#force sensitive!fem!reader

“Ah ah, Cinder. Can’t let you do that. Venomous, ‘member?” You try your best not to slur your words as you begin to sloppily grind some herbs together. Cinder brought some pine straw to you in her mouth and placed it at your crossed legs.

“Thanks, sweetie.” You had to snap your fingers together a few times struggling to get the flame to light. The pine straw quickly erupted into flames, traveling down the long skinny stalks. Cinder piled on twigs and small branches as you breathed into the fire, willing it to grow.

You could sense the venom traveling quickly through your veins racing straight to your heart. It was like you could almost feel it shutter with every beat, trying its best to not make it your last. The world was spinning as you tried to steady your hands while you ground some dried sage in your mortar and pestle.

Din and Paz had finally wrestled the trandoshan, cuffing and tying him to a nearby tree. You could vaguely feel their energy. Din, quiet rage, trying his best to mask it so the trandoshan wouldn’t realize he had the advantage right now. Paz, frantic panic, right at the cusp of despair. Did you really look that bad to Paz?

You could hear Paz’s voice far off asking how you were. He was muffled as if he was behind a door or trying to talk to your under water. But, he was right next to you, shaking you, trying to get your attention. Finally, his words worked their way through the venom’s effect. “Din has him tied up. What do you need me to do?”

Think, you have to think. What is a common antidote to venom? This should not be such a struggle. You should know this off the top of your head, but the venom, it’s starting to take root. Panic starts to roll through you, the adrenaline jump-starting your brain.

“Sage…baby’s breath, ginger, and…” Your breathing was labored, trying your best to hang on. “Solomon's seal, yes. I labeled all the tins…” Your hand slipped as you slouched over, feeling too tired to hold yourself up.

Paz caught you and laid you on the ground before moving to gather the ingredients. “Fuck. Keep your eyes on me. Keep your fucking eyes on me. How much of each?” Paz frantically darted his gaze between you and all the tins he had finally found. He sounded so scared. It can’t be that bad, can it? The venom was working like a depressant, slowing you down, making you woozy as your breaths became less frequent, almost as if you were going to fall asleep.

“A pinch. S’all you need.” You felt Cinder between your legs, trying to comfort you in her own way. “Put it over the fire and add a little bit of water. We want paste, not soup.” You limply held your finger up, pointing to the small fire that you and Cinder had managed to start, but it was fading fast, just like you.

Paz lifted his helmet a bit to breathe on the fire, its flames jumping to attention from his ministrations. He found your wooden spoon and used it to mix the contents as he poured in water from his canteen. You laid on the forest floor, ear to the ground. It grounded you, reminding you that you still had a fight to win. That you could win.

“Paz, help me…please?” He quickly held you upright so that you could out stretch your hand and say a soft cantation over the medication. He stirred as you spoke. You focused on the wind slipping by the leaves, the birds’ wings flapping, and the clouds that slowly moved across the sky.

You laid back, hoping that the spell took. Paz scooped the paste and you motioned for him to rub it into your arm. Sharp pain came from your arm as Paz hastily rubbed it over the wound. You should have winced, but your body didn’t let you react. Despite all this effort, you slipped into unconsciousness, though at the last second you slid into Cinder’s mind.

----------◈----------

Weeks had passed as you, Din, and Paz continued to walk around the kingdom. A few adventures had ensued: a chance encounter with a warlock powered by some prince of hell, riddles and puzzles all to pass safely through old Mandalorian ruins, and that pesky shapeshifter who turned out to be a trandoshan spy.

You watched him through Cinder’s perceptive gaze, being held still by Paz while Din waited for an answer to a question that you had missed, letting his rage fester. To your shock, the creature laughed in his face, taunting Din. With efficient movement and no hesitation, Din slashed off the creature’s hand using the dark saber. He screamed out, thrashing trying to break free of Paz’s hold. Once Paz had re-secured him, Din pressed the flat side of the dark saber against the open wound, effectively cauterizing it. The smell of scorched flesh flooded your senses making you want to back away. The trandoshan continued to scream, but he laughed with the pain, flashing his sharp teeth in a wicked grin.

You knew you should feel sympathy, but nothing floated to the surface of your emotions. It had been too close. The trandoshan had come too close to murdering you. Its teeth had grated into your arm, venom entering into your body. It had disguised itself as an unassuming nymph near the creek that you had taken a break at to regain some energy. Dipping your feet in, you tried to strike up a conversation with it. You had a few encounters with a couple near your homestead. It had turned on you quickly, taking advantage of your exhausted state.

Cinder purred, completely unphased by the torture or the crazy reptile. She was just happy to have you with her while you were passed out. Paz had moved back to you when Din had signaled to give the prisoner some time to breath. Cinder trailed him, wanting to not miss any of the action. It was weird, looking back at yourself as you laid unconscious with Paz hold you close to him, trying to comfort you. His large frame cradled you, rocking you gently while he whispered something to you. You could tell he was shaken, but eventually he calmed down enough to check your pulse again.

“Paz, is she still with us?” Din’s voice, while commanding, had an edge of apprehension to it, as if he did not want the truth.

“Yes, her pulse is faint, but it is there.”

 You felt their relief wash over you. “Good, now we can turn to this other matter.” Din turned to look back at the trandoshan that was still panting from the last session of questioning. 

You scampered out of the tent, trying your best to adjust to Cinder’s vision. As night fell, you could perfectly see Din and Paz stalking toward the spy, ready to get some answers. You perched yourself up on a low branch that had an ideal vantage point.

You watched, with a hint of excitement, as Din and Paz manhandled the beast so that Paz had forced one of its arms to fully extend. Din pulled out his vibroblade and slid it along the inner side of its bicep. The bicep was a weak tender part of the arm, easy to pry and play with. Far enough away from the heart and major arteries to avoid bleeding the creature, but soft enough to cause pain. The buzz of the blade as it lightly tapped on its scales almost overwhelmed you. How was all of Cinder’s senses this strong?

“Who sent you?”

The trandoshan gnashed its teeth at Din in response. In silent communication, Paz tightened his grip and Din slowly worked his blade underneath one of its scales on its bicep. It tried to squirm and look away, but Paz forced its head to the side with a large hand around its chin, making it watch as Din popped a scale off. The scream that emitted from it made you involuntarily jump. It put you and Cinder on edge.

“Let’s try this again. Who sent you?”

Din dug his knife in where he had removed the scale, but before he could get too deep, the creature finally talked. A raspy serpentine voice came forth.

“You know who sent me. He’s killed plenty of us before.” the reptile darted his eyes to Paz.

“Why?”

The trandoshan laughed, causing Din’s anger to spike. He sunk his blade deeper. The creature howled in pain, but it was still somehow able to maintain a grin.

“Completely mad,” you thought and Cinder gave a short meow in agreement.

“To murder the girl! There is no hope for you without her.”

“And what was the plan after that?”

It giggled some more while Paz pressed its face further into the dirt.

“I die a hero and we take your kingdom.”

“How?”

“Two mandalorians tear me limb by limb as I laugh at their frustration!” Its hideous shrill laugh cut through the otherwise silent forest.

Din shoved the rest of the blade to the hilt into its bicep and Paz’s gauntlet flamethrower was at the ready, right in the line of sight of the trandoshan.

“We assault the front gates in a week’s time. Your kingdom will fall without her.”

You could feel Din’s shock and you felt it yourself. You had always thought that he would just need you for the protective boundary, a means to an end. How were you supposed to fight a whole army of trandoshans?

“Ah, you really think that lowly of yourself, my child?”

The booming voice caused you to reeled back in shock and confusion. Cinder’s hair rose in alarm, claws drawn, eye diluted, and attention fully turned to the source of the commanding voice.

A hulking mass towered above Cinder and the trees, casting her into darkness. You peered up at a face within the darkness. One that you somehow recognized.

“Bendu?” You whispered in Cinder’s mind, wondering how you knew it was him, the force-sensitive entity that your parents and your people had followed and learned from for eons. You glanced back, expected for Din and Paz to be looking on with you, but they were still crouched over the trandoshan.

“Cats are such perceptive beings, aren’t they? I can rarely hide from them for long. Glad you can perceive me in this form with her help.”

“Does that mean cats are force-sensitive?” You could hear your voice clearly even though that made little sense to you as you were clearly in Cinder’s consciousness.

“Mmm perhaps though I have not put much thought into it.” Bendu noticed your glances behind you, back to the mandalorians. “Ah ah, do not worry about them. They cannot see us and are not going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Why are you revealing yourself to me now? After all this time?”

“Quite simple. One, you never meditate, even though I and your elders have taught you otherwise. And, two, you need me.”

You glance over at yourself. You look pale and worn thin. This journey had taken its toll on you. And the venom, well that would surely come close to killing you.

“You will barely survive the poison without my help. But, the battle at the gates will surely wipe you out.”

“Such little faith in me,” you whisper with a twinge of sadness.

“Quite the contrary, I just know your limits, so do you, and you are right up against them.”

Pausing, you wondered why he cared. Why does it matter if you died?

“Because you bring balance to the force, my dear.”

“Get out of my head!” Frustration takes hold. Why now? Why couldn’t he have been there when you were alone? Why didn’t he help your parents? Your people? A flurry of emotions wash over you, frustration, sadness, loneliness, fear, and dread for the future. Always dread. You had been truly alone. You had made friends with anything you could to make up for the absence of your family, but at the same time shielded yourself from anything too new. And lastly, desperation for a semblance of stability. You craved stability, a constant to lean on.

“I am always here. I am always within you and you within me.”

“I never felt your presence. I was alone because of you.”

“When did you try to find me, hm? You buried me with your parents, little one. You abandoned me when you lost hope and turned to desperation for survival.”

“And what would you have done? What would you have done differently, oh pious one?! Be one with the Force and the Force will be with you? Not so easy when everything in your life was taken from you!”

Your voice was shrill, screaming out at him. You threw years of suppressed rage at him.

“You have done nothing wrong. Everything is worth doing to learn from the experience and to become your true self.”

You had forgotten how annoyingly simple and cryptic Bendu’s lessons were. Full of fables that could be many things, depending on one’s interpretation and mood that particular day. You huffed in annoyance, accepting his non-response. You allowed your emotions to flow out of you and let go of them, for now. Frustration simmered, just at the surface, but you tried to focus on the present instead of your past. There was still hope. Bendu smiled knowingly. You ignored his reaction, wanting to get to the point of this meeting.

“Why choose me? I thought you didn’t choose sides, a true pacifist.”

His booming voice rattled your skull, “If the sith were to bring balance, I’d choose them. If the Jedi were to bring balance, then they would be my choice. And if a beggar were to bring balance, then I’d happily choose them.”

“I am just a means to an end for you too then?” The frustration ebbed and in flowed the sadness. What was the point of all of this? What was the point of life?

“Life, my child, can always be simplified to just that, but it can be so much more, it is just up to you to forge it to your liking.”

“But you must bring back balance through me first?”

“I must maintain balance through you.”

“And how might we do that?”

“I help you and you keep a promise.”

“How would you help me?”

“Enhance your fighting abilities and give you more stamina so that you can finish the protective boundary just in time to meet the enemy at the gates.”

“But, the promise is the catch, right?”

“Yes, indeed my child, the promise is the catch.”

----------◈----------

Paz’s flamethrower ignited, scorching the skin underneath the layer of scales. The screams would have normally tortured Din, but tonight he was out for blood. He watched as the trandoshan burned alive as Paz doused it in flames. The smell assaulted him, but he was able to filter out most of it through his helmet, though he did feel the heat. His beskar armor warmed as the creature burned. Everything else around it was burned, a neat circle of black. As the body smoldered, Din knelt down by its head, which Paz had expertly avoided for him. Din looked into the lifeless eyes of the trandoshan as he cut its head with his blade. A trophy to send back to their leader. Din’s attention quickly turned to you as he heard a groan.

With the head in tow, he made his way over to you. He took in your small form, trying to sit up. Paz rushed over and helped you.

“How do you feel?” They both said in unison as you bleakly pried your eyes open.

“We have to make it to the gates within a week’s time,” you croaked out as Paz helped you up.

“How do you know that?” 

“Bendu, he visited me. Helped me power up. Did you get the same information from the spy?”

Din and Paz nodded. You thought you would’ve felt better after Bendu’s visit, but your energy was still way down…and the dread of the promise weighed heavy on your heart.

“I need to soak for a bit and then we can start moving.” You regarded the head of the spy that Din held.

“Can you call a bird to be a messenger for me?” You could still feel the sharpness of Din’s fury. You decided to not poke the bear and called a vulture.

“A vulture, a bringer of new beginnings.” You watched as the vulture pecked at the head for a bit, eating the eye of the spy. “And the scavenger of the dead.” You willed it to find the trandoshan encampment and deliver the head back to its people.

As it rose into the sky, you gingerly climbed into the creek to soak. You watched as Din and Paz refreshed their water supply, finally tilted your head back to the heavens to regard the bird. It was time to prepare for battle.

“The vulture, a malicious spirit that brings death with them.”

You and the Sith circled each other like predators waiting to strike. As you kept an eye on it, you concentrated on the fire, feeling its chaotic energy course through you. You had more capacity to tape into it now since Paz and Din had really done their job well. Honestly you couldn’t remember much, but you felt great; the best you’ve felt on the trip. You decided to try out the fire. You had never played with fire, so why not start now?

You used the force to snap the top of a tree towards the Sith and shot a stream of fire from your hand towards them both. The branch caught fire and you pushed it towards the lich. You grinned as its black cloak started to shrivel from the flames. The fire streaming from your hands felt right. You watched as the fire engulfs the lich. As the fire obscured your view from the lich, you turned back to Din and Paz to say some smartass comment. Before you could get it out, you felt a white-hot pain shoot up your back.

You screamed out as you fell to your knees, panting from the pain. You were pushed to your hands and knees as the pain intensified. You watched as your hands sunk into the moss below you as the force from the lightning pushed you into the ground. You hung your head so you could see the lich behind you.

It had completely transformed. Gone were the bones and rotting flesh concealed by the billowing cloak. Now, a giant projection of a tall skeleton towered over the trees. What should have been dark eye sockets instead were bright with deafening light that was blinding. A booming voice fanned out from it. “Come now, witch. Surrender and I will show you mercy. I will kill you quickly.”

“Nah, I’m good. I don’t mind the pain.” You yelped as it pushed you further to the ground, causing you to fall and lay prone. You could feel your energy quickly draining from you. But you could feel something else. Something close to the earth. You instinctively turned your head and saw one of those damn mushrooms. You scoured at it, but then you realized that they were the only reason why you even had a chance against this Sith lich. Perhaps it could help you again.

You closed your eyes and tried to focus on it. The electricity arched and you could hear the lich’s horrible cackle, but you could feel the mushrooms. It was a slow and steady energy, one that could be easily missed. But there was so much more of it. They were all connected and communicating with each other. You could feel their network surge with energy as you slowly started to tape into it. As you focused on it, you were able to turn around and wrap your hand around the electricity coming from the lich. You used it as a rope to help you get up.

“Impossible!” The lich tried to intensify its power surging towards you, but the mushrooms gave you more capacity to absorb its energy, which, funnily enough, is what a lich usually does. The lich watched in horror as you slowly started to raise up till you were standing fully. Floating, you moved towards the lich. Three streams of energy were being taken into your body: the white electricity from the lich, orange flame from your fire, and pure violet energy from the mushrooms. You took a deep revitalizing breath while you felt the lich completely lose control of the Force, allowing you to absorb everything it had.

But you knew that wouldn’t be enough. You knew that you needed to wipe the lich out completely. Using its power against itself, you focused on absorbing it completely while pushing the lich down with the Force. The huge figure toppled to the forest floor, shaking the ground, and taking down trees with it. All the gathered animals scattered. You rose above it, shooting a lethal combination of energy from your palms to its face.

Din and Paz watched, terrified at the aura surrounding you. Violet, orange, and white mist swirled and quaked around you, surging and twirling, increasing speed the longer you held the lich down.  But Din focused on your face. You looked focused, determined, and angry. Sweat seeped from your face, but you were incredibly concentrated. You held your arms straight with your hands flexed, spreading your fingers wide. They lightly trembled from the effort, but he knew you would make it. Your pupils were dilated, and the violet energy swirled within them.

And with a final effort, you screamed as you pushed everything you had at the lich. That pushed it further into the ground, forming a crater around it. You floated further up from the effort. The aura surrounding you changed to a black whirling mess, arching, and spitting energy. Your eyes turned completely black, and you smiled as you felt the lich’s spirit slip. You were fighting fire with fire. You felt the new energy of the dark side surge within you. You knew somehow that this was the only way to completely destroy the lich. Skirting between the dark and the light was your specialty, a trait that neither the Sith or the Jedi could execute or handle.

As you somehow increased your output even more, you felt a subtle pop, signaling that its spirit was released from its body. It was weak, and therefore easy to catch and to keep in an enchanted bottle of yours. You had no idea what you’d do with it, but for now, you’d just keep it.

As you lowered yourself to the ground, Din and Paz jetted over to meet you. Surprisingly, you felt better than ever, like you could do it all over again.

“That was incredible.” Din draped a blanket over your shoulders as Paz lifted a canteen of water to your lips.

“Yes…I feel changed though.” You couldn’t quite put your finger on why.

“For the better? Perhaps from the mushrooms?” Paz tilted the canteen upwards, encouraging you to drink more. You gulped it down and turned towards the Jedi Temple. The forest looked and felt different. More moonlight was coming through the canopy, the air didn’t feel as heavy, and the mushrooms were gone.

“Yes, I think the mushrooms…,” you trailed off as you thought. You looked deeply into yourself. What was different? In full force, you could feel all the trees growing, the insects crawling, the microbes in the soil munching, and even the wind currents up above surging. Your capacity to feel and accept energy had increased. It no longer felt overwhelming to focus on the Force that resided within all beings, even mother nature itself.

 “I think I can absorb and give the Force more easily now. And in more volume.” You tested your method out on a sapling. You focused on pulling its life from it. Soon, the leaves wilted, turning brown and falling off, the stem shriveled as all life was sapped from it. You could feel it reside within you. But then you were able to push it back, bringing it back to life, and more. The stem righted itself, new leaves sprouted, and the sapling transformed to a tree that towered over the rest.

“Unbelievable.” Din whispered as he turned back to you. You were grinning from ear to ear.

“Can we stay at the Jedi Temple for the rest of the night?” You were curious to see it since you’ve never been to one before.

Din and Paz scanned the forest for mushrooms, but you knew there were none. You couldn’t feel them anymore. You must’ve absorbed them all. “It’s safe,” you all three stated in unison. You giggled and strode into the forest as they followed behind you.

As you approached, you could feel the forest singing. The wind danced through the canopy, squirrels bounced around while playing with each other, birds chattered and flirted, and butterflies circled around you, as if they were thanking you. It seemed that those mushrooms had been draining all the Force from everything it could, not just force wielders. You weren’t exactly sure where you were going, but you decided to follow the raven who was watching you in the nearby tree.

“Take me to the Jedi Temple, please.”

She cocked her head and gave a quick nod before flitting to the next tree. She slowly took you north, tree to tree. Paz and Din quietly watched as you conversated with the bird. They had come to realize that you had a special way with animals.

Soon, the raven brought you to a clearing in the forest right up against a giant mountain that you had seen on the map, but was obstructed this whole time from the impenetrable forest. You stopped to marvel at the temple. The raven didn’t wait and swooped into the temple, which was carved into the stone mountain. The mountain was barren of vegetation, just gray stone that jutted up from the grassy ground and towered over the dense forest.

The carvings in the mountain were subtle, almost as if they did not want to be found, but you could see them no less. It was a constellation of various lightsaber maneuvers, starting with the most basic, the ready position, to more challenging parries and but mostly counter attacks, such as mou kei, dismembering your enemy.

“It seems that this temple was dedicated to form five of the Jedi Order, Djem So.”

“How can you tell?”

You pointed up to some of the more intermediate techniques, “See how quickly the forms become aggressive? Also, the focus on lightsaber dueling and pressing as much as possible for the offense. Brute strength is the focus for this style.”

Din watched you as you pointed at the mountain. He could tell that you knew all of this well, as if it was right at the front of the mind, not buried deep. “Why do you know all of this?”

You smiled as you turned to him. You could tell that he was curious. “Witches study other force wielders for our survival. Like I’ve said before, Jedi are no peacekeepers. They are lethal, just like the Sith and they sometimes saw us as a similar threat.” You trusted no one, not even the Jedi. They are just as capable of atrocities.

You finally followed the raven into the temple. She waited for you in the doorway, cawing at you to quicken your step. You laughed as she hopped inside, telling you to follow her. As you walked in, your eyes were immediately drawn to the incredibly tall ceilings that must’ve reached the top of the mountain since light was streaming in through the carvings. Carvings of various lightsaber positions were scattered above you. It seemed that the entire mountain had been carved out. Various platforms were along the insides of the mountain, almost like a staircase, allowing for multiple duals to happen simultaneously. A stream of water trickled into the cavern at the far end, where the raven had flown to. It filled the space with its continual gurgling. You walked over as you kept looking up at the largest caverns you’ve ever seen. You felt dwarfed by the mountain, but you guessed that that was the point. Insignificance was an important feeling. You dipped your fingers into the pool of water, the rock carved into a series of bowls, allowing the water to over fill each and run into the next.

“A symbol of continual knowledge. That is one thing the Jedi were invested in. Passing on knowledge.” You cupped your hands and drank.

“Want to set up camp inside?” Din watched you as you sat and drank your fill. You shook your head as you gulped down another handful of water.

“No, let’s set up the tent just outside. I’d like to see the stars.”

Din smiled. He remembered the first night he had spent at your cottage, and how you had said the same thing. He didn’t protest this time though. You both were finally on better terms.

You wandered back outside to help Paz make a fire outside the tent, while Din set up the tent. Cinder accompanied him on his shoulders. The horses found dead branches and dragged them over to the fire that you had just started. Paz piled them on and started to set out food to prep and cook. Din brought out some bedding to lay around the fire. You watched as the clouds in the sky soon turned from white to bubblegum pink and rosy peach as the sunset.

As the night drew on, chatter started to die down, and the stars started to reveal themselves. You could feel that Din had a question on his mind. You rolled your head to him, teasingly gazing at him. “Spit it out, tin can.”

He sputtered as he finished taking a gulp of water. It dribbled out, but he pushed his helmet down and faced you. You giggled as he composed himself again.

“I…um…I guess my mind was wandering back to the mushrooms. Do you remember anything?”

“No, not really, but I felt really strong when fighting the lich, well except when it had pushed me down to the ground and was sucking the life force out of me!” You laid back to gaze at the sky and fell deep into thought about that fight.

“I’ve never fought anything like that before in my life. I should’ve been more scared, but I wasn’t. I was just angry.”

“Nothing wrong with being fearless, just have to remember to watch your back,” Paz said to you as he handed you some roasted vegetables. You sat up and took the food, giving Paz a nod and a grateful smile.

“Yeah, I know. I was starting to get cocky.”

“Regardless, you still did well.” Din had moved closer, placing his hand on your shoulder to show that he meant it. You hadn’t been this close to him since the fight. You hated to admit it, but him being close made it hard for you to focus on anything but him. His looming figure dwarfed you even while both of you sat next to each other. You busied yourself with the food.

Do you think you’re more capable of taking in power now?”

“Yep, for sure. It feels as if my capacity has increased for the Force. I should be able to go longer each day now. I don’t understand it at all though.”

“So how will you charge up or do you just feel fully rejuvenated every day?” Din was asking a lot of questions. He hadn’t been like this since he first came into your home. You knew he was trying to get at something, but you weren’t quite sure what.

“Sleep does help, but I think now I will need to do additional things.”

“Like what? Are you going to sap life from living things.”

“No, that would make me no better than the lich. I will try to find sources of continual Force, like running water, rain, lightning, fire, wind currents or even the ocean.”

“And if there is none of those opportunities, then what?”

“Well, I guess I’m out of luck then.” At this point you were getting slightly annoyed with all the questioning. Paz seemed to notice, so he decided to help you along.

“Sweetie, I think you’re forgetting about something.” He didn’t look at you while he continued to cook, but you guessed he could see your lost expression. “Din and I can affect your fire, can’t we?” Your eyes widened in realization. That was the one thing you did remember while under the effect of the mushrooms. Every thrust, every kiss, and every bite made the flames in the tent jump in excitement.

“Perhaps, we could…help you on those days when no sources of continual Force are present?” You turned back to Din. He was leaning closer to you now, propping himself up on his hands.

“Um, yeah! That could work.” You suddenly felt shy, but you weren’t sure why. Their doting attention always caught you off guard. You looked down at your hands, trying your best to not feel overwhelmed.

“Only when you want it, little one.” Now Paz was looking at you. You could sense that he wanted to ensure that you understood that they were not imposing on you.

“Yes, of course,” you whispered. “I think it would be nice, you know, to just not have to worry about it…on some days when I’m really exhausted.” You watched as Paz started to pack away the cooked food and clean up.

“That’s exactly what we were thinking. Only when you need it…or want it.”

“Mhm, that sounds…nice.” You could sense that Din still had a lingering question, one that he was hesitant to ask, as if he wasn’t sure if this was an opportune time to ask it. You didn’t care though. “Din, come on, ask me. What are you really thinking?” You nervously waited.

He paused, took a big breath, and scooted a bit closer to you.

“I was wondering, actually…we were wondering if…what would happen if, you…if we took you at the same time?”

Your eyebrows shot up and you sat up from your lounging position that you had assumed to gaze back at the stars.

“You mean to say, if you both took me sexually, correct? What would happen to me and the Force?”

Paz spoke up next, “Yes, would you be receptive to that?”

Both of them stared at you with their undivided attention. There was tension in the air, like a string about to snap. You resisted shrinking back into yourself.

“Yes, I would be, but…we would have to start slow. Taking turns would probably be best.” You fidgeted, fingering your favorite blanket that you were wrapped in. Din took your hand in his. “You do not have to do this, not now if you don’t want to.” He held your hand, rubbing softly into it, inviting it to relax.

“I know, but I’ve been thinking about this too and not just for the Force, but um for pleasure too.”

“Same,” Paz huffed.

“Likewise,” Din whispered.

“Glad we’re all on the same page.” You chuckled nervously and looked down at your hands. What if you weren’t good enough for them? What would happen if you couldn’t take both of them at the same time? What if-

“Little witch, we will start slow. You’re fully in charge, okay?”

“Okay,” you whispered as you darted your eyes up to glance at Paz. 

“I’m going to guess that the trickle of water in the temple is too little for you to rejuvenate yourself. Would it be best to do this in the morning or at night?” Din, always so practical it killed you sometimes.

“Why not both?”

“Sweetness, I thought you wanted to start slow?” Paz genuinely sounded concerned.

“Well, we can go slow during sex. That’s what I meant.” Heat rose to your cheeks. You felt judged even though you knew they were on board with it.

Din chuckled. “Alright, we will go set up the tent, so we have some privacy. Just relax in the meantime.”

“No, wait! Um- could we do it here? I can cast a spell to blacken the sky and you both could take off your helmets.” You wanted their lips on you again. You just had vague memories of their lips. You wanted to replace them with stark memories, memories that would make you tremble with desire.

They hesitated. “I can dim the fire out here, just to embers so we can still somewhat see each other, but not too much. The fire in the tent…well I can’t control that, but we can keep the flaps open to cast some light out here. I can send the animals into the temple. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”

“Alright, that works. We can-”

Before they could finish, you cast a spell to roll back the flaps of the tent and you told Cinder and the horses to shelter in the temple for tonight. Din and Paz watched as Cinder rode on the back of Nimue with Paz’s horse in the lead. Paz turned back to you.

“Someone is eager to start.” You could tell he was cheekily grinning. You just narrowed your eyes at him.

You watched as they strode to you. Though your eyes were on them, you focused on the fire next to you. You absorbed some of its energy, just so the embers were smoldering. You turned towards Din as he sat down next to you.

“You’re getting to be quite good at that.”

You looked up at the sky full of stars. “Yeah, it’s getting easier to control thankfully.” Such a shame to put them out, but it’s just temporary. You closed your eyes with your head turned towards the heavens. You chanted a spell, willing the sky to blacken. You could feel Din’s nimble hands start to undo your buttons at the front of your shirt. You felt the warmth of Paz at your back. He brushed your hair away from your neck and skirted his lips along your skin leaving a path of goosebumps in their wake.

You opened your eyes to a pitch-black sky. Seems like the spell had taken well, even the stubborn moon was behaving. You heard the release of pressure as Din took his helmet off. He had finished the buttons. You turned towards the embers of the fire as he molded his lips around one of your nipples. Paz pinched the other while continuing to kiss along the column of your neck.

“Is the fire okay? Is it emitting too much light still?” You were having a hard time giving in, letting go. You fought against being consumed by their touch. Why? Why resist any longer? Something in you was still holding out, still wanting to fight. What if you became too dependent on them? What if you couldn’t live without them?

Din brushed his hand up against your cheek, catching it gently and curling his fingers around the base of your head.

“Stop fussing. It’s perfect. Come, lay with us.”

He pulled you in for a slow kiss as he guided you down to lay on the many blankets and cushions that he had brought out for you. Paz glided his hand from your breast down to your hips while nibbling on your ear.

“Such a good pet,” he muttered as he started to slowly rid you of your skirt. Din helped by lifting your hips. You whined into Din’s mouth as Paz slid his fingers along your soaked slit. He took his time getting to your clit.

“Paz, please!”

“Already reduced to begging, sweetheart? Oh, such a poor thing.”

Between kisses, Din huffed out, “Give her what she wants, Paz.”

“Yes, my king.”

As Paz started to slowly circle your clit with his fingertip and give you a love bite on your neck, Din wrapped your top leg around his waist, allowing Paz to have better access to your core.

“I’m going to slip a finger in, alright love?” Paz mumbled between kisses along your neck. He gathered some of your hair to angle your head so he could more easily lick along your neck. You cried out at his ministrations, unable to form a sentence.

Din lightly tapped your cheek, getting your attention. “Use your words.” His voice was commanding, making you desperately clench around nothing. He held your chin in his large hand. You could see the outline of his eyelashes from the fire light streaming out from the tent. He was looking at your lips.

You decided to tease him by biting your lip. He squeezed your chin in retaliation. “Words, use them.” You crumbled under him.

“Paz, p-please finger me.”

As Paz pushed his thick finger into your dripping cunt, Din thrust his tongue into your mouth, licking inside. He muffled your whimpers with his mouth as he started to rub your clit.

“So tight for us, sweetie. Love how you clench around my finger.”

“Add another, please Paz. Please add another.”

Paz chuckled, but before he could say anything Din muttered, “Do it.”

Paz followed orders and pushed another finger in. You gasped as Din moved down back to your nipples, sucking and pinching both. You tangled your fingers into his hair, scratching at his scalp, pulling him in, inviting him to suck harder.

You could hear the squelching noise of your pussy as Paz rubbed his fingers into your g spot, making you whine with pleasure. Din continued to hold your leg up, allowing Paz to go deeper. Soon enough, his two fingers weren’t enough.

“Please, one more.”

This time, Paz had nothing snarky to say, too far gone into enjoying your body. Pushing a third finger in made you moan. You felt something velvet on your clit and you cried out in shock. Your hands went to investigate and found a thick head of hair nestled right at your pussy. You pulled his hair out of pleasure and Din grunted as he continued to lap at your clit.

Din pushed his head to you and held your legs around his head, completely encasing himself in you. He and Paz could feel you trying to push your hips way from Din, fighting them giving you pleasure.

“No no, sweetheart. That won’t do,” Paz whispered in your ear as he used his hips to push your core more into Din’s face. Din groaned out as your clit was pushed onto his tongue. You whined and arched your back into Paz, feeling his rock-hard cock against your ass. He continued to stuff you full with his fingers.

“Don’t fight it, love. Let us take you there. Just let go,” whispered Paz as he curled his fingers into your g spot. You felt a surge of energy moving through you. It was rapidly building, so much so that you could not control it.

“That’s it, honey. Clench around me. You love being between us, don’t you? You deserve this, I promise.”

You cried out as your orgasm surged through you, radiating from your center to your extremities. You felt light as both Din and Paz kissed along your body, muttering praises into your flushed skin. You whined and shifted, but they shushed and reassured you.

You lazily laid your head back against Paz. You felt spoiled by them, but you decided to soak it in. “Use me,” you muttered to them both as they continued to worship your body. Paz was kissing along your shoulder and Din was gently sucking on your nipples.

No other sentences were exchanged as they followed your command. You gasped into Din’s kiss as Paz took you from behind, holding your leg up to your side to allow himself to be seated deep inside you. They took turns with you, as one fucked you, the other would cover your body with kisses, making sure to help you finish by stroking your clit. You could just make out the flickering orange outline of them taking you over and over again. You relished in the feeling of each of them pushing each other’s cum back inside you, filling you up each time.

You had lost count, but finally Paz settled down with his cock nestled deep inside you. You could feel him twitch as the last of his cum spurted deep into you. Din lazily kissed up your body, from your thighs to your belly and chest, up your neck and finally to your lips. Paz pressed light kisses to your neck as you cockwarmed him.

“How do you feel?” Din lightly stroked your cheek with his thumb as he looked at you.

“I’m buzzing with energy right now. Not sure if I’ll be able to sleep…perhaps we should’ve saved this for the morning?”

“Why not both?” Paz threw your words back at you as he kissed your shoulder. You could feel the curl of his smile on your skin.

“Always good to experiment, right?” Din muttered as he pressed his lips against yours. “Mhm,” you hummed into him. 

But you did feel exhausted. With time, you’d be able to separate your energy with the Force. For now, you just focused on the feelings of the two men you were sandwiched between. They were exhausted, but filled with immense pleasure.

As you focused on their energy, you felt your eyes droop. You rested your head against Din’s chest. He petted your hair and tugged your leg closer to his waist.

“Can I sleep with my cock inside you?” Paz yawned as he finished his question.

You giggled and told him he could. You had never felt so safe before. You could get used to this.

Author's note: I often go back and read through comments to motivate myself to keep on writing. Any interaction is great, but comments mean the most to me. It could legit just be an incomplete sentence about your favorite part! Thanks for reading! 😍

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You were trying your best to focus on grounding up some herbs and other ingredients in your mortar and pestle for your client’s healing potion, but Cinder, your lothcat, had other plans. You could see her out of the corner of your eye winding up to jump onto the Mandalorian.

“Stop that! You’re going to scare him awake!”, you hissed at her as you jumped up, snatched her and plopped her on to your bed just a few feet away from the new bed you made for your unexpected guest.

Your cottage was a small, lean-to structure you made yourself from the surrounding forest, with a chimney made out of river stone, a small deck outside and a lovely garden. Now that you thought about it, the garden had a larger footprint than your house. That made you smile. You couldn’t help yourself really, when you had found the natural meadow that had plenty of sunlight, you had to build a nice large garden to take advantage of all that space. You had purposely positioned your cottage in the shade of the forest though, so it would stay cool. The high windows near the ceiling helped too, allowing natural ventilation to do its magic.

Thankfully, you had built another bedframe and had gotten more bedding, just in case you ever had a visitor who wanted/needed to stay the night. You had just had the feeling one day that you needed to be ready. Guess this is the reason. Not a ton of room left in your one room house, but you could make due. You were sitting at the front of your house, at your kitchen/work table, trying to finish up the potion. Cinder was finally accepting that she was not allowed to sleep on or with the guest, so that meant you could finish up your work. You poured your grounded herbs and a few pieces of barley leaves used to make bacta into your caldron over your open fire in the chimney. After some persistent stirring and a few enchantments later, the potion was ready. You let it cool and then poured it into one of your repurposed milk glasses. You left it by your front door in a brown paper bag next to all of the other potions you had made for your clients. You would bring them into town in about a week. The Mandalorian needed time to heal before he was ready to be moved.

Now that that was done, you really needed to organize all of your dried herbs that were hanging from the ceiling, cut up and dry the large beautiful cauliflower mushroom you harvested and also probably rearrange your altar too. That was super messy, plus you needed to change some stuff out with summer finally being here and all. But once again, motherfucking Cinder had other plans. Just as you were turning, she jumped onto the Mandalorian and settled down to sleep on his chest. Ugh, okay well at least he was still sleeping? The enchantments you cast last night should be wearing off soonish though.

You decided to just busy yourself with your dried herbs and trying desperately to organize your working space. An hour or so went by as you slowly got everything tidied up. It had really gotten out of hand since you went ham on your garden. You were pretty siked about your garden, had gotten a lot of good seeds from nearby farmers and had successfully harvested some baby plants along with some cool mushrooms from the forest too, so you had another garden right behind your house in the forest since they needed more shade. You wanted to go outside and work, but you didn’t want to let the Mandalorian be by himself…

Who knows how he would be once he wakes up. You made sure to disarm him before you went to bed last night, but you are pretty doubtful that will make much of a difference...honestly you took off all of his armor, furs and clothes because they were so fucking wet and disgusting from the storm. No way you were going to let such a mess in your house. You had washed his clothes and furs in the creek this morning and hung them up to dry outside. You had also scrubbed and washed all of his armor in the nearby creek. You had waxed it too to get the armor set to shine.

You kept his helmet on though, because you knew of another Mandalorian in the area that kept his helmet on all the time too. Also, you were decent enough to leave his underwear in tack, though you were tempted to do otherwise, because maker above his body was wonderland. Full of scars and tats over taunt firm muscles. Enough to make a grown woman cry. You had wanted to look at the tats more, but decided it was not respectful of his privacy, so you had just laid him in your guest bed and covered him in your favorite blanket.

Cinder decided to get up and stretch her little chicken legs. The change in pressure on his chest must have been enough to wake him because he moved his head a little and then woosh, he was up in an instant, knocking a few things over in the cluttered space, hectically looking around, right hand automatically going for his blaster which was nowhere to be found. You could feel the utter chaotic energy wafting off of him, building up your anxiety. You actively had to block him out, so you could stay in control. You tried to calm his nerves, but he did not like that one bit and he pushed back instantly when he felt you trying to get in. You had made yourself known. He turned around to you in an instant and marched up to you, grabbing your neck and pushing you back against your kitchen table. Your humble table decorations, a small basket full of adorable tiny pine cones, went flying to the floor.

His muscles rippled as he gripped your neck with crippling strength. How the fuck did he move so fast? You had to set one of his bones in his lower left leg last night, he probably had a concussion and you’re pretty sure his back is fucked up. No way he was not in pain right now. Your eyes started to water as his grip tightened even more as his visor took you in. You clawed at his hand and bare chest, trying to break free with no success.

“Who are you?”

Utter anger was rolling off of him and you tried your best to cower away. You croaked out your name for him.

“Where am I?”

That was a question you wanted to avoid. You needed to keep the location of your home secret to all. It is how you have kept your well being, safety and autonomy to yourself. Him ending up so close to your home during that horrible storm was why you had conjured up your wolf disguise. You were scared someone had found you. Your moral compass had led you to save him, even though it might compromise your anonymity and privacy. You knew what he wanted, but you could spin this in another way.

“You are in my home. I am no threat to you obviously, so please let me go! You are hurting me!”

That seemed to do the trick. He let go almost automatically. You gasped holding your neck as you were able to breathe freely now. Wow, he definitely was leaving a bruise around your whole fucking neck. Should have tied him up when you had the chance. You shrank down to sit, huddled at the base of your kitchen table. Tears started to flow as you looked down at your hands, realizing how helpless you felt underneath his clutches. Sure, you were a witch and a healer, but you were no sorcerer. You had been taught to heal and to conceal, not to fight.

Once you had reflected enough, you looked up and found him watching you from the guest bed. He sat still just watching you. Not knowing what else to do, you looked away and hauled yourself up and slowly started to pick up the tiny pinecones, putting them back into their basket.

“I am sorry...I-I just didn’t know what was happening. I just was so at peace, but it felt wrong-almost dangerous…did I-did I hurt you…?”

He talked to you so softly, as if he already knew the answer to his own question. He sounded confused and vulnerable. His energy had shifted again to a simmer, questioning almost. Ready to burst again, but it was under control now. As you finished your task, you faced him, still weary of him, you kept your distance, cowered away a little. You sniffed and answered him, with a low voice so as not to startle him anymore.

“I had cast a healing spell over you to help you recover and sleep. That is why you felt at peace...plus you are safe here.”

You looked at him some more. His bare chest was breathing evenly now, his arms were propped on his muscular thighs...fuck his lower leg was bleeding again. You were going to have to fix that.

“How can you be so certain?”

Hm he was not phased by hearing the word ‘spell’? So he was not completely oblivious.

“I put up several protective enchantments around the perimeter of my home...keeps everything I don’t want out.”

“...So why am I here? Do you want me?”

Maker, what a question that was. You looked away from him and turned to hide your blushing. You started to gather supplies to stop the bleeding from his leg. This hulking, tatted man just asked if you wanted him. While him choking you had hurt and scared the shit out of you, it also allowed you to imagine how he would fuck...You could reply in some snarky sexual way and spike the sexual tension through the roof, but you decided against it. You cleared your throat.

“I felt when you butted up against the protective enchantments...and I went out to investigate and found you, injured, so I brought you back here, to heal you. May I look at your wound? It seems to be bleeding again.”

He just gave a short nod and you walked slowly over and knelt down at the base of the bed, slowly unwrapping the gauges. Don’t look up at him, just fucking focus on the wound. You could feel the gears turning in his head as you unwrapped the bloodied gauges.

“You were the wolf?”

You dapped at the excess blood and smoothed some bacta over his wound and wrapped new gauges around the wound. You got up quickly and went back to the table, since you still wanted to keep your distance from him.

“Yes, I was the wolf. I didn’t know what I was going to face out there, so I put on a cloaking disguise.”

“The ground was shaking as you were walking...how were you able to move me here?”

So many questions. He really just wanted to know everything. No secrets at all. Seeing how he could easily control you, you answered out of fear.

“I um...the cloaking incantation allows me to take on the strength of the disguise if I so choose. I decided to, just to be safe.”

You answered as a whisper. You hadn’t told anyone, let alone a total stranger, anything about your abilities. The village nearby just knew you as an old wizard, that you disguise yourself as, that brought healing ointments and potions and occasionally treated any illness that popped up. None of them knew who you really were, what you were actually capable of. Telling all of them to the Mandalorian quite frankly scared you. Who else would he tell? Maybe taking him in was a mistake...but it was the right thing to do. It had to have been. You willed your fliting mind to focus on one thing at a time.

You re-assisted his energy, and he was completely calm. You chanced a glance at him and found him petting Cinder who had settled next to him. It did not look like he felt threatened by you anymore. He really needed to rest.

“Please lay down and rest. You need time to heal. Your clothes are drying outside and your armor is at the foot of the bed. I will be in the garden outside. That should give you some privacy.” You left before he could say anything more. You needed to clear your head and the best way to do that was to pull up the annoying weeds in your garden. You were feeling panicked since your livelihood was at stake, your paradise had been intruded upon by a man that you instantly felt attracted to. But, said man could easily turn you in and could even kill you, if he wanted. All of your emotions were jumbled up, you were feeling so overwhelmed.

There was such a harsh stigma about witches which often made you feared for your life, hence why you always hid your true self from others and made finding your home impossible for anyone. You were ready to live out your days like this. Isolated from all humans, besides when you made the trek into the village. Humans seemed to mess up the balance of everything. Only caused turmoil and chaos. You were content with your gardens, your home, the nearby creek and the forest creatures that you had befriended. The surrounding people had only caused your kind pain, suffering and ultimately their near extinction. Who knew if there were any others like you out there. You had tried looking, but only found emptiness and loneliness. You could not live your life like that, so you decided to stop looking and hoping. You decided to start living. So far, everything was going well, until he showed up… You could feel yourself piling on anxiety; you needed to breathe and just think of the positives right now. Just focus on pulling weeds till it’s midday, then you would face him again. You thought of the evermoving creek, your source of water and where you fished for Cinder. You thought of the wolves that you had befriended, allowing them to sleep in your protected perimeter so the hunters couldn’t find them. You thought of the flock of ravens that hung out with you while you gardened. They seemed to like your company and likewise. Lastly, you thought of the stars above and how you could see them so well from your home. Occasionally, you would sleep under them just to celebrate them and your life that you loved. Kind of like an appreciation slumber party with the universe. You were often accompanied by all of your forest friends as well. You made up your mind to just sleep outside while the Mandalorian was here, so the both of you wouldn’t feel threatened by each other. You needed space and it was just too damn crowded in your home.

You slowly came back to reality, as the midday heat set in, sweat stinging your eyes. You felt better, more at peace. You needed to take this whole thing one step at a time. The next step was to eat lunch...that meant facing Mando again, but he was probably starving. You made your way back to your house. You found him lying on his bed, petting Cinder who was nestled on his chest, purring contently.

You busied yourself with getting the food ready. You made Mando a plate of mashed potatoes, roasted beets and all the jerky you had made from the rabbit the wolves had given you. He must have seen you making lunch because he shifted, gently pushing Cinder to the side of his bed and he sat up fully.

“Can I help in any way?”

He was trying to be nice, a gentleman, but you bit back in resentment. The built up frustration of the situation bubbling up, hitting you full force. You responded immediately, with a harsh tone.

“No. You need to stay in bed and heal.”

You finished making your plate and brought his to him. He nodded in thanks as you pushed it towards him. You couldn’t even look at him. He had no idea why you were pissed, but he did not deserve an explanation either way.

“I will eat outside so you have privacy to take off your helmet. I’ll make sure to knock before I enter.”

And with that, you left again before he could say anything to you. You sat on your porch and ate. You were fine, right? Yep you were fine mhm- damn it, tears started to flow. Your anxiety skyrocketed. You kept on eating while you broke down. You were scared out of your mind. What were you going to do with him? The logical answer was to bring him to the village, to the other Mandalorian who was stationed there. But what if they accused you of kidnapping him? What if they threatened your life? Fuck, what if-

Your favorite raven flew up to you and cocked his head at you, as if he could tell you were stressed the fuck out. You giggled, a wet sad giggle as the raven watched you. You gave him a beet to peck at while you continued to eat, while the tears flowed. The raven stayed with you even after he finished his beet, as if he knew you needed the company. You silently thanked him, as you finished up your food, trying to control your hectic state of being. You decided to wait a bit and to give Mando some time to finish his food. You still had a few potions and ointments you needed to at least start on, and you wanted to work on your quilt too. Giving Mando a little more time, you collected his clothes and furs from the laundry line on the side of your house, folding them neatly.

You knocked and waited a bit before you entered. You didn’t even look his way, wanting desperately to just work on a few tasks, just completely ignore the elephant in the room. You set your plate down and moved cautiously towards Mando, to give him his clothes and to take his plate from him. No food was left at all, which was good. It would help him heal faster. The faster the better.

“Here are your clean clothes and furs. I stitched up the holes in your shirt for you.”

You set them on his bed and picked up his empty plate. You glanced up at him as he started to speak, but you mistakenly sniffed, bringing his attention to your redden puffy eyes and your tear-stained cheeks.

“Thank you- have you been crying? Is something wrong- why are you upset?”

You could feel his anxiety spike and he moved his arms like he wanted to get up and come to you. You backed away fast, hands trembling, afraid of what he would do next. You almost dropped the plate of his, but steadied yourself in time. You needed to keep your distance. While you feel like you could trust him, you should still be on guard, just in case. He seemed to be really good at keeping his emotions at bay and then shifting them quickly, making it hard for you to predict what he would do next. As he saw you retreat quickly, he stopped his movements and stayed still. You struggled to find your steady voice.

“I-I am fine. Just flustered from today. You need to rest. Is it okay if I work in here for now? I will try to be quiet. You should try to sleep.”

He just nodded as you began to get your oils and herbs ready for your client’s ointment.

----------◈----------

You had sheltered him, healed him, fed him and now clothed him - you even polished his armor and respected the helmet - and all he had done was choked you, really hard. He cursed his violent instinct, one that has often saved him, but now has pushed you as far away as possible. It seemed that there was no chance of forgiveness. You cried twice now because of him. Hearing your sniffles made his heart clench. He wanted to fix it - to stop it somehow. You put as much distance as possible between you and him. Your movements were slow, hesitant and cautious. You barely even chanced to look at him. He could feel the palpable fear you had towards him. The way you had quickly backed away from him, your unsteady voice...all of your reactions made him feel like a monster. Fuck, you even asked if you could work in your own home, that you so graciously welcomed him into. But he could not blame you for your actions. He had threatened you in your own home. He could see a continuous deep violet bruise forming around your neck where he had harshly gripped your fragile delicate skin. He had never received such kindness from a person before and yet was unable to reciprocate it. He felt helpless and frustrated with the situation. He wanted to make it up to you, somehow.

He watched you as you worked. He tried not to make it obvious so as not to make you anymore uncomfortable, but he was intrigued, by both your skill and your beauty. You seemed to purposely put your back to him, probably in an effort to try to forget about him. He got it, he understood. He had intruded on your sanctuary. You wanted him to heal and to get out. How long would it take? Thankfully, the council wasn’t expecting him back for another week, and his horse, Crest, was probably fine somewhere nearby in the woods. He wanted to make this up to you somehow, but maybe the best thing would be for him to leave you and let you be.

He had a feeling, deep down, that he wanted to get to know you. But, he wasn’t sure how to go about doing that. This was new territory for him. He needed to be deliberate with his intentions and actions. Maybe he could try to make amends tonight. Your bed was right next to him, would you feel comfortable enough to sleep near him?

You let Cinder catch and eat a few fish for breakfast as you forged mushrooms for eating and potion brewing, placing each mushroom in your apron pouch. You really wanted to go rock hounding for precious crystals and gems, but decided against it since you need to feed Din soon. Once Cinder was satisfied, you both headed back to your cottage and quietly tipped toed into the front section where the small kitchen was located. From what you could tell, Din was still sleeping and Cinder just joined him. You decided to work quietly on your quilt for a while to give Din some time to wake up. Making potions for your clients would cause a ruckus and you did not want to startle him awake again.

Even though you liked and preferred isolation, you still enjoyed going into the village every other week. It was a nice change of pace and you and the village established a need for each other. The village, like any village, had specific needs that couldn’t always be fulfilled by the stationed Mandalorian there or by someone else in the village, plus this village was far away from the capital and any big port, so they needed your expertise. For example, no one knew how to brew bacta, and bacta was always in high demand and this particular village was so far out of the way from the capital city that their bacta shipments were scarce. That’s where you came in. You could brew bacta for them and enhance it with your magic to make it more effective. The farmers gave you their barley and you gave the village bacta. Bacta was the most common thing, but you were well-versed in all forms of healing. You have even delivered some babies too. The most wild instance was when a villager was possessed by a nasty demon. That was an interesting night.

The village gave you access to many resources for your brewings and garden, plus it was nice to feel as if you were a part of a community, even if none of them were witches or wizards. You enjoyed chatting with the villagers, watching their children grow up and helping them when they were in need. The only one you could really relate to though was the Mandalorian who was stationed there - Paz Vizsla. He really stuck out like a sore thumb. He was a large man, decked out in armor. He looked very out of place in the village, but he had made a home there and he fit in well with the village. He was kind to you, respectful of your privacy, understanding of your hesitation when it came to your true identity and willing to let you live your life.

Every time you came into the village, you would drop off the potions and bacta to their respective clients and then go visit Paz. He always had a running list of what the village needed next and he always asked if you needed anything. He let you camp out in his backyard of his hut, which had a high fence, providing you with privacy to be yourself and not disguised as a wizard. Paz always asked if you’d like to stay with him in the hut, but you always said no. Better safe than sorry. You trusted him, but you’d rather just be by yourself. He would often sit with you in his backyard around the fire pit next to your tent. You two wouldn’t talk much, but it was nice to have his company. Cinder really liked him as well, and she was always a good judge of character.

Paz was a kind man, who always was willing to help with anything. He had even offered to help make an extension onto your house and garden since you had been thinking of expanding, but you were weary of anyone, even Paz, knowing where you lived. He understood, he understood completely in fact. He had muttered, “Our secrecy is our survival. Our survival is our strength” when he sensed your hesitation. Afterward, he said nothing else, just stared into the fire. You didn’t know where his response came from, but it reassured you that he took no offense. You looked forward to seeing Paz again, he was much more pleasant than the current Mandalorian occupying your guest bed right now.

Speaking of Din, you glanced up at him to see if he was awake. Cinder was nestled on his chest, her face right in front of his visor, purring loudly as he stroked her head. Now that he was awake, you could make some breakfast for the two of you. You brought over some fresh firewood to the fireplace, gathered some kindle and sparked it with your stone and flint. You slowly breathed into the ball of kindle until a healthy flame grew. Placing the lit kindle amongst the firewood, you slowly started to add bigger sticks and breathed into the fire, until finally the fire caught on to the logs. You brought your skillet over and heated it over the fire. You chopped up some peppers and garlic from your garden and beat some eggs with shredded cheese from the village. You make a large omelet for Din and a small one for yourself over the fire on the skillet. Thankfully, Din didn’t ask if you needed help. Maybe he was finally realizing that he needed to rest and heal. You brought him his food.

“How are you feeling? Are your injuries to your back and chest feeling better?”

He watched you intently as you walked over. Head turned, body fully facing you.

“I think they are nearly healed.” he said this as he took off his shirt to check. Sure enough, all the cuts on his chest were healed with barely any scarring and his back only had a light yellow tint where deep dark purple bruises used to be.

“Yes, they are um healing nicely.” You were flustered by the sudden flash of his deliciously tanned tatted skin and had to place his food on the bed and turn away before he even put his shirt back on.

You returned to the fire and ate your breakfast in silence, staring into the flame. Once you finished, you started to clean up.

“How is your neck? Are you going to heal yourself today?”

A slight prickle of annoyance bubbled up to the surface. Why was he so worried about you?

“It’s fine. I have too much enchanting I need to do today for my clients and your leg, so no, it’ll have to heal on its own.”

You retrieved the plates and made your way back into the kitchen to finish cleaning.

“Shouldn’t you come first before your clients?”

This time sharp frustration struck. Why should he even have an opinion on something he doesn’t understand, can’t even conceive?!

“Do not interfere with how I live my life. Why does it even matter to you anyways?” Your brow furrows as you finish up cleaning and start to transition into brewing some bacta.

“If you can heal faster, you might as well take advantage of it.” You can feel his gaze follow you, but you ignore it. You open a cupboard to find some powdered bacta that you mixed into a water-based potion you made for him yesterday. You bring it to him, looking to the side, still refusing to look at him.

“Here, drink this. It’ll help your leg heal faster. It’ll put you to sleep for a few hours. When you wake up, I’ll take a look at your leg and finish out the healing with my hands. Sweet dreams.”

You just wanted to focus on the orders you needed to fill, as well as cleaning and organizing your altar, because goodness it was a mess, plus some villagers gave you a few new crystals so you wanted to rearrange everything around them.

Silently, Mando downed the drink as you were turned away from him. A few moments later, you saw his head slowly dip as he drifted off to sleep. Finally, you were alone.

You first focused on rearranging your altar to incorporate the crystals the villagers gifted you. You also added in a small bouquet of wildflowers and some of your favorite pine cones as well. Once you were happy with the new arrangement, you moved on to the rest of the orders that the village needed: crop remedies for a farmer with nasty aphids, a potion to help a pregnant person with morning sickness and some blueberry crisps for Paz (they were his favorite). You set right to work, getting lost in thought as you built up a nice rhythm. While both the potions were brewing and the crisp was baking over the open flame, you went outside to check on the garden and harvest a few sprigs of rosemary for the crisp.

Once outside, you found your favorite ravens picking off bugs from your garden. They hopped over to greet you. You give them a silent wave and smile as you check up on your garden and cut off some rosemary. The sun is nice and bright, directly above you. You hear songbirds chattering in the wind and the surrounding tree leaves rustling...all is well and peaceful. Just as you like it, just as you have always desired. You stood with your eyes closed in the sunlight just a while longer, giving yourself a brief break, allowing yourself to sense the energy that was around you. You could feel yourself, with your to-do list in your head, your mind preoccupied; you could feel the ravens that were happily picking off bugs and enjoying their time spent with you; you could feel Cinder laying in the sun on the porch content as can be. The songbirds were content too but with a bit more urgency since mating season was coming. You could mostly feel Din in his deep sleep, his bones and torn flesh slowly healing, his subconscious still somewhat fighting sleeping in a foreign place. Lastly you felt how everything was harmoniously connected to each other by the Force, each a part representing the whole. This helped you settle your continued tumultuous feelings that you were desperately masking with your to-do list. It helped you go back into your home, and just quietly work on your quilt as you occasionally paused to watch the movement of the fire.

Once the crisp was done, you let it cool before you placed it in your icebox. You then finished off the potions and properly packaged them up. By this time, the suns were about to set soon, so you decided to prepare dinner. The wolves had brought you in another rabbit last night, so you set that up to roast over the fire, while you prepared to also roast some veggies. Just as dinner finished cooking, Din stirs. You quickly make a plate for him, knowing that he is probably starving. Fuck, you’re starving too. You had completely skipped lunch since you were way too occupied by your work.

Just as he sits up, you approach him with dinner.

“Here you go. I hope you are feeling better.” You give him a warm smile. Being alone for most of today made you realize that perhaps you had been too harsh on him, that he probably meant well. You wanted to try to start fresh.

A sluggish groggy “thank you” is all he gave you as you handed the plate to him. You giggled softly to yourself. As you were moving to go eat outside in order to give him privacy to eat, he moved suddenly, catching your attention.

“Y-you don’t have to leave. You can just turn around while we eat. I would like to hear about your day and what you did while I slept.”

You stared at him a bit in shock that he wanted to talk to you, but you obliged, not seeing any harm in it. As you settled in next to the fire, you heard his helmet hiss as he took it off. You slowly began to recount everything you did while gazing into the fire. You told him about the potions you made for the villagers and about the crisp you made for Paz. You also told him about the massive quilt that you just keep on continuously adding to and how working on it helps calm you, almost like a mediation. You sit in silence after that, just watching the fire do its evermoving dance with itself. You felt as if you were just talking to the fire, like no one else was there.

“I’m glad you stayed busy...sorry I am so useless right now.”

His unaltered voice was not what you were expecting at all. It was silk, smooth baritone, deep deep deep sinking and sitting in the space of your small house. It hung thick in the air, enveloping you. It took you a while to reply.

“That’s okay. You need to focus on healing. I can handle everything else.”

As you said this, you heard the distinct hiss of his  helmet returning to his head. You slowly got up and retrieved his plate, giving him a soft smile as you did. You placed the dishes in your wash basin in the kitchen and then moved back to him with some more of the salve you had made yesterday.

“It’s time to heal your leg. There was a clear break in the bone, this will hurt a bit more than yesterday’s healing.”

You silently moved the blanket back, got up on the bed, sat cross-legged and placed his injured leg in your lap. You removed his bandages and cleaned it with bacta. Din was relaxed, reclining on the bed. He had moved the pillows so he could be propped up to watch you work. 

Along with the bacta, you also put a big dollop of salve on his leg too. You gently worked it into the bruised skin, slowly warming up the area just with the heat from your hands. You slowly started to focus your energy more and more, effectively heating up his leg. Your eyes slipped close as you started to concentrate harder and harder. Gradually you started to whisper enchantments while you pressed down, but not too hard. This type of healing required a special type of balance, a balance with little room for error and a great need for precision.

As the energy started to build, you manifested Din’s bone connecting back together, the brittle break molding to its original form. Suddenly, you felt a brisk jolt in his leg, right where you were pressing. Din let out a grunt, but stayed completely still. You continued to chant and to rub the salve in the area, willing the bruising to heal as well. You started to de-escalate your energy and your concentration as the healing took. You continued to rub his sore muscle with the salve, encouraging blood flow. Once you were satisfied, you lifted your hands, and looked up to Din’s watchful gaze. A genuine smile crept onto your face.

“You are in a better mood today.”

Instant heat to your cheeks and a swift downward gaze were your initial response to his observation. Goodness, you must have been mean to him earlier.

“Yes, I enjoy helping people.”

“You have helped me so much...you did such a good job.”

You fidget from his praise. Others had complimented you on your work before. The villagers were always grateful, but Din’s praise just hit different. It was too much to handle so you got up suddenly.

“You should get some rest. I am going to clean up. Tomorrow, I will help you walk around.”

“I could just walk now and help you. You’ve been doing a lot for me lately.”

He was trying so hard to be a gentleman. You were definitely tempted. Him being here has put a burden on you...but he really shouldn’t risk hurting himself. Your healing was good, but you wanted him to be safe.

“No, you should sleep.”

“As you wish. Thank you again.”

You just offered him a shy smile before turning away to tend to the kitchen. Cinder immediately jumped up to Din and settled in next to him. You really wished you were Cinder.