Open Social Cantonica Going Once, Going Twice

[Oedipus Menelaus]

The boy for whom Oedipus had been waiting was well late and the mischievous lad was in no mood to wait any longer. "Well, mother can't say I didn't try," he pondered. It wasn't the first nor would it likely be the last setup that she put to him, always dangling the family needs speech but as usual, it wasn't until she winked and told him that she knew he'd do anything for her before he'd cave.

At least that's how he wanted to remember such moments.

Walking around the large crowded room he spotted many fancy faces and expensive clothing to go with them. It was so terrible to see all this wealth wasted on hiding their most valuable assets, their bodies. True wealth, he thought, was shown in the care one took of their own body and showing skin was a natural way to do this. Hiding your body behind fancy cloth and animal skin was frankly, embarrassing. One could only assume that they were ashamed of mismanaging their assets and hid to protect what little dignity remained.

No, it was far better to spend your money on expensive gifts and toys to play with. The more exotic and dangerous, the better as one could flaunt this over thine neighbor and expose their haughtiness for what it was, a pathetic imitation. Oedi was looking for such a gift tonight, both to gift to his mother and show up his lazy triplet brothers. He was sure that neither of them would be able to come close to anything that he could find for her.

Spotting a fearsomely large beast near a handful of people, Oedi was taken by its ghastly appearance and knew at once what it was and that he just HAD to have it. Walking briskly, he approached someone who had clearly been paid to attend. Of course, he must be a servant accompanying the most beautiful and divine woman. She had a halo of familiarity but he couldn't let that distract him from the task as he approached the servant from the side, clicking his fingers to get his attention. @Taz

"Excuse me, service please." If the man turned around, Oedipus would smile and point towards the large Hutt nearby @Nor'baal "I want that one, tied up and ready for transport to Juvexia. If he's a guest, I'll pay double for your discretion. Well, any Hutt will do really, if you have a better one in stock."

His opulent face was serious, fully expecting the man to comply with his order. Sometimes the boy forgot that his word carried little weight away from home, but he was quite ready to pay the man for the hassle.

@Taz @LadyRen @Nor'baal

 

[Electra Juvexia]

While involved in the conversation with Covax and the Hutt, she didn't only learn that Covax was not only obviously fluent in Huttese, but that the relationship between the two crime bosses must have been an interesting one. She didn't want to interfere here, as she had no interest in building a connection to the Hutt, knowing damn well that one crime boss wrapped around her finger was enough to deal with right now.

And so she leaned back, observing the unintelligible conversation between the unlike duo before she could make out some very familiar, golden curls. Why familiar? Because the tone was the exact same color as her own and while there were countless shades of blonde, none shone as brilliantly as their royal nuances.

He didn't paid her any attention and so she threw him a subtly judging glance which only he would be able to understand, however her facial expressions immediately changed into an amused half-a-brow raised look while he was mistaking Covax for a servant and the grand Hutt for an animal assorted for sale. She obviously didn't correct him but mentally leaned back even more amused than before, curious about how this would play out while none of them knew he was her son. Obviously, she was not to keen on letting him get harmed, but for now she was yearning for the amusing encounter. She'd find a way to defuse the situation if necessary...

@Xorism @Taz @Nor'baal

 

[Arla]

The corner of Arla's lip curled up in a smirk as he admitted he was just looking for an excuse to talk to her. Well, at least you're honest, she said. She appreciated honesty over whatever everyone else here was probably doing. It had bought him some points in her book.

Having just given her name a moment ago, she simply accepted his name and filed it away to probably be forgotten soon because she was terrible with names.

She held her wine glass to show him she was covered in the drink department and finally turned away from scratching the fathier's neck.

Thanks though, she said. She was awful at small talk and kind of stood there for a moment, looking at the man and then around at the other crowd. They hadn't asked her anything, and she didn't tend to ask a lot of questions just to fill the air.

If you'll both excuse me, she said after a moment, giving somewhat of a forced smile and nod before excusing herself from Gunner and the snake man whose names he couldn't pronounce.

The reason for her stepping away was spotting two beings that she knew amidst this crowd. As she approached Altair and Bel, her face stretched into a wide, genuine smile. Altair! I didn't know you'd be here. Nice to see a familiar face, she said. She was sure that wasn't the convention for greeting a king, but if Arla had been one for tradition, her life would have been far different than it was.

And you, my favorite charhound! You're all grown up! she said, bending down to promptly give Bel a scratch behind the ear.

@Olwin @Scoobert @Sreeya @adorabledoggo

 

[Gunner Alesto]

Well if Gunner was going to get graded on his performance, he may have received a passing D. Seemed he had given disinterest in Arla, and now she had made her pardon and left. "Oh, of course. See ya around." Gunner didn't believe in goodbyes, he thought they were too final. A good see ya around means they'll meet again, and he had hoped to see her again some day.

There was an upside to her leaving though, now he got to focus purely on the mission. Taking the information he had gathered, it seemed these animals here were worth a pretty penny. Oxycodone was rather helpful with the explanation. Then Arla's input on liking the fathier just helped to know where to start. Looking to the Slussi, he would nod as he made his pardon to begin mission.

"I must be excused as well. I have a couple errands to run. We shall speak again some day." Turning on his heels he would make way for his fellow crewmates to relay the message, and to have them spread word to the others scattered around. This business was a dangerous one but it was fairly inconspicuous. Once he had began relaying the message, he had set himself in a place as such to watch everyone else as well to ensure they had not come up and heard something on accident. That was how people went missing quickly.

After the message was out, his crewmen began making their way to relay the message quietly and discreetly as well as begin to get ready to carry out the plan. Gunner had sent for men to go to the basement door and await for the keys as Gunner would make his way around to find one of the individuals running the event, or one of the cage masters around. They surely had the keys to the basement.

@Phoenix @Olwin

 

[Oxyotyl Quets'l'cotl]

Oxyotyl slowly blinked his eyes as he turned away from where he was looking, back at the mammal beside him. Fear. That is what this one smelled like. That is what most all of them smelled like. They were afraid of everything. Their cages were too small. Their handlers too rough. Their food too bland. A pang of pitty hit the serpentine heart of the Governor. It was odd how other mammals treated their own with little respect. He kept his animals out in large facilities, ensuring them comfort. But it was expensive, so maybe this was purely for greed.

One of his guards moved to whisper in his ear. There was a potential buyer going to the shipyards to inspect the facilities. Oxyotyl always made sure to be there if any visitor was making the trek to them, to shake their hand and make them feel welcome. His serpentine form slowly slithered away from the stalls and towards the casino again. He sadly had to skip the bidding, and had to get back home.

 

[Alberich Wotan]

Unlike his aquatic compatriot, Alberich Wotan decides to come into the casino incognito. He wore an alternate suit with a bronzed helmet, not for fear of being recognized on the floor but incase things went south. Atleast he would not be the one fingered for the crime, which might exonerate his coworker. Either way, the 5'8 Ubese stepped through the casino, mixing and mingling under the guise of "Iko Muschet'. It wasn't his first, or last, alias he could draw on, but it certainly would be fun to dust one of his first off. We'll, as fun as a stealth mission could be. Once Gunner (@Scoobert ) was finally located, "Iko" made his way to the amphibious biped. Not directly of course, but in a more round about fashion

"Live cargo of this size was never something we have tried before." The Ubese spoke even softer than the usual harsh whisper they usually speak in, as he tried to keep his voice low. The specific helmet he wore was designed to distort and deepen his voice in a way no one could match it with his normal suit. "If we pull this off though, and I have a feeling that may be a slim enough chance to happen, we will be able to buy a corvette or even a cheap frigate. Not top of the line, but certainly mothballed enough to be at a discount. This way we can take on more crew and actually have a set base of operations. You go get what you need, I will make sure the ride is in place."

The shorter being slowly moved swiftly away from the Nautolian, making way back to the Wayfarer they arrived on. He kept the comm channel open, his ear practically pressed to the speaker for the slightest hint of a problem going on so he could send off for his own ship. But that would hopefully not be necessary. He would rather keep the paint nice and unscorched for one mission.

 

[Lomrokk]

For Lomrokk, life was normally quite simply.

Stand near the boss. Look mean. Easy.

Every now and then, however, life served him a curved ball and he had to earn his keep. As some uppity Prince from a planet he'd never even heard of started barking threats at his master, he realised this was one of those moments.

With his armour festooned about his person, he squared up to the Prince. "That's close enough, dirt-bag." he grunted in gutteral basic, before slamming his tusked face forward and headbutting the young man brutally.

He stepped back, his right hand dropping to the butt of his blade, as if daring the Prince to speak again.

 

[Covax]

Covax noticed the irritant approaching him at the same time as his security did. As did the Hutt's security. The young Prince seemed to completely ignore the high end bodyguard droids as he approached. Unfortunately for the pale skinned human, they did not ignore him.

As Oedipus Menelaus went to lift his hand to snap at the Vanguard, the droid processed it as a possible thread. Snatching the man by the arm with it's Wookiee like strength. Twisting his arm behind him to secure the thread, just as the Gammorrian slammed his head into the Prince.

Not missing a beat, Covax turned and greeted the idiot. "The casino regrets to inform you that the Hutt is not for sale at this time. If you would like to try again at a late date, please give me a call. I'd love to see it. If this does not satisfy your needs, The pig faced bodyguard here would love to continue negotiations"

Covax then realized the planet he mentioned, and looked back to his date for the evening. "One of your nobles ?"

@Xorism @Nor'baal @LadyRen

 

[Electra Juvexia]

Electra was well aware that drama was potentially on its way, but while she had hoped for a very amusing verbal confrontation, neither of the crime bosses seemed to be in the mood for games. Before she could even lift a finger herself or defuse the situation verbally, disaster struck.

One of Covax' security guards grabbed Oedipus in a split second and twisted him right in a position advantageous for this huge pig things the fat slug had brought along, mercilessly headbutting him so that a gasp actually the Queen that was usually so hard to impress.

She knew exactly what that meant. Canto Bight. What the hell were those idiots thinking? The second the disaster began, countless guards in various corners of the room seemed to get alerted and immediately made their way through the grande auction hall. Chaos erupted all around while the wealthy, posh guests began to panic, obviously not realizing what the fuck was happening.

From the atmosphere, it seemed like a terroristic attack could have been launched, while it was actually just her son who had not done his homework properly. She watched with internal amusement at the chaos this little comedic scene had causes while her expressions were still shocked. "Well...that is my son" she explained rather casually, only for him to here before deciding to seize measures for some damage control. "Oedipus...always the jester" she threw in louder, amusedly shaking her head as though her blonde devil spawn had actually just meant this as a joke and overplaying that he had actually been oblivious to all of their ranks and reputations.

It was a little ironic that even the auctioneer had stopped rambling for a moment, apparently waiting for the chaos to be cleared before continuing, seeming as though he had witnessed such scenes regularly. While the guards seemed indeed used to such quick jumps into action, some classical music casually accompanied the sudden disturbance.

@Xorism @Taz @Nor'baal @everyoneintheauctionhall

 

[Oedipus Menelaus]

Oedipus' face turned to shock as he found himself quickly ambushed and grappled by the overly muscular serving man's droid. It was embarrassing to have been taken so easily and without even being able to put up a fight - clearly, this man had been putting in the hours on the Thorne routine.

To make matters worse, the hulking sentient bacon train quickly arrived at the station, slamming his thick skull into Oedipus' sensitive, well-maintained and oiled forehead. Stunned and shocked, a small trail of blood poured from his forehead to his lip.

Stunned by the sudden turning of events, he could barely make out what Covax was saying to him. A taste of blood made the battle-hardened warrior a little light-headed and woozy, responding as best he could. "Bu.. I don't even have your number.."

Guards started to arrive on the scene, demanding immediate answers for what had happened. Oedi pointed to the loosely bearded man and oinker, quite upset with them.

"Your servant's droid assaulted me! and this dimwitted swine! I was just trying to conduct some business. My face, look what they did to my face! I am ruined, how can I live with such imperfection? I am a Prince of Juvexia and I expect that swift justice is served! Throw them in with the Nexu, or whatever it is you do here."

Yeah, that'll do it. The gall of these people, here he was just trying to conduct some business and he was abruptly assaulted. Before he could even continue further, he caught the wandering gaze of someone quite familiar indeed.

"Oh shit" Damnit you said that out loud you idiot, he chastised himself. How would be able to show his face around the home if she told his siblings and father about what had happened?

@Taz @LadyRen @Nor'baal

 

[Nor'baal Desilijic]

Nor'baal had hardly been paying attention to what people had been saying to him, busy as he was checking the lots for the day's auction when a small smattering of commotion had broken out. In an instant, he saw some uppity Princling on the approach before Lomrokk did his job and stopped the pup in his tracks.

What happened next came as something of a shock. A clattering of droid action, a headbutt, and a few Casino security stepped into the fray.

He sighed and raised his right hand as one of the Security approached, keen as they were to balance the diffusion of the situation with a need not to cause a scene with well-financed patrons. <Upee wa kon dah mi, mo mah yae-> he barked at the lead officer with menace <...an neu haku apoya.> Nor'baal snarled, as the officers drew up short.

Snapping his fingers at Lomrokk, he dismissed him <Yoieu bata bai bu pankpa, Jee hatkocanh bargon cay uba alay.> the Hutt instructed, as his guard oinked despondently and was escorted out. Finally, he hooked the security leads hand, gently palming him a hefty tip by way of amends <Chemant bu ukawa tram pee.> Nor'baal added, in a rhetorical tone, as he looked over at the young Prince and his mother.

<Panwa mee bidkana dah Cantonica.> the Hutt sneered, as he moved away from the Juvexians, and refocused on the auction itself.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair hadn’t spotted Arla before, but he was pleasantly surprised by her approach. She was one of the very few that could still draw out a smile from him these days. His tail swished side to side in reaction, a reminder to what she had restored. He would forever be indebted to her for giving him back something so precious to him. The Charhound responded eagerly as well, breaking from the reserved demeanor to eagerly lick Arla’s hand and show affection.

“I could say the same for you,” He said to her. She would notice the more posh speech compared to the farmer accent he had before.

Altair was briefly distracted when security rushed to the scene where he had spotted Nor’baal last. The tiefling eyed that direction for a few moments before focusing back on Arla. He had been to enough socials with drama to be fazed by random sparks of it here and there.

“I’m trying to impress a queen with an exotic animal,” He glanced over towards the stables, “You wouldn’t happen to have any suggestions, would you?”

@Phoenix

 

[Gunner Alesto]

When his partner in crime had arrived, Gunner smiled and simply greeted him, "Good to see you too I guess." Of course Alberich was all business, so Gunner wasn't surprised to hear him immediately talking about the hit. The Nautolan just nodded his head and spoke up, "Yea we sure can, so we need to get this job done before people think I can actually afford to bid on these things. We need the keys to this place's basement. I have the men checking everyone who works here, I'm gonna check the Janitor when he's out of sight see if I can't find them on him."

The blue skinned man pulled out a data pad and handed it to Alberich, "When we get the keys, head down to this location. We won't get every animal, but we'll get enough for a pretty penny I promise ya that." Then he was off. Looking around he would try to find freshly wet floors. Maybe the Janitor was still around cleaning. The fight going on would be cover enough to slip out into one of the empty lobbies.

Of course with his futile luck, he wouldn't find a janitor at all. Nope instead he found security chilling, and having a break. Gunner immediately turned around to get the fuck out of there, but of course one had to notice, "Hey you! What are you doing? The bid's in there!" Gunner had a hard swallow before turning back around, "Oh yea sorry about that, I uh" He glanced around a little bit hoping for a distraction before speaking again, "I couldn't find the bathroom."

The guards kinda just looked at each other and weren't really believing what he was saying, "Nah nah nah. We got some questions for you." Gunner prepared to leave but by the time he turned there was two more guards standing right behind him. Seemed he had nowhere to go now.

@Olwin

 

[Oxyotyl Quets'l'cotl]

... and now there was a brawl infront of the exit. Or atleast towards the exit Oxyotyl needed to use. A fat pig, a security droid, and a blond headed airhead. There was a joke to be made from those three, but it was not connecting in the serpentine's mind. Instead he lifted himself alittle higher on his tail as his hood flared a bit more out of shock, a primordial defense mechanism from when the Sluis Van used that to seem larger and intimidate anything that would attempt to harm them. His pupils would shrink to thin slits, tracking the action as the young male was nearly thrown into him. He slithered backwards, backpeddaling enough to be out of the brawl but still within eyesight. His two guards closed in tight ahead of him, as the medical droid quickly drew close to check his vitals.

He slowly turned his head to the right and saw what appeared to be the male's mother. What a poor woman, having to be dragged into this. This was an over-reaction on the guards' part, but the kid must have had a brain the size of a small pea. He slowly relaxed: his height returning to normal, his frill lightly relaxing, and his pupils slightly widening again. If the woman would notice, Oxyotyl would give her an "I'm so sorry" look before he slowly shook his head and slunk away from the conflict as it de-escalated. He couldn't get through that route so now he just was in the crowd and waited. He stood out like a sore thumb, but it seems he didn't notice.

 

[Covax]

Covax's head cocked and he blinked a couple of times in a somewhat stunned loss for words. Before he could say anything however, they were suddenly besieged by local corp sec security. So much so that the defense contractor wondered why in the verse he was hired to provide extra protection if these men were around.

Acting quickly he pulled his smartpad from a jacket pocket and sent a return signal to his "men". Thus the droid entourage would quickly retreat of the area. and back to Covax's shuttle to await further instruction. Then Covax would simply give the other lead investigator his own tip, as well as his business card. "I'm sure this will cover any damages, and if Tenloss can provide your men with any additional support please give my office a call."

In the morning he would have a little chat with Julia Hipori but that was for latter. Now he had other questions. But, like his oversized counterpart. He'd had his fill of the evening. Realizing this had been the second time he'd gotten into a fight at a gathering in past year, he was starting to think it was him.

"I'll call you later." He said to Electra, in a very short matter of fact tone. Not even giving her the chance to acknowledge the statement before turning to leave and joining his troops.

@Nor'baal @LadyRen

 

[Arla]

Arla cast a glance behind her at whatever scuffle was taking place before frowning and turning back to Altair and his hound. She was glad to see that he seemed as happy to see her as she was to see him. Their shared experiences on Klatooine had forged a quick and solid bond between the two.

She finally stood after several more moments and fixed her attention primarily on Altair much to the dismay of Bel.

Hmm, exotic animals? she muttered, wondering precisely what queen this was that he was buying animals for. But she supposed that was his royal duty or something. She didn't really know, her Mother - and even herself - had no such obligations as royalty on Dathomir. Things there were simpler and... better. At least to her mind they were better.

Well, I'm here for a fathier, personally. They're not very exotic, but still nice. A safe option if the Queen is boring, she said, somewhere between a joke and a seriously blunt comment.

I also saw some kybuck down that way, she motioned to her right down the length of the stalls. Or a Nexu down that way, she said, motioning toward the left.

Or you could come out to Dathomir and try to capture something really exotic, she said with a smirk.

Might be too much for Miss Queen to handle, though, she said.

@Sreeya

 

[Electra Juvexia]

It seemed like she had been too late to defuse the situation as the overly aggressive culprits were being dealt with through the guards and both the Hutt and Covax were forced to compensate the ones that tried to establish order in this establishment.

The Hutt then brabbled in his fantasy language again and she didn't even bother waiting for the droid to translate, but well, neither did he as he turned away and left, leaving the droid no chance but to follow. She glanced up to Covax, hoping he'd be willing to summarize the Hutt's gibberish, but he too seemed eager to leave this scene behind as well.

He didn't apologize or comment the scene again, solely informing her that he'd call her, which left her pissed, not to say really pissed. With narrowed eyes she watched him leave before her icy gaze landed on her son who was nothing but a disgrace again. "Come. We'll leave immediately" she would drag him to the shuttle if needed, not wanting him to cause another scene and he didn't seem to be in company anyway. The Queen's whole entourage followed, leaving this quick mess behind. "And you shush now. I don't want to see you talking back again". He has caused enough disturbances after all and he had also crashed her date.

@Xorism @Taz @Nor'baal

 

[Oedipus Menelaus]

Oedi had a princely grin from ear to ear as his assailants were quickly removed from the scene, no doubt to be executed for laying a hand on him, he assumed. With that sorted he hoped to return to looking for some fun, only for such ideas to be suddenly shut down by a very cross queen.

His face drained of its naturally beautiful tone as he saw how her soured mood would arrive. Try as he might protest, "But Mother.." He quickly found her not in the mood for any of his excuses as she grabbed hm by the ear and started dragging him off.

"Oww stop I am a man now!!" The faux attempt to stand up to her failed just as quickly as it started. "Ooph Isorryyyy im coming, that huurts."

/exit

@LadyRen