Thrum thrum thrum, bzzzzm, thrum thrum thrum, bzzzzzm

Cedric relaxed in a nearby chair as the laser cleaner vaporized his clothing. The head-rumbling buzz of the lasers eliminating the soil from his clothing was incredibly satisfying. The machines were well-sized and incredibly well-kept, based on the timer it would only take ten to fifteen minutes or so to completely clean his clothing. There was no washer or dryer cycling, just the incredibly intense web of lights shredding whatever dirt and grime found purchase on the clothing. Cedric found himself staring at it for a few minutes, after he figured out the controls. There was a few mechanical buttons and a knob for intensity. Some settings being too high or too low for certain articles of clothing. Cedric simply rolled the knob to stay in the middle of its frame, the average standard setting that would work on most clothing. It was a huge room, obviously another converted storage cell. He was the only one present in the vast space, the rest of the crew was already kicking off the evening festivities. He had forgotten to inform Grey where he was going, he hoped she wouldn't be kept waiting too long.

To transport his soiled clothing, Cedric procured a large trash bag. Its plastic material and size was not that much unlike what he was used to growing up. If something wasn't broken, why bother fixing it he surmised. Trash bags were trash bags - there really was no other improvement to be done with them. It did a fine job, even if it was just for a couple articles of clothing.

He thumbed the onsie he wore, it was the grey jumpsuit. The foot part of the onsie was a set of thick mesh boots, and did a fine job of behaving like a cross between between house shoes and work boots. It was a mesh, airable material - extremely comfortable. If he had to do any hard labor onboard, he'd wear one of the jumpsuits for sure.

His clothes' cycle completed with a loud beep - causing him to ever so slightly jump in his seat. He made his way over to the machine, popping open the hinged circular door and withdrawing his clothing. Sure enough, they were spotless. The air upon opening the machine smelled of ozone, proving its validity. Inhaling deeply, he smelled absolutely nothing except the ozone odor, pleased - Cedric reclaimed his belongings and considered smoking a cigarette on the way back to his room. Ash trays lined the corridors of the Ravager, but interestingly enough the smell of smoke was barely present. He wondered if it had something to do with the makeup of the cigarettes being able to burn via nitrogen instead of oxygen. It didn't take long for him to arrive at his room. He slid the door open to reveal Grey and Kipper idly conversating about something.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Kipper exclaimed.

"Did you get lost or something?" Grey chided.

"Cleaned my clothes after showering."

He noticed Grey inhaling deeply in response, "Much better." She said.

Cedric nodded and opened his closet, returning his belongings there. Kipper was sitting on his desk chair, holding a mask of sorts. Grey was relaxing stretched out on his bed, her back resting against the wall-side where his pillow would be. He noticed his bedding rested on the desk. Cedric spotted a wicker-like basket with some clothing resting easy on the bottom of his cabinet.

"Sooooo... You ready for an upgrade?!" Kipper exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah? An upgrade? Lay it on me."

"Look who's decided not to be moody anymore." Grey commented.

"That shower made me feel like a new man. God, feels good to be clean again."

"I'll bet."

"Ah, real quick. Where can I get my hair cut? Also I need a shaver."

Kipper and Grey looked to each other back and forth, Kipper shrugged and Grey shook her head.

"Check storage Cell E, got shaving stuff there. It's where most of the powered magitech goes."

"I'll check there after this then. What about that upgrade?"

"Okay so -" Kipper started as she hoped off the chair, clutching the mask tightly.

"Nalprene magitech mesh with a hermetic, magnetized seal for when you need your mouth available for smoking - or other things, if you're into that."

Cedric nodded.

"You can fit a capsule on either side, each one should last two weeks so it has a combined capacity of one month's worth of oxygen. You'll need to refill the atomized capsules on a monthly basis, I've filled twelve of them - giving you a year's supply, unless of course they get damaged or lost."

He nodded again.

"It's smaller and more portable than what you currently have, it'll be a tiny bit heavy on your face but the self-tightening strap should fix that. Whenever you exhale, it'll leave the front of the mask. For the capsules, you just twist them on and off like so."

Cedric got a good, long look at his new mask as she showed off its features. Sure enough, a quick twist and the capsules popped right off. They were no larger than the palm of his hand. Truly incredible compressive technology, let alone the tensile strength of the material required to keep all that pressure at bay. It had a makeup that was partially metallic alongside the mesh materials, slits near where his mouth would be marked the exhalation filter. It reminded him a lot of an ancient medieval helmet visor. On the more solid side was the triangular area that would cover his nose and spread to just barely touch his ears. Inside, a silicone like material shaped two tiny tubules that would just barely insert into his nostrils - meaning that when disconnected, as she began to show, he'd want to breath through his nose. With a bit of force, the bottom half of the mask disconnected from its main piece with a slight pssh noise. It still held strongly to the mask itself, thanks to some tiny hinges that adorned either side. It was a remarkable piece of tech, and screamed cyberpunk in design. Tiny red lights akin to leds lit up a few small crevices in the mask, accentuating its bright metallic texture. The strap attached had a large silicone-like shaped cradle that would form fit to where the back of his head connected to his neck snugly.

"That's incredible, Kipper."

"Ya think so? I just cobbled it together. No biggie. Here you go."

He gently took the mask from her pawed grasp, diligently feeling through the metallic material. It felt astonishingly sturdy. Without much pause, Cedric inhaled deeply and held his breath - removing his current bulky mask, and unclasping the large container that found its home behind his waistline. There were a lot of memories attached to this device, Faring's crew had assembled it together just for him, and it remained by his side ever since - blessing him with life-giving oxygen. Now, he thought, this signified a change in himself and his future as a pirate onboard the Ravager. He would keep his old apparatus close, just like his fond memories of what little time he was able to spend with Faring.

Cedric gently thumbed the old device, his body swelling with nostalgia. If only he could go back - far back to where everything made sense. Back to where he met Tern, back to where Faring had freed him from the experimental cryogenic device. What would he say to her, if he could now? He'd be nicer, for sure. Tell her how much he cared about her, so she could hear it. Ensure she never said she loves him. He couldn't fantasize much longer, he could only hold his breath for so long. Cedric guided the new mask over his head, fluffing out his hair from beneath the strap. Nudging the mask upward just a tad, he secured the tiny gas tubules into his nose. It tickled at first. Letting go of the strap, he felt the mask pull closer to his face - doing its intended job. Upon exhaling followed by taking a deep breath, he heard a slight amount of static and smiled as the lighting of the mask pulsed on and off in response to whether he was inhaling or exhaling. He felt like the ancient force figure that wielded a devilishly red laser sword. That was a good antique fiction, he recalled.

"It's a perfect fit." Cedric said. When he spoke, his voice was laced with a metallic static.

"Cool right?!" Kipper exclaimed, "Those lights turn on and off when you breathe, and it adds a robotic filter that deepens your voice a bit to make you more scary. I can't wait to see how the Imperials react to it on our next raid."

"You did all that in an hour?"

"Well, it was actually a prototype I was working on for when we have to land on planets with no nitrogen concentration. I spent that time to replace the canisters' contents with the mixture you gave me and swapped out some of the parts with larger ones and made it shorter - since you have a flat muzzle."

"Well, it's cool as fuck - and fits great. Thank you."

"You. Are. Weeelcome~" She trilled, "I was going to ask you for your old one, but I guess it has a lot of meaning for you doesn't it."

"Yeah, it does..." Cedric trailed off as he responded.

"Whelp, my job is done here. See you two at the mess hall, don't have too much fun now. Bye~" Kipper twittled her paws and quickly left the room, scooting past Cedric's buttocks.

"My turn I guess." Grey started, "That mask looks good on you. The extra canisters are in your desk drawer."

Cedric nodded his thanks.

"Move over." Grey ordered. Cedric did as he was asked, and somewhat shimmied closer to his desk. Grey bent down, revealing something akin to a tramp stamp inked on her rump - right above her tail.

"I grabbed another hooded trench like the one you picked out, but it's more red in color - like a maroon."

Grey lifted the basket and hauled it ontop of Cedric's bed, somewhat ruffling the midriff fur revealed by her crop top. He also made note of the comfortable black cargo pants she wore, tucked into a set of jackboots - similar to his own. She then took out the aforementioned coat, splaying it out on the bed. It looked far better than the one he picked out, albeit a bit shorter - it would end right above his knee, instead of the top of his ankle like the one he picked out would.

She also produced some maroon colored gloves that appeared to be made of some sort of leather, similar to the coat she selected. He tried not to think too hard about where the leather material would have come from. Lastly, she drew a dark grey graphic tee from the basket made of a similar material to the black shirt he selected. This one however, had a large symbol on the front - the icon of Clan Greyskull. It was a large white wolf skull, with blood dripping from its fangs and eye sockets, and a hazy smoke erupting from its maw. A weapon akin to a cutlass cross-sectioned with a laser rifle of some sort provided its background.

"Metal." Cedric stated unintentionally.

"I assume you meant 'cool'. But yeah, pretty badass. This will add a lot more color to your palette, make you stand out more. All of our clothes are real dirt resistant too, so you can wear it for a while before needing to change."

"I think I'll put it on now, thanks."

Grey nodded in the direction of the clothing selection, "Go ahead."

She sat back down on the bed, favoring the pillow side.

"Are you going to?.."

"Nothing I haven't seen before. You want me to leave?"

Cedric shook his head, "It's fine. When I was showering Ace and Soft hinted at a threesome. Can't be weirder than that."

Grey shrugged and lit up a cigarette she procured from an inner jacket pocket. She inhaled deeply and shrugged.

"Yep, that's the norm. Never know when you aren't going to come back from a raid. Enjoy who you can, while you can."

"Don't get any ashes on my bed."

"I won't."

Cedric peeled off his jumpsuit and hung it up in his closet where it was before, and began to sift through the bag filled with the clothing he acquired before pulling out what he needed.

"I see why you wanted a shaver." Grey stated nonchalantly.

"Do you mind?"

"No."

Cedric shook his head as he pulled on the underwear he grabbed, it was light and comfortable - like most of the clothing he had obtained so far. He sat down on the edge of his bed to pull on his socks before rising again to put on the sturdy cargo pants. Unlike the clothing he had thus far, the pants were thick and strong. As he began to pull the shirt over his head, Grey spoke again.

"Got a drink in mind?"

"To get at the mess hall?"

"No, the shitters - yes, the mess hall."

"Right..." He blankly responded, pulling the shirt over his chest and easing it down. It was an almost perfect fit, if a tad on the tight side. The boots were next, he figured he could tuck them into the bottom of his cargo pants - they fit comfortably tight enough.

"I don't know, never drank much. If I had a favorite though, honeyed whiskey for sure."

"Honeyed whiskey?" Grey tapped her ashes onto the ash tray resting on Cedric's desk, valiantly holding the dirty ash at bay.

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"Yeah, shit goes down so smooth. Didn't drink a lot when I was younger, but when it came to liquor that was my go to."

"Honey Whiskar sounds similar, that might be what you're talking about."

"Sounds like it." Cedric pulled up the first boot, tying it off and clasping the metal clips lining its side - holding it sturdy against his shin.

"Hopefully Rainy-B is bartending, she can whip you something up madly good tasting."

Quicker than the last, Cedric secured the second boot on his left foot.

"Are her drinks really that good?"

"Damn right they are." Grey responded, clearing some more ash from her almost-finished cigarette.

"Guess I'll have to try some. Speaking of, what do you guys use for currency here?"

"We don't. Creds are for the Imperials. That's not to say we don't snatch credit chits from raids, we just save them up for if we take a vacation to the colonies or the core."

Cedric donned the jewelry he obtained save for the earrings, his ears weren't actually pierced. Maybe the Korellei could help with that. He noticed that Grey had a few broad earrings decorating the top part of her left ear and a dangling hoop earring adorning the bottom half of her other ear.

"Hmm, gotta get my ears pierced like you did. How does that work? Even the smallest cut can make you guys bleed bad."

Grey fingered the thick rings on her left ear, "Mostly cartilage there. Still, you use little guns to do it. Cleanly cauterizes the area after making the hole."

"Seems a bit esoteric considering your guys' tech."

Cedric pulled on the maroon trench coat she had brought him, and equipped the gloves that matched its red leathered hue. Grey doused her butt in the ash tray and left it there before rising to her paws.

"That's just how it works. Ready to go?"

"Yeah, what do you think?" He faced Grey full frontal, his arms splayed wide - her tail noticeably wagged a bit.

"Looks good, you're almost a full fledged member of the crew now - just need to get blooded."

"Dope."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind."

Cedric pulled a cigarette from one of his packs and gave the bottom half of his mask a tug. It didn't budge. He tugged harder, then it released with a slight hiss. He could barely make out a little smoky mote of air escape the seal. Placing the brown end in his mouth, he touched the opposite end with an activated lighter and inhaled - starting the smoke. He almost immediately felt the growing anger subside and euphoria rush through his brain - he let go of a few coughs in response to the burning smoke traveling down his throat into his lungs. There's no way this was healthy, but at least it felt good. He turned around and slid open his doors, gesturing Grey out first.

"What a gentlemen." She said, mockingly.

"Fine, I just won't hold the door open for you again then."

"Doesn't matter to me." She shrugged.

The duo casually made their way to the mess hall, which was close by. Grey kept their conversation going.

"It's gonna get rowdy later. Have all the drinks and food you want, the only payment for it all is not pussing out during a raid - especially if you get scripted. Granted, there's so many volunteers scripting is very rare. Only happened once in the years I've been with Clan Greyskull, mainly out of neccessity. Lot of boarders got messed up, had to take out a freighter carrying medical supplies. The support guys had a field day with that one."

"Support guys... So I assume the techies?"

"Yeah, the ones that stay in the ship to keep it running. Most of them don't mind going out with everyone else, but they prefer to stay here. They're damn good at what they do."

"Clan Greyskull implies there's a lot more members. Is it just us, or?.."

"Nah, we're just the small part of a larger whole. Captain Garerra does a good job of leading the away teams, we're always flush with loot. The Ravager is where we live, but we're just another gang. We're literally just called the Ravagers. The biggest I think is the Bloodmaws, it's where Kattegan Greyskull is - matriarch of the whole thing. You think the Ravager is impressive? Hardly, this is just a retrofitted freighter. The Bloodmaws have a dedicated battleship as their home. Huge ship, nothing can mess with it on its own. Top of the line, with whatever else their magitech engineers could slap on it. That insane group will raid planetside colonies clustered near the core."

"Damn, that's crazy."

"I know right?"

"Which group is the largest out here?"

"Kinshin Triads for sure, they have a whole planet to themselves. Run most of the black market trade. Lot of great stuff you can get from Kalimakori - their planet. Hub of the pirate gangs. Go there a lot for shore leave and to spend credits."

"I thought pirates didn't bother with credits?"

"We don't, most other crews do. Especially the Kinshin - they're all about creds."

"I see, makes sense."

Grey and Cedric rounded a corner to the hallway containing the large entrance to the mess hall. Upon entering, Cedric gazed in awe at what they had done with the place. A huge bar lined the left wall of the great space. Several chairs and booths with their respectful matching tables covered the groundspace between the entrance and a grand stage that was erected at the farthest side, taking up a large space of corner. Several cages were suspended high in the air, waiting to accommodate potential sultry dancers. Well cared-for polished metal plate formed a sturdy floor for crew members. Much of the grating on the walls was covered in a sort of foam, maybe to avoid injury or similar. Much of the Ravagers' crew were already busy with drink and conversation, a few were even already eating proper meals - like a fancy restaurant. Far to the right a grand throne was mounted carved of a silver metal stone material adorned with gold interlacing decorated trim, like a Roman wreath fit to be worn by an emperor such as Augustus himself. Thick faux fur (or at least, he assumed it was faux fur) laid a foundation of cushion for its occupant - Captain Garerra. She was already drinking away with what he assumed was her lieutenants - their conversations often followed by boisterous laughter. Granted, it was mostly Garerra doing the laughing.

"This place looks incredible."

"Yeah? It's our home on our home, most of us spend all our time here when we're able to."

Cedric eyed an albino barbary lion in one of the booths, near the stage. She was already surrounded by some Korellei males. Her body was godly, and she had a bust that would make a career pornstar cry. Grey splotches adorned the entirety of her white fur, and the dress she wore barely left anything to the imagination.

"I take it that's the Man-Maker..."

Grey nodded, "Yep, that's her. Avoid that one, she has enough libido to cover the entire ship for months on her own."

Cedric was more curious than angry, recalling his experience with 'Tressa'.

"I wonder if that's a genetic defect..." He mused audibly.

"Genetic defect?"

"Yeah, I find it hard to believe someone could be that beautiful and simultaneously uncontrollably horny, based on what you've said."

Grey shrugged, "Could be. I don't care enough to figure that out. You're welcome to, though - Sleaze."

Cedric sighed, "That's gonna give everyone the wrong impression, if it hasn't already."

"It is what it is."

The pair stepped into the mess hall, smoke swirled about as many of the crew lit cigarette to compliment their drinking, or in some cases eating. Cedric noticed he was already halfway done with his.

"Man, these things go quick." He commented.

"Yeah, they always last both longer and shorter then you think they will."

"Yeah. The five paw fillet chick, what was her name?"

"Killer."

"Right, where is she at?"

"I don't see her. She's got thick black fur and and believe it or not, wings. Got really long hair too. You'll know her when you see her."

"What? What is she?"

"Vulpes, sort of."

Cedric spotted an incredibly colorful Avian at the bar. Seeing her now, he recalled he had indeed seen avians before. They brought to his mind the owl and the bluejay he met a couple years ago, back in the hotel. He shuddered at the memory.

"That Rainy-B?"

An interestingly vicious smile crept its way on Grey's muzzle as she clapped her paws together excitedly, rubbing them together.

"Oooh yeah, that's Rainy-B alright. Alright you, come on - we're going to the bar!"

"Oh, okay then - guess we're going to the bar."

Cedric glanced around the mess hall while they made their way to the bar and straight to Rainbow. Lavish red curtains adorned the walls behind the stage, connecting to actual stage curtains that were currently closed. An illuminated microphone lay still on bright faux wood, awkwardly isolated from the rest of the hubbub of the hall. He silently hoped they'd get a show of some sort, given the obvious stage and suspended cages.

Grey dashed to a stool and plopped down, right in front of Rainbow. She was in the middle of cleaning a stemmed glass reminiscent of a margarita glass. Several auxiliary bartenders were also out and about behind the bar - another avian, a few canidae and a few felidae.

"Raiiiiiny-Beeeeeee" Grey exclaimed excitedly.

Rainbow had an odd chirp about her voice, it was oddly soothing. Unlike most of the other Korellei, she wasn't as humanoid. Cedric wondered if she was possibly a Farai. Long, digitgrade legs armored with yellow skin-scales trailed down to a base of clawed feet. She also had clawed hands that ended at a set of arms covered in feathers. She was bright reds, blues, and greens - much like a parrot. Studying her more closely, she actually reminded him more of a humanoid feathered raptor. An utahraptor*, if he recalled correctly. Still, her physical shape was hard to describe accurately. She still had humanoid anatomy, like the Korellei - such as a slimmer waist and small but noticeable breasts - but the majority of her form looked more like a bird standing upright. She even had a beak. In fact, she reminded him a lot of Rory. She wore a white cocktail dress with pink florals. It complimented her natural feather colors well.

"Hello Grey! The usual?"

"Yes, momma please."

"Okay. Whose this? New fling?"

"Nah, new guy. Sleaze. Garerra recruited him from that Imperial corvette we hit, guy is plastered all over the news."

"Ooooh, yeah I recognize you. Scourge of the Empire, right?"

Cedric shrugged his shoulders and flinged his arms skyward out of exasperation.

"Yes. How am I the only one that doesn't know my own nickname?!"

Rainbow chirped in such a way thay Cedric could only interpret as laughter or a giggle.

"Probably because you didn't get to watch the news. The entire UKE is calling you the Scourge, they haven't announced we hit that corvette yet, but when they do - if they do, you can be sure you're going to have a hell of a price on your head - more than you already do now."

"I have a price on my head?"

"Twenty-five thousand credits."

"That implies that one Korellei life is worth only a thousand creds..."

"Welcome to the Empire."

Cedric shook his head in distain.

"Well, don't think too hard about it. What's your fancy?" She clacked.

"Honeyed Whiskey. Er, Honey Whiskar?"

Grey nodded her approval.

"A shot, or on the rocks?"

"On the rocks."

Grey voiced her disapproval, "I got you a spot next to the queen of mixed drinks and you get plain liquor on the rocks?"

Cedric discarded his cigarette butt into a nearby ash tray, "Any recommendations?"

Another sly grin presented itself on Grey's muzzle. "Rainy-B, get him a backburner."

"A backburner huh? Sure. I'll get your usual too."

"Thank you Bee~"

Grey twirled around in her stool and leaned back against the counter. Cedric had taken a seat next to her and was hunched over the short bar - he hoped sitting in this position wouldn't give him soreness in his back later. He felt awkward, as he wasn't sure what to say or how to act. In fact, he really wasn't one to hang out at bars on a regular basis in the first place.

"You're too tense man, why are you all hunched like that?"

"Is there some other way I should be sitting?"

"Not really, but you really got a moody air about yourself. They shoulda called you that instead of Sleaze - Moody."

She whipped another cigarette out and lit it up.

"Another one already?"

"Better than I used to be, used to smoke two packs a day."

"Jesus."

Grey shrugged as her tail whisked back and forth, sometimes touching his leg. Her ears swiveled on occasion.

"Got any partners in mind?"

"What?"

"You know, to have some fun."

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? No I don't, and frankly that question is growing irritating."

"Slow down man, don't take it serious."

"Hard not to when I have the same answer for the same question multiple times. Hell, when I rejected the threesome with Ace and Soft, Soft STILL asked me if I was aro-ace, which I said no - he even asked if I prefer men beforehand!"

"It's like recreation here man, pretty much everyone has someone in mind they wanna fuck."

"Yeah well, not me. It's not a priority for me - I don't have time for that."

"What exactly are you doing that's keeping you so busy?"

"Well... Nothing now, admittedly. I want to learn where I came from, learn about the history of the Empire - maybe I can find some clues. Especially on the Ancients, but I need intra-net access for that. Had some... Stuff happen to me over the past couple years, and I still don't have any good answer for anything."

"Damn, well - you still need to find a spot you belong here too. You a techie? A fighter? Everyone has a job here."

"I used to be a soldier."

"No shot? Where'd you train at in the Empire? Got any deployments under your belt?"

"Uh, I didn't train in the Empire per se."

"Spec ops?"

"Not quite..."

Grey rapidly twirled around again, Hunching close to him - keeping her voice to a whisper.

"Black-Sider?"

"I don't think so?.."

"Come on man, you gotta give me something here."

"It's complicated..."

Rainbow had arrived with their drinks. Grey's was some sort of dark brown mixture, whereas Cedric's looked eerily similar to a Bloody Mary. There was even a variation of what he assumed was celery and pickle inserted into the tall glass. The celery was a yellow color, but seemed to still be curved and stringy. The pickle looked the most familiar, it was like a pickle spear - but its skin was the same coloration as a white-banded watermelon.

"The backburner I take it?"

"Almost." Rainbow chirped, she activated a lighter she withdrew from her pocket, and lit the drink ablaze.

"Whoa!"

"Cool right?" Grey said casually.

"It's not hot. Won't burn you."

Cedric waved his hand back and forth above the tiny blaze, surely enough it felt just barely warmer than room temperature.

"How is that even possible?"

"Alkahestor-C" Rainbow chirped, "It's a decorative liquor that burns cool when you apply a flame to it."

"That's fucking cool."

He waved his hand over it a few more times, before separating his mask and giving it a good gulp. He shuddered as he felt a fiery sensation shoot up his spine. The drink was incredibly sour, then mellowed out to a familiar alcoholic burn with a tinge of sweetness as it slid down his throat. The base of the flavor was tomato for sure, and a slight spiciness coated his tongue even after he had completely imbibed the liquid. Luckily for him, he was a big fan of sour and spice.

"W-w-whoa." He exclaimed as he shuddered.

"Good shit right?" Grey exclaimed, "Try some of mine." She scooted the drink next to him and swapped it with his backburner.

"How'd you even make that."

Rainbow placed a clawed finger in front of her beak with a 'shush' motion.

"Can't tell, trade secret."

"Man, that was delicious."

"Lots of alcohol too, bet you barely felt it."

"No I didn't, just a bit of a burn when that sensation cleared away."

"Backburners are Rainy-B's speciality." Grey started, before stealing a lengthly sip of his drink. A broad grin flushed her face and her eyes struck shut as she embraced the shudder of the backburner - her fur creating a wave of satisfaction starting from her feet and traveling all the way up her back through her tail. Cedric could tell when the sensation passed, as Grey exhaled a rush of air with a 'puah' emitting from her chops. He felt oddly turned on by the display.

"Oh yeah, that's good stuff."

"Alright, let's see what this is about."

Cedric plucked the drink Grey left him on the counter, without much thought he took this one a bit slower. It was mellow and nutty, he coughed as he felt the incredibly strong burn of alcohol melt down his throat. Carbonation bubbled on his tongue, like a soda. He wasn't sure what the base of the flavor was supposed to be, but it reminded him of the same taste you'd get after stuffing your mouth full of pre-shelled sunflower seeds.

"Nutty mutt with lots of extra alcohol." Grey answered his silent question.

"I could see myself drinking these for the rest of the time here." He replied.

"Not gonna load up on backburners?"

Cedric shook his head and handed Grey's drink back to her. She matched the gesture by sliding his backburner to him.

"Don't get me wrong, this is fucking delicious - its like a punch to the gut to kick things off, but I feel like it'd be a diservice to drink them the entire time."

"Diservice huh?" Grey took a big gulp from her glass. "That's fair."

Cedric practically inhaled his next drink of the backburner, it was already almost gone. Cedric noticed that the glasses they drank from were on the smaller end, even for a Korellei. Probably to help control how much alcohol was drank on a regular basis. Then again, one could always get more - it was all free, after all. Another punch from the mixture woke up Cedric, and felt energized.

"You are a wizard with these drinks, Rainbow."

"Just call me Rainy-B or Bee, it's what everyone else calls me."

"Yeah, sure."

"A wizard?" Grey tapped her cigarette on a nearby ash tray, her drink was already almost gone.

"Yeah, wizard. Robed spell-casting kind of sort?"

"Never heard of em. Another one, Bee."

Rainbow nodded and collected Grey's drink as she finished it off. He finished his own as well, relishing the final kick it offered.

"Anything else you want to try, Sleaze? Just tell me what you prefer, I'm sure I've got something."

"Well, I really like honey liquor. You have any mixed drinks like that?"

"Honeycomb it is." Rainbow clacked as she swept up their finished glasses.

Grey resumed her previous position facing away from the counter after tapping away more ash. She took a long inhale before speaking again, "Oh boy, here we go."

Cedric cocked his head and swiveled around his chair to face her direction. Coming through the entryway to the mess hall was a large male, a Bengal tiger. His size contested that even of Captain Garerra. He was surrounded by a similar feline posse.

"Who's that?" Queried Cedric.

Grey responded to his question with a flat, but annoyed tone. "Trouble."