Cool Wedding and All That

[Varina Ordo]

Varina managed to slip away from Manny and the Salky Raiders. There was a frown embedded on her face and which of the two had caused it would be her little secret. She soon reminded herself that this was supposed to be a happy occasion. Hopefully it lasts, she thought, not in any way personal to her hosts.

As it turned out, Varina was able to pick out Raven in the crowd. It would have been easier if Raven had worn some sort of frilly dress but staying in armor was probably more characteristic of her. It certainly was a nice suit too, seemingly more decorated than she last saw. Seemed like only one of them got to clean up well.

"Hey, Raven," Varina said with an awkward wave. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to bow or greet the bride in some sort of special way. "Congratulations, by the way. Couldn't have been cheap to get all this stuff, could it?"

[Raven Cadera]

Raven had let Praxton return to his 'patrolling' after some socializing with the others, and now she was holding down the fort on her own, so to speak, making sure one of them was at least still seen during the festivities.

She was stepping away from exchanging a few words with one of the visitors when Varina approached. "Sister, thank you." Extending an armored arm, Raven pulled Varina into a hug. The sassy little teen deserved a hug. "All this? Most of it is hunted by the group, the food at least. So I suppose the biggest expense is the drinks...?" The thought of the cost hadn't really crossed her mind, as it was Mand'alor who had wanted to throw a large feast with these guests.

"I'm surprised you came, but happy you decided to."

[Varina Ordo]

Varina let out a little grunt when she came into the hug. It wasn't like she was in armor herself, nor was she actually that used to hugs herself. Maybe she needed to hug her dad more. "It just seems like a lot," she offered as an explanation. "It's good stuff, not that you don't deserve it." An awkward cough. "It's nice."

She peeked around for the groom before looking back to Raven. "Ah, well, I don't think I could live with myself if I missed it. Maybe if you married a Hutt but Praxton isn't anywhere close to one." She scratched the back of her head. "And if you married a Hutt, then you wouldn't exactly be you either... Hm." It was times like these that she remembered why she hated philosophy classes.

"Oh! Oh, uh," Varina said, her eyes widening. She looked at all the fancy stuff and patted her own body. Then she snapped her fingers and pulled out her blaster. "You want this? As like a wedding gift?"

[Raven Cadera]

A snort of laughter came in response to the Hutt-comment. "No... no he's certainly not a Hutt." For one, Raven thought he was waaaay better looking than a Hutt could ever hope to be. The thought of even comparing them hadn't even crossed her mind before. Praxton 1, Hutt 0.

The sudden offer of a gift made her raise her eyebrows. "A gift isn't nescessary, Varina. That you're here with us is more than enough for me. You probably need this weapon more than I do...?" The younger woman hadn't earned her beskar'gam yet, so to Raven's impression, she needed it more to go through her trials.

[Varina Ordo]

"Could you imagine a Hutt in beskar'gam?" Varina asked with her signature, sassy grin. "It'd be quite the sight." She turned more contemplative, though not for reasons one might expect. "Wait what would a non-obese Hutt look like? Like one who turned all that fat into muscle. Is that even possible?"

She glanced around for the librarian. Surely she knew about biology! "If Manny is here, so is Jyvress, right?"

On the matter of her blaster, she shrugged with an awkward chuckle. "Well I have more of them. It's kind of big but if I can hold onto it while holding my sword, I'm sure you can too." Her lips formed a thin line. "But if you don't want it, then I'm happy to just be... Here I guess?"

[Raven Cadera]

"Eh... I dunno..." Raven was hardly smart enough to know enough about Hutt physiology. She knew where to stab them alright, but that was it. "Yeah, Jyr should be around here somewhere, she'd probably know."

The awkwardness of thinking of a muscular Hutt in beskar'gam made her pause as she fussed with her black hair a moment. "Right." A moment, and she focused back on Varina. "Good. Good! That you're here is good enough for me, sister. Are you planning on staying...?" she asked, trying to gauge where Varina was in her life at this point. If she had figured stuff out more since they last spoke.

[Varina Ordo]

"I'm sure she'll know!" Varina said, her fists clenched in anticipation. That excitement spread into her devious grin. "Do you think I can ask her for money again? What do you think she'd say?"

Varina blinked and put the blaster back in its holster. In a way, she was grateful that Raven didn't want it since she'd probably have to give up the holster too. "I'm planning on staying for the whole reception, yeah." She blinked a couple times. "Unless you mean in general? Uh, well, I have a lead on my mother, actually. It's not much but... I split off from my dad again to pursue it. But, but, he's also looking into another one."

[Raven Cadera]

"Varina..." Raven sighed as the younger one spoke of extorting Jyr for money again. She hoped Jyrvess wouldn't cave in so easily this time. She shook her head, unable to dismiss her smile completely.

"Your father?" Placing a hand on Varina's shoulder, she looked at her with interest. "So you did take my advice to speak with him? That's... that's good." And that Varina was here maybe meant it worked out? "I meant here, with Mand'alor's people. But I understand your family takes precedence first."

[Varina Ordo]

Varina held up her hands. "I wouldn't be threatening her into giving me money! I was more thinking like... as a joke, for old time's sake." She shrugged impishly. "I don't do that anymore."

She looked at the hand and laughed it off as any awkward teen would. "Oh, you know, it was pretty easy," she lied through her teeth. They had to have a talk about this thing called boundaries that she still didn't completely understand. Not running away from home without a word, not getting strangled by a bunch of expectations, that sort of thing.

"Well, you can always call me if you need me," Varina said, more emphasis on her in particular. Her opinion of Mand'alor still wasn't particularly high. One could chop that up to general teenage rebellion and/or a genuine clash of ideals. "I can't see my dad fitting in here still. And my mother? Well..."

[Raven Cadera]

"Is that so..." A part of her didn't quite believe it, but she wasn't going to call her sister out for lying here in public.

"Likewise, you need help you need only ask. Is it on this planet that you're seeking your mother, or somewhere nearby?"

[Varina Ordo]

"Eh? I'm turning over a new leaf and all that!" Varina's lips turned into a thin line. She wasn't sure if she was making too big of a fuss over that. From what she'd learned, that made someone seem even less genuine. "Taking people's money can, like, mess up their entire life. Or something like that."

Varina scanned the crowd out of habit. There was no way her mother would be here without either of them knowing though. "Naw, I don't think this place is big enough for her to be hidden somewhere. She's elusive, sure, but I doubt she'd go unnoticed from you." Or Mand'alor, but Varina wasn't sure he'd hide that information from her. "My next stop is Bellionas. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Salky Raiders might know something too but they weren't so helpful today."

She shrugged. "I know violence sometimes breaks out at Mandalorian weddings but didn't feel right to start something here, you know?"

[Raven Cadera]

"As long as it's not too bloody, Varina. It's a joyous occassion, trying to make new alliances as well." That part was a bit out of Raven's depths, but she respected what Mand'alor was trying to do.

"Bellionas huh? As it happens, I'm heading that way myself. And who knows, we might be able to ask those raiders more about your mother."

[Varina Ordo]

"Are there other groups I should be aware of?" Varina asked. Heck, she could ask the groom himself, but he was a bit too close to Mand'alor himself. Awkward! "Don't worry though, like I said, new leaf and all that."

She blinked. "Oh? What sends you that way? Wait, don't tell me Manny and Jyrvess are headed there too..."

[Raven Cadera]

"Not... that I know of?" Well, technically, there were lots of groups Varina needed to be aware of, but that could be a long list, Raven thought and she wasn't particularly in the mood to go through it now. Removing her hand from the younger Mandalorian's shoulder, she brushed some of her own black hair away from her face.

"Yeah, they're headed they're too, but for me it's another step on my mission. I... hmmm..." Raven glanced around them. Even if no one else was nearby right now, they were still in the great hall, so it wasn't the place to speak about it. "I can tell you more about it some other time. Not here, not now."

[Varina Ordo]

"Well I'd hope you'd know which groups were here at your wedding," Varina said, sticking out her tongue afterward. "But alright, I guess we'll see if there's another enclave of Mandalorians hanging around on Bellionas too. Or maybe even... many more!" She glanced at Raven's hair and thought, briefly, on what it'd be like for either of them to have super long hair. Seemed kind of unwieldy.

"You can't talk about it here, huh?" Varina shrugged. "Fine by me, although now you've gotten me super curious. I'm sure the opportunity will present itself though."

She pursed her lips in thought and rocked back and forth on her feet. "There is something else I wanted to talk to you about."

[Raven Cadera]

"Well, of the ones that are here, it's Mand'alor's people, and the Salky Raiders." She gave a brief shrug. "Sorry, I thought you meant other groups, besides the ones here."

Raven could only give her an apologetic look over the fact that she couldn't tell Varina about her mission. But her next words at least caught her attention. "Oh? ... Now... or later?"

[Varina Ordo]

"No, no, I meant other groups. Just me being, well, not-so-good with words." Varina gave a meek smile. "Was that something that they taught better at school?"

Her cheeks flushed with blood as she continued to sway back and forth. "Here's fine. Like, kind of fits the occasion, really. How did you, like, know? I mean, Praxton seems nice enough, it's nothing personal about him, I just don't really... know how anyone can pick?"

[Raven Cadera]

She gave a light-hearted chuckle at that. "Maybe. My brother and I were taught at home, so I wouldn't know."

The questions made her blush, awkwardly looking away from Varina for a moment before looking back at her again.

"Sometimes you... just know, you know. A partner is someone who brings out the best in you. The one your thoughts turn to in good and bad times, wishing to share it both with them." There was an almost dreamy feel to her tone and demeanor, so different from Raven the warrior.

Her tone was a little quieter now as she shared these private thoughts. "Praxton is... he helps me be a better me. Being with him brings me both joy and a sense...of serenity. If I am not around to help you, sister, I hope you can rely on him like you would rely on me."

[Varina Ordo]

Varina nodded along with Raven's response, though her face betrayed that she still didn't really get it. "How do you know that won't change though? Again, it's not personal, not at all, but..." She wouldn't say it out loud but it all came back to her parents. Something must have happened between them that could be predictable, right?

"Oh, no, don't say stuff like that," she said, digging her hands deep into her pocket. Her shoulders were totally sagged as she looked around. "You'll both be there to help me out if I need to, like, get my mom's attention and all that."

[Raven Cadera]

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that!" Raven held up her hands in protest. "I meant more if I'm busy elsewhere with something else, or on a mission or a hunt. You can rely on Praxton to look after you as much as I would. But yes, we'll help you find your mother..."

Rubbing her chin, Raven gave a glance around them at the various people in the hall. "Kagr was talking about flying us over to Bellionas, but you can fly with Manny too if you prefer that...?"