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Tess had never wanted to be away from heat more than in that moment.
It radiated from beneath her feet, making her hair stick to her neck and sweat drip down her back. Her wool coat was a thermal blanket making her body heat up like a small star was bursting through her body. She still gripped Mando's hand, looking down to see the molten lava bubbling in the canyon below. Her eyes danced over the red and orange liquid spurting and gushing over in a river of red-hot flame.
Her throat was dry, entranced by the terrifying beauty of it, but the heat was what brought her back. That, and the light tug the Mandalorian gave her, worriedly pulling her back from the edge.
Tess whirled around, her eyes flashing with something unreadable, as if she wanted to stay on the precipice. Mando furrowed his brows, but did not regret his decision. He'd decided before they left that he was going to make sure Tess stayed safe on this mission, and he wasn't about to break that promise now.
"Whoa." Mythrol said beside her, and Cara raised a hand to stop him from moving any farther.
"Yeah, 'whoa' is right." Greef replied, then pointed to the large control panel floating above the lava to their right. Tess' eyes could make out many of the individual parts needed to build the contraption, and knew exactly what needed to be done before Greef had even spoken.
"That's it." he then pointed to Mythrol. "Get on the reactor controls, drain the coolant lines." Tess narrowed her eyes at Mythrol. "We'll watch the doors." Tess shrugged away from Mando, eyeing Mythrol tenderly. Ever since meeting the blue man, Tess had found the creature to be entirely disappointing and useless. Several times during their ride over to the base, it had taken Mando's hand across her body keeping the girl from thwacking Mythrol over the head. All he seemed to do was complain, and though his fear of Mando and Tess was understandable, the girl didn't see it that way. She was built and raised to judge others, relying only on herself, and now, after many days of having no one but the Mandalorian and the child, Mythrol was forced to take the brunt of her built up anger.
"Me?" Mythrol asked, proving Tess' point.
"Yes, you!" Greef stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Mythrol gulped and looked over the edge again.
"I'm afraid o' heights." Mando tensed as he felt Tess start to shake near his shoulder. "And heat. And lava."
"Easy." the Mandalorian whispered as Tess rolled her eyes. She curled her hands into fists, the anger boiling inside her almost foreign, having not felt like this for weeks. Not since the battle with the dragon, the day she snapped at the villagers taunting her in the bar. Their patronizing gazes flitted back through her head, and Tess locked her jaw in place.
