CHAPTER 21

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DARING ADVENTURE!

*:･ﾟ✧

Toro, with his signature grin on his face, greets the two bounty hunters. Already he's bothering Gaia without having said anything and it concerns her that he did not heed her advice in the slightest. So much trouble could've been avoided if he hadn't shown up, but now that he's present they'll have to deal with him. In the back of her mind, she wonders if he'll even be useful seeing as he has yet to actually join the Guild. Does he even possess any skills; shooting, hand-to-hand combat, medical training in case he has to patch himself up? Him being a possible burden has crossed her mind many times.

"Hey, Mando—" Toro gestures to the vehicles, immensely proud of himself as he continues, "what do you think? Not too shabby, huh?"

Gaia rolls her eyes. "For the love of Stagia. . ."

Mando steps forward. He inspects the second speeder bike carefully, running his hand along its corrode edges. They're both a bit run-down and rusty and it reminds Gaia of the planet they're on, dreary and bleak. Just now she's seeing the issue: there's only 2. Mando glimpses Toro as if to say 'is this really it?', unaware of Gaia's internal panic and pondering as to why Mando mentioned two instead of three. Is it just more convenient that way so it'll create less of a disturbance?

Must be.

Tori shrugs. "What'd you expect? This ain't Corellia." His gaze finds Peli off to the side and he dips his head in greeting. "Ma'am."

Peli says nothing back, probably sensing how much trouble he's bringing or thinking how he's involved in this job. The Child chuckles happily which catches Toro's attention and he furrows his brows by the sight. Gaia tenses once more but this time with a fearful shiver. Thankfully, he shrugs it off and turns back to the task at hand. Nothing more is said between them as Toro climbs atop his speeder bike and covers his eyes and mouth with a pair of goggles and a suitable scarf.

Mando follows suit, placing the bag onto the rear and turning toward Gaia. "You coming?"

A flare of pink dusts her cheeks by the sudden realisation. The thought of being so close to Mando is overwhelming and especially with her arms around him. It's one thing to seek comfort from him, hugging him while swallowed by trepidation and dread, but another entirely when having to hold on.

"Y. . .You mean I have to sit behind you?"

Mando tilts his head in curiosity. "Unless you wish to wait it out or drive yourself, then yes."

Gaia stammers, words lost on her. Of course she doesn't want to stay behind in case they need a helping hand, and although she would've loved to drive the speeder bike herself, she's unfortunately no good at it. She glances at Toro with her indecision, watching him raise his eyebrows as if to taunt her. Her anxiousness dissipates immediately and she slams his expression back with a glare. "I'm coming with you," she concludes, still locked in a stare with Toro. "Just. . .one second. . ."

Gaia turns to Peli, worrying for the safety of The Child in her arms. She nudges the mechanic off to the side. "Do you mind keeping him safe for a little while?" she asks quietly so as to not have Toro stick his nose where it doesn't belong. She doesn't exactly enjoy requesting this of Peli either, but just like in the Cantina they're short on options right now and Peli seems reasonably capable.

The older woman heaves a sigh. "Well, no. I've done it so far, might as well keep at it until you both come back with the money."

"I appreciate that," Gaia admits, truthfully. There's a nervous tinge to her eyes then, teeth pulling roughly at her bottom lip while in thought. "Peli, I know we've just met but would you be willing to do me a favour?. . ."

"That depends."

"Right," Gaia breathes, shifting timidly on her feet before continuing. "This job, it might become very dangerous and. . .I'm not saying it will, but if it ever comes to us not returning after a few days, would you please take care of this troublemaker here or find someone who would be willing?" She looks down at The Child who coos up at her, and a smile grazes her face as she reaches out to meet his hand. "He deserves all the happiness he can get."

Looking back at Peli, Gaia can clearly tell the older woman is fiercely hesitant. It's not particularly hard to understand why — it cannot be easy to basically promise such a thing when it demands attention to another living being, especially when it's that of an energetic child. ". . .I'll see what I can do."

Gaia breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Gaia finally departs, forcing herself not to think about it as she climbs atop Mando's speeder bike. She takes a seat behind him, adjusting her sniper rifle as a distraction when her stomach begins to tingle. Even Mando himself is on alert when Gaia wraps her arms lightly around his middle. They quickly start ahead as soon as she's ready though, her attention mainly focused on using his back as a shield from the incoming wind as they swoop past buildings and people until they reach the lonely outskirts.

The stone and layers of sand converts to a desert paradise, the suns more angry than ever while raining heat down upon them.

As they ride across the shores of sand and away from town, Gaia can't keep her mind from being fixated on her fingers clutching the fabric used to conceal Mando's body, between the gleaming plates of Beskar Steel. She's completely disregarding the wind lashing terribly at her cheeks — loose hair dancing along her nose — when her fingers tentatively roam. She draws in a sharp breath, daring her pointer finger to press down and feel his skin and muscle writhe beneath her prowling touch. She's somewhat astounded by the acknowledgment, leaning herself against his back and silently enjoying the opportunity of being this close to him.

She knows Mando is alive and most likely human, of course she does, but actually feeling him, tracking his breathing with her primal sense of touch, is wondrous to her.

Mando says nothing of it. Nothing about stopping or being uncomfortable, though he's a bit distracted which he never mentions.

They traverse across the dunes still — as far as the eye may perceive, hills of glistening grains and a pair of suns which devour everything they touch, not a single cloud pinned to the azure sky. It burns at Gaia's black suit, her cheek remaining pillowed against Mando's back and her hair continuously waving in the wind. It's a very pleasant scenery and it's making her narrowly forget how much she dislikes sand; how beautiful it might be in the moment.

Gaia's ogling comes to a halt. Mando makes the sign to hold, and the speeder bikes both power down. She raises a singular eyebrow, canting herself to the side to sneak a peek.

"What's going on?" Toro asks, removing his weathered goggles and color-muted scarf.

"Look—" Mando points, "up ahead."

Over the many ridges of sand, Gaia is able to make out some figures dotting the naked landscape. It looks like a pair of Banthas from their large size, which must mean they're accompanied by their Tusken Raiders and that more are sure to be nearby. From what she's heard, they travel in groups. She hopes they won't run into any in person, though, and being forced to fight them — that would be chaotic. However, Gaia is in no hurry to leave since nothing from her Spectre has emerged just yet, meaning she can lay at ease.

Toro vacates his speeder bike and tugs a pair of binoculars from his bag. He walks forward, surveying the figures through a clean lense. "Tusken Raiders," he affirms after a moment. "I heard the locals talking about this filth. . ."

"Tuskens think they're the locals," Mando counters, "everyone else is just trespassing."

Toro scoffs at Mando's statement and it brings Gaia to purse her lips. Toro thinking so lowly of another species is evidently bothering her, because even though Tusken Raiders are usually hostile toward the people of Tatooine in most cases, as long as one leaves them be they won't attack. It brings her to ponder if Toro views her as the same in some way — being lesser or 'filthy' merely because she's a part of a whole other species.

"Whatever they call themselves—" Toro resumes, "they best keep their distance."

Gaia glances to the side, slowly becoming aware of a pair of Tusken Raiders approaching them, same as Mando. She tenses a bit, having not met any beforehand.

Mando, however, seems perfectly calm. "Yeah? Why don't you tell them yourself?"

Toro turns around, startled by the appeared Tusken Raiders as one of them yells at him.

Mando dismounts and joins his side. "Relax."

The bounty hunter initiates a string of hand signs, purely using his movements to talk instead of that of just words — the like which Gaia has never seen before or is not familiar with. She's surprised at how well he knows their language, wondering how he came to learn it and why. It prompts her to want to know more about him in a way, and she will admit that she's secretly enjoying seeing and experiencing these new things about him. It makes it somewhat thrilling, wishing to uncover similarities or common ground. . .

Toro, being as confused as Gaia, frowns sceptically at Mando. "What are you doing?"

"Negotiating."

One of the Tusken Raiders replies back, commencing yet another response from Mando. Gaia narrows her eyes, not liking how she's unable to decipher their conversation, a stance she unfortunately shares with Toro.

"What's going on?"

"We need passage across their land," Mando informs, casually. "Let me see the binocs." He sticks his hand openly out in Toro's direction.

"Why?"

The Mandalorian says nothing. He simply offers a prolonged stare which has Toro complying and Gaia loving how Mando does it. He immediately tosses it to the Tusken Raider. "Hey! W-What?" Toro stammers in disbelief, at a loss. "Those were brand new!"

"Yeah? They were," Mando says cheekily back at Toro. He returns to his own speeder bike.

Hands folded, a gleam of interest shines within Gaia's dark eyes as she inquires, "How come you never told me you speak Tusken?"

"The same way you never told me you were Blue Rose." The Mandalorian is unfazed.

Gaia notes the hint of a bitter undertone in his voice, and a pit rests heavily in her belly. "That's not fair, Mando," she mumbles.

Mando, brushing the remark off, directs them forth and onward. Toro is not far behind them as they proceed forward, still sulking about his lost item. They drive for quite a while this time, longer than earlier, and it has certainly left Gaia to her volatile thoughts and Mando to his sour attitude. It does not last forever. They eventually reach a point somewhere and Mando makes the sign to hold once more. "Get down." He jumps off the speeder bike with Gaia following close suit.

Toro is the last to react. "What? Oh."

The three of them duck behind a mound of sand, lying on their bellies like a trio of frogs. They peek from behind the ridge and observe the Dewback wandering aimlessly ahead — grunting. It's dragging a person with it along the sand and creating a hopeless trail, their foot caught in the sadle's sturdy harness.

Mando speaks up, promptly directing his focus at Toro. "Alright, tell me what you see."

"Dewback," Toro reports, eager although careful with his words. "Looks like the rider is still attached. Is that her? Is that the target?"

Mando looks to Gaia for confirmation. She shakes her head, heeding the dark range of mountains nestled snugly in the distance. "I'm not getting anything," she whispers.

Mando glimpses the Dewback shortly. "I don't know." He takes some time to think, and Toro makes the move to investigate. "I'll go," he then objects, firmly. "You cover me."

Mando pulls his blaster pistol out as Toro nods in approval. Gaia, deep within herself, would like to protest yet when it comes to armor Mando's Beskar is significantly better than her uniform and can withstand a lot more. She's therefore keeping quiet and locking eyes with him when he turns to her. "Stay down." She nods, watching him while her and Toro each pull out their weapon.

Mando scales the dune of sand with a bit of difficulty, hastily moving toward the lonely Dewback. Gaia's heart is in her throat the whole time. The mount is now standing relatively still as Mando approaches it, and Gaia watches as he attempts to soothe the creature; it's cries echoing against the slopes of grain. Mando reaches down for the body, the tension riding on an unpleasant high that has them all hold their breaths. He heaves the individual warily onto their back, hearing Toro call out, "Well, is it her? Is she dead?"

Gaia catches the hopeful tone in his voice and she blinks with a sigh. It's never that easy.

"It's another bounty hunter," Mando shouts back to him, effectively proving Gaia's point.

"Hey," Toro cuts in afterwards, "I hope you don't plan on keeping all that stuff for yourself. Can I at least have that blas—"

"MANDO!" Gaia cries out.

She swiftly scopes out the looming cliffs of mountain in the distance with her sniper rifle as soon as her Spectre has called out, goosebumps bristling her taut body like fresh snow as her expression hardens with the poise of a veteran. With blithering reflexes, she pulls the trigger in the exact same moment an opposite shot is fired, and even when knowing her own will not come close to reaching its target. Hopefully the noise will have disturbed their attacker to an extent, that was her plan. Still, she cannot oppose as the belted shot hits Mando right in the chest.

Gaia breathes sharply in. She bears witness to him getting back up on his feet and making a break for the hill her and Toro is sat on, but just as he arrives at the top a second shot is fired, striking him square in the back. The impact has him tumbling over the ridge, sand flying everywhere. Gaia shields her face. She squints and looks nimbly at Mando who is panting and crawling between her and Toro, while the latter questions, "What happened?"

"Sniper bolt," Mando concludes finally, peering daringly over the crest of sand. "Only an MK-modified rifle could make that shot."

Toro examines him with a nervous eye, one that seems to be genuine. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he assures, noting, "hit me in the beskar, and at that range beskar held up."

"Wait," a flare of trepidation overcomes Toro's expression, "I don't wear any beskar."

"Nope," Mando agrees somewhat dryly. The alarm on Toro's face grows tenfold and as he panics, Mando takes a moment to catch his breath, turning to Gaia who's tacitly eyeing him for any potential injuries. "Well done."

The earnesty laced within his praise has her faltering at once. "My shot didn't reach her."

"No, but your idea of tipping her focus off with a missing attack was good thinking."

Gaia says nothing in return. She's scanning his helmet's visor for a short while, soaking in the positive words brought from him. The fact that he noticed means a lot to her. "Glad you're okay, Hush," she remarks quietly, turning her face toward the small cluster of mountains. The route leading directly to them is bare with no option for shelter. The chances of them making it safely across is slim to none, save for a clever plan of some kind which she currently does not possess.

It really is never that easy.

— Author's Note —

I hate that Gaia and Mando are not on the best of terms right now, but I'm also brimming with excitement because the next chapter is going to be fabulous💖 I can't wait for them to be somewhat alone (damn Toro) as they talk it out with each other. Just them talking while being all gentle and soft, smiling and sneaking shy glances. Halp🥺