[Citadel/Nimbus] A Party On The Rocks (closed)

"Just so long as nobody gave the doctor more spices to put in the soup," Rahi joked without thinking, then flushed purple inside her helmet at the realisation that that had been out loud. Ridiculously she checked her comms, ensuring the all-team channel hadn't mysteriously opened itself and broadcast that further than Freh'ya; no, good. She shot the commando an embarrassed half-grin, accepted her hand up, and followed her back to the tent. She took a moment to unload herself of her weapons, pack, and the drone hangar module - everything but her sidearm - leaving them neatly stacked beside the tent, out of the wind and snowdrift. It would be cramped enough in there with her in her suit as it was.

"Coming in," she announced herself, giving those inside a moment to clear the space around the entry cover, before opening it and awkwardly making her way inside. It was cramped - these tents weren't exactly spacious for two, let alone three, plus her suit and the others' heavy winter clothes. She sealed the cover behind her as quickly as she could, and curled up, sitting with her knees up and arms folded over them, to try not to take up any more room than necessary while she was here. She wondered if it might have been better to just stick her head in from outside, but she remembered her instructors had been firm on that point: never ever leave a shelter open longer than it takes to get inside and close it.

"Hi," she said, ducking her head to keep her helmet from pressing against the top. "Sorry, I'll be out of your scalps in a moment. Um. Our perimeter's up, outside, nothing worrying that we've picked up." Of course if there had been, they would have mentioned it already, but after the day's events it probably didn't hurt to hear an all's-well report, even a superfluous one. "How's dinner coming? Did you find the vacuum flasks, they'd have been with the stove?" She nodded towards the entry. "We'll eat outside, easier all round that way."

Freh'ya couldn't help but laugh at that remark about the spices. The silent understanding about doctor Temria's kitchen arts was universal. Little did she know that Arina had salvaged the remains!

She looked around but there just was no comfortable spot. She sat down, resting her back against the boulder giving them wind protection. Pulling her close, she had perfect view over the ridgeline and the stay sky above it. The small Tent was bit offset to her left, she observed Rahi's entry and now she suddenly very alone. Looking upwards she had this strange feeling to only be a small puppet on cosmic strings. These were time to think about your life and the universe in general...

The grumbling stomach interrupted her and she turned up the heating unit of her suit one notch. Sitting still was not helping... This was going to be a long night.

Temria nodded, having laid out the four containers vertically in front of them, clean and uncapped. She'd hold each out for Arina in turn to fill, whilst privately reluctant to want to take them outside after finally finding a modicum of comfort again.

"What's our plan for shifts tonight?" She said guardedly as she handed one of the canisters to Rahi. "We're deliberating which painkiller to give Arina and I'd like an idea of the timetable. If you need a third to stand watch I'm able and willing."

Arina was pulling her legs close as Rahi entered the tent. A gush of cold air followed her and made the diplomat painfully aware of the condition outside.

At least one had to stay outside at all times and she gritted her teeth. It was her fault with that stupid tent and she had to take the consequences. When she reached for the container in Rahi's hand, she could also feel the cold of the pilot's suit.
"Rahi, you can stay inside for now, I have warmed up enough. I'll bring the soup to Freh'ya." She looked at Temria.
"I'll take second watch, you don't have to go outside with that arm. The cold air sure will help with my head." She didn't even wait for a reply and maneuvered herself out the tent.

The cold came as shock with a thousand cutting knives, although the suit was heating again. She blinked to see something in the utter darkness which wasn't easy but eventually she saw the orange flicker of Freh'ya's omnitool. When she came closer, she could see that around the boots of the commando the wind already had accumulated some snow. It looked terrible.

The diplomat sat down, huddling up to the huntress and handed her the large isolated cup with the lid.
"I've brought you soup, drink while it's hot." Looking back at the tent she added: "I've given them room to get in some sleep maybe. I hope you don't mind the company?"
Under other circumstances the cuddling in that small crevice of the big boulder might have been awkward but as it was, the horror of a freezing night out on Trategos wiped everything else out. Arina realized she was actually happy not be able to see the beacon from their spot.

"Oh! Uh..." Rahi hesitated, surprised at Arina's offer. She hadn't put the diplomat down as a lightweight who would expect the huntresses do all the work, but it would have been natural enough for her to spell Freh'ya on watch, and let the two civilians rest all through the night. A full container was being pressed back into her hands, and Arina was half-way out of the tent, before she entirely gathered her wits.

"Um, thank you!" she called after the form scrambling through the tent opening. "Keep your heater up! We've got plenty of power packs..." Strictly speaking they didn't have enough to consider them expendable, but if Arina was insistent on standing a watch, better she not worsen her condition in the process. Rahi patted the sealed cover by reflex, then relaxed her body - just a little, mindful of how much room she was leaving the doctor - and took off her helmet, ruffling the back of her scalp in the process. It was sized to fit, but she was one of those asari who felt a notable unease at her scalp being cooped up.

"I-is she feeling better?" she asked the doctor quietly after a moment. "Her head, I mean." She huffed out a breath, enjoying the slight warmth - by comparison to outside, anyway - of the air inside the tent. "It's not been an easy day for her. Either of you," she added, wincing as she caught sight of Temria's arm. "How are you feeling? It won't interfere with your rest, will it?"

Freh'ya followed the figure stumbling towards her in the dark. It didn't surprise her to recognize Arina and she cuckled under her hood. When the smaller and thinner asari cuddled up to her, she tried to provide a comfortable backrest.

"Thank you" she said and took the soup. Without further reply, she got to the important part of eventually eating soemthing substantial and warm. The lid on the cup had a small opening that could be opened and closed to preserve the heat inside. She had to roll down the face mark and the cold hurt her cheeks and lips. Soon, most of the feeling was gone from her lips and she had to pay attention not to spill the soup. Although the container was isolated, it did cool rapidly so she drank the salty, gooy stuff in large gulps. Eventually her stomach got something to work on and she felt better in an instant. When she had finished the meal she put the cup down into the snow beside her and rolled the facemask back up. It would be a while

"I knew you'd come, Arina," she eventually broke the silence. moving her cheeks helped against the numb feeling. "Don't feel guilty bout the tent and don't think you have to 'make up for it' by staying outside all night, since that won't happen. You'll go get Rahi in a couple of hours - if she's clever, she tries to get a nap."

Freh'ya switched her position, turning sideways so she could wrap her arms around Arina who was positioned between her legs and against her breast. She checked her omnitool again, nothing else than temperature readings from the drones. The tool would set off an alarm the moment one of the drones would pick up anything. She could meditate in almost any position and she would have to to make it through the night, shutting out the freezing cold biting through the heated suit and the uncomfortable position... her mind traveled to Nevos, white beaches and a warm surf, a gentle breeze on her skin...

Temria let out a bemused sigh as Arina climbed her way up and out of the tent with such excitement. At the very least, she could rule out the night formula now... With a shrug, she turned to take a sip of the soup that had been portioned out for her, trying her best to find something to appreciate about the flavour, but at least the heat was welcome.

"It's... difficult to say..." she replied at last with a weary smile, showing no such concerns for Rahi's personal space as she arched her back and tried to get more comfortable (if she had to prop her legs up on top of the pilot's so be it). "She's got a good tough skull, that one. Everything I can detect to the extent of this equipment's capabilities tells me the damage lies entirely on the outside, fortunate for her. Honestly it's a miracle we didn't come out of it worse than we are."

"What... this? It's nothing." When the conversation turned to her own injuries she almost seemed surprised, flexing her fingers extended just past the brace enough for Rahilan to see clearly, "Don't worry about me, I'm not quite a Matriarch yet." she laughed despite herself, though the way she rolled her shoulders and her voice softened revealed how tired she was. She'd clearly have no problem being the first to fall asleep tonight.

She let the quiet drag a bit, not out of awkwardness or hesitation, indeed it was contemplative, warm and content. They'd earned this small modicum of comfort against the icy wilderness and in comparison to what lie out there Temria felt more pampered here than anywhere she'd been, the thought brought a smile to her face and pulled her back from the encroaching unconciousness, long enough at least to look at Rahi and nod solemnly.

"I'm sorry for before... I put you in a tough spot."

She was seeing right through Arina, wasn't she? The diplomat said nothing and concentrated on the throbbing in her head for a bit. The change in temperature had a positive effect so far... she needed some rest herself.

When Freh'ya repositioned, her headrest felt very comfortable all of a sudden.

There was a turian all of a sudden, his head resting in deep and pure white snow.... Now, that was a pillow... a blinking green light on a long mast, right in the middle of the Citadel Presiduim... The huge pot with mushroom soup was steaming and small bubble burst... a Matron was scolding young maidens because they weren't serving hot soup fast enough for Arina...

Then Freh'ya woke her up.

"Mm," Rahi agreed, thinking back to the crash. "Thanks to you, your stasis. Should have had everyone strapped in for the approach, but... um. Hindsight." She shook her head lightly, doing her best to seem like she had put her lapse in preparation behind her, and even managed a wry chuckle. "Would have been an embarrassing way to go out. Survive epic chaotic constructs from the dawn of time, catch a missile from some two-a-credit pirate."

She shook her head again, then nodded as Temria explained the extent - apparent extent - of Arina's injuries. That was a positive. And inexperienced in battle or not, a doctor was worth her weight in eezo. Rahi had seen that first hand often enough. On that thought she let the silence settle over them, shifting slightly to accomodate Temria's legs, which were no great inconvenience with her suit on, and consuming her soup.

"Uh? Oh," she said, roused by the apology. "You mean the jump? Water downstream," she dismissed the episode with a gentle wave. "Athame knows I did the same often enough when I was in training, everyone did. Ain't nobody lands good on her feet that ha'n't landed every other way first, that's what our instructor used to say."

Temria rolled her head back and laughed, catching it in her throat with some effort until she'd subdued it into a throaty chuckle, her hand over her mouth. Time and exertion had lent the memory of the tumble an amusing accent, and imagining Rahi's shocked expression as she did the same somehow seemed funnier than it being herself.

"Oh..." she sighed, leaning forward and setting down the empty container next to the deactivated cooking apparatus, before edging back a bit and reclining as best she could in the cramped space. "You're too cute, Rahi. Too cute for your own good." she grinned again, but it was warm, friendly.

"I think... I think I'm about ready to go home." she shrugged at that, wearily. "... or at least I'll settle for a nice warm bed..."

She shifted position again, curling up a bit as she lay herself down on her side, "You should get some sleep, you have a shift soon, right? I should warn you, I can be a bit clingy when I sleep... go ahead and wake me if you have to when your shift comes, ok?"

"Um, thank you..." Rahi said hesitantly, blushing a little at 'too cute'. "Yes. Uh yes, shift soon - not soon soon; when it's time. We should sleep, yes. I'll try not to wake you." She tucked her empty 'dinner' container out of the way and lay down properly, placing her helmet and sidearm carefully where they wouldn't be disturbed, but within easy reach at a moment's notice. Hers of the tent's two unassuming memory-form pillows was looking very inviting.

She waited a moment in the silence that followed, listening to Temria's breathing, them murmured under her voice, too quietly to disturb the doctor: "Healer and seer, hear my thanks for your shield's aegis this day. Grant me your sword's edge against any the night winds bring."

That done she closed her eyes and put their situation out of her mind as best she could, until it was time to wake.

Time was passing and yet didn't mean anything. The meditation of the huntress was aware and away at the same time. Mastering the separation of the conscious mind from the subconscious instincts and reflexes took a century to master if the disciple began exercising at a young age. So when the Omnitool sent a soft vibration up Freh'ya's arm, she eventually got up from her beach towel and turned away from the sea, back into the ice and darkness of a Trategos night.

She switched off the alarm and noticed the alarming pile off powdery snow that had accumulated at their side, covering her side and propped leg, which had been shielding Arina from the snow. Moving made her realize how much her back hurt but at least it was taking away from the cold that was biting her face. The damn mask was insufficient. She slightly shook Arina, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"Hey, Arina.... wakey wake. You've earned yourself a soft spot in the tent for the rest of the night." She noticed a sight movement and some chunter she couldn't understand. She poked Arina again and eventually her face looked up at the commando. pure reflex since it was way too dark to see anything.

"C'mon, up we go." Slowly but without hesitation, Freh'ya rose, helping Arina up along. she could feel the bones in her back cracking literally. She stretched and brushed off the snow from both their suits.

"I need to move, I'll accompany you to the tent." she activated her Omnitool and saw that one drone had reached a critical energy level. Rahi would have to replace it. Slowly they made their way to the tent.

......

.........

"hrmmmmmm....."

Arina drifted back into reality, blushing as she noticed she had been snuggling and rubbing against the chest of a stranger. She looked upwards but of course could see nothing in the dark. The cushioned coat of Freh'ya's suit had been so comfortable! Come to think of it, the commando actually had pretty small breasts for her size so probably... she yawned and neither that nor the blush could be seen.

"'Kay, 'kay" she replied sleepily when Freh helped her get up. The snow was so cold it was almost like little ice crystals, not sticky. a little bit of shaking was enough to get rid of it. But the cold had been creeping into her suit. The heating unit was doing it's job but were she bent her legs or arms or at certain folds there was always some kind of leak. She felt uncomfortable and her butt hurt from the hard stone she had been sitting on. Her first steps were a bit clumsy.

But she could soon lay down, trade places with Rahi in the tent. That small thing looked dark now, a bit of snow had accumulated on one side where it was facing the wind. Over her head, where the big boulder wasn't giving wind protection, small clouds of snow were whirling and flying by, reflecting the starlight. It was beautiful in a strange way, Arina thought.

"I hope you could also get some rest with me... there. I could nap, thank you, I needed that." She just now realized that her head hurt much less now. She put a hand on the tall huntress' arm and squeezed a bit.

Then she lowered to her knees and unzipped the tent entry, just wide enough to get a look and poke her upper body in. She activated her omnitool and the orange glow illuminated the cuddling doctor and the pilot... It looked almost cute how they obviously had found the other in search for warmth, Temria's broken arm comfortably draped over Rahi. Arina started poking Rahi, then gently rocking the pilot's arm.

"Hey, Rahi... Rahi... It's your turn... I'm sorry, can we trade places please? My butt if falling off..."

Eventually there was some motion and Arina retreated a bit to give the pilot some space. She hoped she did not wake up the doctor

Temria moved forward cautiously, each step a perilous calculation as her feet struggled to find purchase on the steadily narrowing land beneath her.

Straights were not always so dire, she remembered wistfully... Though setting out had seemed a trial with every step theatening to throw her off balance as shift in balance sent bubbles up through her mind and played tricks with her perception, it was but a paltry handicap to what she felt now.

So long ago she had set out, dizzy and disoriented, across boundless plain, ever weary, ever aware that the path ahead would grow narrower and narrower the further along she went. And how, millions of years hence, that imperceptible loss of ground was keenly felt, her path narrowed such that it was little more than a filament over a vast nothingness, she was still tired, still dizzy, and she still had millions of years to go.

The skies above her roiled and thundered, clouds swirling overhead with impossible quickness. A gale picked up, a mighty thing that caught and flung Temria-no, other Temria's aspects of herself with inpercievable differences, down into the abyss below, but she... she would hold...

Temria winced and murmured, the bitter cold breeze flowing through the heated tent and drawing stinging trails across her exposed face and fingers like ethereal nails clawing at her. Groaning, she tightened her vice-grip on the warm semi-defined something she snuggled up to, not remotely conscious enough to perceive it as another asari, let alone one with needs and duties beyond keeping her warm and comfortable as she drifts off again into the realm of dreams.

"...wstfgl... wass fall off...?" Rahi's hand slid in a quick, stealthy motion to the grip of her pistol, but she was awake before her thumb had deactivated the safety. She lifted her head and took stock of her surroundings.

"Arina... 'kay. Um yes. Right... just let me... figure out how..." Temria had quite a hold on her, she discovered. It didn't bother her; she had been through plenty of survival courses in training (more than plenty, for a huntress already leaning towards the cockpit over solid ground as her preferred environment), and any unease she might have felt at sleeping in the tight embrace of someone who may be no more than a professional colleague had been fast dispelled by the likely result of not doing so in freezing conditions. This did present something of a problem, though.

"Give me one second, I think this'll need a little room..." she whispered, waving at Arina to back out and close the tent again for a moment. Her suit was designed with the possibility of close combat in mind, avoiding hand-holds an enemy might be able to grab and use, but even so it was a good five minutes of stealthy squirming, wriggling, and carefully sliding downwards while curling her legs up beneath her that let her extricate herself from Temria's grasp. She took special care not to jostle the wounded arm - probably the only mercy of the injury was that it kept the doctor from getting a proper slumbering death-grip right around her.

She took another moment to quickly eat a protein bar from the tent's supply - a far cry from the hot meal earlier, but better than nothing with a long night watch ahead - then sealed her helmet back on, gathered up her weapon, and quickly exited the tent, gesturing for Arina to take her place without delay.

"She's still asleep, I think," she said in passing. "At least you won't want for warmth. Rest well." She sealed the tent up again once the diplomat was inside, then made a quick inspection of her pack and the gear she had left outside before reattaching them to her suit.

"No disturbances?" she asked, switching her comms to a channel exclusive to Freh'ya; a rhetorical question, but the only other things she could think of to say were comments on the weather, and she doubted having been outside the past couple of hours had endeared Freh'ya to that topic. She rerouted her omni-tool's readout back into her helmet HUD and raised an eyebrow. "I see the drone flagging... Could just be cold getting to the capacitor ring, judging by these usage stats. I can maybe fix that in the morning before we pack the tent, but for now I'll swap it. Our spares are fine," she added, reaching behind herself to tap the 'hangar' attached to her back, although Freh'ya probably couldn't see her that well.

"So, I'm fresh... ish," she went on. "Do you think you'd be able to nap out here? Leeward side of the tent shouldn't be too bad, you wouldn't have to dig yourself out at least."

Arina pulled out of the tent as Rahi requested, padding her back, when the pilot eventually emerged from the opening.

"Good night," the diplomat addressed the two as she crawled back in, hurrying to close the opening behind her. The air intent had the distinctive smell of a tight space with sleeping people in it. But the air was warm and she put down her gun and gloves and removed her goggles and the face mask completely. All the fussing made her feel her head again, not bad but annoying... She took one more half of the pills she had received earlier that day from Temria.

The dim light made it clear that she couldn't do much else than fit into the spot the pilot had just left. Very carefully she had put Temria's arm from the spot she was about to sleep in back to the doctor's side.

She snuggled into position wondering about the doctor's good sleep and slowly started to relax. Her breathing slowed down and her muscles reacted to the softer padding of the tent and the warmth.... warmth.... soft.... soft and warm....

Temria was alone in an opulent sitting room, the candle lit walls a reagal shade of blue but seemed so flimsy, like paper. Everywhere she looked the walls were lined with accents of silver and good, jutting out from everything. It felt oppressive, the accents criss-crossing everywhere, like a cage.

She left the room in a fevered rush through the bar doors, emerging on the other side into a wider room beyond which seemed to encompass the entirety of the sitting room within it. All around her stood tall beds, stacked several layers high, made of some sturdy cut wood she couldn't remember the name of. It had a lived-in feel to it, a boarding house, maybe...

Without hesitating, Temria turned and strode to one side of the wider room to see what lay around the corner of the gilded cage, and found bulkheads and piping like something out of an old derelict ship she'd seen in a vid once. She rounded the next corner to find a homely kept bedroom, a matriarch's she reasoned. The corner after that had the look of a ruined hallway, and after that her own apartment. Every corner brought another vista, some familiar and some not, many places from old memories, many others imagined spaces depicting things she understood to be but had never actually experienced herself.

As she traveled around and around she became aware of a very subtle incline to the floor. And concluded quickly that this was the reason for the change in vistas, that the incline was not enough to account for an entire floor for every rotation yet somehow was, was a paradox she was both aware of and... while not uncaring of, was something she knew better than to dwell on.

Bored at last with the constant climb, Temria returned to the cage. The same sitting room awaited her, no sign of her progress was reflected there. Actually no, there was something there, something new.

"I'm here to make this unpleasant for you." the matriarch said grimly, sitting bent and feeble in her creaky old seat. Slowly turning her withering gaze upon Temria, "And to remind you of the accident."

In an instant the world became real again and Temria could feel herself being flung towards concrete too quickly to react.


Temria inhaled sharply, her eyes snapping open.

She was alive, alive and safe. No... alive and on Trategos. She exhaled slowly.

Motion in the tent was next to startle her, a faint shift in the fabric on the borders of this little world and a grip on her arm causing her to tense up... and with some relief she noted it was Arina. Time had passed then, Rahi was out on patrol... wasn't Freh'ya going to squeeze in here too?

Her arm was aching, and she considered briefly reaching out to either of the others via the comm link, but chose against it. Instead she wrapped her good arm around Arina's shoulders and tried to tighten their embrace as best she could.

She'd get no more sleep tonight.

Freh'ya walked back and forth in front of the tent, swinging her arms to get her muscles to relax and to get the stiffness out. she felt tired and worn out and it would most likely not get any better until the morning. Meditation was no real alternative for sleep but it couldn't be helped now. It was more important that the two injured people got some hours of rest. Thank the Goddess for heated suits. The powerpack was draining thought, she would need another one before they headed out in the morning.

"Hey Rahi", she greeted the pilot. "No, nothing besides.... oh, you saw it already." Someow she wished soemthing would break this terrible rest, this waiting. "A proper gunfight would keep me warmer though. I don't know if I should say that." She checked her Omnitool again.
"The rest of the drones are still okay, dawn is only a couple of hours away.... I have a nice spot over there in the shadow of that boulder, it's okay, I'll meditate some more. Do a round if you like or come over, just don't spend too much time in the windchill."

With these words, she turned and took her previous position, leaned sideways against the rock, legs pulled close. The ground seemed just as hard but much colder now, she tried to ignore it to her best abilities.