[Ren]

—Miko—
Leroy looked up with a wide grin spreading on his dark face. “Don’t be too late!” he said with a wink.

Outside, Sam already waited, leaning on his huge chopper. When you stepped out, his eyes went wider and he stood up, greeting her with a smile. “Ready for anything. Let’s go!” He sat on the bike, and when you were behind him, started with a roaring engine.
You had a slight suspicion that he didn’t take you to the party on the shortest possible route. Sam took a short detour for the interstate to show off his bike’s capabilities, leaving Friday evening traffic behind and sometimes, angry honks in his wake. When you arrived to the warehouse, it was in a neighborhood similar to your own, loud music already pulsing from inside, although you could hear mostly the base.

Two choppers and a huge SUV were parked outside, and a young, big orc, as big as a smaller troll, was smoking next to those. He greeted you with a nod and a quick up-and-down, and Sam with a grin. ”Hey man, your bruises healed yet?”
“Mine are well but I see you still miss that tusk of yours,” Sam answered laughing. ”I see the Big Man is in?”
“Yeah, this will be a big one. Don’t tell anybody you heard it from me, but rumor has it he brought some real whiskey tonight.”
“Now that’s something! Meet you in there later, but I gotta introduce my guest first.”
“Go on in, then.”

While heading in, Sam gave you a quick run-down. ”That was Paul, he’s a good guy and an even better brawler. I regularly train him, and I think he will be ready for the cage soon. We’ll talk with him later.” Inside, the warehouse was surprisingly well-furnished, for a party place used by a gang. Cozy sofas were grouped around a small table to your left, with some mobile walls partially separating them from the main area, where two trolls and an orc were sharing a hookah. They looked up when you entered but showed little interest. A few younger boys were playfully jostling each other on your right, beer bottles in hand, trading some friendly insults. When you passed them, they began whistling, and one of them started to say something, but another just used the opportunity to push him somewhat harder, and all three laughed like hell when he fell. Behind them, two orcs argued over some engine part, how better to install it in one of their bikes. They were too immersed in their talk to notice you. A few other orks and trolls were scattered around the place, men and women, boys and girls alike.
Behind them all, a hulking man of a troll was presiding over the whole scene. He must have been 3 meters tall and at least 400 kilograms. Muscles bulging, he sat in his leather clothes as though he owned the place, with pride of his family showing in his expression. It was towards this one Sam steered you.

When you finally stood before him, you felt strength emanate from the man’s every pore. Even sitting, he felt like a dangerous predator, ready to be unleashed any minute. They locked eyes for a few seconds, and Sam was the first to talk. The air seemed to be a little bit tense. ”It’s good to see you again, Great Bear.”
“So, little Sammy comes back again. Heard you are doing well these days.”
“I don’t complain. I also don’t forget family, it’s good to be back among you all.”
“Welcome then!” The troll finally smiled, the tension broke. ”Grab a beer and a chair, and have fun!”
“First, I want to introduce someone to you. Great Bear, this is Jade, a very good friend of mine.”
The big troll looked at you apprehensively, taking in every detail.

[farothel]

Jade was used to this sort of scrutiny, having had lived through it multiple times before.  It was fun though to have Sam being called 'little Sammy' even though he was bigger than she was.  Of course, to the man aptly called Great Bear everybody must look little.
"Nice place you have here, sir," she said with a polite bow, something she still knew from her childhood in a Japanese family.  It couldn't hurt to be polite, especially since she was one of the smallest trolls around here and while she could defend herself, that wasn't the goal tonight.

[Ren]

—Miko—
The Great Bear’s eyes narrowed as he seemed to be taken a bit by surprise by your approach, then he let out a booming laugh. ”Ahahaha… ‘Sir’… I like this one. Haha…” When he finished laughing, he told Sam to grab a chair for you as well. ”Never have been called sir in my life before. Ever. So, sit down and talk, girl. I’d like to know more about you.” He chortled some, then in a booming voice, shouted for someone out of sight. ”Grace, get one of the bottles and join us. There’s an interesting one here.”

Sam arrived with the chairs and two beers and you saw him grinning, apparently pleased by the big troll’s reaction. Some of the others in the building looked your way, but they went on with whatever they were doing before as if nothing happened.

[farothel]

"I always found it a wise decision to be polite to people who can either break me in two, or order a whole bunch of people to do so," Jade said, "while I can defend myself, there are limits and a wise person knows his limits and adapts to them."

[Ren]

—Miko—
”That I find wise, too. But obviously ‘polite’ means different where you and me grew up.” The Great Bear took a swing, almost draining his beer bottle at once. ”And I constantly tell my boys and girls about those limits, but they rarely listen. Anyway, if you don’t try to cross them, you’ll never get better at anything. I say it’s worth to burn yourself once or twice to push the limits wider.”

Right at this moment, a good-looking troll woman came around a mobile wall, bringing a bottle in one hand and four glasses in the other. She was taller and more muscular than you, dressed in biker leathers and boots. She was still definitely feminine despite her attire: she wore a ring and a pair of delicate earrings, and a discreet whiff of perfume reached you as she arrived to the table. She wore her hair short, but somehow this just revealed her shapely skull and ears. Even her walking radiated a distinctively feminine charm.

When she put the bottle and the glasses down, the Great Bear introduced her. ”This is the Lady Grace, my right hand woman. I just get the feeling you two will get on well, she also uses those fancy polite words like you, sometimes.” He was still grinning when the woman boxed his shoulder, more or less playfully. ”Him and his big mouth” she said, also smiling, ”it will kill him sometime in the future. Just call me Grace, and we truly might get on well.”

[farothel]

"I'm Jade," she said, "I'm here with Sam.  I must say it's a strange location.  It's the first time I'm in a place like this."
She looked around another time.  Normally she went to clubs and things like that, but never to warehouses.  At least not for pleasure.

[Ren]

”It’s not the place I usually choose for recreation” Grace said, ”but Great Bear is right, this is a perfect scene if you want to accommodate all the family, and the friends, and some guests. And it cuts the costs, I say, as one of our… ‘benefactors’ was so very kind to provide us with the place for free.” You could feel the sarcasm in her voice in the last sentence. She opened the bottle while talking, and poured four generous glasses of the golden liquid inside. The smell of good whiskey reached you.
”So, let’s drink to our new friend, Jade” the Great Bear toasted. ”May cops never catch you!” Sam and Grace raised their glasses in unison with the big troll.

[farothel]

Jade raised her glass as well and tasted a little.
"Ooh, this is good stuff," she said, "I'll have to be careful with this, as I'm used to drinking beer.  Or sake."

[Ren]

”I was lucky to get my hands on a few bottles of this. Some say they still know how to make whiskey in the south.” From here on, talk went on about drinks for a few minutes, with Sam and the Great Bear going to lengths trying to convince the other if Ye Olde Southerner or Johnny Walker was the better brew. After that, Grace noticed someone, and told the Great Bear they had another guest they’d better talk to, and you were let go, to do as you wish, with promises of talking later.

[farothel]

Jade walked around a bit and got a beer, something she was much more familiar with.  She walked around and stopped at the sofas where a group of women was talking.  She was quite at ease in a group of women, having lived in group for a couple of years.  Quickly she was talking to them as if she knew them all her life.  Another thing she had from her past was the ability to talk to anybody like she knew him or her all her life.  Tips depended on that ability.

[Ren]

—Miko—
This was your ground. The women – most of them were more like girls – talked about clothes, movies, music, trivia: the usual topics. However, besides these, some unusual ones popped up: rival gangs, night bike-races, and of course, cursing cops. The last was done with a creativity and vehemence that spoke volumes about the relation these people had to the enforcers of the law: unfriendly, sometimes even hostile.
You also learned that the Crackerz’ area was practically neighboring that of the Orange Lightning, the local go-gang of your own neighborhood. The two were keeping an uneasy truce at the moment, trying to lessen the number of their active problems. It seemed the two gangs even let the occasional presence of other gang’s members on their turf slide, so each gang could enjoy the entertainment facilities the other one’s turf offered. And even though the other gang’s boss, Shrewd was an elf, even the orks and trolls spoke of him with a grudging respect.

Of course, groups were continuously mingling and changing, so you found yourself the center of attention of the young boys at one time. Their jokes and clumsy attempts at piquing your interest were something you had to deal with, and you felt that others were watching how you handled the situation.

[farothel]

It was to be expected and it wasn't the first time she had seen this.  In fact, they were probably not much younger than she was, but she had had a very different life which had given her a lot of experience.  Much more than these boys.  She was aware that some others were looking, and she thought it best to nip their aspirations in the bud before it got out of hand.
"Well boys," she said, "the attention is flattering, but I like my men a bit more experienced.  come back in five to ten years and we'll see again."

[Ren]

--Miko--

“- Hey, you know trolls grow up faster than usual,” one of the bolder boys, an ever-grinning troll, countered. “Make it five to ten days, and we have a deal.”
“- Fifty years wouldn’t be enough for you to grow up, Marl,” one of the women shot back, and laughter rolled around the group.
“- You’re just jealous I’m not talking to you, Jenna. So, Jade, when do you have a free evening next week? C’mon, you’ll have a great time!”

[farothel]

"Physically you might be right," Jade said, "but talking about mentally, Jenna here is right, although in my experience it's not just you, but all boys.  And I want people I go out to challange me on an intellectual level as well."

[Ren]

Marl was at a loss for words for a moment there, but he recovered quickly. “- If you want intellectual challenges, why chose Sam then? He isn’t…” A big shadow appeared at his shoulder. Sam was behind him, grinning wildly and interjecting.
“- Go on, Marl, I’m really curious about how that goes.” You could see the playful glint in his eyes, he didn’t really think of this seriously, he was just messing around with the kid. But Marl didn’t notice that and he gulped before going on.
“- I was just saying that… the Great Bear is obviously smarter than us all. Don’t you agree?”
“- Nice save, kid.” Sam gave him a pat on the back, with a booming laugh. Even Marl joined the others, although his laugh had a somewhat nervous edge to it.

The rest of the evening went on without any incidents. The Crackerz seemed to accept you, not only as someone who came with Sam, but as yourself. You knew that you would be welcome back any time.