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[u][b]Grand Bazaar of the Uniter, Keldabe, Mandalore.
25th Founding Day, Noon.[/b][/u][hr]


[color=orangered]"Lor'ika. Mixed and wrapped. Two skewers and extra sauce, please."[/color]

"You want a drink with that, Vod?" The apron and armour clad woman behind the counter asked, her skillful hands already going to work while her visor remained locked on her customer— if not cocked to the side only slightly.

[color=orangered]"Oh, [i]shit.[/i] Yeah, big bottle of uj'gal if ya got it."[/color] Toryn replied, tossing the front of his gam'surpan over his shoulder so he could fish through his wallet, count out a few coins. Placing three on the counter and another pair in the tip jar. 

For that, he received a nod in the affirmative, a friendly click of the tongue, a bright red glass bottle casually tossed into a waiting hand and an infiltration of a familiar scent of spices and cooking food that both put him at ease and made him [i]even hungrier[/i] as she got to work.

Lor'ika— literally; [i]'Little Meats',[/i] thin strips of marinated and spiced meat cooked on a skewer with sauteed mushrooms and vegetables over a grill or hot plate, intermittently brushed with oil and sprinkled with a little extra spice before being drizzled with a sweet sauce and either served on the skewer, as bits on a plate or, as he preferred it, tightly wrapped in a toasty flatbread made on the spot— had been a staple street food of his people for [i]Ka'ra[/i] knows how long, and a personal favourite of his since he was a boy. The longtime presence of Mandalorian mercenaries on the Huttese moon he once called 'home' insuring both that one was never too far from a stand and that of what few memories Toryn had of that distant time, one thing he recalled with absolution was of how much he loved going to the one across the street with Ruusad and Zara a few times a week. And how the old Mando cook there would just snort and stuff a bit of extra meat in there because the three of them looked 'too skinny'.

Something approaching a little chuckle escaped the Jedi at that thought. Pleasant and sad all at once.

The lor'ika on Keldabe was good, yeah, [i]but he'd never quite found something that beat ol' [b]'Mama Mando's'[/b] in the years since.[/i]

...Ka'ra [i]dammit[/i] he was making himself hungry; ten hours of work out on Taris and two more of travel time back had left him with [i]just[/i] enough time to toss his armour in the ol' sonic scrubber and catch a quick nap before throwing it all back on again and heading out to Keldabe for a debrief. Before being sent back to the Dog to scrub his armour [i]again[/i] and throw on a fancy poncho because [i]apparently he had dinner reservations.[/i]

Needless to say, there hadn't been a lot of time between then and now to cram food into his face-hole. Or get some shut-eye. And with a few hours to go before the [i]Feast,[/i] Toryn knew in his heart of hearts that if he tried to take a quick nap somewhere, he'd somehow wake up to either a disappointed Taung hauling him to his feet or, far worse, [i]a certain [b]Arkanian[/b] shaking him by the throat.[/i] 

Honestly, the whole thing was giving the man three different kinds of headache. So much so that he almost didn't notice the approaching figure behind until they'd already bumped into him. 

[color=Turquoise]"Oh, my apologies..."[/color]

[color=orangered]"No worries, Kiddo. It happens."[/color]

Toryn said with a shrug, instinctively checking that his wallet was still there as he gave the newcomer a quick glance; some kid in their early teens. A girl, dressed up in an Imperial uniform, near-human with blue skin just a tad too light to be pureblooded Chiss or Pantoran, a face speckled with Mirialan tattoos around the bridge of her nose, scarlet eyes (currently locked on the food being prepared) and a bob of raven hair with a slight green tinge to it.

Toryn didn't need much thought to figure out what her heritage could be.

For her part, said kid took a few seconds before she found the courtesy to actually [i]look[/i] at the man she'd bumped into. And honestly, the look of wide-eyed shock, and open-mouthed frozen horror was [i]the funniest thing he'd seen all day.[/i]

[color=Turquoise]"You are... [b][i]The Hound of Mandalore..."[/i][/b][/color] She finally managed to squeak out after a half-minute of awkward silence.     

Toryn winced internally; he never really liked that name, though he'd never show it. Least of all in front of a kid.

[color=orangered]"That I am. And you..."[/color] The Mandalorian stated neutrally. [i]Coldly,[/i] even. Managing not to crack a snort as the kid visibly flinched at his words. [color=orangered]"...Look [i]hungry."[/i][/color]

The twist of visible confusion on the poor girl's face was enough to finally break the dam. And out a little chuckle came from within Toryn's helmet as he turned his visor back towards the woman behind the stand, whom he noticed was having a chuckle herself at the whole thing.

[color=orangered]"Can I get that last order doubled, Vod?"[/color]
  
"I'm not opposed to taking your money, [i]Mr. Hound."[/i]


[hr]


[color=orangered][i]'And here I thought [b]I[/b] was the one starving.'[/i][/color] 

Was all Toryn could think around a mouthful of food, watching the little blue terror seated next to him on the fountain's edge outright [i]tear[/i] into her food like a starved kath hound. The quiet, awkward yet polite creature of about fifteen minutes ago lost in a ravenous hunger for cooked gizka, bantha and very quite possibly— he mused with a raised brow— [i]anything within grabbing distance that had the misfortune of being made of meat.[/i]  

If there was any confusion as to at least one side of this kid's family, [i]that display pretty much killed it.[/i]

Still didn't stop the Mando from speaking once he'd swallowed his own mouthful, though.

[color=orangered]"Gotta hand it to ya, Kid."[/color] he said, popping the cap off the girl's drink and handing it to her, which she took with an enthusiastic nod and a loud swallow before knocking it back to take a big gulp. [color=orangered]"Most Imperials I've met [i]shy away[/i] from our food."[/color]

[color=Turquoise]"THAD IJ BEGUJ—"[/color]

[color=orangered]"Swallow and [i]breathe,[/i] Kiddo."[/color] Toryn cut her off.

[color=Turquoise]"Apologies."[/color] The kid began again, after a moment of chewing and swallowing. [color=Turquoise]"But if so many of my countrymen are so desperately frightened by food such as this, then I regret that you have apparently met [i]only [b]the cowards."[/b][/i][/color]

...Oh, [i]he liked [b]this[/b] kid.[/i]

[color=orangered][i]'Maybe there's hope for the Empire, yet.'[/i][/color] The Mando thought as he handed the girl a napkin, making a quick motion with his finger to let her know how much of her meal she was currently wearing as a face decoration. Leading her to hastily wipe herself.

[color=Turquoise]"Forgive me again, I am usually more... [i]civilized...[/i] when I eat."[/color] She said between wipes.

[color=orangered]"Don't worry about it; you're on [i]Mandalore,[/i] we don't have much in the way of formal rules for dinner etiquette, and the one's we [i]do[/i] have, you're basically following right now anyway."[/color] Toryn replied with a slight wave of his hand as he took another bite of his own meal. [color=orangered]"'Sides, I've been around [i]Chiss[/i] most of my life. I'm used to seeing that metabolism and especially that [i]appetite[/i] in action."[/color]  

The girls eyes narrowed for a second.

[color=Turquoise]"I never said I was—"[/color]

[color=orangered]"You're at least half. There's hungry, and then there's [i]Chiss hungry.[/i] And if you've seen it even once, you'll never mistake it for anything else... well, all that, and I've yet to meet a non-Chiss kid that talks quite like you do."[/color]

The girl maintained her stare for a few seconds more before a slight upturn of her lip made itself known on her features.

[color=Turquoise]"Observant... you are not quite what I expected, Hound."[/color] She said finally. [color=Turquoise]"That is [i]a pleasant surprise."[/i][/color]

[color=orangered]"Oh? By all means, what [i]were[/i] you expecting."[/color] Toryn replied, taking a swig of his own drink.

[color=Turquoise]"Well, according to [i]some[/i] in my homeland; You are a Hero of the Empire, but serve different masters. You [i]prowl the Galaxy, striking down the wicked,[/i] that [i]fire, vengeance and [b]fury[/b] live upon your blade and that wrath erupts from your body [b]as [u]lightning[/u]!"[/b][/i][/color] The kid explained with gratuitous flare, ham and hand gestures unbecoming of a Chiss before adding, quite flatly; [color=turquoise]"...Also, I thought that you would be [i]taller."[/i][/color]

Aaaand, out Toryn's nose that drink went as he desperately managed something that was all at once a wheeze, a cough and a laugh.

[color=orangered][i]"Ffffucking [b]WHAT?"[/b][/i][/color] He managed, between yet more laughter, even as he clenched his nose in pain. [color=orangered]"Are you [i]serious?"[/i][/color]    

[color=Turquoise][b]"Extremely."[/b][/color] The kid added, with a non-plussed tone that made Toryn laugh just a little more. [color=Turquoise]"So you can understand how... [i]reassuring[/i] it is to see that you are actually quite [i]normal."[/i][/color]

It took Toryn a good few minutes to recover from all that, before wiping away a tear and holding his drink out to her to toast. 

[color=orangered]"My name's actually [i]Toryn,[/i] by the way."[/color]

[color=Turquoise]"You may call me Tanis."[/color] The kid replied, clinking her bottle with his and taking a drink.

[color=orangered]"Huh. Small Galaxy."[/color]

[color=Turquoise]"Pardon?"[/color] Tanis inquired, head cocking to the side.

[color=orangered]"Eh, Doesn't matter— Ever been to a range before, Tanis?"[/color] Toryn asked, brushing the earlier question aside.

[color=Turquoise]"I have, to learn how best to defend myself and meet benchmarks set by my tutors."[/color] The kid replied, with a slight nod.

[color=orangered]"...Ever go to one just to [i]blow something up?"[/i][/color]

A moment of silence passed between them. And Toryn could almost [i]hear[/i] the cogs turning in the girl's brain as a downright [i]diabolical smile formed across her lips.[/i]

[color=Turquoise]"I have [i][b]not."[/b][/i][/color]

Toryn met that look with a little smirk of his own as he turned his attention back to his meal.

[color=orangered]"Well, I got at least five hours of nothing to do after I finish this. So [i]blowing shit up[/i] is what we shall do."[/color]

Maybe... just [i]maybe[/i] this day wouldn't be too bad, after all.