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Tess Oprin had only ever been truly frightened once before in her life.
She'd only ever been gripped by unsteady breath, widened eyes, and an ever racing heart once, and after that day, she'd vowed never to feel it again. She made a promise that she would push away her fear, push down the roiling stomachs and scrunched fists and nails dug into skin. She told herself that she would never go into a fight, never do anything outside of herself, just so the pain and terror couldn't take hold of her again.
Now, as she stood beside the Mandalorian, the child still latched onto her —this time comfortably held in one of the girl's arms— Tess felt the fear take her. It swept her off her feet, poisoned her mind with black agony that seemed to ooze like tar over the gears in her brain. Everything shifted in and out of focus, the earth quaked beneath her feet, and Tess thought she was going to throw up. After they'd left the sight of the dragon, bile had risen to her throat. She hadn't noticed that both the Mandalorian and the Marshal needed to help her down the cliffside, placing comforting hands under her forearms to keep Tess from slipping off the edge.
The Mandalorian would never forget it.
He would never forget how violently the girl had been shaking under his hand. Her body heaved and thrashed and her eyes darted quickly around at an unsteady pace. She had been so scared, the Mandalorian didn't know what to do. So far, he had never seen the girl be frightened, not when the dragon destroyed her shop and she almost perished in the flames, not truly when the raiders appeared from the rocks, and not even when Vanth and the Tuskens had almost gotten into a fight (something he'd come to realize Tess would avoid at all costs). She'd always responded to the dangerous situations with hardened steel eyes and determination like he'd never seen before.
When the dragon erupted from the sands and ate the Tusken whole, Tess had been scared, he could see it plain on her face. The only thing he couldn't figure out was what exactly she was so frightened by.
Tess revealed nothing as she watched the group of Tuskens speak with the Mandalorian. They were all standing around a small replica of the dragon's lair and peered with concerned eyes at how large the dragon was compared to the six small rocks representing people in front of them. Doubt crept along Tess' bones as she listened to the Mandalorian speak in the Tusken's foreign tongue.
"What are the bones?" Vanth spoke up, and immediately the entire group of Tuskens stopped and turned to him. Tess was slightly unnerved as she looked down at the scale, feeling many pairs of eyes on her and the Marshal.
