victory_road | Mandos and Helmets and Smolivs, Oh My!

Entry tags:

Mandos and Helmets and Smolivs, Oh My!

Who: Bo-Katan, Mando, and anyone else!
Where: Train and Saffron City
When: Late August
Summary: Mando takes Bo-Katan to his place in Saffron City.

[Train Ride] - Closed to Mando

Everything happened so quickly. One moment she was standing before the Great Forge, with her people celebrating its lighting, then the next she was in this place. Getting kicked out of a house and left to her own devices with nothing but a bag, a few items, and s bird who wouldn’t leave her alone. Fortunately, there was another Mandalorian here, which admittedly was very helpful.

Din thankfully explained the basics, despite Bo’s disapproval of everything about everything in this world. It would take her some time to process it all. He did at least convince her to tolerate the bird, Rowlet, whatever. Showing her also how to put it in one of those balls. That was handy, as she could just banish the thing if it got too annoying.

Bo would then end up following him to another city where they would board a train which would supposedly take them to the city where he lived. Sitting in one of the seats, it vaguely reminded her of the hyperloop on Plazir-15. A thought that only brought back the disappointment she felt that he remembered none of the last few months they spent together.

“So,” she started as the train began to leave the station, keeping her helmet in her lap. “Two years. What have you been doing all this time?” An attempt at conversation at least and a desire to understand this Din Djarin better.

[Mando House] - Open to anyone who might be found here.

The train would eventually drop them off in Saffron City, which was just as impressive as the city they had left. While still not to the tech level that she’s used to, this was at least significantly better than where she had started out.

Putting her helmet back on she would again follow Din, taking in all the sights as he led her to the place she assumed he called home. She wasn’t really sure what to expect, but either way she would take it all in stride as she has done with everything in this world. It was becoming very clear to her how essential these Pokémon were to the people here as she would see many of them accompanying the citizens of the city. Pictures of them plastered on billboards and shops everywhere.

Once they reached his flat, Bo would step in and take a look around. Removing her helmet and placing it under her arm. “Cozy,” she remarks with some humor as she began giving herself a tour of the place.

[Smoliv Shenanigans] - Open to All!

She needed some air. As nice as Din and his roommates are, she was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all and needed some space and time to think. Thus the lady Mandalorian put her helmet back on and went out to take a walk. Exploring a bit of the city would help ease her mind she thought, and she allowed the bird to come out of its ball too. Though she wasn’t quite ready to start letting it perch on her yet. Bo shooing her off every time she tried.

Her explorations eventually led her to a quaint and well manicured park. Green grass, trees, a little slice of nature in the sprawling metropolis. Of course there were Pokemon too. People playing with their companions and a few wild ones milling about. All of which largely went ignored by the Mandalorian. Though she did spot the occasional odd look or curious glance.

Though little did she expect as she walked along a path, that a horde of little green things would suddenly stampede in front of her, splashing oil all over the place. The strange little plant creatures spreading out and taking up space… practically everywhere. She could only stand there and stare for a moment, her Rowlet trilling curiously as it hovered in the air beside her.

Well, whatever, she would just move on. Except when she started walking again, all that oil would prove slippery. Her feet slipping right out from under her and causing the Mandalorian to fall with a distinct thud and clanging of metal. Her Rowlet shrieking in surprise, landed next to her to make sure she was okay. “I’m fine,” she tells the worried owl with a grunt as she grabbed a nearby bench and hauled herself onto it. A few startled Smolivs had also noticed the mishap, perhaps realizing they were the cause and crowded around Bo’s feet. All of them anxiously chirping in concern. “Go away, you’ve done enough,” she tells them grumpily while also using a foot to try and push them away. This only seems to upset them and they begin to cry. Tears streaming from their little eyes as they wailed. Bo-Katan could only sigh and removed her helmet to look at them with mixed emotion. Usually she had a good handle on her feelings, but seeing them so upset was making her upset. “Stop that. Calm down.” But they wouldn’t, and she could feel a lump in her throat too. Soon enough tears started rolling down her face too, which she furiously tried to wipe away. “I said stop!” This only made them cry harder. Even her Rowlet, which was now perched on the back of the bench, had her eyes watering up.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I had to try and take him back to his people first." You understand, Bo. Honour and all that. It's not Mando's fault that Grogu's original people just kind of suck.

"Am I teaching him to walk the way of the Mandalor?" Mando can't imagine that he isn't, but he wants confirmation all the same.

That first part gets a nod. She did understand, and would have agreed he belonged with the Jedi. But after seeing how they parted on Gideon's ship, she also understood how difficult that had been for him. But that hadn't been any of her business back then. She'd had other concerns.

"He wasn't old enough to take the creed. That's why you adopted him, so that you could train him as your apprentice." Her expression becomes a little tight. "The last I saw of you, you had left to do just that."

She has feelings on that, but again keeps it to herself.

And that was fair! Mando can't expect Bo to get all caught up in his own drama and issues.

He nods when Bo explains further. "That makes sense. He's not stupid, you know. He just doesn't talk yet."

Grogu is very capable of communication, if you know what to look and listen for. He also understands almost everything Mando says to him. But taking the creed means being able to speak it, and the Armourer would be a stickler for being able to say the words. That's fine. They've got time for him to figure it all out.

"We're probably going off to hunt Imperials." Mando doesn't know, but that sounds about right.

Well she ended up getting caught up in his own drama and issues eventually anyway, and he in hers. Though it hadn’t been a bad thing. Not from her point of view.

“I do know.” There’s a fondness in her voice now. A genuine smile as she thinks of Grogu. “He’s quite the navigator, actually. You’ve taught him well.” Bo’s expression is soft as she looks at him now. The hardness in her voice and the intensity that he might remember from before he came here seems to have melted away. She’s changed, and for the better.

“If so, that’s a worthy cause.” Even if it’s not what she would have liked. She knows the Armorer tasked him with traveling with his son. But did he have to leave so soon? And without a real goodbye? “I miss him already.” … Both of you.

Edited 2023-09-08 16:09 (UTC)

Mando definitely notices the change in Bo's demeanour. She's always been intense, and a sudden relaxing of that looks good on her. It's like seeing the person behind the leader, the human being behind the one-time leader of Mandalore.

"We've spent some more time together." He phrases it as a statement, because it's pretty obvious. He might not remember it, but she clearly does. When she met Grogu before, he wasn't navigating anything. It's good to hear that the kid is picking up some valuable skills. "I'm glad the kid has another friend looking out for him."

Because obviously Bo is more interested in the kid than Mando, right? Why would a literal princess and leader of their people miss a scruffy nerfherder like Mando?

Because that scruffy nerfherder saw her for who she was. Not what she was. Everyone else saw her as that leader, and it’s created a sort of distance between her and them because of it. Which is admittedly a very lonely state of existence. Din, as he had told her, didn’t care about any of that. He cared about the person that he was seeing right now. Bo couldn’t remember the last time another Mandalorian saw her that way.

“Yes. A great deal of time, actually.” That fond smile warms even more. “We make a good team. All three of us.” But it couldn’t be the same here, could it? Probably not. Not only because of the lack of Grogu, but she has a feeling it would just be awkward. What with Din missing those memories and having other priorities here.

That's the funny thing about being an outcast: you're able to see other people more clearly. Perhaps it starts as a survival technique, and then morphs over time into recognising truth when you see it. The state of Mandalore politics and leadership has never mattered to Mando, so Bo's history doesn't interest him.

"Really?" It's not that he doesn't believe her--she's given him no reason to think she's lying--but he finds it hard to believe that she wanted to hang around him. The kid is different, everyone loves Grogu, but she has never seemed very impressed by Mando being a Child of the Watch. "We must meet again, then. After I go to Tattoine and help Boba."

And presumably get the kid back.

“Is that so hard to believe?” She’s teasing, but she understands his skepticism. Things were definitely different between them from his perspective.

Taking his words as an invitation to continue, she takes a breath before launching into it. It was a long story but they seemed to have plenty of time to kill on this train.

“You came to my castle and asked to join me. But without the darksaber, my forces abandoned me. I was alone, with no means of taking back Mandalore. So I turned you away.”

That part is difficult to talk about and it shows. She had been in a bad place then.

“You insisted on finding the Living Waters beneath the mines of Mandalore. I let you go, but you found yourself in trouble and I had to come rescue you.”

Behind his helmet, Mando makes a face.

"I never wanted the darksaber. If I could have, I would have just given it to you."

The stupid thing is more trouble than it's worth, and Mando knows he isn't a natural leader. The darksaber would be better off in the hands of someone who would actually know how to use it.

"Your forces made a mistake. They should have stayed by you."

But then she gets to the interesting part, and Mando perks up. "I went to Mandalore?"

He's never been there before! Just going to quietly ignore the 'needing to be rescued' part.

“I know…” she says quietly at first. “I know.”

If it had been that easy, she would have taken it from him, but she couldn’t. Her expression twisting a bit as he expresses his opinion.

“I was a failure in their eyes, Din.” Despite everything that happened, it still hurt to talk about it. But for him, she would endure. “Someone did give it to me once you know. Said they didn’t trust anyone with it more, and all the clans rallied behind me.” She swallowed hard as she took a moment to compose herself. “And then the purge happened.” Said with a finality as if that should explain everything. “I couldn’t just take it from someone a second time.”

As the topic shifts to Mandalore, Bo took a breath and continued. “Yes. You bathed in the living waters and were redeemed. I witnessed it.” She graciously skips over the part where he nearly drowned.

Couldn't they have just gotten into an eating contest or something? Rock-paper-scissors, best of three? Mando doesn't understand the rules of passing ancient Jedi artefacts along, but he'd have done just about anything to be rid of the stupid sword.

"Ah." Yeah, the Purge. Mando wasn't there for it, but he knows the stories. He also knows that everyone who was there doesn't like talking about it, and he reaches out to touch her arm. "It wasn't your fault. It was the Imperials."

When in doubt, blame the Imps!

"I do?" Hell yes, excellent news! "That's..." He sits back against the seat and gives a soft, huffing laugh. "That's really good to hear."

Being a Mandalorian is everything to him, and being redeemed in the Living Waters of Mandalore means he'll get to keep being one.

Din you know full well that Mandalorians don’t settle things over eating contests. She certainly could have challenged him for it. It was her right to do so. But she didn’t, and there was a reason for that.

When he touches her she doesn’t move or protest. Instead she closes her eyes as she fights back the swell of emotion. Saying nothing in reply, but it’s clear she doesn’t entirely agree. Bo-Katan had plenty of fault that day. And they lost some good people. Many good people.

But his joy at hearing he was redeemed was enough to eclipse her own grief. Her green eyes opening to look up again with a faint smile. “I thought you would like that.”

Edited 2023-09-16 17:35 (UTC)

No one ever said Mandalorians couldn't settle things with an eating contest! Just because no one has done it before doesn't mean it can't happen!

Mando doesn't know the whole story about the Purge, but his impressions of Bo-Katan make him believe she wouldn't have just abandoned the planet and its citizens to the Imperials. She would have fought for their world, and done her best to protect everyone on it. Of this, Mando is sure.

"I lost my helmet once here." It wasn't his fault; they got zapped to Hisui, and he woke up without it. It wasn't taken from him! But Riz saw his face all the same. "So it's good to know I'll have a chance to make that right, later on."

A pause, and he shakes his head. "Riz walked me into a tree that day."

Bo-Katan is clearly trying not to laugh when he tells her that Riz walked him into a tree. Amusement on her face and her mouth moving in a way that suggested she was trying to hold back. After a moment she clears her throat. At least she doesn't look as miserable as she had just a few moments ago.

"So then why keep wearing it? I know your way, but if you have been an apostate all this time, what's the point?"

Especially now that he knows he will be redeemed one day. As long as he's here though, that's not possible.

Yeah, it's okay, she can laugh. There's enough distance from the event that Mando can laugh at it too.

He takes a few minutes before he answers her question, though. He's thought about this before, during his time here, but while he knows his own reasoning, he hasn't had to explain it before.

"I wasn't born on Mandalore. I was a foundling, from a dead world. I had to train and fight and battle for everything I have." He doesn't sound jealous or upset about this, just matter-of-fact. "Taking off my helmet, after I grew up being taught its importance, feels like I'm spitting on everything the Mandalorians did for me."

He tilts his head and shrugs with one shoulder. "I know not all Mandalorians walk the same path, but it's the path I was raised on. I'm grateful for everything the Armourer and the Children of the Watch did for me, so I'll continue following their path."

A pause.

"Also, I don't have to worry about my hair if I wear a helmet all the time."

Bo-Katan listens in solemn silence. His reason makes sense and she can accept it, and does so with a nod of understanding. It's something she can respect.

Though she does finally laugh a little at the comment about his hair.

"I suppose that is a silver lining." After all, look at her hair? Have you ever wondered how she manages to keep it so perfect despite wearing a helmet half the time?

There's a moment of silence though and she gets serious again.

"I've done it too. I've walked the way."

Mando doesn't even want to know how much of Bo's time must be spent on her hair. He's only gradually been introduced to the idea of conditioner on this world, and using something besides seven-in-one soaps. (The kids--okay, just Riz--still use the seven-in-one soaps, for the record, but not because there aren't other options in the shower now.) Three different bottles still seems like a lot; the kind of routine needed to get Bo's hair to stay perfect under her helmet is clearly beyond Mando.

"You have?" All right, now this is interesting, and he leans in. "Why? You already had a way to walk."

He doesn't sound accusatory, just curious. Bo-Katan hadn't exactly been enthralled when she learned about his helmet preferences.

You’ll have fun getting used to having a lady in the house, Din. Expect the bathroom to be a bit more cluttered when she’s around. It’ll take some time to get used to the products they have here, but she will manage.

There was a pause as he was clearly interested in how she came to walk the way. Taking a breath she then launched into another story. “After you bathed in the waters and we left Mandalore, we were attacked by a fleet of Tie Interceptors and Bombers. We fought them off but… they bombed my castle and reinforcements came. We had to flee.”

She left out some details but they were personal things she wasn’t ready to talk to him about yet.

“You took me to your covert. You proved that you had bathed in the living waters and were declared redeemed.” Again there’s a pause before she continued. “I had bathed in the waters too, because I had to pull you out. Because I hadn’t removed my helmet since then, I was allowed to join your covert.”

She says this with a mix of emotions in her tone. Most notably though there is a sense of respect and gratitude.

“I had no where else to go, and they accepted me where my own tribe had abandoned me. So I stayed and lived with you and your people as one of you.”

Oh, he's already familiar with how cluttered a bathroom can get with products. He's seen Shadowmaru's routine before, and it is... extensive. Deeply complicated. More than his little himbo Mandalorian mind can comprehend.

"I fell in the living waters?" Sorry, Bo, he'll get to all the other pertinent details in a minute. Mando groans softly and puts his head down on the table, in his folded arms. Excuse him while he processes this.

"Please tell me the kid didn't see me fall in the living waters."

Well in that case maybe he will appreciate that Bo’s routine isn’t as complicated as his boyfriend’s. She liked to try to keep it as simple and efficient as possible. She may be a princess, now Mand’alor, but she wasn’t over the top.

There’s a pause as Din focuses in on the falling part. She doesn’t laugh at him, even though she’s a little amused at his groan. “He did.” Sorry Din, you had an audience of two for that little debacle.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she clarified. “It was much deeper than it had once been. Seismic activity must have been triggered by the bombings. You stepped right off the broken stairs and… sank like a rock.”

Edited 2023-10-01 17:02 (UTC)

"I took off my jetpack, didn't I?" That's the only way he'd sink and not be able to get back up to the surface on his own. Stupid wonderful beskar, so heavy it dragged him down in the water.

"Thank you for fishing me out." He lifts his head back up. "I'm glad you were there. Sounds like you saved me twice."

Which... wait a minute! He sits up straighter, the previous gloom gone. "Does that mean you bested me? Were you able to take the damn darksaber afterwards?"

"You did." Fortunately, she'd had hers on and was able to jump in after him. But he sure sank fast! He was already at the bottom by the time she located him.

She nods, both to his gratitude and acknowledgement that she had saved him twice. The question about the Darksaber though brings pause. "Sort of?"

"It's a long story, but... a creature had captured you and I used the darksaber to defeat it and free you. I gave it back and you took it, but later on you insisted it was mine."

"Thank the stars." Mando is going to ignore the part about a creature capturing him--seriously? again?--and focus in on the important revelation. "It should have been yours the whole time. I never wanted it."

He made an honest attempt at learning how to use it, but the darksaber never wanted to work for Mando. It always felt too heavy, too cumbersome. He's clearly a blaster/grappling man.

“I know,” she says with a sigh. And certainly it would have been easier for everyone if she had won it from Gideon instead of Din, but it hadn’t worked out that way.

“But I couldn’t take it from you on Gideon’s ship, you know that. My rule would have been invalid.”

Despite all of that, she’s somewhat glad things happened the way they did. It gave them opportunity to know each other better, even become close. Though of course none of that meant anything to the man sitting in front of her.

“It worked out in the end.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mandos and Helmets and Smolivs, Oh My!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject