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The Mandalorian woke up.

Now, this was pretty normal for him. He woke up every day, except on the days he didn't sleep. The odd thing about this was that he didn't remember where he was or how he'd gotten there.

He sat bolt upright. Where was the kid? Thankfully, he still had his weapons- he'd apparently fallen asleep fully suited up and ready for a fight- so he was able to grab his blaster immediately. He leapt out of the bed he was in, looking around.

To his relief, the kid was laying in a strange-looking cradle right next to the bed. It seemed to be woven out from strands of some kind of thick silk. He didn't wanna know what kind of bug that came out of.

The warrior shook his head, walking over to the kid. He was asleep for now, though he guessed they wouldn't stay that way for long.

He didn't have time to contemplate the strange circumstances before someone walked in. She was wearing some kind of mask, or maybe those pale spikes were horns growing out of her head. Her eyes were black as coal, like her pupils had expanded to fill the entire space. It was almost unnerving seeing *that* on an otherwise human face.

She clearly wasn't human, though. The mystery woman barely paid attention to him as long, thin fingers ending in sharp points emerged from beneath her red cloak. She ran her fingers across a weapon lying on a desk across the room. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen, seeming closer to a massive needle than an effective weapon. There was even a string of silk threaded through the loop at the end; she picked up the weapon, and the silk seemed to vanish.

The horned woman began cleaning the weapon. Her back was turned to him as she said, "I see you've woken up, strange thing. We found you wandering the Wastes."

"The... The Wastes? What planet am I on?" He stared at her, confused.
_ _
"Ours has no name to you, though it once held the great kingdom of Hallownest. The Wastes are the barren, windswept plateaus between worlds, at least here." She paused in cleaning her weapon. "And you? Where do you come from? I've not seen your kind before, well-traveled as I am."

"I'm a Mandalorian. I come from no planet. Who are you? What kind of weapon is that? And where's my ship?" he demanded.

"So many questions," she murmured. "I call myself Hornet. I use a nail of custom shape, crafted with my strengths in mind. As for your ship, I haven't seen it. I imagine it was lost to the Wastes."

*"Lost?"* He clenched his fists. "How do I know you aren't lying to me?"

Hornet tilted her head to look at him. "A good question, though your suspicion is misplaced. I can show you the Wastes, right now or later if you prefer."

"Right now." He paused, glancing over at the kid. "Please."

She hummed softly, slinging her 'nail' over her back and walking over to the door. "Take the child with you. I do not want Grimmchild or Hunter to find them alone."

The Mandalorian felt a shiver run down his spine, but complied, picking up the kid gently. He followed Hornet carefully, so as to not wake him up.

The walk outside was short. When Hornet opened the doors, he was surprised to see just how vast and empty the planet was. It looked to be made entirely of some kind of dark rock, and the sky was pitch-black. He immediately felt a chill in the air, even through his armor.

His guide seemed unbothered by it; he supposed she probably saw this every day. She gestured toward one area of the wastes. "The entrance into Hallownest lies that way. I'd suggest staying away from it, lest you wish to be robbed of your memories. In the other direction is Pharloom, though it's much further. Bandits and bounty hunters like to roam that area."
_ _
He reached for his blaster. "Bounty hunters... Are they Guild?"

"Stand *down,"* she snapped. "No, they're not. Most of them only operate on this planet, and most of them are looking for me."

He narrowed his eyes, about to respond, when he heard a strange noise from behind him. It had the cadence of water flowing over rocks, but there seemed to be some kind of words within the sound.

Hornet's attention snapped back to the house. "Go back inside," she ordered. "And put your mask back on."

There was a musical sound, almost like laughter. The flowing-water came again, but slightly different.

"You are *not* funny, Hunter, and Grimmchild, stop encouraging them. Now put it back." She folded her arms as the Mandalorian turned to look.

He was greeted with the sight of a small creature donning a pale horned mask, and a red bat-like thing hovering next to it. The masked one seemed to be entirely black and wearing a torn navy cloak, while the bat was wearing nothing at all. "These... are Grimmchild and Hunter?" They looked more like stuffed animals than actual threats.

Hornet nodded. "Yes. They're little devils, both of them, no matter how cute they may seem. Hunter in particular seems to have taken to stealing things lately."

Another flowing-water sound. This time, it sounded indignant, somehow. He wondered if that was how Hunter spoke, and why Hornet could understand it.

"Hunter! Don't be rude," she scolded.

...was Hunter a child too?