(D0EE,Dining Hall) Feast & Furious

[Garen Saxon]

Garen considered that a few moments.

"May'd be interested, for sure. But Pyro has the people skills." He smiled. "Believe it or not. You'd think someone known for using a flame-thrower would be a bit too, well, volatile. But she's got the background for it."

He took a bite. "Praxton's alright at that sort of thing too, isn't he?"

[Raven Cadera]

Raven chewed thoughtfully. "Yeah, he's pretty decent at it. More than me, I'd say, but with the colonists, I think it would help if more of us showed a good side, so to speak. Just... not everyone all at once." She chuckled briefly. "Most people tend to get a bit nervous when a bunch of heavily armed and armoured individuals show up at their doorstep."

And Mandalorians had a reputation. Even after the New Mandalorians' reign and their pacifistic policies. It was hard to undo millenia of violent history.

[Garen Saxon]

Garen chuckled dryly. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn't grow up knowing much about the Mandalorians, but enough that I wasn't afraid of them. Once I became one, a full Mandalorian, I mean, I could see how others reacted sometimes."

He frowned thoughtfully. "It's a choice though, isn't it? The helmet is a lot of it, and we wear the helmets everywhere. Except with each other, like this." He gestured around with his fork before taking a thoughtful bite.

[Raven Cadera]

"Or with other people we trust, I'd say," Raven did have her reputation of having allies and friends outside of the Rebuilders, outside of the Mandalorian culture. "Isn't it all about keeping our faces from our enemies, right? It wasn't a philosophy I was raised with, but I can understand it in a way... deny your opponent from knowing your identity, your weaknesses. Stuff like that."

[Garen Saxon]

"Yeah, I understand it." Garen said. He was making good progress on his food; with his size, and the physical nature of his work, it was no wonder that he could put away food. "Until there's trust, that's the face they see. The Mandalorian mask. Give nothing away, except that we're Mandalorians, with all that means."

He shrugged, his heavy shoulders rising and falling. "Still, that was the part that was the hardest for me to get used to. What can I say? I'm a people person." He said laconically.

[Raven Cadera]

"Lots of us are, I think," Raven remarked with a chuckle, downing down another piece from the stuffed peppers. "So what did you do before becoming a Mandalorian then? Before the merc stuff, I mean."

[Garen Saxon]

"Before the merc stuff?" Garen gave a strange frown. "There wasn't much. I was in the Ord Mantell local planetary forces. That's where I got my engineering training. I didn't stay there long, though, just put in the years that I had to."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "It's funny to say, but I didn't know a damn thing about Mandalorians as a kid, except that I was one, and they were supposed to be these awesome mercenaries. It didn't manage much to me at the time, but it still made me want to be one. I'd say it's in the blood, but plenty of us here don't have Mandalorian ancestors."

[Raven Cadera]

Raven gave a small shrug, swallowing her food in one go. "Sure, maybe not by blood, but once you're part of the family - you're part of the family. Every one in the Manda is kind of your ancestors, in a way. Spiritual sense, I suppose, yeah?" Maybe she was getting into her cups, or Garen had unlocked Philosophical Raven.

"My parents would tell me stories of the great Mandalores and Mandalorians of the past, as well as the exploits of their own and their closest kin. Kind of made us feel we were all part of the greater whole, because if we still remembered them in some way, they were with us."

[Garen Saxon]

Garen gave a nod. "I agree." He said solemnly. "The spiritual sense I had an easier time adjusting to, actually. Perhaps it had been something I'd been a part of but just hadn't realized yet."

Garen chased a last bite of food with the last of his drink, setting the mug down with a sign. For his size, Garen was a bit of a light drinker. "Right. It's good your parents passed that on." He looked at her, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Speaking of... when are you and Praxton going to, you know, expand the family?" It was a very dad sort of question, asked in a very dad sort of way.

[Raven Cadera]

It wasn't a surprising question, as it was kind of the natural way conversations went when speaking to a married couple. "Hmm... not anytime soon. Things are a bit too unstable for that. Not that the Mandalorian life is usually very stable as such, but more safety. More certainty for the future too, I suppose." She smiled with a surprising gentleness, as it seemed she was thinking of the future herself, and when they could have the opportunity to expand the family - as Garen had put it.

"I look forward to it though. Family means a lot to me, and while everyone here is my family now, I do look forward to the day I'll have children of my own."

[Garen Saxon]

"Right. Let's finish up the upcoming war, at least, right?" Garen said dryly, pushing away his plate.

He smiled gently back. "We'll see what happens next, eh? Maybe we'll find a safe place for a bit. And the whole Enclave will help, of course."

[Raven Cadera]

Raven chuckled warmly. "You sound like a dad looking forward to the chance of being a grandfather, you know."

[Garen Saxon]

"Do I?" Garen's eyebrows went up as he considered that for a few moments. Then he smiled. "I suppose I do. Well, that makes some sense. I'm not getting any younger. And no kids myself..." He waved a big hand.

He grunted. "Well. I think it's time for seconds." He gave Raven a nod. "Good catching up with you, Raven."