[Illium, Nos Astra] let the show begin! (closed)

The sun was already lowering and the glass fronts of the towers of Nos Astra were glistening in golden rays when the aircar with Taleeze on board descended to the platform in front of Daia’s and Ana’s penthouse. The Talbot and the Jag were sitting next to each other in perfect unison.

For a short moment Taleeze wondered if she should have chosen the car again as a bargain but generally she thought a wager were both parties got something out of it was the better idea, also the only way to impress Vale now was if she’d manage to snag Ana’s Jag and that would be next to impossible.

She exited the car and straightened her dress: It was one she had bought while on tour with Daia, a dark grey with a metallic shimmer and dark purple asymmetric ornaments running diagonally across the front, ending in a floral explosion over her left breast. The cut was high on the front with a strap around her neck, but the back was exposed. The fabric was very light and it was flowing and swinging a fair bit above the knees, where it ended.
A perfect light clothing for a warm Nos Astra night. She had chosen a pair of open boots with straps wrapped around her calves to go with it. Quite a dress up for the private occasion maybe but she wanted to enjoy it all around and that demanded a little bit of style!

Under her arm she had tucked a bottle of Silva Wine, a tidy little azure tie around the bottleneck. That was a wild guess but it would go with almost anything that might come out of the kitchen tonight. So she strolled over to the entrance, musing about the thing Charisma had told the two of them earlier that day. The Apricity had gotten a big contract for a show event and Eafina and Charisma somehow thought that Daia and Taleeze would be the best women for the job on stage. They didn’t have a chance to talk about it yet but this evening was the perfect occasion to get inspired over delicious food and a bit of wine.

Taleeze wondered if it was really true that Daia was a non-event in the kitchen and she seriously doubted that. She smiled about the image of Daia in an apron -just an apron – in the kitchen while she announced herself at the door with her OmniTool.

The door opened at once, while Daia's voice sounded - audibly, but not especially loudly - from the intercom in the frame: "Come on in, lucky girl."

Daia herself appeared at the bottom of the curving staircase as Taleeze made her way in, beckoning her down. She didn't call out over the distance; the bedroom, at the top of the staircase's other upper branch, was secluded by cloudy holo-fields, giving only a dim impression of the space inside.

"Ana's resting," Daia explained, once Taleeze had reached the lower floor. "She's on the mend, but still pretty sore." Her eyes drifted to the vacant space in the lounge area, where the kaffe table had been on Taleeze's last visit, but then she looked back and managed a smile. "She's sleeping soundly, though, that's a plus. The bedroom's go audio buffers, by the way, don't feel like you have to whisper or anything."

She motioned Taleeze over to the kitchen area, which was already the scene of some activity: the oven was active, several pots were simmering, and an antique wooden spice cabinet had been moved onto the central countertop.

"That really does look great on you," she noted, taking a moment to appreciate Taleeze's dress. "That fabric brings out the gleam in your skin." Daia herself had managed to resist the apron notion - not that she hadn't briefly considered it - and wore a stark white minidress, with a double-breasted front and two rows of black buttons, obviously styled after the type coming into vogue for chefs on Illium, sporting a human influence. It covered her quite modestly to the neck, in front and behind, but the hem of the skirt was eye-catchingly high, especially when she turned and leaned over to inspect the contents of a pot. Centuries of experience at risque fashion let her gauge what length a skirt needed to be to almost show too much when she bent, but never quite cross the line.

"On tonight's menu," she said proudly, indicating the various dishes in stages of preparation, "an entree of fresh laasem, then mum's koto ke'ah, and chef's surprise for dessert. An actual food surprise," she added with a grin, "not just dropping my dress or something like that. You're a gem, thank you," she added, as Taleeze handed over the wine bottle, which she slipped into a chiller on the counter next to two waiting glasses.

"Take a seat," she offered, indicating the row of stools by the counter. "Dinner will be served fresh off the stove. Come to think of it, those look just about ready." She retrieved the wide, shallow dish of laasem from beneath the crisper field, where the leafy snacks had been cooling to their optimum temperature, and slid the dish onto the counter.

Taleeze was entering the dimly lit living room area and noted the secluded sleeping area. She could make out no details but it was clear that Ana was resting somewhere in there. The quarian must go through an unimaginable ordeal and for a moment Taleeze was feeling a bit bad for intruding.
But the smile on Daias face let her forget that immediately. She would try to be calm and all would be well.

Downstairs was the kitchen area and Taleeze could smell a variety of odours she couldn’t make sense of yet.
Taleeze spun around a few times on Daias remark about her own dress and her skin.

“Thank you! You just know the best places in town, I knew it. I had not much opportunity yet to war any of that stuff from last week. This is maybe a bit too tame for a stage show dress. But I have to say, the bright colors are also the best for you. Whenever I wear white I just look odd. On you it flashes.”
Of course Daia had dressed for the occasion as well. Taleeze knew what she could expect. A kind of alien uniform style microdress, that by not revealing anything else emphasized her hips, butt and legs in a scandalous way. That reminded her to ask about that closet browsing again.

Taleeze was taking a seat.
“You really have prepared a menu! And I like this arrangement here” she was padding the counter, “We have an old style fireplace at the beachhouse, surrounded by the seatings. Of course we also have an oven with regular energy fields as well.” We, as in us, Freh’ya and Taleeze. “So let’s see, what we have here. I haven’t had home made laasem in ages. I never tried Kaga’s but I doubt, he will stamnffd a ftffance noff.” She had snatched one and munched away with a wide grin. Her eyes were indicating the admiration.

“Here, try one, I heard they are tasty!” She offered one to Daia.
“And would you happen to have something fluid to accompany this treat maybe?”

Taleeze was observing Daia as she handled the pots.

“That sports bar was really getting off, don’t you think? Not the thing you’d associate with a club like the Apricity, but it is just a special place. I’ve seen so many familiar faces. To be honest I still don’t know the regulars nearly as good enough as you do but I remembered a few by their generous tips already.” She giggled and munched another laasem.

“Did I ever tell you that I used to work as a waitress for a brief time once?” Another Laasem met it’s doom. “Azure Allure has this all-nude-waitresses restaurant resort where we used to serve in this pre-historic setting where we used to be like, old asari huntresses and the food was coming straight from real fire and stuff. We did a little tribal dance show in the end – which was as a matter of fact quite stupid but the turians loved it. Give them something that resembles a war cry and they will root like no tomorrow.” She laughed. “But the food was always extremely deliffiufff, just like fiff.”

"A carefully-selected menu," Daia noted with a grin. "Drawing heavily on food I can actually manage. Thanks." She took the laasem from Taleeze and took a bite. "Mm. There's a little market a couple of blocks from the club, I'll show it to you sometime - best fresh food in the city. Kaga's actually the one who put me on to it, he gets all his asari fresh ingredients there every morning before breakfast."

The mention of drinks prompted a momentary wide-eyed stare, then Daia spun around and hurried to a refrigeration cupboard, muttering "Knew I was forgetting something..." She returned with a bottle of tula berry juice, snagging two more appropriate glasses from a shelf along the way, and moved the wine glasses out of the way for the moment as she poured.

"Joy," she said, touching the back of her hand to Taleeze's as they held their glasses, an asari toast. She peered at the oven, moved a pot off its flame, then - evidently content things were under control - sat at the counter herself by Taleeze's side.

"Quite an atmosphere at the bar, yeah," she agreed. "I mean naturally with the big game - but I think it'll become a regular thing. Ever since the club got started during the war, it's always been about creating a gathering place, a social environment, not just somewhere for dancers to dance and escorts to get clients' attention. The bar felt like it was really tapping into that feeling, the way everyone got so caught up in sharing the experience, the highs and lows of the games. Plus, it's full of people like us," she chuckled, giving Taleeze a friendly nudge with her thigh. "Sure beats watching a game in a dingy little bar with bored waiters and a grumpy bartender. I had time for a word with Eafina this morning, she said Charisma's thinking of a much broader range of sports than you'd normally find - trust in our collective hotness and the friendly atmosphere to keep the patrons coming back, and give them the chance to see sports that don't ever make it onto the big-name HV channels. No need to worry," she grinned at Taleeze, "pildavi's not going anywhere, but I still think Nos Astra will learn to love tennis, so I'll see if she's interested in giving that a try, at least around Grand Slam time."

She looked off dreamily for a moment.

"In a perfect world I'd be able to sell her on trapball, too," she mused. "But I think I just have to admit that, for whatever reason, the general public here simply isn't going to be gripped by elcor sports. Shame. Oh well."

She perked up at Taleeze's mention of the huntress-themed restaurant.

"Sounds delicious," she purred teasingly, winking before getting up to tend to the oven; the poultry was quickly deemed satisfactory and left to crisp, while Daia stirred the ke'ah it would be served with.

"I'll have to see if I can dig up the pictures later," she said in the meantime, "a couple of years ago I knew a designer who was drawing up plans for an asari-tribal-themed swimwear line, and I got involved with a couple of proof-of-concept photo shoots, out in the Sunder reserve up north. Had a full-body set of Ur-Ser tribal tattoos - it was before I got this," she noted, touching her back lightly, where her tattoo was concealed by her chef-dress, "so I was a blank canvas, and the tattoo artist I got had a great time decorating me. The swimwear didn't get off the ground in the end, unfortunately, she moved off Illium." Daia wondered what had become of Meria - with the war, it was a good chance she would never know.

"We used to have a themed suite at the old Oasis along those lines," she said, instead of dwelling on the thought. "Open fire - computer-controlled, of course, but a good one - smooth stone overlays on the floor, tribal art and wild plants for decor... nice soft bed set into the floor facing the fire, of course. One of these days we'll get around to recreating it in the new place, it was always popular. Especially with krogan - no need for the bed, stone floor didn't bother them." She chuckled.

“Joy”, the juice was delicious and not too heavy to start with.

“You’re really into trapball, huh? From what I see we have a couple of elcor regulars who might enjoy that. It could run on a separate screen for like… whatever these games take. The elcs are kind of neglected with their tastes anyway so maybe we could be filling a niche. I’ll mention it randomly as well, if you like. You know, constant waves erode the shore as they say.”

Taleeze sipped her juice.

“Tennis may be more popular maybe because of the many humans around now. That will be an easy one. I have no idea about it, other than it’s also played on sand by a confusing amount of people. Sometimes it is just two, sometimes it is three or four. But to be fair, I never looked up the rules on the extranet either.” She chuckled. “I think we should have the sports uniforms as outfits on a rotating basis in there as well. But here, trapball may be the odd asari out because I have no idea, how any of us could display that.”

Taleeze got interested when Daia mentioned the swimsuit collection.
“Yes, please show me the pictures. I’d be all for such a theme in the club. I also can really imagine the krogan there – they are always the same, either commando or huntress,” Taleeze laughed.

“I never actually had a real go at a krogan, just dancing and their tastes were quite simple. But I like the guys and I am happy that they lifted the genophage. So far we haven’t seen any real trouble because of that. I personally believe that family business will actually put something else on their mind than just running around, shooting stuff. I know a few asari-krogan couples – or at least, have known” , she added that remark a tad bitter, “and those krogan were like warrior dads, if they commit to something they are like in a tunnel and the same with kids. Totally devoted. But I may be biased and that is only a small part of the picture. I just hope for the best.”

Her thoughts trailed a bit as she nibbled the last laasem pieces. She was thinking about long monotonous hours with krogan, that paid very well though.
“I am so happy I can work with Skylar now and then, she gives me great feedback and like, everything that comes from her works instantly for me. I have like doubled my routines now, just by having someone who really understands what I am asking for. a lot of chicks just say anything about your performance whatever they think you want to hear and you get even more insecure. Skylar has an eye and ear for higher arts maybe, not common in a lot of places but then, it’s Apricity and not just any place.”

“But hey, let’s have a look at your higher arts there.”

She leaned forward a bit and observed the koto developing a nice color and texture and the adjoining ke’ah was spreading it’s condimental odor.

“I am looking forward to this one. Is that really your mum’s or was that just a saying? If you allow, I’d attend to the wine in the meantime, Madmoiselle Chef.” Taleeze had picked that word up from Charisma.

Taleeze was moving the glasses over to their places and pulled the wine out of the cooler. Her choice had been good as the Silva was not heavy and could accompany the tasty ke’ah very well without exaggerated self-display. She opened the bottle and poured two glasses.

"Mm," Daia nodded, as Taleeze mused about the krogan. "Strange, isn't it - or maybe it's just me," she grinned, "we're supposed to have this unique 'long view' of the galaxy, but the genophage being lifted... even more that the Reapers coming, that was just a hammerblow out of nowhere, the genophage was history." She moved back and forth, preparing the main dish, occasionally glancing at a handwritten recipe book which was evidently a major factor in ensuring everything went smoothly. "Ever since I started travelling and got to know krogan day-in day-out, I've sympathised with those who wanted it to end. I suppose I understand why it was done, at the time - it was war, and there wasn't a 'good' choice, only bad and worse."

She shrugged ambivalently, stirring the ke'ah one last time before draining it.

"Come to that, I can understand why there are people who worry, now," she admitted. "But seeing the way a krogan looks at a family walking by, the longing and loss from seeing something as natural as a parent and child... and seeing it again and again, in so many of them, getting a glimmer of understanding of what was done to them, the hurt..." She trailed off, then gave a little chuckle. "No surprise, I'm not really the big-picture type. Between the grand sweep of history, and talking to a single person face to face, it's pretty much a given which one is going to be just an abstract for me. Probably a nasty failing so far as galactic leadership goes, so it's just as well when I do eventually wind up a Matriarch, it won't be for expertise in policy and diplomacy. Just dancing and sex and so on - you know, the important things in life," she grinned. "Matriarch Daia, authority in the ways of sexiness."

"Anyway," she went on, "it was still... even feeling the way I did, I never thought it would change, you know? The genophage was just how the galaxy was. And now it's not... Even Rannoch didn't seem so big a shock to the system - I mean, from a personal point of view, it was... life-changing," she admitted, momentarily troubled before she shook it off, "but still, I remember back when I was growing up, quarians lived on Rannoch. We even had visitors to the Academy, just wearing the bio-screeners they used to use, no full masks - even when these geth-aided treatments come into full swing, and quarians are walking around without all-over suits again... well, there you go, 'again'. What's happening on Tuchanka, I don't know, I can't get my mind around it being something undone, it seems like something wholly new in the galaxy. Or maybe," she said, tilting her head to one side thoughtfully, "everything is - things don't get undone, they just change then change again. I can't imagine the krogan forgetting what they went through, or the quarians, or any of us. Even when things get back to whatever we call normal, it's a new kind of normal, for everyone."

A lit indicator on the oven drew her musings to a close, and focused her on the present, specifically combining poultry and ke'ah without making a mess.

"Be my guest, Mademoiselle Taleeze," she replied over her shoulder, then, half to herself as she worked: "You know what, your name sounds really good in a French accent. Mention that to someone at the club, if I forget, if there's a promo for one of your shows with a voice-over, make sure they say your name like that."

Proudly she finished her work and turned to the counter, laying out quite a respectable main course. With the meal laid out asari-style there were no smaller individual plates for the food to be distributed onto, since the pair were both easily able to reach the main plate they would share.

"Et voilà," she smiled, resuming her seat and handing out utensile. "It is mum's recipe - you know how koto ke'ah is, most every home has their own variation, but this is how mum did it, so this is how I do it. I'm not great at improvising in the kitchen - fun can be had in the process, but it doesn't invariably lead to a good meal, so under the circumstances I thought it best to stick with a winning recipe." By custom she allowed Taleeze the first bite, then took one of her own, and smiled.

"Yep, that's it," she nodded, once her mouth was no longer full. "The asari version - she had a dextro equivalent for dad too. It smelled just as good; couldn't do more than smell back then, of course. Nowadays I can safely have a little - gene mods," she explained offhand, "but I wouldn't attempt making that version, even if I did have turians over for dinner."

She took a long sip of the wine, and leaned back a little on her stool, looking content.

"That's lovely," she murmured. "Did you get it here? Most of the big chain stores have a pretty limited selection of Silva, if you found a smaller place that stocks this sort of quality, you'll have to show me where."

She allowed Taleeze, still in charge of wine duties, to refill her glass, and continued to sip as she accounted for her fair share of the dinner.

"I'm glad you're getting the chance to work with Skylar," she said at one point. "Her negotiating work sometimes keeps her from spending as much time around the club as she'd like, it's lucky her current workload seems to be going smoothly. She does have an eye for style - and talent," she added, tilting her glass in Taleeze's direction. "Of course she's been on stage herself often enough to know what a dancer needs to hear from anyone giving advice. Speaking of advice," she added, "you want to bring her in on this duo show they've got for us? I know we could work things out between ourselves just fine," she grinned, "but this is a pretty big deal, if I'm reading right between the lines of what 'Fina and Charisma told us so far, and Skylar could really give us an edge."

It was interesting to listen to Daias thoughts about the recent galactic developments. Sometimes Taleeze forgot the escort was indeed so much older than herself.

“I have never seen the quarians without their suits. But I will again, that’s good enough for me. In fact, now that I know one” she mad a gesture indication upstairs, “Maybe I will make the acquaintance of others.”

The same would go for krogans as they would become more common throughout the galaxy. So far noting big had happened, no major problems. Everyone was occupied with rebuilding but it would have been naïve to believe than there would no conflicts. The question was, could the spirit of the reaper fight carry a containment of theses conflicts to prevent full scale war?

Anyway, dinner was ready, as Daia prepared the common serving.

”To be honest, my mum was never really into it that much and since the obvious problem with my own dextro-dad, it was only served on rare occasions. Mum didn’t have a dextro version recipe. I guess she should have double checked with your mum on this because this alone smells much richer than I remember it. We were always more of a fish family.”

Taleeze wondered how many years she hadn’t looked into her mothers cookbook anymore and felt a little bit of shame. Okay, more than a little. She swore, that once this was over she’d cook a mum-dinner for Freh and herself on the open fire at the beachhouse and she would catch the fish herself. Promise, mum.

She took the first bite and the salty and spicy crust of the koto was delicious.
“Excellent, my friend” , she said with an approving nod.
As Taleeze was tending the wine, it was her turn to offer the toast.
“To our mothers and fathers.” She raised her glass and their hands touched. “And to their mighty fine daughters.” She looked deep into Daias eyes as she drank. Friendship was bliss.

With giggles and smiles they ate along, until Daia leaned back and commented the wine.
“Oh, that was obviously a lucky find.” Taleeze replied. “It was one of these ‘lonesome afternoon strolls’ that I tend to take around the area where the hotel is where I discovered a small beverage dealer. I was looking for something that goes with anything and Silva is the best company. It can carry it’s own if necessary but steps back for good food. So she was offering a few for tasting and this one was actually from Lusia so I just had to take it. I can give you the address, they sure would appreciate the business.”

Over the wine and the dwindling main dish Daia brought up the subject at hand.

“Yeah, that’s quite a big show and it could define the status of the Apricity as THE sportsbar, if Eafina plays the cards right. As far as I understand it, the preliminary concept calls for two performers, which would be the two of us, that was made clear by Charisma. But for something that big we will need support and an outside view, an art director of sorts. I am all for Skylar, if she can commit to that effort, that is. We will have our hands full being on stage and getting that to post-perfection. I would say, we need to be better than Apricity standard and I’d rather not be distracted by choice of music and watching endless holo reviews to iron out the bugs. Sky can do that in real time. Also, the two of us have not been on stage together as of yet and I’d like to have someone who calls order when we get carried away.” Taleeze winked coquettishly.

“If you want my first idea, I say it is about time we roll the cloak and armor thing out. I could reconfigure a second unit in one or two days, now that I have my own set finally in use. I guess, Charisma could organize that from some markets easily. It is also still so new that it is not widely known, I’ve only been running it for a few weeks now. To a big crowd it would be a genuine novelty. What do you say?”

"Mothers and fathers," Daia echoed wholeheartedly, winking in acknowledgement of Taleeze's addition to the toast, and meeting her gaze without shying away. It was intimate, that stare - not born of sexual attraction, but in its own way not entirely dissimilar, a feeling of nakedness, content to share all.

She nodded her thanks for the address of the wine dealer, then devoted herself to Taleeze's ideas for their upcoming show.

"I'll ask Skylar if she can make time," she agreed. "I'm sure she will. You're quite right, this isn't just a hobby project - if it is the Cup match," - Eafina and Charisma had stressed that no official confirmation of just what the 'halftime entertainment option' they had been offered was in aid of, but there was really no other possibility, especially with the Pulsars management having quietly mentioned that the venue would be the Helix Arena, not the team's usual stadium - "it's bigger than anything since I was with the Stars. And you're right, it'll mean a lot for Apricity - don't worry on that count, Eafina knows how to 'play her cards right'. Unless it's literal cards, she's a pushover at Kiss-and-Honours - worth remembering any time she's around for the Veilday games nights in the common room."

She chuckled, remembering a particularly lively night, several years ago, when Skylar herself had introduced 'strip poker' to the Oasis. She had won handily, naturally enough for being the most familiar with the game, but imaginative forfeits in lieu of clothing had kept the game going long into after the evening had become early morning, and a good time had certainly been had by all.

"It could be pretty big for Envirometrics too," she mused. "I mean - I know I'm good on stage, and friend or not Charisma and 'Fina wouldn't have picked me if they didn't think I'd do the club, and you, proud, but still, there are companies - big ones - who'd kill for the kind of word-of-mouth name awareness that'd come from something like this. Too bad all their CEOs are too uptight to show it all off on stage."

She laughed, then listened attentively, and looked very taken with the idea of using Taleeze's custom stage technology.

"I get to be a Valkyrie?" she grinned, obviously loving the idea. "I'm sold! That'll blow whoever the competition winds up being right out of the water. Do you think we could rig up some synergy between the two units - beyond coordination, I mean? Like, have the holographic elements actually move back and forth between us, your 'armour' flowing off you and onto me, vice versa?" She waved a hand. "Something to look into on the workbench, anyway, and bring up with Skylar."

She paused as a thought struck her.

"I wonder," she said, "the 'mission brief' just had a bare-bones public performance rating, no real specifics, but how arousing do you think we could get away with? It's going to be a full stellarcast, I wouldn't want to cause problems for any of the organisers - or give Apricity a bad reputation - but at the same time, pildavi's an asari spot, and the APU's always supported freedom of expression in the entertainment events around the sport itself, even when some of the broadcasters and markets outside the Republics have questioned it, and let's be honest, you know how audiences react when you get up against the line of whatever level of raciness you're doing and hint at something more, even if it never materialises. With holography and partial cloaks flying around, there'll be a lot of opportunity for suggestion in the act, implying more than's actually happening. What do you think?"

“Yes, you get to be a valkyrie, you’ve been looking forward to this ever since, don’t you think I noticed that?” Taleeze grinned.
Then she thought about the term “competition”. There had been a mentioning of a pair of performers to be brought in by the other team as well but with a separate show piece. Which, although nobody from management had mentioned it officially, only had be meaning that there was going to be a Terminus Cup match again. A pildavi competition between Nos Astra, who has joined the Republics based APU league long ago, against a Terminus based team. As far as Taleeze had understood it, there wasn’t only a battle of the teams but also two parts of a show program competing for the audiences appraisal.

“Actually, if there is going to be a second team on the stage, we get ten, fifteen minutes max for us, if they go with the extended halftime break. How big is Helix Arena actually? I’ve never seen it, but I suppose that will be at least 100.000 and the stellarcast will be huge.”
She took a moment to think about Daias concerns. It was funny that Daia ever had concerns about how much skin she was showing.

“Interesting that you think about that. I assume we can get away with asari-style, maybe not full frontal azure or live sex – which, mind you wouldn’t fit the theme anyway.” She sipped at her wine.
“I would say, if we can get something done, that shows nothing really but tickles the imagination, we should be good to go. The Terminus based stations aren’t known for their prudery either. So what do you say, a classic burlesquish act with all and nothing to see, but in a modern, techno-style way? Skylar could be especially helpful with certain techniques for this.”
Her thoughts trailed of.

“I currently imagine a themed sequence, not just a pure dancing display. Maybe we could do something in the style of a traditional huntress dance. I know a couple of basic ones four pairs. But we won’t do them the usual way, dressed – or more like, undressed with ancient costumes but transcend it into modern with the use of the tech and cloak. Also this could fit the battle and rivalry subject of the match.”
Taleeze let her imagination wander, back to the days when she did those things for hordes of drunk turians and asari.

“I am thinking about something like “the huntresses bring in the prey”, if you ever saw that dance somewhere. Now you may say: but we need a third party for the prey. And I say, you are right and we do have one: I have a drone, which I have never used on stage yet. I was about to use it as a fancy camera tool, I got some nifty plans from CDN for that but it still misses some camera tech. Other than that it is a regular combat drone body, which can – and now pay attention –“ she raised a finger like a teacher probably would have, “… support and relay emitter matrixes. That is used to support shields in combat usually but in our case the drone would serve as a connection between our tech tools and also as an external power source. Means, there will be one master tool and a slave tool connected to it via the drone so we can actually do what you suggest, having a floating matrix exchange. Oh, yes, and of course, in our “techno-huntresses” scenario, the drone would play the part of the prey. We would need a real flashy music piece, a traditional, remade in a modern electronic dance style. That would span the bridge from asari traditions to the modern world, kind of an analogy to pildavi in general I would trust with Skylar and our salarian DJ specialist to build something that blows you out of your shoes! What do you think?”
Taleeze was looking at Daia in quite an exhuberant fashion.

Daia grinned unrepentantly when Taleeze pointed out how her hopes of joining in the valkyrie show hadn't been subtle - she hadn't wanted to be an imposition, but given the pair's developing friendship, she had been pretty sure her hints weren't unwelcome. By way of gratitude she leaned across for a quick kiss on Taleeze's cheek.

"The Arena?" she replied thoughtfully to the following question. "Well, officially nobody knows - the old one was smaller, but it was mainly a racetrack, so the seating was spread along the circuit. They used to add extra space to the central arena for concerts and so on, but from what I've heard from a few unnamed sources, this new Helix is going to have a more permanent stadium as its centrepiece. Could be pretty big."

She nodded her agreement with Taleeze's ideas about the show's content and theme.

"I like how you're thinking," she murmured thoughtfully. "I've done 'huntresses bring in prey' a few times, but always traditional tribal - doing that narrative with modern gear, playing modern huntresses, I like that, I think it'll go down great. Familiarity and novelty all at once, best of both worlds. Skylar will come up with something special for us in the music department - if you think it's a good idea, we might suggest percussion-heavy? Same style as a tribal huntress dance, drums in the night, but sampled industrial sounds for the 'drums', engines and metal and energy, tribal rhythm with modern sounds."

She chuckled, reflecting on the more technical aspects.

"I think I followed most of the engineering there," she said. "Remember I do civilian engines more than military tech... but I get what you mean. I like the drone idea, the dance really does need a pair of 'huntresses' to work - I was involved in a one-huntress, one-prey version a century or so ago, fun but it just didn't have the same oomph," she ran her hands down her sides, posing briefly for emphasis, before continuing: "and the drone would be a perfect compliment to the modern theme. I wonder..." She paused a moment, thinking.

"This may just be a crazy idea," she resumed, "so tell me if I'm just talking nonsense... If we moved the power source out of the drone - it just has to be there, I'm sure we could have it under the deck of whatever stage they put up for the halftime show - that'd free up space for a much more sophisticated holo rig. What if, instead of just the standard holographic drone 'body', we had our little drone prey projecting an asari image form? Essentially our third dancer - pattern the physical matrix after the tech patterns we'd be using on ourselves, even. If the administration follows the usual performance rules - I'll check once all the details are sent through - it'll be like a few shows I did back when I was with the Stars, a holographic image wouldn't count as an additional 'performer' so long as it was set to a predetermined routine with a set maximum level of variation, not VI-assisted to adapt its dance to the other dancers if they fall out of time, so we wouldn't be breaking the 'two dancers only' rule. What do you think? That'd mean we'd have to make sure we keep in time with our 'prey' of course, but," she grinned at Taleeze, "we're good, we could do that in our sleep."

Finishing off her meal, and noticing Taleeze had done the same, she got up and cleared the plate, making way for the final stage of the meal.

"I promised Chef's Surprise for dessert, didn't I?" she said, retrieving a stasis container from the kitchen unit. "This is actually the first time I've tried it, but don't worry, I snuck a little nibble to make sure it tastes the way it should - something Skylar herself introduced me to, as it happens."

She placed the container on the table and resumed her seat next to Taleeze, handing her one of two cake forks.

"Black Forest Cake," she said proudly, removing the lid from the container. "Earth's Black Forest, not the one back on Thessia. Chocolate, cream, cherries, and rum, which if you haven't had it before is quite a thing - kind of like jynnan - but luckily the recipe only calls for a little, otherwise it'd be overpowering. Bon appétit! Don't take too big a slice," she added quickly, "it's one of those dangerously more-ish desserts. As tonight's winner, you get to take the leftover cake home, so no rush."

Taleeze bit her lip and frowned a bit while thinking about Daias proposition for the prey-part. It was possible but just as easy as that.

“I need the drone for the matrix transfer. I know how to do that and could figure that out in a week or so. I’d rather not start synching with a completely new style emitter. But Basically you have a great point, we could have way more sophisticated prey. we would only need a holo emitter in the stge, you know, the types the can move in two dimensions so any holo can move around the stage platform.”Taleeze grinned as if she had just the greatest idea.
“You know, Illium has someone who is supposed to be it’s face. Why not invite it to the party? I suggest Eafina asks Nos Astra tourist office for an Irati unit and an animation technician. Nobody could argue it is a person, but a veritable personality. I guess the tourist office would jump this offer in no time! The drone would keep in the background, maybe just taking a few nice shots of everything for our private database. Wouldn’t that be a cool effect to have Irati all of a sudden appear on stage?”

She sipped from her wine. That was about it, the layout was clear and he could already imagine all the lights and sounds and he toes where tapping a bit in the riling of the stool. Taleeze was looking forward to tell Skylar all of this, she imagined her bright smile and enthusiasm.

Where she thought about that, Daia had places the desert on the table. It looked… awesome but kind of over the top. Taleeze looked at the thing then at Daia, and at the thing again.

“What the fuck is this? This looks ridiculously spoiling. I’ve never seen something like that.”

Daia explained a bit an Taleeze thought that humans had a complete insanitary relationship to cream and sugar obvioulsly. The crossection of the cake reminded Taleeze of a fantasy tale from a starved kids mind.

“Well, then it’s your responsibility, I guess!” Taleeze took the small fork and slowly gut herself a load. She brought the bit to her mouth and tasted the sweet explosion “Oh… aaawwww… Gweat!” Taleeze nodded and took another piece while Daia seemed very satisfied with the result.

After some time she was just stuffed. That was a certified way to eat enormous amounts of grease and sugar. Humans had unsanitary kitchen habits obviously but tasty like hell. She poured the two of them some more of the wine, emptying the bottle into her glass.

“My dear Daia, may I say that you fulfilled your wager to the extreme and put a massive load of shame on my for exploiting you so damn much? This was exquisite and about a good as it can get, plus the company and conversation makes this a total highlight. Thank you and I owe you one.”
She toasted to Daia and drank.

Daia's thoughtful attention to the technical details - she followed well enough, but Taleeze was the expert in this sphere - turned to a sudden grin when she suggested Irati.

"That would be a nice little coup for us," she noted, smiling. "You're right, Tourism would probably go along with it - they've been pushing Irati as a tourist attraction in the press heavily enough, I can't see them backing off this one just for fear of 'compromising the public profile of the system' the way C-Com would with their beloved Avina."

She giggled abruptly, and leaned closer to whisper conspiratorially: "First time I visited the Citadel, I got such a crush on Avina. Pity they limit her conversation cues to the bare minimum - did you know there's a specific C-Com protocol restricting how apparent her smile can be? Not kidding, the assistant director of VI operations told me that - not the current one, this was a while back, when I was visiting for a long enough stay to take on a few repeat clients. Just in case someone, for some reason, ever finds it 'offensive' if a VI smiles too brightly."

She shook her head, then shrugged.

"Eafina's got plenty of people she can talk with to make it happen," she went on, back to business. "Tourism here's had to rebuild itself from scratch since the war, and since we already had Apricity and the Oasis running she had a lot of opportunity to build bridges into the organisation, from top to bottom. Probably helped us get the gig in the first place - along with the reviews you've got since you started dancing here," she grinned at Taleeze. "I wonder if they'd agree to reset her cosmetic parameters to Harriers colours? We're appearing on behalf of Nos Astra, after all, and we're going to 'hunt' and 'catch' her - wouldn't hurt to get the crowd on side. Apart from Aria's Army of course, but they're going to be cheering for whoever Serifia puts up against us in the dance-off anyway, no sense trying to woo them."

She smiled as Taleeze reacted, understandably, to the cake, and thoroughly enjoyed her own slice. Humanity had a certain something for desserts, it had to be said - up there with certain segments of turian cuisine, and better yet from the asari point of view, levo.

"Makes you grateful for having a biotic's metabolism, huh?" she joked as they dug in.

Finally the meal was over, and Daia accepted the toast with a grateful smile, and some small measure of pride. She had no illusion that she had attempted anything especially challenging in the kitchen, but if the measure of a chef's success was her "audience's" approval, as Kaga liked to say, it was definitely a high point in her culinary adventures.

"You owe the Wildkats this one, technically," she chuckled. "Don't think I'm discouraged from trying my luck again - I'll get you next time." After they drained their glasses and stood, Daia drew Taleeze into a warm embrace, kissing the side of her neck as their heads rested on each other's shoulders - intimate, but chaste, a simple press of the lips without any of the well-practiced techniques she could have employed in other circumstances.

"You're very welcome," she said, standing back and, once the remaining cake was sealed up in a convenient stasis container, holding out her hand for Taleeze to escort her up the stairs to the landing platform's door. "It's honestly been my pleasure. I'll see you at the club tomorrow? I've got a couple of bookings in the afternoon, so I'll be around in between them."

She clasped Taleeze's hand - only one, since she was holding the cake - in parting, wished her a safe journey, and watched a moment as her friend made her way across the rooftop platform, and her aircar lifted smoothly off and headed into the night.

Then she descended the stairs again, to clear up the remains of dinner, smiling and contemplating holographic light shows and the allure - if their guess was on target - of a whole stadium watching as she and Taleeze danced, while her hands took care of the routine of cleaning up and washing dishes by themselves.

Before too long everything was neatly tucked away, and Daia made her way back up the stairs, deactivating the dimming field with a gesture as she took the branching stairway that led to the bedroom. She was pleased to find Ana sleeping - sometimes, when the discomfort was too much, she would remain stretched out on the bed in any case, listening to a book, but Daia could recognise the subtle differences. Not wanting to disturb the rare gift, she disrobed quietly and slid into bed as gently as she could, not troubling her bondmate. A lot of things had changed, but when Ana slept well, it remained a given that they would find their way to a comfortable embrace without waking. Daia smiled as the house windows automatically dimmed, and the interior lights faded out.

=====

"Hey," Daia called out, spotting Taleeze in Apricity's common room several days later. "Up for a ride?"

She had checked the club's schedule and knew Taleeze was rostered for 'development' in the upcoming shift, once her break was over - meaning, in her case, either working on her drone and cloak hardware, or practising her art, which she and Daia had done a couple of times already since they had been chosen for the upcoming show. There had still been no public announcement of Apricity's involvement in the scheduled entertainment surrounding the match - which various news agencies had finally comfirmed was indeed the return of the Terminus Cup - but Eafina had assured them both that the agreement between them and the organisers was unbreakable. Normally the pair would have found themselves a vacant spot in the various backstage areas of the club to work on moves, but today Daia had just received a message offering a new possibility.

"Skylar just called in," she explained, sitting opposite Taleeze on another of the lounge chairs and settling her dress, which was styled in a way that would have been quite suitable for an expensive corporate party, had there been more of it. "She's back from Nos Olmos - I thought perhaps we might pop over to her place to talk over the dance, rather than drag her down here right after she got home? Backstage is busy today anyway, and she's got a practice space in her flat that'd do nicely when we need to demonstrate something. What do you say?"

It was a fun thing how easily this whole concept had been falling into place over a good meal between the two friends. Taleeze was sure they could sell this to Eafina and Skylar with no trouble.

Taleeze thought about the idea of putting the prey in the opponents colors.
“Yeah, I see your point. But The face of Illium in the opponents dress? Hm… let’s put another twist to it: The Irati is prancing in Harriers gear, we hunt her and bring her in but then she changes into Pulsars colors and we have a happy ending celebration? This will make the Tourism guys smile I bet. Let’s just see how it works out.”

The time that flown and the evening was coming to an end. It had been one of the nicest experiences since… yeah, don’t compare, just enjoy. Taleeze let Daia pull her close and could feel the warmth of Daia’s body through the gauzy material of her dress. She let her head rest on the friends shoulder, when she felt Daias soft lips brushing her neck. So nice.
Taleeze returned the affectionate gesture with a kiss to Daia’s le'wĕth, right behind the ear. Taleeze didn’t feel any tingle, just a great calmness welling inside.

With the cake inside it’s box she climbed into the skycab and just a short last wave later was already on her way back to her room. She would have a date tomorrow evening with Vale, and that cake would be a most welcome dessert for that. With a very content smile, which faintly mirrored in the cab windows, she was observing the night skyline of Nos Astra. She would sleep very tight tonight.

=====

Taleeze was just admiring the new pair of high heeled dancing shoes, that Maryna was wearing. The other dancer had propped one foot to the edge of the table and let the silver straps flicker in the light of the room

Then Daia approached the two and Taleeze was turning to her friend. “Hey yourself! A ride? What’s up, I was just about to get to work.”

After Daia had explained that she wanted to visit Skylar’s place for a practice session, she was all tingly all of a sudden. “Yeah, of course! I didn’t know she had a personal training ground. Sounds exciting.”

In fact, what excited her was the prospect of getting invited to Skylar’s flat that way, via Daia of course but still. She had never been there and so far only had worked with Skylar – or rather alongside her in the clubs own backstage. Taleeze felt a certain special interest for the blond human burlesque performer, who always had the greatest costume ideas and had this vast collection of fantastic corsets. A Corset was something that wasn’t originally known to asari in the same way humans were using it. Taleeze had learned that the human women a long time ago had to suffer quite a bit under rigid dress codes including very tight corsets which pretty much limited their ability to do anything useful – a completely foolish concept of society as Taleeze thought. Obviously at one point the society and dressing conventions had changed finally and the corset had become an icon of erotic desire and an integral part of a lot of burlesque costumes. It really made for a great silhouette, Taleeze loved the sight of Skylar in one at least.
She had a plan to get a real human-style laced corset some time, maybe Skylar could help her find a fitting one.

She rose and gave Maryna a thumbs up on the shoes, the other dancer smiled and waved her goodbye.

“So, what’s up with you today? Not the kind of dress for a stage rehearsal.” she asked Daia.

In fact Taleeze herself wasn’t dressed up yet, sporting simple tight shorts and a top along with a pair of heels. But her bag with the stage dresses she had planned to wear later tonight when her stage shift was going to be, sat right next to her. Taleeze swung it over her shoulder, ready to follow Daia’s lead.

"It's nothing extravagant," Daia explained, regarding Skylar's 'training ground', "just a dance floor, she hasn't had the apartment long enough to make major changes yet. It's nice though, Thessian hardwood, lovely to get around on barefoot. A bunch of us went over for a 'house-warming' party when she moved in - human thing, it's like a home blessing, except you bring decorations for the place as presents - and I got to try it out. Hey," she added warmly to Maryna. "Sorry to steal her. See you veilday for games night?"

Having made their goodbyes, Daia walked with Taleeze through to the employee landing pad.

"Not really," she chuckled, when attention was drawn to her dress. "Actually I was just playing dress-up in the wardrobe downstairs, seeing what I liked for a booking I've got tomorrow. Do you think this is too hey-look-at-me? It's going to be a cocktail party, to begin with, but not a stuffy one, and the client likes legs on show... Anyway, I've got a gym bag in the 'car, I thought just basic workout shorts and a top would do to demonstrate the moves. Although," she glanced at Taleeze's shoulder bag, "if you've got some outfits, I'm sure she won't mind at all."

The aircar journey was short, just past the edge of old Nos Varda to one of the nearest new suburbs - the pair occupied their time with idle talk, and before long were setting down on one of the visitor pads on a residential parking centre, connected by skybridges to five slender apartment towers. Daia retrieved her bag and led the way to the southernmost tower, which looked back out across the cityscape that had survived the Reaper War.

An elevator took them mid-way up the tower and deposited them not far from Skylar's door, which was just beyond the floor's small common area, a pair of couches and the ubiquitous Tupari refreshment machine tucked in an alcove. Daia waved her omni-tool over the door's entry coder, and stood back for Taleeze to precede her.

The apartment within wasn't anything remarkable in size, but the decor made up for it, being far more lively than the generic corridors outside. The wooden floor Daia had promised was there, shining in the light from a set of full-length windows looking out across the city; it extended far enough to make for a reasonable dance area before giving way to a more mundane polytile surface, and was clear of obscatles, although the ceiling above it was fitted with an array of spotlights clearly intended to serve it. To one side, also up against the windows, was the only area in the apartment walled off, a space contained by glass panes which had rivulets of water streaming down them, giving the impression of a tame, silent waterfall - judging by the view offered by the doorway between the panes, the interior was an office, with a desk and several chairs, and a glimpse of a screen and data interface on the far wall. The rest of the apartment was arranged asari-style like Daia and Ana's, with no real inner divisions aside from the usual doors presumably leading to a bathroom and utility areas, although in this case it was all one level, with the 'bedroom' situated beyond the kitchen and living area; darkened at its end of the large 'room' was, the bed caught the eye in any case, large and circular.

The apartment's walls brought it to life - some areas were sparsely-covered, obviously awaiting future acquisitions, but already there were a number of holographic and hard-surface artworks, all asari in origin but from a range of styles. Near the larger of the two lounge chairs was a replica of a silk oil painting of Viseka - a good recreation, marked as a replica only by the simplicity of its frame - and beyond that a three-dimensional holoform of what looked to be a Kendra marble statue, while facing the kitchenette was a long parchment-style piece showing a panorama in soft, impressionist chalks of Daia's Attena home region. Either side of the mock dance floor, though, were a number of posters and large-format photos of performers and shows. A handful - all from Apricity - were signed in the corners (Daia's name among them), while those from other venues, all in Illium's pre-war past, were replicas only. Several featured Skylar herself - a poster for 'Nos Astra: The Musical' showed her in an impeccable suit, smirking rather devilishly, while others were from more traditional burlesque shows, far more visually provocative.

"One moment," Skylar's voice called from the office area. An indistinct form beyond the liquid 'walls' moved, and became Skylar herself as she exited, dropping a slim personal databook on a side table before reaching out both hands to Taleeze.

"My friend, be welcome here," she said, as an asari might depending on her upbringing when welcoming someone to her home for the first time. "It's good to see both of you, please, make yourselves at home." She warmly grasped Daia's hand as well.

"As you see," she added to Taleeze, with a grin, "this is me dressed down - not disappointed, I hope?" In place of the elegant dresses she always seemed to be wearing at Apricity, she wore very simple, casual attire: smooth, well-worn exercise pants that were loose around her ankles but fit snugly to well-toned thighs and hips further up, and a loose white top; the couple of inches of bare skin between its hem and the waist of her pants incidentally revealing that she came by her classic hourglass figure naturally, without need of the corsets she so favoured.

"Daia sent me your proposal while I was off in Nos Olmos," she explained, leading the pair towards the lounge area, stopping by the kitchen. "Can I get you anything? - I'm very touched, by the way, that you'd like to involve me in this."

“Well,” Taleeze was looking up and down a posing Daia, “Legs he will definitely get, so I think it is alright. Looks fantastic – you do of course, the dress is not so important.” She said that completely casually, adding a wink.

She was looking at her bag, when Daia mentioned the outfit issue for training. “Yeah, don’t worry, we’ll find something. Or we will go at it naked, ha!” She laughed. That wasn’t unusual, a lot of dancers were often practicing certain moves nude in Apricity’s training area, to judge the real effect of skin and lighting.

****

Taleeze had no idea what to expect, but the location and the tower the apartment was in seemed very classy. That would cost a fortune to live here, she mused, thinking about her own small hotel room. She had by now arranged it a bit more comfortable for her own needs an the management had accepted that from a long term guest but it still was a hotel room, a temporary thing. The deeper she got involved in Nos Astra the more she saw what she had been missing on Nevos since the war with so many friends gone – dead or moved, to Thessia for example to help members of the family. She was getting a real social life again. It seemed as if her personal war was coming to an end.

The apartment and especially the view was nothing short of spectacular. If Taleeze would not have known, she would have guessed this as an asari place, maybe on Thessia itself. Especially the traditional pieces were impressive as a lot of asari households were often cluttered with items of the partner species, which in many cases wasn’t asari. It reminded her of the beachhouse, that waited for it’s two asari owners. This place was asari down to the details, if it wouldn’t be for the pictures, showing the beautiful human female that was Skylar.

When the voice could be heard, Taleeze’s heart made a jump. She somehow hadn’t realized that this was in fact a place where someone – and not just anyone – lived, it was at first as entering a showcase. Not that it was uncomfy, by all means, but the feeling had been in a way surreal, in a very positive way though.

When Skylar came over she didn’t lose time and issued a truthful asari greeting, formal but friendly casual, making the “make yourself at home” a bit more literal.

“I am the welcome friend to your house so thank you.” Taleeze returned the gesture with both hands. She maybe held on to them a splitsecond too long, making Skylars fingers slide over hers when she removed her hands.
"Your appartment looks great! That view... nice!"

What she wore made her look like the casual beauty she was. It was, if anything, enhancing the body itself and not taking away. The blond hair was the usual tail in the neck, just like that. Taleeze had in fact so far only seen Skylar either in street wear or mostly in some costume, while working backstage or actually performing. Most of the time the clothing had revealed more than now but in this environment Taleeze thought it was quite okay from were she stood.
Her heartbeat hadn’t slowed yet but she didn’t really notice.

“Not in the least, Skylar, in fact you must excuse my getup, I got surprised by Daia on this and was about to do some work on the drone. I have the stuff with me I’ll need later tonight at the club. It has nothing to do with the show of course and isn’t actually training gear but it will do.” She smiled over at Daia, who still was wearing her skimpy office costume. “But maybe my fat bottom would fit into one of your shorts? You brought stretch, didn’t you?” In fact, between the two, Taleeze indeed felt like physically inferior just this moment. That was odd and didn’t happen to her around Daia, never had so far! She was very proud about her body usually but this just now… Oh goddess. So she had gone for a joke, more like her mouth had since her brain had a splitsecond timeout.

When Skylar led the two asari bye the kitchen and asked about refreshments, Taleeze would have liked to order a shot but instead she said in a joyful tone: “Water would be great, thank you.”
As Skylar prepared the glasses, Taleeze continued

“So you read it already? What do you think? I have no idea if you are familiar with tribal dances but… anyway, you know, most likely. And Of course you must be in with us on this!” She shot a glance at Daia, who had her usual approving smile on. “We need to have the best team and you are the best for directing me and the music concept. Daia can’t observe me this time and I can’t look at her but you know both of us and give great advice.”
She added after a small pause:

“You saw, that we want to get a lot of classic – modern crossover. Theme, music, and the special outfit thing. It should be as teasing as a Burlesque without being too specific about it. We more need… the subtle elements, the essence if you whish, and this is your department. The dancing will also have to adjust to the new music and style. It is good that Daia and I already know the classic form of the huntresses so we can skip this. But to give the motions an modern upbeat…” She focused on Skylars eyes. “..we need you.”

Goddess, now she needed a sip of water.

"Thank you," Skylar said, glancing around her apartment and then out at the view as Taleeze complimented both. "Truthfully, I had no choice with regard to the view - when people comm a legal advocate, if they can't see an expansive skyline through the 'office' window behind her," she gestured to the partitioned-off area of the apartment, "it's nearly as bad as not having your certification framed on the wall behind the desk." She gave a wry chuckle, then looked back, smiling. "But it's no hardship to wake up to, either. She's a magnificent city."

"When she behaves herself," Daia added with a grin.

"I'm partial to a little misbehaviour," Skylar replied without missing a beat. There was a glitter in her eyes as she glanced back from Daia to Taleeze, before turning to make her way towards the lounge area - she didn't actually wink, but there was certainly the impression of one.

Daia returned Taleeze's smile when she joked, but her eyebrow quirked at it - she wasn't quite sure what prompted the comment, nor how to respond exactly.

"Nothing back there that shouldn't be there," she said, grinning as she glanced down Taleeze's back; when in doubt, she sometimes found, a compliment laced with a little humour often helped things along. Unseen to Taleeze, Skylar gave a quick glance back as she poured the water, evidently finding nothing amiss with the contents of Taleeze's tight shorts herself if her appreciative smile was anything to go by.

"No need to get all dressed up just for the preliminaries," she said, returning with the water and handing glasses to both her guests. "Although if you want to, I certainly won't stop you - comfort is important. And," she said, looking at Taleeze from beneath lowered lashes, "I've become rather fond of your dance wear since you started performing at the club. Actually, I appreciate you both coming down here today, on short notice like this. I've been in a nondescript hotel bed the last few nights; for once, I'm quite enjoying lazing around at home."

She took a seat next to Taleeze on the lounge, with enough of a gap not to be too close, but giving her her full attention as she spoke, turned sideways in her seat with one arm on the back of the lounge, her chin resting lightly on her hand. She couldn't have been accused of deliberately striking a pose, but reclined as she was, her posture favouring her generous bust and the curve of her hip, she made for an appealing sight; on Taleeze's other side, Daia, looking past the asari at her, made a mental note to look into a casual-wear-themed costume for clients who were looking for something a little less formal.

"You've got me," Skylar replied, meeting Taleeze's gaze. "I think the two of you will put on a very memorable show - this tribal-modern fusion, amalgamated with the huntress theme, is a very good idea. You've got the tribal dance, which has a strong tradition of its own as a motif;" she began ticking points off on her fingers, "the evocation of history and tradition, strong in pildavi itself already; the modern technology, novel in a stage performance but instantly recognisable; and this notion of the 'prey', the Irati, having the Harriers colours, and being transformed into a Pulsar as she's captured, that I especially like. It's... direct, the audience will follow your 'story' right away, and all the other elements play into it. Yes," she nodded to herself, "it's a spectacle for more than just the eyes. That's what I look for in a performance, engagement with all the sensibilities."

She took another sip of her water and shifted slightly, leaning forward a little.

"I'll look into music in the next day or so," she promised. "I'm familiar with the dance you'll be basing your routine on, but it we want to run through a few moves today - nothing definitive yet, more to get a feel for how the modern take on the dance will come in - I can use that to put together a temp track which we can work to, and change as it suits us, in future sessions. With luck we'll have a pretty solid idea of the rhythm and important beats we want within a week, and then we can go shopping for a composer from Apricity's contact list to give us a final, polished score to perfect everything to."

She set her glass aside for a moment.

"I was wondering about nudity," she said, then chuckled. "That's a memorable way to begin a sentence." She shook her head, then composed herself. "What I mean to say is, would your cloak/tech armour be the entirety of your 'costume'? I agree with what Daia forwarded me that the two of you had decided, to not reveal all - it's a sports halftime show, after all, not a striptease - but the allure in suggesting nudity without showing it is as old as... well," she laughed, "probably as old as the idea of clothing, let alone halftime shows. Believe me, even on Earth, with its nudity taboos - which must seem hopelessly provincial - there's a reason the traditional cheerleader costume has a skirt that short. You two could engineer it so that your cloaking fields, or the opaque portions of the holographic costume, always cover just enough, but at the same time it would quickly become apparent to the audience that that's all that's covering you. That would be... well," she admitted with a grin, "let's just say I doubt anyone in the stadium will be thinking about Serifia."

"I'd feel a little guilty doing that to them," Daia chuckled. "I did live there for quite a while."

"And of course we forgive you for your error in judgement," Skylar joked back. "In any case, the costume needn't be decided right away. Do we want to get changed - I assume you weren't planning to dance in that," she added to Daia, who laughed, "and see what we can do with some moves? I'll be in the lucky position of watching you two, of course," she smiled contentedly, "but since we're missing a VI performer here, if it'd help I can stand in for the 'prey' when you're working out stage positions."

Taleeze was slowly regaining her inner foothold when they sat down. She couldn’t help but stare at Skylar’s navel that was peeking out under the hemline of her top as she spoke, only to disappear again when she shifted or breathed. The praise on the ideas Daia and her had developed sounded wonderful in Taleeze’s ears. This was going to be very good and at that very moment on that couch listening to the blond woman she had the realization what had happened to her. She had been completely dumbstruck about her feelings or didn’t want to even think that way but it lay before just as clear as the sunny sky, that Taleeze had developed feelings for Skylar. A crush wasn’t the correct word; that was what had happened with Vale, given her good looks, the pildavi, the trip … this was definitely more than just a crush.

It was more… a craving, basing on something welling deeper, yet untapped but clearly there, waiting to rise inside Taleeze.

As it usually was with little slow-off-the-mark Taleeze girl, once she was out of the blocks with her self, she got going good. Also this time. A warm feeling flowed through her and her skin was tinkling in excited anticipation. She was back just in time for: "I was wondering about nudity…"

“Hmmmm…” It sounded like she was just thinking about the suggestions but it could have also been a purr. She shifted sideways, turning more towards Skylar, propping her head on one arm from the backrest of the couch, crossing her extended legs, slowly rubbing her calves against each other. “Sounds interesting and I guess that can be done indeed. I will have certain vectors on an intransparent lock, covering the essential parts, so we will basically wear a bikini of pure energy!” She grinned gamy. “That is actually a rather enticing expectation. And it will unsettle a few observers probably, but hey, they have contracted Apricity, not the Sisters of Athame’s Enlightenment.” For a moment, she couldn’t help but imagine Skylar in a skimpy mini skirt, just a second, before she continued with a sigh: “I’ll get that done next time I calibrate the tech armor, just a few values in the matrix.” She rolled a bit over her back, looking at Daia at an odd angle from below, blinking playfully. “Dear, that will be a hell of a costume fitting. Your electronic seamstress will need you for an appointment in the next days.” She rolled back into her Skylar-position again.

Oh, you are the prey, Skylar.

“See, that’s what I mean, you bring out the most wicked in me.” If there ever had been the faintest hint of a wink, Taleeze gave it now, totally invisible for Daia. Her mouth formed a smile, as she wetted her lips a bit to continue after a well timed pause.
“I’d say, we could go through the standard routine of the dance. I have the short musical version on my omnitool, just in case. It is a little less than 20 minutes – the regular version is up to 30, which is way too long. So we could start and look if we just beat it up by 25% or where we could cut moves. I doubt we can submit anything longer than 15 minutes tops, there is another boring couple to consider… blargh.” She laughed at the thought about whoever would be the poor sobs being thrown in the ring against them. The energy she was just generating would carry the three of them right through the Omega 4 relay.
“Skylar, you could indeed serve as the center of attention, but I’d say you don’t need to put up the prey moves, just be our anchor to direct our movements by. But if you can multitask and are familiar with the moves, feel free to try and escape.”

Taleeze rolled into an upright position with the grace of an accomplished performer, arching her back as she rose, realizing her piercing nipples under her shirt. Didn’t matter at all.

“Sooo, ladies, are we getting at it or what? Skylar, where is your sound system?” She cocked her head for a moment. “And because of your beautiful compliment I’ll sport my jumpsuit, okay? So, Daia, let’s get changed!”
Taleeze was picking up her bag and looked around undecided for a moment, then she stepped behind the water covered glass, decidedly hiding from view, dragging Daia with her at the elbow. Of course pudicity was not among the things to be considered among the three adult oriented performers, and it needed a considerable tug to get the message through to Daia.

Behind the glass Taleeze put her bag on an available chair and pulled out a crimson jumpsuit that looked as if a varren had a go at it with its claws. She stripped her shoes and cloths in a second and slid into the piece of seemingly torn fabric. Once she had pulled it tight and had closed the lashes on the side, is was an arrangement of bands running across her skin, forming the outlines of a short, sleeveless jumpsuit but more as if someone had bandaged various stripes of the crimson material around Taleeze, following the natural forms and underlining each curve, her skin showing between the straps. The inhibited feeling from a few minutes ago totally gone, Taleeze felt like having the most exciting ass in the whole universe.
”I got that at La Petite Coquette,” she whispered to Daia, while arranging the straps around her breasts, “we so have to go there together next time!”

She winked at Daia. And turned away from her. Taleeze closed her eyes for a moment, exhaled, opened her eyes and stepped out from behind the glass, balancing a pirouette on her bare toes into a presenting stance for Skylar, smiling.

“Ready when the music and the prey is.”

"Oh, agreed," Daia said wholeheartedly, pausing in the act of donning her own 'costume' - a far more mundane set of workout gear, consisting of leggings and a sports bra (admittedly, both more revealing than workout gear strictly needed to be) - to admire Taleeze in her outfit. Even having missed the silent signals Taleeze had sent in Skylar's direction on the couch, she had no doubt the human was about to have her jaw dropped.

Skylar was just finishing getting changed herself when the two asari reappeared - facing away, in the bedroom area, they had a clear view of her bare back for a moment before she pulled up the silver backless leotard bunched around her waist and slipped her head beneath its neck strap.

"Hullo," she murmured as she looked over her shoulder and caught sight of the pair. Her eyes passed warmly over Daia, but settled on Taleeze. "Is this what you have for the club tonight? I may have to catch that show."

She rounded a multi-exercise machine parked in the corner of the bedroom and returned to the apartment's front, where Daia and Taleeze were waiting - front-on, her leotard proved to have a considerable opening running up the middle of the torso. Its perfect oval shape made a pleasing contrast to the concave curve her trim waist gave her; furthermore, it seemed designed to be exactly as large an oval as it could possibly be without revealing anything that simply couldn't be revealed if it still wanted to call itself 'clothing'. A tiny blue glow from a stud on the collar revealed it was a second-skin garment, generating a gentle dermal adhesion field to remain in place - given how high the oval cutout reached up her chest, and Skylar's figure, it was probably all that kept her from popping out of it. The fabric glimmered, revealing rainbow hues in the sunlight from the windows across the dancefloor.

"So, we don't need to explain the concept of 'just enough coverage' to you, then?" Daia joked. Skylar laughed.

"I worked hard to get my figure back - it'd be such shame not to show it off," she chuckled. Her eyes slid to Taleeze again. "Besides, it wouldn't be proper to stand in as 'prey' - even just for positioning - wearing any old thing. The Huntresses wouldn't be properly motivated if there wasn't a nice juicy meal on offer, would they? Dancefloor, practice."

The last words, directed vaguely at the ceiling, brought a faint holographic grid covering the floor to life, as well as a sound and light controller terminal which projected itself into being on one side; Skylar directed Taleeze towards it, with a gentle and slightly lingering touch on her arm.

"Be my guest," she said; among the access screens was one which would allow Taleeze to log into her omni-tool and retrieve the audio from it. "The 20-minute version, as you said - perhaps at our next session we might run through the full-length one, to see if there's anything we might port over into our customised version, but for now we shouldn't dawdle."

Daia had made her way across the floor, to the second Huntress's flanking position. Skylar in turn moved back a few paces, placing herself at the third point of a triangle between the three of them.

"Very well then," she smiled. "Catch me if you can."

If she had expected to outshine Skylar, she had been pranked.

“Hullo yourself.” Taleeze liked to be pranked that way. “Yeah, be my guest. I’ll do a double with this one, plus the fitting boots – which really rock – and another one, a surprise desert, if you wish. Be my guest.”

Sklylar had an absolutely striking body and her training out was more adequate for a stage than a gym. Second Skin was a great thing, Taleeze also had a few costumes that used this feature. Display the Impossible used to be their slogan but Sklyars body was very possible.

“I didn’t expect she’d need a lesson on that, Daia” , Taleeze threw in laughing at Daia’s comment.

But what did Skylar mean with the comment on her figure? Taleeze had no idea, but noted the workout equipment and the extremely well toned muscles underneath that skin. Sport had a positive effect, Taleeze had noticed a few improvements on herself since she had improved her regime with the pildavi rounds and the morning exercises in the small park at the hotel. At first it had the notion of the unusual but nowadays sometimes an occasional other asari would join in on the traditional routine. Anyway, maybe she would ask Daia about that or Skylar would tell herself.

“Consider me motivated then, Ms. Sinclair.”

The training floor was a real nifty installation. The gridded floor made it easy to keep track and these kind of programs also often had a replay function so you could actually check the progression of your steps.

“Yeah, we could do that,” Taleeze replied on the suggestion about the analysis of the full version. “we should set up a schedule for this little lair of yours.” She grinned and raised an , as Skylar gave her a look.

So they too position on the floor. Huntress and prey. For once, Taleeze didn’t consider Daia in the equation.

"Very well then, catch me if you can."

On that command the sound system burst to life, the pulsing beat of drums echoing through the apartment, the flickering lights transcending the trio and the place back in time, endless ages ago into the forests of Thessia. Primeval instincts at work.

====

The crescendo of the so called praising part had faded and the three stood in the final stance, prey in the middle, tensed body, on her toes, arched back, head in the neck, on each extended arm held by a huntress.

“Gotcha.” Taleeze whispered panting and smiling. A twenty minute routine was quite a bit of work. She had never done that thing with any of the two but after a few timing lapses in the beginning they had hit the stride and were flowing pretty well towards the end.

They untangled and left the floor, laughing, everyone obviously satisfied with the start of things.

Skylar held her pose for a moment, staring up at the ceiling and panting as Taleeze and Daia held her outstretched between them, then took a deep, steadying breath and let it out slowly.

"Lucky little Irati," she chuckled, before giving both asari's arms a quick squeeze as they let go, and joining in the laughter - exhilaration, really - as they left the dancefloor.

"Thank you my dear," she said, accepting a bottle of water from Daia, who had retrieved three from the kitchen on her way over; she handed the other to Taleeze and leant against the kitchen counter, catching a small towel Skylar tossed her way in turn, while patting her face with one of her own. The human had evidently secured some of Apricity's stock for herself, in the event of guests - hers had white bands on either end, marking it as tailored to humans, while Daia's had blue, its fabric customised to accomodate the slightly different makeup of asari sweat. Skylar handed another blue-marked towel to Taleeze, took a sip of her water, then tilted her head back and poured a little over her face.

"I really should do collaborative dances more often," she noted, favouring Taleeze with a smile as she slicked her wet hair back and gave her face another brief rub with the towel. "So much more invigorating to practice."

"Maybe it's the company," Daia said innocently, watching Taleeze's reaction to Skylar a little more closely, and giving a little grin.

"Perhaps it is," Skylar agreed. "To old friends... and new." She raised her water bottle in an informal toast, touching her hand to Daia's asari-style, then Taleeze's, lingering again before she broke the contact.

"What do you think about shortening the routine to fifteen minutes?" Daia asked, flicking her omni-tool on and projecting a timeline of the music and dance, drawn from the dancefloor's system.

"I like the opening moves," Skylar said, pointing to the virtual screen, "but perhaps we could flow them into this, skip some of the steps right after them - I think your audience will pick up that it's the huntress/prey scenario quickly, so the initial stalking... fun as it is," she grinned at Taleeze, before returning her attention to the display, "may not be strictly necessary. The Harriers, in the form of Irati, know what they're there for, after all - I think a little subtlety could be sacrificed for expediency's sake, and after the opening bars you two can go straight for the chase..."

The trio continued discussing the dance, shifting segments of the virtual timeline around to see how they fit together, comparing dance steps with the progression of themes, and taking it in turn on the dancefloor to demonstrate moves which would truncate some sections, or experiment with performing at a faster pace. It was Daia's omni-tool which alerted them finally to the passage of time.

"Oop," she said, surprised but not concerned. "Got to get back to work, I have a mid-shift client..." She straightened - they had decided a few minutes ago to finish dancing for the day, and had been doing cool-down stretches while discussing the tempo of the show - and took a second glance at her screen, loading a copy of Apricity's schedule.

"You've still got a while before next shift, though," she said to Taleeze. "Do you want to stick around and chat a little longer? I can leave the Talbot and get a taxi...?"

"I could drive you," Skylar offered, turning to Taleeze. "If you don't mind us taking my car - which admittedly won't turn as many heads as Daia's retro-chic machine. I have to go down anyway to compare notes with Eafina. And to be in the audience in time for your show, of course."

"Sound good?" she checked with Taleeze. "Okay then. Well, if I finish up before you go on stage I'll pop by, otherwise I'll see you when I see you for the next practice." She retrieved her bag from the office, then returned to the pair, giving each an affectionate hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Au revoir," she smiled.

"Au revoir," Skylar echoed. "Love to Ana." After saying her farewells to Taleeze as well, Daia headed out the door, evidently not at all fazed to be out in public in her skimpier-than-necessary exercise gear. Skylar chuckled, then turned to Taleeze.

"Shall we sit?" she offered. "I suppose technically we have time for one more round, but all work and no play... even when the work more or less is play. Besides, we haven't really had the chance to 'just talk' - my fault, I regret to say, we keep bumping into one another at the club, but I'm always in a rush. I'm sorry I haven't yet had the time to get to know the woman behind the electrifying dancer." She gave Taleeze a warm glance, watching for her reaction to the compliment. "An oversight I'd very much like to correct."

She took a seat on one of the lounges, leaving it to Taleeze to decide where to seat herself. The neighbouring armchair would be comfortable, and close enough for a friendly discussion; the seat beside Skylar on the couch, however, would be far more cosy.