(D0EE,Dining Hall) Feast & Furious

[Garen Saxon]

"Vode An!" Garen joined the chorus echoing Mandalore's cheer. He didn't pitch his voice especially loud, but the big man's voice still carried easily. He raised his cup, first in a cheer, then drinking modestly from it before setting it back down.

A fight was coming. A big one. Back when he was just a regular mercenary, feelings might have been different. Now, told that they were going to stand against the might of the Empire, spirits were high, or so it seemed.

Even as he stabbed a hunk of meat with his fork, Garen looked around, surveying those around him.

[Raven Cadera]

"Vode an!" Raven had joined in the cheer alongside Garen and the others, taking part in the act that brought them a little closer together mentally before the rough times ahead.

The young woman was chewing idly on some of the game that she had helped bring in, also eyeing the room's occupants and how everyone seemed to be faring, her chin tilted slightly up in a confident manner. It helped hide the concerns she felt deep inside with the conflicting emotions over the whole thing. As both of them were looking around, their gaze did meet as they were sitting near one another. A nod was given to the older warrior and she raised her cup to him. "Meat's pretty good, huh Garen?"

[Garen Saxon]

A moment as Garen took a generous bite, chewing and swallowing with some enthusiasm. "It is. I heard you help with the hunt." He rumbled, giving her a nod back.

Without hardly thinking about it, his fork speared a slice of meat from his plate, transferring it to hers with no more than a "Here."

Taking another bite himself Garen nodded. "Back when I was just a merc, even when we won, we didn't feast like this. Not together, anyway. Some of the officers would get fancy meals at restaurants together, and the enlisted would hit the same bars. But it wasn't the same."

[Raven Cadera]

"Yeah?" the meat was accepted, though her attention was more on him now as he spoke. "Never seemed like there was much, hm, camraderie of sorts with that kind of people I guess? Never did run with any sort of group before this, so I wouldn't know, but saw plenty of mercs around in cantinas and such." But none of those had seemed like family or a brotherhood. Not really.

[Garen Saxon]

"There's some." Garen said, shrugging. "You have a squad, you make friends with them. And you can count on them in a firefight. Maybe with some of the other people in your unit, too. And if a brawl starts and someone's wearing your uniform, you back them up, of course.

He gestured around with his fork. "But it's not the same as this. You're part of something, but it doesn't mean as much." Garen frowned thoughtfully. "It's hard to explain the difference, but I know there is one." He took a fierce bite, chewing almost thoughtfully.

[Raven Cadera]

"Mhm," she nodded, understanding what he was saying even if the words could not communicate it. "It's a family." At least it was for her, though she wasn't sure if everyone felt the same way as she did. Cared as deeply as she did about them all.

"Ever fought the Empire much before? This is probably going to be some heavy action in the days ahead..."

[Garen Saxon]

"Family." Garen considered that a moment, then nodded, smiling. "Yes. That's a good word for it."

He smiled at her a moment longer, then added "Well, go on, eat up, don't let your food get cold." Not one to say something and do another, he took another bite himself. It was important to set examples after all.

"Mmm. A bit, here and there." He brushed his mouth with provided cloth. "I spent more time fighting for them, in that strange time when they weren't really the Empire yet, but they definitely weren't the Republic anymore. That was before I joined the Rebuilders, of course."

[Raven Cadera]

She raised an eyebrow slightly, and chuckled with a gentle shake of her head. The doting behavior of Garen made her think of her own father for a moment... which probably wasn't too off from what he might've been thinking.

"Sure, yeah," Raven chuckled, picking some more of the food herself to sample. Making your own food was something all Mandalorians should know, but damn, Rook made some exceptionally good food. "Hm, so you know a bit about how they fight and stuff then?"

[Garen Saxon]

"I do." Garen said with a nod. "They're brave at least, I'll give them that. Or they're not afraid of dying, anyway." He frowned. Were those the same thing? They felt different.

He shrugged, spearing some more meat. "They rely on weight of numbers and firepower. Probably they'll try to drown us in men while they get their heavy equipment in place. I don't think they realize how fast we can clear them out."

Chewing, he looked at her. "You fought them before?"

[Raven Cadera]

She paused, allowing herself to chew her food. Orphan, not barbarian, after all. The meat was swallowed with some of the beer.

"Yeah. Back on Kamda. But not like... a large force coming for all of us. Guess this will be the closest to war for me." Which was odd, as Mandalorians were warriors. Raven had seen her fair share of scraps, combat, and fights, but all out war? Nope. "They got some folks with guts and a warrior's spirit. Though a lot are just... goons with guns? Kids who learned to shoot a blaster last year."

[Garen Saxon]

Garen hesitated for a moment. "Yeah..." He chewed on his lip a moment before taking another modest sip of his own alcoholic drink.

He set down his mug. "War's not so bad, anyway. At least, not for the warriors." He gave her a smile. "You've seen plenty of combat. It's like that, only on a bit more of a schedule. A bit like a nine to seventeen for a Mandalorian. A lot of people do better with the organization, even."

[Raven Cadera]

Raven laughed a bit, looking down at her beer. "Yeah, lived a true Mandalorian life in that way. A lot of fighting... some days it's been going from one scrap to the next." Her shoulders rose as she took a deep breath, and a heft swig of beer.

"Guess I'm just worried a bit. Not for myself, but for everyone. Sure, we might be better than any warrior the Empire can put in the field, but they're outnumbering us. And my mind goes to who we'll lose bloodying their noses."

[Garen Saxon]

Garen paused a moment, studying Raven, his grey eyes gently concerned. "Anyone who's lived a true Mandalorian life, like you, it's said that they join the Manda after death." His tone was measured, even, like stating a fact. "And anyone who dies fighting the Empire like this will die a hero's death, for sure."

He smiled. "But we shall not die, no, it's the enemy who will taste defeat."

Despite his little boast, he sighed. "Still... I won't deny that's easier said than done. And it's hard, losing friends. Or family. We'll just have to do the best we can for everyone.

[Raven Cadera]

It wasn't a secret that Raven had lost her own family at a young age, which probably explained her devotion to the new family and her protectiveness of it.

"Yeah, they're never gone for good," she said, sincere even as the words felt heavy to her. "You lost people too, right?"

[Garen Saxon]

"Yeah." Garen frowned, his brows drawing down. "My unit. My daughter." He swallowed, chasing the lump in his throat with a gulp of alcohol, somewhat less modest than before.

He looked at her. "So we'll just have to do our best, won't we? If I can stop the Empire from killing one of us, I won't let anything stop me. And I think everyone here would say the same." Mustering a smile, he gave her a nod. "Right?"

[Raven Cadera]

Her eyes were sympathetic. "I'm sorry for your loss." Losing a child must've felt worse than losing parents, she thought, and decided not to pry into that tonight. It was supposed to be festive, not depressing.

His smile was mirrored with her own. "Yeah, we'll have to do what we can. Make sure we stay alive and all," she nodded, holding her mug of beer out to tap against Garen's own mug. "Us, and the colonists too maybe. Can't imagine they like the Empire either if they settled all the way out here."

[Garen Saxon]

Garen grunted as their mugs tapped together; he briefly lifted his in response.

He chuckled softly. "I can't imagine anyone really likes the Empire. What's there to like?" He shrugged. "But I think you're right, they may especially dislike them. We should look into that."

Popping another morsel in his mouth, Garen nodded approvingly. "Veggies are good too. Make sure you get plenty." It was important to eat right, after all. Especially the youths!

[Raven Cadera]

Raven couldn't help but to roll her eyes. "Sure, dad," she chuckled with a smug smirk for a moment, returning to her meal.

"But if you think we should look into helping the colonists, and they maybe helping us out in return, wanna come with me tomorrow? My partner and I are heading out there tomorrow to see what the situation is. Asked me to bring along a couple of extra hands too if I could spot someone who also had an interest in helping." Praxton was pretty much known for being a helping hand to most, and Raven wasn't too different in that regard.

[Garen Saxon]

The comment made Garen's eyes widen for a moment, but then he chuckled warmly. "Okay, that's fair." He said, smiling gently.

Then he nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that. Just don't expect me to say much." He shrugged. "But sometimes, just being there and willing to lend a hand is enough. That's my dad-wisdom talking." He said in a dry monotone.

[Raven Cadera]

"That's some good wisdom," she admitted, picking out some of the vegetables that had been prepared for the feast to snack on. "Anyone you think would be good to talk with them perhaps? Maybe Pyro... or May?"

Not that Raven was bad at talking with people herself, but it didn't hurt to have more folks who understood talking with outsiders.