Open Tatooine Vano’s Invitations

[Laren Vano]

Laren was left to his ship ‘The Unforced’ for the first time in a while. Laren spent a couple days alone floating through space. The only person to keep him company was not a person at all. Just his very own droid BD-3 who he considered to be his best friend. The long hours of boredom and silence really messed with him. Being so used to combat and hearing blasters how off all the time, he never knew how to just relax. He was able to keep focus on conversations though, but how many conversations can you have with droid you have nothing knew to talk to about. He felt the urge to get out and find some people he could have a good time with. Whether it was drinking or collecting bounty, or even becoming ‘good friends’ with.

“That’s it I’m goin to a cantina on Tatooine.” He walked to the cockpit and put his ship into hyperdrive. The stars became streaks before his eyes and he relaxed as he set the coordinates to Tatooine. “Once I get there, I don’t care who, but I’m gonna invite some random known names to come and drink. Maybe they’ve got somethin for us BD.” His droid nodded excitedly hoping that it would be true. “I’ll see if anyone has some hood info to put out. Maybe we’ll get some kills under our belt too. Sure know we’ve been lackin the past couple days.” After flying through space at light speed for a while the ship pulled out of hyperspace. He saw the giant sandy planet and immediately thought to himself that this was goin to be a decent experience. He flew into the atmosphere and steadily landed his Wayfarer on the hangar landing pad. While exiting he turned back and called out to BD-3 “Hey, take care of the ship. She’s your home too so protect lil buddy!” He immediately turned back around and walked towards the cantina, locking the ship behind him.

“Now time to get some people here.” Laren sent out an invite to anyone to meet him to just ‘talk’ but we all knew Laren was looking for some good whiskey. “Let’s hope they can last more than just a couple shots.” Laren said as he began walking into the cantina. He immediately heard music he wasn’t fond of but knew that he would be known at any of the bars he’s been to in the past. He wanted to be somewhat a part of the crowd. He walked to the bartender and said “I’ll take a bottle of the best whiskey you got.” The besalisk bartender went to question him but Laren dropped a handful of credits and the besalisk immediately said “Right away! Aaaand here you go, Correllian whiskey! Hasn’t been opened. Aged 42 years. Enjoy!” Laren replied “Double my age. I like it.” After grabbing his bottle he went to find a booth to sit at. One that was big enough to fit a group in case people showed. As he sat down he sighed and opened the bottle. He set his helmet on the table so he could enjoy his drink. The young man let his blue eyes look upon the room bare for the first time. “Ah krank it it’s bright. That’s what I get for wearing a full-size shader all the time.” He took a good sized swig before truly allowing himself to relax.

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music IC

It was by no one’s invitation that Cass had come to a cantina on Tatooine. Sometimes it was; sometimes the contract led to the mark’s location in one such cantina on one such planet, so fast forward some hours later and there one unlucky soul was about to become one hunter’s newest bounty. Sometimes the invitation was on account of an ‘old friend’, apostrpophe’d for emphasis on not entirely old and not entirely a friend; someone more looking for a deal than a date. This time, it was by happenstance that Casany Praxor’s target had been eliminated before she had ever gotten a chance to meet him, so what else to do but take the day and night off in a cantina that catered to unwinding souls?

So, there she was, one Mandalorian who would easily be mistaken as being anything but. She was posted up in a booth sporting olive cargo pants and brown boots with a red-gold poncho over her torso, and a glass of vodka resting on her lonely table. She was alone but she was not lonely. She had no Mandalorian helmet to accompany her face but she did have the empty space around her to find solace within. That, however, had lasted over only an hour or so. A few more drinks in and the Mandalorian wanted to settle for a different kind of company. She may have just found it.

Cass spotted the man’s helmet before he ever set it on the table. When he set himself behind it, she took another shot, rose from her own booth and promptly sat down in the booth behind her, opposite the soul who had just entered it. Her bottle of vodka and an empty glass came with her, though not much of an invitation.

“Nice helm,” Cass smiled across the table, looking the guy up and down. “Who’d you steal it from?”



@Scoobert

 

[Laren Vano]

Laren sat in silence as he sipped from his bottle and surveyed the room. That is until a girl had sat across from him at his booth. He looked at her for a moment to analyze her facial features in case he need them in memory. His blue eyes met hers and he noticed she looked him up and down after complimenting his helm. She dared ask the Mando who he had stole it from.

“If stealing it is what I’ve done then I guess I stole it from my father. For he was also Mandalorian. Don’t dare question my armor, I’ve lost too much to be questioned by you over my family’s armor.” He took a big gulp of his whiskey before looking to her confused for a second.. “What do you know about the Mandalorian traditions?” He felt like she knew more than what she looked to know. He became intrigued by her. Her ferocity. People usually don’t speak to Laren with such tone. He kinda admired it.

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Offended, Cass thought as she maintained her smile in the skirmish. A typical reaction of a typical Mandalorian… She would yet give little away as she sat back with a leisurely sigh, refilling her glass to tickle her lips with the rim. This guy who downed his drink like it was a river of blood held himself to a standard that his counterpart could at least relate with. Family traditions were not lost on her own. From the forge there is fire, from fire there is the forged. The man might have looked like a doe-eyed douche but he at least nailed his family values on the head—worthy of a Mandalorian.

“Eh, more than most,” Cass shrugged at the question before downing her shot. “I know that they fought to uphold their traditions, those Mandalorians at broad, as did my own family, if with traditions of our own...” She moved for a refill. “My father was a warrior whom I never met. My mother was an armorer who taught me how to fight and how to forge.” She searched the table for a second empty glass to pour some vodka in, gesturing toward one if it was there, or the man’s own bottle if not.

“I know that I was on Mandalore when the Mandalorians returned to reclaim it. I cracked the skulls of the pirates who plundered our home...and for what?” The glass swiveled in her hand like a planet’s revolution. “For one more drink before the war, perhaps?” Cass chortled, then raised her hand. “To the Mandalorians!” With that, she downed her drink and felt the burn. Somehow, it scorched stronger than a million Mandalorians caught in an inferno.



@Scoobert

 

[Laren Vano]

Laren raised his bottle with her and downed what felt like a quarter of what was left. His throat felt burn of the whiskey and it followed down to his stomach. He looked at her and smirked slightly “You’re Mandalorian?” He let out. “Did you lose your armors or do you not believe in the way of Mandalore any longer?” He had looked her up and down. Wondering what clan she was from. “What is your name?” Laren was gaining slight interest in this stranger. He doesn’t know if it’s the alcohol or if it’s because she’s actually intriguing.

He looke over to the bartender and yelled “Hey bring us some more Correllian would ya?” The four armed bartender yelled back waving a hand “Yea yea give me a minute”
He looked to the woman across from him “Hope whiskey is fine by you. If not, more for me” he smiled as looked to his half empty bottle.

@Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

“You’re a Mandalorian”? The question rattled around in Cass’ skull like a bolt in a pirate’s skull. She sighed into the cantina air; salty, sweaty, stagnant stench of species from all over the galaxy in more ways than one. Surrendering, the vodka hit her glass before she realized there was a quarter left in the bottle.

“Oh, I believe in the way of Mandalore…” She started, staring into the eyes of the man who sat opposite her as though her own gaze was enough to incinerate them. “You have no...no idea…” As the bartender moved to oblige the Correllian request, Cass tilted her head back. A river of fire flowed with it. “My armor is safe and sound... I don’t need to wear it every second for it to be a part of me. It’s in my flesh. Under my skin. With me beneath this poncho. With me when I’m naked. You see my face uncovered, vod, and you see the face of a Mandalorian. No hiding it. No escaping it. No T to tell tales of it beyond what you simply...simply see...”

Another pour. “Is it the armor that defines the Mandalorian, or the Mandalorian who defines the armor?” She lifted the glass as though to devour it, but found it hovering before her countenance as her gaze gripped his. “I am Casany of Clan Praxor. I fought and bled, killed and died, for my people, in flesh and in spirit.” She knocked back. The glass thudded upon the tabletop, as upside down as a corpse in space. “And who are you, Mando’ad?” Cass chuckled. “Besides a stranger to share my drinks and sorrows with, that is?”



@Scoobert

 

[Laren Vano]

“Laren Vano of clan Vano. One half of the Brothers Vano. Slayer of force users. My family was slaughtered when I was young and I got my revenge alongside my brother Rakiss. Hence why I am now in possession of this..” he pulled his lightsaber out and revealed it to the Mando across from him. He brought it back down and clipped it back to his belt. “A prize if you will.”

Laren looked into the eyes of the cocky woman. As much as he wanted to be annoyed he began to like her quips. “Your clan, are they still around or are you the last of your name?” He had decided he wanted to take interest in her life. While the two were speaking the bartender brought the whiskey to them “Here ya go pal” Laren looked to him and said “Thank you, carry on.” He bag an to open the bottle as the bartender left.

@Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Laren of Clan Vano. The name wasn’t ringing any bells but it had a ring to it. Slayer of Force-users. Was that a statement or a title? Cass traded that wonder for the lightsaber just then put forth. It looked like death, if only in the sense that a hand of death held its hilt after claiming from what was killed. That was the way. The Mandalorian way. So was getting revenge for having your family slaughtered, it seemed.

The beats from the cantina speakers were definitely ringing some bells now. Cass blinked around the ceiling, wondering if the music was trying to tell her something, and discovered that the walled world around her looked much more vibrant as much as it looked like it was beginning to phase into itself. Guess I’m beginning to phase into the bottle…

Laren’s question brought her back into the topic at hand. It wasn’t every day that someone asked her about her people, her clan, her family, and when they did the memories always took a moment to settle as they surfaced. The moment was a little longer now, with Praxor’s eyes dancing between the bottles of vodka and whisky.

“They’re dead,” Cass spoke plainly while sliding her empty glass toward the other side of the table to halt it beside the whisky. “All dead. All gone… Scattered into clouds of dust to dance across the cosmos…” She snickered. “Same fate that awaits us all…”



@Scoobert

 

[Laren Vano]

Sympathy ran through Laren. Hearing her words, it was like reminder in his head. He could still see his parent chopped down. The very thoughts ran through his head until he looked into her eyes. He noticed the drinks might’ve been getting to her.

“A lightweight I see.. heh I remember my first drink” Laren smiled as he knew he was pestering. It was one of his specialties with his brother. Hoping to get a rise out of her he went on to say “Good thing I didn’t order the rum, you’d be asleep from its power.” Things that Laren would do to get someone to give him that look of sudden annoyance. He wanted to have that rush. Although he wanted to annoy her he bag an to like the Mando across from him. He wanted her to join him. Knowing his philosophies were different than most though. He didn’t know how to propose the idea. Far more interesting than most women for sure he thought.

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

The 'lightweight' comment had caught Cass off guard. Her first reaction was to stare daggers into Laren’s eyes for daring to insult her. All he would see was the shadow of a face far darker than any Sith’s. Her lips became a rigid line. Then they split and spread. It was all the woman could do to keep from bursting into laughter, settling for a chuckle. Now they were both remembering their first drink. Father’s vodka. Mother’s wine. Brother’s beer. Oh, seems my first drink was actually my first drink-s. That experience had gone much further south than this one.

“That so?” Cass grinned. “Bet you eat your words and vomit them out, vod—whisky, rum and then some.” She flicked a fingernail against her own bottle, what was left of it. “This is not my first round tonight but I can go another, then another and another. Bet your dopey blue eyes two bottles for the winner to take home, drink of choice, and a dance in the stars, that this “lightweight” can drink your ass under the table!” With that, she tapped the tabletop as though it were a bar and leaned back in her seat. Her glass was still sitting without ceremony, lonely and empty, beside the whisky. “Pour.”


@Scoobert

 

[Laren Vano]

“Two things. First, I am not so sure you can handle the sizes shots of my standards. Second, I never lose. But you seem confident enough let’s up the stakes a little. Three bottles, winners choice. And if I win.. You do a favor for me. What that favor is, is classified until I need it. So what do you say?” The Mando had looked her in the eye and smiling devilishly. This was the exact type of competition Laren lived for. His brother had been the only one to even come close but even then Laren already had more than half a bottle of Coruscants finest.

“It’s okay if you’re too chicken. I’ll understand.” Laren liked teasing and antagonizing the people he spoke to. Everything was like a joke to him, and he had treated everything as such. He was cocky, yes but he knew he could do it.

@Die Shize

 

[Srucayr]

The door to the bar would suddenly slide open as a set of archaic beskar entered through the gateway. Srucayr's visor would pan the room, before it settled on a pair, one of which looked familiar, the other, at least wore the skin of his kind. He had been tracking one of his kin for two days now and had stopped on Tatooine for the next clue, drawn here by Kad.

Hand resting on the head of the warpick at his belt, he would walk through the bar before he came to a stop at the counter. "Tisane, if you have it." he'd say, leaning against the counter as he kept looking around. One gauntlet would dip into a pouch at his belt before setting down a small stack of credits as payment. When the man returned with the frosted mug, Srucayr would take it in hand. "See any small Mandalorians come through here? Perhaps two to three heads shorter than me." The Mandalorian would ask the tender, setting another stack of creds down.

"Hmmm... Can't say I have, I'll ask around for ya though, pal."

"To the Mandalorians!" the woman at the table would shout out in a cheer, and that would draw the War Priests gaze once more.

"You have my thanks, Barman. I'll be with my kin." Taking his mug, he would head over to the table, pausing once he reached it to nod to Casany. "Been awhile since Sundari." He'd muse. Though ancient in design, the armor itself was upkept almost perfectly. And the etchings across the surface would tell of the history of their people as well of his Clan.

@Die Shize @Scoobert

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Cass licked her lips at the prospect planted before her, tasting spice. The vodka had been a blessing, though whisky was not exactly off the table. She had guzzled her fair share of it before and was ready to do so again. If the fool sitting across from her had his money where his mouth was then he shared her same boat, but confidence alone would not save him. There was no telling what kind of ‘favor’ the guy would be after if he won but, then again, there was no need for Cass to concern herself with that scenario; it wasn’t much of a prospect.

“If your favor involves asking me out then you’ll have to buy my drinks with the bottles you win. Except, oh…” Sad face. “...I’m afraid the only one walking away with bottles tonight is me, carrying vodka, rum and whisky. And you probably won’t like the favor that I have in mind.” A smile then, flashing beneath a wink.

A voice just then. Cass almost thought she had seen a ghost. She narrowed her gaze at the man standing beside the table and at his armor, finally pinpointing it. Pirates. Blood. Death. It had indeed been a while since Sundari, the memories swimming in her mind like fish in a sea of liquor. Sand. Dust. Rubble... The remnants of a broken world.

“Killed our fair share of naughty Nagai back then, we did!” A hand slapped the table while her other motioned to the seat beside her. “Sit! We’re gonna drink a playing game!” She blinked. “Play a drinking game!”

With that, Cass cracked her knuckles and looked Laren’s way. “Speaking of which, you gonna stare at that bottle all night or pour it?” Head tilt. “Unless you’re chicken?”



@Scoobert @Rhogar

 

[Laren Vano]

Laren was laughing at her statements and just shook his head at her confidence. He heard the unfamiliar voice and looked over at him. Noticing the mans armor he took very keen interest in it almost spitting out the drink he had taken. “Is that beskar?!” Laren immediately shot up and went to inspect it, “Forgive me I just don’t come across this metal often at all, and it’s so fine! Who did your armor?” Laren hasn’t been this excited since he watched a force user get ripped apart and eaten.

Then he realized how rude he had been. He took a step back and looked the man in his visor. “I’m Laren of Clan Vano. Please join us.” Laren sat back down and looked Cass in her eyes as she mocked him. “Alright let’s do this then.” He grabbed the bottle and poured a full cup for her and himself. “Would you care to play? The stakes are mediocre but still fun.” He looked to this large Mandalorian in hopes of the response he’s looking for.

@Rhogar @Die Shize

 

[Srucayr]

Srucayr was about to sit again when the younger Mandalorian shot to his feet to inspect his armor. "Aye, lad.. it's real beskar. Been passed down through my Clan since the days of the Old Republic." There was something about his energy that was almost amusing, in fact, the boy reminded him of a cockier Reiel.

"Srucayr of the Akaan Salyre of the Orar'da'yadr." He'd say with a level tone. He would then lower himself into the seat beside Cas, one hand patting her shoulder as he did so. Before seating himself, Srucayr would unbuckle the harness holding his scabbard and blade and remove it, leaning it against the chair as he sat.

"I have time enough for a few drinks, before I must continue on." He mused, his hands reaching to his helm to break the seal before removing it. The helm was set on the table with one hand, while the other smoothed through the thick dreads now teasing grey at the temples.

@Scoobert @Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Cas watched the big Mando man as he set down his armaments and sat down, returning the shoulder-pat with a playful punch to his iron arm. Then the helmet came off. Unlike Laren’s, Srucayr’s was a fierce face to behold, framed in dark hair from head to chin to shoulders with those dreadlocks dangling. Dang that’s a face. A mighty handsome face. Maybe I’ll kiss it. She blinked herself away and back to the matter at hand—a drink with her name on it. It slid toward the master. Another went toward Srucayr.

“Let’s make this interesting,” Cas curved her lips in delight. “We take turns taking shots. After the shot, that person shares a secret. Anything, anything. People you kissed, people you killed, whatever. Something good!” She sniffed, a tempting whiff of whisky drifting up her nose. “Someone else’s turn to shot and secret. Shot. Secret. So on so on. Kicker is that if two of us vote that your secret sucks then you gotta take a second shot! Sound good?” She nodded on their behalf. “Okay great let’s do it!”

With that, Cas raised her glass and mumbled a toast. “To the...something something Mandalorians may we keep kicking ass all right cool.”

She downed the drink. It burned like a bantha kissed by a flamethrower and she loved it. Barely a moment of licking her lips later and Cas dove right in. “I dated a Chevin once.” She snickered. “Not much choice. Had to. Led me to my bounty. We kissed. Not sure how. Did nothing else, thank the stars." No way they'd vote that as a secret that sucks. Too juicy, perhaps. Eww. "‘Nuff said. All right!” Table slap. “Your turn, Laren! Take a shot, tell a secret, then another shot if we don't like it. So no weak stuff about how your favorite color is really pink instead of purple or some druk like that. Give us somethin’ gooood!”


@Scoobert @Rhogar

 

[Laren Vano]

As she spilled her secret Laren couldn’t help but almost gag. “How-“ but that’s all he could get out as she continued on. Then we when she had ended her turn and told Laren that he was to go next, he grabbed his drink and sent a he shot flying down the hatch. “That’s some good stuff” Laren spoke of the burn, but this also had a great sweet taste to it. Needless to say he’s goin like the drinking.

“Alright, secret time. I once watched a Terentatek rip a force user apart and continue to eat parts of him.... and I enjoyed it.” Laren was silent for a moment but followed his statement looking up at the two across from him “I listened to him beg for his life.. and I just watched. Then my brother and I killed the beast.” There’s no way they’ll vote that as a lame secret he thought to himself I like this game.

@Rhogar @Die Shize

 

[Srucayr]

Srucayr would take the shots with each of them. Decades of drinking narcolethe however had nearly burnt the taste buds, so none of these shots really had a taste to him. At Cas's secret his gaze shifted. "That's dedication to.. the bounty?" He'd say with a smirk. And then his gaze shifted to Vano. "I don't know if enjoying a death really counts as a secret.. as a Mandalorian, we revel in it."

His turn. He downed the next shot, then set down the glass, each time it would look as if he were just drinking water. "I was married once, long ago."

@Scoobert @Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Watching a Terentatek rip a Force-user apart sounded as exciting as edgy, but Srucayr had the right of it—it wasn’t much of a secret. “Agreed!” Cas agreed. “That’s two votes and two shots on your next turn, Laren!”

For now, it was Srucayr’s time to spill his guts. Perhaps not literally anytime soon, given that he appeared to handle his liquor as well as present company. His secret, on the other hand, was hardly surprising. “Of course you were,” Cas smiled. “Big guy like you!” She slapped a hand on his thigh. It was firm and hard. Oh, right, armor.

“But...that’s your secret?” She hummed it over. “Eh...too mundane. Most of the fools in this cantina were married once. So I vote two shots for you, Sru!”

Though, if Laren did not side with Casany’s vote then Srucayr was safe with just the one shot on his next turn. Now the bottle spun back to the lady. She would not wait. Sure, the secrets shared at this table would be nothing short of conversation starters, but the point here wasn’t to pry or to get lost in the details. They were taking shots, not sipping tea, so the idea was to shoot, speak and let the other person do the same before the booze or the secrets had a chance to settle. So Cas went again…

The whisky burned less the second time, her throat adjusting, and she tasted sweet Correllian the whole while. Memories began to pulse to the forefront of her skull as she tried to blink them into arrangement. “First person I killed was as much a spacer as a spicer. He dealt to my brother. Chate got hooked. Told him big sis would handle it. Told spicer I was buyin’. Met up in space, bought his splice—” She slurred. “—Spice—And sold him a slice of space after he met the airlock.” She sighed. “I still see that spicer behind my eyes...and I jarred his spice like ash upon a shrine… Gave it to Chate. Told him to pray, pray, pray that I never catch him opening it—or he’d be the one out the airlock.”

Cas waited for their vote.



@Scoobert @Rhogar

 

[Laren Vano]

Marriage, he thought to him self. Always wondered what that’d be like. Don’t know if I should ask about that just yet. But none the less I didn’t expect that from him.

“I vote that a good secret. In the sense it’d be hard to speak of somethin in your past that meaningful.” Laren had looked to Cass as she had difficulty speaking. He listened to her speak about the spice and her brother’s addiction. “I vote that as a good secret Cass. I’d have messed my brother up for that but gladly he’s much wiser than that.” He looked to his bottle and sighed as he prepared himself for the burning sensation of the whiskey.

Grabbing the bottle he looked at the two across from him and said “You want a juicy one?” After his question he took the first shot and then spoke “Alright then” and then another shot. Once the burn dies down just enough to speak without pain he continued to look down at the table. He opened his mouth and said “I had been with a lady once. Her name was Vaskera. She was Twi’lek. I was with her for two years. Then I lost her... lost her to slavers. My brother and I fought for months trying to get her back. We came across a pirates ship and attacked.. and we had finally found her..” Laren paused. “But we were too late..” Laren couldn’t bare to continued for she was the only woman he’s loved. Aside from his mother. “Hopefully that one tickles your insides.” Now he was just awaiting the votes.

@Rhogar @Die Shize