I tilted my head some and looked at his hand.

"Nothing is happening." I replied looking from him to Paz as he let out a rumbling chuckle.

"That is a hand shake." he said.

"Do Celestials not give handshakes to greet each other?" Ragnar asked. I smiled and leaned down placing my hand on the back of his helmet. He did not recoil like his father had done and I placed my forehead against him. He smelled sweet.

"This is how we greet family." I replied softly before leaning back before placing my hand on his shoulder and then using my other hand to guide his other hand to the opposite shoulder of mine.

"And this is how we greet friends and allies." I told.

"I like the other way better." he said.

"So do I." Paz replied, and I looked up at him with a blush and soft smile.

"Did you get your knife?" Ragnar asked with excitement. I couldn't help but grin and nod.

"I did and it is a great gift." I replied. Ragnar looked up at his father.

"I knew she'd like it!" he said. Paz placed his hand on the young one's helmet.

"You were right." he said.

"Younglings time to continue your training!" their teacher called. Ragnar waved at the both of us before running back with all the other children.

"What are the younglings like in your tribe?" Paz asked, and I looked up at him and then back out to the children.

"Curious and full of life. When they are old enough to walk and talk and know right from wrong, they start their lessons. As they get older the boys start to train and learn to hunt and kill. The girls learn to gather food, skin animals, govern small counsels and put together war parties." I explained. We were walking now aimlessly through this large camp.

"At what age are they allowed to start courting?" he asked.

"Seventeen. What age are Mandalorians allowed to court?" I asked back.

"They can marry at Sixteen." he told. That young? I nodded keeping my fingers crossed in thought. "What did you like to do on your planet?" I smiled some.

"When I'd find myself alone, I would explore the forests and go for swims. I enjoyed being carefree and enjoying all that the planet gave me." I replied. "I enjoyed playing with other mother's babies and even helping deliver them when needed. I loved talking with my sisters and mother and even having celebrations that ended with drunk nights of passion."

"How often did your tribe celebrate?" Paz asked curiously.

"Every so often: We celebrated new births, victories, and our children growing into adults. But we also celebrated deaths and the welcoming of new members when accepted into the tribe." I explained as we were now a little distance from the camp.

"How often are outsiders accepted into your tribe?" he questioned.

"Very rare, he or she would have to risk their lives for a member of the colony to be accepted." I explained noticing a very large boulder with a few smaller ones around it. I smiled and moved over toward the smaller rocks and started to climb atop of them. Paz continued to watch quiet for a moment.

"How did… how did you meet your husband? How did you decide to accept his courting gift?" he asked standing beside the rocks and watching as I climbed atop the highest one. I looked around at the quiet and empty land around us.

"Our fathers were brother's in arms, we grew up together. When I became of age, my parents took me from the colony to travel our planet to learn what I could. My father wanted me to be educated more than just what Celestial teachers could teach. When we returned, he was different, I was different. He presented me with a gift and I accepted." I said finally looking down at Paz who stared up at me. A light wind blew at my skirt and I could feel light dirt hitting my thighs. I jumped down, and without much effort, the large warrior caught me and I held on to his chest armor due to instinct. Now we stared at each other for a moment. I studied his helmet before turning my head to reveal my hair clip.

"This was one of his gifts to me, the sabor is my family's sigil" I replied lowly before turning back to him. "How did you meet your son's mother?" Hopefully he wouldn't be upset about me asking.

"Maybe another time I will tell you." he replied gently setting me down. I nodded in understanding. I felt I was pushing it by asking my questions and so I knew it was time to push the discussion away.

"I will not push the subject any further." I replied. He nodded.

"Thank you." he said. Now we were just standing here staring at each other. Luckily a low rumbling began to hover over us catching our attention. I looked up to see dark clouds moving fast over the sky.

"A heavy storm is coming and fast. It's not wise to be out much longer. These storms can be violent." he said. I tensed at this.

"I should call the magistrate and have a droid come get me then before the rain comes." I said eyeing the sky some more. Lightning was showing off in the distance. The weather we got was always steady and never too violent. The planet created what it needed for itself. The rumbling got louder.

"Why don't you stay with me for the night." Paz said. I turned to him, my stomach knotting up again at this. But that meant the chance of not having to sleep alone. I pushed my uncertainty down and nodded.

"Alright." I replied lightly. The wind was picking up immediately.

"Come." he said carefully raising his arm to wrap around my shoulder to gently guide me back in the direction of the camp. As we were back surrounded by lodges, a warrior I had not met approached.

"The younglings will stay in their barracks tonight to train for emergency protocols with bad weather." he said. Paz nodded and looked down at me.

"Let's get to my ship. It will be able to handle the weather." he said. The heavy wind picked up, pushing my hair off my face, and now I could feel the soft rain starting to fall. Immediately we jogged in the direction of his large black ship. It had different markings on it and was scratched up from battle. I could imagine this brought him great pride to fly such a vessel. The bridge lowered as we were now pelted with heavy rain. Finally, we were inside and I looked down at my robes pressed to my body. I was completely drenched and I held my hair up to ring it out.

"There is a hygienic room in the back for you to dry off at. My room is further down the hall with another hygienic room. I will get cleaned up there." he said moving to walk past me. I watched him for a moment the sound of heavy rain pelting the ship above as well as his heavy footsteps. I moved over to the cleaning room and got myself cleaned up. My clothes were still a little damp and showed a very bold outline of my body. I held up my hands and unclipped my hair letting it loose over my body. I heard a rumbling and winced not liking these violent storms. Once I was refreshed, I quickly left the room and went down the hall to the room Paz told about. There was a side door a few feet feet from the room I was in. I assumed it was Ragnar's room. I made it to the end of the hall. I was about to just walk in, but then I realized he may not have his helmet on. I did not wish to offend him, so I gave a gentle knock.

"Come in Alithya." I hear him say. I pressed the button on the side and the door slid open. I could see him standing inside the dim lit room. I carefully walked in, and the door closed behind me. I noticed something was off about him. The back of his armor looked different. There was a black fabric on him. His armor was off. I looked him over now realizing a lot of his armor was gone and I had a clear view of his broad shoulders and strong back. He even had markings of his own on his body. I looked down almost ashamed for I had not been gone from my husband for too long and already I was admiring another man's body. But this is what he wanted, someone to hold his place inside me until he returned. I should be thankful that my husband secured a mate that I could possibly be satisfied with. I looked down trying to clear my head.

"I am finished. What is it we should do now? " I asked moving to look the room over. However, I didn't even get a chance to process what was happening before Paz was moving over me with such speed, my back immediately hit the wall. I gasped at his speed. His large arms were over me as he had his hands pressed against the wall above my head.

"I want to explore our bodies tonight using our senses." he said. His tone was firm, ragged and fierce. Immediately I could feel a soft heart beat pumping between my legs.