Put It On My Tab, Bartender

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

A day and a half after losing a match to Joran -- currently her least favourite human -- Nei called him up and gave him the coordinates to the dive she'd chosen. Actually, it was more of a hole in the wall, but still better than a lot of other cantinas around.

The Nautolan was waiting just outside the door of the Smokey Wampa, decked out in her armour -- with her blasters and helmet on this time, though her visor was up. She knew as soon as she got in there, she'd start buying herself drinks, and right now Nei didn't want to spend more than she'd have to. Besides, she didn't want it to look like a date.

A couple patrons were standing outside, chatting. One of them, a muscular Zabrak male, was eying her. Nei bared her teeth at him and uttered a low growl of warning. He just laughed, which irritated the Nautolan further. Tresses coiling upon themselves, she slouched more on the wall, arms crossed as she waited for the stupid human.

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

Joran had chosen to wear something simple, shirt, pants, boots and a light jacket. He spotted Nei waiting out side of some hidden hole in the wall spot. It was the kind of bar you didn’t find unless you know where it was or were in the middle of a run of shit luck.

He walked up to the Natuolan woman in her armor. Always in her armor, Joran was beginning to wonder if she owned anything else to wear. Joran smirked at her clearly visible blasters, a clear sign that he shouldn’t take this for more than it was, though Joran wasn’t interested in the clear signs, he was always into the signs people thought they were keeping hidden.

“Shall we go in then?”

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

Nei's eyes took in Joran's outfit, and she noted his apparent lack of armour or weaponry. Stupid human, she thought, curling her lip slightly. "You own any armour?" she asked, before raising a hand. "Wait, don't care."

Pushing herself off from the wall, the Nautolan brusquely moved past the other spacer, making her way down the slanted tunnel of an entrance. The walk was dim, and the inside was dimmer, but as Nei's eyes were built for low light levels she had no difficulty adjusting.

Not bothering to check if her date companion was following, the female stalked over to an empty booth, catching the bartender's attention with a jerk of her head. Sliding in, Nei took out one of her blasters and casually set it on the table top, keeping an eye out for a server.

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

Joran smiled at he when she asked about his lack of armor , it was a sad sort of smile but she was off and headed inside to quickly to notice. He had his armor, his beskar’gam, but it’d been a decade since he has worn it. Not since they day ‘Tash died. It was probably an empty gesture, not wearing it. She was dead and certainly didn’t give a shit if he wore it or not, but he did. Something about it, just didn’t fit right any more.

Joran followed after Nei ducking his head down as they walked through the tunnel into the small establishment and dropping into the booth sitting across from her.

“I, think we should start with a beer, yea?”

He said as they waited for a server to make their way over.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

Nei snorted. "Here? Beer be last. Start with a Core, si'hklesi foh." Keeping one hand on her gun, she used the other to flag down a server droid. When it asked what they wanted, she ignored any protests Joran might've had and said, "Two Reactor Cores to start with. Tell Rix the tab be on Nei. He knows me."

As the droid left, the smuggler returned her attention to the human. "Reactor Cores be strong, but good," she explained. "Help build up temporary immunity to toxins, whether they be liquid or they be gaseous. Very good for staying one step ahead of enemies who be looking to poison you. Me? I drink 'em first no matter where I go."

She settled back in the booth, though when she couldn't comfortably prop her feet up the Nautolan opted to sit sideways, back to the wall. "Now, to real question." Her large black eyes scrutinized Joran. "You ask me for a drink. Why?" Ever since the fight, Nei had mulled over his request. It was odd, really. The only reason she could come up with was that he wanted a better connection to the Red Ravens -- but that really didn't make much sense, either. She herself hadn't been with the Ravens that long.

Maybe he be wanting to take me out, she mused. Wonder who hired him, then? Black Suns? She twirled her injured tress absently in her hand, awaiting his response.

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

[member="Nei Laa"]

“ ’Cores it is.” Joran wouldn’t complain, reactor cores were a good drink for the paranoid or if you were drinking in a place you didn’t trust. So either this place was less than healthy or she didn’t trust him- maybe both.

Ah, the one hundred fifty thousand credit question. Why had he asked her for a drink. It was a fair question, there were plenty more females out there that would have consented without having to punch him first, but really why waste his time with someone like that.

“I, like you, Love.” not entirely untrue, he didn’t know her, but something about her Joran liked. It was probably her piss poor attitude, they had that in common, though she was a bit more up front with it.

“Besides, we started things off backwards. Usually, when a pretty girl points a blaster in my face, it’s after drinks.” he left out what else usually came before him being threatened with a blaster. he wasn't classless after all, he just acted like it.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

Nei stared at him, blank-faced, before snorting loudly. As she ran the phrase over in her mind though, she began to crack up. Seriously?! He was going with that?! Of all the pathetic excuses she'd heard for anything, that was pretty good.

After a moment, though, the Nautolan calmed herself down when she noticed others staring at her. This place wasn't ideal for drawing unwanted attention, and she soon quieted. "I not laugh like that in...years," she confided. The server droid came back with their drinks, informing Nei that the first round was on the house, but that Rix was unable to come out and chat.

As it rolled away, she grabbed her own glass and took a swig before looking back at Joran. "Just hope I don't decide to follow through with the incident at the casino," she warned. "Now, what be real reason?"

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

Joran drained his glass in two big swigs. The burn was immense but not unwelcome. He shut his eyes and shook his head.

“Sooner or later you will be glad you didn’t.” though it was very likely before they got to that point she will have wished she had more than once.

“Your, not very likeable girl. I like that.”

Joran wasn’t surprised that she found it hard to believe someone liked her. She made it tough. But Joran was old and easy was boring. So here he was, in some hole in the wall sharing drinks with an alien who probably wanted nothing to do with him.

“Who taught you to fight?” a simple question, though Joran thought he knew the answer.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

Nei raised her glass to her lips again, mumbling something about how she was already wishing she had before taking another sip. She let out a sigh, though, when it was clear that Joran was sticking with his reason. Bah, I'll get the truth out of him, she swore.

Her head jerked at his question, though she did her best to hide it. For some, that would have been a simple question, but for her it was more than that. It was one of those questions which, based on her answer, would threaten to bring up old, painful memories.

So, still fiddling with her tress, she grunted, "People, here and there. Mish-mash of stuff. Enough to get me out of a pickle."

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

“You didn’t learn enough.” he didn’t mean to insult her, well not entirely, he just didn’t pull any punches. The fight they had, in Joran’s mind was totally one sided. She had played to none of her strengths and exploited none of his weaknesses. If she had been one of his trainees, he would of made her life hell for a performance like that.

Joran looked around and called the serving droid back over. He was still thirsty.

“Bottle of Orryxian Catsblood. Two glasses.”

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

Scowling, Nei stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at Joran. "I not fight for winning, usually. I fight to distract, to escape."

She positioned the fingers on her hand to look like a gun before aiming at him. "But I be very good with blasters." Letting out a soft pew, she added, "Prefer those to fists any day, any place."

The Nautolan did the equivalent of raising an eyebrow at his choice of a drink. Taking another swig of the Core, she said, "That sound expensive. And be second round." Nei smirked. "Your money, now."

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

He laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Escape, win, sometimes they mean the same thing don’t they?”

He put his hands up like someone being robbed, when she pointed her gun fingers at him.

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, yeah?” he laughed again.

“It can get pricey, yeah, but not many people order it, so it ain’t the most expensive thing on the menu. It is the best though, and on me, Love.”

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

Nei drained the rest of her Core, snorting at his comments and actions. Hokey religions, indeed. "Pah, my blasters be ancient and they still be fast." Her tresses curled slightly in amusement, up til Joran used that stupid nickname again.

"For kriff's sake, it be 'Nei', not 'Love'! How many times I tell you that, hmm? Get it right," she said with a scowl. Honestly, though, the fact that he agreed to pay for the rest of the rounds off set some of her aggravation, though she still had one more thing to say.

"What kind of liquor be the drink? Whiskey? Beer?" Heavens forbid, "...wine?"

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

“Sorry, Lo-Nei. Just easier to remember is all.”

Joran filled opened the bottle of cats blood and filled the two glasses, one about half way up an the other he filled all the way. The drink was so dark red, it might have been black and thicker than syrup.

He put the half filled glass in front of Nei and took a big drink from his own. The blood red liquid didn’t so much spill down his throat as crawl, it was so thick it threatened to choke him on the way down, burning the whole way. He shuddered at the sheer ferocity of the drink, it was strong, damn strong.

“Dunno, what it is. Orryxian’s made it. It ain’t wine, but there is some fruity elements underneath all that alcohol.”

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

Nei snorted. "Both be one syllable, and 'Nei' has one less letter. Si'hklesi foh." She fell silent, though, when the drink arrived.

As soon as Joran poured her a drink, she began to grow wary of the drink. It looked like blood -- thick, old, blood. Tentatively taking her glass, she swirled the liquid around. Well, tried to, anyway. It was difficult.

She eyed the human as he drank, waiting for a moment to see if he'd keel over. When it became clear that the drink did nothing more than cause the big man to shiver, Nei sniffed at her own drink, grimacing slightly. Good thing I got the Core first, she thought, and took a small sip.

Eurgh. The flavour itself was alright, if a bit on the burning side, but the texture... definitely made her feel like she was drinking blood. Pulling a face, the Nautolan set to glass down on the table top. "Where in Coruscant's name did you find that?" she asked.

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

“Aye, that all may be true, but your name is specific to you and Love could be anyone, keeps me from calling you the wrong name and getting cross at me.”

Joran smirked at the face she made after trying the cats blood.

“Orryxia. I, was, fifteen…no, no, I, was fourteen and one day, me, da got it in his head that he wanted to spend quality time with son, so he drags me from the bar and puts me on a ship headed for force knows where. Me being a good lad didn’t ask any questions, I was just excited to finally be going on a mission with me da and his brothers. So anyway they get me on the ship, we travel a few hours in hyperspace and exit above Orryxia, I had no idea where we were of course but that’s where we were. Pop loads me up, puts me in a set of armor, it wasn’t Beskar or anything, just run of the mill Dura steel or something common like that, puts a rifle in my hands and off we go.”

“It so happens, that a group of Orryxians was causing trouble for a group of wealthier Orryxians, so they hired us to put a stop to it. We show up and the Orryxians shit them selves with fear.” he laughed .

“The last thing they expected to see was a company of Mandalorians turning up at their door step. So they basically surrender right then and there, and I’m thinking , you know job well done. Me da has another idea, he says “We earn our credits.” We were after all the famed Del-Finn mercenary company. So he drags out the leader of this particular band of Orryxians, makes the guy get on his knees and points his rifle at him.” Joran took another sip of drink, shuddering.

“So, you know I’m thinking ‘kill this guy, the new leader will be too afraid to continue.’ smart strategy, yeah? But see my dad, liked to think outside the box, so he had the man’s wife brought over and thrown in the dirt in front of him. He says “Joran, kill her.” and like I said, I, was a good lad, never questioned my dad, until right then. “What?” I says to him. “put her down boy.” he says to me.” Joran’s eyes began to water just slightly, hardly noticeable.

“The Orryxian, is looking at me, he don’t know, I’m, just some, kid. With the armor on I looked like a man grown, but I was pissin myself like a wee baby. I still haven’t shot her, yet and my dad is impatient. He says “Fine, kill her, or kill his son.” fucking hell, what kind of choice is that? I could see the cat man trying to work it out in his head, trying to make a choice that is impossible to make. Hell, I, was making the same choice, running it through my head.”

“ and I‘m honestly trying to think which would be worse for this man, when my dad finally gets tired of waiting and I know I gotta make that choice “Joran!” he screams at me and finally I choose. I put two blaster bolts in the back of her head. That didn’t sit well with Orryxian, who got up from the ground, hissing and growling like they do, he charged me. My dad just watched, and I was fourteen, just killed my first being and now I’m being attacked. I put him down to, clean shot to the chest. That riled the rest of them cat folk up and we ended up having to kill, all of them. Warriors, women, children. We snuffed em all out.”

Staring into nothingness for a moment Joran finished his drink, his face painted with shame and somber sadness.

“We found 10 crates of this stuff laying around their village or encampment, whatever it was. It wasn’t the first drink I’d had, but it was the most helpful.”

Joran filled his glass one more time and for the first time in a while, was at a loss for words.

“Sorry, Love. My stories are usually better.”

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

Nei's head was resting against the wall, her eyes closed as she listened to Joran's story. The waves of pheromones coming off of him were making her feel overwhelmed. And why shouldn't she? The man had to kill a bunch of innocents when he was a kid. She'd never experienced it herself, it wasn't hard to imagine the pain.

And there was pain. There was pain, and grief, and shame. Genuine, too. Her tresses curled and uncurled slowly as she struggled to handle the sensory overload. It was making her woozy.

Eyes still closed, she grunted at his apology. "Bah. I asked, you answered. Can't fault you for that."

She began to drum her fingers on the table, thinking. This moron probably isn't trying to kill me, then, she thought. Bah, kark it. A story for a story. Without looking at him, she asked, "People always wonder why I wear my armour all the time. Want to know?" Nei's tone was gruff; she wasn't one for soppiness and she was struggling to maintain her composure. Sad story it might have been, the Nautolan was still too paranoid to completely trust Joran.

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

Fuck, there it was. Pity. He didn’t need pity. He needed a drink. Joran took another swing off his second glass of Cats blood. The drink was starting to get at him, his mind felt fuzzy and his body felt floaty. He was a long way off from drunk but he was on his way.

“Sure.” he no more an answer than that. He did not like the way she felt sorry for him. They always felt sorry for him. Poor Joran, with his scars and his losses. Everyone around him dying or leaving. Fuck that.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Joran Del-Finn"]

She nodded when he voiced his consent, though she held up a finger. "One moment, then."

It occurred to Nei, then, that he'd probably think she was sick. "I not be sick, by the way," she explained. "You be putting off a lot of pheromones, be throwing me off a bit." She sat for a moment before taking a deep breath and opening her eyes. "There. All under control now."

Clearing her throat, Nei faced straight forward, which for her would be facing to the left of Joran.

"When I be younger, I was hired by a captain to be an addition to his crew. He be smuggler, and I be a simple dock hand, so understandably I jumped at the opportunity.

"They were a good crew, like family. Everyone was close, and had their function. Like gears in a machine. One goes, they all go.

"About two years after I joined, the captain took on a job smuggling guns to some planet or other. Don't remember where; don't much matter. It was the usual business: pick up goods, go to meeting point, drop them off and go. I was excited because one of the crew members, practically my sister, had made me my own set of armour. No fancy metal or nothing, but karking awesome for a pipsqueak like me. First time I wore it was when we dropped the load off."

Sometime during her monologue, Nei Laa the smuggler/hired muscle had stepped aside to let Nei Laa the wide-eyed teenager out for the first time in years. Maybe it was the leftover pheromones. Maybe it was the drink. Who knew?

"Boy, was I glad I was wearing that armour," she continued. "Apparently some rival mobster of our client had caught wind of the transfer, and was looking to put a damper in our day, so to speak, by sending his deputy guy and some men. One moment we're unloading the guns, and the next we're being shot at. But we put up a good fight, though I really didn't do much.

"Our resistance irked the guy to no end, and who could blame him? He was expecting somethin' easy, and we sure as kark weren't having that. We hadn't even been paid the rest of our credits.

"So what does that si'hklesi du'ka do? He decided if his boss can't have 'em no one can, and tries to blow up the place! I was near one detonator when it went off, and if I hadn't been all decked out..." She trailed off, realizing she'd let her guard down.

Cue the smuggler/hired muscle retaking her place.

Nei cleared her throat, shifting in her seat. "In any case, I was knocked out cold. Been under for a whole day, but my armour be the reason I wasn't burned badly."

Reaching for her glass, she added, "So now, I be wearing this any time I leave my ship. Don't wanna be caught somewhere without my armour."

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

[member="Nei Laa"]

Joran listened to her story, staring at his drink, glad that some one other than him was talking. Her story was a familiar one, full of betrayal and loss, of growing up too fast and having to be stronger than one actually was. Her story was one of a million, yet unique to her and who she was now. Of everyting Nei had been so far, she hadn’t seemed the type to share, so Joran took note that he was one person she thought she could open up to, whether that was because he was growing on her or because of the alcohol didn’t matter, this is what their life was. A drink and a story with someone, you hardly knew and hardly trusted.

Joran had a feeling that, she had more armor on than what she was wearing. During her story, for just a moment she let her guard down. It brought a smile to his face to see her give over to her youth in such a way. It was clear, that she hadn’t taken that armor off in quite some time.

“Better to have it and not need it, that need it and not have it, yeah?”

Joran shuddered as he took another slug of his drink.