Seasonal Fun at the Red Ronin [TSC & Friends]

[Anet Raine]

She eyed the dagger and wondered if Reina was being sentimental about her gutting knife, or if she just wanted a reason to show off a bit of sharp metal.

When the woman spoke of needing to condition one's body, Anet looked down at her own feet in a rare display of insecurity. Anathemous had said as much to her, too, albeit in harsher words, and Vestra has teased pain and punishment towards the acolyte's physical vulnerability at least once. Then, there was that time in The Pit where Anet had been shot in the side and her leg... not to mention the near-death experience she had with Kirie at the Red Library...

In so little time, the near-human had gained more than a few serious scars. All of which she hid quite intentionally beneath the dark, form-fitting fabric wrapped around her body.

She wasn't out of shape, though. A few years of working in the field, running her own dig sites, had given Anet something of a laborer's physique. At least for her body type. It showed particularly in her shoulders and posture. This was a woman who lifted, but did not fight.

Yet, she perked up when Reina made an offer - to show her how, on another day. Anet replied with a genuine smile, the first that wasn't a sly grin or smug smirk of the evening. She laughed, too.

"I'm fine... lightweight." She teased.

Anet sauntered towards the ledge and leaned against it, now closer as Reina's smile faded, and Anet's faded too in a rare moment of empathy. She wanted to know what was on the woman's mind.

"Don't think I didn't notice you avoiding my question. You're lucky you're entertaining. Otherwise you'd remind me of someone terrible. Someone I want to do a lot more than just punch."

"Ahh..." Anet chuckled dryly and tucked some hair behind her ear that had fallen forward when she looked at the street below

"You know, for some people, a punch is a lot like a kiss." She only thought afterwards if that was an inappropriate quip, given she had no idea how horrible this person might've been to Reina. To save herself, she moved the conversation along and answered the avoided question.

"I just want to have some fun."

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Anet Raine
Location: Nar Shaddaa
Outfit

Her eyebrows raised at the display of insecurity. It was familiar to Reina. Painfully so. She kept her gaze focused ahead of herself. This wasn't the kind of thing you stare at. When someone was feeling insecure, you don't poke. You don't prod. It was partly why Reina knew she wasn't cut off for what the Sith were like. When it came to weaknesses, they weren't something that Reina wanted to exploit. To torment. She wanted to help. It was the Light that still burned deep down inside of her.

And so...she decided to at least open up. Somewhat. To try and get Anet's attention off herself and to get the mind focused on something else. And what better place to open up with than the light weight comment.

"I wasn't always a lightweight. I could drink most people under the table. That was...before I was...altered."

She waved her hand towards the gills on her neck for a moment, trying to say what she was talking about without actually saying it.

"Some Sith that had an obsession with me. With breaking me. She captured me. At one of my lowest points. She twisted my biology. My genetics. Removed all my scars. Removed what made me, me. My missing leg. My alcohol tolerance. I can't even sing anymore, without hearing what she did to me."

Too much? Maybe. Reina wasn't sure. Part of her was really starting to wish she hadn't wasted that drink now.

"She's who you'd remind me of. She avoided all my questions. Acted as if she knew me better than I knew myself. Got into my head. I want her dead. It is one of the things I want the most in the Galaxy."

There was a lot of resentment growing inside of Reina. But at the same time, it was something she was grateful for. It helped push her onwards. She couldn't let herself fall, otherwise it would have proved it all pointless. She tried not to focus on any of that, as she reached over towards Anet...and just threw an arm around her. Not saying anything.
​

 

[Anet Raine]

Reina Daival

Anet glanced sidelong as she listened to Reina open up, still leaning over the ledge. It was a way for her to obfuscate the subject of her attention. Coyish, in a way, but a trained behavior.

That was... Heavy. And it reminded Anet of her father again. A nagging thought bubbled up, insisting that she reveal her own truth, because there were similarities - Anet was a geneticist's child, more than that, a vain speciesist; an Arkanian supremacist. Anet, like her siblings, was born by design, genetic tailoring and all. Her own mother selected to create a prototype. The half-pantoran was both a reservoir of genetic promise and a shining example of her father's vision for the future of his species... of all species who could "benefit" from the "greatness" of Arkanian ingenuity.

Of course, she didn't say as much, and Reina was half-right: Being a Sith had a part in it, but Anet also knew better than to confide so earnestly in a stranger - even a tempting one.

"You know this is a very unattractive conversation." She said bluntly, but wasn't bothered. "I can't help you kill anything other than time."

Anet squeezed a little closer as Reina placed an arm around her. One thing the woman might've noticed was how warm Anet was, a feature of belonging to two arctic-acclimated species. Her blood ran hot.

For a second try tonight, Anet reached across to place a familiar hand on the redhead's opposite wrist. A touch of comfort.

She sighed, though it was comfortable, not gloomy. The kind of relief you'd exhale after a warm shower.

"I set a low bar for girls you find at the club, don't I?"

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Anet Raine
Location: Nar Shaddaa
Outfit

"I've never been good at attractive things. It's why I've felt...off since I was changed."

As Anet squeezed closer, Reina just rested her head atop the half-Pantoran. Reina hadn't always been this comfortable with being so close to someone. Thanks to the story she had just told Anet. Yet she had found herself growing more and more fond of it, ever since she spent that time with Quinn. It had allowed Reina to get over her fear somewhat.

"And I said I wanted to kill her. Not that I would. Revenge is a fool's game. As much as my ex-Master thought I'd become some heartless killer, I ain't one."

Sure. She was hanging around the wrong crowd for that kind of stuff...But it was Reina's own code she followed. She remembered everyone she had killed. She didn't spare any tears over them, but she made sure to remember them. Death was not something that should be easy.

At least, it seemed like the second try was the charm for Anet, as Reina didn't pull her wrist away this time. Like it or not, Reina didn't see the other woman as a total and complete stranger anymore. Though she wouldn't call Anet a friend either.

"I don't know. I've never really talked to any girls at the club. First one I did, I got all tongue tied around her. She didn't even remember my name...She does now at least. I hope. She's...made me want to make something out of myself. To be someone."

Perhaps talking about another girl was not the smartest idea Reina had came up with...but it was just what was on her mind right now.

"I think you're doing a fine job Anet. And I mean that. Better than me at least."
​

 

[Mercy]

Tag: Arris Windrun Vestra Tane Acier Moonbound

Mercy would have missed it if she hadn't been paying sharp attention to Arris.

That struggle plain on her face as she was told she'd be left behind. Interesting. Mercy didn't take her eyes off of her. Not when the second revolver came out and not even when both guns were dropped to the ground. She had fought Arris personally, she knew the cyborg was a threat with or without a pair of guns in her hands.

But then she went out the room.

For a moment it was silent and then the words actually hit Mercy.

"Hold onto them for me until we reach Tapani."

Mercy blinked there. "What the fuck am I, her weapon carrier?" She glanced towards Vestra, meaning to tell her to take the guns and carry them herself, but that is when she noticed what a mess her apprentice was. Like a drowned little kitten all curled up and whiny. Mercy sighed and picked up the guns after all, holstering them in her own belt, replacing the standard blasters she got. Before drawing a glass of water.

The bartender had wisely fled at this point in time so Mercy had to handle it on her own.

With a glass of water in hand, she crouched down next to Vestra.

"You poor thing." Softly reaching out to stroke her hair out of her face. "We need to toughen you up, girliepop. Can't be vomiting around just because the going gets tough. I won't be there every time to put a stop to things before they go too far."

She put the glass next to Vestra.

"Drink up and then go get yourself cleaned up. People shouldn't see you looking like a drowned little kitten. You got too much potential to squander your reputation like that."

A gentle pat on her head and Mercy rose herself up.

Blood still trailing her body, but the shrapnel was already dislodging itself as her flesh rejected it and began to knit itself back together.

"I am gonna drink a whole barrel of whiskey." Mercy nodded to herself and began to walk off, to join the crowd downstairs. She wouldn't immediately join Arris. That girl needed some time, Mercy figured, but alcohol was pouring down like a waterfall for the people in the bar. Mercy wasn't going to miss an opportunity to get absolutely shit-faced.

So that is what the people downstairs would see.

A mountain coming down soon after Arris, bloody and blooded, but with bright joyful eyes. Aiming for the bar.

 

[Skael the Patient]

Tag: Riffraff Ranat Lysander von Ascania Varin Mortifer Seren Gwyn

"Yer bird is right, skyscraper man, might wanna adjust assumptions before makin' a real nerf outta yerself."

There was a bird on the counter next to her.

Had the bird been there all along? No, that couldn't be, because you'd have noticed a bird so fine. With a mane that magnificent. A piercing gaze that was so intelligent it almost looked like it was sentient. But no, birds weren't sentient. Everyone knew that. Then again, everyone knew that birds didn't appear out of thin air either, so today was the day that usual conceptions were challenged.

"There is a bird?" The bird swiveled its head from one angle to the other at the same time as that disembodied voice spoke into the air. "Where is the bird?"

Quizzical.

It couldn't be that the bird was talking, right? It wasn't opening its beak, but clearly someone was talking and asking weird questions.

"I have heard that if there is a bird, the bird is usually correct, wise and should be listened to if possible. Such as: feed the bird some peanuts, there is a bowl just over there. Please?"

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren's attention shifted the moment the bird appeared.

Not with surprise—at least not outwardly—but with that particular stillness that suggested she was recalibrating her understanding of the room rather than questioning her sanity. Her gaze moved from the bird to the counter beneath it to the space around it, as if confirming that yes, it was in fact occupying reality.

Then she exhaled softly through her nose.

"Of course there is," she said, tone even, dry, and utterly unbothered by the absurdity. "This is Nar Shaddaa. A talking bird barely qualifies as unusual."

Her eyes flicked briefly toward Lysander, then to Riffraff, then back to the bird again. There was no hostility in her expression—only quiet appraisal, the same look she used when encountering an unexpected variable rather than a threat.

"If the bird believes it is correct and wishes to be listened to," Seren continued, "then feeding it is a small price to pay for cooperation."

She reached for the indicated bowl without ceremony, took a few peanuts, and set them down deliberately, careful not to crowd the bird's space.

"Though," she added mildly, "I would caution against assuming wisdom is guaranteed simply because something announces it."

Her gaze lifted again, this time settling on Riffraff with calm interest rather than judgment.

"As for flying under the radar," Seren said, smoothly redirecting the conversation without raising her voice, "that tends to work best when everyone involved agrees on where the radar is in the first place."

A faint pause.

"And who is watching it."

She straightened slightly, hands folding loosely at her front, posture relaxed but attentive.

"Upstairs may be more… efficient," Seren agreed with Naniti, not looking away from the group. "If only to limit how many interpretations this conversation acquires before it is finished."

Her eyes returned once more to the bird, watching it with quiet curiosity as if it were just another piece of the room she intended to understand—eventually.

"One variable at a time," she murmured, almost to herself.

Skael the Patient Naniti Lysander von Ascania Varin Mortifer

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Arris Windrun Naniti Riffraff Ranat Varin Mortifer Seren Gwyn Skael the Patient
​

He assessed the shorter figure, carrying an expression that was neither welcoming nor closed off. He just let the pitch run its course, also letting it swallow whatever noise coming from the second floor. A longer breath marked the space between thought and reply.. like closing a ledger.

“Organizations don’t fail because they lack capability. They fail because they accumulate exposure faster than they can contain it.”

His gaze was every bit impersonal. “Every unaccountable action creates audit risk. Internal.. external ..it doesn’t matter which. Both end the same way.” The pause was only for consideration. “If you’re offering discretion, then the metric isn’t what you can do. It’s what never escalates or requires explanation. Demonstrate that when we arrive in the Tapani Sector and then we can structure.”

Despite having imbibed for the better part of an hour or so, the effects hadn't swayed his judgement, even if it managed to make his relaxed stance more readily found. Naniti's words hung in the air, enticing him to turn his head. Upon the suggestion to move their conversation, his chin lifted in agreement, allowing himself to follow that very line of thought above them for a moment.

“I’m not quite sure whether this room makes everyone braver than they are honest,” Lysander said between breaths, “or if you’re enjoying the idea of me a Lord. Roof first. Then we’ll see what you decide I deserve.”

He inclined his head once, acknowledgment to both Varin and Seren. A quick glance touched the bird perched on the counter, then over to the figure with orange eyes. Well, whoever wished to trail behind would do so. Whoever didn't, wouldn't. And with that assumption, he parted from the bar.

Along the way to the staircase, the crowd opened just enough for Arris to come into view. Shrapnel had scored her neck. One side of her face also caught the red lighting. That gave the gunshots more than enough context. Something about the cyborg always introduced a note of hesitation, but at the same time, too much of his current position traced back to her.

A hand disappeared into his coat and reappeared with a joint claimed between the index and middle fingers. “Taking this upstairs,” the words fell while keeping pace. “I was hoping you’d join us, Arris.”

If he had to guess, it would serve her better than anything poured at the bar.

The roof itself was unfinished. Durasteel panels were exposed, railings not yet where they would eventually settle. To the trained eye, one might notice signs of use in the unfinished space. Far from a showpiece.. just a little vantage point returned to when needing distance, or room to think at the Red Ronin.

While the others began to arrive, Lysander drifted to one corner where a few instruments rested against a series of crates. On one was an electric guitar. A cable was already seated into the jack, and the other fed into the portable amplifier.

​

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lysander von Ascania Naniti Varin Mortifer Riffraff Ranat Seren Gwyn Skael the Patient

Arris stopped on her way to the bar and turned to look at Lysander. Or, more accurately, the joint between his fingers - then at him.

She looked back over her shoulder at the mention of 'upstairs' from where she had just come. It was then she saw Mercy had left as well. Arris wondered if she had come to find her, but the Titan didn't even look her way as she headed for the bar. A smoke upstairs was more and more appealing.

"Sure," she replied.

Her tone betrayed the harm scarred along her face and neck. Spoken more like a bored girl at the club, rather than someone who just got out of a scrap.

"Lead the way."

Arris gave Naniti a nod and hadn't offered much attention to anyone else in the room. Not even the bird.

 

[Anet Raine]

The way Reina replied made Anet sigh again. The scholar was a curious creature, curious enough to want to know what the redhead meant exactly by 'changed', especially with the earlier mention of genetics, but she held the thought.

"And I said I wanted to kill her. Not that I would. Revenge is a fool's game. As much as my ex-Master thought I'd become some heartless killer, I ain't one."

"Is killing a heartless act?" She asked rather earnestly, but really, she meant, "Why do you see it that way?"

Anet wriggled gently against Reina, enough for the friction of their clothes to radiate into the near-human's skin. It was a temptuous sensation that teased more prurient questions at the tip of her tongue, just in time for Reina to open up a little about that part of her life.

"First one I did, I got all tongue tied around her."

"Isn't that the goal?" Anet interrupted before Reina continued.

"Sounds like she had an impact, then." It sounded serious. Or maybe Reina just really needed it...

The attention.

The acolyte's pale blue hand was soft against the woman's wrist, and fingers rubbed idly against the exposed skin.

"I think you're doing a fine job Anet. And I mean that. Better than me at least."

"Oh - I know I'm doing better than you right now," her smirk was practically audible.

Then, she thought to ask. "Do you want some practice, then? With the tongue tying, I mean."

It would've been easier with a drink in her hand, but Anet believed she was managing quite well, even if part of her thought it was stupid to play loose with an insecure woman spilling her guts at the bar, one and a half boozy drinks in.

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Anet Raine
Location: Nar Shaddaa
Outfit

"It can be. Not always. It depends on the reasoning. At least to me. To my ex-master? Any form of killing was heartless. Such a karking idiot. Her and I were too alike."

Reing sighed to herself as her gaze flicked down to the streets beneath the roof. Quinn definitely had an impact on Reina. The first person who had made Reina feel truly wanted. In a way, it had been serious for her and something she needed. But Reina was no fool. She knew she was nothing but a small fish in a big pond when it came to it.

"Her and I ended up going on a date. It was some blind thing. A friend set it up for me. It was...amusing in a way. I was still a Jedi back then. And she's...a Sith. But during that date? We were neither of those. We were just...two women who enjoyed each other's company..."

Her gaze flicked to look down at Anet's hands, watching the fingers gently running against her skin. Raising an eyebrow as Anet asked if Reina wanted some practice, the Ersansyr smirking for a moment. That explained it. It explained quite a fair bit for Reina as she shook her head, fighting the urge to let out a small chuckle.

"...I mean...experience always helps. But that wasn't the tongue tying I meant."

She doubted that Anet would match up with Quinn. But...like she had just said. Experience wasn't going to hurt anyone at the end of the day. There was a small thought in the back of Reina's mind, trying to make a decision. Before she made her choice, turning herself to face Anet, raising her hand up to cup the half-Pantoran's chin before giving a sudden lean in. This wasn't meant to be something sweet, something with emotion in it. No, it was simply...a "learning" experience for her.
​

 

[Anet Raine]

Reina Daival

"Too alike?" She repeated, amused.

Anet tilted her head, enough to catch Reina's streetward gaze, and an idea of the contemplation behind it. It allowed her to follow her eyes from the street to her hand, and finally up to where their looks met.

"Women enjoying women? I think I've read that in a book," she teased without ever blinking.

She hated Jedi - but that was absolved by the 'back then' that also left Reina's lips; lips Anet wanted to evaluate. Her cryptic soft-girl stare melted into a satisfied smile when Reina leaned in, metaphorically and otherwise. A smile that only widened - revealing some teeth as pale lips parted - with her chin possessed by the woman's hand.

Anet leaned closer, sliding her chin across Reina's palm, until fingertips pressed against her neck, and they were only a breath apart.

She whispered, "Nothing but practice..." And lightly pressed her lips to hers, but did not kiss. She savored anticipation.

Even at a party.

Even with a stranger.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Varin gave the small stranger a light chuckle before he snapped his fingers producing a small flame to help light the rolled paper.

“So, not a kid then. I apologize for the confusion.I'm still learning about other species.”

His attention shot to the bird that was now on the counter, a glare of confusion on his face.

“Lys, is this the new mascot?”

Varin slowly stood up keeping his eye on the newer stranger. A lot of new faces today. He watched as Seren presented a few peanuts to the new critters, the eyes on it seemed to show some resemblance of sentience. Though it spoke crudely.

Seren's voice broke him out of his confused stupor, looking over to her as she agreed with heading upstairs, and then another surprised guest, looking a little worse for wear. Arris was looking a bit banged up, but she didn't seem to care. Taking the joint from Lysander she seemed nonchalant as she followed upstairs. Varin took up the rear as he walked past Mercy, she was a major wild card even to Varin's standards. But he had to admit, she knew how to have a good time. His gaze found hers and he gave her a silent nod as he walked by, a moment of affirmation.

Finally they made it on the unfinished roof. It looked like something out of a grungy holofilm. All that was missing was some rain really and it would completely tie it all together. Then he saw them, the old instruments. His eyes widened.

“Lys, where did you find these?!”

He walked over to his old bass and picked it up, making sure it was in tune. A couple turns of the heads and it was perfect, strings were a bit old and worn but oh well.

He looked at Naniti.

“Here, show me what you know.”

He passed her the bass and then stood back and watched for just a moment before picking up another brass wind instrument.

He hadn't played this in years, hopefully he still knew how.

Mercy | Arris Windrun | Riffraff Ranat | Lysander von Ascania | Naniti | Seren Gwyn | Skael the Patient​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Anet Raine
Location: Nar Shaddaa
Outfit

"Stubborn. Blunt. We both refused to budge on our opinions. Ultimately? She gave up on me. She ended up apologising but..."

Reina gave a small shrug at that, trying not to focus on the thought of her past. Of being a Jedi. If it hadn't been for that one moment, she still would have been one. Still would have been training to be a Knight. To be a hero. All nonsense now. Reina was no hero. No knight. She was just a mercenary. Nothing to her name. No status whatsoever.

"I've barely read. Couldn't read until the Jedi. So I don't know what kind of books you have been reading..."

A small smirk flickered across her face at that. Of course Reina had heard about the whole Lady Velvet books in passing. She had never read them herself, it wasn't something that interested her. Reading wasn't something to be enjoyed. It was meant to be a chore to help you learn...but perhaps learning didn't always have to be a chore. It could be enjoyable...especially as she was about to find out.

So as Anet pressed her lips against Reina's, the redhead leaned in to kiss. She would never have imagined herself like this a year ago. The woman who hid from any form of affection, who was terrified of physical contact...Yet here she was being the one starting the kiss. There was a strange sense of pride growing within her. Though for now, she needed to focus on the "lesson"
​

 

[Vestra Tane]

Mentioned: Acier Moonbound | Mercy | Arris Windrun

This was, almost, enough to make Vestra start puking again.

Infuriating tenderness, like she was a child that had scraped its knee or been frightened by its own shadow. It was all she could do not to grab Mercy's hand and attempt to snap her fingers or rip the flesh from her wrist with her teeth or-

And suddenly her Master was gone, off to drink herself into a stupor.

Finally, given a moment of quiet, Vestra did the only thing that made sense to her.

She screamed, and shattered the glass left next to her with a bolt of lightning. The resulting cloud of hot steam and silicate shrapnel scratched her face, but the pain, at least, helped her focus. Slowly, she rose to her feet, and with a flick of her wrist, she called the arm she'd abandoned back to its place in her shoulder socket.

It wasn't fear that had caused her to falter, she'd wanted to scream at Mercy. And it wasn't pain, either. She'd lost limbs and kept fighting. Been disemboweled at least once. Ace had taken a chunk of her leg from her on Genarius. Pain and fear were old friends. They made her a better fighter, a keener killer.

No, this thing gnawing at her soul was a much stupider, much less useful emotion.

The Sith, mood thoroughly fouled, began the descent to the more public floors of The Red Ronin.

She needed a fething drink.