Private Like A Fish To Water

[Reina Daival]

Location: Coruscanti Bar
Tags: Isola Delaine
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor
Outfit

Coruscant. A seedy planet filled with criminals and scum, alongside your average citizen and paragon. Reina never expected herself to come back here willingly, but after getting sick of being on Tython, she decided a small break away from the Temple would be good for her. A way to get things off her shoulders. It felt strange to be travelling alone again, since she had joined the New Jedi Order nearly everywhere she had went was with someone else. Now it was like the good ol' days for her. Going from planet to planet with nothing but herself at the clothes on her back. Of course, her clothes weren't the usual either. If she was going out to drink, she wasn't going to be dressed in her robes or her old fishing outfit. No, today was a day for feeling casual.

Resting her hands in her jacket pockets, Reina made her way towards the nearest bar once she had landed planetside. A small limp still in her gait as her every second step was met with a small clank against the ground. That was going to take some getting used to. Maybe she could get custom boots made for her new leg? It'd be better than just walking around with a bare metal foot and her other boot. But none of that mattered for tonight as she stretched her arms out, a small grin spreading across her face. The woman could just let her hair down and let a side of herself out that she hadn't seen since before the Jedi. It was time to drink and it was time to let loose. The only strange thing about it was not having her harpoon on her person, at the very least she had her Lightsaber hooked onto her belt.

As soon as she entered the bar, her senses were assaulted with noise, aromas and lights that dazzled her for a moment. She had never actually went to a bar on Coruscant and by the Spirit, they were so loud. They were so flashy. It was like they wanted to ignore the Galaxy as a whole and just focus on what was happening right now. Perfect. That's exactly what Reina wanted as she made her way towards the counter, resting her arm along it as she looked around to order a drink. What to start with...what to start with...She shrugged her shoulders for a moment, breaking out into a sly smile.

"What would you recommend?"​

 

[Isola Delaine]

Tag: Reina Daival

The bar was loud. That helped. Sound meant she didn’t have to listen to her own thoughts. Sound meant she didn’t have to answer questions, hers or anyone else's. All she had to do was sit, drink, and forget.

Isola Delaine leaned back in the booth she'd claimed, fingers curled around a glass of something too bright and too strong. She wasn’t sure what it was, she didn’t ask. Didn’t care. She’d tossed her jacket over the seat beside her, hair half-loose from its usual tie, sleeves rolled to the elbows. The dim lights caught the edge of the tattoo on her forearm; just a hint of the coordinates she never showed anyone.

She was already two drinks in. Enough to burn off the day. Enough to feel warm in the gut and numb in the chest.

She’d tried, really. Tried to settle in. Tried to play the part. Jedi robes. Jedi rules. Jedi silence. But the Temple felt too clean. The meditations too long. The walls too thin. And Tython? Tython was quiet. Too damn quiet. She had to get away from it for a while.

So she left.

Coruscant was filthy, broken, familiar. Her boots belonged here. Her blood still remembered the hum of skylanes and back-alley neon. And tonight, she didn’t want to think about destiny, or grief, or the way he had looked at her, before...

She took another drink. Felt it sear down her throat. Then, the bar’s entrance opened — another wave of light and movement — and she walked in. Isola’s silver eyes tracked the woman instantly. Not because she was loud or flashy — though she did have that grin, and that gait — but because something about her felt... real. The way her jacket shifted with ease, the slight limp that didn’t slow her swagger. She looked like she belonged here. Looked like she didn’t give a damn who was watching.

Isola recognised that. Respected it.

And then—

"What would you recommend?"

Isola raised her brow from across the bar, swirling the last of her drink in the glass, and called over just loud enough to carry:

"Start with something that burns. If you’re lucky, it’ll hit harder than your regrets."

She didn’t say it with a smile. But there was a flicker of dry humor behind her eyes, and perhaps the indication of challenge in the way she watched.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Coruscanti Bar
Tags: Isola Delaine
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor
Outfit

"Spoken like someone with plenty of regrets."

Reina turned her attention to the source of the voice, blinking for a moment however as her eyes had to glance up towards the source, as the fisherwoman couldn't help but pout to herself.

"...Why does everyone in this Galaxy have to be so damned tall."

It wasn't like Isla was a giant or anything but Reina still couldn't help but feel peeved about the height differences of people she kept meeting. It didn't help that she was already short without the missing leg and now...She shook her head for a moment as she jabbed thumb in the direction of Isla.

"I'll have whatever she's having. And I'll pay for her next drink."

That was one benefit with joining the Jedi. She was able to keep most of her credits for personal use, instead of spending it on food or a place to sleep. With that being said, Reina made her way over towards the stranger, folding her arms along her front to look up at them, taking in their appearance for a moment. She seemed...familiar in a way. Reina wasn't sure if she liked that or was wary of it.

There were plenty of questions Reina had forming in her head. Who was this woman? What was she drinking? What were the regrets that were hitting her back. She was curious to say the least. But at the same time, the bar was where people came so they didn't have to answer personal questions. So they didn't have to focus on their regrets. So instead when Reina opened her mouth, she simply said...

"You have nice eyes. They're like the pearls I've seen on Mon Cala."

And then she turned her attention back to the counter to grab her drink as it was brought over towards her. It had been an age since she last had a good drink and she was damned sure going to enjoy this one. It wasn't some fancy smancy fruity cocktail for her to take a sip from, no. Instead she took a big swig, breaking out into a grin at the burn. This was what she missed. Maybe she should try to get some of the Padawans out for a drink...Urgh. Look at her. She was thinking about being social.

"....Well. This does certainly taste better than my regrets."​

 

[Isola Delaine]

Tag: Reina Daival

Isola tilted her head. Her silver eyes tracked the woman now approaching with a confident gait... Well, as confident as someone could be with a limp and a literal metal leg. She had a presence about her. Not loud. Just… worn in. Like an old flight jacket that still fit just right.

The Mon Cala comment caught her off guard. Not because of the compliment itself, but because of how genuinely unexpected it was.

Isola blinked. Once. Twice.

"Thanks," she said after a beat, voice even, but quieter than before. "That’s… oddly poetic for a bar like this."

She watched Reina take a long, unapologetic swig of her drink and grinned slightly into the rim of her own glass. Isola took her time before speaking again. Just let the hum of the bar fill the space between them.

"You always flirt before names, or is this a special occasion?"

She didn’t say it sharply. Didn’t say it to wound. Just dry. Deadpan. Wry. A second passed. Then she tilted her glass in Reina’s direction.

"I'm Izzy. Padawan, I guess. Just got into Coruscant."

She took another sip.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Coruscanti Bar
Tags: Isola Delaine
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor
Outfit

"Flirting? I...don't do flirting. I don't know how to."

Reina blinked herself this time. Trying to wrap her head around that. What exactly had she done that was flirting? And what had she said that was poetic? Everything Reina had said was the truth. Stuff she could see. Poems were for metaphors, things that didn't make sense. Urgh. She was getting too focused on the details. No, she just had to live in the moment instead as she took another swig.

"Reina. Also a Padawan. Haven't seen you around before. Feel like I should have since you're well...tall."

It was strange to find another Padawan here. Maybe they were here for the same reason Reina. If that was the case, she wasn't going to make any comments about it, nor even worry about it. She didn't want to think about the Temple and she was sure that her new drinking buddy didn't want to be reminded either.​

 

[Isola Delaine]

Tag: Reina Daival

The older redhead gave a quiet laugh, soft and sheepish, like she hadn’t expected to hear something so simple. So earnest.

"Yeah. Tall," she echoed, brushing her fingers through a lock of hair that had fallen forward. "Been told I look like I belong in a fight ring. Or a scaffold crew. Not so much in a Jedi robe."

Her voice wasn’t bitter. Just factual. As if she’d made peace with it, or at least grown used to the assumptions. She lifted her glass again and took a drink then, eyes on the bottle for a moment longer than necessary before setting it down. Then, softer, her tone shifted with something between curiosity and caution.

"So... what brings a fellow Padawan here tonight? Not Temple business, I hope."

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Coruscanti Bar
Tags: Isola Delaine
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor
Outfit

"Whoever told you that is a karking idiot. All the jedi I see are massive giants. If anything, I'm the one who doesn't fit it. Shoulda just stayed as a fishermen."

Reina gave a gentle shrug of her shoulders at that. She was relaxed for once, away from the Temple. Not having to follow the rules and being able to drink was blissful for her as she had another swig, a grin spreading across her face slowly but surely. Before shrugging once more at Izzy's question

"What does it look like I'm here for? I'm not here for the company."

Maybe that was rude of her to say, but it was the truth. Reina was here for the drink and to have a fun time. Not to meet new people, not that she was fully opposed to it at the end of the day.​

 

[Isola Delaine]

Tag: Reina Daival

She snorted softly, the corners of her mouth quirking up just a little.

"You’re blunt. I like that."

Without another word, Izzy reached for the bottle between them. With a quiet ease, she poured Reina a refill, smooth and practiced, like she’d done it a hundred times before for strangers she didn’t bother naming. But this time, her eyes lingered a little longer. Not unkind. Just… curious.

She slid the glass back toward Reina with two fingers, then leaned an elbow on the table, cradling her own drink in her other hand.

"Well," she said, voice low enough to stay between them. "For someone not here for company, you’re doing a damn decent job of keeping it."

A slow sip. Then a wry smirk.

"I get it, though. Can't expect much from this crowd anyway, I guess."

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Coruscanti Bar
Tags: Isola Delaine
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor
Outfit

Reina...blinked for a moment. She hadn't had someone tell her that they liked her bluntness. At least not someone she had just met. She shrugged her shoulders at that, taking yet another swig. She needed it. The burn was nice. It adding fuel to the fire within her as she let out a content sigh.

"First time I've heard that I'm doing a decent job at something."

Another small shrug of her shoulders as she let her eyes glance around the bar in thought. There wasn't any point staring at Izzy, and from what she was slowly being taught, staring was something that was rude. Reina had been working on trying to be more polite in life so she wasn't going to try and go back on it, even as she leaned up against the bar counter.

"The crowd here isn't that bad. Most of them just want to forget their problems. They don't have the strength to face it."

Did that mean she didn't have the strength to face her own problems? Eh. It wasn't something she overly wanted to think of right now as she carried on taking swigs from her glass, enjoying the small buzz tingling away.​

 

[Isola Delaine]

Tag: Reina Daival

Izzy let out a snort — low, wry, almost involuntary — as Reina's words hit a little too close to home. She tilted her glass toward her lips, paused, then laughed softly through her nose instead.

"Truuuuueee that..." she muttered, dragging the syllables with a lazy, drawling ease that only half-masked the truth behind it.

There was a beat. A flicker of something in her silver eyes, recognition, maybe. Not of Reina, but of the feeling. Of trying not to think. Of trying really hard not to feel. She set her drink down with a soft clink, fingers still curled around it like a lifeline.

"Well," she said after a moment, tone quieter, more deliberate, "I aim to get wasted tonight. Forget about my problems."

Her mouth twisted into a half-smile, crooked and tired but honest.

"I don't know about you."

She didn’t ask. Didn’t press. Just took another drink, gaze drifting over the bar like maybe the answers were hiding in the noise.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Coruscanti Bar
Tags: Isola Delaine
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor
Outfit

She didn't pry. This wasn't the place you pried into someone else's issues. Reina wasn't some kind of therapist. She was the type to make someone's mind worse if she was being honest. Not in the way that Serina makes Reina's mind worse. No. She'd try to help and more than likely mess it up. That's what she always did when she tried to help. She just...made it worse.

Though an eyebrow raised at what sounded like the form of a challenge from Izzy. Reina's eyes darted down towards the way Izzy clutched her drink, as if it was a life preserver keeping her from drowning in her own thoughts. From drowning in the darkness that clouded her mind. Did Reina really want to encourage that? Her fingers wrapped around her own glass, a frown of hesitation on her face. The older version of her would have taken the challenge as is...

"...You know you're challenging an ex-Sailor right? I could drink you under the table, if I wanted to."

Though that was her response. She was raising up to the challenge. If Izzy wanted to try and beat Reina, well she was going to have to work for it either way.

​

 

[Isola Delaine]

Tag: Reina Daival

Izzy blinked, her brow quirking just slightly as Reina threw down the gauntlet. A challenge? That hadn’t been the Intent, but she supposed she didn’t mind one either. She let out a short, dry huff, swirling what was left in her glass.

"Wasn’t tryin’ to pick a fight," she muttered, then smirked faintly. "Just wanna get drunk, man." She raised her glass toward Reina in mock salute.

"But hey. If you wanna go toe-to-toe with me, I’m not stopping you."

A shrug, easy and nonchalant, but there was a glint behind her eyes now, sharp and amused.

"Let’s see what the sailor’s got."

And with that, she knocked back the rest of her drink and signaled for another, the quiet challenge between them no longer accidental. Just inevitable.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Coruscanti Bar
Tags: Isola Delaine
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor
Outfit

"Nothing like getting drunk with someone else."

Reina shrugged her shoulders. It had seemed like an unsaid challenge to her earlier. Reina wasn't a fan of leaving things unsaid. If you had something you wanted to say, you should say it. And so she took another swig of her drink, finishing it all in one before requesting her next one. Her throat burned but it felt good. The fire inside of her was roaring and she couldn't wait to get more.

"It's a win-win for me either way. I get to drink you under the table, or I can use the excuse that I'm broken goods for why you beat me."

She waved her hand down towards her leg at that, keeping the smirk on her face. It was true either way. She could just excuse it as her having less blood and body mass to tolerate the alcohol. Not that she planned on giving up anytime soon. It had been a while since she had gotten to properly drink with someone...but she was going to enjoy this.

​

 

[Isola Delaine]

Tag: Reina Daival

Time blurred a little after the fourth round. Maybe the fifth. Izzy had lost count somewhere between the strange neon drink with the citrus burn. All she knew now was that her skin felt warm, her limbs loose, and her laugh had come easier than it had in weeks.

Stars, she needed this.

She leaned against the edge of the booth, one elbow propped lazily as her drink swirled in her hand, half-full, or maybe half-empty, depending on how poetic she was feeling. Her jacket was tossed to the side, hair messier now, tumbling into her face. She didn’t bother fixing it.

"I can’t feel my teeth," she muttered, mostly to herself, with a grin tugging at her lips. "That’s a good sign, right?"

Her silver eyes found Reina again, and she blinked, slowly. She raised her glass in mock salute, but the motion had a touch of real respect in it. The buzz wasn’t just in her body — it was behind her eyes now, humming at the edge of every thought. Her cheeks were flushed, her words just a hair slower than usual. She didn’t care. For once, she wasn’t on edge. She wasn’t waiting for the next crisis or pretending she had it all together.

She was just here.

Getting drunk with someone who didn’t ask too many questions. Someone who felt real.

"Honestly," she said, nudging her glass against Reina's with a quiet clink. "I don't even know what I'm drinking anymore. But if I wake up tomorrow and don’t regret anything? Gotta be a first."

She smirked. Then leaned back again, eyes tracing the bar lights, a little too bright now.

"Your turn," she added after a beat, eyes half-lidded. "Tell me the worst place you ever passed out drunk. No lying. I’ll know."

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Coruscanti Bar
Tags: Isola Delaine
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor
Outfit

She was buzzing. A small giggle even escaped her lips at Izzy's comment about her teeth, shaking her head for a moment. Whoa. The room was spinning...Yeah. Maybe...Maybe she shouldn't do that again. She didn't want to collapse down to the floor. What drink was she on? She had lost count when it went above...well she had lost count! Okay. She couldn't remember the exact number that they all started to blur together. She had to even squint to see Izzy in front of her, her eyes unfocused.

"I'm...slowly learning that I have to live with my regrets. They're what makes me who I am...I don't like who I am...but who knows? Maybe that'll change...eventually."

It was one of the first times she had actually admitted it. That she didn't like who she was. She had thought it plenty of times. But kept it to herself. Tried to power through it. She wanted to be the version of her that people believed in. Not the broken version that could barely hold herself together when it came to her anger. But that anger was gone for now...She was just relaxed. Loose as she leaned against the counter, her eyes fluttering every so often.

"Worst place...Worst place...I mean...there was this one time on the ship that I passed out...and woke up in the collective spew of everyone who had been drinking...That wasn't a fun time..."

No-one had bothered to wake her up when that had happened, nor pull her out of the mess. They had left her there. It was one of the first few lessons that had taught Reina "tough love". She had to pull herself out of the mess, because no-one else would...​