[Citadel, Sheyres Plaza] MEETUP 2188! [TOTALLY OPEN]

Trouble was starting up and it wouldn't do to have it spread unduly. The humans needed to work out their issues and Arash wished them the best of luck, but having someone else sulk about as a side effect would not do. So he decided on the direct approach and sat down next to Taleeze without ceremony or preamble.
"I hope they find some peace soon, happiness as well. But for now might I offer you a distraction? I'm sure there are at least a few stories of my expeditions you would like. Like the Mad Matriarch of Magia. Or my run ins with treasure hunting fiends. Well.. Blood Pack mercs, not actual demons. Or the trouble at the Turian Embassy party. Speaking of, any other Bliss events I should know about?"
It was a clumsy attempt, but it did have the benefit of being honest. If she didn't brush him off he would likely be able to lighten her mood a bit.

Daia offered him one of the rolls.

"Er, yes. Thank you". He took the morsel carefully, as though handling something very unstable with a pair of tongs. When it didn't explode or otherwise do anything unexpected, he took a bite. It was actually rather good.

The other asari had been listening to his explanation; she seemed amused. In a friendly way.

He looked back and forth between the two blue aliens. For the first time, he began to relax. Okay, so maybe only the saner members would be making appearances at the meetup; asari were naturals for community, he could probably trust them to be sensible.

Answering both their questions, he continued: "Not a colony; Earth itself, actually. I didn't really have a profession. I took a job with Interstellar Safari; I think they thought having a non-human on the staff would give them more of a sense of legitimacy, you know? And I was good with keeping track of bookings and the like off the top of my head, of course, which impresses humans. I retired just before the war. To the Citadel, which was...sort of a bad idea given what happened. Strange to still be here, but then a lot of people aren't, you know?"

Stupid thing to say, but hopefully he had sounded dignified and not awkward.

He nibbled away at the roll.

With the salarians words came terrible, terrible memories. Titus had been here when the Citadel had been captured. For a whole week he was alone, except when he occasionally stumbled across other survivors. But safety in numbers was an illusion, and Titus had been forced to do terrible things to ensure his survival. Finally, he had found a beacon planted by another CDN member and he reached a temple that he and a large group of survivors held, until the beam went off. He was still in therapy over the events of the Reaper war, but nothing came up more than when the Citadel was taken.

A rather shaky hand came up to meet the turians face as he briefly tried to quell the memories. He was determined to not let this affect him. Rather then call attention to himself, he decided to try a more tactful approach and change the subject. Titus lowered his hand and spoke in a somewhat shaky voice.
"So, I heard there was some festival on the Citadel at the moment. Anyone know what that's about?"

"I know," Daia nodded, offering a gentle smile in reply to Joset's halting account of his time on Earth and after. "Tides are; there isn't always a reason. But we do the best with what we're given, hm?"

'Retiring' to the Citadel, just before the war, she reflected ruefully. Then again, Earth had suffered just as much; who could say what might have been? There hadn't been much in the way of 'safe' places anywhere - save the Union, for the most part, but it would have been rude in the extreme to bring that up. Titus seemed keen to change the subject anyway, and Daia didn't feel Joset would mind.

"Bliss Festival," she replied. "Lifestyle, entertainment, sexuality - or 'the big porn show', put more bluntly." She chuckled. "I've got a few appearances there - I had a spot with a dance troupe to start with, some publicity business for a film I've got a small role in, and I'll be doing my own stage show in a few days. Nothing extravagant, but I've always liked attending. It's a good atmosphere, a very friendly gathering of people."

She was about to add 'kind of like here,' but Sarah's announcement - however well-wishing - clearly indicated that that wasn't the case for everyone. The human's exit cut off any avenues for lending a sympathetic aural Daia might have ventured; sometimes, too, that just wasn't what would help. She spotted Taleeze, though, looking particularly despondent, and bit her lip in sympathy at what she could make out of her friend's expression.

"I'm sorry," she said, turning back to Joset, Titus, and Arina - hopefully they, Joset in particular, wouldn't feel like she was ditching them all of a sudden, but if so she hoped she could make amends later. "Excuse me just a moment? Thank you. I'll be back before you know it."

With a parting smile to the trio, she moved over to where Taleeze was staring into her glass. Daia sat beside her, and without a word - she didn't want to interrupt Arash, who had just sat on her other side, and to whom she gave a friendly nod - took one of Taleeze's hands and held it gently.

Arina had noticed how affectionate Daia was with Taleeze. It was nice that she cared for her friend, noting it with a smile.

Daia had already mentioned Bliss before she left, so all Arina could do was affirm that towards the turian and the two salarians. She wondered how strange such a festival was for them. But she knew enough salarians who had found their own approach to sexual activity with other species. After all she was a result of such an affectionate bond herself.

“Oh yes, the Bliss festival is a big thing. It’s the largest fair of its kind in C-Space I think. But you probably have to be interested in the subject to really enjoy it.”

I wasn’t for long that Taleeze found herself between a friendly drell and Daia. She blushed a little. Oh Goddess, Daia took her hand and Taleeze felt a lot better in an instant, pressing it slightly in return. She chuckled at Aresh’s offer for distraction.

“Oh, that story about Magia sounds tempting.” When he mentioned Bliss she exchanged a glance with Daia and sighed with a grin. “And of course there are things you should see. Basically everything that involves dear Daia here for starters. If you want you can also find me on stage onb two occasions. I’m going to do a demonstration for Ariake’s new line of electronic costume – hopefully Daia will be there as well. “ she looked over at her friend. “I still have no clue if that double show is a go or not.”

Her eyes said thanks for cheering me up!