chapter three - act one
A KID WITH KILLERS
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A thin layer of sweat had long settled upon the sun-kissed skin of Eden, the unforgiving touch of the planet's harsh environments offering no mercy to the bounty-hunter. She pays very little attention to the conditions surrounding her, past jobs having made her grow accustomed to uncomfortable situations. Her eyes flicker cautiously between the two living creatures who remain in front of her as they wander through the desert wastelands, her gaze taking great interest in the Mandalorian, whom she doesn't doubt will attempt to kill her when it seems most convenient.
Eden knows that when it comes time for only one bounty hunter to stay standing, she must be the one to shoot first, or she'll never get the chance to do so again. Though such actions were against the guild's code, no honour was held in the task of bounty hunting, despite the attempts of criminals trying to act like they're some kind of hero. In the end, clients never truly care what you must do to accomplish a job, as long as you complete it.
Finding the ship of the Mandalorian alone would be no difficult feat for Eden, as she knows in which direction it lies, and something so large is easy to spot in flat desert lands. She'd intended to steal a ship when venturing to the planet, knowing that eventually, others would come. Killing the Mandalorian, however, would be a task that'd require more time to conquer. It would take time, perhaps some she doesn't have. They are entrapped within a stalemate, each anticipating the attack of the other, ready to kill on cue. She'd have to wait until the man lowers his guard, however long it may take.
But when he does, Eden will strike.
The plan of waiting out the perfect moment does not lower the guard of Eden, as she knows to do so would be a fatal mistake. Her hand hovers over the holster worn upon her waist, the gloved tips of her fingers lightly grazing over the warm metal of her blaster. For a moment her mind debates drawing the weapon and shooting the Mandalorian from behind. Yet, by the way his body appears tense even through the armour, and his finger twitches toward his blaster, she concludes that he would return fire the second she unsheathed her weapon. It is not yet the moment.
A spark of doubt toward the notion of waiting ignites within her when the Mandalorian abruptly halts within his stride, his head tilting to the side, his back remaining to her. Every muscle tenses in her Eden's body as she too freezes, the distant thumping of her heart dancing within her eardrums. Though fear was not the right way to regard her view upon the man, she found herself intimidated by him, for the reason that she could not what lies beneath the armour; what makes him human. In her eyes, he's a machine, one willing to slaughter her at any moment.
Her attention shifts away from the beskar-clad man as movement catches within the corner of her eyes. Shadows from above are cast down upon them, dancing upon the sandy ground in unnatural ways. The hair that raises upon the back of her neck at the feelings of eyes peering upon them only confirms her suspicions; they're being watched.
The end of a staff buzzes with electricity as it flies past her head, Eden ducking beneath the attack just quick enough. She kicks backwards at the enemy who'd landed behind her, a sickening crack rippling through the air as their knee buckles on impact. Bypassing her blaster, she instead reaches to her thigh, grasping onto the handle of her beloved daggers, taking one within each hand. Using her legs to volt her body from the ground, she lashes out at her enemies neck, their body collapsing to the ground. A gush of an all-too-familiar liquid falls from the fatal wound, gathering in a sickly pool of bloodshed upon the sand.
Daring to spare a glance back, Eden first ensures the child is safe, which, to her satisfaction, it is. Its pod sits away from the place in which a battle ensues between Mandalorian and their attackers. The Mandalorian holds the upper hand in the fight, yanking their weapon from their grasp just before he condemns them into unconsciousness. The ghosts of a half-hearted smirk dance upon Eden's lips, the woman raising a singular brow in his direction. "What took you so long?"
The Mandalorian doesn't bother to utter any words of response, merely sparing a glance back at the woman. From around them, countless more enemies drop to their level, each armed with various melee weapons, ready to strike. They form a tight circle around those they seek to defeat, eyeing them as though they are prey. The pair of bounty hunters maneuver their bodies so their backs are pressed against one another, protecting themselves from more angles than possible alone.
The moment their enemy throws the first punch, chaos breaks loose. The Mandalorian fights against them using their own weapons, while Eden slashes at them with the knives she'd grown accustomed to, and prefers in combat. Holding faith that the man in metal could handle himself in the fight despite the odds, Eden directs her efforts into taking down the three unfortunate enough to be standing in front of her.
Misleading them by first slashing to the right, she ducks down, embedding the blade of her knife within the knee of the biggest one, ensuring she twists it within the wound. A grunt of pain echoing from the one she hit, she darts backward to avoid being backhanded by it. She uses the momentum of its swing to knock it over, kicking its legs out from beneath it. With a simple throw of her knife, it finds a new home within the back of its neck, leaving only two opposers standing against her.
Eden doesn't have the time to retake her knife, as the electrical end of one's spear slams into her chest, knocking her back. She stumbles into the metal armour of the Mandalorian, catching herself before she can hit the ground. Brushing aside the momentary wave of pain that'd come with the mild electrocution, she sends a challenging smirk toward the one that'd hit her.
Rushing at it, she allows herself to take a punch to the stomach, only to gain the leverage that comes with its head remaining guarded. She hacks at its head, wishing to land a blow to its eye, but falls short as it catches her wrist in a vice-like hold. A guttural snarl ripples from its throat as its eyes meet the female's, yet in its moment of taunting, it leaves itself open for attack. With the hand free from his hold, she makes a fist, violently hitting the nose of the creature with a sickening crack. The creature stumbles, and Eden uses the moment to strike, taking out her second enemy.
Wincing at the sudden pain that burns within her knuckles, Eden mutters a few curse words, vowing never to do so again without knuckle guards. Her sore hand becomes the least of her problems as she's tackled to the ground, the hands of another instantly wrapping around her throat, choking the air out of her. Clawing at her enemies hands for a few moments, she finds her attempts futile. Letting go of their wrists, she reaches up, her hands just barely making the distance to their face. Trying her best not to flinch at the feeling of liquid bursting beneath her touch, she forces her fingers into its eyes, stopping not even when an agonised scream erupts from it.
Using its pain to turn the tables, Eden pushes herself from the ground, moving to shove the creature down to where she once lay. As its final act of defiance, it pulls her down with it, yet accomplishes very little in doing so. From beneath it, Eden wraps her arms around the thick throat of her attacker, squeezing down upon it with all her might. She uses her legs to force its arms back as it attempts to fight, trapping them by its side, and constricting its movements as a snake would its prey. And, using the leverage she has over its movements, Eden snaps its neck.
Inhaling deeply, Eden allows her gaze to wander around, finding herself more than glad upon seeing that all their attackers lie sprawled across the crimson-stained sand. As if nothing had happened, Eden wipes the palms of her blood-stained hands against her shirt, attempting to rid her skin of the liquid that'd soon enough gain an annoying sticky texture. She moves to stand from the ground, but stops as a gloved hand appears before her, offering her aid in the endeavour.
Glancing up at the man obscured by a layer of armour, an unmissable shine of suspicion glimmers within her gaze. Yet, she bites back the same spark of pride that'd gotten her in trouble many times in the past, and takes the Mandalorian's hand; accepting his aid. Looking him up and down, as if to check him for any injuries he may have acquired, a question slips past the threshold of her cracked lips. "You good?"
When the Mandalorian remains silent, Eden's eyes morph into a squint as she attempts to view what lies beneath his helmet's visor and gauge his reaction, to no success. Though his face may be blocked from her view, Eden takes note of the curiosity which he holds, as it is shown through the way his head tilts slightly to the side as he watches her. But her wonder toward the man is never answered, as nearby beeping brings upon the end to their interaction.
Eden's brows knit lightly together as confusion passes over her, yet this feeling soon fades as dread swells within the pit of her stomach. Her gaze shifts to glance in the direction in which the sound came, and her fears are confirmed when her eyes lock upon a small object with a blinking red light. Discarded upon the sand, having fallen off one of their attackers, lies a tracking fob, one in which was leading directly to them. Or, more accurately, the child.
━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━
The gentle touch of night had graced the pair of unlikely partners. The illuminance of an active flame dances within the reflection of Eden's darkly coloured eyes, the woman absentmindedly fiddling with the locket upon the end of her necklace while her eyes stare wondrously at the fire. She's intoxicated by the notion that something so magnificent and pleasing to the eye can be so deadly, able to suffocate the life out of anything it touches. Too many times before had Eden seen fire consume all, making the sight of the dangerous entity disguised to appear beautiful a sight that only brings upon bitter thoughts.
The small sound of sand crunching beneath metal boot echoes throughout the night, shattering the trance Eden had found herself entrapped by. Her eyes dart toward the source of the noise as her hand grasps for the weapons holstered upon her waist, thoughts of the worst swelling in her head. Before she can draw a blaster, she subdues the instinct that screams at her to shoot, seeing that no danger was to befall her, at least not yet. The Mandalorian stands in front of the asset's pod, returning the child to the place he wishes it to remain. His helmet turning slightly toward Eden for a moment, having noticed her behaviour, the Mandalorian wanders back to the other side of the campfire, commencing the task of repairing his armour once more.
Eden watches with great amusement as the child crawls beyond its pod once more, despite the Mandalorian's attempts to keep it still. It waddles across the sand the way any toddler would, coming to a stop beside the man. Not an ounce of intimidation is held within the creature as it stands before the man in metal; the man it knew not was its enemy. It raises a tiny hand toward the Mandalorian, outstretching its three stubby fingers. Almost peacefully, its eyelids flutter closed as it focuses, though upon what falls beyond the knowledge of the female bounty hunter.
A huff passes by the lips of the Mandalorian as he takes notice of the little creature beside him. Taking the child within his arms once more, he stands, trying his best not to notice how the child stares upon him with awe and wonder. The small creature coos softly at the man, his hand raising in an attempt to touch the metal exterior of his helmet, gaining only another frustrated reaction from the bounty hunter.
Without truly realising it, the ghosts of what could be a smile tug upon Eden's mouth, and a small chuckle echoes from her throat. The bubble of amusement she'd once held only expands as she watches the interaction between the two, particularly finding humour within the Mandalorian's frustrations toward such a tiny thing. Her chuckle not going unheard, the man's body turns toward her, his movements halted as he pauses for a moment, thinking. Taking a few steps closer toward the woman, he places the child down on her lap, hoping that maybe she could keep it still, as he knew not how to handle the creature.
Every muscle within the body of Eden tenses as the tiny, innocent creature is placed upon her lap. Her fast-beating heart swells at the odd, yet not foreign situation, a thick lump of suppressed emotions building within her throat. Her gaze wavers as it meets with the dark, doe-eyes of the creature, the coos of it dancing within her ears.
Silence lingers upon them for a short time as they merely stare upon one another, flickers of wonder in both pair of eyes. Slowly but surely, Eden's tense body begins to relax, the woman growing more comfortable with the child held in her grasp. Gently reaching her blood-stained hand toward the child, as if scared she may bring harm upon it, her icy heart melts as the child wraps its tiny green hand around one of her fingers. Watching as a warm grin spreads across the face of the child, Eden finds her own lips mirroring the child's.
Reminded by the presence of another by the feeling of someone watching her, Eden begrudgingly tears her eyes away from the child, her gaze instead falling upon the Mandalorian. He sits upon the other side of the campfire, his head tilted ever-so-slightly, just enough for Eden to conclude curiosity swells within him. Meeting his gaze, or as best she could considering she knew not where his eyes lie beneath his helmet, her own spark of wonder ignites within her as they merely watch one another, each trying to figure the other out. After many minutes of merely doing so, Eden decides to break through the silence, caring little toward the bluntness in which her words hold. "Y'know, even though you're growing on me slightly, I still don't like you very much."
"Yeah, well, I don't really like you either, sweetheart."
A grimace passes over the low-lit features of Eden, her nose scrunching up slightly in distaste toward the nickname, or in particular, the bounty hunter using the name. Shooting a half-hearted glare in the direction of the Mandalorian, no true venom held in her eyes, she retorts. "Don't call me that."
"Why not?" The Mandalorian leans an inch closer to the girl, his head cocked in wonder. In one fluid movement, he bends his leg and draws it closer to his body, shifting his weight so his arm rests upon his raised knee, his gaze not moving from the female for even a second. "Do you have a name?"
"Depends, do you?" She stares upon the visor of his helmet with a singular brow raised, absentmindedly moving her body to mirror the Mandalorians position, though with extra caution, as not to disturb the now sleeping child. Her words are met with only silence on the Mandalorian's end, though she'd not expected much more. A quiet huff bypassing her lips, she has a momentary debate on whether to continue, one brought to an end by the fact she would rather not endure the nickname for the rest of their time together. "My name's Eden."
An expression of contemplation passes over the features of the Mandalorian, though never becoming known to the other bounty hunter, who can only see him for a suit of metal. Accepting her words not to be of a deceptive nature, even though he wouldn't be surprised if they were false, he finally breaks the long-held gaze with Eden. She, however, does not avert her gaze from the man, her mind working to concoct a make-shift name for the mystery-man beneath the armour. "Since you won't tell me your name, I'll just call you Mando instead. It's less of a mouthful."
"How original."
"I can call you bucket head if you'd prefer," Eden can practically feel the exasperation radiating from the man as she utters these sarcasm-laced words, a smirk forming on her lips as the man turns back to face her. Glancing upon him, she leans a few inches forward in intrigue, her brows furrowing as curiosity swells within her. "Speaking of the helmet, do you ever take that thing off?"
"If I take it off, I can't ever put it back on," Mando answers earnestly, though speaking about such a subject around the woman does bring him a small sense of unease, as he holds no trust toward her. From the corner of his eye, he notices the reflection of the flame glinting against metal, and his gaze is drawn toward a necklace strung around her neck; the same one he'd noticed her fiddling with earlier. "What's so important about the necklace?"
Struck by the harsh reminder of the items presence, and the burdensome memories in which it bears, Eden tears her eyes away from Mando. Taking the cold metal within her grasp, she shoves it back into its place beneath the collar of her shirt, leaving only a small fraction of the rusted chain visible to the eye of the male bounty hunter. "Nothing. It's just a scrap of old metal I found lying around."
Shrugging off the woman's attempts to avoid the truth, along with her sudden unwillingness to meet his gaze, Mando allows his eyes to flicker toward their bounty. A foreign spark ignites in a place buried deep within him at the sight of it sleeping peacefully, yet he pushes it aside, not wanting to identify what the emotion may be. Glancing back at the person who holds the child, he notices the small bags which lie beneath Eden's eyes. "You should get some sleep, too."
An audible scoff slips past the lips of Eden at the words of the man, a tiny, sarcastic laugh echoing out moments after it. After a few exaggerated moments, she realises that Mando had spoken with serious intent, and she looks at him with vague flickers of mockery in her eyes. "What, you tired? I can take watch if an old man like yourself requires an evening nap."
"And let you kill me while I'm asleep?"
With the same half-hearted smirk that'd grown to bring great exasperation to the Mandalorian, Eden simply shrugs at the accusation. Allowing herself to lay down upon the sand, not to sleep but merely to be more comfortable, she gently picks up the child from her lap, placing it instead upon her chest. A smile graces her lips as it snuggles closer to her, the notion that they'd later have to hand it over to her greatest enemy lost upon her mind, at least for now. "Don't say I didn't offer."
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𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚎
I lowkey love this chapter ? Is it
the best writing to ever be seen to
man, no. But do I love the weird
family that is Mando, Eden, and
baby yoda? Yes.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter
too! If you did, don't feel afraid
to leave feedback, comments and
are always appreciated! Besides
that, I hope you have an amazing
day, and that I'll see you in the
next update! 🥰💛