Topic: Fanfiction: Desert Rose

Well, here's a little fic of mine that's currently being worked on. It has nothing to do with the Fetts or Mandalorians, but hey, at least it's Star Wars right?

This story is going to be about a moisture farmer couple who find and adopt a Tusken Raider child. There's also a few problems and a couple surprises that happen later on but I don't want to spoil anything :P

Anyway, here's the first chapter.

_____________________________________________________________________

As the twin suns of Tatooine rose above the barren dunes of the world, so did its inhabitants. Now just by looking at Tatooine’s harsh, sun baked sands, you’d think nothing could survive there, but a surprising number of animals, humans, and aliens made a living on the parched world.

The citizens of Anchorhead, one of the three main cities on the planet, started opening their shops and stands, waiting for tourists and space farers to come by. Around the edges of Anchorhead, lay the moisture farmers, people who scratch out a living in the sands by collecting water vapor in machines called moisture vaporators. Now most of the farmers were just starting to come out of their small, circular houses, but one in particular stood out, because they were all ready out, standing by their moisture vaporators.

“Those damn Sand people, they got into our water supply again,” A gruff voiced male, whose sun lined face showed anger as he crouched by the vaporator with a Hydro spanner, attempting to fix the delicate machine, which was a little worse for wear.

“Platoo, they’re just trying to make a living here, just like we are,” A female, whose long golden red hair hung loose around her shoulders said, her voice soft and pleasant.

“How can we make a living when those animals keep taking our water? We can’t sell empty containers you know,” He told her, standing up and wiping a trickle of sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.

“They’re not animals, they’re sentient beings,” She told him, not liking the way he spoke of them. She viewed everyone equally, no matter how uncouth someone was, they still had brains and a capacity for reasoning.

“Leera, they attack without being provoked. They kill us and anyone else without a second glance and they steal and raid our towns,” Platoo argued, feeling anger rising in him. How could his wife be defending those…creatures?

“We are expanding into their territory, even though we know how territorial they are. So technically, it isn’t unprovoked,” Leera pointed out, giving Platoo a pointed look.

“Whatever,” Platoo sneered, going back to working on his vaporator, angrily tightening the bolts that held it together.

As the suns continued they’re slow ascend in the orange and pink hued sky, the winds also began to pick up.

“Platoo, I think there’s going to be a sandstorm. The wind is getting pretty strong,” Leera told her husband, her hair starting to whip around her shoulders.

“You’re more right then wrong Leera,” Platoo told her, shielding his eyes from the flying sand. “Go inside, before it gets worse,” He ordered. Leera didn’t argue with him. He usually was right when it came to things like this. She made her way into their house, shielding her face from the stinging sand and stones that were now starting to whip around stronger.

“Platoo, come on!” She yelled above the howling wind, standing in the doorway. She waited until he nudged her in gently before struggling to close the door. Platoo pushed against it, helping her shut it. When it clicked shut, they finally settled down at the kitchen table, waiting out the storm.

“I guess I should’ve waited before fixing the evaporator. It’s just going to get even more messed up now,” Platoo mused, as Leera poured him a cup of caffa. He took it and sip it as Leera sat down next to him, listening to the winds whip and whistle around them.

“I believe it’s safe to go out now. The winds seemed to have died down,” Leera said after awhile, not hearing the wind whistle through the cracks as much anymore.

“It has,” Platoo confirmed, opening the door, only to be greeted by vaporator parts, half buried in sand.

“Damn,” Platoo cursed, walking out to collect the scattered parts. As Platoo was out cursing and picking up the parts, Leera heard a faint cry. At first she though it was just the cry of a creature, but when she heard it again, she realized that it was the cry of a child.

Following the sound of the cry to the outskirts of the moisture farmer’s territory, she looked around until she saw, lying in the sands, was a child. She picked up the wrapped child, maternal instincts kicking in as she held the child close to her chest and walked back to her house.

“Platoo, look,” She said quietly, holding out the crying and wriggling child.

“Leera, do you know what that is?” Platoo said, his eyes widening in realization.

“A orphaned child who needs a family,” She said, holding the child closed to her, attempting to sooth it’s crying.

“An orphaned sand person child,” He sneered “You should get rid of it before you give those animals another reason to attack us.”

“Platoo, I can’t believe you! This is just a child. How cold hearted can you be?” Leera said, eyes shining with anger and clutching the child protectively to her.

“Still, a sand person is a sand person. How civilized can it be?” Platoo asked, sneering down at the child, who started to calm down slightly.

“As civilized as we are,” She said, looking Platoo right in his eyes.

“You not thinking about keeping it are you?” Platoo asked “Just drop it in the desert and leave it for one of them to find.”

“We’re taking this child in. Unlike you, I have a heart and I can’t stand the thought of another sentient creature dying when I can do something about it,” Leera told him, leaving him in a stunned silence. She just insulted him and just brought one of those…things into their life. He walked to the house and walked in, finding his wife taking off the wrappings that Tuskens usually wrapped their children in, with the intention for checking for injuries.

“You’re a beautiful baby,” She told the child, as she laid it down upon the kitchen table. It looked just like a human child, except for the yellow eyes and slightly pointed ears. She unwrapped the child the rest of the way, being careful so that she didn’t disturb any wounds.

“Well, now I know that you’re a girl,” She grinned, as she checked the child thoroughly for wounds. When she found none and was satisfied that the child was more frightened then injured, she shrugged out of her overshirt and wrapped the baby up in it.

“See Platoo, she’s not so different from you of me,” Leera told him, settling down into a chair. The child yawned and nestled down on Leera’s breasts, closing her eyes as she fell asleep.

Platoo just snorted and sneered at the child. He would tolerate it only for his wife, but not matter how human it looked, that child was still a sand person. He wouldn’t forget it, and wouldn’t let her forget it either.

nice, i like it a lot * claps*

That was great, I hope you'll post some more. :D

very nice! Keep it going!

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm glad you liked the first chapter. :)

Here's the second chapter. Hope you like it as well.

_____________________________________________________________________

“Hari, don’t climb up there! You’re going to hurt yourself,” Leera chided, picking up her adopted daughter before she could successfully climb up onto the living room table. Hari whined and squirmed, not wanting to be picked up.

“Now, no tables,” She said to Hari, setting her down on the floor. Leera watched as her daughter entertained herself with a stuffed Bantha she had. Hari was growing faster than a human, all ready being at the same level of a year old human, mentally and physically. The only thing that bothered Leera was that she didn’t even say her first word yet. Sure, she whined and even growled, but never uttered a single word.

“Hello honey,” Platoo greeted, coming in from outside. He walked over to his wife, placing a kiss on her cheek, not even sparing a glance at Hari.

“You’re in a good mood today,” Leera pointed out, pouring him a cup of caffa, handing to him as he sat down at the table.

“Mm-hmm. Those Sand People haven’t been around all week. Someone must’ve called Animal Control on them,” He chuckled into his cup as Leera narrowed her eyes at him.

“I wish you wouldn’t say things like that, especially in front of Hari,” Leera told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What wrong? Afraid of the little whelp finding out what its people are really like?” Platoo asked, his eyes narrowing angrily at Hari, wanting nothing more than to throw her out and let the desert take her.

“You’ll never change. Hari proved that Sand People aren’t born vicious. Their harsh life makes them that way,” Leera told him, picking Hari up, who immediately started squirming again.

“But, people around town all talk about it. They give me strange looks and whisper about “the couple with the Sand Person” whenever they see me,” Platoo argued, putting his cup down roughly, splashing caffa onto the table.

Leera sighed. “Don’t worry about the townsfolk. They’re just afraid of the misunderstood,” Leera told him, giving him a pointed look.

“Are you implying that I’m afraid of that?” He hissed at her, pointing a Hari, who stopped squirming and looked at him with wide yellow eyes.

“No, just of the misunderstood.”

“Well, I’ll show you how afraid of the misunderstood I am,” He said, getting up from his chair, his eyes blazing.

“Platoo, you’re not thinking about confronting the Sand people are you?” Leera asked, watching her husband.

“Yes. Just to prove that I’m not afraid.” He shrugged on a protective coat and grabbed a slug thrower off the wall.

“You’ll be killed! Going into their territory is practically painting a target right on your chest!” She yelled, trying to reason with him. Hari growled quietly, sensing something was wrong but not knowing what.

“Then let them,” He sneered, flinging open the door hard enough for the glasses in the kitchen to get jarred. Hari, not expecting the noise, jumped and started crying.

“Platoo!” Leera screamed after him, following him out into the desert, clutching Hari to her chest protectively.

“Don’t try and stop me Leera! Go back to the house!” He yelled back, pointing back to the house.

“I won’t let you go on this suicide mission alone!”

“Then follow me to my death!” Platoo continued his trek out into the desert. Against her better judgment, Leera followed him. She wasn’t about to let him die alone.

As they walked, getting deeper and deeper into the Jundland Wastes, the suns seemingly got hotter and hotter, beating mercilessly down on them.

“If it gets any hotter, the sand’ll turn to glass under us,” Platoo mumbled, wiping sweat off his forehead. Leera didn’t say anything to him, just concentrated on protecting Hari from the harsh suns by shading her with her shawl.

Platoo stopped suddenly, hearing the braying, growling calls of the Tuskens in the distance.

“Platoo, let’s just turn back,” Leera said, trying to talk Platoo out of his insane idea once last time. “We are in their territory you know.”

Platoo ignored her, readying his slug rifle and climbing carefully up the side of a small sand dune. He slowly looked over the top, careful not to disturb and of the surrounding sand.

“There they are,” He said to himself, seeing a lone Bantha, marked as Tusken mount. More or likely there was a few nearby, but they were nowhere to be seen.

He aimed his rifle at the Bantha, hoping to lure whatever Tuskens were out there out of their hiding spots by killing it. As his finger tightened on the trigger, a metallic flash swiped across his vision, knocking the rifle from his grasp.

He looked up, just in time to see a Tusken swing their spiked Gaderffi stick at him once again. Platoo rolled to the side, narrowly missing the heavy weapon as it slammed into the dune, scattering sand and small rocks around.

“Leera, run!” Platoo yelled, as he dodged the attacks. He swung his foot out, aiming for the Raider’s leg, but he didn’t even faze him. The Tusken just swung their Gaderffi again, striking Platoo across the temple. He fell limply to the sand, his blood staining where he landed.

“Platoo!” Leera called out, tears forming in her eyes. This got the attention of the Tusken, who turned his rag-covered head towards her. Leera just froze, holding Hari closer to her chest, bracing for an attack. All the Tusken did was throw their Gaderffi above their head, giving voice to a braying battle call.

Another Tusken appeared, seeming to come right out of the sand. This one looked slightly smaller and thinner than the other, but it was hard to tell with the loose robes they wore. The new Tusken slid down the edge of the dune, with the quickness of years of experience, towards where the fear frozen Leera stood.

Leera fell to her knees, curling over Hari, forming a barrier between Hari and the attacking Raider. Just as they were about to deliver the deathblow with the speared end of their Gaderffi, the Raider froze. Leera ran the risk of glancing up at the Tusken, who just stood there staring at Leera. Even through the eye tubes, Leera could see the Raider’s eyes widen in shock.

Leera slowly straightened, leaning back on her haunches, keeping Hari as close to her as possible. The Raider made no further attempts to attack instead they just stared, at least Leera thought, at Hari. This struck Leera as odd, and her brow furrowed in confusion. Usually, Tusken Raiders attack and kill without hesitation. Why wasn’t this one?

The Raider on the dune growled at the other, jabbing his Gaderffi in Leera’s direction. The other just growled quietly, turning away from Leera, going back up to the dune. The two Raiders seemingly started arguing, but then the faint cry of a Krayt Dragon sent them scattering to the Bantha mount, which tossed its horned head restlessly at hearing the dragon’s bellowing cry. Leera knew she had to leave quickly, but she couldn’t leave without finding out Platoo’s condition. She scurried up the side of the dune, crouching down besides Platoo’s still form.

“Platoo?” She said, shaking him gently, tears dripping down her face. She tried shaking him a little harder, but her attempts were fruitless. He was all ready gone. She ran her hand gently down his sun-lined face, crying over both her loss and his stupidity.

“If only you listened to me,” She choked out, smoothing his blood-matted hair down. The dragon’s roar sounded again, this time closer than before. She knew she couldn’t stay any longer, so she leaned down, kissing her husband’s cheek lovingly as a final good bye, before sliding down the dune, running as fast as she could towards the town.

And the moral to the story "Don't be stubborn" hehehe :lol:

Very good! Keep it coming!

Here's the third part. Hope you like it. :)

_____________________________________________________________________

“Why did you not kill that female outsider, R’t’lla?” The Tusken holding the reins of the Bantha asked his companion as they plodded through the desert, headed for the Jundland Wastes, where most of the Tusken tribes set up camp.

“Did you not see what she was holding, T’krru?” His companion, who was more likely a female from the looks of it, asked back.

“An uli-ah, but that does not-“

“MY uli-ah. That I intend to take back.” She cut him off, anger accenting the all ready aggressive sounding growls of their language.

OooooO

Leera sighed heavily, sitting down to feed Hari the warmed bottle of formula. She watched her adopted daughter, suckling hungrily from the bottle. Her vision blurred with tears as her thoughts wandered towards Platoo, about the way he smiled at her, the way he kissed her affectionately on the cheek whenever he walked into the house. She blinked, stubbornly holding back her tears.

“Even though Platoo never did grow to like you, deep down, he was a fine man,” Leera rambled, bouncing Hari gently on her knee. “If he could’ve just looked past what you are, he would’ve made a good father.”

Leera sighed, standing up. She would mourn and think on her own time. Right now she had her child to care for.

OooooO

Just as the twin Tatooine suns were dipping below the horizon, casting pastel shades of orange, purple, and pink across the desert sands, the two Raiders made it back to the camp.

“The Chieftain will not know of your refusal to kill the female outsider,” T’krru said, as quietly as he could as he dismounted the Bantha.

“We will not speak of this again,” R’t’lla snapped at him, making it clear that she didn’t want to talk about that subject ever again.

“Agreed.” He nodded, guiding his Bantha into the campsite, R’t’lla following close behind, kicking up sand as she stomped after him.

“Right now, all I want is my uli-ah back. That outsider has no right to take what is mine. My uli-ah belongs here with me, learning OUR ways, not the ways of some blasphemer. It is her birth right as a Tusken,” R’t’lla ranted, waving her hands angrily in front of her.

T’krru put a placating hand on her shoulder, his eye tubes fixed on hers. “We will go out tomorrow. We need a plan, plus rest.”

R’t’lla nodded reluctantly, crossing her arms in front of her. She would prefer to go now, but T’krru was right, they needed to think this out. Rushing headlong into this wouldn’t be very tactful on their part.

OooooO

“Well, sleepy head, looks as if it’s time to go night-night,” Leera grinned down at Hari, who yawned, showing off her little white fangs.

“Here, take your Bantha with you,” Leera handed Hari her stuffed Bantha. Hari smiled and took it, holding on as tight as her little hands could go.

“You’re such a cutie,” Leera told her, carrying her off to the bedroom, smiling a motherly smile. When Hari was a settled down, Leera went over to her bed, sinking down on it. She wasn’t looking forward to sleeping there tonight, without Platoo it seemed so…empty.

She lay down, stretching out on her side, letting tears slide down her face quietly. Now was her time to mourn.

OooooO

R’t’lla awoke to the early rays of the twin suns the next day. Shifting around on her makeshift Bantha wool mattress, she reached over and prodded T’krru, who was sound asleep next to her.

“Wake up. The suns are rising,” She told him, poking him sharply in the ribs.

“R’t’lla, we can wait a little while longer. The suns have barely risen over the dunes,” He said, swatting her hand away as he tried to get comfortable again, shifting deeper into the mattress.

“Do what you wish, all I am saying is that she is your uli-ah too. You could help a bit more.” With that R’t’lla swept moodily out of the tent, leaving T’krru to stare at the tent walls, thinking about what she said.

As R’t’lla stood on the edge of the camp, watching the suns rise and bathing the desert sands with brilliant colors and heat, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, eyes narrowing as she prepared to attack whoever dared touch her. Once she saw that it was T’krru, she stopped. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked straight ahead.

“So you decided to help now after all?” She asked, keeping her eyes to the suns. He nodded taking his hand off her shoulder.

“After all, she is my uli-ah too.”

R’t’lla didn’t bother saying anything after that. She just smiled smugly under her wrappings. She knew he’d see things her way.

“We attack when the suns set, bringing the Bantha mounts with us. Under the cover of darkness, we should be harder to detect.” R’t’lla changed the subject, squinting under her eye tubes at the brightening suns.

“Should we bring a few warriors with as well?” T’krru asked, looking in her direction.

“For a lone Outsider? Our mounts and ourselves are more than enough.” She answered. “Just as long as my Uli-ah is safe, I do not care what happens.”

Well, here's the fourth part. I hope you guys are still interested in this. It's been awhile since I updated.

Anyway, enjoy :)

_____________________________________________________________________

With the late afternoon sunrays baking the surrounding sands, Leera and Hari stayed indoors, where it was considerably cooler. Leera cleaned the small house, trying to keep busy. She sighed sadly from time to time, whenever her eyes fell upon something that belong to Platoo, but she kept going.

Hari pulled herself up, via a nearby table, reaching for her stuffed Bantha, which just happened to be in the middle of the table. As she was reaching for it, stretching her little fingers as far as they could go, she slipped. Her chin hit the top of the table, filling the house with a jarring bang.

“Hari!” Leera exclaimed, dropping her cleaning rag and running over to her. Hari just laughed, still reaching for the Bantha. Leera chuckled. Kids are so resilient; they bump themselves and just keep going like nothing happened.

“Here,” Leera handed her the Bantha. “Now don’t climb on the table anymore. You don’t want to get hurt again do you?”

Hari just stuck the curved horn of the toy in her mouth, chewing on it as she looked at Leera. Leera retrieved her rag and continued her cleaning, keeping a closer eye on Hari.

OooooO

R’t’lla pace furiously around the camp, growling and pausing to glance in the direction of the moisture farms every so often. Her clenched fists and stiff body posture announced that she was angry and ready to strike.

“R’t’lla, calm yourself. You have been pacing all day,” T’krru told the furious female, sitting on a boulder, watching her. He was just as ready to fight as she was, but he knew that pacing wouldn’t make the suns set any faster.

She didn’t acknowledge him, continuing her pacing. He may not have cared about their uli-ah as much as she did, but he could at least show some degree of worry. He was always so levelheaded and calm about things that it annoyed her to no end.

“Does it not bother you that some outsider has our uli-ah? Their kind has ruined our land for many, many birthing cycles with their ignorance and now they are taking our young ones. I will not let that go any further than it all ready has,” R’t’lla finally said, stopping her pacing and turning towards T’krru, her body language daring him to contradict her.

“You know as well as I that I care about our uli-ah and dislike those outsiders as much as the next Tusken but pacing and ranting will not solve this problem,” He told her, staying calm as ever.

She turned her head away from him, growling. Catching the tone of the growl, he decided to shut his mouth rather than run the risk of angering her even further by arguing.

“Look, the suns have started to go below the dunes,” R’t’lla observed, changing the subject suddenly.

“Let us prepare our mounts then,” T’krru told her, standing up from his seat, putting his Gaffi in the holster on his back.

R’t’lla and T’krru both proceeded to their mounts, which were tied off not too far from where they were. Listening to a nearby group of young Raiders talking about how they were going to earn their right into adulthood, R’t’lla shook her head, throwing a blanket over Sh’rra, her Bantha.

“Those uli-ah do not stand a chance against an aging Dewback, let alone a Krayt Dragon,” She said to herself, patting Sh’rra’s great shaggy head affectionately. The Bantha just snorted, nudging her gently.

T’krru couldn’t help but overhear R’t’lla’s comment and decided to throw in his two cents. “I agree. They are both too young and too weak.” He copied R’t’lla’s gesture and patted Y’ran, his Bantha, as well.

“Shall we proceed then? By the time we hit the moisture farms, it will be dark,” R’t’lla said, patting her Bantha twice, signaling for Sh’rra to lower herself so that she could climb up.

T’krru nodded, mounting his Bantha as well, following R’t’lla over the pastel stained dunes.

OooooO

Leera glanced out the window, holding a fast asleep Hari in her arms. Something didn’t feel right tonight. There was some sort of uneasy vibe in the air, like something out of the ordinary was going to happen. She didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, but she felt as if she couldn’t let Hari out of her sight for a minuet.

She glanced out the window again, the uneasy feeling growing stronger. She quickly pulled the thin curtains shut, shrouding the distant dunes from view. Shaking off the growing feeling for now, she walked over to her bed, hoping that some sleep may make the feeling pass. Laying Hari down gently on the bed, she stretched out on her side, keeping a protective arm around her daughter.

Pulling Hari gently closer to her, she shut her eyes slowly, not allowing herself to get too comfortable. She feigned sleep, all the while keeping her ears open for any little sound. She didn’t want to be caught totally off-guard if anything did happen. As she relaxed, she was unaware of two Banthas, bearing the marks of Tusken mounts, were getting closer by the minuet.

Here's teh fifth part to my story. Hope you like it. :)
_____________________________________________________________________

R’t’lla and T’krru stopped just outside the moisture farms, just far enough so that they wouldn’t be seen by anyone that happened to look in their direction.

“Are you certain that the female outsider lives there?” T’krru asked.

“Where else would she live?” R’t’lla said, as her Bantha lowered herself so she could dismount. “Besides, I have seen her enter this house before.”

T’krru shrugged, knowing not to argue with her. She’s been watching the outsider ever since she found out she had their Uli-ah, so chances are, R’t’lla knew what she was talking about.

R’t’lla tied off their Banthas and led T’krru across the darkening dunes. She crouched down behind a dune that lay directly behind Leera’s house, dragging T’krru down with her.

“Keep quiet until I say so,” R’t’lla told him, as quietly as her voice would let her. T’krru nodded in acknowledgment, as they moved right under a dimly lit window, keeping low so that they couldn’t be seen.

R’t’lla cautiously rose, knocking T’krru’s hand away when he tried to pull her back down. She peered through the window, scanning the room. R’t’lla pulled out her Gaffi, rising the club side to the window.

“R’t’lla!” T’krru exclaimed, forgetting that he had to keep quiet as she slammed it into the glass, shattering it.

OooooO

Leera shot up at the sound of the shattering, heart racing as she grabbed Hari, who awoke at the noise too and started crying. Leera stood, walking to the bedroom door, clutching Hari to her chest as she walked into the doorway. She gasped as she saw a Raider climbing in through her window!

She was torn between being confused and fleeing. Usually Raiders didn’t enter moisture farmer’s houses, they tended to stick to the outskirts. This one must have really good reason to enter the house. Leera watched the Raider, as they made their way towards where she was standing, throwing stuff and knocking things out of their way in the process. She noticed that they weren’t taking anything, just throwing things around like they were looking for something.

The raider turned towards where Leera was standing. Their eye tubes fixed directly on her eyes. She saw their head go down, obviously looking at Hari, and them growl, aggressively pointing at Hari as they advanced towards her.

Leera ran to the back door in fear, not wanting Hari or herself to get killed. She looked down at Hari, who wasn’t scared at all in fact she was calm. Instinct told her she didn’t have anything to fear from the Raider. Leera, whose instincts were telling her something different, bolted from the house as the Raider followed, giving voice to a braying call.

As Leera ran, she was blindsided by something big and cloth covered. She fell onto her back, cushioning the now crying Hari from the shock. She looked up, seeing that she was blindsided by another Raider, the spear end of their Gaffi pointed now hovering dangerously close to her throat. They growled at her, jabbing the stick lightly, making the point dig into her neck slightly.

Leera stayed perfectly still, tears of fear now dripping down her face. Hari, although shaken, stopped crying. She looked up at the Raider, sensing that they weren’t going to hurt her as they pulled her, a bit roughly, out of Leera’s arms. Dropping their Gaffi, they held Hari close to them as another smaller Raider took Hari from them.

Leera’s finger brushed against the metal of the Gaffi as it landed by her hand. She stretched her fingers, curling then around the end, just above the spear tip and slowly stood up. Her fear was gone, replaced by a smoldering rage. She wasn’t going to let them take her Hari away. She took hold of the Gaffi, wielding the heavy weapon with both hands and in her rage, summoned enough strength to swung it at its owner, surprised that her arms didn’t get wrenched out of their sockets in the process.

It missed its mark though, hitting the Raider that held Hari in the arm, shattering the bone. The Raider gave a raspy, obviously pain filled cry, nearly dropping Hari in the process. The unarmed Raider grabbed their Gaffi back from Leera and swung it at Leera, missing only because Leera moved out of the way. She watched, helpless and crying tears of anger and mourning as they took off, taking Hari with them.

OooooO

T’krru walked back to their Banthas, supporting R’t’lla with one arm and holding Hari in the other arm. She took quite a hit in the arm, he wasn’t sure if it was even fixable from the way he heard the bones crack.

“We must get that arm looked at,” T’krru told her, shifting so that Hari sat in a more comfortable position in his arms.

“There is no hope for me,” She simply said, untying her Bantha and swatting her on the backside, causing her to spook and run off into the desert.

“R’t’lla, you are not going to-“ T’krru started, before cutting himself off as he watched his mate pull a dagger, bearing the marks of tribe on the hilt, out of her robes.

“You know as well as I that my arm cannot be fixed,” She told him, watching as the moonlight glinted off the blade. “What use will I be now?”

“But…not after you found our Uli-ah,” T’krru told her, but to no avail. What she was planning on doing was tradition and he couldn’t talk her out of it.

She walked over and placed her hand on Hari’s head, who looked up at her mother, not registering what was going on.

“You must take care of her T’krru,” R’t’lla told him before walking a little ways away and bringing the dagger up slowly.

T’krru clutched Hari to his chest before turning away. He didn’t want to see it and he didn’t want to subject Hari to it either. He didn’t turn back around until he heard the lifeless thud of a body hitting the sand.

He walked over to R’t’lla’s body, pulling the bloodied dagger out of her stomach, and concealing it in his own robes. He then looked down at Hari, who rested against his chest, eyes closing in exhaustion. How could he take care of her by himself? No one else would help him take care of her, plus he had little to no experience rearing children.

As much as he wanted to honor R’t’lla’s last request, and how much he wanted to keep his uli-ah after he went through so much trouble finding her, he knew he couldn’t. He looked at the direction of the moisture farms, wondering if his uli-ah was better off with that female outsider.

very nice.