[Citadel, BlueShift] Disco Celebration!

Michelle was sipping a glowing blue drink and smile at Taleeze's question.

"You'd think that. But the truth is, in the charity game, you have to be very social. It's all about networking, so you go to a lot of parties, gatherings, dinners, drum rings... Better develop a taste for it.
LTD is working well thank you! By today's count we helped 56 kids find a first job and we're following them to find a place to live and adjust. Most of them we lent money with a 0% interest rate to so they could get planet-side, where most work is, and survive for a while. Many decided to give back more than we lent to help others in the future!
We also helped 12 kids find adoptive families. And we're in regular contact with three dozens more who are still out there in the ducts for their day to day problems, and help them get an education.
We're starting to be recognized for our efforts too! We have helpful contacts in administration, C-Sec.
Not everyone is a fan of our work though, but we're always open to criticism."

Michelle omitted to mention that a lot of "criticism" took the form of murder attempt from gangers. It was a subject she preferred to avoid in polite company.

No, he did not want to talk about krogan sociology for any longer. Instead, Sulla found some courage and moved closer on the couch, bringing the pair fairly close together, maybe a bit shorter than a normal conversational distance. The turian is a bit taken aback by the rather direct approach, but he regains his composure quickly. It certainly was not a bad thing after all!

When Arina starts to eye him, Sulla becomes self-conscious. It is clear he is trying to sit straighter, with his foot resting on top of the other and his arm draped over the backrest in a similar fashion to the asari. He lets out a chuckle that tries hard not to sound nervous. Don't fuck this up, man. "Well whenever I'm on the Citadel I like to freerun a lot. Urban exploring, that sort of thing. You can find amazing places that no one knows about even here on the Citadel. But lately it's just been working in the fields and going on patrols, and hitting the gym every now and then when I'm not on duty. Nothing special, really."

Sulla blinks very softly, closing his eyelids slowly and then opening them again while looking Arina straight in the eye. Two can play the flirty game. "What about you?" He cocks his head slightly to one side. "Any sport or hobby worth mentioning?" As much as Sulla would like to let his eyes wander all over the asari in front of him, he keeps them fixed in more safe areas. For now. His drink waited on the table, forgotten.

Back at the Hierarchy congregation, all three turians simply stare at Juhani after he finishes his monologue. Without saying a word, Victan simply orders another drink, this in front of the human. "If your shit gets this deep this early into the night, I'm going to get you drunk and see what happens at the time we are set to leave." "Fallah resorts to punching Victan in the shoulder while Klicksan stares in confusion at the clamor. "Back to your original question, we spend our time off either drunk or sleeping. Possibly both", Fallah says with a straight face. "Hey! We do plenty of other things. Such as eat. You know what's the supply situation like, we don't get exactly top notch food at that arse end of a colony", Victan quips in.

Reluctantly prising herself from Taleeze, Linya returned her attention to the menu after a quick glance and smile at Kari and Michelle (stupid table was in the way, no hugs for now), sliding through page after page until she came to the "favourites" tab - which comprised mainly of the most popular drinks, but Zelana was happy to include her family's suggestions as well.
"Hmmm, depends what you're going for. I love the Laevofusion, it's really tasty... but that's only if you like a lot of fruit in your drink. There's the Freighter Crash, bit strong, Contrary Motion, tastes strong but isn't, the Linya which is wait wait wait what?!"
Her eyes did not deceive her; her big sister had actually named a cocktail after her. It seemed matronhood brought out Zelana's sentimental side.

The concoction lived up to its name; was Bright blue, caffeinated and with a decent helping of Mannovai Reserve ruxxia.
"Erm. I er ah um. Moving on!"
Blushing doesn't help your case, Linya.

"That's quite some simple sources of pleasure you have...but if what you say is true, that colony sounds like a dump. I bet even casual sex got boring eventually there!" he guffaws and smacks Victan on the back, adding to the pain. He takes the glass the poor guy ordered for him and takes a swill out of it. "Though seriously you're staying here longer than just one day I'll have to take you guys to that re-enactment arena and try how it was to hold the Fortress Kohras against north Calibran assaults. I read that the Palian Guard had just a platoon remaining to hold the gate and were about to fall when their air force arrived to rained napalm on the attackers. Makes a nice timed scenario with definite deadline. Hold the fort for 20 minutes until help arrives in gritty and visceral close-quarters combat against holographic targets."

Juhani swirls his drink around to release the aromas, in case Victan's mystery drink has anything interesting in store for him. And just like that, he remembers things that feel like they were decades ago. Him standing on the doorstep to the Corvax residence, and Lepantis entertaining him in the study, showing him the very same as-Hierarchic-as-it-gets gesture of downing the shot together, regardless of rank. Ah well.

"If you're getting bored out of your mind at the garrison, get a load of books with you when you go there. Maybe Service by Caelax or Impera of Nialin's Holding the Cobalt Throne. Hells, if you're feeling suicidal, try pick a translated copy of Das Capital from Karl Marx, some volus ought to have had it translated by now!" he laughs. "Or Kalevala if you're feeling poetic. That's the national epic of my birthland. Ancient sages and brave warriors singing each other into the swamp, stealing magical mills that gave endless amount of grain, salt and gold and....uh, singing. People liked to sing back then."

A hidden smirk crossed Leeta's face when she took note of how blatantly Arina had begun flirting with Sulla, and she didn't fault her friend for wanting to make the matter more private. Well, as private as one could be in a busy dance club. Even without a clear visor, her wink at the asari was evident in the brief second one of her glowing eyes disappeared from view. She wouldn't listen to the apologies she knew Arina would offer her later. She was half bewitched by the professional quarian anyway, but her inspiration was extremely different than when was drawing Arina toward Sulla. Leeta made a mental note to ask how things went later. She was never good at judging a social friendship, but she felt they knew each other well enough by now to talk about the sort of silly things she had whispered about with other young quarians before they were of age to leave for their pilgrimages. They had all been so innocent then. No one came returned to the fleet from their pilgrimages unchanged.

Deciding there was nothing else for her at her end of the bar, Leeta pushed off, leaving her empty glass behind. That drink would have to serve as her courage as she approached the table of strangers. It would be rude to interrupt the conversation going on between what seemed to be a sizable group that all knew each other. She studied them each in turn, vaguely remembering Arina expressing surprise that the asari dancer's name was Taleeze. She stood to the side of the table in the view of the quarian, but not so close as to intrude. She found herself wishing she had someone or something else to distract her with so she might be less conspicuous standing around.

Arina noticed she might have pushed a bit too hard. Urges. But it was a game of feeling each other up, what the other liked and what’s good. Seeing his response developing her direction, she calmed down again, relatively speaking and decided to keep it more passive to see what he would bring on. Don’t botch it, girl.

As they sat, their arms were terribly close. She didn’t as much as move, only slightly playing with the cushioning. Here eyes were travelling over the setting casually though, then back to him, over his chest up to his eyes, where she met his gaze and his soft blink. She bit her lip grinning and had to look away first. How shy all of a sudden.

“Parcour? Wow, that’s something amazing! And that’s wild really, sounds like a fun but tough challenge.” He must have great stamina, she mused. Not to mention the lean muscles she was only able to identify barely, sadly enough.

She giggled and looked at her lap quite hesitant for a second, before focusing back on his face. His mandibles had a slightly amused outline all of the time. A tingling went from her neck down her spine.

“I do some running myself, no obstacles though. Palaven Gardens is a great place to run in the morning or late evenings. After a hard days work I need to sweat out the tension most of the time and I do some Thessian Yoga. Which to may seem like girlish childsplay but it’s good for improving the flexibility in combination with power training.” She brushed her fringes casually and then put her hand back on her thigh.

“Other than that, I enjoy a game of Kepesh-Yakshi now and then. It’s the strategy compared with the action I like.” No need to elaborate on her reading hobbies, she thought.

“Okaaayy, now that sounds interesting.” The cocktail seemed like liquid Linya and something that would keep you up all night. Okay in a way, since Taleeze had plans to have a private after party once she and Skylar were in their hotel room. She grinned deviously and ordered a “Linya”.

Taleeze was seeing from the corner of her eye a quarian in a beautiful red and golden robe approaching and standing a bit to the side, as if unsure what to do.

She stood there like the flower nobody plucked. A beautiful flower at that, since the robes were so colorful. She needed to buy something in the next days for that show she was planning. ‘Veils of Rannoch’ sounded like a good idea for a honorary adaptation of classical quarian dances. If only there were more quarian dancers who would want to step on a stage on an adult entertainment club to join her maybe.

Since the quarian was obviously eying the group, Taleeze wanted to beak the ice. She made a step back and turned towards her and smiled.
“Hello there, miss. You look like you might enjoy a treat? Just come over, have some." She extended her hands for a greeting.
"I’m Taleeze.”

To say Kari was displeased about what Tal had done would be like saying that the Citadel was big. It was an understatement. And the intensity of the glare that Kari shot Taleeze for inviting the quarian over could have shattered mountains and parted oceans.

Please don't come over here. Please don't talk to me. Just leave me alone.

Leeta almost choked on her own breath when Taleeze spoke to her. She looked over her shoulder quickly just to make sure the asari wasn't talking to anyone else. She cleared her throat. She wasn't prepared for this; she had been hoping to listen in on their conversation a little bit. For just a moment she missed the darker robes she used to wear - it was much easier to blend in and not be noticed. But now she wanted to be noticed, didn't she? She swept forward, but didn't sit."Leeta'Varo vas Tayseri..." She hated saying that, but it would have been rude not to give a name in response to Taleeze. "Thank you. You both danced beautifully out there."[/color] She tried to sound casually lighthearted, but there was a tinge of excitement in her tone that betrayed her.

She turned to the quarian. "I have only seen professional dancers once before...you were really amazing. Did you...umm...train with anyone?"

Kari looked over the quarian now standing near her and was not very impressed. The robes were pretty (Though Kari had many robes of the same make) but she was so short compared to her. Were all her people really this short? Or was she really just some genetic freak taller than most of her people? After several, awkward seconds of stares she finally spoke, though her voice was probably a lot more cold and harsh than Leeta expected.

"My mother. It was my mother that taught me. And when she died, I continued to teach myself."

Vas Tayseri? Not even bothering to give yourself the name of the Homeworld even after all of that? I wonder why.

"And if I may ask a question, where did you see these dancers? Was it on some ship. Or was it on the Homeworld?"

"One Linya for me too," Skylar managed to say with a straight face, followed by a slightly apologetic look at the subject of the latest nightclub drink craze. She spotted the newcomer to the group - or rather, spotted Taleeze spotting her - and made a little extra room to let her feel welcome, but beyond a smile and introducing herself after Taleeze, didn't try to make herself part of the conversation; the new quarian's attention was justifiably on Taleeze and Kari.

"How's Iryana, with meeting all the family?" she asked Linya instead, keeping an ear on the other conversation going on so as not to lose track.

Leeta's head quirked to the side for just a second at Kari's response. No name given. That was unusual - most quarians Leeta knew were in the habit of introducing themselves frequently, just out of the possibility of mistaken identities. The tone was cold and harsh, and Leeta wondered if that was typical of professional dancers. It certainly killed some of her overflowing giddiness, and she reeled in her excitement. She had never met any celebrities personally, after all, so maybe this was just their way. She pursed her lips. Something nagging in the back of her head told her there was more to that tone than just a haughty celebrity. She brushed aside those instincts. She had no need for them in her current life.

"It is fortunate your mother was able to pass on her teachings," Leeta responded delicately. "But I am sorry for your loss. I hope I get the opportunity to see you dance again." Taught by her [/i]mother[/i]. Leeta's mind flipped through memories and facts - dancers she had heard of and vids she had downloaded to watch in secret. Her mother. That was a fanciful idea. As esteemed as dancers might have been, Leeta felt her own mother would have rather suffered a suit breach than to teach her daughter how to dance.

At the question Leeta hesitated. She had seen several quarian dancers during her pilgrimage, but they weren't anything like Kari and they weren't something Leeta felt like talking about. "On Rannoch, for the harvest festival." She sounded hesitant. "But I just stayed one night before I had to leave so I did not get to see any of the other celebrations. I am sure you could have out-danced the dancers I did see."

"I don't really read, I'm more of a holo-vid guy, but I'll pass your suggestions to our Ladies Man over there. Fallah might be interested as well." The turian woman made no inclination of hearing Victan's words, but bobbing her head to the music and watching the dance floor. "But about the historical re-enactment arena, you've caught my interest at least. Sounds like fun, and it's been a while since I've had any action. We'll stay on the station for a few days. If you don't have anyone else to come with you I'll be there!" Victan starts to get properly drunk, and as he downs the drink he slams it on the table a bit too hard, earning him an irritated glare from the bartender. Wiping the last of the beer from his mandibles with a talon, Victan turns back to Juhani. "Did you know Sulla is from North-Calibra, originally?"

Sulla lets out a little soft laugh when Arina turns her gaze away first. He tilts his head to one side and uses the opportunity to follow the beautiful arc of the asari's fringe and the curves of her side leading to her waist when Arina's eyes are elsewhere. Hopefully his eyes are back in the safe-zone when Arina shifts her gaze to his face again.

Back on the topic of hobbies, a shame Arina does not go into her interest in literature. Sulla reads a bit himself, though the turian enjoys military thrillers and epic fantasy novels with the occasional cosmic horror story. The genres probably do not overlap much with what Arina looks for in her books.

But yoga? Now it is Sulla's turn to feel the butterflies get airborne in his stomach again. Flexibility. His left mandible vibrates ever so slightly, almost impossible to see in the gloom of the club. "No, I don't think that's childish at all! I've heard that yoga's a great way relieve stress, and you can practice it at home too, but personally it comes off as a bit dull for me. I get bored fairly easily and I don't think I'd get into that meditative mindset easily if at all. Though I do enjoy a new experience every now and then, maybe I should give it a go."

"Oh, a strategy gamer. I'm sure we'll have you leading armies of diplomats in the battles to come" Sulla jokes with a gleam in his eye. He reaches to get his drink, and "accidentally" brushes Arina's hand on the backrest. When he settles back on the couch his talons find their way on Arina's hand. The turian is confident enough not to move his claw anywhere.

The raspberry quarian was clearly here because of Kari. And knowing Kari a bit, Taleeze was feeling a bit more sorry for her. Let’s see how this would go.

Ah, great, no introduction. Nice touch, exile. Although Taleeze could sense a change in posture, ever so slightly. There was some attention. Could it be possible she felt flattered? To get any reaction like that from Kari was an achievement in itself so Taleeze smiled a tiny smile, when the Linya arrived. After the first sip…. The world seemed a lot clearer. There were more sensation and … oh. Nice tingling. She fought the unexplainable urge to hug stuff (Kari for example).

She leaned to the counter and was listening to the conversation unfolding. She could probably try and hug Leeta… hm.
She might need it after what she had just said. Taleeze eyed Kari cautiously.

Kari lowered her head a little after hearing Leeta's comment about the exile's mother. It had been a very long time since she had thought about her parents, especially her mother. But it lasted only a brief instant. Before she reverted to her default state.

"Could I now?" I haven't encountered another quarian dancer in ages so I wouldn't know. But if I can, that speaks volumes about how far our people have fallen. The dancers of old could have danced circles around me."

She continued to stare at Leeta, more curious than agitated now (though this being Kari she was always agitated, only less so) "Sit" she said patting the stool next to her. "There's no reason for you to just stand around. Sit and tell me a little more about this festival you went to."

Aw, Fallah didn't notice the talk about books. Juhani had pegged her for the bookish sort on first impression, but guess he was wrong in that matter...so he nods back to Victan. "I recall having heard something about North Calibra and snowboarding around there from him earlier. Apparently sliding down on snowy hillside with a board strapped to your feet was new invention to turians! I can understand why it wasn't big though, you can't use a snowboard to move in flat terrain, unlike skis. Do you guys have skis?" he continues on a line that might or might not be fueled by alcohol. While Victan's busy getting his mind wrapped around sticks you've tied into your feet, Juhani turns his attention towards Fallah.

"Hey Fallah, were you a big reader of books? I don't think I caught your reply for that question. If you are, do you want to trade titles to read?"

She invited her to sit. Taleeze raised an eyebrow smiling. She’d follow their talking with one aural though. Suckling at her Linya she turned to the smaller human next to her, Michelle.

“That’s an impressive achievement with those kids. I have no idea how many there may be on the Citadel but making a difference were you can is always better than doing nothing.

From what I remember, you came to the Citadel not so very long ago…? Did you come up here from Earth?”

Kari's dry brand of modesty confused Leeta, but she eagerly sat down on the stool Kari had indicated. "You may underestimate your talent but I agree that our people have fallen far when it comes to more...artistic venues of expression." That was true at least. To Leeta, dancing was like a lost art. She had never personally met one, whereas engineers, scientists, doctors, and even soldiers were a dime a dozen amongst the quarian people.

Leeta closed her eyes to picture the festival, trying to find the right words. It struck Leeta as odd that Kari hadn't gone. It had been a pretty big deal - but it was very possible that the dancer was busy elsewhere. There were plenty of people that she worked with who hadn't gone because the harvest didn't interest them. "It was in Kassali. Everything was awash in brilliant reds and oranges from the setting sun. Lights were strung up, glowing like little stars when it got darker. The wind blew like it would never give up. It was like the robes of the dancers were dancing too. There was a live band playing, kicking up the crowd into a celebratory frenzy of dancing and cheering and laughing. Dancers told stories of harvest in their movement, and of storms weathered." Thinking about it made it feel like she was there again, and she tried to ignore the way her stomach twisted into knots. She cleared her throat, opened her eyes, and was immediately brought back to the club on the Citadel. "It was a bountiful first harvest. All kinds of foods were available, but it was all about the dancers."

"Yes! I've almost never gone space-side actually. Just Eden Prime once, a long time ago, as vacations, and I had an allergy crisis...
Anyhoo I come from an area called France..."
Michelle showed a display of Earth's map on her omni-tool and pointed to it.
"... Very nice place. I strongly recommend you visit it in a few years, when it's rebuilt.
About the kids... Well yeah we've helped a few dozens of them, which is already more than we hoped in such a small timeframe, and there are dozens of thousands of them... But maybe if our system is successful enough, it can be replicated.
Also it's about raising awareness. I mean the galaxy has been devastated, we've suffered terrible losses, we desperately need people to replace the ones we lost, and meanwhile we leave so many kids to become gangers or hobos? In the center of the galaxy? It's not only sad or amoral, it's bloody stupid!"
Michelle then realized she had raised her voice.

"Hem... Sorry... Got carried away", she added in a sheepish voice.

“Oh, you should try, in case you want to relax and get you mind drifting. You can feel one with the cosmos after a while.” She had almost said embrace eternity. She should save that for later.

She had to chuckle on his remark about the orders of battles. “Oh, I think we would be doomed then! It’s our duty to save you guys a lot of work whenever possible – at least that’s how I see it. The Council military is a force to preserve peace by a strong presence in the first place.” He was right though. Wasn’t it the diplomats or for other species the politicians who decided over the use of military force and the death of soldiers? There he was, a young man in his prime, doing his duty – probably even questioning it for himself but still doing it – ready to put his life on the line for a greater good should he receive the call to do so.

The touch on her arm electrified Arina and interrupted her line of thought. She regretted the fabric on her arm, as she had wanted to brush against his… then he put his talons on her hand and she didn’t move. Her hands weren’t big and he could cover it easily. She could feel the hard and rasp texture of his carapace skin. For a moment she had to calm her breath ever so slightly and another shiver ran through her, making her smile shyly at him. Goddess, what she wanted him to do to her with those talons. No, what he would do to her later.

After a short moment of silent admiring of the talons, she looked towards his face, with that shy smile and her thumb slowly moved along his talons’ skin, indicating her approval of the gesture.

“I think we had enough horrors of war lately.” She said. [color=#4080BF] “It’s time for more enjoyable pastimes. But admittedly, I do enjoy an occasional thrill. I have a weakness for horror vids and books. There is a certain asari genre dealing with Ardat Yakshi or with the horrors that befell our first explorers in space.” She repositioned herself slightly. Mostly to ease a tension building in her lower body now. She switched the order of her legs, now turned towards Sulla. Doing that scissor movement was barely possible in a decent manner but she just had to and being honest with herself, she didn’t mind at all.
She took her cocktail with her free hand – luckily it was within distance not needing to remove her other hand.

While doing so she leaned closer towards Sulla than probably necessary, hers passing inches from his face.

“Do you think that is stupid for someone like me who should be always serious and realistic?” She took a sip and the cool alcoholic fluid was making her feel good.