CHAPTER FOUR. 

THE TORMENT

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That night, as Tess lay in her tent, feet dangling off the end of her bed, she tried to forget her past.

It swam at the edge of her mind, a knife dangling on the edge of a cliff. One tiny thought, one minor push, and she would be sent spiraling into a whirlwind of history. It happened even now. Flashes of the night her parents died, their still-warm flesh reaching each other, fingers attempting to grasp the other, yet never touching. The day the raiders almost attacked the caravan, and the little boy whom Tess would have gladly fed to the dogs. The man in the black armor, scowling and grasping at her little forearm as she tried to get to her parents, his eyes glinting in the dark. A ghost of terror clutched at Tess' body as she lay, eyes watching the ceiling, tears forcing their way to the brim of her eyelids.

Tess curled her hands into fists, mouth twitching with rage as she desperately closed her eyes and kept her body still. She wanted —no, needed— to be frozen. Numb. Heartless. It was all too much, it was all too hard for her to carry. The burden weighed her down like a heavy blanket of grief had overtaken her senses.

The Dragon, the loss of her shop, the fact that she was now laying alone in a tent in the middle of a raider camp, defenseless and stripped bare, emotions bubbling to the surface. She felt as if she had been peeled back layer by layer, split open by the weight of it all. The girl who prized being emotionless at all costs was breaking, her heart pumping faster, beating more ruby-tinted feelings throughout her veins.

Tess hated it.

She wished she were still stuck in the delusion that she could live the rest of her days in tormented peace. She wished she didn't think of her parents, of the man that killed them, or the need for revenge against a creature that would most likely be the death of them all.

Tess Oprin wished for many things that night, but none were answered.

The stars turned their backs on Tess, the higher power of all things was voiceless, a soundless menace that seemed to enjoy watching the girl suffer. It was all too much, and as she tried to stay completely still, face twisting into something abominable, Tess wished for one thing above all else.

She wished for sleep.

To fall under the inky black spell of unconsciousness, where the only thing that could haunt her were false dreams and nightmare demons she knew she could vanquish. The girl of storms and fury wished for the peace of night. But it did not come. She lay on her cot, rough-spun blanket thrown over her clothes, and stayed wide awake. Her eyes watered, her eyelids drooped, but every time she thought sleep would come, it vanished.

Tess growled in frustration and sat up, twisting her hands together and rubbing the backs of her palms, hoping to dispel the growing ache in her joints. Her leg seethed with pain, grains of sand pushing their way through the cogs and screws of her mechanical leg. That leg was her anguish, her pain, and her past. A reminder of the things she'd done and the person she used to be. A little girl who lost her parents, and with it, a part of herself.

Tess hated it. She despised it. She needed a distraction.

Her fingers buzzed to life the moment she thought about it. Her cracked and calloused hands shook from the need to hold something in them. She needed to feel the cool touch of steel against her fingers. She needed a broken, beaten, useless machine that she could work upon, make better, fix to the best of her abilities. For Tess was the best. She was the mechanic. That was what she did.

Tess swung her legs over the side of the cot and planted both feet on the ground. She winced at the movement, the shock sending vibrations rolling up through her leg. She bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to steady the race of her heart. Tess got up, stretching her limbs and back and arms, trying to chase away the ache that laying in one position for so long brought. She shivered as the night air rushed through the flap of her tent leading to the outside.

The only light came from a small lamp sitting on the floor, buried in the sand. It flickered as if the wind was trying to blow out a flame. The tips of Tess' fingers were cold and icy, her head of curls sticking to the side of her face, slick with sweat despite the coolness of the air. Tess grabbed the itchy blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling the cloth tightly over her jacket and scarf. Tess had left her goggles back at the town, somewhere in the rubble of her shop. She cursed herself. Tess always worked better when she had her goggles.

The girl made her way to the font of the tent, pushing back the flap of the entrance and stepped out into the night. Evening and dawn swirled together as streaks of orange and lavender were painted across the sky. Stars swirled above the planet, a thousand stars and lifetimes twirling together in the universe. Tess had never felt so small.

A noise jolted her from her daze, and Tess' head snapped over to where a small, kindling fire was burning near her tent. Sparks flew from in front of the figure, and she easily recognized the Mandalorian's hulking shoulders and smooth helmet. His armor gleamed in the moonlight. Tess rubbed her hands together, unsure of whether she should go to him or sprint back into her tent. The chill breeze that rattled her bones decided for her.

Tess slowly approached the Mandalorian, eyes widening as she saw him repairing an old pair of binocs. When she stepped closer to the Mandalorian, her leg gave a horrible squeak, and the man immediately sat up, whipping his head around to face her. Underneath his helmet, the Mandalorian's eyes widened when he saw the girl behind him.

Tess didn't flinch. He did.

After a moment, he finally spoke up. "You should rest." it was not the words Tess was expecting.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Couldn't sleep." the Mandalorian scoffed, and inclined his head a little. Tess took that as a sign that he felt the same. She set her jaw and moved slightly to the side, then stepped over the log the Mandalorian was sitting on and plopped down beside him. The movement was so sudden and unexpected that the warrior moved back slightly. Tess didn't notice. She was too busy trying to hide the pain in her leg. As she moved down, placing herself on the log, it creaked and groaned, gears grinding against her soft flesh.

She would need to change it soon; find a newer, better model. But who was she kidding? There was nothing out here but scraps and spare parts, not enough to fix a broken leg.

And so the torment continued.

Tess glanced over at the Mandalorian as she warmed her hands on the dying flames. He watched her out of the corner of his eye and continued to work the machinery in front of him, sparks flying, illuminating his silver crest of a head.

Tess watched him work, eyes growing jealous, heart seizing in her chest. When a particularly nasty spark flew, the Mandalorian grimaced, and the machine's buzzing energy dimmed to a lifeless silence.

The machine had short circuited.

There was a malfunction and subsequent failure within the machine. It would no longer work, not unless someone particularly skilled could reroute it and fix the mistakes made.

Tess was that person.

Finally, she spoke. "What are you doing?" the Mandalorian looked up and showed the binocs to her.

"The Tuskens said this was their only pair, and it's broken." he replied.

"I can see that." her blunt words brought the Mandalorian's brows scrunching together. She was indifferent, simply watching the machine with a spark lighting underneath her irises.

"They asked me if I could fix it." the Mandalorian continued. "They say they'll need it for the journey tomorrow morning." Tess nodded. After the Marshal and the raider's short squabble —it still brought anger boiling beneath her bones— they had sat down and proceeded to create a plan of attack. Tess had mostly been silent, listening to the Mandalorian communicate with the raiders. At one point they had moved on to the machinery, and Tess had perked up. She'd explained how much firepower they might need, the materials required, and the statistics of whether her work would actually be able to kill the thing.

The Mandalorian had asked this, and she said nothing, only stared at him until the point got across. If Tess made it, it would work.

(This was a flat out lie, of course, as Tess had constantly been trying to build new machines that eventually malfunctioned and broke down. It seemed that she was far better at fixing things than actually making them, but Tess was good at getting people to believe she could do anything)

After she'd told them she would need to see the dragon, where it lived, and everything the raiders had learned about the beast in order to fully calculate exactly what they would need, the troupe had made plans to ride out with the Tuskens the next morning, going to witness the beast for themselves.

Just the thought brought bile rising to her throat. Tess pushed it down, just as she did everything else. She sent the fear to the ever growing knot in her stomach and frowned. The Mandalorian noticed that she seemed to do that quite a bit, not that he would ever say anything.

"Can I see that?" Tess finally asked. The Mandalorian didn't speak, only handed the pair of binocs over to her. Tess' nimble fingers wrapped around the binocs and she brought them into her lap, hair falling over her eyes as she examined the parts. The Mandalorian watched her work. She had grease stains on her fingers and under her nails, he saw, and she never took off the finger-less gloves made of hardened oiled leather. As she looked over the machine some more, the Mandalorian found himself turning down to the sleeping bundle nestled at his feet.

The child slept soundly, small pink mouth puckering as he breathed in the sweet aromas of sleep. Wide eyes closed and tiny hands curled around each other, the Mandalorian smiled under his helmet. The child was his responsibility now, his only priority. Care for him until he was able to find a Jedi that could help him. Love the child as his own until the baby found a place where he truly belonged. That was his mission.

Even as he thought it, the Mandalorians' hearts ached. He found he was more than reluctant to lose the child, even if he knew it was the right thing to do. For some reason, the girl beside him reminded the Mandalorian of the child now in his care, but he was unable to place why.

Instead, he decided to find out more about the cold little girl now unscrewing bolts from the binocs. "Why do you like fixing machines?" The question was strange, and it made Tess stop fiddling with the device to actually look up at the man. It bothered her that she couldn't see his face, and it bothered her more that he was actually trying to speak with her.

Tess looked back down. "Don't know." she responded plainly.

The Mandalorian was not convinced. "The Marshal told me you were the best in all of Mos Pelgo."

"I know."

"Why?"

Tess growled in frustration and looked back up to the Mandalorian, eyes blazing. "Do you want me to fix this or not?" she held up the machine. The Mandalorian raised his hands in mock surrender, which he immediately took as the wrong thing to do, because Tess' face darkened and she looked about ready to throw the binocs right at his head.

"You're very blunt, aren't you?" he ventured.

Tess raised a brow quizzically. "I guess." this ended whatever sense of conversation the Mandalorian had wanted. He leaned back and moved his head slightly downwards, motioning to the machinery, signalling for her to continue. He would not interrupt again. Tess nodded her head once (it was her form of a thank you) and looked back down to the binocs, becoming completely absorbed in her work once more.

The Mandalorian watched as Tess closed her eyes and placed one hand over top of the machine. Her fingers twitched. She opened her eyes. Tess squinted and began to pull apart the machine. Layer after layer, carefully, meticulously, she stripped the binocs bare until she reached it's center. She found the wires and circuit, burnt and blackened from the fuse break, and quickly got to work.

Tess couldn't explain it, but the moment she got a machine in need of fixing placed delicately into her hands, something inside her changed. It was as if her head grew clearer, her eyes brighter. Everything inside Tess Oprin crackled and flickered to life the moment a machine, broken and damaged, came into her arms.

The Mandalorian had never seen anyone work the way Tess did. Divine and glorious, her eyes narrowed and her brows scrunched, yet her face was completely relaxed. In her element, Tess did not seem to care about anything around her. Her nimble fingers rewired fuses and melded metal together, swift and as fast as the wind. The binocs were repaired as quickly as had been made, and the Mandalorian sat straighter, leaning closer towards the girl as she handed them back to him.

"Here," she said softly. When the Mandalorian looked them over in his hands, Tess rubbed the backs of her hands, massaging the sore muscles. "Give it back to your raiders, it should work better than before now."

The Mandalorian did not know what to say. When he turned the binocs on and lifted them to his head, the picture that pierced his eyes was much clearer than it had been before. He could have sworn he saw every tiny speck of dust floating like smoke through the air. Every grain of sand that littered his boots and stuck themselves in the crevices of the girl's mechanical leg.

Tess had made the machine perfect, just as she'd known she would.

As she cleaned her hands on her pants and flung her hair back over her shoulder, Tess felt something touching her leg (the one of flesh, that is). She looked down with a start, ready to kick whatever it was away. However, when she saw the little green child clinging onto her like his life depended on it, she stopped.

The Mandalorian looked from the ground to where the child now hugged Tess. He didn't even know the little guy had awoken. This time, he didn't call the child back, but watched the girl, waiting to see her reaction.

Tess looked down at the child through unimpressed eyes. "Where did you pick up this thing?" it was the first words she had spoken in a while, and they were hoarse upon her tongue. The Mandalorian's eyes rose up, intrigued that she was asking him anything at all.

He felt he needed to respond with the truth. "He was my bounty once." Tess peered at him, interest flashing across her features. "I was tasked with bringing him to a client for a sum I couldn't refuse. I took him there. I gave him up, and I got my bounty. But..." Tess leaned closer, listening intently. "As I walked away, I realized I couldn't leave him there, with those people. He was going to die. So I got him out, and now we're here."

"What are you going to do?" Tess asked. "With him, I mean."

The Mandalorian stiffened. "I've been tasked with finding one of his own kind. One who will be able to help him." his shoulders relaxed a bit when he saw Tess was not going to ask what type of kin. "I came here hoping to find another Mandalorian that would be able to help me."

Tess paused for a moment, then said. "Instead you found us."

The Mandalorian nodded. "Yes."

"And you're willing to go through all this trouble just to get Vanth's armor back?"

The Mandalorian winced at her tone. "It is a part of my religion. I will not let it fall into the wrong hands." Immediately he knew he had said the wrong thing (again), for Tess' face darkened and she shook her leg vigorously, hoping to get the child off.

"He just wants to protect his town." she said darkly. "There's nothing wrong with that." Not that I care, she thought afterwards, but she did not voice them out loud. It didn't matter, because the Mandalorian had heard it nonetheless. He stayed quiet and held out a hand to the child.

"Come here." he said to the little thing. The child did not move. It clung to her metal leg firmly, tiny fingers digging into her steel calf. One of his hands grazed over a wire rusting over, sand inside it's crevices, and the movement sent painful shocks running up her leg.

Tess winced, brows scrunching tightly. The Mandalorian got up immediately, rising to his feet as swift as a wildcat. Tess held up a warning hand. She slowly reached down and tried to pry the child's fingers off her leg. The movement caused another spasm to ricochet through her body. Tess gasped from the pain, the flesh of her kneecap grinding against hard metal. She slid off the bench.

The Mandalorian caught her. He gently lowered her to the ground and reached over to move the child away. He could see that the little creature was causing Tess pain, yet he didn't know why.

"Get away from her." he told the child. The child did not listen. "Kid, come one, get away." Tess couldn't be bothered to move the Mandalorians hands off her arm as another round of pain erupted through her leg. The child moved his fingers across the metal.

That was when it happened.

For a moment, Tess couldn't understand what was going on. It was as if time had slowed and the sounds of night grew louder. A faint ringing began to chant in the back of her mind, like the clanging of little bells or the whistle of chimes. Her eyes grew wide when she realized that she was not dreaming, and the sight before her was in fact real.

As if suspended by some unseen force, tiny rivers of sand began to swirl out from within the crevices of her leg. They streamed from the cracks and rose up to meet inside the little things palm. Streams of umber and tan danced around the child's hand and fell still against his green skin. His three-fingered hand that was still reaching towards her leg fell to the side, and only when the last grains of sand fell in with their brothers did Tess let herself breath again.

Then she felt it. She felt the relief. Her leg didn't ache. The sand did not grind against the gears of her calf as they had done for so many years. The rust was gone and in its stead, a beautiful, cold and shining piece of metalwork sat in its place. The ringing around her stopped, and Tess stared at the child, dumbfounded.

"What did he just do?" she asked, breathless. The Mandalorian fell back, letting go of Tess and picking up the child, staring at it for a long while. Tess' face twisted as she stood, placing weight on her mechanical leg.

She felt nothing.

No pain, no anything, her leg was completely fine. It scared her.

"What did he do?!" Tess choked out. The Mandalorian could not reply. Tess backed away slowly, wringing her hands together. The Mandalorian reached out for her, but one look of her steely blue eyes stopped him in his tracks.

"He didn't mean to hurt you." the Mandalorian said slowly. "He just... does that sometimes."

Tess breathed heavily and looked down at her leg, then back up to the little green child that now nestled into the Mandalorian's chest. He looked innocent, as innocent and pure as Jo back in the town. The child's wide eyes regarded Tess' cold ones with little fear. He held onto the Mandalorian's thumb and watched her. Tess couldn't understand what the little creature's gaze meant. All she knew was that she didn't want to hold it any longer.

Tess scowled and finally spoke. "That thing he did, is that why you need to find his kin?"

The Mandalorian deflated. He knew he should lie, that he should tell no one what his mission was unless it was absolutely necessary. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to withhold the truth from this girl.

"Yes."

Tess nodded, as if that was all the confirmation she needed. She then turned and made her way over to her tent, saying nothing more. She threw up the flap and began to make her way inside. The Mandalorian took a rapid step forward.

"Tess—"

"Goodnight."

The Mandalorian was left out in the middle of the camp, fire slowly burning out behind him, a small child gurgling and smiling in his palms. But all he could think about was the icy girl that had just left his side.

When Tess got into her tent and sat quickly on her bed, closing her eyes to stop the rapid beating of her heart, all she could think about was the way she had felt when the child pulled the grains of sand from her leg. All she could think about was how when he reached out his palm, something pulled in her chest, as if a rope had been connected between her and the little green creature.

All she could think about was how closely she felt she knew the child. How much he reminded her of herself.

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The next morning, when Tess emerged from her tent to get ready to leave, she found herself having a slight problem.

The child wouldn't let go of her leg.

When she came up to the group of Bantha's in order to place her pack on it's saddle, she'd felt something latch onto her now painless leg. When she'd looked down, a great scowl had spread across her face at the sight of the creature. It smiled and cooed, latching onto her leg like a leech.

She had tried everything. She'd pulled at his fingers and kicked her leg this way and that. She'd reluctantly called over the Mandalorian to try and get him to move the child off her. He tried coaxing him and grabbing him and pulling him away, but the child was adamant. It liked Tess, and it would not let go.

"Guess you're riding with Mando." the Marshal told her coldly. She glared at him and crossed her arms. She was still sore about what had happened the previous night, and it had shaken her that the Marshal hadn't cared he was insinuated a fight between the raiders and them. Tess said nothing and grimaced, but limped over to where the Mandalorian was now situated on one of the bantha's. He held the reins close to his chest and smirked underneath his helmet as the dejected girl held out her hand.

He took it carefully and helped pull her up behind him. Tess grunted and scoffed, and he could feel her glare boring into the back of his skull. Tess wrapped her arms around his waist and said nothing. The child climbed up off her leg and planted himself on one of her thighs, clinging to the fabric of her jacket. Tess glared, her frowns like sparks of lightning, but the child did not waver.

Just like that, they were ready to leave, and Tess felt her stomach twist painfully at the thought of seeing the dragon. But then the fear twisted into anger, into a thirst for revenge, and Tess felt well again.

They set off.

The group travelled in a single file line across the sand. A raider rode at each end with Tess, the Mandalorian, and the Marshal in the middle. Every so often, Tess could feel Vanth's eyes on the back of her head, and she knew he was waiting for her to look at him, but no matter how much she wanted to, Tess did not turn around. She gripped the Mandalorian's waist and kept her eyes trained straight ahead, watching the bantha's sway along and looked down every once in a while to glare at the child still clinging to her shirt. He smiled up at her, eyes wide and full of innocent life. Tess scowled, and the child's mouth quivered downwards when he saw that he had no effect on the girl. She seemed to want to be permanently unhappy.

"Why does he like you so much?" the Mandalorian asked her. Tess kept her gaze on the child and smirked slightly.

"Probably because of my cheery disposition." she responded, sarcasm thick along her tongue. The Mandalorian said nothing more. It seemed the girl had not forgotten what had occurred the previous night, and the Mandalorian wasn't about to open the wound while it was still healing. The child's powers had obviously scared Tess, and that was something he found he didn't want to happen again.

They crawled along the sands until the front raider finally stopped. Tess looked over the Mandalorian's shoulder to see that they had reached a clearing just below a rising cliff. The raider got off his bantha and grabbed the binocs Tess had repaired, as well as a rifle. The Mandalorian slid off the bantha and turned to Tess.

This time the girl didn't refuse his help. She simply took his hand, grabbed the child in the other, and got off the animal's back. The moment her feet collided with the ground, she dropped her grip on the warrior, handed the child to Mando, and turned to grab her pack. She said nothing, gave nothing away, and the Mandalorian felt something twinge in his chest.

Tess followed the group up the cliff, letting the Mandalorian and even the Marshal help her through the rough terrain. It seemed that even though her leg was near painless, it was still as inconvenient as ever. Hardly for the first time, Tess had to remind herself that replacing her leg was the right decision, though it still brought a bitter taste to her mouth.

They finally reached the crest of the hill, and when Tess rounded the corner, grabbing on the cliffside with one gloved hand, she stopped dead in her tracks. A wide drop awaited her as she clung to the side of the cliff. Over the edge a long plain of washing sands waved in the wind. On the opposite side, facing her like a wide mouth ready to swallow her whole, a cavern dropped into darkness. It was bigger than anything she'd seen before, and the breath left her body as she forced herself to walk forward and sit beside the Mandalorian, swinging her pack off her shoulder to rest on the ground.

The Mandalorian took the binocs from the raider and held them up to his eyes. That's when Tess saw what he was looking at. Down below, a fourth raider and bantha were making their way out across the field, heading near the giant hole. The Marshal —who was casually laying on his side facing Tess— scrunched his eyebrows together.

The Bantha and the Tusken grew closer to the pit. Tess curled her hands into fists, her breath becoming ragged. Whether it was fear or exhilaration, not even she could tell. All Tess knew was that something was about to die, and the dragon would be the one responsible. The child, who was sitting near the Mandalorian's knee, waddled over and placed a hand on Tess' leg. She did not push it away. She couldn't think of anything else except the monster that lay within those dark depths before her eyes.

Suddenly, the Tusken closest to the Mandalorian began speaking rapidly to the bounty hunter. Tess watched their interaction, anxious to know what was being said.

Finally, the Mandalorian turned to her and the Marshal. "They say it lives in there." she'd figured that out already. "They it sleeps." he held up the binocs again. "They say it lives in an abandoned sarlacc pit."

"What?" Tess said incredulously. The Mandalorian turned to her. "It's not possible."

Vanth spoke up. "Lived on Tatooine my whole life." he said. "There's no such thing as an abandoned Sarlacc pit." Tess had to agree. They'd heard stories in Mos Pelgo about the Sarlaccs and what they could do. Giant, sand-infesting monster with tentacles sticking out of the ground to snatch unsuspecting prey. The Sarlaccs were some of the most feared creatures on the planet, especially for those who constantly traveled across the dune seas of Tatooine. Tess shuddered at the thought.

Shivers ran down her whole body at what the Mandalorian said next. "There is if you eat the Sarlacc." He noticed the girl stiffen next to him, and watched as fear momentarily took over the storm in her eyes. It seethed and glistened, unshed tears and quivering lashes. He knew that fear well, and not for the first time, the Mandalorian wished the girl hadn't gone with them.

She might get hurt. Danger lurked around every corner out here, and the Mandalorian didn't want to see Tess injured. Or worse, killed. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to rid himself of the images now swirling about in his mind. When he opened them again and gazed back at Tess, she was back to her usual self.

Cold and numb. Heartless.

The Mandalorian handed the binocs back to the raider beside him, and the Tusken then raised the machine to his own eyes. The Mandalorian could see confusion and expectation on both the girl and the Marshal's faces, so he continued on explaining.

"They're laying out a Bantha to protect the settlement." he said. "They've studied its digestion cycle for generations." the child climbed onto Tess' lap. The Mandalorians mouth quirked upwards at her awkward expression. "They feed the dragon to make it sleep longer."

Tess breathed in and out slowly as the raider down below hammered a peg into the sand, the bantha attached to it. She thought about closing her eyes. It would make everything seem less than it was. But she did not, because Tess Oprin wasn't the type of person to be afraid. Especially if the only thing to be afraid of was another creature's death.

"Watch," the Mandalorian continued, and Tess glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "The dragon will appear."

Tess watched. Though she didn't want to. The Mandalorian could tell she didn't want to.

When the Tusken began calling out in its recognizable throaty scream, Tess flinched, then mentally cursed herself. Trying his luck, the Marshal reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. To his and the Mandalorians surprise, the girl did not pull away.

She was too caught up in her own adrenaline to notice.

The child whimpered in her hands as the Tusken continued to call out. Subconsciously, she moved her thumb towards his hands and the child took it gladly. He nuzzled his head into her chest, but again, the girl did not notice. Her eyes were trained on the deep black pit that oozed of death and darkness.

A growl came from within. It was a low rumble that shook the sand and made Tess' bones rattle against her flesh. The growl came again, louder this time, and the sand began to slither and convulse, as if a serpent were dashing across the grains. It reminded Tess of what had happened the previous night, of the sand and rust twirling off her leg and into the child's palm. She thought about the strange connection she'd felt to him in that moment, and the way her ears had rung as he used his strange powers.

The Marshal perked up as the Tusken began to run away. His feet carried him over the sands quickly, robes rustling around his body as he dashed from the beast crawling under the earth. For a moment, Tess thought the raider was going to make it safely to the rocks. She thought that the large movement under the sand behind him would be too slow to catch the Tusken. For a moment, she felt herself loosen in relief.

But she was wrong.

The Dragon burst forth out of the cave like a living, breathing shadow. It's talons like daggers flashed in the sun, it's high-pitched screams rattling the world like a thunderous applause. The monster was too quick, too smart, and too hungry. Tess gasped.

The krayt dragon ate the Tusken whole.

The Marshal could feel Tess shaking from where his fingers touched her shoulder. Everyone went silent. The Tuskens glanced at each other, shocked. The Marshal hung his head. The child hid his face inside of Tess' jacket.

Tess tried not to crawl away in terror. The Mandalorian looked at Tess.

The dragon retreated back into its cave, leaving the bantha alive and unscathed. The Mandalorian glanced over to the Marshal, still keeping one eye trained on the quaking girl. He'd never seen her so frightened.

"They might be open to some fresh ideas."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE. 

I AM SO IN LOVE WITH TESS AND DIN'S BLOSSOMING RELATIONSHIP IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY. okay, first and foremost, what are you're thoughts on this chapter? What did you enjoy, did you like how much Tess and Mando's relationship was furthered? Their conversation in the first portion of the chapter was soooo fun to write I loved seeing them actually talk. AND when Din caught her as the child healed her leg! MY HEART. Speaking of the child, he seems to really like Tess, and what did you think of him using the Force to help with her metal leg, as well as the ringing in her ears as he did so (what do you think that was all about)? 

ANYWAY I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did, I'm so excited to continue on. hint: the next several chapters will be heavily action-packed and I'm so ready to write them! As always I love reading your comments so don't be afraid to give your opinions (respectful and constructive criticism is always appreciated). Vote if you would like, and I'll see you soon with another chapter... 

Love, Mal