"Oh yeah, didn't he also have a habit of trading them for the cheese?" Raider asked.
Kira nodded. "Used to drive me crazy because he always came after mine first and then would pout if I didn't give them to him."
Blue’s laugh was bright. "He didn't even like the cheese in the MREs."
Kira scowled. "Yes, he did. Used to get them from everyone."
Blue shook her head. "He always gave them to me because he knew they were my favorite. He said that if he couldn't have what he wanted, he didn't plan on letting you lot have it either."
Kira gaped. "That asshole."
Blue burst out laughing. “How did he even get that name anyway? Bayside? He never would tell me.”
Raider was the one who answered. “He showed up wanting to be called the Butcher. Thought it was badass. Elise found out he was from a coastal city and started calling him Bayside. It stuck.”
Kira snorted. “Like we were ever going to call him the Butcher.”
Blue’s face sobered. "We had a good family."
Raider clinked his glass against hers. "That we did."
"I miss them," Blue confessed.
Raider's eyes met Kira's, sadness there.
"We all do," Kira said, ignoring the prickling at the back of her eyes.
Finn's gaze caught hers from where he still sat at the bar. Kira ignored the understanding reflected there as she focused on her friends.
Shaking off the sadness, Raider reached for another glass only to have his hand knocked away as Blue got there first. She held up a hand at his protest. "Stow it, old man. I have some catching up to do."
With a harrumph, Raider sat and folded his arms.
Kira's response was forestalled as newcomers entered the bar. They lingered in the entrance as they looked around with cool, almost derisive glances. Only one of those present wore synth armor, fiery flames of orange emblazoned on his chest, accents of the color woven throughout.
The rest wore simpler versions of the synth armor, declaring them as initiates from well-to-do families, much like Rheya and Devon.
The group headed toward the bar as Talon moved to meet them, the same surliness she'd seen on their first meeting present. His movements were rough and abrupt as he served them, something in his manner saying the newcomers weren't exactly welcome. A fact Kira had picked up on when the rest of the patrons quieted, the looks being cast at the newcomers not exactly hostile, but definitely not friendly either.
Raider and Blue argued as she studied the Tuann, wishing Joule was here for a lesson.
One of the strangers glanced their way, nudging his companion before several of them made their way toward Kira and her group.
"Hostiles incoming," she muttered into the glass.
Raider and Blue quieted as they watched the three approach.
Raider squinted at them with a fierce frown that might have been more effective if he wasn't actively swaying in his seat. Blue sipped her tequila, her eyes meeting Kira's as one of her hands lowered under the table to clasp the weapon Kira suspected was hidden along her thigh.
Kira aimed a grin at the floor, proud of the person Blue had become. She was someone to trust at your back.
The three had already dismissed Blue and Raider as nonthreats, focusing entirely on Kira.
"What do we have here?" the first asked with an arrogant twist of his lips, looking like he smelled something nasty.
"It looks like a pair of humans and a human lover," the woman behind him answered.
Blue scooted her chair back a hair, angling it so she could stand easily.
Kira flicked her fingers at Finn, signaling for him to stay put. "This is a private moment among friends. I'd appreciate it if you three took yourselves away."
There—diplomacy designed to deescalate the situation.
Raider made an impressed sound as he gave her a small clap.
The look she sent him was irritated. He wasn't helping matters.
"I think I recognize her," another of the three said. "She's House Roake's mad heir." He leaned into Kira's space. "They say you have to be insane. No Tuann could have survived so far from home, or brethren, for so long."
Kira stared into the man's eyes. She waited, holding his gaze, not speaking, watching as uncertainty filled his expression. "Are you done?"
He drew back slightly, glancing at the man Kira pegged as being in charge.
Kira's smile was hard. "As I said before, this is a private party. We'd appreciate you leaving."
The leader settled a heavy hand on Kira's shoulder. "How about you be the one to leave?"
"Uh oh," Raider said, alarm snaking through his expression.
He had a right to be concerned. Kira had a thing about uninvited touching, and this Tuann had crossed her invisible bubble in a big way.
"If I were you, I'd take your hand off my shoulder before I break it." Kira was no longer as concerned with playing diplomat. Quickly she calculated the possible consequences of starting a fight, for once wishing Jin would chime in with his thoughts and opinions. He'd studied Tuann law. He'd likely know the possible repercussions.
Quiet fell, spreading throughout the bar as the patrons focused on the unexpected drama. Kira spotted Rheya and Devon among those present and stuffed down the part of her that would like nothing more than to start a bar fight.
"I'd watch your mouth, mongrel. You and your humans are a travesty. They should have put the lot of you down. It would be a mercy." He raised his voice so the rest could hear. "I question Roake's strength if they accept one such as you within their ranks."
Tension filled the air as no one moved.
Kira's lips quirked. "Raider, do you hear yapping?"
He stuck one finger in his ear and jiggled it around. "Yeah, it's kind of high pitched. Sounds like one of those little toy dogs—or maybe a puppy. It's hard to be sure."
Blue's shoulders shook with an inappropriate laugh she couldn't quite hide. She wasn't the only one as those around them followed suit.
It was not the reaction the Tuann in front of her were expecting if the flush that tinged their cheeks was any indication.
Kira picked up another shot glass, dismissing the three. "Now, where were we?"
A sharp crack rent the air. Pain bloomed on Kira's cheekbone and jaw as her face turned with the force of the blow.
Raider and Blue were on their feet, their chairs screeching across the floor as Kira touched the painful spot.
"You try to be nice," she muttered to herself, dropping her hand.
Kira studied the other three, her gaze assessing. These idiots weren't the ones she was worried about. It was the man in the synth armor still standing at the bar and the four beside him.
"Last chance to walk away," she warned them.
The first man sneered. "You're a disgrace."
"I'll consider that a no."
Pity.
"You'll be the one leaving," he told her as he reached for her. His fingers were bruising where he grabbed her shoulder.
"Mistake one," she whispered.
Her other arm swept up, breaking his hold. She rose, yanking him forward and slamming his face into the table. Glasses jolted, several falling to the floor with a crash.
Raider and Blue threw themselves forward, blocking the others. Raider rammed the chair he'd been using into one, pinning him against a wall.