Private Once Upon a Cantina

[Viers Connory]

//: Verin //:
//: Jubilant Tryst Cantina //:
//: Random Level of Coruscant //:

“Welcome to the Jubilant Tryst.” A tall horned alien spoke happily to the hooded figure that stepped into the crowded cantina. His smile full of customer service authenticity provoked a smile from the stranger in response. Carrying on, using the returned smile as an invitation to describe the establishment and luxuries. Words droned on, and Viers soon tuned him out. The Devaronian, seeing that Viers’ interest was somewhere else, concluded with sarcasm dripping from his words, “Enjoy yourself.”

As he finished, he produced a hand expectantly. “Oh?” Viers quickly paused and looked at the hand, grinning as she slapped her palm against his. “Thanks, buddy.” and wandered off into the cantina. The greeter frowned and was soon bombarded by tourists. Then, with Viers out of his hair, his charm suddenly returned.

Viers continued to wander the tightly packed bar, it seemed with the recent wars on the edges of the Alliance - several people had wandered to Coruscant hoping for aid. But, as usual, the Alliance could only handle a certain amount and left others to test their luck. Yet, despite all of that, people seemed to be enjoying their short happiness in a cup.

“Oh, excuse me,” Viers raised her hands in defense with a smile that could disable the meanest of pirates. The enormous wookie that had bumped into her let out several throaty gargles and nodded, leaving the odd-looking girl in the middle of the bar. Feeling relieved the Wookie wasn’t the type to bar brawl, Viers continued to wander, standing out like a sore against the spacer crowd. Murmurs of a Jedi being nosey started to crop up as she continued to pretend as if she wasn’t eavesdropping on the conversations.

Maybe she should have dropped the traditional garbs she was raised in and stuck to the spacer look with her mother’s old worn Rogue’s field jacket. She would have possibly fit in a bit better and not be drawing the attention of some undesirables. Fitting in wasn’t as crucial as avoiding her parents’ past, especially after the last encounter in the jacket.

As she wandered, she stopped at the sabacc table and watched as one of the thick male twi’lek slip a card from his sleeve. It was a blatant cheat, and the patron he was facing seemed down on his luck. Viers decided to take justice into her own hands and slowly lowered herself to the ground. Fading into the Force, her hand reached up and slipped the wallet of the Twi’lek out of his bulging pocket. She weaved her way through the crowd the best she could.

“What?” one bar waitress moved aside, looking at the invisible wall she had run into. Another scruffed human lost his drink on his shirt as he also bumped into this invisible being. A few others fell victim to Viers until she found her way to an empty booth. So appearing, she looked over towards the minor chaos she created and winced. “Oops.”​

 

[Verin]

Viers Connory

Life was a schutta on shore leave.

Not enough time to really settle down and relax. Long enough it was easy to start pacing on the deck of your freighter. It only made Diego, her pet 'dog', anxious as all hell. So, the next best thing was to hit a cantina and start drinking. It flashed the time forward, until the next job came around. This is what Verin was doing at the Tryst cantina.

Drink. Re-order. Drink.

It was a good rhythm.

Easy to put the failure of Ziost behind her too. Two weeks prep for a new assault, who had come up with that? Verin didn't know and truth to be told it was better that way.

Liable to get someone's teeth smashed in otherwise.

The last thing the woman wanted was trouble. Usually it found its way on her doorstep, willing or not, but this night had been delightfully quiet. Until she felt the surge in the Force. Just for a quick moment, but it was enough to draw her eye to a random spot. Pazaak table or something like it. Seemed fine, one of them was clearly cheating, but that was none of her bus- ah hell. There it was. A faint pathway opening up as one person after another either stumbled into something invisible or something else.

No, just ignore it, it's fine.

Already Verin found herself climbing up to her feet. Always had been too curious by half.

By the time Verin got to the spot, Viers already shimmered into existence. "Ya'know." Watching that fat wallet in oh so small hands. "Didn't think a little one like you could be causing so much trouble."

 

[Viers Connory]

Slowly, Viers turned her head towards the direction of the voice. This was where she probably should have been worried about getting into trouble, but it was the last thing on her mind. All her mind could focus on in this instance was the woman’s comment, calling her little. “You’ve got some ner-” Viers’ voice trailed off as her eyes took in the entirety of her sudden company.

“Well, okay - I’m little compared to you.” The Corellian grumbled as she pulled the wallet tighter to her small frame. No sooner did the wallet suddenly disappear into the folds of her tunic and her hands back onto the table. “I’m not causing any trouble - no one saw me, no harm, no foul.” Viers winked and gave a little finger gun gesture, then returned to her people watching.

Almost like clockwork, the twi’lek stood and went to trade in his chips. He was promptly escorted out without identification and other necessary things that one would keep in a wallet. The tiny hands that once held the wallet clapped, laughing.

“How did you see me?” Then, feigning ignorance about the trail of spilled drinks and curse words, Viers asked curiously. She didn’t look towards the woman again but kept her eyes on the crowd as they drank and others danced.

Verin ​

 

[Verin]

Viers Connory

"I didn't - which I assume was the point of yar lil' trick." She drawled as she leaned her hip against the table and flagged down a waiter. "Gonna be drinking here now, another one of these-" Jiggling the glass half-full with Corellian Delight, amber and burn, before gesturing towards Viers. "What is yar poison?"

Whichever way it swung Verin sat down casually in the seat opposite of Viers.

As if she belonged in there or was invited - neither of which was the truth, but that didn't matter to her. Not because she was already intoxicated (which she was), but because in her mind a common thief didn't have the luxury to pick her friends.

So, doing it for her seemed only a gift.

"Didn't see ya, tis' true, but that big guy's gonna realize he doesn't have his wallet anymore. Then the real show's gonna start."

A shrug then.

Not as if Verin really cared. Just the audacity amused her immensely.

"So what's a thief doing in the Tryst anyway? Ain't exactly the usual haunt for folks like you." Maybe that's when Viers would notice something. A dog tag hanging off Verin's neck. Definitely an operator of some sort. Military? Possibly. Galactic Alliance? Almost assuredly. Which could explain why Verin was so inquisitive here.

Could, but didn't- of course Viers had no idea of knowing that.

 

[Viers Connory]

Little trick? Viers stared deadpan at the woman - who decided that she would join the monk for the evening. The waiter sighed, showing their discomfort in waiting or Viers to order. “Eh, whatever she’s having.” Truth be told, alcohol wasn’t something that the Corellian indulged in. There was only that one time with her friends with whatever Violet had brought her. Although to be fair, Viers really didn’t remember that day much after Violet showed up.

Viers shrugged and decided to play the situation coolly. Whoever this woman was, she was a bit nosey and drunk. The latter would play in Viers’ favor, hopefully. “He has to pick himself off the curb first and find a way back in here. Anyways, knowing a schutta like that, he’ll just assume he lost it on the way here or something or someone else took it.” Her hand waved off the possible disaster that would be coming her way. “No one saw me, like I said except you.”

The drinks came, which gave Viers a moment to think about what she would say next. She was never good with being put on the spot, thinking on the site, or well lying on the spot. When she did try and lie, the only person that got to hear it would already know the truth, and Viers would be disciplined for it. She shuddered slightly, remembering the embarrassment of standing in the middle of the enclave with buckets of rice in each hand as she announced her lie to the rest of the Order.

“I’m not a thief, despite uh first impressions.” She brought the glass to her lips and tentatively sipped the amber liquid. It was sharp and warmed her throat and belly as it settled. “What is this?” Viers looked at the sloshing liquid; while a part of her liked it, the other part wanted to cough and spit it out. “I’m here for a reason; the wallet was a distraction - but I’m here for a reason, heard some stuff was happening here, bad stuff.” She nodded and leaned back in her seat with the cup to her face. Viers decided to try and distract the woman from inquiring more into what she was doing here. Smirking behind the rim of the glass, the Corellian girl wiggled her eyebrows and took a sip.

Verin ​

 

[Verin]

Viers Connory

Oh, dear.

Verin watched as Viers ordered the same drink as her and then actually drank from it.

And didn't choke in it either.

"Whiskey, of course. Corellian. Because if it ain't Corellian it ain't worth a damn." A shrug there. Unless it was Mandalorian, but the farther away she was from that the better. It was one of the few things they had both agreed on. Just for different reasons. Not that Verin had ever asked... and she would never be able to either.

Sobering thought.

Drink.

There, that was better.

"Bad... stuff, huh? You mean besides wallets being nicked." Verin drawled lazily as she shifted in the seat, letting one foot rest on the edge of the table like she owned it. At that eyebrow wiggle Verin could only chuckle. "Uhuh, right. So what sort of bad stuff are you into then? If it ain't wallets.." Eyeing her all over again, scanning up and down. Viers didn't really look like much. Weird clothes like she was some sort of Jedi. Using magic. But Verin didn't know if the average Jedi actually stole chit.

She said they did, but she hadn't been the most reliable narrator as far as Verin was concerned.

"What's your name anyway?"

 

[Viers Connory]

"Oh, Corellian." Viers looked at the glass again, trying to hide the bits of embarrassment over her attempt to use flirtation as a distraction. "I'm Corellian." The typical unnecessary and pointless pride that every Corellian felt when talking about Corellian, drinking Corellian spirits, and just Corellia, in general, spewed from Viers' lips.

"All kinds of bad stuff." She exaggerated her tone slightly, emphasizing all and kinds, trying her best to show that she's not someone to mess around with. "Viers." Without a pause, she let her name slip; her brain instantly seized in a panic, knowing that she should have come up with something not actually true. She wasn't the best liar, and that was obvious now. "Uh, yeah, my name's Viers, and I'm into all sorts of bad things." Without effort, her lips curled into a roguish smirk, the best one she could provide in these trying times.

"What about you? You have a name, and why are you so curious?" It was then Viers caught a glimpse of the dog tags hanging from the woman's neck. If she decided to lie about her name, she could probably glen it from the tags. Another sip of the Corellian whiskey paused her talking as she waited, eyes scanning back out into the crowd, hoping not to see the Twi'lek again.​

Verin

 

[Verin]

Viers Connory

Oh kriff this one is green as feth.

"All the bad stuff, huh? Sounds like you could use a stiff drink then. A Corellian for a Corellian then?" A wink there and without waiting, already flagging down the bartender for another amber-filled glass to the girl in front of her. In truth Verin didn't know why she was pushing this greenhorn. Maybe it had something to do with the bile still regurgitating at the back of her throat at the thought of Ziost.

Two failures after another.

How many dead and for what?

It was the failure that stung the most though. It shouldn't have been so hard to dislodge them. Yet, here they were, nowhere closer to wiping the Sith off the map completely.

"Call me Verin." Dogtags said callsign lucky and yet Verin didn't look too lucky. Angry? Certainly. Drunk? Undoubtedly. But nobody lucky was sitting around getting drunk in this hellhole of a bar. That was for sure. "I have always been a nosey lil chit, Miss Viers All The Bad Stuff. It's why I was held back in class and why I am 'ere poking my nose in."

A grin there.

"Don't hurt yar a cutie and that ain't just cus' I am drunk. So, tell me- for real- why is a lil' cutie greenhorn robbing people in a bar? Seems a bit off, if ya ask me."