Chapter Text
Light. It was always the light.
Luke stared at the silver light glistening on the armor of the Mandalorian.
The two gaped at each other for a while, one stunned, one curious.
"Are you lost?"
Luke thought it was him who spoke first, but then realized it was the man who spoke. Luke tilted his head incredulously at the man.
"You walked into the dragon's lair, and you're telling me I'm lost?"
The man startled a little, probably not having met a speaking dragon, or a real dragon, or a real scary, powerful, could-take-your-head-off dragon, but then turned his head, looking around. Luke couldn't believe this guy. Hey, when a scary dragon is talking to you, the least you could do was to be terrorized and look scared or defensive. What was wrong with this guy? The man was covered from head to toe in armor, that one was the first clue, but all sorts of weird and bothersome creatures have crawled into this cave, Luke had gotten some used to weird things.
The man didn't seem to mind much what Luke said, and kept looking around the cave carefully. Luke huffed and coiled around his long tail.
"Aren't you at least going to be scared of me?"
The man looked at Luke. Even with the helmet on, Luke could sense the man was blinking.
"You're small, little one."
The man said, and Luke only let him live because he had a nice voice and he sounded genuinely worried. Luke liked his kind voice, no matter how rude he was. Not knowing that the dragon just spared his life, the man came closer, finally deciding the cave was safe for now.
"Where are your parents? If you're lost, I can get you out of here, once I find my kid. I hear this cave was crawling with scary monsters."
Yes, and the scariest of them is staring right into you and you're worried about him, thought Luke, but decided to not tell this guy.
"What are you doing here?"
This time it was Luke who asked, staring at the man's armor and trying to peer at what's inside that helmet. If the man knew this cave was dangerous and still decided to walk in, the man must have a story. The man sighed and sat next to Luke, like sitting next to a golden dragon in a large cave possibly crawling with monsters was the next natural thing.
"I'm looking for my kid, Grogu."
The man started talking.
"He was kidnapped by an imperial shuttle, and I've been following its trail to here. The town people say the imperial army and troopers come to this mountain once a while and seem like they're hiding something in this cave."
Yeah, me, thought Luke, but kept listening. Once Palpatine has laid the curse on Luke on his dying breath, Luke had turned into the tiny dragon and could not get back to his original form. It was first frustrating, then when he realized that he had gotten his father free from Palpatine's evil hands and finally achieved the balance of the force, that it wasn't such a bad bargain. Once imperial shuttles started to come and troopers and other ferocious creatures that they let loose into the cave to kill Luke started to show up, Luke realized somehow the remaining evil force had risen up again, but Luke was too tired, too done with everything. There was little that was left that meant something for Luke and Luke had been fighting too long, had lost too much, and he realized he was kind of welcoming this version of retirement.
Being alone wasn't so bad. Not having to worry about losing the people you care about didn't suck either. When you were a tiny little dragon sitting in his lair, occasionally having to handle some annoying troopers and other killers they send you, life wasn't too bad. Maybe he was meant to be this way, having done what he could do, left alone in the dark, not bothered by anyone, not cared by anyone.
"If you're looking for--"
Luke started, trying to tell this armored man the route to chase the troopers that might have taken his kid, but then the gloved hands pushed Luke's mouth.
"Shh, I hear something."
Did you just shush me? Luke glared at the man increduloused, but the man didn't seem to know Luke's confusion and stood up silently, looking around. Luke tilted his head too, now sensing the presence outside. The man seemed to have a keen sense, not counting the fact that he's just been petting the most powerful dragon without the danger he had put himself in.
"Stay here."
The man said, grabbing the blaster and placing himself between Luke and the entrance. Luke so wished to roll his eyes. He was the most powerful and fearful presence this universe has ever seen since his father and Palpatine, and still, this man was worried about him. Luke wanted to be mad at this man. Luke was starting to get mad at the man for his incredulousness.
The creatures that came running down the cave and appeared in front of them were giant black hounds, all the size of a small bull, had sharp fangs and claws. Luke could easily handle them all, but this man was going to get shredded.
"Don't--"
Luke started, then stared. The man was swift and fluid, cutting through the monsters with ease and practiced efficiency. The man used blaster and Beskad, and picked up the long sniper rifle on his back with one fluid motion and used it to shoot point-blank on the three hounds that jumped on him.
The way the man fought--- was mesmerizing, Luke thought, even to the eyes of the Jedi master. The way the man used his various weapons spontaneously and yet with frightening efficiency showed the battle sense the man possessed, which was frankly something to be admired, especially in the eyes of a swordsman.
"Little dragon!"
The man shouted suddenly and jumped in front of him. One of the hounds that spotted Luke had climbed up to the rocks and was about to snap at him, but the man had blocked him with the long sniper rifle in his hands. Not missing the chance to attack, the hounds piled onto the man, their jaws snapping greedily at the man to taste the blood. But the man still held on, yelling at Luke to escape.
Luke felt something. Something similar to anger. Anger at being bothered, being protected when he didn't need to, anger at realizing he was feeling again. The man's grunt and the drops of blood from the hounds' claws and fangs made Luke's inside boil.
"Don't you dare,"
Luke whispered, then breathed out fire at the hounds. Luke's fire, unlike the usual red and bright orange of the dragons, was ice blue and much, much powerful. The hounds that caught fire yelped and ran, the others looking frightened and followed.
The cave was filled with silence as only the heavy breathing of the man and the flap of Luke's wings made a sound, and Luke wondered when will the man scream and run away, finally realizing what a terrorizing monster he had been with.
"Are you okay?"
The man said, and Luke was startled, looked up at the man. The man was still bleeding, his shoulder and gloved hands where the Beskar couldn't protect him ripped and shredded, but he was still covering Luke and was looking worried at him. Worried at him, which made Luke feel angry again, but somehow Luke was laughing.
"You're a weird one, you know that?"
Luke said, and as Luke looked unharmed and laughing, the man finally sighed and slid against the rock, looking tired.
"You're a weird dragon too."
Luke, feeling suddenly giddy, jumped down the rock and perched on top of the man's shoulder.
"What's your name?"
Luke asked, feeling his heart somehow pounding a little fast. It was the fight, Luke thought, it was because of the adrenaline.
"Din. My name is Din Djarin."
The Mandalorian said, and Luke tapped his wings with frustration when he bumped his head at the man's helmet to hint at him to take it off, but the man just shrugged. What was the deal with armour and this man?
"What's your name, dragon?"
The man, Din asked, and Luke flapped his tail.
"Luke. My name's Luke Skywalker."
And so their tales began.