Gratitude (D8, EA)

[Raven Cadera]

Raven wasn't one to take people out, so to speak, even to show her gratitude, and she was minimizing the time she spent in the city itself after her abduction.

At least she had kept in touch with messages with the others, and expressed her thanks for their involvement in the rescue. So it was probably a surprise that she asked them to go out for lunch.

Homecooked lunch. Eaten outdoors.

While she had dropped her armor for the moment to avoid drawing suspicion, she was still recognizable to Manny and Jyrvess who had seen her without her helmet before.

[Jyrvess Ertil]

Jyrvess herself had largely 'gone dark' these last few days, first out of her old paranoid fears of being caught then her ongoing 'project' had taken her attention. But she had begun to consider Raven a friend and she had precious few of those. Making her way out to the woods by a leisurely and confusing route, the librarian found her way to the picnic.

"Hello Mrs. Cadera," She waves, "Raven I mean."

[Raven Cadera]

Jyrvess' formality was always amusing, though it hit new levels of surprise this time.

"Missus?" Raven responded with raised eyebrows, hands on her hip as she stood by the fire that kept the meal warm. It smelled good... but it also smelled spicy.

"I'm not married as far as I know..."

[Manny Donos]

Manny parked a shiny speeder nearby. Fancy, but just a rental. No sense in owning if you only had to travel in style from time to time.

"Hey, Radical Raven." Manny said, giving her a grin and a thumbs-up. "How you doing? And Jyv, hey, good to see you too." He turned the grin and the thumbs-up on the librarian.

"Not married..." Manny smirked. "But was that guy your boyfriend, then?"

[Jyrvess Ertil]

"Miss Raven then," She smiled back, then frowned and rounded on Manny.

"I told you before this was not a school yard game!" She paused, "Well I meant to at any rate. Raven and several others as it turns out were in danger, now was not the time to worry about who she is sleeping with." Her cheeks redden, "I mean...dating. That was a bit presumptive on my part."

Jyrvess sighed and calmed back down, "Glad you both made it out of that night safe..."

[Raven Cadera]

Raven's face was a touch of red as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Y-yeah. It's a stupid question, Manny, and you don't get any food if that's what you're starting with."

At least she didn't seem to be angry for long. "Still, I know I've already told you both thank you, but... thank you. You saved my life, and Tranq and Lysa too. And probably that of many of my people - had things gone differently, they either would've attacked this prison which would probably had been more dangerous... or the Imps would've tortured me for the whereabouts of our hiding place..."

[Jyrvess Ertil]

"All I did was provide some information," Jryvess shrugs, technically she also spent part of the night feverishly working on some kind of plan if the Mandolarians had needed to attack the prison. "And it both bloodied the nose of the Imps and helped save a friend. Really Manny should be commended for his quick thinking, a real shock to me." She winked at the magician, "Only teasing."

Her mood went a little serious, "I have been working to make sure there is warning before the ISB tries that again. We were fortunate it wasn't Intelligence running the show. ISB are thugs with uniforms and greatly inflated egos. The Empire unfortunately has far more subtle and skillful tools at its disposal."

[Manny Donos]

"Whoa, hey!" Manny raised his hands. "Sorry! Hey, I just want to make sure my friends have cool boyfriends. Or girlfriends. Or whatever."

"Hmmm." His lips quirked, and he shook his head. "No need to thank me, really. All I did was make some calls. I'm sure you'd have been kicking the door down yourself if we'd have been switched. I mean, we're all part of a crew, right?" He looked back and forth between the two ladies.

[Raven Cadera]

"Vital information, Jyrvess." Raven corrected. "But you're right, I wasn't sure if Manny would figure out what to do when I dropped my comm. I knew at that moment I wouldn't be able to get rid of the Imps without starting a huge fight, which would've gotten bystanders hurt or killed. Dropping my comm and hoping someone would use it to make a call was the only thing I could think of on the spot."

She nodded reassuringly to Manny. "Had it been either of you then yeah, I would've rounded up the Mandalorians to go break you out."

[Jyrvess Ertil]

Jyrvess smiled again, "Seems we both underestimated him. He's rather clever when he chooses to be. Then of course asks about some one's love life in the most inappropriate times."

She sighs, "But that is in the past now. How have you both been sense?"

[Raven Cadera]

"Better." It was a simple reply, but she did manage to convey that she was somehow doing better.

"Been keeping my head low to avoid that Divo agent-guy again, which means that the few times I'm going out of the enclave, it's more like this," Raven gestured to her clothes. "Doubt that sleemo knows my face so..."

[Manny Donos]

Manny chuckled. "Hey, well, that's fair. I might not be incredibly brave," he nodded to Raven, "-or incredibly smart", he nodded to Jyrvess. "But quick thinking, hey, I can do that."

He made a face. "Yeah, that guy sucks." His expression grew more serious. "But it seems like he's pretty good at what he does. I get the feeling we haven't seen the last of him."

[Jyrvess Ertil]

"Divo...ahh the snake I saw at the party," Jyrvess crossed her arms in thought, "Not had the pleasure of a meeting. Wouldn't mind it on my own terms." She glanced at Raven and gave her a smug look, "Maybe let him see our hospitality."

[Raven Cadera]

"Quick thinking's good. Not everyone can do that..." she herself was more quick thinking about how to take down and enemy.

At Jyrvess' comment, Raven grinned. "I do owe him a solid beating, and I wish I had seen his face when he heard about what happened to the prisoner-transport."

As she was talking she walked closer over to Manny and put her hands on his shoulders, seemingly to give him a friendly hug or a squeeze. Instead she shook him, not violently but just enough to get the point across. "Now what the hell were you thinking dragging me on the stage like that, Manny?!"

[Manny Donos]

Manny grinned, all unsuspecting, as Raven moved in for the kill...

"Whaaaaa...?" Manny's head bobbed around as she shook him. "Hey, whoa, settle down! I had to get you that info, and that was the best way! Weird though, that guy didn't seem to be the big problem. Maybe Leah was wrong about that..."

[Raven Cadera]

Raven gave a long sigh and stopped shaking Manny, even if she had wanted to do worse to him back then. She squeezed his shoulders and then let him go.

"Maybe he was ISB too... then again, I thought ISB and Intelligence was the same thing, so what do I know."

[Jyrvess Ertil]

"Intelligence is well what I did," She flinched, "They are the remains of my old office. Cold, professional, and quiet. If Intel was after you there would be no grand theater. You just... disappear. Spies and deception."

"ISB are more secret police. Given to grand shows of their power. Dangerous but lacking the subtle nature of the professionals."

"In truth they hate each other. Enough to occasionally undermine each other."

[Manny Donos]

Manny tilted his head, looking at Jyrvess, his expression strange.

"So... which one do you think this guy was, then? ISB?"

[Raven Cadera]

"Well, I guess you can say why ISB isn't Intelligence is because they don't have any. Eh?" Raven grinned, mightily proud of the bad joke.

"Anyway, I got food for you guys," she jabbed her thumb back at the fire and the casserole that was being kept warm. "As a show of my gratitude. Brought something to drink as well."

[Jyrvess Ertil]

"ISB I think....cream top and black bottom?" Jyrvess gave Raven a deadpan look, then....laughed, "I suppose that is one way to look at it."

"Oh, may I ask were you picked it up?" She peaked over at the warmed food, "It looks good."