Open Social Lettuce Celebrate

Lu sat quietly, content in their own slice of peace in the bar as they watched the proceedings before them. A group of mean, angry girls were harassing the elf girl after her daring solo performance aimed at the Tiefling Commander, only to be silenced and swept aside when that same Commander sang a more somber song in response to elf girl's anger. The Acolyte sipped from the juicebox the bartender had supplied to them, wide eyes trailing after elf girl as she finally made her exit.

It's like watching a holonovela... only the real deal's worse. Still, it's not everyday one gets to see a real-life musical battle.

With elf girl gone, the stage performance soon evolved into proper entertainment for the party-goers. Lu turned away from the stage, scooting farther from the other people in the bar. The pink-haired Acolyte did a double-take when a corpse– Caelian arrived. The Echani looked terrible. Lu wondered what the man had gotten himself into after being assigned under Draugr's tutelage. Still, Lu offered Caelian a friendly smile and a quick wave of a hand before turning away. The Acolyte thought about seeking him out earlier to ask what had happened to him. (@Xorism)

Amber gaze fell on the lone half-Annfyn at the end of the bar. Lu had never seen Vahliri sad, only ever remembering her face painted with determination (during her duel with Caelian on Korriban) and rage (when Varyn fell earlier). They left Varyn under the care of medics, sure that Vahliri would come to his side after handing that Zabrak agent a taste of his own medicine. Lu had no idea what happened next, but they didn't expect the outcome to be like what they were looking at right now: the strong half-Annfyn, sitting quietly by herself and looking sad.

Not knowing the real reason behind it, Lu tried not to assume what might have transpired between the two Champions. It was not their place to pry, but the Acolyte found themself approaching Vahliri, trailing right behind Anai and glancing at the half-Annfyn with worry. Seeing as they stood behind the towering Kaleesh, Lu didn't notice that the tall woman was currently unmasked.

Why are you worried? Because she's sad and you don't know why?

Maybe that was it.

Remembering their manners, the small Acolyte peeled themself from their perch behind Anai, offering both Champions a respectful dip of their head.

"I'm Acolyte Luwalhati," they introduced themself, voice soft amid the loud singing in the background. Lu wanted to ask where Varyn was, but felt it somehow inappropriate.

@Altaris @Versok

Altair was surprised at the full platter that was presented as Jasnah emerged with food from seemingly out of nowhere. He quickly grabbed some bites, munching on the delicious meals that only slightly tasted like the original. The tiefling glanced over to spot Aadya (@Logan) heading towards the stage. Her kissy face was met with his stunned expression, eyes wide and cheeks puffed like a chipmunk’s as he had food in his mouth. He practically began to choke as he swallowed, beyond shocked to see the Firrerreo strut over to the stage.

He watched wide eyed as Aadya started to sing and casually removed the bottom half of her dress. This time without his help. Altair whooped and cheered, thrilled to see her perform as he offered his support by clapping along. He was in a much better mood now that he had some food in him and his eyes were locked on Aadya. That was the first time his mind briefly wandered over to Vahliri (@Altaris). The Induparan would have been absolutely mesmerizing doing this dance and he had seen the sway of her hips enough to know they didn’t lie. However, he abruptly squashed the thought. She had obviously left the party with Varyn. Altair grabbed a drink and tossed it back in one go before looking over at Wodan (@Braden) when he felt his arm around his shoulder.

“I thought you’d never ask, brother!” He said cheerfully as he watched Lenny preparing to leave. That was when Caer (@LouJoVi ) abruptly kissed the man without warning. By some miracle Lenny didn’t lash out and instead shuffled away awkwardly. However when the Anfynn went to kiss Wodan, Altair immediately planted a hand on his chest to stop him before Caer could do it, “Cool your jets, man,” The tiefling said calmly as he lightly shoved Caer back and away from Wodan. The entire night Altair had seen the Anfynn make advances on his brother and the latter hadn’t indulged. If Wodan wanted to cross that bridge with Caer, he could initiate it himself. Lenny returned eventually and started passing shot glasses around to everyone. Altair started to down a few in rapid succession.

Altair almost jumped when he heard his sister’s (@lizziie ) voice. His eyes widened as he looked at her, genuinely unsure how he missed her while focusing on Sol and his dead rat. The tiefling grinned at her, “Damn you drive a hard bargain,” Altair said playfully before turning to look at Caelian (@Xorism).

“Dude… I’ll owe you but can you do me a solid and lemme borrow your dress shirt?” He asked as sweetly as possible, throwing in one of his charming smiles, “Please?”

The Acolyte was so used to being ignored and to be honest it did not bother them. Though when Vahliri acknowledged their presence Lu couldn't help a genuine smile from appearing on their face. And she was smiling now, an expression more suited to her face than the sad one from earlier. One small hand lifted to wave back at the half-Annfyn. The Acolyte would have turned to face Anai but when their gaze grazed the taller Kaleesh' jawline Lu was quick to avert their gaze. They had never seen an unmasked Kaleesh before, and they had little to no clue if it was alright to look at the other woman. It probably would've been alright for Vahliri's case since she seemed to be friends with Anai. Lu, though?

Admittedly, the Acolyte didn't know much about the cultures of Kalee. It seemed almost blasphemous to them, especially when they prided themself on being a learned person when it came to other species' cultures and traditions. However, Lu did not berate themself for their current lack of knowledge. There was always time to learn as long as they lived, after all.

So instead of floundering, the Acolyte instead focused on minding where they looked when it came to the Kaleesh Champion as long as they didn't cause outright disrespect. But then again, not looking could be considered disrespectful. Lu would just have to go with the flow, maintaining a respectful and honest demeanor towards the two Champions.

At Vahliri's invitation, the small Acolyte was quick to follow the half-Annfyn towards the dance floor. Dancing was not one of their strongest suits, but they thought that there was no such thing as an awkward dancing as long as the steps followed along the beat and tempo of the song. They watched Vahliri for a moment, amber eyes taking in every move she made, every twist and roll, from languid to short bursts of movement, before mimicking her. While the half-Annfyn moved fluidly and gracefully, Lu's were quite the opposite.

Alright, so they really did not know how to dance. But the effort was plain to see, and they didn't look too awkward unlike what they had initially anticipated.

A short but thrilled burst of laughter escaped the Acolyte, returning Vahliri's smile with their own.

"This song's a bop," they told her, spinning around once on their spot, their long skirt flaring with the movement.

@Altaris @Versok

Three's a crowd but more's a party, or something along those lines, right? He hadn't had the opportunity to meet the Induparan who joined them, but her comment about Sol's butt was equal parts amusing and not entirely wrong. (@Wit)

Next came the saviour of Korriban himself (@Sreeya), they hadn't really had much to do with each other beyond the last social Caelian had attended, but the tieflings reputation spoke for itself and that alone would command the Echani's respect. Nodding his head in acknowledgement and agreement, Caelian next caught the excited Wodan eagerly inquiring about shots. (@Braden)

Hell yeah, now there's the party spirit, he thought, eyes lighting up and nodding along in agreement, joining in on the festivities when good ole Lenny supplied the shots.

To his pleasant surprise and earning some easy brownie points, Caelian smiled when Imani introduced herself by signing. Much the same, he was relatively inexperienced, having only recently bingeing holo instructionals to batter down the basics and some other useful sentences for his travels. Replying enthusiastically, he signed, <Nice to meet you too, Imani. I am Caelian, thank you.> (@lizziie) He certainly appreciated the gesture and would remember this encounter warmly.

In a brief scan across the room, he'd next catch another familiar face smiling his way (@Forsythe Crowholde) who seemed to have spotted the Echani first, returning the friendly wave in their direction.

The interaction between Caer (@LouJoVi) and Lenny, followed by Wodan (@Braden) got a chuckle out of the Echani. The night was still young and there was plenty still yet to drink, the force only knew what the lad would get up to by then. The conversation flowing between the group was a vibe regardless, It was then that he noticed Altair looking at him once more, charming as ever asking for his uh dress shirt ? Thanks, Imani, he thought humorously.

After a second to consider the logistics of his outfit, he nodded and begun opening the golden buckles that held the jacket together where he stood and allow for the removal of the dress shirt. Placing the white jacket carefully on a nearby table, he was able to unbutton and slip off the fresh shirt for the tiefling before placing the exterior of his outfit back over his bare chest. It wouldn't look as fancy, but at least this way he'd get to show off the efforts he'd been making in the gym of late.

Walking the short distance back and handing the shirt to Altair (@Sreeya) he smiled, before turning toward Imani (@lizziie) and signing <ill have a photo?> with a little grin.

Jasnah had caught the whole interaction between Wodan, Caerllion, and Altair out her eye, smiling at the TIefling's intervention and the Annfynn's apparent return to sanity. And even though much of her attention had been drawn by the shift in music from the more drab and slightly boring classical ballroom music to something she might have heard at a dance club in Indupar. Which also meant that she had noticed Vahliri and her friends dancing not too far away. And then the song changed, to another one of her favorites. Had Vahliri intercepted the DJ and handed them a datastick full of her own music?

MUSIC​

So with her food done, mostly due to the overly eager band that had migrated over, she wiped her hands, downed another drink, and made her way to the dance floor, joining in Vahliri, Anai, and Lu in their dance.

"Care for another?" She asked, though she didn't really wait for permission as she fell into step with them and started moving to the music. She wasn't anywhere as good as Vahl, but she didn't have two left feet either, and this was the music she had grown up with, so she had memory to fall back to. Besides, she didn't care how she looked on the dance floor, even if it was partly because she was confident that she wasn't going to be making a fool out of herself.

@Altaris @Versok @Forsythe Crowholde

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Altair brushed it off as Caer (@LouJoVi )exploded into a string of apologies. He grabbed a small pastry off the tray and shoved it into the Anfynn’s mouth to stop any further mope from spilling out, “It’s all good my man,” He said with a grin as Wodan pulled him into a headlock hug. Altair turned to look at Caelian (@Xorism), lighting up as the man actually agreed. He took the shirt tossed by Wodan and stepped back to put it on. Altair grabbed his outer jacket that was mercifully still on the table where he left it, putting his fancy uniform back on. Using sweat to style his hair, stepped in to take all the pictures Imani (@lizziie )wanted.

Of course, the proper pictures lasted for a few seconds before he threw an arm around Caelian, dragging him in for a picture. After that it was a group photo with the boys with Altair pulling both Caer and Wodan in. He even stepped up next to Draugr (@Scoobert ), throwing an arm around him and pointing to the Zabrak’s messed up arm while pouting at the camera.

After it was done, Altair took off the outer jacket again and unbuttoned the shirt once more. He handed the shirt back to Caelian, “Sorry bro..” He muttered as he handed over the shirt that now smelled like Altair's sweat and cologne, “But thanks,” He smiled at the other man.

With that, he turned towards where all the ladies were gathered and dancing. Altair threw back a few more shots in quick succession before he stared ahead and squinted, “Vahl?” He whispered to himself. Did that mean Varyn (@Phoenix) was around somewhere? Last Altair saw he was taking a nap, so he was probably taking a long dump somewhere now. The tiefling whipped out his comlink and texted the Champion asking him to join them. Regardless of whatever nonsense he had with Vahliri, Altair liked Varyn.

Taking a few more shots, Altair eyed the girls dancing and turned to Wodan, “How long you think we can go dance by them without one of us being slapped?” He asked the Firrerreo as he threw back another shot.

@Braden

Just because he didn't have the same constitution as a tiefling didn't mean he couldn't try to keep up, emphasis on try. Joining in with the others, the Echani downed several in quick succession, with his face clenching as the fiery liquid went down. Nodding towards the Zabrak after hearing his name called, silently mouthing "Master." He'd barely been at the party long, but he'd already heard the whispers of the short altercation between Altair and Draugr. Good, was all he thought on the matter before turning back to the shenanigans going on between Wodan and Caer.

After their photos were taken, Caelian shrugged as Altair offered his shirt back, as if to say, ah you know, shit happens. Plus, who could say no to having an imperial commander owe you a favour, he'd keep that in the bank till he could think of somethin' fun.

As the others would leave for the dance floor, Caelian downed another pair of shots while beating his chest as they went down. What was the point of all this dressing and boozing up if there wasn't some dancing to accompany it? Caelian wasn't entirely honest about the extent of his injuries, sure there were bruises, and he wasn't walking normally, but he had mostly used the cane for dramatic effect and no longer required its use.

The Echani eyed around the room briefly looking for a dance partner before settling upon the one who looked the least interested in such a proposition. (@Nevermourn)

Extending his hand out and tilting his head towards the dance floor, he invited the taller Kel'dor for at least one dance. It was time to loosen up and have a bit of fun, he thought, and Sol probably needed it just as much as he did.

Drane pops up from behind a bar.
Not the bartender but raises arms.
Sweeps a gaze from stage to man.
Who has burritos but no Doritos.

But a Sith doesn’t wait!
A warrior’s named Drane!
His enemies are at the gate!
Eyes into eyes, lady in a Maze!

“I’ve got your Imperial specialty right here.”
Flicks a wrist—lifts a glass—pours beer.
A bit of an inebriated grin at Burrito Man.
Dunks beer over his head; O for a fact.

The tray navigates safely away to his hand.
If a Sith can serve burritos then this one can!
Drane T’keen, white suit stained champagne!
“Who wants a mini burrito!? Would you, mate?”

“Sure I’ll take—”
-SPLAT!-
To that patron’s face.

“Serving burritos! Who wants one though!?”

“Got one with steak?”
-SPLAT!-
Force-fling to his face.

“Hmmm that sounded bad.”
-SPLAT!-

“IT’S A TRAP”
-SPLAT!-

“I’M FAT”
-SPLAT!-

This whole thread’s a mess, quite mad.
Madness at its best but funny at that.
A Sith like mine can be evil and bad.
Right now just a char—feelin’ glad.

Drane drank enough to feel off.
Queue the tune to Ivan Rebroff.
Not keeping up with all the songs.
So maybe a new one just comes on.

As always I may forget about this again.
A random post to see what happens next.
Storyteller reply was once again kinda funny.
"Can I have a cheese burrito? I got the money!"

@aaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaa

/Exit Drane