Chapter 2

The redhead arched her back as far as possible in an attempt to stretch her spine and opened her eyes, blinking away the fog and fatigue. She looked around the cargo bay but sighed when she noticed no change. At the very least, she was cuffed to a wall instead of a corpse or frozen in carbonite. So she took it as an unfortunate but acceptable win in her book.

Many hours passed and her shoulders were hurting from sitting for so long with her wrists cuffed behind her. She took a breath, wincing at how much her body ached. Her place in the rafters hadn't been comfortable but the awkward angle the binders now forced her into only exacerbated it.

She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. Grabbing that ration pack must have caused some noise loud enough for the bounty hunter to hear, despite having been so cautious. She'd been quieter than a mouse-droid with her hearing on full attention yet the Mandalorian had taken her by complete surprise. She still couldn't help but frown; how had he moved so silently while wearing all that beskar? Surely that much armor should have made some kind of noise?

Then a soft scuttling sound caught Kayla's attention.

She tried leaning forward to peer past a crate set to her right, wondering what had caused it, but the awkward angle of her arms behind her limited the movement. Her green eyes narrowed as she listened for it again but it was silent. It had been the faintest brush of noise, like fabric or fur against metal, so maybe the Mandalorian had a pet? At this point it wouldn't surprise her; he had a tiny green kid with him after all.

'Whatever,' She thought to herself, closing her eyes and settling back against the wall to try to rest.

Then she heard that noise again, sounding closer this time, and her eyes snapped open. She searched everywhere within sight for a source but still saw nothing. Her gaze narrowed. There was no way she was just hearing things now so it had to be something.

"Hello…?" She called out softly.

She immediately felt stupid when receiving no response. The only sound was the gentle rumble of the ship in hyperspace so swallowing past the nerves that were rising in her chest, she leaned back against the wall and waited. She watched back and forth for any sign of the thing but several minutes passed without any sounds or incident. Eventually her suspicion began lowering as nothing further happened and she sighed. She blinked a few times and settled back against the hull again, closing her eyes and trying to get as comfortable as possible. The more time that passed, the more she realized it most likely had been from the Mandalorian or the kid up above.

But Kayla couldn't help but yelp and jump in surprise when something metal abruptly clanked loudly against the floor beside her.

Her gaze shot up only to see the small green child standing only an arm's reach away from her. Her heart thumped in her chest from the surprise of the kid's sudden appearance but looking down, she saw a small metal sphere resting beside her knee. She raised her gaze back to the child. Did he just drop it?

The small child just stood there, staring up at her from over the top of his small robe. His ears lowered and his head tilted down ever-so-slightly, perhaps in response to her sudden reaction, seeming almost afraid or saddened. Kayla let out a slow breath.

"Uhh… Hi." She greeted, her voice quiet but a bit awkward. She blinked and the child blinked back.

What did it want? And why was it down here? She was sure the bounty hunter didn't know it was here since he'd seemed rather keen to keep him away from her the night before. But the creature was small and apparently pretty quiet so maybe he'd just snuck off?

"Um, what's your name?" She decided to ask after a long moment of silence. The kid didn't seem to know how to talk though as his ears perked up and he gave only a soft cooing sound in response.

Kayla remembered having been told several times that people often thought she had a very 'silvery-melodious tone of voice' and that her smooth voice always sounded very kind. She wondered if this kid thought that too since he now seemed to be growing less tense and instead more curious about her.

He took several tiny steps towards her and reached one of his tiny hands upwards despite the obvious space between them. Kayla frowned, instinctively leaning away as he came closer.

"Um, you probably shouldn't be here. If the Mandalorian finds you down-" But her warning was cut off by the child grabbing onto the end of her long, braided hair and pulling; Kayla yelped as he was surprisingly strong for a creature so small. "Ow! Hey, let go!"

She would have used her hands to move him away but they were still tethered to the rail behind her, meaning she was at this kid's mercy. And so she just sat and watched helplessly as he moved her natural auburn-red hair back and forth in his small hands, playing with it or maybe even trying to figure out what it was.

"Come on, little guy, I don't want to get in any trouble. Please just go away?" Kayla again tried. But she frowned when no amount of suggestion seemed to work.

Instead, he just looked up at her with the first smile she'd seen it make and immediately she felt her insides begin to melt at such an overwhelmingly adorable sight.

"No- don't do that. Stop smiling, it's too cute." She begged weakly. She could feel her resolve slipping as the little guy finally let go of her hair only to attempt to climb up onto her lap. She sighed half-heartedly despite the smile on her face in response to his adorableness. "You're gonna make me call that Mandalorian back down here, aren't you?"

She knew it was probably a good idea to tell her captor that the kid was here so he didn't panic and jump to an assumption that she'd somehow stolen him. She didn't relish the thought of being thrown in the carbonite chamber just because the kid got curious but in all honesty, she was pretty lonely and rather bored so maybe she could enjoy the little guy's company just for a few minutes?

Kayla thought for a moment then shifted to sit on the ship's floor with her legs outstretched in front of her, hands still locked behind her back. The child was then able to climb onto her lap and stood on her thighs facing her. His three-fingered hand then reached up to her face and she instinctively closed her eyes. His tiny hand touched her cheek, moving across her skin, drifting to her nose and mouth as he slowly explored her face. He was absolutely adorable but the startling innocence of the child made her really confused with this whole situation.

"What's a kid like you doing with a Mandalorian bounty hunter?" She wondered quietly as her eyes half-opened. That cute little smile reappeared and she couldn't help her own smile in response. She looked to the direction of the ladder and couldn't help as she grew more and more curious. "Where are your parents? Did- Did he steal you? Or… is he maybe taking you back home?"

The kid only let out an amused babble of sounds in response to her questions. He touched her rosebud-red lips as she spoke and her gaze returned to the child and met his big, dark eyes. He then seemed to notice her almond eyes and stared in what seemed like wonder at the intensity of their vivid color. Although she couldn't help but smile again, she wasn't surprised.

Kayla stood around average height while and had a graceful slim-toned figure while her features were smooth and beautiful. But even though she was born with the same warm-ivory skin as her father and red hair like her mother, thick and flowy down to her mid-back with a silky auburn shine, she had also been born with unnatural green eyes that neither parent or any past family had ever possessed. She would occasionally get comments about her hair but the intense coloring of her eyes had always been the first and most obvious thing noticed by anyone.

Her irises were a beautiful green color similar to emerald gemstones with a slim sunray of a slightly-lighter green circling her pupils but both the colors were so intense and so vivid, it always looked like they were glowing. While no actual light emanated from her slightly-upturned eyes just the vibrancy of the colors made it seem as if they were glowing, as if they were radiating a vivid and defined neon shine. The radiant color was so brilliant that her eyes would constantly be drawing the gazes of others; Kayla had always been uncomfortable with the amount of attention her unnatural eyes gained though so she had quickly learned to ignore the stares and whispers of others and kept her head down and her hood low, keeping her seemingly-glowing eyes from view.

Seeming to grow satisfied with his exploration of her facial features and eyes, Kayla watched the small green kid move to lay himself down atop her legs. She slowly took a breath in as he leaned against her chest and rested his head on her sternum. She hadn't expected him to try sleeping on her lap but while she didn't actually mind it, she felt even more worried about what the bounty hunter would say or do if he just found the child pass out. Cute kid be damned, the thief was not keen on not being frozen.

So Kayla shifted with a resigned sigh and lifted her foot to kick it against the closest crate several times, only then remembering that she hadn't been able to put her boots back on. Surprisingly the kid didn't stir; she guessed he was either used to loud noises or pointedly ignoring her. She didn't hear any movement from the bounty hunter above so she kicked a few more times, this time a little harder.

"Hey! Mandalorian!" She called out, careful not to cause the kid to tumble off her lap to the floor. "Hello?!"

A moment later, footsteps appeared above her and she saw the bounty hunter's boots and armored body descend the ladder. He turned to face her then stopped, immediately spotting the issue. She heard him sigh through his modulator.

"It's not that I mind it but I figured you would." Kayla admitted with a sheepish half-shrug, looking down at the sleeping kid; he was just as cute now as he was with his eyes open. "He just wouldn't move."

The Mandalorian muttered something she couldn't hear and shook his head.

"He tends to wander." He muttered as he walked over and knelt down, lifting the kid from her lap and gently settling him against his right pauldron.

Kayla nodded casually. The stress lifted from her but she had to admit to herself that she already kind of missed the kid. He didn't stir as the Mandalorian straightened, staring down at his captive.

"It won't happen again." He stated rather plainly. Then he turned to move back to the ladder but the redhead couldn't help but ask what she'd be wondering.

"Why is he with you? What happened to his parents?"

The Mandalorian paused. Having expected a short and cutting reply that she should mind her business or to be quiet, Kayla was instead surprised when he simply silent. Then without any answer, he just left the cargo hold with the child. The redhead's head fell back against the hull with a small sigh.

Back to being alone.

The Mandalorian returned to the cargo hold several hours later with some water and one of the ration packs she had tried to steal; Kayla felt her stomach ache again at the sight in reminder that she never got the chance to eat. He must have noticed her surprise as he set the items on a crate beside her, kneeling down to unlock one of her wrists.

"You thought I was going to starve you?" He guessed, his modulated voice sounding stronger and even more intense despite his low tone.

"We didn't exactly have a great first impression." Kayla stated obviously, forcing herself to ignore the shiver that ran down her spine from the sound of his voice right beside her ear. Noticing the way his hand hovered at his blaster, she waited until he'd moved back before slowly pulling her free arm from behind her then reaching forward to carefully grab the ration pack. "I don't usually assume someone plans on being nice to me after I tried to steal from them."

The Mandalorian then sat on one of the crates across from her and watched as she opened the plastic packaging. She tore off a piece of the dehydrated meat to pop in her mouth and then realized that he was going to stay there until she was done to lock her back up again. The corner of her mouth lifted.

"You think I might get through these binds with a ration pack and plastic cup?" She asked sarcastically. The helmet's unwavering stare was her only answer, affirming a silent yes that he somehow anticipated she'd try to do exactly that. Amused by his caution, she shook her head, biting off a piece of meat. "Well I'm not stupid: there's nowhere for me to go out in hyperspace unless I somehow beat you up. And I'm not out to cause you any problems."

"I've heard that before." He told her in response, crossing his armored arms.

"I'm sure you have," Kayla shrugged, brushing another strand of hair from her face. "But I actually mean it. I have no idea who you are and the only reason I know of you is because I snuck onto your ship and you caught me: but that puts me at fault. So unless you try to kill me, I have nothing against you nor do I want to."

Now that they weren't fighting each other in darkness, Kayla took a moment to get a better look at the man who held her prisoner. Every inch of his body was covered by beskar armor, weapons, or clothing. The only reason she knew him to be human was distinct proportions, physiology, and the fact that he had five fingers on each gloved hand. As to his planetary origin or appearance, she had no indications whatsoever. The beskar armor was unharmed and very well-kept though: it stood out predominantly from the rest of the ensemble in a dark-silver color with a non-painted shine. She noticed the multiple weapons along his body but the gleaming crest of what she saw to be a Mudhorn on his right pauldron caught her attention.

"Eyeing my armor, thief?" He asked evenly, without surprise. Kayla shook her head.

"Stealing beskar from your people is a literal death wish and I actually hold a high respect for your people. You're just the first Mandalorian I've seen in a long time. I can't help but be curious." She told him honestly.

"And I can't help but wonder what a thief from Denon is doing in the Outer Rim." He retorted. "You're a long way from home."

"Denon isn't my home. It's just the only place I remember growing up." She immediately corrected, unsure why she felt the bothered need to tell him.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"No."

Kayla took a long drink of the water he'd given her to stop herself from saying anything else. She relished the way it felt going down her dry throat but unfortunately the cup wasn't that big so it was all gone after just a few gulps. Realizing that he wasn't going anywhere until he tethered her free wrist back to the railing, her attention then focused on eating the rest of the dehydrated meat.

The bounty hunter leaned forward as she ate, elbows on his armored knees.

"I searched your name in the guild database, though I assumed you'd given a fake one." He then told her. "Seems you have several bounties scattered about the Colonies and Mid Rim: various theft, espionage, destruction of property. But seems you're a rather hard one to catch, Makayla."

"Kayla," She immediately snapped in correction. She wondered why he was bringing it up and raised her gaze back to him, keeping her expression blank. "And my current situation would say otherwise. But what about my bounties? Are you planning on turning me in?"

His helmet tilted slightly in response to her snap but he shook his head.

"The payments wouldn't cover enough to refuel my ship." He admitted. "So unless you give me another reason to, no."

"Thanks…" Kayla thanked quietly, eating the last of her small meal as she mulled that information over.

So at least her biggest fear of being turned in was quelled for now. She knew there was no telling if she could trust his word on anything but her gut feeling told her she could. He had to have some honor about him; Mandalorians were known for their honor, after all.

"You never answered my question." His statement again interrupted her thoughts, drawing her brilliant eyes back to the helmet's visor. Kayla raised a brow as she tucked her long hair behind her ear.

"Which one?" She wondered.

"Why so far from Denon? Why hop systems to steal from Imperials on Rodia?" He concluded. Kayla pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Traveling, drifting, seeing the sights: the usual. As for my thieving… I ran out of credits along the way and a lady's gotta eat." Her emerald eyes met the black emptiness of his visor, daring him to call her out. Even without seeing his eyes, she knew he didn't believe her for one second. Yes it was an obvious lie but he wasn't exactly spilling his life story either. Without breaking her gaze, she grabbed the plastic cup and held it out to him. "Thank you for the food and water."

He stood and took the cup but grabbed her wrist in the same movement, guiding it back behind her so he could bind it once more to the railing. Kayla accepted her restraint with surrender, feeling much better without her stomach's pains.

There was still a long way to Bothawui.