It had been a busy day, coming to an end. Some people might have suggested stopping in a bar and getting a drink. Garen suggested... boba. Something nice and cafinated* to get them through to the evening.

His helmeted head swiveled back and forth as he surveyed the inside of the curious building. Animals, art, a hat rack... Garen chuckled at that last one. It wasn't like a Mandalorian could leave their helmet at the door.

He turned to his companion. "This isn't what I expected. I mean, it's a lot." He looked around again. "But it's actually pretty nice, eh?"

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*spelling deliberate!

Fé's helmet bobbed up and down. "Yeah... it feels personal. I think it's cute."

"Cute. Right. Yeah." Garen chuckled. "Well, let's not go telling everyone back at the Enclave that I like cute, eh?" He joked.

He lead the way to the counter, giving a quick curious glance at the pair of foxes napping over in the corner. "Have you ever had this stuff before?" He asked, glancing over at Fé, a hint of confusion in his deep voice. "There's a lot of choices. Looks like mostly different sorts of gelatins or starches. Spices..."

She audibly scoffed at that, but sounded amused rather than annoyed when she spoke. "I won't tell a soul, Toughguy of Clan Manly," she teased. "I've heard of it, but I've never tried it. I guess the sweetened milk tea is the kinda... original flavor, so I'm gonna try that first and then branch out if I come back."

"Toughguy of Clan Manly." Garen nodded. "That, on the other hand, you can definitely tell people." He said.

"Two." He raised up two fingers to the cashier, who was decidedly not bothering two Mandalorians in their beverage deliberations.

As they waited for their drinks, Garen turned to Fé, leaning casually against the counter. "We'll get that real drink another time. But I wanted to try something new. I know some people like everything the same every day, gives them some structure or something. Me, I like a little more spice than that."

"Excellent, I'll keep that in mind," she agreed with a nod as she slid onto one of the seats at the counter next to him. "All the Saxons I know seem to go hard on the stoic badass thing. I'm not complaining, mind you, just kinda noticing."

"Though the wanting to mix things up thing makes sense to me. I like trying new stuff, too."

Garen grunted. "Before joining the Rebuilders, the only Saxons I knew where my parents, and they were pretty far from stoic badasses. Maybe I just grew into the name."

"Yeah? I like that, too." Garen's tone was light. "There's a lot more of that with Mandalorians than with standard military. I wouldn't place any bets on handmaiden, though."

The employee slid two teas over the counter, along with two straws. Garen picked his up, holding it for a few moments. Then, "Oh", and he stabbed the straw through the lid. "I think that's the trick."

"Like I said, I think it might be that I just haven't met many," she replied before watching him and then stabbing the lid. "Yeah, well... I mean, there's only like eight of us per Queen, at most. I wouldn't place any bets on another one randomly showing up anywhere. Especially since at least a couple of us died before and during the Clone Wars."

She manages to figure out how to wrangle drinking it with the helmet on. "Mm... That's pretty good."

"Right. I remember Naboo had some rough years, especially after." The death of Queen Amidala after the Clone Wars was a well-known tragedy, after all. "Although you never know about running into another. Sometimes it seems like the galaxy's a surprisingly small place."

It took a bit of maneuvering, but Garen, too, managed to get the straw into his mouth. "Huh." There was a brief pause, then he drank a little more. The huh was not elaborated on. "What other Saxons have you met? Just around the camp? Or..." Garen gave a sort of half-shrug, raising and then lowering one hand.

"They did," she agreed. Naboo hadn't been her planet by then, but she still felt for it and its people, as well as... "The former Queen and my wife died the same year. It was a rough one personally, too." She took a sip and got a tapioca ball, and chewing a little. We're you supposed to? The fact that you could was weird. Not unpleasant.

"A few here and there. Mostly on Gargon."

Garen tilted his head... but it wasn't thoughtfully, it was because he, too, was chewing. So chewy...

Then he straightened, looking at Fé. "You have layers, you know Pyro? I don't know which one to ask about first. That year, what you were doing on Gargon... and there's still the to be continued from before about the husband."

He gave another of his shrugging gestures. "What do you think I should ask about?"

"I mean, most people do if you start digging," she said, sounding a little awkward. "Tell you what, you can ask about any of them, but you have to share something back."

"Alright, fair enough." Garen agreed readily. "I don't know how many layers I have, but I'm happy to let you dig a bit if you like."

He looked at her, considering. The cup of boba in his gauntleted hand undercut the stern metal features of his mask a little, especially when he took a sip through his straw.

"Tell me about Gargon." He finally said. "Is that where you met up with a Rebuilder?"

She settled in to her seat and took a sip. "Nope. That is where I met my wife, and became a Mandalorian. I went there to collect something as part of a job... I don't even remember what it was anymore." He could hear the fondness in her voice. "I met Kerrith there. She reminds me of Lysa a little bit. Very enthusiastic and energetic sort of person."

"We became friends and I eventually stuck around and got to know the culture better. Long story short, I joined Clan Kelborn after a while."

she nodded to him. "Your turn."

"Oh, Lysa." Garen chuckled. "She certainly can make a mess, can't she?"

He shook his head. "Well, I have follow-ups. I suppose that just means I'll have to answer more myself." He spread his hands, still holding the boba. "What did you want to know? I don't know there's a whole lot too me. I mean, I've seen a fair bit, but I don't know that I've done a lot, if the distinction makes sense."

"Definitely. Kerrith was a little more level-headed, but... well, I inherited Siz from her, if that tells you anything," she replied with a soft, nostalgic laugh.

"What's the most interesting thing you've seen in your time?"

"The most interesting thing..." Garen leaned back a little, his heavy metal-clad arm resting on the counter. "Huh. That's going to take me a moment." And indeed, he took a moment, awkwardly drinking more of the boba tea. "It grows on you." He muttered.

"Maybe the Jedi." Another person might have felt uncomfortable talking about them, but not Garen. "I saw this one step out into a field of blaster fire, lightsaber ignited, totally fearless, covering a retreat. It seemed like she didn't even think about it, she just did it. Maybe I could in my armor, but..." He shrugged.

A deep breath. "I remember thinking that it was an amazing thing. She deflected bolts, she dodged others, even ones there was no way she could see. I was an engineer, I was used to cause and effect... seeing something like that brought a little bit of wonder into the galaxy, if that makes sense." Garen's deep voice sounded just a touch sad. Just a touch.

"It does," she agreed between chewing.

"It makes sense to me. It's a hell of a thing, watching a Jedi work."

Garen nodded. "I gathered you'd seen one before too. When we talked with that... whoever they were." Wearing a helmet, Garen's grimace wasn't visible, but it certainly was audible.

He let that hang for a few seconds, then looked back to Fé. "Would you tell me about Kerrith?" He asked, his tone gentle.

"Yeah. Whoever, indeed," she mused. "They worry me."

Her voice turned fond at the change in topic. "Kerrith... She introduced me to the Mandalorians. Who we are, who we were... Those old traditions were important to her, but she was always enthusiastic about them. It's hard not to get infected with that kind of excitement." She laughed at herself a little. "I guess I must be drawn in by people with big ideas."

"Anyway, I eventually joined because of that, among other reasons. Proved myself to the Clan, etc. We worked together a lot after that, and eventually she told me it meant more to her than just friends or partners. We got married and spent a couple of very happy years together before the last year of the Clone Wars. She died in the fighting."