[Nos Astra, Illium] BattleMasterChef (closed)

Daia watched the two chefs work with interest. She was by no means a disaster in the kitchen herself, but her talents topped out at 'good enough', with a handful of dishes she could manage with a little extra flair when she cooked for company, and she found it quite enjoyable to watch genuine artisans at work.

"Mm," she said quietly, with a sympathetic nod. "It's never easy being apart, but fortune doesn't always move in the most convenient ways. I'd be glad to help - and as grace would have it," she went on, more brightly, "female humans have quite a selection when it comes to clothes shopping on asari worlds. Our fashion or yours, either way - Terran styles are quite popular. I can think of a number of outlets that'd definitely be worth your time while you're here."

"I suppose I'm lucky, then." The woman dumped the batter out into a pan and arranged dekats on the first layer, then dumped out the remaining batter over that. This went into an oven. She turned and crossed her arms. "Four months. I'm sure there's clothing stores around here- But buying her gifts isn't going to solve the issues we're facing. So it's back to therapy when I get back."

She pressed her hands against her face and exhaled.

"Sarah mentioned you were working with a counsellor together," Daia said softly. She moved unobtrusively around to the woman's other side, between her and the front counter - the cafe was fairly open-plan, with little in the way of seclusion, but she felt perhaps the slight sense of privacy she could offer might be welcome.

"If I'm being too presumptuous," she offered, "give me a whack on the back of the head... I know I'm on short acquaintance. With both of you. But, if you need someone to talk to while you're here - any time - it's no trouble at all.

"Higher up on the back of the head preferred," she added, her slight grin returning. "We're more sensitive lower down, beneath the crest."

"Thank you, but.. I'm not sure I know you well enough. I'm just venting, it's been something I'm trying not to think about."
The chef wiped the counter clean and threw the dishrag into a sink, then turned to the Asari. She then turned to the Krogan.
"Do you have any wine? I could use a glass."

"Okay," Daia nodded, letting the topic drop gracefully. Chris was right, of course - sometimes a friendly stranger could be a benefit, but that tended to depend heavily on circumstances, and pushing now could only make things more awkward.

"Well," Kaga mused, "I'm partial to Old Maggra Valley while I'm working, but that's krogan wine, and it's bad for business to send guests to the hospital. Jindan? What's today's bottle?"

"Honey Fields 2071," the asari working the front counter replied. "Two?" she added, glancing at Daia.

"Thank you."

"Well then," Kaga grinned, as Chris and Daia were handed glasses of a pale pink wine, and he himself hefted a mug of something dark red that fizzed slightly, "here's to getting our hands dirty in the kitchen. May they never invent a mech that can replace us!"

Chris took a sip of her wine, then glanced at a beeping panel of light near her wrist- A scrawling message from Sarah on her omnitool. "You wouldn't believe this. She's saying she wants to take medical leave for the baby- But we're still four months out, and if she's gone for that long-" She set the glass down and turned her attention to the cake. "I don't think that's a very good idea. What about you two? She works in the military, gets a year off." She rubbed her chin in thought.

"I'm, not sure I follow," Daia admitted, with a slight hesitation. "What that would entail, I mean - if she began her leave now?" She shook her head, and managed a wry grin. "Parenting, in any aspect, isn't really my forte. They say frequent melding accelerates the shift to Matron, but in my case, not yet..."

"Or you'd be a Matriarch by now," Kaga cheerfully put in, before sobering somewhat, and offering Chris a sympathetic look. "For what it's worth, having a kid is a good idea. Every other decision you make until the whelp's old enough to take down a klixen by herself, that's just tryin' to survive the chaos." He snorted, then blinked as if remembering something. "Uh, maybe not the klixen thing, in your case."

"...That's the sharpest barb I've heard in weeks." Chris turned to the Krogan, covering her mouth to hide her involuntary grin. She turned to Daia, apologetically adding; "If she goes on leave now, I fear she'll never leave Illium." She shrugged. "Or she's going to bug you-"

A sharp ding from the oven. Chris donned thermal gloves, pulled the door open, and removed the cake pan, setting it on the top of the oven. She'd spread icing over the top after a moment, setting it aside. "Okay, this shouldn't poison and kill us."

"I got my moments," Kaga rumbled, winking at Daia.

Both peered at the cake, Kaga nodding after running a critical eye over it, Daia with less comprehension of the process, but equally interested in the result.

"Good enough endorsement for me," she smiled. She glanced at Chris over the top of the cake. "I got the impression you two were pretty much settled on the Citadel?"

"We are, but it's nice to get away from time to time. I should have expected her to come along eventually."

"I can see why she'd want to," Daia noted with a smile. "And you know - I don't want to try to tempt you both into settling down here longer than intended - but I would like to meet her, properly, as well. Long-range communication just isn't the same." She paused, then chuckled to herself. "At least she can see I do own real clothes - when she called that time, I was in a costume, it was kind of ridiculous."

Kaga, unnoticed, gave Daia's dress an up-and-down look, and had a slightly disbelieving chuckle of his own.

"She'd mentioned she saw a Justiciar before in less-than-friendly circumstances; seeing you in costume made her understandably nervous, given the whole ..history she has." She took a handle from the countertop, activated the blade, and cut a piece of the cake for the krogan. It was a significantly large chunk of cake.

"Here you go!"

"Received with thanks," Kaga intoned, rather formal-sounding, as he accepted the piece of cake. He waited politely until Chris had handed Daia a slice and taken one for herself, then raised his plate, tilted his head back, and swallowed the entire piece into his sizeable mouth in one bite.

"Mm," he rumbled as he chewed thoughtfully, eyes keenly narrowed. "Hm. Hrm. Mrh..."

"Oh stop showing off," Daia chided him playfully. "You're not judging an episode of Champion Chef here."

"Everyone's a critic," the krogan chuckled, after an audible gulp. "Human, that's good eating, it is. You got a good hand for dekkat. When you get back home, you tell 'em a real Tuchanka man said so."

"Thank you." She took a polite bow. "..I'm worried about the business meetings I have to go to tomorrow. Not too sure about media dealings." She shrugged, finishing off her wine. "I just can't shake this damned stress off my shoulders." She paced, crossing her arms across her chest. "Everything's too bright, everything's moving too quickly."

"Illium has that effect," Daia agreed. "There are quiet spots - everyone needs them, from time to time - but they don't advertise themselves much, compared to the big lights."

"It's handy, being krogan," Kaga noted. "Any time you want a moment, you just look like you want to be left alone. Not a lot of people willing to push the issue, then."

"Is there anything in particular you're worried about, with the meetings?" Daia asked. "I can recommend some people, if you'd like a local to double-check the agreements, that sort of thing. It wouldn't upset the people you're dealing with, it's very common here."

"Yes, please. That would be great. I've gone from business of one sort to a complete change and it's just turned everything upside down. Thank you for the assistance." She activated her omnitool, sending a message to her assistant. She read another series of texts and rubbed a hand down her face.

"Happy to help," Daia replied, quickly opening her omni-tool to share data with Chris. "That's the firm I use, any time I need advice on a matter of business - they're small, but haven't steered me wrong yet." She gave a smile she hoped was reassuring. "The corporate types here like to behave like every meeting's a matter of life and death, but you'll get the hang of it, I'm sure."

"My assistant is dragging me away, I can't have a damned moment to myself." She held up an alert panel from her omnitool. "I'm sorry to cut this meeting so short, I want to meet you again soon, Kaga;" She shook his hand with both of her own. "You're always welcome at my restaurant. The same can be said for you, Daia. My contact information will be sent to you both."

"I'm sorry." She clasped her hands together nervously and glanced between the two. She then left brisky, yelling into a headset at her assistant. Another beep on her ear came from Sarah, whom Chris began to greet as she closed the door behind her.