Din feels at home again. All this time, he has been searching for a place to feel included and familiar, and this is it. Mandalorians train all around him, just like he used to do as a young foundling, and it warms his heart. Some duel, some shoot, some even take to the skies with jet packs.
He should feel at home, but there is a pit in his chest every time he looks away and finds Alora.
This morning, she has her eyes closed, her beskar blades at her sides as she stands with her feet barely in the lake. Small stones surround her, jutting up through the sand, but she does not seem to notice as she takes deep breaths. With her eyes still closed, she begins her forms slowly, bringing the blades up and around, swinging them effortlessly and precisely. Like the air is nothing.
Her eyes remain closed as she picks up speed. The water surrounding her bare feet barely splashes as she moves, but there is no doubt in Din's mind that she is moving. She seems at peace with herself and with the nature around her, but then he catches a glimpse of her face: her expression is scrunched, her brows furrowed, and she is shaking her head constantly.
With a flip through the air, she brings her blades down and pauses just before their tips can touch the water's surface. Peeling her eyes open, Alora straightens her back and relaxes her face before she steps back onto the sandy beach and shakes out her muscles. If she knows he is watching, she gives no indication.
She only looks down at Grogu who is playing in the sand beside her with sharp rocks around him. With a smile, she squats next to him and runs a hand over his head, whispering something Din cannot hear.
Grogu grins up at her, holding up a rock that Din can barely tell is actually a shell of some kind of creature. Alora just shakes her head and turns back to the lake as she continues to stretch.
It is truly distracting. Very distracting.
Snap out of it.
But then she bends over at the waist and all thoughts fly out of his head for a moment. Until he sees her twist and glance back at him.
He recognizes that brief look. It was the same look she gave him on Sorgan: false belonging. Like she was trying so hard to maintain an appreciative and happy appearance until she was asked point-blank if she was happy. Alora rarely lies, and she is bad at it. She can pretend, but not unless her life depends on it.
He is the reason Alora is here. Though he does not know where she would go otherwise, a selfish part of him wants her to stay near, to be a part of their lives, but they had that conversation before they parted ways.
Din thought about that night every day since it happened. They had skirted around the issue of what to do next after Grogu left, but everything had exploded that night. He wanted to redeem himself, to find that belonging again, but Alora could not understand it. He knew she was hiding something, that she wanted to scream and shout at him but did not. Instead, she just told him the same thing she always had: "I won't stop you from going back. I just can't follow you."
So, he left with the Darksaber, and she boarded a different ship going across the galaxy. She hadn't turned around or given him a second look. It felt hollow watching the ship disappear out of sight, and the emptiness increased tenfold when she was gone.
Watching her now, she is still guarded. She still hasn't let him in the same way it used to be. Din does not blame her, even if deep down he wishes they could go back to what they used to be before everything. The companionship was a bonus, but he just misses Alora. And she still refuses to use his name.
With a sigh, Din walks over to Grogu and says, "Put down the rocks, kid. It's time that you learn with the other foundlings."
Alora side-eyes them before closing her eyes again and beginning her next set.
Tearing his gaze away from her form, Din picks up Grogu. "Playtime's over. I'm gonna need you to focus." He walks over to the nearest duel and places Grogu down. "Next challenger."
As one of the young children wins the match, the judge declares the winner, much to the loser's dismay. Bo-Katan wanders over, watching carefully. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asks.
"If he is ever to rise from foundling to apprentice, he must learn." As Din looks to Bo-Katan, he catches sight of Alora, ankle-deep in the lake and watching. Her eyes remain on Grogu as she barely tucks her lip between her teeth. "Judge! He challenges."
The judge walks over and says, "He is too small."
"I am his ward. Proceed."
"What weapon?"
Din looks to the other young boy who won the last match. "Let the challenged decide."
Din can imagine the kid arching a brow or narrowing his eyes. "Darts."
"Bring the training darts!" The judge says as he steps away.
"Why doesn't he wear a helmet?" The boy asks.
"He is too young to speak the Creed, and so, too young to wear a helmet."
The boy scoffs. "Then he's too young to fight."
"'One does not speak unless one knows.' Is that not the Creed?" Din asks.
"Well, I know."
"Perhaps this lesson is for you, then."
The darts arrive and Bo-Katan helps Grogu arm himself. "Don't worry," she says. "My dad was the same way. He's just proud of you. You take it easy on him, kid."
Din does not hear Alora come up to them, but he sees Grogu turn to her now standing in their little group with her arms crossed. She looks down at him and clenches her jaw. "Use what you know, and you will win," she says. "Be one with yourself, and trust your instincts."
"Each has three darts," the judge explains loudly. "You may fire the darts in any order. Each direct hit scores one point. A mark must be visible to score. One round. Highest score wins."
Kneeling down, Din says, "Squeeze your fist to launch the darts." Grogu nervously coos. "You'll be fine." As he straightens up, he sees Alora eyeing the Mandalorians now watching. "He'll be fine."
"He doesn't know how to fire darts?" Bo-Katan asks.
"He'll learn," Alora says before he has a chance. Her steady dark gaze drifts away from their audience and back to Grogu.
"Ready?" The judge looks between the two challengers. "Begin!" The boy instantly shoots Grogu, a splatter of yellow paint now marking his chest. "Point!"
Grogu turns around, his wide eyes questioning. "Don't look at me," Din says. "Look at him."
"Ready?" Grogu turns back. "Begin!" The boy once again shoots Grogu, another spot splattering over his robe. "Point!"
This time, Grogu turns to Alora. She kneels, her expression softening. "Don't be scared," she says quietly. "Trust your instincts. You have beaten far worse in your time. It's ok to show them who you are."
She stays kneeling as Grogu turns back to his opponent. This time when the judge begins the match, Grogu leaps into the air to miss the oncoming shot. Landing for only a moment behind the boy, Grogu leaps again and shoots all of his darts into the boy's chest.
"Three points. Winner!" The judge proclaims and their audience begins to cheer.
"There you go," Din says with a smile on his face.
Bo-Katan glances at him. "Did you teach him that?"
"Not me." He looks to Alora who is now standing and taking a few steps away from the group of Mandalorians. Pursing his lips, he says, "Great job, kid."
He suddenly sees Alora racing away after the boy who walked away in defeat. "Get down!" She screams, throwing one of her beskar blades forward. It is no use as the beskar embeds itself in the oncoming creature's wing, but it still manages to grab hold of the foundling and fly away.
Din pulls his blaster, but Paz Vizsla swats it away. "No blasters, it will kill the child. Follow it to its lair."
Activating his jetpack, Din follows Paz Vizsla and other Mandalorians as they chase after the flying creature. He flies over Alora who is running once again, but he maintains focus on the flying creature just in view.
He does not know how long it takes for his jetpack to start sputtering. His chest tightens as he floats down and tumbles over the rough ground. The other Mandalorians begin to falter too as Paz Vizsla pants, "I'm out of fuel. It always gets away." There is a pain in his voice Din has not heard from him before.
Bo-Katan's ship flies overhead, following the creature at a distance. And so does his own ship, Alora in the pilot's seat.
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Gotta love Din's POV some times.
Hope you enjoyed!
-L