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Post by Kasespaetzle on Dec 4, 2011 2:35:00 GMT -5
It felt good to be on Omega again.
Oh, it was definitely a horrible pisshole of a place, sure. The whole being-full-of-criminals thing, with the murder and the stealing and the mugging and whatnot. Plus the way the air kind of had that permanent.. fog to it, that was likely made of cigarette smoke, gun smoke, plague fog and misery, and was probably going to give everyone cancer. Or the plague.
As she took a drag from her cigarette, Neralya smiled.
The first two things weren't so bad, at least.
The young turian had her fair dosage of gun smoke the past week, but was denied her precious smokes for most of it. Apparently most of the businesses on Illium, and the client she was guarding frowned upon it, deeming it foul-smelling and unprofessional. Clearly it was perfectly professional to harass and practically crawl all over your body guard, though.
Neralya's mandibles pushed briefly and tightly against her face in the turian equivalent of a frown. Why she dealt with that woman, let alone had her as a regular was beyond he- Oh wait, money, right. Still, it was annoying. It would have been perhaps a little better if her client wasn't old enough to be her ancestor's grandmother, or was less... creepy. Neralya shuddered at the thought of her, and promptly ordered another drink from the bartender with a nod.
Yes, it felt very good to be on Omega again.
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chupi
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Post by chupi on Dec 4, 2011 5:49:37 GMT -5
Most people didn't seem to care for Omega... But it fascinated Dasim. A functioning anarchy state with such a diverse populace. So he always liked when jobs brought him here.
Thing is, he didn't like staying too long. There was too much to see and do elsewhere. And now he'd finished his latest job early and was stuck waiting for pickup. He didn't have his own ship, and the vessel that had dropped him here wasn't scheduled to return for another five days.
He certainly didn't look very much like he belonged here. Covered from neck to toe in clean, well polished white plated armor over thick, bright pink padding. Even his guns looking clean and shining. But one thing did look appropriate, a rather ragged, duffle bag-like parcel slung over his shoulder with some sort of solid cylinder holding its shape.
Heading in to the bar, he took his seat and gave a quick but jerky scan of exactly what was on tap before making his order and sitting down. He tapped his finger against the glass in a consistent, rhythmic motion like it was following the tics of some invisible metronome. And as he did so, his eyes darted between the blue liquid inside, and the matching feathers dangling on the side of a certain turian's head.
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Post by Kasespaetzle on Dec 4, 2011 6:22:20 GMT -5
It didn't take long for Neralya to down the new drink she had, nor did it take long to order the next one, but this time, she let the new drink sit. The previous two hadn't erased the uncomfortable memories, and a rare moment of responsible logic told her that the third one wouldn't, either. Disappointing.
To pass the time, the turian took the time to more thoroughly observe her surroundings. She was hoping she'd see someone attractive, to either ogle or flirt with, or maybe just someone to harass. Or both. That was always fun.
What she saw instead was a salarian in some rather embarrassing armor staring at her. Or something on her. She always found it somewhat hard to tell with salarians, what with their giant pupils and all. They always tended to look like they were staring at everything at once. This particular salarian seemed no different, and in fact seemed a little worse than normal. It didn't help that he kept fidgeting. It was extremely creepy, and was starting to get really annoying, very quickly.
There was no irritation in her voice as Neralya spoke to him, however. Instead, she propped her head up with one of her hands leaning on the counter top, and made vague gestures with the other, staring right at the man. Her mandibles moved slightly outwards in a smile as amusement creeped into her tone.
"Look, I know I'm so amazingly attractive that you can't take your eyes away. I can understand, really. It happens to me all the time. But you should probably stop staring. People might think you're retarded."
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chupi
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Post by chupi on Dec 4, 2011 12:51:22 GMT -5
"Retarded? Hm," the salarian shrugged. "Some already do." He took this opportunity, though, to just be open about his thoughts as he used his free hand to point to the feathers. "But no. It's interesting, just taking note of these. don't see many turians take on that kind of decorative flair. More of a human thing, or maybe batarian or vorcha."
He squinted before continuing, leaning to get a better look. "Ah, no markings either. Clanless. Probably explains it. Raised with exposure to different kinds of aesthetics, from around here maybe? Pity, Omega is a nice place to visit, but I can't imagine a childhood here being very safe or fulfilling."
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Post by Kasespaetzle on Dec 4, 2011 13:35:51 GMT -5
Despite herself, Neralya let her amused tone slip out into a very loud but quickly clipped laugh. Whatever reaction she was expecting, it certainly wasn't that.
"Ha, wow. For some reason, I can't say the surprises me."
The turian's amused expression was momentarily replaced by irritation as the strange salarian started to point and then get uncomfortably close to her face, citing it's lack of markings and then making an almost eerily accurate guess about her origins all in the span of a few sentences. It made her feel oddly exposed.
The amused tone in her voice hadn't disappeared, but now it had a slight edge to it as she finally sat up straight, her mandibles spread in a smile, but her eyes clearly glaring despite herself.
"Well, aren't you observant? Really, I'm amazed. A little suggestion, though: Keep your hands and yourself away from my face. I don't know what it's like where you come from, but here that's an awfully quick way to end up with broken fingers."
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chupi
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Post by chupi on Dec 4, 2011 13:57:32 GMT -5
Dasim gave an acknowledging sort of jerk of his head before taking his hand back away. "Noted, my apologies." He finally downed his glass before motioning for another drink, but he didn't quite turn his attention away from the turian just yet.
"Now there's more to figure out." He arched a brow, blinking. "Very aggressive behavior. Very alpha-like. More guesses, some sort of leader? Or perhaps you're simply used to hardships of Omega, and have become aggressively defensive." He rolled his wrist while holding his glass in a sort of 'come on' motion. "Any time you feel like building on these assessments, or telling me I'm wrong."
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Post by Kasespaetzle on Dec 4, 2011 14:11:12 GMT -5
Neralya's irritation was now quickly replaced by befuddlement. Of all the weirdos and misfits on Omega, she had to be sitting next to this guy? She tilted her head to the right now, her voice finally losing some of it's perpetually amused tone. She looked very serious, even.
"... What is wrong with you?"
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chupi
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Post by chupi on Dec 4, 2011 14:32:15 GMT -5
"Many things, I'm told." He calmly sipped at his drink. "Experience has said otherwise, however. Nothing's wrong with me, just think a little differently than most. If anything, it's been beneficial."
"If I thought like my peers, I would have quietly drank and avoided eye contact. Wouldn't have noticed all these potential dangers around this bar, might have tried not to. Instead, I'm talking to you. Much more interesting this way."
And there was that. Dasim took a breath and tried to hold back more. Too much was going through his head at any given moment, so much to say so little time- and yet, when dealing with other species and even many fellow salarians it was so important to give these long breaks to let them process, to respond. He'd been quiet for a whole three seconds now, unbelievable!
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Post by Kasespaetzle on Dec 4, 2011 15:07:16 GMT -5
Neralya absently reached into her pack for another cigarette, the other one having run out far too long ago for her tastes. She lit it, continuing to eye the salarian as she inhaled, then exhaled, propping an elbow back on the counter and turning her visual attentions elsewhere.
"So, I'm interesting, am I? Fair enough."
She sat up straight again, taking another drag from her cigarette, not really caring where the exhaled contents went. It was a bar, everything and everyone is going to smell like smoke anyway. Neralya was beginning to wonder why she was sitting here wasting her night talking to this strange person, when she could be dancing with some cute asari. When she shifted in her seat and felt the resulting soreness, and she remembered. She was fucking exhausted. Right.
A thought occurred to her, then, and she couldn't help but grin, her normal nonchalant attitude returning. Well, no use letting the night go entirely to waste. If she was stuck talking to some weirdo, may as well make the most of it. Turning to face the salarian again, her feral grin turned a little more demure.
"You know, your guesses were pretty accurate, earlier. You were right. I grew up here. The feathers? Given to me by a vorcha. I spent my younger days with them a lot, actually." Her smile grew again, as if she were remembering fond childhood memories. Technically, she was, but not any that were related at all to what she just said.
She took another drag from her cigarette, gauging the salarian's response to see if she should elaborate. She certainly hoped she would get to.
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chupi
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Post by chupi on Dec 4, 2011 15:18:23 GMT -5
"Hm? Vorcha, raising a non-vorcha? Intriguing..." He took another sip of his drink. "Please, go on. How did they take care of a turian child? What about food?" At least for now, Dasim seemed rather oblivious to the fact Neralya was messing with him.
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Post by Kasespaetzle on Dec 4, 2011 15:34:06 GMT -5
With a great deal of effort, Neralya stopped herself from dissolving into a fit of laughter. The slight twitch of her mandibles may have given her amusement away to a more observant turian, but with an alien, she figured, or at least hoped she'd still kept the facade. She had to remain a somewhat serious. At least for a little while.
"It wasn't easy. I came into their care -if you could call it that- when I was at least old enough to read. I mostly took care of myself when it came to those needs. Stealing, using my child status to garner the occasional sympathy from people- this may be Omega, but even amongst the scum here there were still some that would have some small bit of kindness for a young child."
Neralya finally put her remaining cigarette out in a nearby tray, and paid attention to her drink once again.
"Mostly their little nest was just a place for me to sleep at night. I'm not sure why they didn't mind. They came to care about me, even. I think. It's rather hard to tell with vorcha."
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chupi
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Post by chupi on Dec 4, 2011 15:42:55 GMT -5
"Fascinating..." Dasim came to rub his chin before finishing off his drink. "These vorcha simply accepted you? How unusual... Where did they live? And surely having spent so much time with them, you must have come to better understand their moods and behaviors."
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Post by Kasespaetzle on Dec 4, 2011 15:58:26 GMT -5
It was getting increasingly difficult to keep a straight face, but somehow, Neralya managed. All of her next words were very serious, spoken in a very somber tone, even.
"Yeah, I don't really understand it either, but that's how it was. They lived in one of... well, one of the more run down parts of Omega." She laughed. "Which, I know, hard to imagine on Omega. I used to visit them, occasionally, but I stopped doing that now. All the vorcha that are there now are different. Short lives and all."
Neralya swiveled her drink in her hand, looking down at the contents as if in deep thought. She had to keep up the act, at least for a little bit longer. This shit was far too amusing.
"And... it's kind of embarrassing to talk about, but I did kind of pick some things up from them. Thankfully, I've interacted enough with the rest of Omega to have somewhat normal social skills, as you've seen, but..."
She trailed off again, seemingly off thinking again, but actually just trying to keep her composure. Keep a straight face, keep a straight face. Keep that straight fucking face.
"Sometimes, when I get really upset, I'll slip into their language and start yelling at everything. That happens a lot during sex, actually. It's really embarrassing, but I can't help it."
Neralya, at this point, looked Dasim right in the eye, tone still very serious. Her mandibles were quivering like crazy at this point. She was close to breaking, but hopefully this would be interpreted just as being choked up, full of conflicting emotion. Her tone was still serious, her expression otherwise, still very serious.
"And sometimes, I still shit on the floor."
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chupi
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Post by chupi on Dec 4, 2011 16:16:36 GMT -5
Dasim seemed to be hanging on every word, watching intently as his eyes darted at her moving mandibles and the occasional passerby. He was completely unblinking, and there was no twitch of his mouth, there was no change in his tone... He just came to rest his elbows on the bar and his chin on his hands before saying "that must get awkward when you're with your sexual partners. I know turians like sex, but the smell... Unpleasant, must kill the mood."
He gave her a light pat on the shoulder. "Hard, hard lives on Omega."
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Post by Kasespaetzle on Dec 4, 2011 16:32:37 GMT -5
It was at that point in the conversation that Neralya promptly broke.
Her composure completely lost, the turian could do nothing but burst into a laughter so hard it no longer made a sound. She practically doubled over, trying to cover up her reaction in vain.
Then, she snorted. Game over, she was done.
Between gasps for breath and horribly embarrassing snorts, Neralya managed to utter out something that almost resembled speech.
"Fuck. Fuck, I am done. I can't. I can't, you win, guy. You win. I can't ev- I'm done. I am fucking done."
Covering her mouth as if that would somehow regain her dignity, the turian gathered herself up best she could, and decided now would be the best time to head back home. When she finally managed to compose herself somewhat, that's what she did. She hadn't finished her drink, but she didn't care. She was heading out. She was done. Fucking done.
And then she was gone.
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