THE REPAIR

The jawas were more than delighted when the two strangers returned with the egg in their arms, tiredly handing it over. They huddled around their leader who let out a few chirping words of excitement as he caressed the hairy egg lovingly. Then, to Fil and the Mandalorian's surprise, he decapitated it with a single hit of a knife to reveal the sickly yellow egg yolk he buried his hand in.
Fil watched in slight disgust as he gobbled the handful down with a slurping sound and the other jawas reached for their respective share of the treat. He couldn't believe it. All that hardship to provide them with a snack. He looked at the Mandalorian, who sighed.
"What about the parts now?" Kuiil turned towards the leader, translating the man's request. The Jawa answered quickly and as soon as the egg was devoured and the shell tossed carelessly aside, the Jawas started to collect the pieces and pile them onto the hermit's grate. They made quick work lashing down everything and when the night was falling, the strange quartet was ready to return to the ship. Kuil's Blurrg pulled the grate smoothly over through the desert, the gently rocking back and forth quickly making tired Fill fall asleep next to the Mandalorian, joining the child in its slumber.
The Mandalorian eyed the young man once again, drawing the attention of the hermit.
"He's drained from the fight," he commented while the warrior watched eyelids flicker again.
"I've never seen anything like him. Like them," he hummed.
Fil stirred in his sleep, turning to the side, face fully facing the other man. He still looked like he wouldn't be able to lift a single week, let alone an entire mudhorn. It was a miracle. The Mandalorian could feel that boy was something special. He just couldn't place it.

"What did he do?"Kuiil looked back at him in pure curiosity. The Mandalorian sighed.
"I don't know how, but he saved my life, taming the beast with just one hand. The mudhorn...levitated. I think he did it. And the child...it has the same ability."
"Curious it is. I never heard about something as you described either. But the galaxy is big and there is a lot we don't know of. "
"But he seems too powerful to remain hidden. His abilities must have stirred entire star systems."

There was a bump in the road and Fil, who had been leaning towards the Mandalorian, before falling over, was still fast asleep and clutching the crib to his other side like a protective mother.
The Mandalorian was caught off guard as his head settled against his arm naturally, sighing constantly as the cool beaker greeted him.
"What are you going to do with him once the bounty is delivered? There's no prize on his head, isn't it?" Kuiil pointed out.
"No." the Mandalorian hummed.
"He could make a good ally," the hermit added, glancing at the young man over his shoulder, who was now pressing his cheek against the bear, mouth slightly ajar.
The Mandalorian had asked himself the same question. The boy was strangely attached to the child but also seemed to have bonded to him as well. He never had someone accompany him without fear. And even more strangely, he found himself enjoying having the stranger around.
"You have to decide soon. I have spoken," Kuiil spoke up again and the Mandalorian let out another sigh, then gently pushed Fil off his body to rest against the pile of metal instead. The young man grunted but didn't wake up, just curled himself around the crib instead.

The Mandalorian kept his gaze ahead as they approached the shell of the razor crest in the middle of the night and just as the grate came to a halt, Fil's eyes fluttered open. He stretched his back with a jawn, then looked down at the child which was smiling in its sleep.
"This will take weeks," the Mandalorian sighed as he climb off and stood in front of his ship, most likely frowning under the helmet.
"It would go faster if you helped," Kuiil replied calmly, taking off one of the metal strings that held the pile together to grab the first part.
"I'll help," Fil immediately exclaimed, getting off the grate as well to make himself useful.
The Mandalorian looked at him suspiciously.

"I'm surprisingly handy," Fil just said to him before getting to work helping the hermit. And much to the warrior's surprise, the young man was right. Instinctively he knew where the parts belonged and how to fasten them on, organically piecing the ship together as if it was nothing, slender fingers connecting cables at an impressive speed and handling the blowtorch as he had never done anything else in his life.
The Mandalorian was impressed and just held the parts in place Fil or the old man told him to when he didn't find something he could deal with on his own, occasionally glancing at the young man in wonder and consideration.
"Hey, Buckethead," the young man called out to him from underneath the right turbine, looking up at it with a frown. The Mandalorian didn't know why he even cared to answer to that stupid nickname, but he did, leaving a piece of scrap metal behind to walk over and glare questioningly at Fil.
"Can you give me a lift?" Fil asked, briefly glancing at the Mandalorian, yellow specks in his eyes glimmering with something the man would classify as youthful mischief.
"I could jump, but I doubt it will hold ," he gestured at the blank framework. The Mandalorian sighed. "You want me to lift you up?"
  "Just a bit so I can climb up there to get the high-pressure compressor back in," Fil nodded, a hand padding against the part lazily dangling from his belt,  disassembled more manageable pieces.
With another sigh, the Mandalorian stepped behind the young man, armored hands curling around his hips and waiting there for further advice. Fil's lean body stiffened under his touch as if fazed by the sudden closeness, but he turned his head to look at him regardless.
"Ready?" he asked quietly, holding up both arms and the Mandalorian's grip tightened, as he lifted him up into the air, high enough to reach the framework.

Quickly, Fil leaped the remaining distance,  moving himself hand by hand all the way up, no longer needing the other man's support whose hands still lingered in the air just in case. Fil briefly appeared out of his sight, then reappeared with a grin on his lips, wide-legged sitting on top of the turbine.
"Thank you!" he called down with a little salute, then started to reassemble the turbine engine.
The Mandalorian stood there, eyeing him for a little longer, taking in every single movement, his curiosity growing.
"Can you hand me the blowtorch?" Fil suddenly asks, pointing at the device close by.
Feeling as if caught in an undignified moment of curiosity that was a weakness in the eyes of the creed, the Mandalorian quickly made his way to retrieve what he was asked, adverting his gaze as long as possible.
But he could feel the other's eyes bluntly following him around, a sensation he wasn't too fond of, but well aware it was also a matter of his upbringing and not vial intention. Fil had never cared to conceal his curiosity for the Mandalorian and certainly wouldn't begin with it now. He could feel that. And this knowledge was what fueled his curiosity yet again because there was clearly something Fil could see in him and he couldn't imagine what exactly. It was the man's gaze, which was not much more than adolescent in his eyes, that held wisdom he couldn't grasp nor place as if he simply saw the galaxy with different eyes.

Traditionally, Mandalorian deeply distrusted everything they did not understand and what differed from the way, but the Mandalorian himself didn't feel like he could trust the stranger that had become somewhat of a ferrate in a matter of only a few days. And Fil definitely trusted him, allowing himself to slumber deep and carelessly under the warrior's watch without showing any sign of discomfort.
Fil smiled at him when the Mandalorian held up the tool for him to take, carelessly rolling over to let himself dangle face down the frame to reach it, holding his himself with nothing but his legs. He budged a little at the additional weight of the torch but balanced himself out almost right away. With another elegant roll, he climbed back up, returning to his previous spot.
The Mandalorian resolved his observation, redirecting his attention to the repair. The sooner the razor crest was flying again, the better. He needed to focus, and finish the job. Bringing in the kid that was still peacefully sleeping in its crib was long overdue and they still needed to get to Nevarro where a handsome reward was waiting for him to claim it.