[Day 1 - MA] The Secret to Good Soup

[Bowze Coppa]

Pausing her song at the kerfuffle Xanna waved as Bankor's coolest and smartest teenager led the Mirialan off. She raised her voice: "Very good Liua, I will not tell anyone you are becoming so helpful. Be careful!"

With the guy and the kid gone, Jenna looked around for something she might be able to use to dig a few pebbles out from the bottom of her boots. Calling out, somewhat passively and not totally prescient of the Neimodian in the room, "Xanna, you around?"

"Jenna! Come in come in! This is Bowse, he is our newest helper here. Bowse meet Jenna, she has also helped me from time to time. Today we are making fresh Nerf Stew, and a vegetable soup as well." With a smile she placed some vegetables into a pot and started to heat them.

"So how have you been doing? Did you know that I met you brother yesterday?"

Bowze observed the interaction with the green guy and the aide in stunned silence

Poor guy...better him then me though


Then 'Jenna' came from behind. The nemoidian could not help but be suspicious...even if he had no real moral high ground or anything. Paranoia, I guess.

''Yes...hum, hello miss Jenna'' he turned to the pantoran ''I suppose I should continue to prepare the room without guidance from your assistant?''

[Xanna Teevou]

Xanna gave the Nemoidian an encouraging nod. "It is fairly straightforward Bowse, we simply set up the chairs, clean down the surfaces, collect fresh covers from... that cupboard. Simple. Then I can show you what I am doing in the kitchen."

A pleasant smell was already faintly detectable. Probably the spices.

[Rannek Nire]

“Well ain’t you a sweet thing,” she said finally getting all her fruit back.

“You must be new I have not seen you around here, nice to know we got a new nice young man around here. I got a granddaughter, she’s about your age, you single? She’s a little round about the waist but she’s a good cook and has a prettyish face in the right light.”

“I tell her, Y’mela you need to find a good husband or wife, you never know these days and I try to be open to them things. Did I mention she’s a good cook and I mean I know I am old but in my day I had all the boys in the building lined up at my door, on account of my large personalities,” she said with a mischievous laugh.

“Which she has by the way, runs in the family.”

He smiled warmly as the image of an old Togruta senpai of his flashed through his head and nodded, “I’m sure she is and you are still quite the catch. You’ve still got that spark of life that too many people lose.”

He finished putting the last of the fruit into the woman’s basket and continued, “But today I’m not looking for a wife or even a big personality. I’m looking for the family of a Riala Yims. I hear they live on this floor.”

[Dapper Dog]

"Oh my yes right over there, I often look after her son, he's... what did she say, non-verbal, good boy just different," she admitted.

"And Riala is single, mighty nice of you to court a single mother."

[Rannek Nire]

He nodded his head and took in a non-verbal moment for himself as well... part of him was hoping there would be a dad or some other older kids... but no matter the circumstances he knew what he had to do... life never seemed to throw him many breaks.

He walked over with the elderly woman in the direction he was guided. As he drew near the entrance he turned to the old woman and added, “You may want to stay close... his mom... won’t be coming back... she got caught up in the mess this morning.”

[Dapper Dog]

She said with shock, "My word, not sweet Riala! She was a good woman, she worked so hard and what about her boy, Gibsy. He has no one! My word."

[Rannek Nire]

“Gibsy is his name then... I’ll talk with him... I feel for the kid... that was me once...” He said as his mind wandered for a moment.

“You wanna come in with me? Having a familiar face there will make my appearance a bit less scary.”

[Dapper Dog]

She nodded and said, "Of course plus he trusts me, I will look after him I don't have much but he deserves better than nothing."

[Rannek Nire]

“I don’t have much either... just moved here from off-world... but when I get settled... if there’s anything I can do...” He replied as he put a hand on the elderly woman’s shoulder and motioned with his head for them to enter.

[Dapper Dog]

The interior was sparse and sitting on a couch was a boy, human with tanned skin and curly dark hair. He seems frightened but softens when he sees the woman and then motioned with his hands to the old woman who nodded and said, "He is asking where his mother is, she should have been hom long ago."

[Rannek Nire]

“I saw her... I got here as quick as I could.” He started.

“His mom... won’t be coming home...” Rannek continued as a single tear escaped from the corner of his eye.

“What happened to her wasn’t fair... she was mistaken for a bad person... I tried to help... but couldn’t do anything... I was there when she passed. Her last thoughts were for her boy... she loved him so very much...”

[Dapper Dog]

The old togruta considered that and then said to Rannek, “I will tell him, and thank you for giving him… us peace of mind. Perhaps it is best you go, he will not understand at first and I want him to feel safe as I try to explain what has come to pass.”

“Bless your kind heart and may the Force be with you, young man.”

[Rannek Nire]

He put a hand on the old woman’s shoulder again and lowered his head as the tears began flowing a bit more fluidly.

“I’ll be in touch... You let me know if you or he needs anything.”

And a word that had left his lips in over a couple standard cycles escaped his lips, “May the Force be with you as well.”

[Bowze Coppa]

Xanna gave the Nemoidian an encouraging nod. "It is fairly straightforward Bowse, we simply set up the chairs, clean down the surfaces, collect fresh covers from... that cupboard. Simple. Then I can show you what I am doing in the kitchen."

A pleasant smell was already faintly detectable. Probably the spices.

Bowze looked around making a mental plan on the most efficient way to proceed

''It will not be a problem''

[Xanna Teevou]

"Thank you Bowse. Have you been on Bankor long? Some beings find this place as soon as they arrive, while others make their way after time and consideration. Or because they smell soup." She started preparing the next pot.

[Bowze Coppa]

Rag in hand, Bowze was already cleaning his third table. He did not make the usual circular swipes with the rag but rather cleaned using straight horizontal and vertical overstepping lines.

''I have been on the planet for a while, trying to settle things down, figuring out what to do...And yourself? Where you born here?''

[Daunt]

Daunt stopped by the sign, thinking whether he wanted a friendly soup. Was friendly a trick to conceal the fact it wasn't tasty? There was only one way to find out. He entered the dilapidated place and looked around.

[Xanna Teevou]

Rag in hand, Bowze was already cleaning his third table. He did not make the usual circular swipes with the rag but rather cleaned using straight horizontal and vertical overstepping lines.

''I have been on the planet for a while, trying to settle things down, figuring out what to do...And yourself? Where you born here?''

Xanna nodded as he described his situation. It seemed pretty normal to her. Many people arrived and eventually filtered through to the Slums.

"Oh me? No, I was born on Pantoria. I came to Bankor just over three years ago, or maybe a little more. But it feels like home now. I took over this place from an old Besalisk about two years past. It used to be a fancy restaurant once long ago."

She looked up as the Zabrak entered. There were plenty of Zabraks amongst her usual customers but she did not recognize this one. He might notice that the place was a heck of a lot nicer on the inside.

"Hello and welcome. Are you here to eat or did you come to volunteer as well? We are a little delayed after this morning's little visit from the authorities, but I have the Nerf Stew and vegetable soup cooking now. This is Bowse, that is Jenna, and I am Xanna." She delicately placed a hand on her heart.

[Daunt]

He nodded in a more restrained greeting, not differentiating between those known and those unknown.

"How about both. You feed me well and I'll help you until you catch up."

[Xanna Teevou]

"I think that sounds just fine. Let me check on the stew." She thumbed back towards the kitchen to see if everything was ready.

Screen wipe

Four bowls of Nerf Stew and side plates with fresh bread brought back from Jaklu were in various states of consumption. The kitchen was pretty much ready for the arrival of more hungry locals.

"So I only ask that people pay if they can afford to. It makes enough to keep running on donations. What do you think? Fresh from the farms of Jaklu."

[Bowze Coppa]

''It does taste fresh very good'' the nemoidian confessed confessed with a nod, restraining several sides eyes ''I will glady give a donation for my portion''

He tried to be as courteous as possible but the afflux of people he met for a hutt job, one of then an admitted cannibal, put him on edge.

[Daunt]

The acknowledged cannibal behaved like nothing like. He quickly got down to work, having donated himself for his portion. He had taken off his cloak, revealing a gruesome chitin armour underneath, but otherwise was not consciously menacing.

"Looks good. Produce is quite fresh, it's always a plus."

[Jenna Karath]

"Jenna! Come in come in! This is Bowse, he is our newest helper here. Bowse meet Jenna, she has also helped me from time to time. Today we are making fresh Nerf Stew, and a vegetable soup as well." With a smile she placed some vegetables into a pot and started to heat them.

"So how have you been doing? Did you know that I met you brother yesterday?"

"I didn't," she said, finally getting the rocks out from under her boot. Was a fruitless effort as only more were bound to get under there and she hadn't even given the same treatment to her other boot. Alas~

When the Zabrak entered she'd gotten just a touch more paranoid herself, two familiar faces and both of them managed to appear in her regular life. There was a reason, she knew, that you didn't accept jobs at home. Luckily, however, time to lend a hand came and she did so with only a lot less talking than usual.

[See Xanna's Screenwipe]

Sitting with her meal she tossed the thoughts around in her head, only keeping a passive eye on the other two to maintain a sense of what they were up to without giving away the goose. So to speak.

"Becoming popular, it seems, Xanna. Almost feel like you won't end up needing my help all that often anymore," she cast a smile toward Xanna, teasing the thought with a joviality that seemed quite natural given the circumstances. "Course, I the food I get out of it comes with a lotta love cooked in and can't say I'm quite willing to give this seat up yet."

[Xanna Teevou]

"Oh these are all on the house Bowse, it will get busy soon and then you will feel like you paid your way." She patted his arm and gave Jenna a smile. She nodded at Daunt. "I had not been to Jaklu before, they had a farmer's market going on. I mean that is probably every day for them."

"Do not worry Jenna, there is always a place for you here. You remember Liua, the street kid? She is helping me, I suppose officially now, and keeping your brother in line too."

[Jenna Karath]

"I'm glad to hear it," she said, "a kid like that needs someplace good to go to. She's lucky to have you, if only every kid like her had someone like that the galaxy might actually be a bit better of a place. Keeping my brother in line though, you say?" she smirked.

Glancing, for a moment, between the two others she shifted toward facing Xanna a bit in her seat, "Sounds like you two did a little bit more than just run into one another?"