"I expect we have much to talk about then."
"You have no idea."
Luke turned and gestured for Han, Chewie, and herself to follow him, the three and MR trailed behind. Asora matched Luke's stride, reaching into her bag to pull the Jedi texts out.
"My master tasked me with gifting you these Jedi texts, he also instructed me to show you what he had taught me. Although, I fear you may already know it." She smiled as she reached the texts out towards him, the stack of books worn and well loved.
He glanced down at them in shock, his eyes flickering between her and the texts, "Thank you they would be greatly appreciated, but why?"
Asora smiled and pushed the texts into his hands, a small flicker of grief waved over her, it passed quicker than it had come but he noticed and took note.
"I believe my Master had heard about your temple and wished to help; it is my time to teach others what he had taught me."
He nodded in agreement as the two walked together, Chewie, Han and the droid mumbling as they followed. They neared a wooden table, the four of them taking seats as MR lingered on the sidelines occasionally chirping up here and there as the conversation flowed from Jedi talk to greetings and stories of recent endeavours between the group.
As the end of the evening neared, and Han and Chewie began bidding their goodbyes for the time being Luke turned towards Asora
"You are welcome to stay, if you wish too."
Asora nodded eagerly at the offer, "Yes, but first I need to get my ship back."
Luke smiled and nodded before hugging his friend's goodnight, Asora waved happily at them happily as they began meandering back towards their ship. She let out a happy exasperated sigh as she turned to join Luke, the two quietly making their way to a more private location.
They made their way through his modest temple, making light small talk as they walked. The sun had begun to set, the night cool flowing in through the air, it felt safe and serene, almost like a dream.
The two arrived at a fireplace with MR powering down for the night in the corner, Luke pulled a few wooden chairs away from a vacant table and situated them close to each other so they could comfortably sit as they began to dive into more serious topics.
"So why are you really here Asora? There must be a more important reason than to bring a few books, you did search the galaxy for me after all."
Asora smiled and nodded, her gaze lingering on the fire in front of them for a moment before she gathered her thoughts and spoke.
"I did indeed."
Luke nodded with her as he waited for her to continue, his eyes and focus trained on her as she began her inquiry.
"My master insisted I hear the story of Darth Vader, from you."
He let out a soft reluctant sigh as his gaze shifted from her towards the fire, she understood his reluctance, the tale of one of the most revered Sith wasn't often a fairytale, or a story one would embellish themselves to speak to people they'd only just met, to a stranger.
"What do you know now, before I begin?"
"I know he was your father, that he was a Jedi Knight."
He nodded with her words before he sucked in a heavy breath and began his story, his truth, and his fathers.
It felt like hours of speaking, of listening and learning by the time Luke had finished, Asora was mixed with emotions of shock, and awe. It made Luke feel heard, and he felt a sense of pride as he spoke about his end, though it left him feeling a pang of guilt, knowing his father was gone.
"I cannot believe it." Asora breathed out, Luke let out a soft laugh, "I can."
"His confliction, I fear my Master believed he bore the burden of inflicting it. I am glad he was set free of it, that you helped him."
A silence brewed between them as her words lingered on his ears, what did she mean, that her master had inflicted it?
"How could your master have inflicted it? What had he done?"
Asora looked up, from her hands into his eyes and smiled, her gaze flickering towards the fire "What do you know of the Republic?"
His eyebrow raised in curiosity as he turned to face her, "Not a lot."
"I guess it's my time to tell you a story then."
After a few moments of Asora speaking she felt the pull, almost a yank in the force her words halted in her mouth, her brows furrowing as she focused on the pull, her eyes flickering over to Luke as she whispered, "Do you feel that?" He nodded his eyes closing as he focused on the pull.
It was him.
She'd know that mischievous child anywhere, even in the force.
"Grogu, its Grogu." She mumbled, her eyes closing as she tried to reach back, to keep the connection.
Before the two had another moment to linger on it, the strength of the pull halted as if Grogu's call coming to an end.
"He's looking for us, for a teacher." Luke confirmed, his eyes shifting from Asora to the fire.
Asora nodded as she joined his gaze the two sat quietly deep in thought. There was something odd about the call, she could sense this faint feeling fo distress within him, she was too far away to know what it really was, but the feeling lingered.
"I must leave tomorrow evening; I fear something may have happened, the Empire has been hunting them for quite some time now. "
" I can take you tomorrow if you'd like?"
Asora nodded eagerly then let out a loud sigh, "Just my luck. I finally find you and I have to leave."
Luke let out a soft chuckle, "well, you can always return, even teach here if you wanted."
Asoras eyes widened in excitement, "If you'll have me, I'd be happy too!"
Luke nodded eagerly and offered her a welcoming smile, "of course, plus the younglings and padawans will love you."
"I hope so, worst comes to worst I can tell them bounty hunter stories to make them like me."
The two laughed, "if that doesn't work, I don't know what will." Asora nodded in agreement, smiling to herself as silence between them began to grow again. It was a comfortable, a sweet silence.
The sound of new beginnings she supposed, "we should rest now, I can give you a tour in the morning and we can leave after."
The two agreed and parted ways after Luke escorted Asora to her room, the days travels beginning to weigh on Asoras body as she neared the room, ready for sleep.
It felt like she had left Mando mere hours ago, as if the two hadn't been on their own adventures on their own. She felt that familiar pang in her chest as she thought of him, her hands toying with the old kyber crystal in her pocket as her thoughts wandered to him.
Did he miss her too? Did it matter if he did?
She sighed quietly to herself as she settled onto her bed, reaching for her bag to grab a piece of rope, as she pulled out a dark piece of weaved rope, she smiled to herself.
The kyber crystal stared back at her, its dark shade of green glinting off the light, the straight fine edges of the crystal carrying years of memories, duels and adventures with Windu, Obi-Wan and Mando. She had no use for it now, now that it served its purpose and was replaced with a new one, one equipped for all the elements unlike her last.
She pulled the string over the crystal and began weaving it around it, tying small knots over the crystal to create a netting around the crystal. After she fixed a knot at the top of the crystal she used the remainder of the rope to create a necklace.
She smiled at it as she placed it down onto her bedding, not too shabby for a Jedi's handiwork.
She tucked it away into her bag and fell back onto her bed, pulling the covers up before she closed her eyes and began drifting off to sleep.
The next day started as quickly as the last ended, the quiet mumbles of children lulled at her door as Asora readied herself to exit. She smiled to herself as she neared the door, adjusting the lightsabers and her cloak as she creeped up towards the door.
The children were chattering outside the door, exchanging ideas as to who the new guest was and if it was a new master. Asora smiled to herself reaching up to grab the handle as sneakily as possible before she yanked the door open letting out a loud "boo!"
The children yelped loudly, stumbling back and staring at her wide eyed and shocked, Asora laughed as she waved at them. The children took a second to process before they broke into loud giggles, mocking their peers for their reactions and greeting Asora. MR wheeled over and chirped excitedly with the children, the children cooing and poking at it as their excitement calmed.
"Hello little ones, I'm Asora Sett and this is my droid MR. Now I must know has Master Luke ever told you curiosity killed the loth cats?"
"Well i can tell you from experience it surely does not kill them, but it most definitely frightens them."
The kids shook their heads eagerly and she smiled back "so what are your names?"
As the children began listing off their names with proud smiles and awkward excitement Luke made his way over to the small group huddled around Asora.
"I see you've met some of the students."
"Yes, and I gave them quiet a scare too, didn't I?" She gestured to the children happily, her gaze flickering from Luke towards the giggling group of younglings.
"Since you've already met some of the students would you like to come with me to meet more?"
Asora nodded eagerly and politely pushed past the children as the two made their way through the small temple to another classroom, the children following closely behind as they giggled and gossiped amongst themselves.
"Your temple is lovely." Asora complimented as the two walked, nearing the entryway to the classroom, "Thank you, I've been working on it since I've built it. It's not much but it's home."
As the two walked through the entryway into the small Jedi classroom a few students were perched on the floor in meditative states, Asora peered around the room curiously taking in the area. There was a makeshift training matt and small helmets and training simulation droids.
"Good morning everyone, this is my friend Asora Sett." Luke introduced, his voice pulling the children out of their meditative states, their eyes opening and looking over at their Master excitedly.
A small chorus of hello's and hi's were mumbled in the crowd, Asora smiled and waved as she greeted them back.
"Why does she get two lightsabers?" one child asked, looking over from Asora to Luke with expectant eyes, maybe to them she seemed greedy, after all who needs two lightsabers.
"One is my old masters. He left it for me after he became one with the force, but anyone can have two lightsabers little one."
Luke nodded along with her answer, though he had personally never seen another Jedi with two before Asora from the short bits of information shared about the Jedi before it did not seem completely outrageous. Odd at best, he always figured one was more than enough, but he supposed some were not so easily challenged with one alone.
"Is it harder with two?' another child asked, his head pruning to the side like a curious puppy, eyes glazed over in interest.
"Easier than breathing, my Master taught me how to duel with both one and two sabers, but I much prefer two."
"I want two sabers master Luke, could I have two?"
Luke laughed and peered over to Asora and then back to the children shaking his head "lets focus on one for now."
The children groaned in disagreement before Luke reminded them not to be greedy, no-good Jedi was greedy.
"Would you like to sit in on a lesson?" Luke asked as he gestured to the room, the children filing in and making themselves comfortable in front of them, Asora nodded eagerly and moved to sit on the edge of the classroom among the children.
As Asora peered around the room during the lesson her eyes landed on a Jedi code written along the walls, she squinted to get a better view as she read, taking in every word carefully.
She hummed to herself in surprise, it was a clear deviation from the Jedi code she had grown up upholding. It wasn't outrageous for his teaching style to be more unorthodox than her own, after all he had no formal old republic knowledge, with his journeys in his youth she suspected he had learned what he could and created his own code. One that best worked for him, for the new Jedi.
Windu had told her before that Obi-Wan had a much different approach to the force, albeit that was due to his own masters' philosophies she expected nothing less from Luke. There was a reason her master had wanted her to meet him so dearly, she supposed this could be why, his more unorthodox approach, his open truths, it was all jarring but in a good way.
Maybe she needed change.
Once the lesson came to an end the children were instructed to return to their meditation and to practice their fighting skills in intervals, Luke escorted Asora out after she bid goodbye to the children, the two setting a giddy pace as they walked.
It was clear to both of them that it felt like Asora was a good fit at the temple and with the children, though worrying thoughts of Grogu and Mando slid into her mind every now and again throughout the day she had to force herself not to worry too much. Afterall there was nothing she could do a galaxy away.
What will happen is done because the force wills it so. She reminded herself, its nothing you can change, until you are there with the two there is nothing to worry about. But these thoughts didn't help at all, she still yearned to see them both, to ensure their safety.
Moments came and went in fleeting quickness, and before she could even keep track the two had made their way into Lukes X-wing and were readying themselves for their journey back to her ship.
"If you'd like you could keep my droid unite for the duration of my trip? I'm sure I won't be long, and I know R2 could use the help around the temple." Asora offered, a shy smile playing on her lips as she placed her hand on the head of her droid, giving it a soft rub as she looked over towards Luke for an answer.
"I'd love too." Luke agreed smiling down towards the droid before looking back up at her, "Will you be long?"
"I don't believe so, once I ensure their safety I will come back."
"Of course...You're position as master and teacher to the padawans will be waiting for you here while you're gone, if you'd like it."
"Who can say no to Luke Skywalker?"
Luke let out a soft chuckle and nodded, his head turning to look back at his temple before reverting his gaze back to her.
He called over his own droid R2D2 to escort MR back to the temple before instructing the eldest students to keep watch over the students while he was gone on his trip.
After all arrangements were made they made their way into the ship and into hyperspace quicker than expected. The ride was short, as they existed hyperspace and the lush planet Takodana came into view, its greenery outshining the surrounding stars.
The two made easy conversation as they entered the orbit of the planet, words flowing between the two effortlessly, as if they'd been friends for eons.
"They're lucky to have you, the bounty hunter and the child."
Asora blushed and nodded eagerly, "and I am lucky to have them."
Though Luke would never outright say it to her, he was eager to discuss this confliction for affection she felt. He could sense it from her when topics of the two came up. It wasn't his place to interfere, however he'd figure a gentle nudge in the right direction may help. He wasn't blind to her orthodox training and to the ways of the old Jedi.
"It is good for you. After all it is our attachments, our love for each other and the force that grounds us all."
A small silence fell over the two as they smiled at each other, Asora's head lulling up and down in a soft nod, her braids falling in front of her face as she moved.
"Ever the wise aren't you, Luke?" She joked, he let out a loud laugh as he nodded with her.
"We're here." he hummed, looking back towards her as he began pulling his X-wing into the clearing near her ship. He parked his X-wing with ease, he was more than a proficient pilot, and it didn't go unnoticed by Asora.
She had complimented him on his flying skills a few times throughout the flight, but now that their journey was at its end she wished he was a worse pilot. That their trip could last a little longer.
In all honesty his skills reminded her of him, of his quick thinking and eagerness to do his best.
Before she had another moment to dwell on her thoughts Luke began boarding his ship, helping her out as he began to guide her back towards her U-wing.
The two halted at the hull of the ship, she turned to him with a gracious smile as she adjusted her bag.
"Thank you for bringing me back."
"Of course."
She looked back to her ship as she let out a soft sigh. As her gaze shifted back towards him she offered him a large gracious grin.
Surely this wasn't the end of their story.
"Until I see you again, Skywalker."
"May the force be with you."
"and you."
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word count: 3124
𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫! 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢 𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰!𝐢 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤!
𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞!!
𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤!