Thrawn pulled the dark gray shawl tightly around him, the hood covering as much of his face as possible. It was hard enough being foreign, but blue skin and piercing red eyes? Yeah, it was hard to be seen in public. Regardless, since his arrival in Las Vegas after the tragic death of his parents, he had always heard of this 'elixir' known as 'liquor' that was both quicker, and made everything better somehow. This 'elixir' was somehow something that was consumed in times of joy and sadness, and as such, now seemed like a good time to give it a try. For while today was the anniversary of his parent's "plane" crash, though he wasn't sure why it was called that, it was also a grand time to celebrate his ascent to the head of Chimaera. 

He shuffled through the streets, hoping against all hope that he wouldn't be seen, before sliding in to the bar nearest to his headquarters. To his great surprise, he spotted AlanaBurke sitting in a booth to herself. As one of the few friends he had made since his arrival, he opted to make his way to her.

"Morning, is this spot taken?"

He lowered his hood and began to remove the shawl, in case he gained her permission to sit.

"I hear this place has the 'elixir' known as 'liquor' and I thought I would like to give it a try. Anything you can tell me about it? Other than that it's quicker whatever that means."

He gave her his kindest stare, though he wasn't sure if the kindness would carry through, he really needed to work on that smiling thing he kept seeing about. 

Alana was just chilling at the bar, yes it was still technically the morning and yes she was sipping on a drink... don't judge... She wasn't what you call an alcoholic but she sure did enjoy her whiskey. Or perhaps it was more the atmosphere that came with the whiskey drinking, it was rather comforting to her in an odd sort of way.

She enjoyed the louder and rougher crowds, it just felt more natural then any prissy upper class joints she had been to. You know the ones, where they dress all fancy, talk politics and drink with their pinkies in the air. Yeah wasn't for her in the slightest, plus she never fit in with that crowd. Her personality was too strong for the likes of those people.

So there she sat in the booth, her rocks glass half full with the amber liquid. She had her hand around the glass but just held it as it sat on the table. She was glancing out of the window, to the street. Wasn't necessarily looking at anything in particular, just kind of staring. When she heard her name faintly.

"Alana... Hey.. Alana."

She slowly turned her head to see one of the bar regulars turned in his high top chair at the bar. A stupid drunk smile on his face as he glared towards her.

"What?" She said to him with a snippy tone in her voice.

"You're looking all lonely over there by yourself, you should come over here and take a seat." He patted his lap.

Alana shook her head before replying. "Roger, I thought that spot on your lap was only for your sister."

The smile on his face quickly went away as his drinking buddies around him began hysterically laughing. He tried to mutter a few words in response but was quickly cut off by Alana speaking once more.

"Roger, if you ever gesture for me to come sit on your lap again. I'm going to find a fork, hopefully a rusty one and stab you in what I can only presume is your little manhood. So turn around, shut up and keep drinking."

You could see all the mans masculinity that he had prior, instantly burst into flames. As he turned back towards the bar and could be seen flagging down the barkeep. Probably for another shot to drown his sorrows.

Alana picked up her glass off the table and brought it to her lips, smiling into the glass while taking a small taste. She wasn't even paying much attention but heard another voice speak up next to her. This one a bit more subtle then the normal drunkard.

"Morning, is this spot taken?"

Without even giving whomever a look, Alana blurted out a response.

"Yeah it's taken... move along!"

It was almost instantly that she finished her comment that she noticed the blue tint of skin and caught a glimpse of the piercing red eyes. Quickly she turned to him, with a big smile. It was a rather fake smile but at least it looked good.

"Oh, it's you. I was uhm... saving that seat just for you. It's all yours." She said hoping to play it off that she meant to hold it just for him.

"I hear this place has the 'elixir' known as 'liquor' and I thought I would like to give it a try. Anything you can tell me about it? Other than that it's quicker whatever that means."

He gave her this odd looking smile or at least it looked like a smile. It was a smile that garnered her to give him a bit of a half smile with a bit of a look.

"Well, if you want a drink this is the place to get it." She threw her hand up in the air, getting the attention of the bar keep. Holding up two fingers, the bar keep gave her a nod.

She turned back to him but noticed a couple more of the regular's giving awkward glares to her and her new guest. Turning to them all, her half smile turned into a serious look.

"Don't all of you fuckers have something better to do then to be looking over here, don't make me get angry."

Slowly all the eyes started diverting back to where they started, once things felt a bit more comfortable Alana turned back to Thrawn.

"So, you really wanna be here and try this stuff?"

Thrawn's eyes widened as he monitored the situation between the lady AlanaBurke and the drunken inbred known as "Roger," he looked around the location where the man was sitting, noting that his posture was horridly improper, slouched over, sloppy t-shirt with what he could only assume were drool stains all down the front, he certainly did not give Las Vegas a good look. 

Regardless, Alana handled him swiftly, and without mercy. Crushing his manhood as one may crush a walnut. It brought him pleasure to see, though of course he didn't show it outright. He turned back to Alana as she blurted "Move along!" which despite the initial sting, was perfectly understandable for an unannounced visit. Then her tone changed and she allowed him to sit, so he did. Though the circumstances were quite odd, and he got the impression that the spot had not indeed been saved for him. 

As he waited for the barkeep to bring the drinks over, he looked across the table at her.

"Yes, of course. I would like to know what it is that causes people to have such an attraction to it. You know, the best way to discover about a people is to know them. Everything about them. For better or worse, this is a part of culture."

While stating this, he noticed the glances over in their direction. He shook his head and clenched his fist, before settling on a slight smile after Alana called to them.

"My apologies for that, I suppose it's not a daily occurrence that people see someone such as me. I guess it takes some getting used to. I can cover my face if you would like."

He reached for his shawl just in case, shifting it in his lap so that it wouldn't get wrinkled, he completely despised anything not being well pressed.

"Don't apologize for the ignorance of others." Alana spoke up loud enough for a majority of the people around them to hear.

She was always one who spoke her mind, most times it was a good thing but there were a few occasions her mouth had gotten her into trouble. You know the hair pulling, fat lip or black eye kind of trouble. Though it all came with the territory. You don't get into the business she is in and always come out unscathed. It's just par for the course, really.

She could see he was a bit uncomfortable where he was at. It was probably a combination of the atmosphere of the bar in general and the feeling of the eyes on him.

Normally she wouldn't have given a shit about the situation but Thrawn was her new boss. It was kind of her job to help put him in good situation and not uncomfortable ones. She had an idea but wanted to wait first until they had received their drinks, drinks that were on the way.

Picking up the now almost empty glass that was in her hand, Alana took a final swig. All that was left were a few half melted ice cubes.

"Ah..." She muttered while placing the glass at the edge of the booth.

Johnny the barkeep delivered the drinks, placing one in front of each of them and took the old glass off the table.

"If you need anything, just let me know."

"Yup, obviously." Alana commented. "We are gonna move to the table in the back of the place, just so you're aware."

Johnny looked over his shoulder. "That table is taken already."

Alana leaned in towards him. "Yeah, by us. Go make it happen." She took a hundred dollar bill out from her bag and tucked it into his shirt pocket.

With a nod and a smile he turned to go clear the table of whomever was there. More then likely it was just some local scum otherwise it would have been more of a fight to get him to open it up. She gave it only a couple moments before picking up her stuff and her drink, scooted out of the booth and stood up next to the table. She looked down at Thrawn who was examining the glass with the liquid like it was some kind of foreign species, then again to him it probably was.

"Well, come on. Follow me, there's a table in the back that's a little bit more secluded. Oh and make sure you bring that with you." She motioned to the drink in front of him.

"I suppose you're right there. There's not much that can be done for those that are filled with such ignorance and prejudice. Though there is still the ability for us to pity them. They won't make it as far in life as you or I." 

Thrawn threw a glance their way, before gently getting up from the booth, taking great care to not wrinkle his uniform, nor his shawl that was now softly tossed across his shoulder. He stood perfectly straight, and nodded to AlanaBurke as she made an arangement with the barkeep. It was always fascinating to him to watch how other people interacted.

"I will be right there, you go ahead. There's one thing I would like to do first."

He gave her a small smile, his best effort in showing her that everything was alright, before he watched her walk towards the back table. After she had started her walk, he made his way over to where Roger and the small group of people were seated. They turned to look at him, shock clear in their eyes that he had approached them.

"Your ignorance and intolerance is quite disturbing." Roger opened his mouth, plainly about to speak, as his mouth was opened, Thrawn placed the barrel of a pistol inside it. "I'm not done yet." He pulled back the hammer on the pistol before continuing to speak. "I will let you live. I did not come here to cause a scene, or to cause bloodshed. But, know this. I will not hesitate. I know your every move, before you make it. I know that you have a knife in your right boot, and that you are seconds from pulling it out. I know before you get anywhere near my throat, your brains would be on the wall." 

He watched as Roger's hand stopped it's drop and became steady. He continued. "I will be moving to a new table to have a discussion with my business associate. If you look at me, or her, or make any move towards her, or myself, you will not walk out of here. Any of you. There is no need to respond." He nodded to them curtly, and placed his gun back in the holster, turning to grab his drink. He looked over to Roger and the others, nothing their stunned silence, no, they wouldn't be moving any time soon. 

Thrawn followed Alana back to the new table, and sat across from her, gently setting his new drink down upon the table.

"This amber liquid, what is it called?" 

Without giving it much thought, Alana took her stuff and the drink over towards the new table. It wasn't until she hooked the corner of the bar that she could see where they were just seated. Though Thrawn wasn't seated but was in fact standing in front of the locals, his pistol in the mouth of Roger.

Now she wasn't overly worried about the situation that was occurring but was more intrigued on what was going to happen, if anything. She paused and draped her jacket over an empty chair. Placed her bag on that same chair and leaned over it with her drink in her hand.

The older lady in the chair next to her, looked over her shoulder at Alana. "You just gonna stand there, sit..."

Alana looked down. "Margaret, don't you have a life? Oh wait you don't that's why you're here. I bet your bony ass has left a permanent mark in that seat by now, huh?"

Margaret scoffed at her. "Probably but go fuck yourself, Alana." Margaret turned her head back forwards, put the what was now probably her 100th cigarette in her mouth and took a puff. 

"Awe, I love you too you angry old bat." Alana said in a rather sarcastic tone. 

Margaret motioned with her free hand for Alana to leave her alone, which she did but not because she was told. Just more so, so Alana could keep an eye on Thrawn.

Even though there was a pistol in Rogers mouth, the situation seemed rather relaxed. She had no worries anything was about to happen, so nonchalantly she grabbed her things and her drink and made her way over to the table. She barely got settled in when Thrawn scooted into his seat.

"This amber liquid, what is it called?" 

"That's what we call Whiskey, it's the good stuff. Not watered down like most of the shit they serve here, they know better to not serve me watered down stuff."

She picked up her drink and took a tiny sip before placing it back down in front of her.

"Go ahead, give it a try. Just fair warning, take a small sip at first."

Thrawn looked down at his glass, the glass of what was apparently called the 'good stuff.' He smiled up at her and lifted the glass to his lips, taking a perhaps larger than he should have sip. He squinted his eyes as he felt the burn go down his throat, and he coughed harshly.

"People voluntarily drink this?! Why does it burn?"

He sat it down and gazed at it for a few more moments, before picking it up once more.

"Perhaps I was too harsh on it, after all, everyone else seems to drink so much more than a sip."

He squints his eyes again as he lifts the glass to his lips and turns it upside down, downing the entire thing. He shakes his head from side to side before slamming the glass down on the table.

"AlanaBurke, why is my head fuzzy?"

Alana has her lips pressed up against her glass, the amber liquid trickling into her mouth. She was enjoying this glass, slow drinking it. At this moment it was more for the taste then anything, she wasn’t looking to get drunk this morning and especially not in front of her boss. At least that was her rationally thinking but being rational didn’t always pan out. 

Just as an ice cube touched her lip Thrawn made a comment about people voluntarily drinking this stuff. She was a bit too busy to reply but raised her eyebrows slightly and rolled her eyes. It wasn’t until a moment later that she finished her sip but kept her glass in her hand that she answered him.

”Yes, people including myself drink this stuff voluntarily. It’s something you either like or you don’t, there’s really no in between. Oh and it burns because of the alcohol content, I don’t know the scientific shit why, I just know that’s why. If that makes sense?”

He nodded and looked down at the liquid in the glass, he was quiet and just starred at it. Almost as if he were in deep thought about the chemical makeup over something. Hell he could have been thinking anything, it was confirmed to her it was about the drink when he made another comment about it. 

With a smile she watched as he picked up the glass, now she figured he would have just taken another sip but nope. In one motion before she could even say anything he downed the entire glass and then slammed that same glass onto the table in front of him. Which garnered a couple glances from the surrounding tables.

”Like you all haven’t slammed the glass on the table after taking a shot. I swear you all are nosy mother fuckers.” Alana stated as she made sure to make eye contact with everyone that was looking in their direction. 

Thrawn was one of those pair of eyes but she wasn’t talking to him, he wait for her eyes to meet his before speaking. Asking her why his head felt fuzzy. It was a comment that made Alana burst out in a short laughter but something she quickly composed, when seeing the look of seriousness on his face. 

”Uhm, well... you said that was your first time, yeah?” Alana asked. 

Thrawn nodded. 

”Well then that would be from the whiskey you decided to slam back. That fuzzy feeling is called a buzz, it’s not a bad fuzzy. Right?”

Thrawn was a man of complete control, serious to a fault. He wasn't used to this feeling of not having control over something. Despite his reluctance to not have total control, it seemed like his always racing mind was slowing down. For now, gone were the constant analysis of every little thing, gone were the constant calculations when he looked at someone, no longer anticipating their every move. No, this was replaced with a pleasant fuzz, those voices in his head just a pleasant nearly non-existent hum in the background.

"A buzz, you say? The meaning of 'slam back' is lost on me, I fear, but regardless this is not a bad feeling. And yes, this is my first time with this elixir. I want more."

He looked at AlanaBurke intently, before mimicking her actions from earlier. He raised his hand in the air, waving it slightly until he thought the barkeep would see him. He held up two fingers, and pointed down at their table. Yes, her's wasn't quite empty yet, but that would change. 

"While we wait, tell me Alana, when did you begin drinking this? Additionally, what is it about a place such as this that turns people in to, what was it you said, 'nosy mother fuckers?'"

He glanced towards the barkeep to make sure fresh drinks were being made, before pressing his uniform to make sure everything was still neat. After all, even through a buzz, one must look good. 

“Oh only a couple years.” Alana quickly answered.

It was an absolute lie, she had been drinking for quite some time now. It all really started when she was in her young teenage years, sneaking into her fathers liquor cabinet when he was working or sleeping. She had gotten really good at watering down his bottle, just to the right point where he didn’t even realize. Then again looking back at it, he was usually polluted to the nth degree by the time be got back to the house. Probably could have given him dirty water and he would have thought it was booze. 

Needless to say the man had a bit of a drinking problem. It was definitely the reason his marriage to her mother didn’t last but at least he manned up enough to take care of his kids. Financially at least, he wasn’t an emotional guy, which was probably why Alana wasn’t overly emotional herself. He raised her and her brother though, while their mother moved away and made a new life, a new family. 

She sensed herself thinking about her past and caught the glare of Thrawn waiting for her to finish speaking. Another one of those big cheesy kind of fake smiles beamed from her face as she took a bigger sip from her glass. 

”Well yeah hasn’t been too long, I’m 23 now... sooo I’d say like 3 years now. Like I said earlier, it’s kind of all about the taste. Sure there are moments where I need to drink and drink a lot.”

She took another sip from her glass, making sure to empty the contents this time around. 

”I’m talking about getting drunk by the way but that’s something I suggest you don’t do and if you do you do it without me present. I’m not getting blamed for corrupting you. So go slow, you’re not getting another drink of whiskey after this one until you drink some water and relax for a bit.”

Just as she finished the barkeep brought over two new drinks. Alana handed him the empty glass in her hand and directed her attentions back to Thrawn. 

“Oh and it isn’t this place, really it’s just people in general. Most people just need to be in other people’s business, it gets old quick. Trust me there. So why all of sudden did you have the need or want to come to a place like this? Honestly I never pictured you coming to a shit hole type establishment such as this.”

She grabbed her newly topped of glass into her hand and swirled the contents, waiting to hear what he had to say.

Thrawn looked at her with a puzzled gaze, instantly seeing the lie with the speed of her response and the long pause after. During this pause, her hand was frozen on her glass with her eyes almost glazed. Thrawn's people had a knack for this kind of thing, it's been said that it is impossible to lie to a Chiss. More so, it's impossible to lie to this Chiss.

He continued to look at her, his face reading cold and detached, though really he was feeling neither. As he watched her deep in thought, he thought back to what brought him here today. Did this amber liquid, this whiskey, cause walks down memory lane? This was something he would have to explore, and filed it away for questioning later.

So how did it all begin? Thrawn was a veteran, but not one like anyone here could comprehend. Thrawn was a foreigner, yes, but in more ways than one. He had been the Grand Admiral in a great war, one that was quite bloody but nonetheless successful. Until he met her. She surrounded herself with more art than he did, well, to the naked eye at least. Nobody really knew the extent of his collection except for him. But he couldn't read her. For the first time in his history, he had no idea what to think of her or what was going on with her. It was a feeling for him that was as strange as the 'buzz' he was beginning to feel. He shook himself out of his revelry as he noticed AlanaBurke flash her big cheesy smile and begin to speak again.

"Why is it that 'getting drunk' isn't a recommended activity, or one that is recommended to do alone? The art of corruption is one that I am familiar with, though mostly in the political sense, is it possible to corrupt someone on a more personal level?"

He looked away as the barkeep set down the two glasses, and scooped the one closest to him into his white gloved hand, bringing it to his lips and taking a small sip, this time not shaking his head or making any negative reaction, before setting it gently before him.

"I do however understand the importance of pace, and as such will take this one far slower and have a glass of water after. Perhaps we should call Johnny back over to bring us a pitcher?"

Thrawn looked in the direction of the barkeep to see that he was tending to other patrons at the moment, so he turned back to Alana.

"I see. That is something that will take some getting used to, as well as something that could become quite the disturbance. I quite enjoy time to myself, and people getting in my business, well, that would interfere with my analytics. Alas. As for the reason I am here, since this is now my permanent home, I wish to become part of the culture and to understand it. I had my first cigar a few days ago, terrible things those, though I could get used to them. And I heard that liquor was something that made things better. I was thinking about some things, and decided to see if that was true. This place was simply the first place that I saw, and one that I thought I wouldn't be found in. What brings you to a 'shit hole type establishment such as this?'"

Thrawn gave a slight grin at this, quite the rarity for him, before bringing the glass back to his lips.

Alana briefly chuckled, it was quite funny hearing him speak about things in this culture. It was things that everyone took for granted because they lived it, even her. Sure, maybe he picked a couple of things that weren't necessarily favorable parts of the culture. The smoking and the drinking but at least he was trying, he was getting himself out there.

Now she wasn't much of a smoker, in fact it was something she just didn't do. It wasn't appealing, it didn't taste good and the smell was absolutely terrible. The whiskey though, that was her vice. It's why she found herself in this "shit hole" more then she'd like. Even though she didn't like classifying herself as a regular, she was. It was almost a daily occurrence that she frequented this place, she knew everyone and everybody knew her. 

Not saying it was a good thing but it was her thing, plus she enjoyed the company of others. Even if they were drunkards...

She picked her newly acquired glass off of the table and held it in her hand, more towards up near her face.

"I've known you what, like all of a week now?" Alana asked.

"It would be five day but yes continue." Thrawn replied.

Was quite typical of him to be precise, she already knew he wasn't a guy who cut corners on anything.

"Ok, so almost a week..." Alana quickly rolled her eyes towards him before continuing. "In those five days, I've already come to notice how you work. How your brain functions... You're all about neatness, being orderly, being precise, being calculated."

She jiggled her glass slightly, making it so the ice cubes jingled off the glass ever so slightly.

"Too much of this stuff will make that all go away. Well... temporarily speaking. Depending on how much of this stuff you drink, will depend on how far off normal you get. Then you get to the point where your body say not anymore and at that point anything could happen. Hell you could wake up in some strangers bed and not have the slightest idea how you got there."

She could see Thrawn raise an eyebrow to that one.

It caused Alana to laugh just a little bit but she continued on like it was just another part of their conversation.

"It's also got it's benefits, I guess you can call it. Some people use this stuff to escape hardships in their lives. Physical, emotional... it temporarily numbs them of their real life. Not that I'm saying it's a good thing but it's the truth."

Bringing the glass in towards her, Alana took a small sip then held it out in front of her again.

"As for this place, this proverbial shit hole, it's as local and as real as you can get. It's why I come here."

Alana gave Thrawn a small smile and wondered if anything she had just said made any sense to him.

Thrawn took another small sip, again not flinching at the harshness of this new perceived vice, gently nodding as he listened to her explanation. Of course he knew from texts he had found what the medical consequences of this drink was, but the state of 'drunkenness' was something that had highly varied explanations.

Long before he had decided to give this a try, he had studied the medicine, studied the way it would affect his mind and body differently than others. He thought he had the precise amount of consumption he could have down to the drop, but after the fuzzy feeling with the first glass, he was realizing that he had underestimated the effect that speed of consumption had on the bodies ability to handle the alcoholic content.

Ah, yes. I suppose that I don't hide that part of me very well. My sincerest apologies if that has been tough to deal with. I urge you to not think all of my people are this way, I assure you I'm more of a, what is the term you people use, anomaly? Or was it 'odd' one. I'm sure you'll get my meaning.

He took another sip from his glass, a bit deeper this time without realizing he was doing so, as he listened to AlanaBurke continue to fill in the blanks that he was unable to discover.

So, from that, I sense that this drink is a way of bringing about a sense of 'numb' so to speak. I can see the conception that this 'numb' feeling would make everything better. Of course, that would just be a temporary reprieve from one's problems, and they would return when the feeling faded. That being said, I can see the positives and negatives that would bring.

Thrawn mimicked her movement with the glass, watching with amusement as the ice cubes jingled and the amber liquid smoothly swished around the glass, the simplest of things often held the most amusement.

In terms of waking up in a strangers bed, pardon my expression here, I haven't learned the best way to state things, isn't it an innate human thing to express the pleasures of the flesh with a stranger? Seems like I see a lot of it anyway. Though I have had thoughts about what it would be like for a Chiss to be with a human. Thoughts for another day however, or maybe this drink is already making me lose my, what do you call it, filter?

Thrawn nodded in understanding, as everything about this elixir was starting to click.

Local and real as it gets is precisely what I was looking for, as it were. I'm glad I chose this place. Now, does the speed in which one consumes this drink have an effect on how quickly one reaches this 'drunken' state?

He took another smaller sip as he monitored her.

Alana nodded while in the process of taking a sip, it was a valid question for someone that is new to drinking. Though she was pretty sure that she already hinted at it when she told him that he needed to slow down a bit. Then again he was a man that took everything literal, perhaps she didn't specify things enough.

"Well yeah. The more and the quicker you drink, the faster it affects you. If you really wanted to test it out you can but let's not do that here. I'm not sure I'm up for the task of figuring how to get you back to the head quarters." Alana stated with a smirk on her face.

Taking another small sip Alana continued.

"Like I said before you drink too much of this stuff in one sitting and god knows what you'll wake up too. I've had my fair share of what the hell type mornings."

She placed her glass down in front of her and took a quick look around the place. It was just a normal routine she had, she liked to keep track on what was going on around her. It was more for safety purposes then anything but it was a tactic that had saved her more then once. With the line of business that she was in and the kinds of people she surrounded herself with often led to being within unfavorable positions.

It was all the normal crowd, well for the most part. There were a couple she didn't recognize but they were intermingled with the regulars. One thing she did catch a glimpse of was Roger. He wasn't acting normal, if there was a normal for that guy. He'd open his mouth say a word or two and then jet his eyes over in the direction of herself and Thrawn. It was odd, something she surely needed to keep checking on but for now she directed her attentions back to Thrawn who was basically playing with the ice cubes in his glass.

"So it was one of the first times I actually drank hard, I was at this bar with some friends and no not this bar. The night started out good, was having fun drinking and dancing. Then we sat down and started taking shots."

She could see Thrawn raise an eyebrow to the shots comment, she knew she needed to elaborate on it a bit.

"A shot, not like a gunshot by the way. A shot is basically a small glass of alcohol the you drink in one gulp."

He nodded, so she just continued to talk.

"I think we were playing some sort of game, I truly can't remember. From what I was told, I got up without saying a word and went out the front door. A friend said they came outside to look for me a couple minutes later but I wasn't there, so they just went back inside. From that point on, I don't remember anything but waking up the next morning. Woke up in a shitty motel, an hour from home, half dressed and with some random womans head on my chest. That was my first experience with drinking too much, you think I would have learned but nope."

She laughed and hoped her little story didn't hinder Thrawn opinion of her.  

Thrawn was still feeling fuzzy, but the rate at which he was consuming his whiskey was slow enough that he wasn't approaching that state of drunkenness yet. Hearing AlanaBurke's first statement, he opted to make a small joke.

You don't think you could handle me, eh? I'm sure we could find a way back to the headquarters if you wanted to test it.

Her lack of laughter told him that his joke was not a good one. He hadn't quite learned that art yet. Perhaps there were some joke books he could purchase that would give him more of an understanding. He made a mental note to run by the local library and see what he could find.

My apologies, what is a "what the hell" type morning? Hell is just a figurative place created to instill fear and discipline into those that don't already have it. Why would a morning thinking of this be brought on by drinking?

He smiled vaguely, assuming that she meant an analogy for a wild evening leading to a confused morning, but one could never be sure with these things. He continued watching the liquid splash around his glass, clearly having too much fun with it, before bringing it to his lips and taking a larger sip than he had been. He couldn't help but notice he glances over to Roger, but at this time was unable to decipher what he could be planning.

You have your standard issue gun, yes?

Thrawn whispered to her, then upon seeing her glare to him that plainly said "what are you stupid?" He nodded in understanding, he had to be sure.

I believe I would like to try one of these 'shots' or even multiple, depending on their size. I heard the Irish variety of this whiskey is delightful. Could we try it in shots?

He took another sip of his drink while she finished her tale.

Wait a minute. Head on your chest? You mean to tell me that you got so drunk you decapitated a poor lady and didn't remember it? That is impressive, I didn't think you had that much of a killer's mentality. Very impressive.

Thrawn then eyed her, attempting to analyze her further, clearly in awe of someone that could accomplish such a feat while incapacitated.

Alana opened her mouth to speak but couldn't initially find the words, she was in awe of his comment. This whole him being super literal was throwing her for quite the loop, she had never met anyone like him... anyone! In order to process things a little bit further, Alana smiled and took another sip of her drink. This time keeping the glass pressed onto her lips for a couple seconds longer then usual. Until she decided to just go with it.

"Yeah, you should have seen it. The room looked like a murder scene... well I guess it was... There was blood everywhere, even on the ceiling. I woke up stained red, it was quite the sight..."

She went quiet and just glared across the table at Thrawn who was trying to analyze everything. She could basically see his brain precisely calculating things. What things, she had no idea but he was definitely thinking hard. With a half smile on her face, Alana placed both her hands onto the table in front of her and interlocked them together.

"I got up, had quite the headache but took a quick shower and left. It was all in the newspapers and everything. People were calling it the most gruesome thing they've seen in ages. Yeah that was me."

Thrawn did nothing but stare at her, still calculating whatever he was calculating in his head. He opened his mouth for a second but nothing came out, which caused Alana to burst out in laughter.

"What?" He inquired.

"I'm kidding... I've never decapitated anyone, well not yet at least. The woman was very much alive, I woke up with her sleeping on my chest. I actually never got her name, I gathered my things and left even before she woke up. God only knows what we did that night but hey, at least she was cute."

Thrawn still sat there thinking, only pausing briefly to take another sip on his drink. A rather large sip.

"I'm sorry, I had to just go with." She said with a big smile on her face. It was rather comical, well to her at least.

Her eyes looked him directly into his red eyes before giving the room another scan. She directed them back over to Roger and his crew of people, she wasn't sure why she felt like she had to keep an eye on him but for some reason, something inside of her felt off. Looking down quickly at her drink which she picked up then placed quickly back down as she noticed Roger leaving his seat.

He hastily made his way towards them, with what looked like a knife in his hand. Without a thought, Alana stood up from her seat. Which caused Thrawn to glance up at her.

"Where you going?" He was able to mutter out.

She didn't answer but instead cocked her arm back, balled up her hand and threw haymaker directly over Thrawns head. It caused him to duck quickly. Her punch connected with Rogers jaw, causing him to drop the knife and crumple into a pile on the floor. Almost instantly the sharp pain of the contact radiated into her hand and up her arm.

"What the fuck Roger, seriously. WHAT THE FUCK!" She exclaimed in a heated rage as she took a step to where he was at on the floor. The her foot, she pulled the blade towards her and slid it behind her before swiftly kicking him in the ribs.

"I knew you were stupid but I did think you were that retarded." She kicked him one more time, while holding her arm down at her side. Slowly opening and closing her fist the best she could. She hit him so hard with that punch, that she may have fractured a bone or two in her hand.

Alana looked over at Thrawn and took in a deep breath.

"Yeah, I think it's time for a shot or two."

Thrawn watched her intently awaiting her response, he noted her eyes darting as she took much longer than usual to sip her drink, and then when she began to speak, his eyes widened as she detailed the murder scene to him. He tried to think of how she could have possibly completed this in an inebriated state, wondering if perhaps the drink also afforded more strength to the drinker. He listened as she detailed the crime being one of the most gruesome in history, compartmentalizing each detail, making sure to note to not cross her in the future, when she suddenly started laughing.

This was something that was still quite foreign to him, and he wasn't sure how to react. He didn't think it was accurate to laugh along with her, so he attempted some kind of smile.

Ah, so it was more of a, what do you people call it 'fling?' I understand. That's quite different from what I thought you meant, to be sure. Alas, perhaps it's a good thing you did not decapitate a random citizen.

He took another large sip, noting that his drink was now almost empty. He was about to order a new one when he noticed AlanaBurke jump to her feet and spring into action. Normally his reactions were lightning fast, even behind him, but they were nothing compared to hers. As he ducked at her flying fist, panic rising within him, he heard the distinctive crunch of bone on bone as her fist connected with Roger's jaw.

He turned and watched as Roger crumpled to the floor, seeing Alana repeatedly kick him in the ribs, it was a sight to see to say the least. He felt himself wanting to laugh at Roger's fate, but once again didn't know if the time was appropriate or not. He really needed to learn social cues.

Content that Roger wasn't going to be moving any time soon, or doing any additional damage, he turned his attention to Alana as she was making her way back to his seat. He watched as she opened and closed her fist with some difficulty. He reached out for it.

If I may?

Not really waiting for a response, he held her hand lightly in his, feeling around the bones.

There's some damage here for sure. Let's have a few shots, and contemplate where to go from here. For now,

Thrawn paused as he pulled his shawl up to the table and ripped the sleeve from it, as much as it pained him to ruin something so pristine, this was more important. He drained his glass and took the ice from it, rolling it in the sleeve and tying it tightly in a knot, leaving enough room on each side to then lay it across her knuckles, tying it less tight around her hand.

Hold your hand steady, this should ease some of the pain for now.

He motioned for the barkeep to come back over.

What are we having?

With her hand wrapped up, she rested it on the table in front of her. She could feel the throbbing through the cloth and ice cubes, which was having little to no affect on the pain. Needless to say her hand hurt, that was probably the hardest she had ever hit anyone and boy did she feel it. Though it was something that she didn't once regret.

"Whiskey! and I'm going to need the entire bottle." She said with the most serious look on her face. She was still quite furious, not just from the fact her hand was probably broken but more so that someone here was try to take out her new boss.

She waved over the barkeep with her non busted hand.

"I need you to bring over a bottle of my whiskey and two shot glasses."

He didn't even question it and promptly did an about face to fetch her request.

Alana directed her attentions back towards Thrawn.

"I can't believe that idiot would dare try something like that. He's lucky he isn't dead right now.." Alana said as she tried to flex her hand some. Causing her clench her teeth together as the pain seemed to only be getting worse.

It was only a mere moment later that the barkeep came back over to their table and like requested had an uncorked bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses in his hand. He placed them down in the center of the table and went off to tend the bar.

With her good hand, Alana reached for the bottle. Placing her hand around it and just holding it there for a moment. Uncorking a bottle with one hand isn't the easiest thing to do, though it could be done. Figuring it'd be smart for her not to try and do that, she slid the bottle over to Thrawn.

"Help a girl out, open this would you?"

Thrawn watched as AlanaBurke as she called out to the barkeep to bring the entire bottle of whiskey over to them. He watched intently as she stated her disbelief in Roger's actions, and tried to move her hand, clearly she was in immense pain.

You seem to have a history with this man, for better or worse. Is there any potential he is a hired hand? And if that's the case,

He gestures over to the group of people Roger had affiliated himself with, who were eyeing their table with great interest.

Would they be hired by the same person, or people, and are they going to try next? I can't rule out the possibility that he was just, as your people call it, stupid. But, we must consider every possibility.

Thrawn reaches down to his side, where his pistol is holstered, and brings it up to the table, setting it in quicker arms reach. He didn't come here to spill blood, but he wouldn't allow himself to get ambushed, nor his friend to be hurt further. Ensuring the pistol was safe, he watched as she struggled with the bottle before finally asking for help. He admired that stubborn streak in her.

Absolutely.

He grabbed the bottle and briskly uncorked it, before pouring the liquid equally in the two shot glasses. He raised his up to her, and slid her hers.

To the fallacy of idiocy!

With her left hand, Alana grabbed the poured shot of whiskey. Clinking it against his she then brought the shot glass to her lips and downed the contents. It went down smoothly and upon going down sent a wave of warmth through her body. She placed the glass down softly onto the table and looked up at Thrawn who was just taking the shot.

Seemed he wanted to watch how it was done prior to him doing it but his reaction to the warm liquid wasn't quite the reaction she had. His was a bit more puzzling and cringe worthy, it made Alana chuckle softly. Which caused him to give her a bit of a glare. 

"I'm sure the next one will go down a bit easier."

She reached for the bottle, with her left hand obviously and poured more into the both of their glasses. Placing the bottle down next to her, she picked up her glass once more and held it in the air before throwing back the contents once again.

"About those guys and that idiot laying on the floor, they aren't no hired hit men. They are just a group of regular drunkards. You must have just hit a chord or something, with whatever conversation you had with them."

Thrawn took his next shot and proceeded to look over his shoulder at the group of guys before turning back to Alana. His cheeks were starting to turn a darker blue, was clearly the alcohol having it's affects on him.

"If you don't feel comfortable here we could leave. Perhaps take the bottle and go back to the head quarter? Totally up to you though."