Take a Drink of Nostalgia
"Xandra...?"
"Yeah, Queenie?"
"Did anything... interesting ever happen when you were a Somebody?"
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It's almost a surprise to look in the mirror and see herself. Most of the time, she stays simple. The whole 'fashion' thing is too complicated and she just doesn't have the time for it. Still, it feels... kinda nice. Maybe. At least she cleans up nicely. Turning to the side, she inspects herslf a little more. A pair of pants with decorative holes on the side are tucked into her boots, and some sort of tube top that looks liek a triangle is visible beneath an open vest. Throw in some jewlery and ta da... Nice, but- "Too much skin. Think we can tone it down next time, Mareb?"
The Twi'lek grins from her seat on the window sill. The lights of passing ships illuminate her orange skin from behind, along with her variety of tattoos. That seems to be some kind of thing with her race, but Mareb has taken it above and beyond. "Sorry, Nadra. Was thinking Twi'lek. Your body is supernova hot."
"You say so," Nadra replies with a lazy shrug. "Ready to go?"
Mareb raises her 'eyebrows'. "But we're not done."
Nadra looks away from the mirror. "What?" Her brow furrows in confusion. "But, I'm dressed."
"Make up."
"...We're never getting to the cantina."
Her words are ignored as Mareb's hands flutter at her in the direction of a chair. "It'll take a nanosecond!" Indeed, in what feels like that much time, Nadra is seated and Mareb is applying things to her face. Sighing, she lets the Twi'lek do what she wants. "You should at least wear make up, Nadra. It looks good on you."
"How do you know?"
Mareb pulls back. "Look in a mirror." Grinning, she pulls over the mirror from the vanity. Again, Nadra can only stare. Her lips are brighter, some dark red, but her eyelashes are darker and there's something on her eyelids.... Surprisingly, Nadra doesn't mind. In fact, she can feel a kind of warmth in her chest. Hesitantly, she curves her lips and watches as her reflection smiles back, a lot smoother than she feels.
When she turns to look at Mareb, the Twi'lek has her hands to her mouth and her cheeks are a deep orange. "Holy s**t. Do that more often. Why don't you smile more?"
Nadra shrugs and stands up, grabbing Mareb by the hand. "No need to except around you." She misses the dopey grin on Mareb's face as she drags her out of the apartments. "We don't want to waste any more of the night."
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"Well, I spent a lot of time in cantinas."
"Cantinas?"
"Bars. Pubs. Places where you could drink, gamble, race, watch dancers... General sleeziness. Voxden would've liked 'em."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Criminal dumps. They didn't much care if someone died."
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At the bartender's raised eyebrows, Nadra only makes a rude Bothan gesture and sists down. "Feck off, Reck."
The human bartender just laughs and nods his head to Mareb as she sits down as well. "Gratz to you! I think this is the first time I've seen Santoya dressed like anything besides a Jedi. How long did it take you to convince her to wear something unconservative?"
"Ages!"
"I know cantinas have a lot of chatty assholes," Nadra interrupts, "but I came here for the drinks and swoop racing."
"And the pazaak," Mareb adds, to which Nadra shrugs agreeingly. "Anway, do you ahve anything new tonight, Rek? If not, we'll just have the usual."
"Of course. Just try not to collapse into a sobbing heap like last time, alright?" Ignoring Mareb's protests, Rek lowers his voice. "And be careful tonight. Got trouble."
Mareb makes a face. "Is it that Rodian spacer who tried to hit on me once? Or the Wookie who didn't want to pay Nadra when she won that racing bet?"
Nadra scowls. "He still owes me 1,000 credits. Piece of Bantha fodder."
Strangely enough, there's no grin at their 'fond experiences' at this particular cantina. If anything, Rek's frown grows deeper. "Worse." He leans closer to them. "Mandalorians." Instantly, the two women's gazes snap towards the table Rek jerks his head at. There is indeed a group of men there, some armored, some not. While Mareb begins a prompt interrogation of Rek, Nadra keeps her eyes on the Mandalorians. This is one of her favorite cantinas. Last thing she needs is a bunch of battle junkies screwing the bar and the atmosphere up. At last, she turns her head away, but not before someone notices her stare...
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"Got into a barfight once."
"R-Really? Did anyone get hurt?"
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The gun doesn't rattle in its holster as the soldier approaches them. That impresses Nadra right untilt he moment he opens his mouth... An event that seems to happen with most people in her experiences. "Do you have a problem with us, woman?"
"No-" Mareb starts.
"Do you need me to make it a holo-lesson so it'll be clearer for you?" Nadra finishes. Mareb winces. Rek slams his palm into his face. Pointedly, Nadra tells Rek, "Get me a whole bottle of that Hutt stuff. I think I'll need it."
As the Mandalorian's hands curl into fists, more of his friends begin to watch the little exchange. Why does she have a feeling he's definitely not going to space off now? "You have just a few seconds to take back your words before things get ugly quick. Or would you rather have one last drink?"
Nadra waits until Rek brings her the bottle. It's heavy in her hand and the neck alone fills up her fist. "Give me a second," she mutters, inspecting the bottle by tapping the surface with a fingernail. Something about the sound seems to satisfy her, for she stands up. With a quick shake of the bottle, she asks, "Want this?"
"Hoping bribery will save your skin?" he sneers, even as he reaches out for the bottle. "You humans-" Whatever he's about to say is interrupted by a brutal crack.
To be specific, the crack of the bottle slamming into the side of his head.
Without wasting a second, Nadra follows up with an uppercut, which finally causes the bottle to break. Tossing the remanants aside, she slams her boot into his groin. That's when Mareb springs into action. Fortunately, she jerks Nadra down to the ground right as lasers fire off. "Should be a soldier instead of a techie." the Twi'lek groans as they quickly circle the bar. "Aren't you scared of anything?"
"Not really," Nadra replies duly as they briefly duck behind an overtunred table; they're not the only ones involved in this fight. Already, various criminals and other armed patrons are firing back. Things are quickly getting out of control. Nadra hesitates just long enough to snag the credits off a corpse, and then they're both bolting out of there as the fight escalates.
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"...Not really. Me and Mareb got out nice and clean."
"Mareb? Was that a friend of yours?"
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"Well," Mareb says as they walk out of the Academy gates, still wearing their uniforms. "No one's asked any weird questions yet. Either everyon'es dead or the guards didn't care."
"They didn't bat an eye," Nadra says simply. "Cantina, remember?"
"Eh, probably." Suddenly, Mareb comes to a stop and curses someting horrible in her native language. "Look over there. It's one of those Mandalorians from the cantina. What are we going to- Nadra?"
Arms crossed, Nadra strides over to the stiff looking soldier who stands at the docking area near their usual ship. "Come back because I wrecked your friend?"
To her bemusement, the Mandalorian stands even straighter. The helmet he holds in one arm sounds like it might crack from the pressure he's exerting on it. "No. You are Nadra Santoya?"
"Yeah."
"I am Akran. The fearlessness and battle prowess you displayed last night was impressive. My comrade has long needed to know he still has much to learn before he can truly use the name 'Mandalorian'."
"...Thanks. That better not be all."
"No." Akran coughs into his fist. "Your potential intrigues me. I would like to have you join my clan, perhaps have this discussion at Valten Ein."
"Whoa whoa whoa." Mareb interrupts. "That's a hot dating spot. Aren't some of your recon scouts supposed to pick up on stuff like this?"
The Mandalorian keeps his composure Somehow. "I also wanted to discuss the possible future fo a marriage proposal."
All Nadra does is raise an eyebrow. Mareb seems incapable of doing anything but gaping. She's still the first one to speak up. "What. The. Brix."
"I have to graduate from this Academy still," Nadra states and takes Mareb by the hand. "Maybe later." Once they're far away in a ship and racing past buildings, Nadra shakes her head. "Later translated as 'no'."
"Thank space," Mareb mutters into the upholstery.
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"Yeah, there was a thing, ad'ika. Now hand me that wrench."
