Soon after the two parted ways Asora made her way to her ship, her U-Wing was restored into almost perfect condition, MR beeping in surprise at the sight. Asora let out a soft sigh as she entered the ship, her fingers brushing across the walls as she made her way towards the controls.
Her heart felt heavy, a looming guilt filled her. She knew it was right to leave them, Grogu was more than safe, Mando was more than capable. But there was an emptiness that filled the room and her heart.
"This will pass" she reassured herself quietly as she closed her eyes, pulling her hands up to her face to rub her face, refreshing her senses.
"C'mon MR, let's get this show on the road!" She called out, feigning excitement. She needed to finish this, for her, for them.
MR beeped cheerfully in response, busying themselves with controls as they began their journey.
Time passed quickly in hyperspace, with Asora cleaning her gear and punching in the navigation coordinates to Ilum the ride felt like a breeze. Before she began her journey to Han Solo she needed to be properly prepared for whatever was to come after, she needed a better saber, and for that she needed more kyber crystals and this planet seemed like the most sensible option, an arguably more nostalgic option too.
The planet of Ilum was cold, barren, Asora had been there a few times with her master, her first being a mission to find her first kyber crystal, the planet had been used by the Jedi Order for the gathering for thousands of years, going back felt like a rite of passage for Asora.
As the pale planet came into view Asora reached over, taking the controls into her hands directing the ship towards the section of the planet she could feel the pull to, the side most familiar to her.
After the two landed their U-Wing , they existed slowly making their entrance onto the planet as quiet and as subtle as possible. Asora adjusted her armour on her sabers brushing her fingers over the clips on her hips anxiously as she set off to find her krystals.
On the other side of the galaxy, The Mandalorian was making his way towards Ahsoka Tano. He didn't know what to expect from her, but he didn't know what to expect from anyone these days.
While he was trying to pry his mind off of Asora, it seemed to be the only place it would stay. Even with the child's soft coos beside him he felt stuck. Did she think of him this way too, did she miss them? Or was she better off. He hoped not, but he knew he shouldn't, she deserved to finish her mission, hell she needed to. But it still stung, maybe it was his wishful thinking, that she'd stick around, and they could finish their missions together, to be together, work together. But that's just not how things work, maybe it was better this way.
Or at least that's what he was trying to convince himself.
As Corvus came into view he began readying the ship for entry into its orbit, his eyes flickering around his control panels, a small beacon coming into range on his navigation system.
"Corvus, this is the place. I've detected a beacon."
Grogu coo'd in response as Mando began readying everything, flicking some switches, hitting buttons, going about his usual routine. The ship felt like. Mix of somber and excitement, while Grogu was always excited and curious about the world, he could sense his fathers mixed emotions.
While he knew he could do or say anything to comfort him, he hoped he'd find peace, they wouldn't be alone too long. Or at least he hoped they wouldn't be, with his father's likeliness to befriend even the strangest of characters he had grown almost accustomed to the idea of meeting new people, or in his case, observing them.
The two made their way onto the planet as quickly as they could manage, as the two readied to leave the Razor Crest the Mandalorian tucked the child into is cross body bag, a makeshift baby carrier. Though it wasn't the comfiest thing in the world, Grogu made no complaints, at least it was better than walking.
As they made their way to the closest village in search of the Jedi, Asora had nestled her way into one of Ilums caves.
The terrain of Ilum wasn't particularly anything to write home about, Asoras main focus being the crystals, however she did enjoy the change of scenery. It felt like she had been through all the seasons in a year with her journeys with the Mandalorian and child as they meandered their way planet to planet. It was peaceful, a pleasant change.
She wished she could've shown Grogu, while he was not nearly old enough to wield a saber, she was sure he would've enjoyed the learning experience.
The brisk wind curved and swirled in the cave, the icy interior creating an almost eerie echo as the wind travelled, while the cave was for the most part vacant, aside from the soft howl of the wind Asora was still reasonably cautious.
The empire may have been dead, but probe droids and scavengers could still be lingering within the cold with her, and she wasn't particularly in the mood for a fight today.
She let her legs lead her towards her destination without a second thought, while her sense were still on high alert, the pull within the force had thrown her body into autopilot.
She began to pick up her pace as the pull towards the crystals strengthened, moving into a jog as she made her way over the various obstacles, the ice below her feet giving out on the odd occasion, keeping her on her toes as she neared it.
The crystals were nestled into a small corner of the cave, gleaming with light, her connection to them growing as she grew closer. She let out a gratified sigh as she reached him, kneeling on the ice as she moved her hands to grab them.
She felt like a padawan again, a soft wave of nostalgia washing over her as she pulled the crystals into her hands.
As she looked down at the crystals she smiled to herself, closing her hands over them, covering them as she leaned forward closing her eyes. She poured her energy into them, sending them her light, her force, infusing them with her very energy into it.
Once she felt the shift in the force she let out a little sigh as she pulled her hands away from the crystals, her eyes darting down to observe their colour.
Purple.
Her lips pulled into a satisfied grin as she began to move to stand up, the crystals shining softly with the radiant lavender hue. While she wasn't particularly hoping for any specific colour, she was quite pleased with purple. She felt as if she was following in her master's footsteps, she wondered if he'd be proud.
She hoped so, but there is no use lingering on the past, the present is where a Jedi's focus should always be. There was no use worrying about what was or what could be, but what you can make of now.
After a few moments of reflection Asora made her way back out of the cave, maneuvering through the interior of the icy cave as quickly as possible, hoping her droid wasn't getting too frosty as it sat at the entrance to the cave, keeping guard.
Once reunited with her reasonably chilled droid the two made their way back, she looked back at the cave momentarily as the two left. It was suspicious that she hadn't run into any ex-Empire, droids or kyber smugglers in the cave. It was peculiar, but she chose not to give it a second thought though, she had a smuggler of her own to track down.
As she climbed back into her U-Wing on Ilum, the Mandalorian was pacing back and forth, miles away, with thoughts of her and Grogu overwhelming his consciousness.
Ahsoka seemed endearing, she had a calm knowing way about her, one he began to associate with all Jedi. While their initial meeting had shown her proficient ability to fight, her quick thinking and lazerswords had clearly bested him, if it weren't for the beskar on his back he'd probably be cut in two.
As Ahsoka sat with Grogu a few meters away he paced, he felt out of place, awkward as if he was interrupting something or intruding in some way he was unaware of. He wondered what it would be like with her there, to have her by his side, would he be calm? Would he feel soothed?
He felt foolish even wondering if he would feel anything but at peace with her, as annoying as she was, he couldn't be uncomfortable with her if he wanted to be.
After a few more moments of mindless pacing Ahsoka stood, gently picking the child and the lantern up as she made her way towards him. Mando stood still for a moment, watching in anticipation, he sucked in a small breath and made his way to her.
The two met at a log, she placed the lantern down between them, glancing at him momentarily before slowly placing Grogu down onto the boulder beside her. The two sat, making themselves comfortable as the Mandalorian stood in front of them, he was only a foot away but it felt like miles, as if the two were unreachable.
As he watched Ahsoka's movements and facial expressions as she looked over towards the child Grogu began cooing and mumbling.
"Is he speaking? Can you understand him?"
"In a way. Grogu and I can feel each others thoughts."
"You can?"
"Yes."
"What are you talking about?"
Ahsoka smiled softly at the question, her gaze flickering from the child to the Mandalorian for a moment before she spoke.
"He was raised at the Jedi Temple on Corusant. Many masters trained him over the years, at the end of the Clone Wars when the Empire rose to power he was hidden."
The Mandalorian nodded at her words as he lowered himself onto the ground and leaned back, sitting slowly to make himself comfortable for this conversation. He knew the child had experienced hardships, he knew the end of the clone wars were hard for all Jedi, but he never quite pictured his companion in the thick of it, experiencing all of that at his age.
"Someone took him from the Temple. Then his memory becomes...Dark. He seemed lost. Alone. I've only known one other being like this. A wise Jedi Mater named Yoda."
Grogu coo'd softly at the name of the Jedi, looking over at Ahsoka with curious eyes.
"Can he still weild the force?"
"His powers?" Mando inquired, while he knew it was the force, even after the weeks with Asora, to him it seemed like magic still. It would probably take his entire lifetime to fully understand what the force was.
Ahsoka explained the use of the force, what it was, in a manner that reminded him of Asora's explanation, of that sunny day on Sorgan when she used the force, picking up the pebbles on the forest floor in an attempt to demonstrate what it was. The memory made him feel warm, he hadn't realized how long ago that really was, it felt like it was only yesterday he was avoiding her offers for help.
After a moment of silence between the two the Mandalorian spoke up, ripping himself from his memories into the present.
"My task was to bring him to a Jedi."
"The Jedi order fell a long time ago."
"So did the Empire, yet it still hunts him."
"Were you not with another Jedi before me?"
Ahsoka inquired, the Mandalorian sighed at the question tilting his head over to the child then back to her.
"She could not train him, she had a mission to complete."
Ahsoka nodded, the answer only presented more questions. If another Jedi would not train him, was she fit to?
"He needs your help."
A silence fell upon them as they both brewed in their thoughts as the child between them soothed itself to sleep. The darkening sky and dim light of the lantern signifying that it was time for bed.
"Let him sleep. I'll test him in the morning." The Mandalorian nodded in agreement, the two parting ways shortly after to make themselves comfortable for their night.
As the Mandalorian laid on the ground his arm propped under his head, the child cooing softly in his sleep beside him he looked up at the night sky he drifted off to sleep, wondering to himself;
Was she looking at the stars too?
－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－
𝐚𝐡𝐡𝐡𝐡 𝐨𝐦𝐠 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠! 𝐢 𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐮𝐮𝐭 !! 𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲! 𝐢 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝟔𝟎𝐤 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝟑 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫!! 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭!! 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐢 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭!
𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐢 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐌𝐈𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 !! 𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧! 𝐥𝐮𝐯 𝐲𝐚!