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[solkoroleva]

 

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d114

[forgivetheinsubordination]

[And sure enough, Garrus is sitting on the sand, far enough up that the water isn't actually going to reach him, but close enough that if the little telusa he's watching winds up in danger he could help. It's not his smartest idea ever, but the thing needs the water and he's not going to deny it that for his own comfort.

That, and maybe he can wear away at his issues with water somewhat.

When Alina draws near, Garrus gives her a wave.]

Probably is both, yeah.

[solkoroleva]

[ It doesn't take Alina too long to make it to the beach after her last message. She's wearing simple pants and boots and along with a blue wrap she bought back on Selena as she approaches.

She waves back, smiling at the telusa. ]

They're too friendly for their own good, really.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

[He's in his typical armor, blue and silver, over a blue tunic and unseen black leggings. Garrus wears the armor everywhere and feels odd without it on.]

Have a seat, pull up some sand. And... I don't know. Worked in his, its favor so far.

[The camp isn't hungry, they're hunting and gathering enough to maintain themselves, but the population of telusa (among other things) around the camp is dwindling. This one probably saved its own skin by remembering Garrus from mapping. Though it's not for good - there's a reason Garrus is fighting the temptation to name it or even acknowledge it as more than an it. They can't take these guys with them.]

This one's just smarter than most.

[solkoroleva]

[ Alina does as he suggests, settling into the sand as she watches the telusa playing. ]

Koroleva won't even hunt these guys. [ Alina tells him as the telusa comes up to her now that she's on the ground. It nudges at her and Alina reaches up to pet it. She shouldn't be so nice to it, but it's infectious... ]

They're too nice for her. No sport in trying to kill them because they barely do anything about it.

How's this one smarter?

[forgivetheinsubordination]

[They're adorable. He really can't blame anyone for playing with them. There's a part of Garrus that wishes he could bring this guy along with him. Maybe he'll ask. The answer will probably be no, but at least he's braced for it.]

When the waves came into the camp, after the earthquake, he found me, wound up safe. Guess he remembered me from mapping. It. It remembered me.

[He's losing this battle, but Garrus will fight it for as long as he can.]

Anyway. Bunch of others wound up eaten. I mean, whole bunch more people to feed all of a sudden, camp winds up with beached fish and confused telusa, what would anyone expect? And this one was safe in my cowl during that. Knew I was weak, apparently.

[There's some amusement as he calls himself weak, and the amusement only builds as he continues.]

Or maybe it knew I had some friends nearly as short as it, and that it would have company.

[solkoroleva]

[ Alina listens to him telling her how this one survived. It certainly found Garrus' weakspot and exploited it, it seemed. It worries Alina more to see Garrus so attached. He knows what the future will bring, though. He's been through it before. She just doesn't want it to be any harder than it has to be.

But then he's back on her and ruins all her sympathy.

She rolls her eyes and leans back on her hands. ]

Careful or I won't give you any sunlight. [ She teases.

Speaking of, though. She lifts one hand now, trailing her fingers through the air as she lets her light answer her call. It dances around them, floating in waves as it circles them. ]

[forgivetheinsubordination]

[It's a billion times safer to tease than to be vulnerable. The telusa is a weakness. Garrus knows this. And he's not going to dwell on it.

Instead, he'll quiet down for a moment and watch the light spread, feeling it slowly soak in.]

You knew what you were getting yourself into when you came out to meet me.

[Though they weren't really here for teasing. Garrus gestures at the area around them, marveling more than a little at the show.]

I'm sorry you had to hide this. It's beautiful, Alina. Really.

[The lights in the sky above the Green barbecue had been lovely, as well as the ones they saw here shortly after arriving, but this is another level altogether - not just visual, but with almost tangible warmth, with lethal potential. All of that, even the way it can be used, add to the display.]

[solkoroleva]

[ She lets the light settle over them finally, casting a warm blanket on above them as she lays back in the sand. She'll need to wash all the sand out later, but for now she just basks in it. ]

I didn't know I was hiding it. [ She confesses. ] I was so little when they came for me, I was afraid of being taken away from someone I cared a lot about.

I didn't know I had anything, even then. But somehow I felt it trying to climb out so I locked it away so they wouldn't take me.

[ She glances up at him. ] I only realized it recently... [ She pauses. Frowns. ] A little more recently that all of that happened.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

[And now the warm fully seeps in and Garrus closes his eyes as he enjoys it. This planet still isn't a particularly warm one, though it's better than Ajna in that regard. He opens his eyes back up as she continues talking. Came for her, took her away. He knows little about her world, but what he does know is that abduction is terrifying for its victims, small or large.

Slowly, a little unsure as to whether or not the gesture would be welcome, Garrus holds out a hand. Most humans are tactile, felt comforted by things like that. But not all.]

There's a lot that people do to protect themselves. Locking it away makes sense. Hiding even from the memory also makes sense, especially when you're young. But getting the whole picture... That's pretty invaluable. How'd you find out what you could do?

[solkoroleva]

[ Alina notices the way he holds out his hand. An offering. she can't help but smile. Alina's always been tactile, but it's yet another thing she keeps to herself. Most people she knows aren't.

But she reaches for the offered hand. if he's offering, she wants to share. Her light and his touch. It's almost sweet. ]

In my country there's this thing... we call it the Fold. It's nothing but darkness and it stretches for hundreds of miles through our country and is several miles wide. Inside are monsters that hunt anything that enters the Fold.

But the rest of our country is on the other side of it... so sometimes we have to go.

It was my first trip into the Fold. I was still in the First Army... the army for people without powers. We were trying to reach our port city on the other side. [ She shakes her head. ] My friend was killed by those monsters. We barely made it into the Fold when they attacked us. They were slaughtering us, we had to retreat.

They came for someone I loved too. They were going to kill him and... that was when I found my power. It just burst from me to keep those monsters away.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

[His mandibles flare out when she takes his hand, and he gives hers a little squeeze as he listens.]

I'm sorry about the friend. But I'm glad you saved the someone you loved.

[Sturmhond? Someone else? She probably didn't name them for a reason, so he won't ask.]

How'd the other soldiers... They didn't have powers. Did they recognize the fact that you saved them?

[Sometimes his people weren't entirely trusting of turians with biotics. Add something showing up suddenly, and humans...]

[solkoroleva]

[ It's hard to even talk of Mal. There's a swell of guilt in her chest despite everything that happened at home. Her marriage to Nikolai always seemed predetermined to happen, but falling in love with Nikolai seems somehow like a betrayal of a love that already died anyway.

She sighs heavily. ]

Some others still died, but we did manage to get out. I was unconscious, though. [ She never saves enough people... ]

They did know it was me, though. The only light in the darkness. That was when I was taking to the Little Palace to learn to be Grisha.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

[They didn't turn on her. There's a little relief there, and her hand gets another light squeeze. Sometimes this place presses in, makes it hard to see the best in people because he's having to close off so much of his own self to survive.]

The only light in the darkness. Sounds pretty poetic. You were their light home. I'm glad they saw that in you.

[He knows how it feels, to never save enough. Dwelling on that, though...]

I'm sure you saved every person you could, too. Before you passed out. And it made a difference, Alina. None of you would have made it out without that.