#going hungry

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Din cocked his head. The Foundling was acting strange. He had a strange kind of scowl on his face and he was moving jerkily.

“Kid, do you have to go to the bathroom?”

The Foundling shook his head. Din wasn’t so certain. The kid looked constipated.

“What’s the matter then?”

The Child seemed to deflate. Din wracked his brain, trying to figure out what he’d done wrong now.

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“Five credits.”

Din had to hide a slump. He had enough credits to buy enough food for the Child, but once again Din would be going hungry.

In his arms, he felt the Child go stiff and...was he growling?

The male twi’lek behind the counter gave a chuckle. “Someone’s trying to be intimidating like Daddy.”

The Child’s face broke into a grin and his head bobbed up and down excitedly. Din could have smacked himself. So that’s what that was all about!

The Child quickly schooled himself and went back to being “intimidating”.

The twi’lek leaned forward. “And what about this is so important that you need to be so serious for, kiddo?”

The Child frowned in concentration before rubbing his belly and pointing to Din.

The twi’lek looked up at the very embarrassed Mandalorian. “Is that true? You not eating, Mando?”

Din did not reply and that seemed to be answer enough.

The twi’lek leaned back and stretched, before moving around his shop and putting things in a sack. “I don’t claim to know your situation, but I understand going hungry for your kid. Before the Empire fell, that was me. It was my father. I remember watching him go hungry when I was the kid’s age. It hurt.” He came back and held the bag out to Din. “I’m doing this for your kid, so don’t you dare say no.”

“Thank you.”

The twi’lek grinned. “Don’t mention it. And kiddo, at your age, being cute is more deadly than being intimidating. Practice the fatal move of ‘tooka eyes’.”

Zelda struggled to get a fire started, and inside the damp cave, she’d resorted to sleeping practically on top of Link, under the blankets he’d stollen before falling ill. She always kept one over him, and the other was often hugged around her shoulders.

The weather was cold, and she’d learned to live with a constant runny nose.

After about a week without food or fire, Zelda had begun to give up, doing little more with herself than lying on Link. But he stirred, his eyes fluttering open as he took in the figure that was crushing him.

“Zelda?”

Her eyes shot open and she pushed herself up to see him. “Yes. Yes. Hi. You’re awake.”

His mouth opened and closed several times, and she grabbed the water, holding it to his lips as he noisily gulped down several swigs. “What happened?” he finally managed.

“You have an infection in your foot. I gave you some of the herbs that the real apothecary told me, which have helped significantly, but Cole, it seems, poisoned you…  drugged you… I don’t even know. It’s just you and I. We’re hiding now in a cave.”

“Where is he?”

“Dead.”

Link groaned, trying to adjust himself before giving up and letting his head slam backwards onto the ground again. “How?”

“Me.”

“Mmmm,” he moaned before his eyes drifted shut again. She wasn’t sure he’d actually heard her at all.

Link’s brief awakening had given her a renewed energy, despite her body’s desperation for sleep and food. She was out again, and this time, found one final tree that still had fruit. Most of it looked rotten and ready to fall off the branches for the coming of winter, but she grabbed what she could and continued searching. Admittedly, the grass was starting to look delicious, but instead, she pulled at the dirt, digging up several insects. Green-faced with disgust, she packed them into her bag to bring back as well.

When she was back beside the sleeping Link, she stared at the worm she’d taken, shaking her head as she watched its now lifeless body—as she was not ready to eat anything living just yet. For now, she ate just two of the fruits, leaving several for Link.

He was disgusting with old blood still clinging to him, along with the dirt and mud. She wrapped her arms under his and dragged him outside of their little cave to lay by the waterfall. She dumped the scratchy blanket, which had turned into a glorified towel/bandage, into the water and let it sit as she peeled Link’s shirt off, before setting to work getting all the grime off him.

“Having fun?” he whispered.

She dropped the blanket in surprise and pressed her hand to her racing heart.

“Link! Gods! It seems you’re healed.”

He breathed out a soft laugh, but she could see the tell-tale signs of him about to fade out again.

“Wait, wait!” She shook him. “Not yet. You need to eat. You’re not healing and I can’t get a fire so you need to eat this fruit!”

“Fruit?”

“Or bugs. It’s your choice.”

“Or bugs?”

“Yes.”

Link tried to sit up, but his head spun and he grabbed Zelda to steady himself. His head drooped onto her shoulder. “Fruit.”

Zelda was on her feet, running back inside before returning with some food. He nibbled at it, the action itself being one of the only things keeping Link awake. When it became too much effort to keep chewing, he turned to Zelda.

“Flint.”

“Flint?”

“For the… fire.”

“Flint. Okay. I’ll find some.”

“Good. Zelda?”

She stopped herself from immediately scouring every rock to find flint so she could look at him.

“Thank you,” he muttered before drifting off again.

Hours later, Zelda was finally able to warm herself beside the roaring flames, so close that her hair may have singed a bit, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She settled into her spot beside Link and closed her eyes for the first time in days, and she didn’t open them again for several more.