003. A BURNT CHILD DREADS FIRE

( —if something has hurt you once, you avoid making the same mistake or experiencing the same situation again. )

»»————-————-««

"That is where you'll find your quarry."

Myra had never ridden anything in her entire life. As soon as she had mounted the back of a blurrg for their journey that laid ahead, she had established a different connection with it. All these kinships she had learnt that day, she could differentiate them eventually. She had run a finger over its hide to feel what it felt; the rush of breath, her strong legs and her thrill of having a light rider. And to see the world from the back of a creature was a privilege, so much that she owed her thanks to the animal that lead her through the muddy terrain and canyons.

After much broil, compromise and drama, the Mandalorian had managed to imprint on a young, female blurrg and ready to travel. He was very much disappointed when Myra managed to imprint before him—by cheating, of course—and watch him in all amusement without breaking a sweat. 

And oh, the light.

It really switched on her life, bringing beauty and vision, igniting colour in vivid contrast. She could tell the difference between fever and warmth. In fact, she loved day-shine—where the star would rise to bathe that lands in a warm glow. For the strength to see everyone else, to observe nature and the striking contrast was a great gift she had missed perceiving.

Mando was satisfied upon the looks of his destination, looking to the farmer with gratitude. It was sweet in her mind, bringing forth a delightful sensation when she sensed it in him. He was at the man's grace so to offer his thanks, Mando stretched out a few credits towards him.  

The farmer shook his head, refusing the offer. Mando was intent on giving the share, stretching it further in opposition. 

"Please. You deserve this."

"Since these ones arrived," the farmer spoke, his tone full of recollection and appreciation as he mentioned the other raiders, "this territory has been an endless stream of mercenaries seeking reward and bringing destruction."

"Then why did you guide us?"

"They do not belong here," he stated firmly, breathing out loud. "Those that live here come to seek peace. There will be no peace until they are gone."

"Then why do you help?"

"I have never met a Mandalorian, only read the stories," he was filled with pride as he turned to face Mando wholly. He was cognizant of the adventure that lied ahead for the hunter and his loot, not willing to jeopardize it for them. Myra was astonished by his thoughts, seemingly never met a man with such a clear mind. 

"If they are true, you will make quick work of it," he said in surety. "And there will again be peace."

Myra leaned towards Mando with a suave grin when he watched her carefully. "He had high hopes for your mission, Mandalorian."

"I have spoken," the sentient porcine declared in finality as he turned to depart the duo. 

Myra waited until his thoughts were completely out of range and disappeared into the distance. She turned to see the Mando flat on his abdomen over an elevated land with a long, thin binocular in his hand. He was formulating a plan in his head and she saw how skillfully he was piecing together every nook and cranny of the quarry. 

"Oh, no," he said suddenly, his tone dipping to concern. "Bounty droid."

"A droid?" She questioned, her voice lower than a whisper. She watched something stumble from the wide valley entrance, walking towards the coalition of soldiers guarding the doors.

"Yeah, a droid," he hissed, turning lightly to glance at her. "Never heard of those?"

"Of course I have," she chuckled, answering the question in her head. Never until now. "I'm surprised uh, a droid can grow to be a bounty hunter."

A beat passed. "Droids can't grow."

"O-of course," she blinked, looking away as her cheeks flamed with embarrassment. "I meant it as a trope."

"Well, this one is gonna be a pain in the—"

"Subparagraph 16 of the Bondsman Guild protocol waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset," the tall, scraggly droid spoke in a droning monotone and stumbling on its thin, steely legs.

When the guards at the quarry arose in suspicion, the blasts started to rain down. Red slashes of lasers were exchanged between the opposition parties, the droid deflecting every one of the soldiers' aims but hitting the spot with the rest. It was a perfect shot, the perfect marksmen needed from such a high-commission job. When the guns blazing stopped, Myra peeped from the edge of the rock formation to see no forms of life; all dead or wounded.

"Droids," Mando mused, sensing the dryness in his tone. "Come on, I have a plan."

"Which is?"

"We bring the droid to my side—"

"Our side."

"—my side," he stressed. "And, then we see what happens."

"That's a terrible plan," she mumbled under her breath, following him anyway. He was stealthy, keeping his distance yet managing to sneak up on the droid with a swift commanding yell. 

"IG unit, stand down!"

Before any of them could react, a red blast blazed through the air and struck the chest of the Mandalorian. He was thrown back with the impact and into a couple of metal soldiers and a painful grunt leaving him. On instinct, Myra's hands had conjured shapeless, transparent mists which she aimed at the blasters of the droid and it fell on it's back with the force. The droid lifted the still intact blaster to aim for Myra. 

"Wait, wait, don't shoot her," Mando spoke from behind her, groaning out a, "I'm in the Guild!"

When the droid found its feet, its head rotated on the axis as if implementing some protocols and dropped its defensive stance. It saw the tracking fob in his hand, processing out, "You are Guild members?"

Myra had to take a quick glance into the Mandalorian's head to figure what this Guild thing was. The Bounty Hunter's guild was an ancient institution that regulated bounty hunting trade. Much like the sources she had acquired secretively to access other clients, the Guild was held together by rules and laws.  

"I am," Mando exhaled out, taking Myra's hand to lift himself from the ground. "She's... backup."

Myra was impressed by the term. "I am?"

"I thought I was the only one on the assignment," the droid affirmed in confusion, efficiently ignoring her earlier statement.  

"That makes two of us," Mando sighed. "So much for the element of surprise."

"Sadly, I must ask for your fob. I have already issued the writ of seizure," the droid assured as if issuing a threat. A sneer broke out on Myra's lips. "The bounty is mine."

"Easy," he told Myra, extending out a hand when he saw her hands fist in annoyance. Upon his words, the flickering black smoke died out and she watched him negotiate.

 "Unless I'm mistaken, you are, as of yet, empty-handed."

The droid responded steadily. "This is true."

"I have a suggestion." 

"Proceed."

"We split the reward," he placed forward.

"This is acceptable."

"Great," he nodded, unknowingly placing a hand over Myra's abdomen and pushing her behind the pillar he had taken cover. When her back met the cement, she looked at him with a throaty growl and he retracted his hand from her waist. 

"Okay, this is seriously getting irritating," he said sharply and quickly deciding to be polite instead of endangering the entire mission. "For the rest of the commission, am I allowed to touch you in order to not get you killed?"

"See, that wasn't too hard," she said, nodding once on redemption. "Yes, you may."

Hearing the positive answer, Mando looked from behind the pillar to request the IG droid with another order. "Now let's regroup, out of harm's way, and form a plan."

The IG droid twisted its body on the central axis, spinning around to walk towards them. "I will, of course, receive the reputation merits associated with the mission."

"Can we talk about this later?" Mando was impatient, caught between spotting any stray soldiers, convincing the damned droid and keeping Myra safe. 

The droid stood still, halting its pace. "I require an answer if am to proceed—" an unforeseen blast hit the droid on its flank, "—oh no, alert. Alert. Alert."

The next few moments were a mire of confusion to Myra, as she tried to find her way around the commotion that brewed. Blasts radiated from every corner, their aims set on the trio who had infiltrated the facility. She had grappled the shoulder of Mando, ducking behind him as cover and watched as he swung around, gunning men down and deflecting bullets.

A soldier came for her, grabbing her shoulder and she acted with a heavy breath of surprise. Catching the arm of her attacker, she yanked him forward by the elbow until she felt his dirty breath on her face and jabbed her right hook into his eye. He lost his balance, teetering backwards and she struck him on the chest with a heel to knock him unconscious.

She saw the droid and Mando take too many hits, allowing her thoughts to once again flow through the Ichor and call for it in strong pleas. Her hands formed palm-side front defences, manipulating a transparent forcefield around her and Mando to deflect the laser blasts.

"He's in there," she heard Mando say and in a quick moment, their gazes met unknowingly. 

"Go," she ordered at them, looking towards the door that the tracking fob seemed to illuminate. The Mandalorian stood his ground, watching as he pushed harder to expand the barrier of her forcefield. "Go!"

As if pulled out of a trance, the droid and the hunter ran towards the quarry door. Consequently, Myra felt her strength drain as she deflected bullets and conjured a black gust of smog which enveloped the field for a second, giving her path for a quick getaway. She sprinted towards the door, the parallel pillars where Mando and the droid had taken shelter, falling on her knees with a sleepy sigh. 

"Are you okay?"

"Just," she tried to force the words through her teeth, "exhausted."

Mando looked away, to beyond the pillar with a sneaky peek and gauged the situation. Myra used the last remains of stamina to glance into his mind, viewing the spot from afar. It appeared that they were trapped. 

The droid spoke, breaking the silence. "I will initiate self-destruct sequencing."

To her surprise, Mando was in disbelief. In his head, all he was thinking about was the three of them making it out alive. "Whoa, you're what?" 

"Manufacturers Protocol dictates I cannot be captured," he explained, its voice an emotionless drone. "I must self-destruct."

"Do not self-destruct," Mando ordered, conclusive.

Taking cover behind Mando, Myra keenly watched as the droid drew out the fire as the hunter shot his way to the large, red quarry door that safeguarded his bounty. She couldn't translate anything due to the thickness of the barrier, focusing on Mando who worked with wires and switches to unlock the door manually. 

The shooting worsened, rapidly growing in fervour as Mando gave up with a loud groan when a shot blew through his armour. She was abandoned when Mando ducked behind a pillar and in that moment of hesitation, a laser sliced through her arm.

"Get back here!"

She looked to the blood which didn't seem to heal as fast due to the loss of her stamina. The crimson flowed steadily out the slash wound and she concealed a hiss as she joined Mando's side.

His gaze was trained on the open wound on her arm. "You're hit."

"I'm fine. There's too many," Myra whispered, trying to regain her powers with every lungful of air she took. "Unless—"

"I will initiate self-destruct," the droid persisted. The laser blasts were raining harder now, faster than ever and she squeezed her eyes shut. 

"Do not self-destruct!" Mando was exasperated now, his voice edging on irritation. "We're shooting our way out." 

He took a quick glimpse from past the pillar and Myra discerned the incredulity in his head. He had seen a cannon of some sort, larger than other blasters and mounting a rider at the rear.  

"Okay, new plan," he emphasized, laying his eyes on a fearful Myra. But before he could execute his plan into motion, the droid intervened.

"Beginning self-destruct countdown."

"No! Stop it!" He yelled, shaking his head. "Can you shield us from their blasts?"

Myra looked at him, trying to drive herself back into concentration. She was debilitated yes, but Mando needed her. For the first time, she was truly contributing to a cause that mattered. This was no course for her to back down. So with her back straightened and willing the limited resources of her power, she nodded at him strongly.

"I can."

"Draw their fire," he glanced between the droid and Myra. "I'll take it out."

"Acceptable," the droid agreed and Myra only shrugged at him. The droid took off into a sprint, the firepower following him as he ran. 

Her mind was so fatigued that it took more than a few seconds to conjure the spell. She felt herself sway in lightheadedness, grappling the barrier. Before she could lift her arms to give it one more try, a hand dragged her away and back into safety.

"You're too spent," Mando whispered to her. pushing her into the pillar to provide her support. "Wait here."

"But, I—"

"Stay here," he insisted, stern and commanding. 

Myra slid to the ground, hiding a painful cry as a blaster rifle's impact thudded into her injured arm. Using shaky finger she tore off the tattered sleeve that hung around her shoulder and sealed the bruise shut. It stung when the satin material slinked with the injury, a tear slipping out of her eye. 

"Hey," a soft yet stringent tone pulled her out piercing trance. She tried to glance at the Mandalorian but her eyes were heavy, tying her down to fatigue. "I don't think she can stand. She wasted her energy back there."

"Diagnostics complete. I believe that she has lost too much blood," the droid stated, inspecting her with a twist of its metal head of the spire. She heard the sound of mechanical whizzing. "She's a crone."

"Witch," Mando corrected. "There's a difference."

"She needs medical aid."

"You think?" Mando sassed, taking her bloodied hand away from the wound and hitching it behind his neck. A hand supported her waist as he tried to haul her up, her legs giving out and her head lolling over his armour. 

"I need to singe it off before it gets infected," he said to no one. She was lighter than expected, pushing her face into his neck and drawing her up higher by her waist. "Do you think you can wait?"

Myra didn't have the strength to reply. She only let out a short breath, trying to hold back a cry when the wound came in contact with his armour. Her warmth bled into his neck, through the cloth and the hunter forced his mind to remain at rest.

"I'll take that as a yes."

A warm wall off metal acted as her crutch as she pushed herself to exert pressure on her feet. If felt like she had lost connection with every muscle in her body and as if the Ichor was failing her. 

"Well, now we just need to get the door open," she heard Mando say in relief. They had turned to view the rotatory cannon blaster that laid decommissioned on the quarry field, knowing that it was worth the shot. 

Once the whizzing whistles of laser blasts droned out into the air as they continued to discharge detonations around the rim of the sealed metal door. Once it reached its breaking point, it broke off its hinges and slammed to the ground. 

Whilst supporting a nearly dead Myra, Mando sauntered in a panther's grace and swiftly aiming for a guard who came running in from the east end. 

"Anyone else?" He asked, completely done and ready to finish this altogether. 

"The tracking fob is still active," the droid efficiently added as input, taking its stumbling steps in. "My sensors indicate that there is a life form present."

Even when death was afraid of Myra, she was able to grasp the delicate feel of growth that bred in the storage quarters. It wrapped around her heart like a warm blanket, making her blink up from the Mandalorian's side with a questioning look. 

She looked around, without a glance at the rapidly blinking tracking fob, her gaze landing on the west end where a couple of oddly-shaped containers lay stacked up. She pointed a shaky, blood-soaked finger at that direction. 

"There," she rasped. "I can sense it."

Huddled amidst a braided jute net was a pearl-shaped pod. As if unfolding the jewel from the oyster, the Mandalorian lifted the heavy net off the pod and inspecting it closely. He looked down at Myra was intently staring at the white, oval-shaped enigma and realized that no one here was lying. Neither was the fob.

Mando prodded a finger at the epicentre, awakening a switch. Upon his touch, the pod's parallel doors opened down the hemisphere and converting into a spring cradle. The inside was hollow, housing something inside. Upon their peering, the spotted a thick array of burgundy blankets on the whitened cradle.

Nestled between the blankets was the tiniest child Myra had ever laid eyes on. The baby was a mint-green newborn and the smallest wrinkles on its forehead, obscuring what might have otherwise been a very old man. Round, black eyes stared back at her and when it opened its mouth to give out a small snuffle, she saw the wide-gapped straight teeth. Its floppy, pinkened ears twitched softly when it looked between the three of them.

Myra stumbled forward, latching her fists over the cradle with a soft breath of wonder. The world itself fell away, her shimmering golden eyes set on the snuffling child. 

"Hi there, little one."

It tilted its head as if mimicking her motion. It was her instant reaction to look into the child's head but sadly, her powers were too weak to be able to sustain the Ichor. 

"Wait," Mando said in scepticism as if recollecting old information, "they said fifty-years-old."

"Species age differently," the droid asserted. "Perhaps it could live many centuries. Sadly we'll never know."

Her hands fisted in defence when she heard the droid's blaster awaken. Before she could act for the baby, the Mandalorian was quicker. 

"No," he refused. "We bring it in alive."

In a sudden flicker of her eyes, she felt a Sight come to her. Her golden eyes shone brighter as she saw the vision screen at the back of her mind; a blast singing through the air, the baby's cradle empty and a lost soul. She could not let that happen. 

"The commission was quite specific, the asset was to be—"

In the eyes of the child was all of Myra, the person she was born as before as the circle of life had a say. There was continence in the gaze, love and something she could never have to call her own—a progeny. But she knew inwardly, even without the words coming from her lips, she was ready to sacrifice everything for this lone creature. And from the looks of the Mandalorian's clear-headed approach, he was only a mirror to her thoughts. As if symbolising a reforged connection between the two, the hunter raised his finger to his bounty to which the child followed motion: extending it's three tiny fingers with a gurgle. 

Myra, unhesitant, crushed her hand into a fist and consequently, the metal of the droid welted into a mass of spare parts. The fierceness in her actions was message enough to the deadened droid—if someone wanted this child, they had to face the wrath of a Mandalorian and an intrepid witch. 

X X X

{ not satisfied with the flow of the chapter. will edit later :( silverfalcons you are literally the best, i want to shower you with kisses. }