Take Me Out (D5, EE)

[Cefey Raneth]

She laughed softly into her glass at that. "Maybe? I used to perform a lot, you know, and well... I haven't had a good chance to do it much lately apart from keeping it up."

Cal could probably notice how her accent seemed to become more relaxed as they were becoming more at ease in their seats and the bourbon did its job.

"Do you have a stage for dancing?"

[Cal Arcton]

Cal studied her carefully. With casual ease, he tipped a little bit more of the bourbon into each of the glasses. "Sounds like you'd like to change that, huh?" For his part, Cal tended to stay one step away from relaxed most of the time, although he was perhaps growing even moreso with the company.

He chuckled as he sipped again. "Mmm. Oh yeah. We get a stage put together for this. It's pretty solid. Last time, one of the farmers tried to do a dancing bantha act. It couldn't handle that, but I think it can manage one dancing twi'lek. Unless your dancing is really something."

[Cefey Raneth]

"Oh, it's really something," she laughed, "but I don't think I will be bringing the house down like a bantha would. I mean, they're pretty big I've heard. Like bigger than a speeder?"

It seemed she was another city-girl that hadn't really seen wildlife or livestock. Except on a dinner-plate.

[Cal Arcton]

"You..." Cal paused a moment, taking a long drink.

Setting down his drink, he sighed. "Okay. Maybe I really should take some of you on a tour one of these days. Show you a bantha. Show you a nerf. Both important parts of Noventa, in their own furry, smelly way. Y'all can see for yourself just how big they are."

"Kai's a farm boy, like me, so he already knows." His lips quirked. "I think Lena needs to see, though. Maybe she should come along."

[Cefey Raneth]

"Never seen a farm, to be honest," she wrinled her nose, already predicting it was going to be a smelly excursion. "My homeworld, Ryloth, is not a very... hmm... bountiful planet in that regard. At least not that I've seen. But it has other things; minerals like precious stones, and ryll."

There was a long wistful sigh after another sip from the bourbon. "Kinda sad that when you look up information on Ryloth on the Holonet, it's main exports are listed as ryll, slaves, and spice. In that order. The old Republic didn't do anything to change it, neither did the Empire... I don't think it's going to change with the new Republic, to be honest."

[Cal Arcton]

Cal grimaced, his grimace growing deeper as she spoke her list. "Don't know much about the old Republic. Empire wouldn't, of course. They saw other species as inferior. And it's an easy road from thinking one group is inferior, to thinking it's okay to own people."

"The New Republic..." Cal pursed his lips. "-owes a lot to a lot of different people. Maybe things won't be different. But maybe they will." He gave her a smile over his glass. "If you ask me, everyone gets one chance. I guess we'll see what they do with it." His smile faded, just a little, studying her. Easy for him to say. No one had ever tried to own him.

[Cefey Raneth]

"Maybe... it's hard to tell, but people tend to enjoy the status quo too much," she sighed. At least that was what she had told herself when she had understood a bit more about the galaxy. It wasn't that people as such were cruel or heartless, but a majority of them just didn't have to see or deal with slavery in places like the Republic, so it was just a status quo to support it. And her own planet and its people hadn't exactly done too much to cast off the shackles of slavery either. Some stuff she had read on the holo claimed it was a cultural heritage for them to preserve.

Nothing that made other people property seemed like the kind of thing to preserve to her.

"So you went to that party the other day huh? Did you have a good time?" Fey changed back to a more pleasant smile.

[Cal Arcton]

"Huh." Cal's lips pressed together. "The Galactic Civil war just about upended the galaxy from one end to the other. But you're right. Some things didn't change." Shaking his head, he took a stiff drink of bourbon. Maybe there was only so much a farm boy from a remote planet could do.

He looked up at her question. "Oh, the party?" He smirked. "I'd say Lena's dress was the highlight for me. The drinks were pretty good, but I do kinda own a bar, after all." He chuckled. "But I'm not much for talkin' to someone who's getting paid to tell me what I want to hear. It's why I don't care what Kaylee does." He leaned out of the booth, waving. "You like working here, don't you, Kaylee?" He called.

"Whatever." The mirilan bartender said, rolling her eyes. Cal grinned at Fey.

He took another sip of his drink. "Didn't see you at the party."

[Cefey Raneth]

"Really? An amusing thought that Lena in a tight dress would outshine all the others there," Fey giggled warmly at that idea, bringing the glass to her lips but not drinking yet. The little interaction between Cal and his employee was interesting to watch.

"Well... I had my reasons for not going. And yes, plural. They might not be slaves in that place, but well... there are other forms of slavery than a collar." She gave a shrug at that and sipped her bourbon. It wasn't her favorite type of drink, but it was nice and smooth, and left a pleasant warmth in her throat. "I don't blame other people for going though. Like Lena and Jelna. They deserve to go out and have some fun."

[Cal Arcton]

"It wasn't just tight." Cal said, smirking. "It was classy. And it was..." His forehead creased as he tried to think of a classy way to say 'low-cut'. "Intriguing." He finally said, nodding firmly.

"Mmm, you're right about that." Cal washed away his grimace with another sip of bourbon. "A lot more." He didn't elaborate, instead grimacing again, with a second sip of bourbon to wash that one away, too.

But then the topic became more pleasant. "Yeah." He said, smiling. "They do. Seemed to me that Lena wasn't quite used to that sort of thing. And maybe she doesn't know quite how to relax. And Jelna..." He still smiled, but his brow creased. "Well, she seems more easygoing, but..." He shook his head. "I've never seen anything like what she did back in that militia armory. How'd she learn how to do that, anyway?"

[Cefey Raneth]

"Those two do need to go out more," she added with a murmur.

As he inquired about Jelna's skills, she gave a shrug. "I don't think anyone taught her... it's just her talent." It wasn't something she really felt like talking about.

So instead she shot Cal a mischevious smile. "You sound a bit taken with out dear Lena, hmmm?"

[Cal Arcton]

"Well..." Cal's grin flashed. "I don't know if I'd go quite that far. And the dress did a bit of the heavy lifting." And separating. "Maybe if someone else had worn it, they'd have caught my eye, instead. But I was definitely... intrigued."

He shrugged. "But y'all seem like a talented bunch. And for more than just getting free drinks out of bar owners." He smirked. "Although you do seem pretty good at that. Mind if I ask how you came to be a crew? Jelna gather the lot of you up, or something?"

[Cefey Raneth]

"Something like that. Drifters tend to find eachother - safety in numbers and all," she seemed to be considering how much to elaborate as she eyed the bourbon in her glass.

"Sure you dont want me to set you up for a date with Lena? I promise the dress can come along too."

[Cal Arcton]

"Mmm. And so now you're just gonna keep on driftin' together?" Cal asked, his smile gentle. "You ever think about maybe... not? Finding a place?" If she was looking at her bourbon, clearly the level must be too low. Reaching out, he topped up her glass.

Cal began to shake his head at the offer of a date, a refusal on the tip of his tongue. But then she mentioned the dress... Cal laughed, his brown eyes sparkling merrily. "I'm not sure, but I'll admit the idea has a certain amount of appeal."

Still chuckling, he shook his head. "Ask me again tomorrow, maybe. I'll be no good to anyone until I've been decanted from my upcoming bacta bath."

[Cefey Raneth]

"Well yes..." she sighed. "... Eventually. I can't speak too much for the others - I know Kai wants a more stable life than this eventually."

Cal recieved an appriciative nod and smile from the refill. "I just don't know what I want to do yet." And a part of her liked life as it was, living with those three. But she wanted something else than bounty hunting too. "I'll keep that in mind for when I see you next time then," she winked before taking another sip of the bourbon.

"So, what made you decide on wanting to open a bar of all things?"

[Cal Arcton]

"It's nice to have a place." Cal said. "And Kai seems like a nice sort of fellow." He took a sip of his bourbon.

He grinned. "Hope that won't be too long. After a night spent in bacta, I'll likely to be hurting for company." He smiled, shaking his head. "But Doc takes good care of her patients. And with the amount of time I spend in that tank, it's almost like my home away from home."

"Well." Cal said. "There were a couple of things that went into that. You want the short version, or the... medium version?" He smirked. "I don't really do long versions; don't want my audience gettin' bored and wandering off. Or falling asleep under the table."

[Cefey Raneth]

She nodded. "He's a good sort." And she felt she owed him a lot sometimes, but... well, some things were difficult to communicate.

"Heh, medium then? I'm not going anywhere right now." Judging by how she shifted to make herself more comfortable, she wasn't lying about that either. "Maybe hearing your story might help me figure some things out."

[Cal Arcton]

"Alright. Good." Cal smiled. "In that case, I'm gonna need a bit more of this myself." He topped up his own glass.

Taking a long sip, he sighed. "Well... the Galactic Civil War had ended. I was a bit at loose ends. Coulda gone back to my old life, I suppose. But instead I found my way back here. I hadn't been in more'n a few years, between the Rebellion, and the marshal work taking me farther and farther away."

He looked at Fey, smiling. "You know that phrase, 'you can never go home again'? I think that's supposed to mean that it just won't feel the same, something like that. It doesn't usually mean it's been converted into a bar." He paused a moment, his eyes narrowing at Fey. He wondered what it meant to her.

The moment passed; he took another sip of bourbon. "It wasn't a nice bar, either. It was called The Pit, and it lived up to the name. They weren't the sort to respect that I had the deed, either." He shrugged. "Took a bit more'n strong language to convince 'em. But I did, and I was left with a building that was nothing like what I grew up in. Didn't seem right to leave it like that. I fixed it up... and just kinda went from there."

He shook his head, smiling wryly. "It's funny. When I was a kid, I hated the place. There was this weird crawlspace under the house my parents would make me clean sometimes, seeing as I was the smallest. Huh. Wonder if it's still there. Guess it'd be under the storage room now." He shrugged. "Moved out as soon as I could. Now I'm back. Wonder which of us has changed more."

[Cefey Raneth]

She did listen with interest, but when he waited for a response to the remark about not being able to go home, there was a tenseness to her jaw. In truth, Fey didn't really think of Ryloth as home - it was a point of origin, and she had no intention of going back there. Corellia wasn't her home either. The Ivory Phoenix was a home...? It was the closest thing she had to one.

"Hmm..." she dipped her head in a nod. "Well, you fixed it up nicely at least."

Another sip. "... Maybe? Crawlspaces are useful, non?"

[Cal Arcton]

Cal's alert eyes noticed the tenseness, of course. He had expected it. What would home be for someone like Fey? A home she'd never knew? Wherever it was she'd been a slave? Understanding sympathy flashed in his brown eyes.

"Thanks." He said with a chuckle. "Yeah, I suppose I did. It was alright work. Kept me busy for a while, even though I brought in people to help. I guess it was nice to be doin' something with my hands besides holding blasters." He smiled. "Although I've been doing more of that lately."

Cal blinked. "I guess so." He took a sip of his bourbon. "It was just kinda this weird space under the house. Don't even know why it was there." He shrugged. "I didn't do most of the work in that back room. Maybe workmen just put ferracrete over it or something. I guess I could have it checked out."