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TESS OPRIN BRISTLED as the putrid, hot air stung her eyes.
The green moss buildings and ashen stones were weary under her feet. The air was loose and hot, sticking to the back of her neck. The sizzle of a smoke grill and patter of hurried footsteps were the only sounds that could be heard. Light shone softly through the thick clouds hanging limply in the sky. The palace tasted like rust and dirt and fear.
The town felt like it had been dead for ages.
The Mandalorian moved closer to Tess, who walked ahead of him now, arms limp at her sides, metal leg clanging against the stones. As they went forward, the townspeople, eyes narrowed and focused on the floor, hurried around them, and when Tess' gaze landed on each person, they tucked their heads farther into their necks. Tess didn't know where they were going as they ran off.
She kept her head down, then, peering up only at the Mandalorian. The tingling of her skin was all too familiar, the supple silence, the dead-ness that flowed against the ramshackle huts and clung to the saddened townsfolk's clothes.
It was the same depressing, weathered feeling that lay over Mos Pelgo like a blanket. An abandoned town, a carcass of the past, it's skin and meat withered away. Yes, Tess knew this feeling well.
It was abandonment, and it hung in the air as if it were on strings.
The houses were aligned in neat rows, and Tess watched as sentries, motionless and armed, were atop the roofs. They didn't look at her, but she knew they were aware she was watching them. Closer to the end of the enclosed town, a woman in deep purple robes with a mask covering her features stood behind a table laden with fruit. Mando tugged on Tess' wrists, and she nodded, following him closer, understanding that she was not to speak.
When Tess spoke, disaster always seemed to follow.
"Excuse me, vendor." Din said kindly, "have you heard of anyone..." his words were cut off, and a sigh replaced it as the townsperson turned sharply and hustled away from the Mandalorian and the girl. Tess' brows pinched together, her mouth moving to a thin line.
"What was that about?" She whispered, making sure no one else, especially not the sentries, could hear her.
"I don't know." Din replied, looking down at her. "But let's just find the Jedi and get out of here."
