Please Hold your Applause

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"Don't. Touch. Me."

The voice behind the helmet was sharp as the blade she carried at her hip. Yes, she. Even in armor, the figure was very clearly female. Very odd armor too. Not the bulky thing you expected from a Mandalorian. Hers was light, fitting close to her form. It was fitting for an acrobat, someone who wished to move easy, who valued speed.

She was just like her mother in that regard.

The person who'd made the mistake of brushing against her raised an eyebrow, but backed down when she set a white gloved hand at her blade. Even at only 5' 3, the woman had an intimidating way about her. She carried herself with confidence, with grace. She was the daughter of the Pirate Queen herself and the long gone chieftain of the Tal'verda clan. She demanded respect.

The short mandalorian woman brushed through the Cantina, feet soft on the ground, noiseless, even if not for the loud conversation and music. Her eyes were focused on her target through the visor. Just a few more feet...

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lorane was, as ever, probably being hunted. His hand never strayed far from the guns at his belt, no matter how drunk it appeared that he was. The various bullets on his belt were within easy enough reach, and his jet boots were more than powered enough to get him out of a dangerous situation fast. Much like the hunter he was unwittingly being sighted by, he preferred to be lightly armored enough to be acrobatic in his movements.​

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A slight mental blip went off in his head. The good doctor could almost smell the blaster gas as he slowly raised an eyebrow and reached into his jacket, apparently going for his wallet, but actually going for one of his many hidden guns.​

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[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"Don't. Move."

Her sharp voice cut through the music like a steak knife through butter. Her blade was out in an instant, pointed to the back of the Chiss's neck before she even took the next step. She's caught him off guard, or at least, she thought she did.

"Ceil Devala," she snapped, "You are under arrest. Hands up."

...Of course, by now, she hadn't realized that she'd gotten the wrong Chiss.

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Ceil Devala, huh? Well, that was not Lorane. The girl was holding a knife at his back all the same, though, and that meant getting the same treatment as if she'd been actually hunting him. He sighed heavily.​

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"Kid..."​

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The Chiss doctor literally flipped over her head, using her shoulder as a vaulting point with one hand as his jet boots fired and he cocked his gun. He aimed it right at her neck, where even the most armored bounty hunters usually minimized armor to avoid snapping their own necks during a fight.​

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"... You've got the wrong guy. And the wrong weapon. You don't bring a knife to a jet boot fight."​

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[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"....Feth."

The eighteen year old cursed softly, feeling her cheeks go crimson. For the first time in five years, she'd messed up. Badly. What was she gunna tell the clan?

"FETH! You looked just like him from behind!"

She sighed and slowly sheathed her sword, then raised her hands above her head.

"If you aren't my target, then I'm not going to hurt you. Easy now. Look, I'll buy you a drink to make up for it."

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Alexander Sannes]

Redacted

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lorane holstered his gun back in his jacket, squinting at the armored girl curiously. Something about her voice bugged him. Even through whatever filters were in her helmet, the voice sounded familiar. He sat back down at the bar and looked at her again. Still something familiar.​

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"I don't mean to be rude, but would you mind taking off your helmet?"​

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The name was on the tip of his tongue. But... gah.​

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[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"What!?"

Her... helmet? What was this guy? Some kinda lonely pervert? Wanting to see if she was cute under the helmet? She growled under her breath, but pulled the helmet off her head, letting her shoulder length white hair fall messily down her back.

"There. Happy?" she snapped, shoving the white helmet under her arm.

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lorane made an exasperated noise in his throat when he saw the girl's face. He immediately shut up and ordered another drink. The green acidic liquid was gone from his glass before he looked at her again.​

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"You're Zandra's kid... R-something. Wow, you look like her. Heh, same pissed-off look, too."​

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The bartender dropped another glass of Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster in front of him, and he drank it, happy that he'd solved his little mystery.​

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[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Did he say... Zandra? The teenager raised a thin blonde eyebrow at the Chiss, certain she miss heard him. Then he went on about the pissed-off look. Yeah. That was mom for sure. What a... tiny Galaxy.

"You know mom?" she asked, taking a seat next to him without bothering to ask for permission. She set her helmet on the bar top and turned towards the Chiss to look him right in the eye. He could be bluffing. But then, not many people knew Zandra was her Mother. For that matter, not many people knew Zandra was a Mother.

"What, you her boyfriend or something?" she snorted. Unlikely. He was too young, even for mom. "Should I be calling you 'step dad'?"

 

[Doctor Azure]

"She's my friend through mutual 'I won't shoot you 'cause you saved me' clause. Also, I built her the right hand she's got right now. That's the extent of that."​

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Lorane smirked as he drank another large glass of Gargle Blaster. Especially at the idea of him being with Zandra.​

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"Not that I don't like Zandra to a certain extent, but if you ever have cause to call me 'step dad', stab me with that toothpick you tried to stick in my back, there."​

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[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The Tal'Verda girl snorted in amusement and motioned for the bar tender to get something for her too. Eighteen was not too young for a drink. She'd seen kids half her age ingest twice the amount of alcohol that she could handle. Clan Tal'verda raised 'em tough.

"The hag's too old for ya anyway. And she wouldn't be interested," she shrugged, leaning against the bar as the bartender whipped something up for her, "The Di'kut probably thinks Dad's out there still."

She snorted in amusement. Truth was, Rawnie... really missed mom. And dad. She remembered how things used to be. Two years ago, just before Dad went missing. They'd all been so happy. Dad would teach her how best to kill an uxi, and mom would spar with her.
Mom still visited the village from time to time, but not as often as Rawnie would have liked.

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lorane smiled sadly at the memory of the day Zandra came to his clinic with her hand missing. She'd been so frakked up, he'd been afraid to give her medicine when he attached the prosthetic hand.​

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"No... She knows he's dead... Deep down, she's given up. First time I met her, she was so spiced, she thought she was talking to his ghost. Made me so sad, I didn't even charge her for the hand I stuck on her. Not that it was worth anything."​

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The thought of that first hand he'd made her still made his brain cringe in horror. At least he'd managed to make her a second one, right?​

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[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

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((OOC: The immature part of my brain would like to congratulate you on having 69 posts on Rawnie... -_-))​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"He ain't dead," Rawnie growled. She surprised herself at how... protective she was about her Fathers memory. He was probably dead, but even Rawnie, the most pessimistic of the Tal'verda children, could not bring herself to admit it.

"He ain't dead, at least I don't think he is. Dad was tough. Wouldn't go down easy. Nah. He's probably got a new family somewhere. New wife, new kids. Just too forgetful to bother telling us."

There. That was better. Pessimism always felt comfortable to Rawnie.

((Congrats on 969))

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lorane groaned as he drank his next glass of acidic Gargle Blaster.​

​

"Wow, you and your mom are just a couple of rays of sunshine, ain't ya?"​

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He put down his glass, leaned his head on his hand, and actually looked at her. Anything he could've possibly said about that action would've ended up with him either being punched in the face or teased about liking Zandra again. Neither one of those were results he was drunk enough to accept.​

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"Name's Lorane, by the way. I'm a doctor."​

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[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The teenage girl snatched up her drink as soon as it was set down in front of her. Why did he care? So he was a friend of moms. So what? Mom was a big girl. She could take care of herself. Rawnie was a big girl too now. She'd been without her father for years. She could go the rest of her life without him too. It was just plain-

"Facts," she shrugged, "Just stating the facts of the matter."

She took a deep sip of the weird blue liquid in front of her.... then almost spat it out. So sugary! Who seriously drank this stuff?

"Lorane? I'm Rawnie. Rawnie of clan Tal'verda."

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lorane snorted at Rawnie's first sentence, making his drink bubble a little bit.​

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"I'm not gonna judge you. I'm a doctor who should know better than to drink the green acid I'm drinking."​

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Her reaction to the blue drink made him smile into his own. It was way too sweet for anybody. He knocked back the rest of his drink and then ordered two Gargle Blasters instead of one.​

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"Well, Rawnie Tal'verda, how do you feel about recklessly stupid ideas?"​

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The Chiss doctor pushed one of the green-colored drinks to her, and then drank most of his own.​

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[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The Mandalorian narrowed her honey colored eyes at the chiss. Reckessly stupid ideas? Oh yeah. She'd heard this line before from some of the other boys (and girls too) from the village beyond. Come away with me, Rawnie, let's go do something... fun. Rawnie didn't fall for it then. She'd been too busy. Someone had to make credits to keep Clan Tal'verda going, and mom was having a tough time doing it alone.
Besides... after what she'd seen happen to mom? She didn't really trust anybody that came to her looking for romance.

"I avoid recklessly stupid ideas when I can," she answered sharply, although... she did have to admit her curiosity was piqued, "....why?"

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lorane somewhat drunkenly raised an eyebrow at the tone of Rawnie's reply, and then very slowly pointed at the bottle of Gargle Blaster he'd put in front of her.​

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"Chit's strong. And probably really bad for you."​

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He squinted at her, his curiosity piqued just a tiny bit.​

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"What did you think I meant?"​

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[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The young woman physically relaxed when she realized he was talking about the drink.

"I thought you were trying to flirt," she sighed, picking up the drink, "Thank the stars. I really don't wanna put up with that today."

It was half the reason she didn't like to take off her helmet.

[member="Doctor Azure"]