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TESS STUCK CLOSE to the Mandalorian's side as they walked with Cara dune into the reformed town on Nevarro. She was bombarded with sweet smiles and intriguing looks from the passers by. Children ran about the streets happily, kicking metal trinkets around or simply laughing with each other. Tess didn't understand what was so funny about talking with other people.
She'd only just stepped into the town and already the air of contentment and fresh possibility was making her sick. This was not at all like Mos Pelgo, where the townsfolk were as dry and rusted as the buildings they lived in. In Mos Pelgo, everything had felt stretched, worn and weathered from years of anguish. Tess found herself wishing to be back there, out in the treacherous sands and on the mountain ridges where the scorching suns wept their golden light over her.
This new town was foreign, with it's playfulness and amended nature. Tess didn't like it. Her eyes closed for a half second, and for a moment she was lost in the recollection of the forsaken town out in the middle of nowhere. The sand treats littered across the cantina's front counter. The sound of children grunting as they learned combat outside her mechanic's shop. Her shop, that beautifully broken pile of clay and wood, crafted to fit her every wish and command. A place entirely her own, where nothing was ever out of place. Her own personal chaos, fit to withstand her storm.
Her chest ached, and when Tess opened her eyes, her lungs seemed to careen against her ribs. She let out a soft gasp. No one could hear it except her, but it was enough to make Tess look down in confusion. Her bruised ribs had been healed for days now, and her lungs were better since the fall on the ice planet. This meant that whatever was aching inside her chest, inside her heart, wasn't an injury. Tess wasn't sure if she should be grateful or not.
Instead, she pushed it away, just as she did with everything she didn't understand.
"Looks like you two have been busy." the Mandalorian's light voice pulled Tess back. She didn't notice that every once in a while he glanced at her, seeing something was wrong. Like always, he didn't say anything, knowing she'd be more likely to rip his helmet off his head than tell Mando what was bothering her.
Greef stepped back to come in line with them, the child still gurgling happily in his arms. "I myself have been steeped in clerical work." across the way, the smell of roasting food caught Tess' attention, and instantly her mouth started watering. "Marshal Dune here is to be thanked for cleaning up the town."
