Private Neon Streets of Nar Shaddaa

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber | Wyrmfang​

Varin listened to her speak with amusement in his eyes. An amusement that had left him distracted to the plays that be, behind him. A large hand clasped on his shoulder before he had the chance to respond to Seren as a large bouncer dragged Varin’s attention away.

“I don’t mean to interrupt you two, but this man here owes another a drink. Contrary to belief we do not take kindly to thieves.”

Varin’s gaze shifted to the large man then back to the patron who had called over the security, standing in his corner with a smart smirk upon his face.

Varin slowly turned to face the bouncer before him.

“A thief?”

Varin spoke with a tone that Seren would only recognize as one of being challenged. He picked up another drink, downing it as soon as it touched his lips.

“A thief hides in the dark marveling at his work from afar. A coward that knows nothing but themself.”

The bouncer placed his hand upon a stun baton holstered upon his belt.

“I’m not here for philosophy.”

Varin’s gaze flicked to the weapon then back at the man. Finally he looked at Seren with a bit of a smile that only conveyed the feeling of giddiness.

“Conquest has officially begun.”

Without another word or warning, Varin’s hand that held his glass shot up impacting the man to the side of the head, spraying alcohol and glass within the bouncer’s eyes. As he screamed and grabbed at his face, Varin’s hands clasped behind the bouncer's head driving a hard knee to the bridge of his nose, then shoving him headfirst into the bar.

The man laid unconscious, but alive.

Without another moment of haste more individuals shot up and began a slugfest amongst themselves.

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren recognized the change in Varin's voice immediately.

Her eyes closed for half a second.

Of course.

They had come to Nar Shaddaa intending to drink too much, make questionable decisions, and perhaps discover what sort of trouble the two of them could find when neither was particularly interested in exercising restraint. Somehow, despite all of that preparation, Seren still found herself releasing a long-suffering sigh when Varin looked at her with that unmistakably delighted expression and announced that their conquest had officially begun.

"I knew I shouldn't have encouraged you."

She made absolutely no effort to stop him.

Instead, Seren calmly reached for her Upside Down Jawa as Varin smashed his glass against the bouncer's head. The mist still curled lazily over that hideous dirty-green mixture as the first punch was thrown somewhere behind her. Someone shouted. A chair scraped violently across the floor. The entire cantina seemed to recognize the invitation at once, erupting into exactly the sort of chaos one expected when several dozen intoxicated beings had merely been waiting for somebody else to start the fight.

Seren tipped her head back and finished her drink.

All of it.

The obnoxiously sweet mixture disappeared in several long swallows before she placed the empty glass neatly on the bar and wiped a trace of chocolate from the corner of her mouth with her thumb. Only then did she turn around to survey the rapidly expanding brawl.

"Well..." Her amber eyes found Varin through the chaos, and despite the sigh from moments earlier, a wicked little smile had begun creeping across her face. "We did agree questionable decisions ruled the night."

A particularly enthusiastic patron apparently decided Seren looked like the easier of the pair and came toward her. She waited until he was nearly within reach before slipping sideways, catching his extended arm and using his own momentum to send him sprawling across the bar she had only just vacated. Bottles rattled from the impact, and Seren stepped neatly away before one could topple onto her.

She looked down at him, then across at Varin.

"For the record, I still think taking over your planet should be our priority."

Another body crashed into a nearby table, sending glasses scattering across the floor.

Seren's smile widened.

"But I suppose we can conquer the bar first."

Varin Mortifer

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber | Wyrmfang​

Varin watched as Seren deftly avoided the other patrons' sneak attack. A small smile reaching his lips.

“This is basically part of the culture on Nar Shaddaa, if there isn’t a bar fight at least once a day in your establishment then you are simply failing as a business.”

Varin turned to see a fist heading towards his face, to which he quickly avoided, sending a hard knee into the attacker's gut. A pained groan left his body as pain radiated through his ribs and forced air from his lungs.

Varin grabbed the man's back and quickly jerked him back up only to slam him back to the floor knocking him unconscious.

“Are you not having fun?”

He laughed as he stood back up grabbing yet another bottle from the bar and opening it. He tipped it back as another man approached him, attempting to kick his leg. Varin took the hit and slammed the bottle into the man's face.

“Conquering the bar seems more like a game.”

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren barely had time to appreciate Varin's definition of Nar Shaddaa culture before something struck her across the shoulder from behind. The blow was enough to knock her a half-step forward, more surprising than genuinely painful, and she caught herself against the edge of the bar before turning toward the offending patron. For a heartbeat, Seren simply stared at him, amber eyes narrowing as she rolled her shoulder once.

"Oh, I'm having fun."

The man swung again. This time Seren was ready. She slipped beneath the punch and drove her fist sharply into his ribs, following it with a second strike that sent him staggering backward into another pair of brawlers. Unfortunately for them, neither appreciated the interruption, and within seconds all three had forgotten Seren entirely in favor of fighting one another.

A delighted laugh escaped her as she turned back toward Varin. "You know, when you suggested drinking until we could barely stand, I don't think this was what I imagined." Her gaze flicked toward the bottle in his hand. "Although you're certainly making progress."

Movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Two more patrons were pushing through the melee toward them, apparently having decided the couple responsible for starting this disaster deserved special attention. Seren sighed, but the smile never left her face.

"Fine."

Her fingers curled slightly at her side. The shadows beneath the tables stirred.

Darkness stretched unnaturally beneath the flashing lights, spilling across the floor in thin ribbons that twisted around boots and ankles. One attacker stumbled when his own shadow seemed to seize his leg, pitching him forward into a table. The other managed another two steps before the darkness climbed around his ankle and jerked sharply sideways. He disappeared into the crowd with a startled yell and immediately collided with someone considerably larger than himself.

Seren released the shadows with a little flick of her fingers, leaving both men to whatever consequences awaited them among the other brawlers.

She turned toward Varin again, dark blue-black hair slightly disheveled now and a flush of exhilaration warming her features.

"Conquering the bar is a game?" Seren asked, amusement bright in her eyes. "Then stop stealing all the opponents, Varin Mortifer. Some of us would like to play too."

Another bottle sailed past them and shattered somewhere behind the bar. Seren glanced toward the sound, then back at him.

"Though I admit..." Her grin became decidedly wicked. "This may be the most fun I've had making a terrible decision in quite some time."

Varin Mortifer

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber | Wyrmfang​

Varin noticed how the shadows shifted as the brawl began to heighten in tempo. The change of music to help influence the event began playing. Something harder and faster than what was played before. The shadows had latched to their targets sending them off into different parts of the room all while she gave him that devious look that would possibly make any person seem weak at the knees.

“Force abilities during a bar brawl, tisk tisk.”

Varin offered her his own devious smirk as a man bulldozed into him back into the bar slamming into the wood causing bottle to jostle and lurch from their place. His arms clasped over the mans head as he drove knees into his sternum.

“Looks like the planet is already rubbing off on you.”

His arm wrapped around the man's neck in a headlock.

“But I suppose it could bring about some more fun.”

His flesh hardened into scales from the runes as the force erupted through his body. Another hand flew towards his face but he didn’t move, allowing the hit to impact as a crack sounded off from the attacker’s hand followed by a yelp of pain before Varin tossed the man in a headlock at him.

“Do we have a no kill rule here?”

A crack sounded off from his neck as someone broke a pool cue over him, a few more bodies attempting to dogpile him and force him to the ground as he stood there with near nonchalant and…glee?

It genuinely looked as if Varin was having the time of his life. He had faced many horrors of war, a few bar patrons with flimsy sticks were not even but a drop in a pool to him.

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren gave him a look at the reprimand, one eyebrow rising as though Varin had just accused her of committing some terrible breach of bar-brawl etiquette. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were there rules?" she called back over the music, amusement dancing in her amber eyes. "You neglected to explain them before smashing a glass into someone's face." The harder rhythm thudded through the cantina now, feeding an atmosphere that had abandoned any remaining pretense of civility. Seren could feel the alcohol warming her blood and loosening some of the restraint she normally carried without thought. Perhaps Nar Shaddaa really was rubbing off on her. Tonight, she wasn't entirely convinced that was a bad thing.

She twisted aside when another patron came at her, though she wasn't quite quick enough to avoid the fist that clipped her along the ribs. A sharp breath escaped her before instinct answered. Seren caught the man's wrist, drove an elbow into his chest, and sent him stumbling backward. The shadows eagerly answered her again, gathering behind his legs before sweeping them out from beneath him. He hit the floor hard enough to remain there, and Seren glanced toward Varin just in time to see a fist strike his scaled face with considerably worse consequences for the unfortunate hand that had thrown it. "You started using the Force too!" she accused with a laugh. "So I don't want to hear another word about my shadows."

His question about killing sobered one small part of her despite the absurdity unfolding around them. Seren ducked as something sailed overhead, then caught a nearby chair with the Force before it could strike someone in the back of the skull and sent it clattering harmlessly aside. "Yes!" she answered immediately. "Absolutely no killing. We're getting drunk and making terrible decisions, not leaving Nar Shaddaa with a body count." There were plenty of ways for the two of them to enjoy themselves without turning a ridiculous cantina brawl into slaughter, particularly when most of their opponents were intoxicated patrons armed with fists, furniture, and questionable judgment.

Then the pool cue shattered across Varin and several bodies piled onto him.

Seren stopped.

For the briefest moment she considered helping. Then she saw the expression on his face beneath the collection of increasingly desperate attackers and realized that Varin Mortifer was, inexplicably, having an absolutely wonderful time.

Her concern vanished beneath helpless laughter. "You are enjoying this far too much!" The accusation was somewhat undermined by the broad smile on her own face. Another attacker moved toward the dogpile, apparently hoping additional numbers might accomplish what the others could not, and Seren crooked two fingers. His shadow abruptly wrapped around his ankle and yanked him backward, dropping him onto his backside several feet short of Varin. "Those are yours." She gestured generously toward the men already attempting to bury him. "I'm keeping the next ones."

She had barely finished speaking when someone rushed her from the side. Seren turned to meet them, shadows unfurling around her boots as naturally as another person might have raised their fists. Somewhere between the alcohol, pounding music, Varin's obvious delight, and the sheer ridiculousness of what they had started, she realized she was laughing again.

"And for the record," she called toward him through the chaos, "when we get thrown out of here, I'm blaming you!"

Varin Mortifer

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber | Wyrmfang​

Varin’s shoulders playfully slumped after she stated killing was no option.

“Well that makes things significantly more difficult, but I guess I will play along.”

Varin’s body slowly rose from sheer strength alone as patrons tried to hold the massive Knight down, keeping his force body ability down to a minimum. A demonstration of his own natural strength. With a simple flex of his fists the force surged out of his body just enough to push back some of the patrons before he started fighting each one.

Fists flew as he also slammed his elbow in to any part of the body he could reach. His fighting prowess though it looked primitive still showed that he was always aware of everyone around him, the sense was more evident as he back up stopping just inches from Seren where he glanced back with a slight smirk.

“Some of these patrons are going to rack up a medical bill.”

He took a moment to watch her fight as he took another drink fro the bottle he took from the bar before setting it down and looking at the bartender who was simply cleaning a glass.

“Another one of those please.”

He then looked back at Seren.

“How can I not enjoy myself? This is what I was born for.”

A chuckle escaped him as his hand clasped the side of another patrons head who was trying to sneak behind her, slamming his head just hard enough on the bar to knock him unconscious.

“Take as many as you want, just be sure to keep your eyes wandering.”

He turned around just in time for another bigger patron to bull rush him over and behind the bar.

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren caught the exaggerated slump of Varin's shoulders from the corner of her eye and laughed despite the chaos steadily spreading through the cantina. Apparently, asking him to survive a bar fight without leaving bodies behind was an unreasonable restriction, though she suspected the complaint had considerably more to do with amusement than any genuine difficulty. She turned enough to catch another patron coming toward her and slipped aside, driving an elbow sharply into his ribs before using his momentum to send him stumbling past her. "I thought you were born to lead," she called toward Varin, amusement threading easily through her voice. "I'm beginning to suspect I've been terribly misinformed."

Her attention lingered on him as several patrons tried to drag the much larger man down, only for Varin to begin rising beneath their combined weight through sheer physical strength. Seren's eyebrows lifted slightly. She knew perfectly well that he was strong, but there was something undeniably entertaining about watching him demonstrate precisely how strong without simply reaching into the Force and ending the problem immediately. The small burst that scattered some of his attackers earned a quiet shake of her head before she turned toward another man foolish enough to enter her own reach, caught his wrist, and redirected him into one of his companions rather than meeting strength with strength.

When Varin backed almost directly into her, stopping only inches away, Seren glanced over her shoulder and met his smirk with one of her own. "Medical bills are considerably easier to explain than funerals." His warning to keep her eyes wandering proved almost immediately justified when he caught another patron trying to approach her from behind and introduced the man's head to the bar. Seren winced faintly at the impact. "Although you may be testing the distinction."

For the moment, however, Varin seemed perfectly happy drawing enough attention for both of them, and Seren decided she had earned the opportunity to enjoy the spectacle. Shadows gathered quietly around the small portion of the bar she had claimed, not lashing outward or reaching for anyone, but thickening just enough to make the space around her seem considerably less interesting than everything happening elsewhere. She retrieved her strange green-and-brown concoction and leaned one hip against the bar as though a cantina-wide brawl were merely an inconvenient interruption to an otherwise pleasant evening. The drink was still questionable enough that Seren studied it for a moment before taking another swallow, although by now she had either grown accustomed to the taste or accepted that questioning its ingredients would ruin whatever charm it possessed.

The relative calm lasted until the glass was empty. Seren set it carefully on the bar and allowed the shadows surrounding her little refuge to loosen, her amber gaze returning fully to the fight just in time to watch a considerably larger patron charge Varin hard enough to carry him over and behind the bar. Rather than immediately interfere, she leaned forward slightly to see where he had disappeared, lips curving as she waited for the inevitable response. He had just finished declaring that this was what he had been born for, after all, and Seren was perfectly willing to let him prove it.

Besides, watching Varin show off was proving considerably more entertaining than she intended to admit.

Varin Mortifer

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber | Wyrmfang​

The larger man started driving fists into Varin’s side as soon as they landed with bottles toppling over. The heavy impacts sounding out with deep dull thuds. Each one driving out a grunt from the large Sith. Varin’s hand clasped over the sides of the man's head, driving hard impacts to the man’s ears causing him to reel back in pain. Varin drove his fist into the man’s sternum pushing all of the air from his chest which caused him to hunch forward, allowing Varin to slam his head into the bridge of the man’s nose causing him to fall back squirming.

“I think I was born for multiple things. You cannot have a single birthright.”

His hand slapped the bar as he pulled himself up, then grabbed another bottle.

“Another drink my Lady?”

He sat a glass down as another man was thrown over the bar near him, taking his gaze for only a split moment before returning to her.

“Quite an eventful night, would you say?”

He watched the shadows dance around her, then at the chaos around the both of them. The previous bartender letting Varin practically do as he wished from behind the bar.

“Ice?”

He plucked some tongs from a small cubby from the bar, clicking them a couple of times before he looked back at her with a smile.

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren watched Varin disappear behind the bar beneath the larger man, wincing slightly as the heavy impacts sounded from the other side. She had resisted interfering when he went over precisely because he had been enjoying himself so thoroughly, and apparently that confidence had been justified. By the time she had moved close enough to look over the bar, Varin had already turned the situation around with considerably more enthusiasm than finesse, leaving his attacker crumpled while he hauled himself upright. His response to her earlier teasing earned a quiet laugh. "Multiple birthrights? How fortunate for you." She leaned against the bar as he immediately returned to the considerably more important business of acquiring another bottle. "Although I imagine 'cantina menace' was probably omitted from the official list."

When he offered another drink, Seren glanced toward her empty glass and then around at the continuing chaos before sliding it toward him. "I think another is warranted." A man sailing unexpectedly over the bar nearby barely earned more than a raised eyebrow before her attention returned to Varin. Eventful seemed a remarkably restrained description for an evening that had progressed from drinks to most of the cantina attempting to beat one another senseless, but she was enjoying herself far more than she probably should have been. When Varin produced the tongs and clicked them together with that smile, Seren looked from them to him as though seriously considering the question. "Yes, please. Apparently I've acquired a very attentive bartender." Her amber eyes flicked toward the unfortunate man sprawled nearby before returning to Varin. "The service is excellent. The atmosphere could use some work."

Varin Mortifer

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber | Wyrmfang​

“I will wear Cantina Menace with pride.”

He chuckled as he poured her drink in front of her. A crystal clear liquid that had no color, but the scent was sweet.

“I only help my favorite customers, and as for the atmosphere, that’s above my pay grade.”

He poured a second glass of the same liquid for him then deftly plucked a few ice cubes and dropped them into each glass allowing the liquid to cool further.

“Usually the bouncers handle that problem, but they seem…”

He looked down at the unconscious man by his feet.

“Preoccupied.”

He offered a glass to her.

“What do you think of our evening plans so far? Perhaps we need a bit more excitement? Go bungee jumping off a large building?”

His gaze found hers as a small smile cracked his lips, the giddiness within him seeming to come out uncontrollably at the chaos that had unraveled before them.

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren accepted the glass from him and gave the clear liquid a brief, suspicious inspection before taking a cautious sip. The sweetness in the scent had suggested something considerably more innocent than whatever strength might actually be hiding beneath it, and after watching Varin appropriate the bar with such confidence, she wasn't entirely convinced he knew what he had poured either. His declaration that the atmosphere was someone else's responsibility earned a quiet laugh, particularly when his attention dropped toward the unconscious man at his feet. "Convenient. You've promoted yourself to bartender just long enough to avoid responsibility for the state of the establishment." She lifted her glass slightly toward him. "Cantina Menace does seem increasingly appropriate."

His assessment of their evening plans, however, made Seren lower the glass slowly. She studied him over its rim as though waiting for some indication that bungee jumping had been another joke, but the barely contained delight on his face suggested that the chaos had only encouraged him. "More excitement?" Her gaze wandered deliberately around the cantina, taking in whatever remained of the brawl before settling back on him. "Varin, we've had drinks, acquired an entire cantina full of people trying to hit us, and you've apparently discovered a second career behind the bar. I'm beginning to worry about what qualifies as exciting by your standards."

The idea itself wasn't entirely objectionable, though the method certainly was. Seren took another sip before a small, mischievous smile began to form. " Although if you're actually suggesting we jump off a building, I'll trust the shadows over any cord." Given the choice between placing her life in a length of elastic attached to a rooftop and relying upon something she had spent years mastering, there was very little competition. Her amber eyes brightened as she leaned comfortably against the bar. "So if your plan for the rest of the evening is going to involve throwing ourselves from somewhere unnecessarily high, I suppose I should finish this first." She raised the glass he had poured her, amusement warming her expression. "You did promise questionable Nar Shaddaa choices. I can't complain when you actually deliver."

Varin Mortifer

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber | Wyrmfang

A small smile crept on his face after she spoke. The fighting in the cantina slowly began to die down, whether it be from lack of fighting spirit or people just ran out of opponents it was unclear.

“One real questionable choice is maybe getting a room for the night if that tickles your fancy even further.”

Varin leaned over the bar as someone dropped some credits in front of him before walking out. His gaze followed the stranger for a moment then back to Seren.

“I even made tips for the night that we can use for such an occasion.”

He plucked them up tossing the few coins up before catching them again.

“Perhaps bartending is a job I can get behind if planetary conquest does not pan out the way I am hoping.”

A small chuckle left him as he watched her raise her glass. He poured himself another and slowly brought it to his lips taking a quick drink.

“It's good medicine from what I heard.”

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren's gaze followed the credits when Varin tossed them into the air, and the suggestion that they use his newly acquired earnings to find somewhere to stay earned a slowly growing smile. "So this was your plan all along. Start a cantina brawl, steal the bartender's job, earn enough in tips for a room, and call the entire thing an evening out." Considering how little planning had actually gone into any of those developments, she doubted he could claim quite that much foresight, but somehow they had arrived at a surprisingly appealing conclusion anyway. His proposed alternative career only deepened her amusement. "You can be the bartender, and I'll be the entertainment?"

Seren managed to hold the suggestion seriously for perhaps a second before shaking her head. "Nah. I don't want anybody else looking at me the way you do, love." The words came easily, warmer than the teasing that had preceded them, and her amber eyes remained on his for a moment before she finally returned her attention to the drink. She finished what remained in her glass and set it down on the bar, deciding that if alcohol truly was medicine, she had probably received a thoroughly adequate dose for the evening. "There. Properly medicated." She slid the empty glass away and pushed herself from the bar, glancing around at the remnants of a fight that finally seemed to be exhausting itself.

Finding a room sounded considerably more appealing than waiting around to see whether anyone recovered enough enthusiasm to begin another round. Seren stepped closer to Varin and offered him her hand, a mischievous smile returning as she looked up at him. "Come on, Cantina Menace. Let's find ourselves a room." She gave his hand a light tug toward the exit. "We've made several questionable decisions already. It would be terribly unlike us to stop while the night is still young."

Varin Mortifer