[Illium] Turning Wheels (*Closed*)

"Can't help it," Daia laughed. "And I'm such a good bad influence, it'd be a shame to let it go to waste!" Inwardly she was pleased that Taleeze's occasional associations with the film business were finding acceptance at home, and that Freh'ya's initial shock - understandable given her experiences, and CX3's touchy subject matter - had abated.

"Come on up," she invited, leading the way up the short curving stairway. The brief ascent put them before the main bedroom area, on a wide and deep mezzanine balcony looking out over the lounge area of the main floor below, and sharing its view across northern Nos Astra. The bed was as large and luxurious as one would have expected, and a glittery, expensive-looking dress hung outside the wardrobe nearby, evidently in preparation for a night out - though what kind, who knew. An airtight portal led to an adjoining room, evidently Ana's changing room by the set of displays showing (visually for Daia's benefit, presumably) various suit components and sets stored inside, along with readouts on their performance and decon status. A large, wide mirror faced into the room from its back wall, possibly for dressing in front of, although given the upright x-frame positioned to face - demurely shrouded at present under a silky black sheet - it had other uses.

"Help yourself," Daia said, scooping up a pale blue towel from a shelf to the other side; luckily she had always liked wrapping herself up in really big towels, so the many spares available were actually just about the right size for the tall commando. The bathroom was partially sectioned off by glass panels, decorated in salarian abstract etched patterns, which echoed the tiered design of the bright space within. Daia waved a hand over a control space, causing a low shelf to extend from the wall.

"How do you like it?" she asked, undoing her workout suit and letting it slide down, catching it with a raised foot and flipping it onto the shelf. "Comfortably warm, sizzlingly hot... please don't say cold? If you do, we're taking turns," she added with a half-grin. The shower was large enough that - if the temperature matter were to be settled amicably - they'd have been able to both use it at once without being forced unduly close. There were no partitions hiding it from view - Daia evidently preferred space to privacy - and a multitude of nozzles were neatly fitted into the surrounding ceiling and walls, even the floor, no doubt making for a very versatile clean.

Freh’ya nodded and followed Daia’s lead. She looked around discreetly, since this was a very personal space of someone else. Of course she knew how outgoing an outright exhibitionistic Daia was but there was a subtle difference about carefree behavior or forcing intimate things to someone’s face. For Freh’ya and in the context of asari lifestyle, Daia was the among first and Freh’ya noted what she saw but of course didn’t take extended time to intrude Ana’s private area further.

The bathroom was beautifully designed as she thought and spacious enough for the two of them. She took the towel and while Daia undressed, she did the same, pulling her top over her head and sliding her pants down on the floor. She chuckled amused at Daia’s trick as she picked up her pants biotically and put on a shelf next to where she had deposited her towel.

“I will comply with whatever you find pleasing, Daia.” She answered to the temperature question. The huntress could cope with whatever was given to her in terms of water temperature. She had been rubbing down in snow or soaked in volcanic springs.

She had noted it earlier but now she was able to observe the tattoo on Daia’s back for the first time in nature. It was the first time they were naked together but of course Feh’ya had by now seen Daia in the buff on a vid screen but that wasn’t the same.

“That’s an impressive tattoo. Is that permanent or one of those nano tattoos that can be removed after a few decades?”

She was absent mindedly feeling around her shoulder that had given her stress a while ago and checked the tension of her thigh muscles after the light workout… she wasn’t sure if she would use Skylar’s machine later that day or if she wanted to go easy for a couple of days. One would see what her mates had in mind.

"That's usually my line!" Daia laughed. She shook her head, still chuckling, and reached over to gesture inside the shower's control-sensitive space. "Just short of sizzling. Mix of large droplets and mist spray, twenty... VI tracking enabled and..." She broke off and shot a grin at Freh'ya. "I'm going to have a horrible time in boot camp, aren't I? All these creature comforts I let myself get used to."

Without being obvious about it, she took a glance or two at Freh'ya disrobed - enough to attach a mental image to the emotional impressions she had gained from melding with Taleeze. She hadn't pried into specific memories, but there was no avoiding the silhouette of Freh'ya in her mind, the understanding of what she felt when she saw and thought of her first mate.

"Oh thank you," she smiled, when the commando noted her tattoo. "No, this one's staying. I used to get various decorations now and then, on one whim or another - nano inks, but laid in the traditional way whenever I had the time and a good artist handy. Always felt the little sting was part of the experience." She stepped into the water and turned slowly, stretching. "Plus I've gone through phases like any Maiden. I'll dig up some photos later from a couple hundred years ago, I was so over the top it's hilarious. Hindsight," she giggled, clearly not bothered at all by reflecting on her youthful flights of fancy. "But no, this is bio-bonded ink, so it's here to stay. It's a complementary twin of Ana's." She smiled, but didn't elaborate. "The makeup people usually put a concealer nano-layer over it for films - although not always, they decided there's no reason a Justicar couldn't have something like this."

Freh’ya chuckled dryly, not letting her mind dive too deep into what Daia might do on a daily basis. While she herself felt very content about her sexual experience and life, being teased by the escort was making one feel like a pre-maiden again. What would Daia think about her?

And so it happened that Freh’ya at the exact same time as Daia thought about the images she had seen in Taleeze’s mind when they had melded. Maybe it also was the quantum entanglement at work, that was adjust the mysteries of siari.

“Ana has the same, huh? I wonder how a quarian gets tattooed these days. It sure is an act of extreme trust for them as this is potentially life threatening. But then, it is very special as only she is able to feel it and it is only visible in the most special of occasions. Or if she should chose to wear a transparent suit. Does she ever?”

The huntress let the warm water run over her body, taking special care of the folds between and under her tendrils. She didn’t use any shampoo, pure water was the best to wash down a light sweat.

“Well, all you need to bring to boot is the mental stability and the will to tackle the tasks. Of course boot s not pleasant. It is where you get to face the worst so later on you will most likely be in a comfort zone. Of course, that is theory….” BANG…..

It was not clear what ticked her off or why it was so strog, stronger than everything she had experienced in months. Trategos had left her cold as ice, she had functioned like a precision tool.

Was it the lack of discipline? She was hugging her knees tight, sitting on the shower floor, staring at a tile, lightyears away, the tears were invisible in the water running over her head.

"A twin," Daia clarified, running her hands over her scalp with her eyes closed in the spray. "Mine's shaped as if it's curled around hers. I was friends with a tattoo artist who lived nearby before the war, we spent quite a while on the design. They're different - hers is very sharp-looking, all edges and angles - but they fit together. Symbolism not so subtle," she chuckled. "She has a few suits that are... more exotic in various ways. But no, nothing that revealing - we've already got our quota of exhibitionists in the house. She's got a lot though, much more than just the back. They're very lovely." Her voice took on a reflective, dreamy quality, then she mentally shook herself back to reality.

"Well, generations of turians have managed," she smiled. "And they're not all made-of-battle-steel Kiriyas and Orakas and Vakarians going full-soldier - I'm sure I'll be able to muddle through well enough to call myself a citizen at the end of it, at least."

She happened to be facing the other way, and was aware only of a swift motion behind her - thinking it perhaps just a stretch she didn't turn at once, and by the time she did Freh'ya was on the floor.

"Freh'ya?" she said, dropping quickly down to kneel beside her, ignoring the water streaming over them both. "Freh'ya, can you hear me? It's Daia. Freh'ya, it's safe." She put a gentle hand over the commando's, still hugging her knees close - she wanted to hold her, let her feel secure, but too much too quickly might be startling.

Freh’ya was calm on the outside, no shivering, her breath was even. The only visible sign of her mental turmoil and emotional breakdown was the tears would they have been visible.

It felt as if Daia was touching somebody else, some asari she once knew. There was a rush in her ears, shooting, screaming and explosions mixing with a constant noise like heavy rain to wash away the blood and the fires.

She looked up at Daia, blinking through the water that ran into her eyes. She came back into the now, knowing exactly what had happened. She had gone through this numerous times since the war. It had not happened in public yet though. Was Daia public? She had lost the feeling for time and a certain numbness which had altered her perception of space was only slowly fading.

“I’m here.” she said monotonous voice. With a sigh she got up, her face was empty as she briefly looked at Daia. She grabbed the towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, rubbing her face and head dry eventually with the loose ends.

After a while she said calmly: “I’m sorry you saw that. It’s rare these days but you never know…” She was playing with her towel seam, not looking at Daia. Leisure time didn’t do her well; she could not rely on her honed senses and reflexes, the corset of her education that had proven helpful. That and the closeness of Taleeze and Skylar. She fastened the towel over her breast.

“Could I have something to drink?”

Daia offered what she hoped was a sympathetic smile, and stood as well, turning the shower back off.

"Don't worry about it," she said softly, to Freh'ya's apology. She wanted to say more, say she understood - did she? She knew enough, at least, not to believe it was that simple. Ana still sometimes had nightmares still, but that wasn't new, even before the war. She had clients, even, who had been surprised by some personal pain or other arising when they least expected it; lacking the close bond she shared with Ana, she could only offer what comfort she could, which at least was usually appreciated. Nobody's pain was the same as another, though. The best she could do was offer compassion, and hope it wouldn't seem like pity.

"Of course," she replied, wrapping her own towel around herself. There was a dispenser just outside in the bedroom, linked to the penthouse's storage, which she used to summon up a pair of glasses of water. She unsealed both, handing one to Freh'ya.

"What can I do for you?" she asked. Perhaps familiar surroundings were what she needed, but at a moment like this the last thing Daia wanted was to make her feel unwelcome to stay. Her voice was gentle, and she hoped it would convey her willingness to help - if she could - without being intrusive.

Freh’ya took the water. Her hand was stable and didn’t tremble one bit as she slowly took a few sips. The cool liquid felt good in her mouth and down her throat. At times, she had numbed herself with hard liquor but these days seemed far away now.

Yeah, what could Daia do for her. Not much and everything, be a friend for starters. Absent minded, the huntress walked a few steps, the towel playing around her thighs, looking shorter than Daia’s wrap-around. She leaned on the balcony, looking into the living room below, then turned to face Daia.

“It’s gone now… don’t worry. Maybe I am not the holiday type, I am much better at coping with pressure and dangerous situations. “ she chuckled, looking at her glass for a moment. “Or being kept occupied by my loving mates. So probably you could start shooting at me now or screw my brains out to help me.” She laughed quite hard at her own joke.

“Sorry, but just a bit of your time would be all I can ask for.” She had calmed down now and her face was getting soft. “We never had the time to get to know each other well enough. You are a sister to Taleeze and Skylar and I’d like to get to know you better. You’ve seen… something that I am not comfortable with showing. That’s the best of times now.” She stepped closer and took Daia’s hand with her own free one.

“So if you have time… let’s get comfortable and tell me a bit about that girl that’s so important for my girls. And I promise to answer every question you might have.” She smiled, her eyes still bit hesitant.

"I'm qualified for one of those," Daia said, joining Freh'ya in laughing. "But I think maybe it's the mates rather than the screwing that helps..." She continued to chuckle, glad to see Freh'ya's expression thawing as she recovered. She let the commando take her hand, and smiled in return at her.

"All the time in the world," she promised. "C'mon, let's sit." She gestured to the mezzanine's reading nook, a semi-circular couch backing onto the balcony rail, with thin panes of crystal suspended from the ceiling acting as a kind of partition from the wide open view down into the rest of the house. Daia sat and curled her legs beneath her, making sure her towel wasn't revealing anything inappropriate (she giggled quietly, reflecting that normally she'd have been taking care to make sure it did), and took a sip of her water.

"I don't know that there's that much to tell, really," she chuckled. "I kind of am the asari Maiden stereotype... aside from being too old to be a Maiden still, but that doesn't seem to have stopped me yet, so I don't see any reason to let it." She smiled as an idea struck her. "Do you fancy a stroll through the photo album? I promise, most of them are decent..."

One of the things that Nevos and Illium had in common was the warm weather, Illium being even hotter. Either way it was very comfortable tu around bare foot and with little clothing. Freh’ya enjoyed the sensation of the dampness on her skin drying up. It was a feeling that distracted her from her inner demons, the void she had been looking into.

Freh’ya mimicked Daia’s position, her longer figure making it more difficult to arrange the towel.

“The illusive maiden years… I tell you I can feel them slipping through my fingers myself. And in all honesty, here at home you very much like a matron, I can’t imagine you wander anywhere anytime soon, am I right? This looks like you have found your centre.”

When Daia suggested the album, Freh’ya chuckled. oh, yes, distract me!!! “Of course, I am curious what you were like as a little one.” She pursed her lips and added: “Did Tal ever show you her old family album?” She was thinking about a couple of particularly cute pictures of little Taleeze. Her mind was travelling back and forth, back and forth, just no resting in the present. Forget and concentrate. The fog was only so slowly clowding what had been washed to light.

"Hmm, can't deny it," Daia smiled. "But don't tell anyone, it's a secret. If people start calling me 'Matron' I'll have to totally redo my stage persona. Not that I couldn't work that..." she added with a wink.

She leaned forward to activate a display in the couch's small book table - a richer-quality screen than an omni-tool - and called up a library of stored photos.

"You know what, she hasn't yet, no," she noted, cycling through images and datestamps. "Not that she's been hiding the album, I just don't recall the topic ever coming up. I'll have to wheedle them out of her some time... Ah, here we are." She selected a photo, which expanded to a large display size - a family photo, parents and child.

"Mum and dad," Daia said proudly. The resemblance between her and her mother was clear, though the elder asari's skin was paler, and her facial markings had a complex underlying pattern, a subtle mosaic that detailed the bridge of her nose, her forehead, and her cheekbones around the more conventional pattern. The father was turian, middle-aged, with a weathered face and still a powerful, active build; he was dressed casually, but there was a military bearing to him even so. Both were sitting on the side of a light aircraft, bright in the sunlight, and between them - just tall enough to have an arm around their shoulders while standing upright on the cockpit side - Daia, youthful and beaming, the hand over her mother's shoulders also clutching a small toy hanar. She and her mother both wore sleeveless flight suits, hers a miniature version.

"Right before my first ride in the family ornithopter," Daia explained, touching the screen to zoom it out - the image receded, showing more of its surroundings to reveal the aircraft as an asari-made glider, berthed in a pool of nutrient-rich water in a clearing. "She's dual-control, but mum did all the actual flying, naturally - once she'd got us up I got to steer us back and forth a bit. Which was plenty amazing just by itself, you can imagine! Took quite a few years before I was old enough - and calm enough - to take Vixen up solo, though." She chuckled, moving on to another photo - herself, a little older and in a loose singlet and shorts, clustered with an array of other children of similar ages in the courtyard of a school. Amid the gaggle of asari were a few turians and salarians, a pair of hanar children, a batarian, even a young quarian - a startling sight nowadays, in the open and amid aliens with only a backpack bio-rig and a clear mask over his mouth and nose, though commonplace enough all those centuries ago. Various adolescents, peer mentors presumably, and Matron teachers were stood around the group, as well as a smartly-dressed turian and an elcor, also evidently teachers.

"Fourth year at school," Daia said fondly. "The first proper year, when I graduated from supervised mucking-about to actual structured learning. Oh, there he is." She swiped the photo to enlarge a portion of it, zooming in on the elcor teacher, who proved to have a pair of asari children on his back, peering over the top of his shoulders.

"Mister Mortohn," she said. "Council History and Culture, he was everyone's favourite. Not quite as... evocative as others in the way he'd lay out the basics of whatever we were studying perhaps, but he had this way of pinpointing certain details that really caught your imagination." She chuckled again, eyes misty in memory, then blinked and glanced at Freh'ya. "Your father was elcor, wasn't he?""

Whose fucking stupid idea had it been to look at some asari's school pictures?

Face your fears, know your fears, her Matriarch had said, but Freh'ya had to control her breath to remain calm and in her ears, her own heartbeat was fighting with Daia's voice. There was no blood, there was no blood, no dead bodies.... no Banshee screams.

"Sweet pictures, your family looks happy."

She focused the top right corner of the page, mentally moving back towards the warmth of her family when she answered. She remembered the cradling arms of her dad, the soft cheeks of her mother, the smell of flowers and the tickling rumbling feeling when she touched or hugged her dad when he talked, it soothed her to no end.

"Yes, an emissary from Dekuuna on Nevos. My mum used to be a huntress but had to end her active career after an injury. She was on Dekuuna for healthcare when she met my dad. Some of the traits always carry over, don't they?" Of course she knew there was no real physical trait transfer. Her build was just coincidence. "Social traits, the education they give you, the lessons they teach you. I am a rock in a stream, rounded by the stream and adding turbulences to the stream itself at the same time, that's part of what my dad taught me. I've taken a few chippings a while ago though, I influence the currents in a different way now."
She had to talk about it some time with someone, she had to open up to someone else than the Matriarch.

"A private Ornithopter is quite the thing! We only had a Ticker* or a Streamchaser**" she had to laugh now as she remembered the warm waves around her.

"She's inherited," Daia smiled. "My grandmother first commissioned her, ten centuries ago. She's a dawn sprite, emergent configuration - when mum was her primary pilot, when I first got to go up, she was fixed-wing. Mum loves straight-line speed, and altitude - boost up high then ride the western current. She opened up the aero geometry when I started flying though, let Vixen adapt, and I'm all about getting down into the landscape, moving with the canyons and the coastline rocks. Vix' had her wings go photoreactive to suit it, a dawn rider. I like it best with the grav engines off, flying on air lift alone." She chuckled suddenly. "I was a bit of a daredevil in my youth, you know. Nothing reckless, Vixen's got all the safety systems, but still, the feeling."

She listened as Freh'ya elaborated on her family, nodding thoughtfully.

"I've heard similar teachings," she said quietly; the slight tightness in the commando's voice could simply have been an after-effect of her earlier episode, she hoped. "And I know what you mean, we are our fathers' daughters. I had this done, when I was old enough - a gene mod - to... make it something I could look in the mirror and see." She touched the central markings on her forehead, a split 'V' that stood out, bolder than the lines on her temples and cheeks. The same markings were smaller and thinner on her younger self in the photos; the reason became evident seeing her father's tattoos, arranged around a similar central glyph.

"How long are you on leave?" she asked, curiosity piqued by the mention of boards. "It'd probably be something for next time you're here actually, but in a couple of months it's local summer, the beaches on the Jade Sea get pretty popular. Not quite Nevos, as beaches go, but the surf can get pretty impressive."

Freh’ya laughed gently. “I sure believe that daredevil part. The way you describe Vixen you probably would like the FuHa in flight config. It’s different, sure, the size alone, but the rush of the air as you glide above wave hight is something else.” She remembered her last outing with Skylar and Taleeze. Sadly enough this only happened on rare occasions but the the boat was maintained by the daughters of their neighbor in their absence it was kept in good shape at least. She would take the two out for a couple of days when she returned to Nevos, they had earned a reward.

She studies the escort’s markings and while not being clearly visible, now that she mentioned it, they had a turian shape to them. Overall, Freh’ya thought with bemusement, the markings were pretty similar to her own. Something that in ages ago had meta meaning – or at least could be seen as a good omen, as you could take anything as a good omen if you wanted to. She was okay with that though.

When Daia mentioned the Jade sea, Freh’ya was nodding.
“That sounds great and I’ll make that happen, be sure! I’ll be here for at least two weeks this time around, could not pry out more from my superiors. So what about you, you’re into watery activities as well, right? I recall this memorable sail boat ride Taleeze does not get tired of talking about. Are you also into boards?”

"Oh, that," Daia laughed. "The sail boat was memorable, sure enough - I'm just an amateur at boat handling though, I wouldn't know where to begin with a complex craft. Luckily the lakes are pretty placid, I've always been able to muddle around without accidentally colliding with anything. I'm sure Taleeze would've stepped in if I'd started pulling on the wrong rope, anyway."

She chuckled and leaned back, waving the photo display away; it shrunk down to icon size on the table, waiting to be needed again.

"I dabble a little in everything," she admitted. "The waves on the Jade can get pretty big in surf season, so I mainly stick to the calmer beaches - where I spend plenty of time tipping over into the water anyway, but it's good fun. Haven't got my own board at the moment but there are plenty of rental places down by the shore. I used to be quite fond of high diving, but so far there aren't any good diving pools nearby where I can keep in shape - hopefully someone'll build one before long..."

-----

Apricity was buzzing - a big turn-out tonight, although with the interior walls between the bar and cabaret retracted and the stage lowered into the floor, there was plenty of room for socialising and dancing both. A number of revellers had come dressed for the occasion: red and white predominated among humans, with some green highlights, which fortuitously matched the green and white ribbons tied around the biceps and crests of the turian attendees and others celebrating their tradition.

Daia glanced up at the elevated lounge, where Ana and Charisma were chatting; Ana had let her know to be ready for a dance later on, when the music particularly suited the quarian, but given the press of people on the main floor she had elected to sit it out until then, somewhere where she wouldn't continually be at risk of collisions. Returning her gaze to the main door she spotted Skylar making her entrance, in a clingy red dress trimmed with white fur - which she hoped was less cosy than it looked, since even with the club's climate control working on full the mass of people, and the oncoming Nos Astra summer, were a poor substitute for the winter climate she understood this Christmas to have originated from.

The night was young and yet the cub was already very full. One of those night where Taleeze could feel more like a guest herself instead of an entertainer on the stage or for those preferring private dances. There would be two slots where she would be part of a choreography but other than that it was free dancing and socializing, no lap dances tonight! The music was a cheerful club beat with a high pitched voice singing the melody. The volume was perfect so it was loud enough to get lost in a dance but also easy to still have a conversation. But somehow the dancer just can't drop her persona when in the club, so she was greeting the regulars she recognized and she would probably have to drink to couple of toasts tonight.

She even dropped by to say hello to the elcor chess player in his corner, whose name she kept forgetting. eventually she had danced her way through the crowd on the main dance floor. She was covered in a tight white shiny overall with dark green sparking star applications, fitting her makeup and jewelery.

Eventually she had reached Skylar and with a final twirl, let herself drop into the human's arms.
"Hey, honey!" she placed a kiss on the blond woman's lips, leaving a tiny bit of white sparkle - most likely she had picked up some red herself. "Party is already underway pretty good! Want to go over to the bar or upstairs to the tables? Either way I could need a break, I've been dancing since I'm here and not getting paid is proportionally enhancing the pain in my feet right now." She chuckled.

Stumbling out of the crowd with sparkling red cocktail dress, Chris scanned the crowd and caught glimpse of Daia and one of her associates. Approaching the Asari, the woman offered over a wide and warm smile. "Daia! Hello! It's me, Christina Waller, we went to Kaga's last time I was on the station?" She planted her hands against her lower back and tilted a head.

"I'm glad to see you again! I'm just here because you mentioned a party and I ..well, own one of the newest restaurants in the city. I haven't really been to a club in ages and I have two left feet." She pushed her long hair back off her shoulder, letting it drape down her back. "I feel like I'm out of place here."

"Hallo you," Skylar grinned, catching the asari easily. "Ooh, sore feet? We'll tend to those later on." She brushed a fingertip over her lips, and laughed lightly at the sparkles she saw she had picked up. "Let's see if we can sneak a table while nobody's looking, shall we? A bite to eat? Squeezing into this," she stroked the sides of her dress, "didn't leave time for dinner, so I'll be mildly grazing a bit - not to excess, I can survive until we get home for a proper meal."

Daia noticed Taleeze intercepting Skylar, then turned at her name spoken, and smiled when she saw the human coming her way.

"Christina," she greeted her, extending both hands in welcome. "It's good to see you - I had no idea you were back planetside, welcome again." She shook her head with a grin. "Don't worry, you don't have to dance - although if you want to give it a try after all, I'm not busy, no need to venture out on your own." For the moment she led the way gently to the bar seating area, which had been extended out along the walls from where the bar itself had been opened up into the main club.

"A restaurant here?" she asked, intrigued. "Which one? I don't have dinner-date clients as often as I used to, but I keep up with the dining scene, I may have heard of it. Do you plan to get stuck into the kitchen, or it is just a remote-ownership kind of deal?"

"My primary restaurant is going to be on the Citadel, but I want to make a large restaurant here in a prime market. Either here or Thessia." She spoke with enthusiasm and sat down next to the woman in the seating area. "I love being a head chef at my restaurant. I'm following my dream, it's something I never thought I'd do on Bekenstein."

"It's going to be called The Oasis, and I plan on having it near the big tourist locations. I'm going to be working here over the spring. Very formal, reservation-style classic restaurant overlooking a plaza, I want to bring some human restaurateur tactics to this planet."