So it begins...

Aria sat in the meditative pose as she grounded herself to the force of her homeland. It was hard to push out the glimpses of her past as she kept trying to focus. Her father's screams, the explosions, the beam of light that touched the sky from the cave... it all flashed in her memories. "Father!" She opened her eyes as she heard a click behind her in the woods.

"Sorry to startle you!" She found the man in Beskar armor standing behind her with the child clinging to his fingers. She stood up with a welcoming smile, and began to walk closer to him.

"How was the journey here?" She asked politely. Din couldn't help but smile a little under his mask, maybe because he was feeling suddenly at peace there or just happy to see her again.

"Good, you have been waiting for how long?" Din's eyes wandered around the scenic surroundings of the locality before looking back at her.

She shakes her head as she extends her right hand to Grogu, "welcome to my home!" she says, looking at Grogu and then Din.

"You said Skywalker was your master, right? Do you know Ahsoka Tano by any chance? A Togruta? " Din's innocence and complete lack of understanding of the Jedi world was something Aria was witnessing for the first time, but she could tell that it was better than anything she had known.

She smiled at first before she replied, "Ahsoka did tell me about Grogu and why she refused to train him."

"Both your master and your friend failed. Why do you think you will be able to train him? And... he is very stubborn. Last time, he refused to listen to Ahsoka even when I was right there beside him." Din was concerned about the whole idea, and he was in deep thought the entire way to Ahch-To.

She knew of this already and didn't respond to him in words for a few moments. Her eyes slowly moved from his helmet to his chestplate and finally resting above his waist where he had his black saber attached to his belt.

"Did you learn your way around that blade yet?" His question came as a surprise to him. His eyes followed hers down onto the weapon that he had been trying his best to learn to wield for some time. He picked it up in his hand and the blade roared into its full glory from the black metal glowing in the white hue around it.

Grogu cooed louder as the blade reflected in his big eyes. Aria walks closer to them slowly and extends her hand to take the blade into her hand. She held it for a few moments before she closed her eyes and felt the energy in her senses.

Her palm felt the light impulse from the blade, leading her movement. She gracefully lifted it as the blade guided her. She started moving the blade in several fighting positions that the Mandalorian had never seen or experienced before. He simply never expected a woman half his size to wield the weapon with such ease. He was beginning to admire her more as she continued to move like she was walking on the water.

She came to a halt as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at Din with a light smile. Grogu was clinging to Din's boots, but as she stopped, he walked towards her. "Your father needs to learn some lessons of the Jedi to balance his mind, little one."

Grogu tipped his head and looked at her as though he was admiring her with the Dark Saber in her hands. "I will teach you the way of this blade."

Din wasn't sure if that was what he needed or if the blade had anything to do with the force at all. Mandalore or those who built the blade were not associated with the force from what he knew, but it was beyond his understanding why the blade was fighting against him even if he knows his way around any other blade.

"But how does this help teach Grogu?" He asks.

"He needs time to warm up to me. I am sure he will see why he needs to trust me." She knew Ahsoka and Luke failed as they didn't follow their own path of patience. Grogu is a being who shut down his own memories and abilities associated with the Force to save himself. He would only unleash what he is truly capable of for Din or in an environment where he is safe and happy.

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Din and Grogu were inside a hut overlooking the ridge that had another cabin that belonged to Aria. The hut was made of mud and wood, which suited the dull but beautiful climate of the planet. Aria's home was on the same hill before the attack on the planet, and when she returned, she made sure to use the spot as her little abode whenever she visited.

Din was having a hard time trying feel calm as he walked back and forth in the hut. Grogu watched him while finishing his bowl of soup. He held the cup in one hand and extended the other as he called out to Din, as though he was inviting him to drink his share of soup.

"I... am not hungry, kid! I don't know if this is a good idea. I am already out of my creed. I want to go back, but I need to redeem myself. And now, this lady wants me to learn the way of this blade... " He stopped and looked at him as the winds flowed through the windows, flapping around his cape, throwing it over his face.

The child began giggling hysterically, Din looked over at him with the cape still covering his face. "Wow, you are really enjoying this, aren't you?" He sighed as he let out a short laugh before pushing back his cape and sitting down next to Grogu. "What would I do without you, little one!" He said as he lifted him up in his arms.

Din and Grogu looked over at the small wooden door as they both heard a light knock. "Come inside!," Din's voice echoed through the darkness inside the room. When Aria pushed open the door, she was no longer in her sky blue robes that she wore most of the time.

She wore a brown skirt and a muddy-colored corset, which made Din's eyebrow lift naturally under his helmet. But if he had to ask her about her clothing, she would know that he was noticing her and that thought was already embarrassing for him. *You look beautiful!* he thought to himself, which of course, he didn't dare to say.

"Are you both liking the setup here? It is not a lot, but I am sure this will do for a few weeks until you can find us a ship. " Din responds with a nod, as he was probably not sure he would sound normal if he spoke up.

She walked up to Grogu, holding him closely, "Did you like the soup, little one?" She touched his nose lightly as she started nodding her head as though she was responding to something that he was saying. Din was not particularly enjoying this, mainly because he was scared if he told her what he was telling him.

She looks at Din for a moment and then back at Grogu, "He says you didn't touch your soup. Why? Is it not to your liking?"

Din shakes his head before picking up the bowl and lifting it in a way to show his appreciation. "Why don't we give him some space, shall we?" She smiles at Din as she steps out of the hut, leaving him there to drink up his soup.

Din lifts his helmet slightly as he puts the bowl against his mouth, beginning to drink from it. It tasted better than anything he had ever had in a long time. But as he immersed himself in the moment, his ear picked up on a light humming that came from just outside the wall of his hut.

He didn't understand the language, but the tune struck him harder than any weapon he had faced. He closed his eyes as he felt the voice calm him down, as though his head was in his mother's lap again or like he was held in Aria's arms. He shook his head as the imagery appeared in his head.

He continued to sip the soup as he finished the contents of it and sat back on the rough wooden bed. The voice still filled the air around the hut, and it didn't take him long before he loosened himself up and drifted into a slumber, forgetting everything he had to worry about...