I'll Always Follow - Mandalorian/MCU Crossover

M is for Mudhorn

Din had noticed quickly after Darcy had joined him and the kid on his ship.

Really, he knew the moment he met her in the cantina.

Darcy was... different.

She claimed she was from Alderaan, but Din knew that was a lie. He wasn't bothered by it though, he figured if she was hiding where she was from, she probably had a good reason. Din understood keeping secrets.

Then there was the fact that she could barely read Aurebesh, the most common language in the galaxy. That was... odd. In his time with the covert, children and foundlings were taught the Aurebesh and Mando'a alphabets and how to read at an early age. Din was surprised one day when he found Darcy writing a word out in Aurebesh and then the same word in High Galactic. He saw more writing in High Galactic and realized Darcy could read and write, just not in the common Aurebesh.

That had him wondering about where she was from, where she utilized such an older writing system.

If Din was honest, he found himself wondering about the woman quite a bit.

She had only been traveling with the kid and him for a little over a month. Having another person with the two of them after so long had taken some getting used to. The child liked her though and Din would never admit it out loud, but he kind of liked her too.

Darcy talked a lot and was happier than most people Din encountered. Before she arrived, the kid and he would go hours without making a sound, but Darcy? She filled the silence. It didn't bother Din. It was just new, like when he first got the child. It would just take some adjustments to get used to having another person around.

Din had overheard some stories Darcy would tell the kid that didn't make much sense to him, but from how she told them, he knew they had to be true. Since he'd taken in the child, he'd had to realize that there were things he would probably never understand about the universe and he was fine with that. Even though Darcy didn't know something basic like Aurebesh, she knew about the Jedi and recognized the kid's species. She knew things that Din had no clue about. They worked well together.

For now, there was someone to watch and protect the child while he was away, and he felt like he could trust her to do that. He had been impressed when he saw she could handle a blaster and she had assured him that she knew how to fight. He hadn't tested that out, though, her skill with the blaster was enough for him.

They were on a heavily populated planet in the outer rim, Din had left Darcy and the kid on the ship while he stocked up on supplies and the ship was refueled. He was stuffing meal packs into a cargo container when he spotted something nearby. There was a small shelf of books. Books were a rare commodity, but the book on display looked to be for children, and a bit beat up. Din walked closer, to get a better look at it.

The cover was colorful and stated it was an alphabet book that had both the Aurebesh and High Galactic alphabets in it, showing the translations between the two and the names of the letters, with examples of words that started with each of the letters featuring animals, some Din knew, some Din had never heard of. It was very simple. Din didn't understand why, but he found himself adding it with the meal packs and other supplies he was picking up.

The kid would need to learn the alphabet. The child just made odd sounds, but Din could tell the kid understood when Darcy and he spoke to him, even if the child could be stubborn sometimes. Din figured the kid was at the developmental stage of a child who should be able to recognize letters or at least start to learn.

So, yeah. He was getting the book for the kid. No other reason.

Once he'd gotten all of the supplies they'd need and paid, a cargo droid helped carry the container back to the Crest.