Meeting with fans after a big event was something that Graaka never really cared for, but he also believed in doing his job well and fulfilling his end of his contract. Fortunately for him, he also was a strong advocate of maintaining kayfabe, so his naturally … frigid demeanor was often construed as being part of the villainous character he played on the holos and during matches.
He found himself amongst a number of his other colleagues – The Beskar Bruiser, Vynara Starflare, and Korrak the Crusher to name a few – in a quaint little cantina on an Outer Rim planet whose name he couldn’t remember. For a wookiee of his exceptional stature, even the largest mug of ale sold here looked too small in his hands, an observation that the Bruiser found far more amusing than he should have. The guy was a damned lightweight.
“I think a camtono would’ve been a better fit, Graaka,” chuckled the man, watching him with a stupid grin on his face.
“Shut the hell up, Rax,” Graaka replied, considering how much the small crowd of fans gathered around them would’ve enjoyed it if he slammed the Mandalorian’s beskar helmet into his nose.
“Oh my Stars,” gasped one of said fans in the crowd, having gradually pushed to the front as others moved. It was a short alien with thin tendrils all over their head that waved as if underwater in the air, bright pink and blue. The frame was feminine, framed in a tight tube top and short skirt and shorts with lots of ties. She held an empty drink with a long straw and giggled at Rax. “You’re so right, Bruiser! I bet you could drink a camtono too! You’re unstoppable.”
The bar wasn’t exactly Arden’s usual haunt. As an academic, she preferred the cluttered, messy sanctuary of her room, where holopads and ancient artifacts piled up in chaotic harmony. Yet, this evening found her in the bustling, dimly lit establishment, compelled by the promise of vital, albeit less-than-legal, information. A contact had directed her here, hinting that an intermediary would deliver clues to a groundbreaking discovery. However, the intermediary was nowhere to be found.
Settling into a corner booth, Arden’s eyes scanned the room, hoping for any sign of her contact amidst the sea of unfamiliar faces. Sighing, she turned to her personal datapad, rereading notes and continuing her studies. Occasionally, her attention was pulled towards a growing commotion in the bar’s corner, where a crowd had gathered around a towering Wookie of apparent renown. Adren soon found her attention drawned more and more to the crowd, eyeing them with eager intent to see where the show took them.
Graaka’s eyes shifted to the new arrival upon hearing the excitement in their feminine voice. They looked like a mikkian, but something about their scent was odd. He couldn’t quite place what it was.
Bruiser turned to look, too, and ran a hand through the short locks of wavy brown hair in the same self-important way he always did when interacting with fans, especially female ones – a part of the kayfabe that had stopped being just a part of the act once he reached the big leagues.
“You’re right, I am unstoppable,” he replied, grinning, “Glad to meet another person who recognizes that. What’s your poison? I’m buying.” He gestured toward their empty glass.
-
Meanwhile, a stumbling weequay had wandered over to Arden’s booth. He loosely clutched the neck of a bottle and smacked his hand on the table while forward with squinting eyes. “Are you old enough to be here?” he asked, his volume fluctuating freely with drunken abandon.
<@345646933668528129>
The Mikkian giggled, clearly swooning to be noticed. “OhmygoshTHEBruiser,” she whispered, loudly, and then louder, “you pick for me, there’s too many options. I don’t know anything about what’s good here, we just came for your show before my friends ditched me…” A gesture with the glass. “This is what the bartender gave me…but I didn’t really like it.”
Her face wrinkled in an adorable pout.
Adren’s eyes peeled from the show for a brief moment, matching the Weequay’s to let him know she was listening, but quickly returned her attention to the Wookie. “I fail to see how that is any business to you.” As she spoke, her fingers began to tap out an anxious rhythm, slowly accelerating in pace the longer the stranger stood by,
“Well you’re in luck, because if there’s one thing the Bruiser knows, it’s good drinks! Now, let’s see …”
The man’s stupid grin irked Graaka, but he didn’t say anything about it. He allowed his harsh gaze to remain on this fan for a while longer before the sight of the weequay approaching someone else’s table caught his attention. He could practically smell the alcohol on him from here and, if there was any doubt as to his intoxication, the sight of him practically slumping over the girl’s table was confirmation still.
“I-I’m just curious, is all! You look too young to be in here,” the man continued, smacking his hand on the table.
<@345646933668528129>
Before Graaka or the girl herself could do anything, the Mikkian fan loudly gasped, pointing frantically over at the table and tugging on Bruiser’s thick arm as the man was finishing up his order.
“Bruiser, Bruiser, that’s her! That’s one of my friends! OhmyStars that sleemo is all over her! Please, stop him!”
She sounded horrified, begging the large man to intervene before the worst could happen.
Arden leered at the Weequay through a heavy-lidded stare, icy eyes stabbing through the man into the wall behind him. “Curiosity is fine, but it’s best to know when to apply it,” the girl said, her striking sunburst eyes returning to datapad she previously burried herself in. “You’d be amazed how quickly one can get in over their heads.”
Now, if there was one thing The Beskar Bruiser loved, it was an opportunity to show off for his fans. The Mikkian served him up just that on a … beskar platter (I’m sorry). Rising from his seat with his drink in hand, the tall, square-jawed man strolled across the bar with all the confidence of a master performer. He briefly made eye contact with Arden before placing a hand on the drunkard’s shoulder.
“I think you’ve had enough for the night, bud. Let’s get you back to your—”
Clink
The sound of a knife impacting the Bruiser’s polished breastplate prompted him to look downward. Lo and behold, the man had produced a knife with the hopes of jamming it into his stomach. But the beskar resisted. It always resisted. The wrestler clicked his teeth and tightened his grip on the man’s shoulder, preparing to drag him out of the bar.
“Is this guy bothering you?” Bruiser asked Arden. <@345646933668528129>
Meanwhile, Graaka stood up and approached the Mikkian, looking down at her at her with a pair of eyes that glowed a dull, fiery orange.
“You don’t smell like a Mikkian,” he said.
<@244244163002892288>
.
The Mikkian gave a dramatic gasp and swoon when the knife clinked against Bruiser’s beskar – real beskar that resisted, not stage foam, and were someone sharp sighted watching, they might see the fascinated glint in her eye. She cried out, “Bruiser! Oh, Stars! You’re a hero!”
But the rest of her speech was rather rudely interrupted by the Wookiee stepping in her path, looking her up and down. She frowned at him and clutched the drink Bruiser had ordered her, as if frightened or embarrassed. “Wha– I!” Her blue and pink face darkened rapidly, the waves of her head tendrils retracting like a spooked anemone. “I-I– so I’m nervous meeting my heroes!” she protested, blinking tears from her eyes as her flush moved down her neck and chest revealed by her low top. “Y-you don’t have to point out a girl is sweating, Mr. Graaka!”
<@1056685516441006091>
Arden’s eyes looked the new arrival over, her mind racing to get a read on him. Another drunk? No, this one was different, or at least he appeared to be on first glance. The ring of the knife of Beskar peaked her interest as soon as it graced her ears. For most, even so much as seeing Beskar was a rare gift; having grown up in a family of Mandalorian foundlings, it was all too familiar. Still, best to play along and avoid any more unwanted attention. “It would appear any trouble he may have been causing is at an end now, thanks to you. ”
As always, Bruiser was happy to accept the woman’s praise, and the brief applause of onlookers. He gave Arden a nod, “Just doing what I can,” he said, “I know how frustrating it can be to have someone badgering me while I’m trying to enjoy myself. If you’ll excuse me.”
As Bruiser dragged the man out of the cantina, Graaka kept his eyes trained squarely on the Mikkian. His gaze was unwavering, scrutinizing. “Uh huh …” he lifted a long, furry finger and pointed toward the drink she was clutching so closely. “You going to finish that?”
When the Bruiser came back, he tapped his hand on the cantina bar’s countertop and requested another round of drinks for everyone present in the establishment – his way of smoothing things over, no doubt. Service droids quickly zipped around the room, delivering drinks to everyone, Arden and the disguised Clawdite included.
<@244244163002892288>