Home Sweet Home...or Something Close

[Zatten Black]

I grinned back at Kadrak.

"As long as your idea of 'thinking on our feet' isn't sabacc, I think I'm okay with it."

I squezed her waist again, and tickled her ribs.

"It's funny you say that... Because I think I see more uniforms to, uh, provoke."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

"Kadrak, what kind of contest did you have in mind?" Cryax's curiosity was piqued at her suggestion of a contest between the two men.

"I'm pretty much game for anything as long as it doesn't involve black eyes, bruises, contusions, blaster wounds, broken bones...shall I go on?"

"I told you guys what game I was good at but no one took me up on it." he raised an eyebrow and shrugged with a smile.

[member="Zatten Black"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

"Well..." As Zatten tickled her she laughed and reached over to poke him in the side with a smile. "It might be something involving the two of you going around speaking Zabraki and seeing how many conversations you can strike up or if you'll manage to find any friends that way." A half smile tugged at one corner of her mouth. "I would give you a crash course in the language, of course, but nothing too extensive. It would be rude of me if I took all of the fun out of it for you before it could even begin. That'd be no fun."
Then Cryax mentioned the game he'd suggested earlier, and she shrugged with a grin. "After this little contest you might find yourself someone to compete with, hopefully in a friendly way. Now, as for exactly what mess we'll most probably get ourselves into...well, as long as you're careful, none of that should happen. And I can promise you that it won't be anything fatal, and we'll help you out should you need it. All you've gotta do is shout."

[member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax laughed and started in on the whiskey again. "Kadrak, I barely speak Cheunh and you think I can pick up Zabraki that easily? You have much more faith in me than I deserve." He grinned and then spoke a sentence to Kadrak in his native tongue, his jaw making strange little clicks.

"Ch'ah ran'cuzo tan'rah Ch'ah cart ch'a ttah bun ver g'et veo k'ein's." He smirked at Zatten mischievously, knowing the man could probably translate.

"What other games did you have in mind?"

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I looked at Cryax, who spoke way better Cheunh than me, and shrugged.

"I'm going to assume that that wasn't anything too insulting. I have a rather tenuous grasp of the language, myself."

Looking out the window again, I saw a few people in the street, wearing similar uniforms to the brute that'd attacked me earlier. I smirked, and pointed at a small pebble on the ground. It removed itself from its spot, and quietly flew towards the crowd. I winked at Kadrak and Cryax, and stuck my tongue out.

"My first points of the game. Let's see where this innocuous piece of rock goes."

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Having spent enough time around Zatten to have a pretty good idea of what he had in mind, Kadrak only grinned and shook her head, her hand casually falling to rest on the grip of her blaster pistol where it sat in its holster. Before everything was said and done she was almost certain she would have cause to warm the muzzle of the weapon more than a bit. Regardless of what any original plans were, someone or another always ended up with bolts flying towards them from all directions. "I'm going to wager right in the middle of the group. They'll break and draw whatever weapons they might have on them, if they're the sort inclined towards violence, leaving them separate for anything further you had in mind. Unless you're going to surprise me."
Cryax spoke a phrase in Cheunh, and she looked to him with a half smile. "I'm afraid I'm not much help in the translating department either. I've picked up on a bit of Minnisiat in my travels, but nothing too extensive. I'm afraid that's all the closer I've managed to get to interpreting anything close to Cheunh. It is a beautiful language, though. I'm afraid Zabraki doesn't measure up to anything close. And yes, I do think you'd be able to pick up on Zabraki easily enough. You already speak Cheunh more than decently, so it wouldn't be too difficult to pick up on. I don't think you give yourself enough credit."

[member="Zatten Black"], [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax snuck his hand down to his blaster, guessing he'd soon need it. Here we go again. Maybe target practice wouldn't be such a bad thing, given the bounties on Red Ravens slicers. He clicked off the safety, and leaned against the bar, sipping a whiskey.

Kadrak was right on the money of course, he'd always underestimated everything, his looks, his mind. Healthy self-esteem was always that puzzle he couldn't crack. It seemed to come so easy to some men. Men, like Zatten.

"Thanks," he smiled. "I'm glad someone's giving me some." He chuckled. "I'll take what I can get."

He peered out the window, waiting to see what kind of mayhem Zatten was about to drum up.

[member="Zatten Black"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I winked at Kadrak, and the stone ricocheted off the ground, into the first man's skull, then leapt to the next man's leg, cracking it, and then whizzed into the third man's shoulder. A fourth man tried to dodge, but only succeeded in knocking himself out on the still-moving stone.

"Surprise!"

So, taking inventory, we had five uniformed Zabraks. Two were whimpering in pain on the ground, two were totally unconscious, unmoving. And the fifth one was staring at the stone, aiming his blaster as if trying to figure out whether he could hit it. The stone smashed the bones in his hand, and he screamed.

"Well, that was a bit more of an object lesson than I would've liked. Not that those bastards wouldn't have come in here and started that fight, anyway."

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

A grin and a shake of her head was all Kadrak had to say to that, letting her hand fall from her blaster. "Now that you've brought it to mind, I don't think we've ever managed to get into any trouble with the law just yet. You might have on your own, but I've not had the honor. And as long as none of us end up in a cell by the end of the day, I can't complain too much. I can't speak for all of us, but it doesn't sound like a fitting end to what will most certainly be quite an entertaining adventure of sorts."
With a smile she looked to Cryax. "It's not a problem at all. I've found the people who are hardest on themselves tend to be the best at many things, especially those they underestimate themselves in. So in other words, I have this feeling you might be a crack shot, or close to it. Don't go concerning yourself with any practice, because by the end of whatever this all winds up being you'll have had all the target shooting you can get and more. The question that will remain unanswered until we get there is how much you'll enjoy a gunfight or two."

[member="Zatten Black"], [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

"I dunno." he shrugged. "I've never even shot at anyone much less killed anybody. I'm not sure I have it in me." He inspected his blaster as if it were a foreign object. "I'm kind of a lover, not a fighter." he laughed.

"Although I have to admit that I did enjoy that combat training on Nar Shaddaa. It was a shame I didn't get to actually spar with you, Kadrak." he smiled shyly and then looked over at Zatten who never seemed to let anything phase him.

"How about you? Have you actually killed anybody?" He wondered if it was a stupid question, but he just wasn't the kind of guy who could really lay a finger on someone. At least not unless he was pushed.

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I let my eyes drop down to Cryax, and I nodded slowly.

"I've killed plenty before. I'm not likely to stop anytime soon, either. I am a member of a Jedi Order, after all."

I grinned, and looked at the gun he was holding.

"Also, that piece you have there won't punch through anything thicker than cardboard. No use talking about shooting at somebody if it won't do anything to 'em."

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax briefly looked down at his blaster with a frown, and then quickly holstered it. That swindling Twi'lek that had sold it to him had billed it as 'state of the art.' Of course he wouldn't have known the difference anyway.

Even in these first weeks of being secretary of the Red Ravens crime syndicate, the young slicer had already been an accomplice to all manner of depravities. He just wasn't the triggerman himself and didn't have to clean up the mess afterwards. It allowed him to disassociate himself from the guilt. He wasn't in denial, he was merely selective about the reality he accepted.

His red eyes searched Zatten's with a new intensity. "So, what does it feel like to kill a man?"

The Chiss then glanced over at Kadrak, wondering if she was as deadly as her lover.

[member="Zatten Black"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Kadrak pulled Cryax's blaster from its holster and turned it over in her hands, studying it with a practiced eye for a moment before glancing up at Cryax with a slow smile. "I can remedy that, should you wish. It would take a bit to fine tune it so there isn't a risk of anything malfunctioning, but it'd save you the credits you'd have to shell out to get another one that actually works the way it's supposed to. But up until then, should you take me up on it, you can shoot my blaster if we ever get in a firefight. I'd be content with sitting back to watch." Finishing in her inspection she handed the weapon back to him.
"And yes, to answer your question, I have. Not without good cause, mind you. It's not something I necessarily enjoy, but when you have to, that's that. I try not to make a habit of it." At his second question she shrugged. "However bad it sounds, that depends. If it's deserved, in my opinion, then it's not a huge concern. I'm not the greatest at explaining things, when it comes to that. As I said, if they did something that made killing them necessary, then it doesn't warrant much sympathy on my end." She grinned now. "In terms of that sparring match, I wouldn't mind a light practice session. I can't promise that I'll go too easy, however."

[member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

He took the weapon and clicked the safety off before carefully placing it back in its holster. "I would like to have that training session with you again, Kadrak." he smiled at her. "You might be surprised at some of the things I've learned since we met. Or maybe you'd just mercilessly kick my ass." he laughed.

"If we spar again, will Zatten come crashing through the window? Or is he willing to part with his Zabrak lady for a few hours?" He raised his eyebrows at the Zelto-Chiss.

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I raised my eyebrows right back.

"I didn't get to see your ass mercilessly kicked yet. I'm bringing popcorn... And maybe beer."

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Red eyes gleaming, Cryax laughed and, feeling like he needed more whiskey all of a sudden, took a large gulp of his drink.

"Well, I was hoping that we wouldn't have an audience, but sure, whatever." He laughed and shook his head. "I get it, Zatten. You don't trust me alone with your lady. Too much Chiss for her, eh?"

He smiled hoping that the joke came off as self-deprecating humor. He didn't know why, but he found it hilarious to tease the couple like this. He could see that Kadrak was crazy about the Zelto-Chiss so he figured no harm, no foul.

Cryax sighed. Unfortunately they'd have an audience. That was fine, although the premise made him feel a bit like a trained Kowakian monkey lizard dancing for Zatten Black's amusement.

[member="Zatten Black"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

With a glance between the two of them Kadrak grinned and winked, nudging Cryax playfully. "I won't go too easy on you, but nothing ridiculously difficult either. Unless you spring up to the size of our friend from earlier before then, that is. And I'm always appreciative of any new skills you might have picked up on. However little you might think they are, every bit helps. Being sore one day just means you'll be all the much stronger the next, and so on. You'll get there. Not all of us can wake up and be as amazing as Zatt, unfortunately." She looked to the pink-skinned man in question, sticking her tongue out at him.
"I can tell that you'll fit right in with us, too. You've got the sense of humor down. Now all that's left is to see what happens the next time someone decides to start a fight, which shouldn't be too long off by my best guess. Even in the best serviced bars or casinos there will always be those rowdy few who don't know when enough's enough. Bad for them, maybe not so great for the other guests or staff in attendance, but it makes a good lesson when the day's said and done. I'm sure you can guess what said lesson is easily enough." She smiled, taking another sip of her drink.

[member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Zatten Black"]