All along...

Finn watched Sparr talking with Jango Fett's son from the main bar in the center of the cantina. It took a while, but they finally found him. Now hopefully they will join them.

From what he could see from his position in the room, things were... intense and complicated. And from the way Spal quickly left the booth and walked out of the cantina, it didn't look like Boba would be joining them right away.

That's understandable, as the kid may have other things to deal with besides his recent proposal. Who knows when he'll return to his people. But for now, Spall at least made contact.

Sighing, he leaned back with his back to the bar, his eyes roaming around the bar. Dax and Toby were beside him, drinking and chatting casually while he continued to observe the patrons.

Nothing more than a bunch of scum and villains.

Also...something seemed wrong with the environment. He soon discovered it when he found a peculiar person.

She sat alone, her back erect, and frankly, with her hands on her knees, as she looked around the tavern, with a somewhat unusual green outfit.

She radiates such a…purity that is so incongruous in this setting, yet so unique.

But most of all, what impressed him was her eyes. Her large eyes made her seemingly innocent character even more obvious.

Who is this girl?

Finn's curiosity about the young woman grew, and he briefly glanced at his Mandalorian brothers, finding them indifferent to their own affairs.

He stood up from his seat and approached the strange woman, her head shaking back and forth as she hummed to herself.

Finn cleared his throat, causing her to look up at him. “Excuse me, miss. Is this seat taken?

"Oh, no, please take a seat." She gave him a gentle smile that made him feel a little shy.

Finn nodded and sat down in front of her.

"I'm Finn." He introduced himself. "Finn Cissa."

"Mantis," she said cheerfully. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," said Finn. "So, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"Oh, I'm just waiting for some friends of mine." said the mantis

"really?"

"Yes. We just got here a while ago.

"Where did it come from?"

"can not say."

Wondering if she was covering up something, Finn continued, "So what are you and your friends doing in these places?"

"Find someone."

"Who?"

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “All we know is that they’re related to a friend of ours and we’re trying to reunite them.

"Well, strange."

“Before that, we were just looking for work here and there.

"What kind of job?"

"Bounty hunting, most likely."

“…You don’t look like someone who would engage in this kind of profession.

"That's what Rocket said," Mantis said. "But you'd be surprised. I'm a capable fighter now.

Frankly, her bent arms were adorable in the eyes of this experienced warrior. Who was this Rocket? Probably one of her friends.

"So, you're a bounty hunter."

"Yes~" Mantis nodded. "But we also do a lot of other jobs. Bounty hunting seems to be the easiest job for us to complete.

Finn wondered if she was just a rookie. She seemed to be.

"Which guild are you affiliated with?"

"Guardians of the Galaxy," Mantis said proudly.

He wasn't so sure he'd heard it right. "Guardians...of the galaxy?

She nodded happily. "Yes~Quil was a predator, but not anymore."

"Right... Marauders. Finn is clearly missing some information here.

He stared at her silently for a long time. The mantis girl tilted her head and looked at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" Mantis asked loudly, interrupting Finn's thoughts.

"Ok?"

It took her a moment to realize that he had been staring at her without saying a word.

"Oh, oh, sorry, I was just thinking about something, that's all."

"About?" she asked.

“Uh…” He didn’t know what to say here. “About…how you have such beautiful eyes.

"Come on, Finn, come on," he said in his mind. "Come on, man. You know you can do better than this.

"Do you think they are beautiful?"

Finn was stunned by the innocent question. He looked at her because she seemed to be waiting for his answer.

"Uh, yes. They are," Finn added quickly. "Pretty ones, even."

"Really?" Mantis Girl opened her mouth slightly and raised her lips. "I always thought they were ugly."

Finn found himself frowning at this. "Well, I don't know who told you that, but they have nothing to do with ugly.

"Oh~ Thank you~" Mantis Girl gave him a bright smile, and he couldn't deny that it made her look more beautiful.

"Well, who put their ugly ideas in your head in the first place?"

"My friend, Drax. My other friend told me that Drax was trying to... what's going on again? Put me down because he wasn't interested.

“…That sounds like a really bad way to go about it.

Mantis Girl just shrugged. "He's very honest."

Finn stared at the strange girl. "Well, to be honest, I think you're pretty."

Mantis just stared at him, eyes widening slightly, before she reached out and leaned forward. Finn blinked in confusion and swayed a bit, but she stayed close with her soft hand on his cheek. When she closed her eyes, a glow emanating from the tips of her antennae, his own eyes widened.

“You… you really believe this,” Mantis Girl whispered.

He felt... that when she touched him, she suddenly felt very happy. He didn't know where it came from, but the swelling feeling in his chest must have come from somewhere.

Pulling her hand back, the remaining feeling was replaced by pure confusion.

"Eh-what is that?" Finn asked, staring at the now slightly shy alien.

"When I touch someone, I can feel their thoughts," said Mantis Girl.

This was certainly an unexpected surprise.

"Can you feel my thoughts?" Finn asked, and Mantis nodded.

After a while, her face had a little redness and now she had a shy smile. "I've never been called pretty before."

Finn blinked and a smile appeared on his face.

"Well, I'm honored," he declared. "Because from now on, whenever I think of you, that's the only word I'll use to describe you."

The blush on her cheeks grew as her now bright smile spread and she clasped her hands together.

"Really?~"

"Well, that's not the only word I use," Finn said after a moment, with a more gentle smile. "I have a long list of—"

"Sister Mantis, you're here."

They both looked up to see a human male wearing a maroon trench coat and brown hair approaching.

“Hi, Peter. Are you done yet?

"Just barely. Everyone gathered back on the ship and prepared to set off.

"That's great." said Mantis.

Peter stared at the Mandalorian. "Is this your new friend?"

"Finn Cissa," the Mandalorian introduced himself, "I hope you don't mind me leaving your friend here."

"Peter Quill. If you hadn't done anything to her..."

"Oh, no, he's very kind," Mantis Girl chimed in with a determined smile. "He's very nice. He told me I was beautiful!

Finn bowed his head slightly, a small smile on his face.

Peter raised an eyebrow at what she said, then looked at the Mandalorian. "You thought some pretty words could convince her to do something—"

"Hey." Finn stood up from his seat. "Don't get your mind dirty like that. I'm not that kind of person.

Quill raised his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, it's alright, man. I'm just looking out for my friends here. I don't want to be on Drax's side if anything happens to Mantis.

Finn frowned. "Is that the Drax who said she wasn't pretty?"

"Hey, you told him?"

Mantis girl smiled and nodded.

Star-Lord snorted slightly. "Well, you made her day today. I guess I can thank you for that. This place and all..."

"I see." Finn waved him off. "We are on Tatooine, after all. There aren't a lot of friendly people around here.

With a nod, Star-Lord turned and left, nodding to Finn as a "goodbye", and Shisa did the same in response.

"Goodbye, Finn." Mantis said, walking up to him. "I hope we can meet again."

Finn blinked, then gave her a soft smile. “Same here, Mantis. Try not to get into too much trouble.”

She smiled at him and strode past the Mandalorian to catch up with Star-Lord, and the two of them left the cantina a moment later.

Now it seemed that he was looking forward to seeing her again.

"I should find a way to contact her."

"So, who is that? Your new girlfriend?

Finn turned around to see Dax grinning at him playfully.

"she is not."

"It doesn't look like that."

"Is there any way you can contact her again?"

Finn wanted to protest but sighed. "No, but I will next time."

Dax patted him on the back.

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