*Author's note: Sorry this chapter took so long to post, I've been dealing with some personal things. The next chapter might be a few weeks before I'm able to post anything but hopefully not more than 2-3 weeks. Sorry for the wait and thanks for reading! ~KiraKenvor~*
Traveling with two incompassitated men through the thick forest was proving more challenging than first anticipated, Kal and Jango had fashioned a pair of stretchers out of wood and rolled Jense and Pao'l onto them. Kal and Jango carried Jense while Mij and Khane carried Pao'l. Kira followed alongside Jango at Jense's head and kept a careful watch over him while Wad'e took the lead keeping his eyes open for any potential threats. With how easily they've been jumped in the last few days, everyone was on edge and were hypersensitive to any sounds or movement from the forest.
Jense was still completely out but his breathing was normal and his other vitals, from what Kira could tell, were normal. She could still sense some of the Force within him, though it was weak and wondered just how much was taken during each session the Taavarians did on their victims.
She felt a similar strength in the Force in Khane but what worried her was that she couldn't sense anything of the Force in Pao'l. She might not have ever known him previously, but she knew he was a Jedi Master, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen to him when they returned to the Jedi temple. She couldn't imagine the Jedi kicking him out but at the same time she couldn't see how he could be a part of the Jedi Order if he no longer had a connection to the Force. Perhaps, Grand Master Yoda would know something that could restore the Force within a person but if she was being honest with herself, she doubted it could have even been a thing.
She looked back at Jense; his helmet laid on his stomach. His face exposed to the fresh air, allowing him to breathe it in instead of through the filtration of the mandalorian helmet. His chest slowly rose and fell with each breath. All she could think about was the vision she had before she and Mace arrived on Tooma. The image of a Jedi and the silhouette of a man in armor, which she now recognized as Mandalorian armor, was burned into the back of her eyelids. She hoped that her impulsive decision to seek out the Mandalorians wouldn't end in disaster and that her vision was telling her to stay away for their sake.
Kira may not have exactly liked Jango Fett very much but whether she admitted it or not, she was completely committed to the mandalorians now that she had seen Jense Kenvor's face. He may have been younger than she imagined but now that she was just feet from him, she knew, without a doubt, that he was her father. She found herself not wanting to return to Coruscant at all, she wanted to stay with Jense.
She had tried to ignore it when she first saw him in the cave but now that she was relatively safe, she couldn't stop herself from becoming immediately attached to him. She never realized before how desperate she was for a family. She still had no idea how to juggle both the Jedi and the Mandalorians, but she figured as soon as Jense woke up, she would find out.
She still had to speak to him, and he had seemed to think she was someone else in the few moments he was awake. She hoped he wouldn't be too freaked out when he finds his long-lost daughter had shown up out of nowhere and even worse that she was a Jedi apprentice.
Dar'manda, Jango had told her that she had lost her Mandalorian soul and now she feared what that truly meant. She didn't know how to be a Mandalorian, she only knew how to be a Jedi and both sides had a long history of being enemies. What did that mean for her? She didn't know and that's what worried her. She didn't want to necessarily give up the Jedi- or more importantly Mace but she couldn't see how she could possibly be both.
Kira also wondered who exactly Jense thought she was. A woman named Lenore, that was obvious, but who exactly was she? She had an idea of who it might have been, but she didn't want to assume. She had every intention of asking Kal but that was a conversation she could wait to have on the trip back to Mandalore. Assuming the opportunity came up to ask him.
The trek was going much slower than the first time around and the sun was slowly fading behind the horizon. Everyone was exhausted and none bothered trying to hide it, they'd all been through a lot in the last few days.
"We should make camp." Khane said, finally breaking the silence among the group, his arms and hands were aching from the weight of his master and the make-shift stretcher. "It's getting dark, and I think we're all exhausted."
"Of course, the Jedi thinks we need to stop," Wad'e huffed. "We need to get to the ship and get these two into a bacta tank and you think we should stop?"
Wad'e didn't mind Kira but there was a tension in the air between Khane and the Mandalorians was enough to choke a Wookiee with. Khane had some serious beef with them even though they had just saved his life.
"We are doing them no favors by running ourselves to death." Khane defended. "What if we get attacked again? Can you go through all of that again without rest?"
Wad'e looked back at him and glared. "We could and we have."
Kal groaned. "Alright enough." He said, annoyance clear in his voice. "We will rest for a few hours and at first light we'll get to the ships."
Jango's stomach growled loudly as if it could join the argument on its own. Kira glanced over at him and gave a sympathetic smile. "We're hungry too," she said, trying to ease the tension. "We all haven't eaten in days. Starving to death isn't going to help Jense or Pao'l."
Wad'e glared at her before his own stomach joined in. "Fine."
They made it to the clearing and carefully set Jense and Pao'l down on a thick bed of grass. Jango rolled his shoulders as he watched as Kira knelt beside Jense with the back of her hand on his forehead feeling his temperature.
"You all set up camp," Jango said. "Kira and I will go try to find some food. We'll be back soon."
Kira looked up at him wondering why he volunteered her to join him instead of one of the other mandalorians, surely, he was sick of being around so many Jedi by now. She knew how deeply he hated her kind. She decided not to question it though, assuming he had his reasons and pushed herself up to stand. She dusted off her pant legs, normally she would have harassed Jango for a few moments, but she decided against it, she was starving and arguing seemed meaningless at the moment.
"I think she should stay with us." Khane said, his voice showed his distrust of Jango even if he hadn't meant for it to come out. Kira's eyebrow raised; he also had a distrust of Kira, so his comment confused her. She shot a side glance at Jango, curious of his response.
Jango frowned. He didn't like the young Jedi and it was clear Khane felt the same about him but as far as Jango was concerned, his word outlawed any Jedi's while in the group, he was the Mand'alor after all. "And why is that?" He asked, he didn't even bother to hide the irritation in his voice. He wanted Kira to join him, and he wasn't going to let a Jedi tell him no.
"We can try to heal these two and we're probably the best to do it." Khane said. "We are trained as healers, you mandalorians are better suited to killing things anyways."
That comment irritated Kira immediately, she could handle the natural distrust between the two but the blatant disrespect of Jango set her off. She could disrespect him, the other mandalorians could disrespect him, but not Khane. Khane was not allowed to disrespect Jango Fett. Before she could snap at him, Jango spoke.
"Well, isn't that the quacta calling the stifling slimy." Jango spat standing back, putting his weight in his heels.
Khane glared at Jango before Pao'l spoke up. "Alright, enough." He said, waving his hand towards his padawan trying to curb the tension in the air. "We're all hungry and tired. There's no need to fight amongst ourselves, if the mandalorian needs padawan Kenvor's help then she will help him. We have to work together to get out of here and if it wasn't for the mandalorians we would be dead and I shouldn't have to remind you of that, Padawan." He reminded him firmly.
Khane huffed to himself but stood down. "Fine." He stalked off towards the edge of the clearing and began gathering tinder to build a fire with.
Kira watched him stalk off before turning to Jango. "Let's go, Jango." She said quietly, nodding her head towards the opposite end of the clearing away from Khane. Jango rolled his eyes before taking the lead into the forest.
As they headed into the forest, the sun went down, and the stars came out. Kira's body was exhausted and all she wanted was to rest but it would have to wait. She mostly wanted to get back before Khane decided to do something stupid and wind up dead. She knew she was emotional at times and had trouble keeping her mouth shut but Khane's reaction unnerved her. She was used to herself falling short of the Jedi code but another who struggled to do the same made her realize how easily emotions could turn dangerous.
She heard a small click of metal before Jango tapped her arm with something. The touch brought her out of her own wandering mind. She looked down and saw her silver-hilted lightsaber she'd given him in the tunnel.
"This belongs to you." He said as he pulled out his one remaining blaster. Kira quietly took it and looked it over as he walked ahead of her. She smiled to herself. She had given him her lightsaber, trusting him with her life and he once again proved that for as much as she tended to dislike him, he deserved her respect and her trust. He had many opportunities to kill her or leave her for dead but in the short time she'd known him, he'd earned it in ways Kira couldn't explain.
"Thank you." She said before returning it to her own belt as she followed behind him. "I'm sorry you lost one of your blasters in the cave-in." She said.
"It was unavoidable." He said. "I'd rather lose a blaster than my life."
She let out a huff of a laugh. "Can't argue that."
Jango hesitated for a moment. "Are you alright?" He asked as he walked ahead of her trying to act nonchalant.
Kira couldn't stop the smirk crawling across her lips as she watched him walk ahead. "Careful, Jango," She teased as she cocked her hip to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're starting to sound like you care."
He stopped slowly before turning slightly to look back at her, he half expected her to be a few feet behind him but seeing as she was farther behind, he stopped completely and couldn't help but admire the view. The moonlight was patchy between the trees, but it hit her face enough to where he could see her clearly. She looked like she'd been through hell and was in desperate need of a bath, her chin had dried blood from when he dropped her on it and he figured it would likely scar, her hair was still somehow in somewhat of a bun but her padawan braid had fallen free and hung behind her right ear.
He noticed a yellow band at the top of the braid then farther down a green band and then at the end of the braid there was a yellow band layered on top of a red band. Her dark eye makeup she had been wearing previously had been washed away. She was several years younger than him but even then, she was beautiful, that he could not deny as much as he would have liked to.
He'd always thought she was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever met, and she remained at the top of his list since the moment he first met her. Her eyes could be incredibly intense when she was angry but the way she was looking at him now seemed to mesmerize him. He half wondered if she was doing some strange Jedi trick on him but quickly decided that Kira was not the type to use the Force for personal gain, at least he assumed, he barely knew anything about her.
"Don't project your own feelings, Jedi." He said, normally when he would say something like that it was in an aggressive tone but this time, it was softer, and Kira picked up on it immediately.
The smirk on her face was now accompanied by an eyebrow raise. "I'm okay," She said, deciding to let him off easy, figuring she'd mouthed off to him enough for one day. "Thanks to you."
It wasn't often Jango was thanked for saving a life, usually he was thanked for taking one. It was a strange contrast, he wondered how much this scrawny Jedi had gotten to him. He actually felt something when she was around, he wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling, but it was something. After not feeling for so long after the Battle of Galidraan, he'd almost forgotten what it was like to have emotions not tied to anger, vengeance, or greed.
Skirata might have been more accurate of his inclinations of Jango's feelings towards their Jedi than Jango let on. He did care for her, he cared that she was okay, that she was safe. That she was alive and possibly for more reasons than just the assurance that the Jedi wouldn't hunt them down to find her if she'd died. For as mouthy and reckless as she was, he almost liked her and even admired her in some ways. That was a hard pill for him to swallow. He was disgusted with himself for being fond of a rotten Jedi.
But Kira wasn't rotten. Not like the other Jedi he'd come across in his lifetime. Perhaps it was the Mandalorian blood that ran through her veins or perhaps it was simply because she didn't play the 'holier than thou' card that many Jedi played. She had her moments when she became a devout servant of the Force but for the most part, she was a normal human. Well, as normal a human as a Jedi could be.
"They didn't steal much of your Force sensitivity, did they?" He asked, he knew she was still strong enough to fling rocks through the air, but he was the first to admit he understood little of the Force or how it affected a Jedi.
Kira walked towards him. "Not that I can tell." She said with a smile. "I think you were right on time, Mand'alor."
Jango never really liked being called Mand'alor, he'd really only taken the title because his clan had chosen him over the traitor, Tor Vizsla, but he found he liked it when she called him that. He cursed himself, he was growing too fond of the Jedi far too quickly for his liking. She would be the end of him, and he could already see it. Everything she was, everything she stood for, was designed to be his opposite and yet he couldn't stop himself from the growing interest he had in her.
"Good." He said.
There was a moment where the forest seemed to grow quiet, and it felt as though it was only them on the whole planet. Kira couldn't tell exactly what was happening between her and the Mand'alor, but it was the most civil, and kind even, that they'd been towards one another since she first arrived on Mandalore. There was something about Jango that she liked, even though for the most part, she didn't like him at all.
Still, whatever the reason was, she was drawn to him. She almost felt more drawn to him than she did to Jense, and she was already very attached to the man and that worried her. She'd come all that way to find Jense but instead she found herself being more interested in the one Mandalorian who seemed to have the least amount of interest in her, that was until now, when his entire focus was on her, asking if she was okay.
"One minute you're telling me you'd leave me for dead and the next you're asking if I'm alright." Kira said, deciding to end the short-lived moment where she wasn't going to mouth off to him. "I think you're a better person than you let on, Jango."
"I doubt it." He said, he felt his walls had come down ever so slightly, but her comment brought them right back up. He had an inclination that she was onto whatever he was feeling towards her, and he feared she would use it against him. She didn't seem the selfish sort, but he could never be too careful.
Kira smirked, knowing she'd made him uncomfortable. "Apologies, Mand'alor. Wouldn't want to accuse you of being a halfway decent person." She couldn't see his expression, but she could easily assume he was giving her an unimpressed look. She looked him up and down. He had some new scrapes on his armor. There was some detonator powder and a fine layer of dust covering his shoulders but for the most part, he looked perfectly fine aside from the occasional growl his stomach made.
They were also supposed to be looking for food, not chatting like old pals but that didn't necessarily stop him from continuing the conversation. "Now that you've seen Kenvor's face," he began as Kira trotted to keep up with him, keeping a foot or so behind him. "What are your thoughts about all this?"
Kira let out a sigh. "Well, I mean you've seen his face," she said. "Skirata was right. We look alike. I felt a connection in the Force too, like I'd known him before, but I have no memory of him or anyone else before I came to the Jedi."
"If you are his daughter," he said. "And you wouldn't remember being with him as an infant."
"True." She said.
"How old were you when you became a Jedi?"
"Six months old, roughly." She answered. "But I doubt my master knew my exact birthday if what Skirata said is true. That Jense's house was destroyed, and his wife was killed. If I am his daughter, I doubt anyone knows how I survived."
"Maybe it was the Jedi who bombed your house to take you." Jango said almost accusingly. "You know, since the Jedi are kidnappers."
Kira frowned. There he went again, being a jerk. "You know, sometimes I like you, Jango Fett," she said, stopping and crossing her arms over her chest. "And then you say something that makes you sound like a bantha's asshair and it changes my mind."
Jango stopped and turned to look at her, he found the comment amusing. "Sorry." He might have said it, but Kira knew he didn't mean it.
Kira rolled her eyes and walked ahead of him. "They wouldn't bomb a house to get a child." She said defensively. "Especially a Mandalorian house and even you're smart enough to know that. There hasn't been a Mandalorian Jedi since Tarre Vizsla and that was like a millennia ago. They don't take Mandalorian children anymore. Regardless of how talented in the Force they might be."
"Yeah, because we don't let them."
"Because it doesn't work. Our worlds are too different and as a Jedi you can't be conflicted."
"Because you're doing so well with that." Jango taunted.
Kira pursed her lips together. "… Right…"
"Plus, you are obviously of Mandalore blood, if they don't take Mandalorian children anymore, why did they take you? What makes you so special?" Jango asked.
Kira paused. He had a point. She let out a sigh. "I don't know. Maybe my master didn't know I was a Mandalorian."
"I find that unlikely."
"I do, too." Kira admitted. "But I don't have answers. That's why I'm here in the first place, Jango."
"True." He said. "Still, I don't like Jedi."
Kira raised an eyebrow. "As if that wasn't blatantly obvious. If you hate them so much, why did you agree to help me? You don't owe me anything."
"You saved my life on Tooma, it seemed only reasonable I return the favor, you know this."
Kira pursed her lips in a tight line. "Yeah, but you led me to Skirata. You didn't have to come with. You could have said no."
"I probably should have." He agreed before deciding to be a little more honest with her. "But you're the only Jedi I've ever come across that I haven't wanted to kill."
"I knew you liked me, Fett." She taunted with a proud little smirk on her face.
"Not wanting to kill and liking are two very different things, remember that Kenvor." He said.
Kira didn't believe him for a second and her smirk showed it. "You know if you hate Jedi so much, maybe instead of doing your best to stay away from them, you learn from them. The more you know, the better you are to handle the next time one tries to cross you."
"Are you giving me advice on killing Jedi, Kenvor?" Jango asked, amused.
Kira stopped again and shrugged. "Look, I'm just saying," she said. "When it comes down to you or one of them and only one makes it out alive, it'd be helpful to know exactly what you're up against. Because if it was me against them, I'd pick me. Every time."
Jango was surprised to hear such a confession from a Jedi. The Jedi were projected to be selfless in all aspects and willing to give their lives at a moment's notice. "That sounds a little strange coming from a Jedi."
Kira scoffed. "It's not like what you're thinking. I would give my life for you or anyone who really needed help but I'm not going to just let myself get offed so easily."
Jango couldn't help but stare at her a little longer, he'd caught how she said she'd give her life for him and obviously he'd seen it. There was no doubt that she would sacrifice herself for him. It was a strange feeling if he was being honest. He hadn't had anyone willing to do that since Galidraan. Skirata might have but even so, Kal and Jango didn't necessarily like the other much.
"I see." He said.
They fell into silence before they continued on, they were not likely to find anything to hunt if they kept talking but Jango had to admit, he did like talking to her. He also liked making her angry with him, it was too amusing to poke at a Jedi.
"Jense is Force sensitive." She said after a while, slapping a long stalk of leaves. "That's why the Taavarians took him." Kira knew she shouldn't talk anymore, and she felt like she was trying to force the conversation to carry on, even if he annoyed her. She liked the way his voice sounded, and she liked his accent. As long as he wasn't acting like a womp rat, she could listen to it all day.
"I doubt he knows it." Jango said. "I don't know him well but with how adamant Skirata was about him not being sensitive, it's unlikely."
"He seems to have lost a lot of it from what I can tell," Kira said. "Even if he were to be trained, I doubt he would be able to do much anymore, if anything at all."
"Would you train him?" Jango asked. "If he could be? Or wanted to be?"
"No." Her answer was quick and short.
Jango was surprised how quickly she shut the idea down. "Why not?"
"He is too old to begin the training," she said. "It takes years upon years of training and trials and discipline to do what I do, and you can't let yourself fall into your own emotions. He's been living his whole life unrestrained; it would be too risky at his age."
"And you're disciplined?" Jango teased.
Kira gave him an unimpressed look. "Yes, I am. More disciplined than you, Womp Rat."
Jango chuckled. "So disciplined that you're at my side instead of your master's."
Kira couldn't stop the smirk that tugged at her lips. "Precisely."
"So, now that you've seen him, will you stay long enough for him to wake up?" Jango asked.
Kira raised an eyebrow. "You think I'd leave after all we went through to get him?" She asked, then considered the option. "I suppose it might be for the best, though. I mean, you saw his face. That's all the answer I need to know we share blood. I technically have the answers I was looking for."
"You think he would be better off not knowing about you?" He asked.
Kira paused and shrugged. "If you found out you had a daughter who you thought was dead for eighteen years but actually wasn't… and then ended up being a Jedi… would you want to know? Or would it be easier to live as you have been, assuming you were able to accept and move on from it?"
"I wouldn't ever have kids or a wife," Jango said. "Not in this lifetime, but I have known loss as he has."
Galidraan. Kira already knew how he'd lost so much, as much as he buried it, she could still sense the dark pool of loss within him, it was like a room within his mind and with each loss, waves of loss threatened to break the door that held it all together.
Jango seemed to know she was thinking of Galidraan. "I lost everyone on Galidraan, but I was not born on Mandalore, and I was not born a Mandalorian. I was a foundling. I lost my family a long time ago but if I found out my sister was still alive, I'd want to know."
Kira was surprised. She admitted her knowledge of Mandalorian politics was limited but how could he be the leader of the Mandalorians if he was not even Mandalorian? He did say anyone could become one, but she didn't understand what he meant back then.
For being as guarded as Jango could be, he was surprisingly open about his past with her. She wondered if the connection she felt towards him wasn't just one sided. "You had a sister?"
"I did. Her name was Arla, she was a few years older than me," he said. "But she died when Tor Vizsla killed my father in front of me when I was just a boy."
Kira frowned and put a hand on his forearm and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I'm so sorry. No child should ever see that." She said. "How did you survive?" She couldn't help but ask, she could hardly imagine Jango as a child, then again, she couldn't even be certain he was entirely human, but still, she couldn't imagine any child going through something like that and lived. No wonder he's an asshole.
"The former Mand'alor, Jaster Mereel, saved me." He said. "If it wasn't for him, I'd have been dead a long time ago."
Another name that sounded familiar. "Your ship is named after him."
"Yes." he said.
"He was the mentor you spoke of when we first met." Kira said as more of a statement than a question.
"He was." He said. "Tor Vizsla killed him too."
Kira was beginning to understand exactly why Jango was the way he was, and it was making perfect sense. He had lost literally everyone he had ever cared about. No wonder he was such a selfish loner. She imagined she might be too if she had to go through what he did.
"But to your original question," Jango said, wanting to change the subject. "Yes, I'd want to know if they were alive, any of them, even after so many years."
Kira watched as Jango turned and walked ahead, she could sense the weight he felt on his shoulders even if he pretended it did not exist. Her heart went out to him, wishing she could ease the pain he felt but knowing there wasn't anything she could do for him.
"Perhaps, we should find something to eat." She said after a few moments. "They'll begin to think we got lost out here if we don't return soon or they'll have killed each other by the time we get back."
"I think I see some fruit trees up ahead." Jango said, glad that the subject had shifted from himself.
Kira looked ahead of him and saw the trees he spoke of, large, yellow fruit hung from the branches. As they got close, Kira recognized them as Bristol fruits. They were large, sweet tasting fruits with a large seed in the center. When ripe, they were filled with juices that were often turned into drinks.
Kira opened her hold-all and began stuffing it as full as she could. Her stomach growled loudly in protest, as did Jango's. "I'm starving." She said, reaching up to grab a fruit just barely out of reach before using the Force to pluck it from the branch.
"No one is stopping you from eating some before we head back," Jango said. "There will be more for the others that way if we eat some now."
"You don't have to tell me twice." She said, her mouth watering before taking a bite. The flavors erupted on her taste buds; she couldn't stop the moan she made as she savored the fruit.
She closed her eyes and took another bite; the Bristol fruits were ripe, and the juices spilt onto the ground with every bite. She barely even heard the hiss of Jango's helmet release. When she opened her eyes Jango's helmet was hooked on one of the branches and his arm reached up taking hold of the yellow fruit.
Her eyes followed his arm as he pulled it back. She looked past his arm to his chest then slowly brought her eyes up to look at him. In the night, it was hard to see all his features. The moonlight pooled along his brow and the bridge of his nose. From what she could tell, he was human. She had already assumed he was based on his build and the small moments where she saw the back of his head. She wished it was lighter so she could see the eyes she'd been longing to see for weeks now.
He was doing a marvelous job of keeping his face hidden even when it was bare, and she couldn't stop the ever-growing curiosity. He brought the fruit to his mouth and took a bite, the juices dripped down his chin. He moved his head out to avoid dripping all over himself which brought him into the light as if answering her silent prayers.
'Oh my god,' Kira thought to herself as she could fully see his face now. 'He's beautiful.' He looked to be in his early to mid-twenties, younger than she had expected and he had dark eyes, the color she couldn't quite make out but dark enough to throw daggers, his nose was broad, and his lips were thin. He had thick, dark brows and short, dark, curly hair and his skin was an olive tan.
As a Jedi, Kira usually never even had the thought that one could be attractive, it just never occurred to her to see a man in such a light. She had met thousands of men in her short lifetime, but she'd never met one who could turn her head as quickly as he just had. Maybe it was the building anticipation of seeing his face in the first place, but she hadn't expected him to be as handsome as he was.
"Enjoying the view?" Jango asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, his dark eyes looked up to meet hers.
She could just imagine how big of a fool she looked like as she gawked at him then realized her mouth had been open as she stared at him. She quickly shut it before she stammered, "Uh." Before quickly looking away. "No."
Jango chuckled. "Then what are you staring at?" He taunted as he straightened his back, tossing the fruit's core to the ground before grabbing another off the tree.
Kira felt her cheeks burn red and she hoped the night hid it. "I…" she began trying to think of something, anything better than she thought he was hot. "Okay, look, Boy-o, you can't just take off your helmet and not expect me to look."
Jango's eyebrow rose as he smirked. Kira could already tell he had given her that look many times before but now she could actually see it. She wasn't annoyed by it in the slightest and even found the look attractive. "Looking is one thing, what you were doing is an entirely different action."
"Shut up, Fett." She said before forcing her eyes away from him, grabbing a few more fruits and shoving them in her pack. "Let's go. We need to feed those people."
Jango smirked again and grabbed his helmet and carried it under his arm as he ate another Bristol fruit. He found it amusing with how defensive she became.
On the way back to the camp, Kira kept quiet not wanting to further embarrass herself and tried to avoid looking at a helmetless Jango. Though, if she could, she would look at him all day. She wasn't sure what feelings he brought to the surface, but she wanted to squash them before they bore fruit. She had to remind herself that she didn't even like Jango Fett and that looks were nothing when the personality was shit. She also had to remind herself that she was a JEDI and whatever feelings were surfacing were forbidden. But that didn't stop her from thinking he was beautiful.
Without conversation, the trek back to camp was much faster than the way out. Jango's helmet had been returned to his head a few feet before camp, Kira could only assume it was because of Pao'l and Khane.
Kal looked up from the fire when he heard the rustling of bushes, and a blaster was in his hand in less than a second.
"Relax, Skirata," Jango said. "It's just us."
Kal returned the blaster to his holster. "Did you find anything?"
Kira pulled her pack from around her shoulder and handed it to him. "I grabbed as much as I could fit. Hopefully it's enough." She said.
Kal smiled at her. "You did well, Ad'ika."
"Thanks." She smiled and looked over at Jense who was laid out on the makeshift stretcher still asleep. She went to his side and knelt down. "How's he doing?"
"No improvement from what I can tell." Mij said as he helped pass out some of the fruits as Jango took a seat beside Kal in front of the fire. "He might be out for a while but he's breathing so that's something."
Kira let out a sigh. She would have to return to Coruscant as soon as possible. She had already been gone far longer than she anticipated but she still wanted to speak with Jense. She hoped he would wake up before she had to leave.