chapter thirty-four: the dragon

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"Okay... so we do all realize how reckless it is to do this... right?" you murmur, looking over at Din. "They could die."

You're crouched on a rocky ledge, looking down at the giant cave across the canyon. A Tusken is walking towards the mouth of the cave with a bantha tied to a leash by its side. The Tusken standing by your side starts to let out a string of soft barks, trying to communicate with you while Din translates.

"They say it lives in there. They say it sleeps."

"Well, I figured it lives there," you scoff. "But, remember the last time we tried to provoke a beast that lived in a cave?" Din turns his head to stare at you, the blank expression of his visor boring into you. "It didn't end well."

Din continues with his explanation, choosing to ignore your comment. "It lives in an abandoned sarlacc pit."

"I've lived on Tatooine my whole life... there's no such thing as an abandoned sarlacc pit," Cobb shakes his head.

"There is if you eat the sarlacc," Din says bluntly.

You stare at him before turning back to look at the cave. "Oh... goodie."

Din hands you the binocs and you peer through them at the Tusken that's stopped in front of the dragon's cave.

"They're laying out a bantha to protect the settlement. They've studied its digestion cycle for generations."

You raise your brow, impressed by the Tuskens' efforts.

"They feed the dragon to make it sleep longer. Watch, the dragon will appear."

The Tusken below raises their hands to their mouth, using them to make a makeshift megaphone as they call out into the dark mouth of the cave.

Their call echoes through the canyon and you lower the binocs to watch the scene with your own eyes. There's a moment of silence as the Tusken call fades away, but it's quickly replaced by a low growl that makes the walls of the cave shake. The Tusken starts to sprint back to where you're hiding, and you grimace as you watch them struggle to close the long distance between them and the group hidden in the stone.

"They're not gonna make it," you whisper, horrified.

"The dragon is going for the bantha," Din replies softly, trying to ease your nerves.

"No, it won't."

The entire canyon rumbles as the beast starts to make its way to the front of the cave. It appears in the sunlight, its mouth already opened in a gape, and it completely passes by the oblivious bantha... eating the poor Tusken whole.

You let out a gasp, rising from your crouch as the dragon slinks its way back into the protection of the cave.

The group sits in silence, staring at the tracks the dragon had left in the sand. Not even a drop of blood was left of the Tusken... there was no evidence that they were even there to begin with.

"They might be open to some fresh ideas," Din says slowly, glancing over at Cobb.

~~~

The group returns to the camp and you watch as the Tuskens arrange a miniature model of the cave, dragon, and your group. You tilt your head as you watch them from your place by Din's side, observing the signs they use to communicate with Din and each other. You're trying to figure out what certain signs mean for them... you've learned some sign language from your time as a Padawan, but you weren't sure if they used the same dialect as what you knew.

"What are the bones?" Cobb asks, looking down at the gathered Tuskens with a frown.

"That's the krayt dragon," Din answers, pointing at it.

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