Mandalorian No More...

Din's eyes fluttered open as he heard a thud just outside his hut. He sat up in his bed almost immediately, looking around in panic, *How long was I out?* He thought before he began looking for his little green companion and son. He sighed in relief as he found Grogu sleeping next to him on the same bed. He smiled gently as he pushed himself out of the bed, trying not to wake the little one.

He walked out of the hut hoping to find the source of the sounds. It was early in the morning and he could see the suns were beginning to rise from behind the mountains.

"You're awake! I was starting to worry when I came back in to see you half-dead on the bed." Aria was standing closer to the woods, chopping woods. He smiled as he walked over to her, trying to remember what happened. The flashes of a song appeared in his brain, making him stumble a little as he could feel the same drowsiness he felt yesterday.

Aria was quick to respond, she came running to him holding him hoping to help him stay steady, "are you okay?" she asked, a little worried.

He looks at her in confusion, "you sang something yesterday, what was that?" he asked as he gained the strength back in her feet to stand tall towering over her.

"It's a lullaby, my mother use to sing it to me when I was a child. I don't remember anything about her except that song," she turned to look away as the Mandalorian ran his eyes all over her. She was mysterious, skilled, more so, like a mentor even if he considers that she would be teaching him the ways of the dark saber but she was also making him think of things that he never thought in years.

"I can help you with that..." Din spoke up after a few moments of silence. Aria turned to look at him to see he was pointing at the axe that she abandoned mid chopping.

"That would be appreciated, I have to get the fire burning for making us some soup before our morning lesson," her tone was authoritative and clear. Din couldn't tell if he admired her stoic, wise persona or her femininity that he lacked in his life. His entire life was filled with warriors who fought much like himself. It was hard for anyone to tell the gender unless they lift the helmet at times.

Aria walks away into her cabin after nodding at Din softly, leaving him to just admire her from behind until she was out of sight.

---------

Grogu was the first to finish the meal as they sat around a small table inside Aria's cabin. She smiled at him as he cooed for more, "you are a very hungry little one!"

"He mostly likes to eat things that are alive. Maybe he likes your cooking, it seems!" Din's voice was warmer than usual, he was trying to be nice which he usually never tried. Aria looked at him immediately as she was not expecting a compliment from a man like that, or was it a compliment?

"And what about you? Did you enjoy my cooking?" Din already ate before they sat down, in his hut. Even though he was out of the creed, he made sure to follow the rules. He still wanted to go back, and try to redeem himself. But would he be able to redeem himself in presence of this woman who was changing him from the inside?

"Yes, it is good!" He finally finds his voice to respond to her question. She looked at Grogu again as she said, "you can eat again after we have finished our first lesson."

Grogu coos at her with a head tilt and then looks at Din as though he was calling for help. Din smiles under his helmet and shrugs, letting him know that the lady was in-charge.

-----------

After a long walk, Aria was standing just outside the cave of Ahch-To. A cave that is believed to have a very strong connection to the force. The cave became the destruction of her father but the protector of the land from other siths or imperials from finding the planet.

Din stood beside her with Grogu in his arms unsure of what to expect from whatever she was going to teach them.

"I need you both to know that, Force is not something outside of our being. Force is ourselves. Force is created by us, Force is for us and once we cease to exist, we go back to the Force," her voice echoed through the air that surrounded them making both Din and Grogu look around in confusion.

She turned to them with a smile. "Sit down! Our first lesson will be grounding." Din placed Grogu in front of her and began to walk backward. "Uh uh... you too!" She said looking at Din stopping his retracting steps. He looked at her in confusion.

"Don't you want to wield the dark saber, Din Djarin?" She questioned, her eyes pierced through his armor which was intimidating and attractive at the same time. He sighed a little before he sat down close to Grogu.

She smiled as he watched him and as both were settled below her, she took a deep breath as she walked around them, "Your mind is going to the most important weapon when wielding the force. And your mind is the greatest shield. Training your mind is more important than training your body." She paused for a moment before she continued, "Close your eyes and visualize the Force surrounding you."

Din hesitated largely as he looked at her and Grogu, he shook his head as he sighed in slight irritation before he closed his eyes. I am not force-sensitive like the kid or this woman, why am I doing all this?

She continued to walk around them in a circular pattern as she herself visualized the force around them. She could feel the agitation inside Din and his inability to stay calm or have patience in staying still. "Let go of the anger. Let go of hesitation. Let go of everything you thought you were until now."

As Din stayed like that for a few minutes, his mind began to settle like the waves in the ocean but he didn't know they were just the calm before the storm. He began twitching a little as the memories of his past came rushing down. Several explosions, men and women crying in agony, himself standing on top of men who he captured or killed. He didn't like this, he felt like something was surrounding him making him want to pick his black saber.

His mind was filled with the images of him holding the black in his hand and cutting up people in half, mercilessly. His anger and despair when he had to separate from Grogu, everything rumbled in his mind one after the other. He didn't like this at all.

Finally, he felt someone's embrace around him. He suddenly was calm, his mind quiet again. The smell of fresh-cut lilies, the warmth of two bodies, and the passion began to rise in him. He was not sure what he was feeling but he wanted to feel that for the rest of his life. It was more than he ever asked for...

"Din! Din!" He slowly opened his eyes and saw the woman he was making love to in his mind right in front of him. He wanted to grab her into his arms and not let go but the pain that he was feeling before held him back like his hands were tied.

"I hope you could feel the force. Grogu did very good, better than I expected," She was crouched down in front of him but as she realizes that he was fully conscious now, she stood up and extended her hand to him. He took it as he stands up on his two feet.

"What was that? I don't think I liked it," he had no intention to willingly do that again but he did want to know if he was dreaming or hallucinating or what.

She took Grogu in her arms and started walking with Din back to the hut. "It was all you. This process is called grounding, more like an initiation. It is like seeing yourself in the mirror and accepting yourself for who you are..." Din stopped mid-way, Aria turned to him hoping he was alright.

He was silent as Aria walked back at him, "You don't have to like who you saw now. You don't have to learn to wield the force, you just need to learn to control your mind to wield dark saber."

Din was conflicted at this point, did he want to learn it at all? All he wanted was to go back to his creed and live a simple life. He never wanted anything more and he enjoyed being by himself. He didn't want to continue the training with her anymore. Maybe Grogu could, but for him, it felt like he was facing death.

He decided to tell her his decision and leave that night... or he didn't want to but he was afraid to accept who he was and what he wanted.