[D6LM] You're the Best

[Manny Donos]

"Oof! I thought we were done with the hitting part!" Manny half-grinned, half-winced. "Geez, I show you a trick, you could at least use one of my cooler nicknames. Like Manny Both-hands!" It wasn't a very cool nickname.

He tilted his head, considering. His gaze went to her armor. His mind flashed back to how deadly accurate she'd been with her weapons last night. "You assume..." Manny frowned. "Are you sure, though? Like, really sure?"

[Raven Cadera]

She laughed at his wince. "Sure. Manny Both-Hands then." Would that be a nickname ladies would like better? Well, probably better than No-Girlfriend.

Catching his look and his frown, her own smile and laughter was replaced with neutrality. "I'm pretty sure. Mostly because it seemed to be a joke... like how we call you No-Girlfriend. Or at least that's how it seems with his friends." Yes, friends. Totally not clones or brothers. "... You seem worried? Something on your mind?"

[Manny Donos]

Manny blinked. Hearing someone else say it... wow, that nickname is really silly. "Maybe just Manny."

He chuckled. "Well, okay. But I feel like maybe things that Ladykiller does might not work for me. Like, he probably flexes, or does squats or something, right? Maybe both at the same time?"

He waved a hand. "Nah. I mean... well, kinda. There's just a lot going on, you know? Shooting those people, and the resistance, and maybe I'm not gonna try to be a crime boss anymore... I still don't exactly have a home..." Manny shrugged. "I guess I'm just not really sure about a lot of stuff right now."

[Raven Cadera]

"Just-Manny," she snickered, "I never asked before if Manny's a nickname."

The cards continued to shuffle. She'd stop at some points to check for the Queen, sometimes having to search for it as she had accidentally let it slip or shuffled incorrectly, but at least those mistakes happened less and less.

"And yeah. You could say he does squats and flexes... kind of hard not to flex a little doing squats though. Maybe if you work out more...?" It was a pretty simple suggestion to her.

"So where you staying these days?"

[Manny Donos]

"I guess my full name is Manuel." Manny said. "But no one calls me that. Manny is way more my style." He flipped his hair back, nodding.

The comment made Manny glance down at his somewhat slender form. "But I'm wiry..." He sighed. "Hey, I know I'm not as buff as Ladykiller McManmuscle, or whatever his name is, but... well... actually, I don't remember where I was going with this." Really, he'd just wanted to use that name he thought of.

Manny shrugged. "I'm staying with Leah, my assistant. I should probably get my own place. She's got two rooms. A shared bathroom. A neighbor couple is always bangin' in the shower." He made a face.

[Raven Cadera]

Yeah, she had to agree he wasn't a Manuel.

The nickname made her laugh again, and the Queen got lost in the shuffle. "What kind of woman doesn't like a man with muscles? You want someone strong, your equal, someone that can watch your back and raise warriors with. Not... laadur... delicate." Raven had a very different view on partnership than outsiders.

"Didn't know you had an assistent... wait, isn't Leah the twi'lek kid from Lux? Blue one?"

[Manny Donos]

Manny gave Raven a suspicious look. "Are you calling me... ladder, or whatever it is you said?" After a moment, he grinned. "Hey, I am who I am. And there's ladies out there who like wiry."

He nodded. "Yeah, that's her. She's got a talent for magic. And puns. She's great." Manny frowned, his lips pressing tightly together for a moment. "Actually... it's sorta because of her that I was thinking about the crime boss thing, not just, you know, the killing. But... she's kinda stuck where she is. Vex is making her work... it's really messed up."

[Raven Cadera]

"It means delicate. No Mandalorian wants to be delicate... and calling a Mandalorian that is sure to earn you a beating. From men and women alike," she said as she chuckled and looked for the queen again.

"Everybody got choices, Manny, and make them. Of course, some choices got more consequences than others, but there's always choices." Raven shrugged. She wasn't being callous as such, but she had a different view on things. "Didn't think Vex would let... I believe they call it jailbait... work in her club. But eh, not my business really."

[Manny Donos]

Manny frowned. "Maybe. Sometimes it's not as easy as that." Gently, he reached out, taking the deck from Raven. He flipped up the Queen to show her, and then started the game again, setting down other cards. His hands moved faster than before, giving Raven little time to follow.

"I think for a lot of people, a lot of choices are like this game." His hands moved in twin circles, cycling the cards. "Maybe you can make the right choice, but it's not always easy to see what that is. Maybe someone's even trying to make it so that you can't even see what it is."

He stopped. With a half-smile, he gestured to the cards. "Give it a try."

[Raven Cadera]

"Can always make your own rules. Blow up the game and the cards. Uh, figuratively speaking, of course. Not going to ruin your deck."

She frowned as she looked at the cards. "What, you mean like try playing it on you? Or that I find the card?"

[Manny Donos]

Manny chuckled. "I appreciate that. Maybe you will be able to find the Queen."

He waved at the three cards he'd arranged. "Yeah. Go ahead."

[Raven Cadera]

Instead trying to choose which card it was based on her observations, Raven decided to just leave it to chance.

It didn't work out either.


----

Pure dumb luck to find the Queen. 1 is the queen: 1d3 2

[Manny Donos]

Shaking his head, Manny flipped over the other two cards as well. Neither of them were the Queen, either.

With a flourish, he pulled the Queen from the deck, where he'd tucked it back just after he'd revealed it. "You were on the right track. Played right, there's no way to win." He grinned. "I mean, I probably wouldn't blow anything up, that's more you and Lysa. But you gotta break the rules somehow, right?"

[Raven Cadera]

"Rules are often made to be broken," she chuckled. "Or rather... other people's rules are." Raven wouldn't break Mandalorian rules, of course. She was a good Mando'ade!

"Ok, let me try it before we wrap it up for today!" Raven eagerly gestured for the deck again.

[Manny Donos]

"Yeah, exactly!" Manny grinned. "We'll make a magician out of you yet! You need a name... Radical Raven?" He studied her with narrowed eyes, considering it.

He passed her the deck. "Okay, let's see what you've got!"

[Raven Cadera]

She raised an eyebrow. "Do all magicians need names like that?"

Manny saw her pick up the Queen and she began to shuffle. At least she had managed to get the feel for that now, and it actually looked like she was a step in the right direction.

Then in her bid to hold onto the Queen in the placement of the cards, something didn't quite go according to plan. Her hands were much more used to working with weaponry, or punching... not sleight of hand.

Raven's hands came to an immediate stop after hearing the sound of something tearing. Looking down, she saw the Queen-card nearly torn in half, and a look of panich flashed over her features.


-----

Radical Raven's Revolutionary Card Trick! Skulduggery with Agility vs Manny's Perception: 3eA+1eC+2eD 0 successes, 1 advantage, 1 Despair


Raven fails to pull off a card-trick.
Advantage lets her be flashy about it at least!
Despair... rips a card.

[Manny Donos]

She raised an eyebrow. "Do all magicians need names like that?"

"Yes." Manny said, nodding firmly.

He watched, his eyebrows going up, mildly impressed, as Raven worked. Until...

RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIPPPP

"Oooooooh." Manny winced dramatically. He leaned forward, peering down at the damage, and then sat back with a groan.

"Maybe..." Manny cleared his throat. "Maybe practice that one a little more. We can get you another set of cards. A cheap one." He flashed her a grin.

[Raven Cadera]

Panic!

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" It was a really odd turn of event to see the usually badass and tough Raven suddenly panic over having ripped a card. "I'll... pay for it. I promise!"

[Manny Donos]

Manny laughed, openly and cheerful. "Hey, it's okay! Don't worry about it. It's not that much. And it's all part of practice, right? I mean, I don't know that I ever did that to a card, but I've bent plenty of 'em."

His smile softened. "Seriously, it's okay. I guess it just means the average card is no match for Radical Raven, huh?"

[Raven Cadera]

"No, it's not ok," she frowned and bit her lower lip. "You don't even have a real place to live, and I'm just... making it worse."

As someone who had gone through a lot of tough time on her own herself, Raven knew that sometimes one couldn't just splurge on new things. Sometimes one made choice between food and clothes. Or other essentials. She hadn't been born or brought up in poverty, but suddenly being alone had made her have to deal with that harsh reality.

"I'm sorry..." now it wasn't sure if she was apologising for the card or her outburst.