When Kasia again awoke, it was to the sound of children and laughing.
As the carriage rolled to a stop, the movement roused Kasia from sleep, her eyelids fluttering as she was momentarily blinded by the sun. Closing them against the bright light, Kasia snuggled her head against the hard metal underneath her.
Wait a second, metal?
Bleary-eyed and blinking rapidly, Kasia bolted upright as she realized her head had been resting against Mando's chest plate, somehow having fallen off to the side from the railing behind her.
The Mandalorian in question, it seemed, was still mercifully asleep, and Kasia thanked the Gods that he hadn't noticed the position she had woken up in—if he had woken up first to find her using him as a pillow... well she doubted he would have been pleased.
Honestly, how does he even sleep in that thing? she wondered suddenly as she looked down at Mando. Or keep from boiling alive any time he goes somewhere with a moderately warm climate?
From her lap, the child slowly sat up as well, obviously having been woken by her sudden movement. She winced and brought a hand down to pat the top of his head.
"Sorry for that Ue'lae," she murmured. She glanced at the two sleeping forms next to them and then out at the small village in front of them, "You know, it might be a good idea to wake them up now," she mused.
The child cooed in agreement at the idea of waking them up so, without another word, Kasia lifted the little guy from her own lap and placed him in Mando's, tasking him with the job of waking the resting warrior. She figured it would be a better start to Mando—or really anyone's—day to be woken up by the kid.
As the child woke up the bounty hunter to her right, Kasia leaned over and gently tapped on Cara's shoulder. Within an instant of the touch the ex-shock trooper bolted upright, hand instinctively unholstering her weapon as her prior training and current experience living on the run came into play.
Kasia reeled back and raised an eyebrow at her, "Someone's a light sleeper."
Suddenly, the voices of the nearby children seemed to grow louder and Kasia glanced to the side to see dozens of kids rushing towards their cruiser. "Everyone, they're here!" she heard one child shout, a band of giggling children in tow as he ran towards them.
At the sight of the gaggle of kids, Kasia couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips; she had always had a soft spot for kids.
Not paying much heed to the three adults seated in the back of the truck, the children all rushed towards the child at the railing who had jumped from Mando's lap after waking him. Kasia chuckled as the children all began to fuss over him and the kid practically basked in the attention.
"Well, looks like they're happy to see us," the Mandalorian remarked a moment later, and Kasia could hardly stifle the laugh that rose to her lips at the obvious observation.
Captain Obvious strikes again.
Still, a dimpled smile on her lips, she merely nodded, "Looks like."
*.*.*
While the village children cooed over the babbling child, Kasia, Mando, and Cara were directed towards their sleeping quarters for the time they would spend here—or rather Cara was directed towards her room and Mando and Kasia were directed towards theirs.
"Remind me again why I have to stay in the same room as you?" Kasia groaned as she and Mando made their way towards the barn they would be sleeping in. For the nth time, Kasia cursed the injury at her shoulder for her sudden inability to cross her arms properly—it honestly took away like seventy-five percent of her physical self-expression.
"Because," Mando started, his head on a swivel as if he was expecting some sort of sudden attack, "you are still my quarry and I still need to collect the bounty on you. Can't have you running away in the middle of the night."
At the words, Kasia pouted and, raising an eyebrow, forced bravado into her voice as she declared, "Oh please, we both know that you've grown much too fond of me over the short time we've spent traveling together to get rid of me so soon."
When she glanced back at Mando his helmet stared at her, unmoved. "Right," was all he said before quickening his pace to walk slightly ahead of her. Kasia glowered at his armored back as she strode to catch up with him.
"Peo'n ye'ce," she muttered in Eulentian.
As they finally reached the front door of the hut which had been identified as theirs, Kasia stiffened and her hand instinctively snapped to her blaster as she noted movement inside the space.
At the noise of their footfalls, the woman in their room's attention snapped to the two of them, eyes first going to Kasia and then to Mando. Kasia watched as her eyes swept over Mando's body, obviously taking in the Beskar suit and Mandalorian in front of her.
Upon taking a closer look at her, Kasia blinked in surprise. With long dark hair, chocolate brown eyes, and delicate features, she was easily one of the most beautiful women Kasia had ever seen. From the way that Mando straightened slightly at her attention, Kasia could tell a similar thought was running through his head.
Damn, she thought frowning. I was supposed to be the prettiest person in this village.
"Please come in," the woman called, her voice maternal and soft. At the invitation, Kasia willed herself to relax, hand falling from the blaster. "I hope this is comfortable for you," the unnamed woman continued as Kasia and Mando cautiously joined her in the space. "Sorry that all we have is the barn."
Kasia gave her a small smile, "This will do great." She paused a moment, her eyes sweeping over the room and landing on the single bed. Yeah, sharing that is not gonna fly with Mando, she thought as she stared down at it. And I need my beauty sleep so there's no way in hell I'm sleeping on the floor. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to have another cot or something one of us could sleep in?" she asked, her smile suddenly feeling awkward on her mouth.
The woman glanced between the two of them, eyebrows arching delicately. "Of course. Sorry, because the two of you wanted the same room, we assumed... I'll get that in here for you very shortly," she promised, and Kasia nodded gratefully. The woman paused for a moment before taking a step towards a small table, "I stacked some blankets over here," she informed the two of them, her eyes landing and lingering on Mando as she spoke.
"Thank you," Mando responded haltingly, momentarily glancing over his shoulder from where he was putting down supplies. "That's very kind."
Kasia's eyebrows flitted up and she snickered slightly at... the compliment?
That is top tier flirting right there, ladies and gentlemen, she thought sarcastically as she peered in amusement at the Mandalorian. Still, as Mando glanced at her in poorly concealed exasperation, something in her chest seemed to tighten.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside the door. Instinctively, the Mandalorian stood and whirled, grabbing his pistol from its holster as he turned to face whatever threat loomed in front of them.
That threat, of course, was nothing more than a girl, and Kasia raised an unimpressed eyebrow at Mando from where he stood, looking impressively intimidating. She supposed maybe she should have warned him that someone was approaching but well... she wasn't expecting quite so dramatic a reaction.
"Well, someone's jumpy today."
At her words, Mando glared at her and she lifted her uninjured arm in faux innocence.
Kasia snapped back to attention as the woman who had prepared their room for them glanced once at Mando before striding over to where the young girl stood, hiding behind the entrance door. At the sight of her, the girl hugged the woman around the middle and continued to stare in both fear and curiosity at the Mandalorian.
"This is my daughter, Winta. We don't get a lot of visitors around her. She's not used to strangers," the woman explained, glancing down at her daughter as her already breathtaking features softened. "This nice man is going to help protect us from the bad ones," she explained quietly, running a hand over the top of her daughter's hair.
And what, I'm just going to sit on my ass and watch?
The thought flashed through Kasia's head for a moment before she dismissed it. Winta's mom was just trying to keep her from being afraid of Mando. There was no reason to credit or include Kasia in the statement. Even if she was the one who had convinced Mando to help in the first place. And even if she would be kicking just as much raider-ass as Mando would.
Okay, so maybe she was looking for a little credit.
Winta glanced up at Mando and then Kasia before quietly whispering, "Thank you."
Kasia grinned and winked at the girl. Mando merely nodded before his attention turned back to look at Winta's mother.
"Come on Winta. Let's give our guests some room."
With that, the mother and daughter left Kasia and Mando alone, though Kasia didn't miss the last look which the gorgeous woman cast Mando.
"When it gets here, I'll sleep in the cot," Mando's modulated words came a moment later, pulling Kasia from the reverie she was in.
Blinking to regain her bearings, she turned to him and flashed a half-smile. "What a gentleman," she quipped, walking past him and patting him twice on the shoulder. She ignored the sting of the cold metal underneath her skin as she went on, "And so naïve to think that you have a say in the matter. I was going to force you either way but now I can sleep all the more comfortably knowing it's your choice."
With that she let her hand drop and strode out the open door, intent on exploring the lively village around them.
*.*.*
"Peo'n ye'ce" means "idiot brain" in Eulentian.