Promises and Deals | The Mandalorian

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As she takes a step forward, Din holds her arm. "Master?"

"Master Yoda of the Jedi Order. Exiled to Dagobah when the Republic fell. He was on the Jedi Counsel, one of the oldest Jedi there. He..." Alora trails off as she feels something shift in the air. Turning herself away from Din and back towards the hut, a shadow lurks in the threshold—a small silhouette that disappears the moment Alora narrows her eyes.

She takes off running, her yellow saber at her side as she launches herself into the hut. It's bigger than she remembers, even if she can no longer stand at her full height. The yellow light illuminates the area, showing off the untidy kitchen and the large soup pot in the corner. She follows the shadows to the back, swiping at it instantly, but it's like it was never there. Instead, she sees an old, moldy cot.

His footsteps do not startle her as Din fills the entrance to the hut, barely able to fit. "Don't just go running off like that," he huffs.

But she could care less as her gaze lands on the pile of blankets and cloth at the windowsill and somehow she just knows. She deactivates her lightsaber as she approaches, kneeling next to the blankets and grasping them in her fist. "I think..." She knows, but she can't help but underestimate herself. "I think this is all that's left of him now. Yoda. Just like Kenobi. No body. Just a pile of cloth." With a sharp inhale, she looks back to Din with only one thought in her mind: Will that be her one day? Nothing but a tattered cloak?

Din turns away as if he could hear her thoughts. He pulls out of the hut and straightens to his full height, but tenses a moment later. "Alora," he says quietly. "Come take a look at this."

She slowly creeps to the door and peaks her head out just enough to see a small girl sitting in the clearing with her back to the hut. A small pebble rises into the air before the girl, hovering there.

Alora climbs out of the hut and says quietly, "Follow my lead, and don't spook her." They begin to circle the girl, one on either side, even as more pebbles float upward. Slowly, the girl's face becomes clearer until Alora has a full side profile of her and pauses. Against every instinct in her body, Alora takes out her sabers and places them on the ground as she kneels, the gravel digging into her knees. "Hello, there, young one."

The girl's eyes pop open as she turns to Alora, the pebbles shaking in mid-air. "Master?" She asks.

Alora shakes her head before she inches closer. "I'm sorry. Master is gone."

The girl frowns. "Stop can I?"

"Yes, young one. You can stop."

The pebbles drop to the ground as the girl pulls her shaking hand to her chest, curling into a small ball.

"I am not here to hurt you," Alora says as she continues approaching. "We are looking for something. Can you help us?"

The girl shivers. "Help you?"

"Yes. My friend came here many years ago and hid something. He told me to come find it. Can you help my friend and I?"

The girl looks up with eyes of the abyss and a quivering lip. "Try I can."

Din takes a loud step forward. "What is your name?" He asks.

Though startled, the girl takes her time turning to him. "What is a name?"

Alora watches as Din's posture shifts, not defensively, but curiously. As if he can see something and wants to learn more. "Who are you?"

"Padawan. Padawan I am. For Master."

Alora's heart sinks in her stomach. He took another Padawan? He replaced her with a young girl? But the more Alora sees, the more twisted her thoughts become. "Did you see my friend come here? His name is—"