(Untitled)

[betrayer]

Characters: Aria T'loak, Jack, Nihlus Kryik, Saren Arterius.
Where: Somewhere!
What: Violent mistletoe shenanigans, and whatever anybody else wants.
Open or Closed? Open to more!
Rating/Warnings No warnings.

Comments

[salarian_savant]

Some random place! Near the Clock Tower

Mordin is switching between fiddling with his omni-tool and tugging at the neck lining of his new sweater. It itches but nothing he does will get it off, which is a pain, but he has things to do.

Saren catches his eye and Mordin shifts, frowning. He's never actually met the turian in person. Only read files and went over the small amount of data and mission reports the STG had reported on Virmire... not to mention the files from the Battle of the Citadel.

Geth technology implants, all very interesting from a scientific viewpoint but it wasn't like they were going to let him near Saren after the spectre had... well.

Maybe he'd been a little hasty to burn bridges. There was plenty he could learn from the turian, if given the opportunity. "Arterius. Have a moment?"

[betrayer]

[By the Salarian's approach, Saren almost instinctively reached for where his pistol would typically be concealed, if he had one on him - but he caught himself in time with his slip. He paused, and he turned to face Mordin. Though useful for what they could accomplish, Saren was never quite fond of dealing with any Salarian longer than necessary, but Mordin Solus was someone with a reputation. He stared at the Salarian, but did not lower his guard. He knew that on some level Solus was allied with Shepard. It was curious, that the Salarian would call for his attention.]

Solus.

[He acknowledged the Salarian, though with a slight expression of distaste.]

What is it?

[hellodeadpeople]

[ Sup, Saren, so I know you were just minding your own business, puttering around doing your evil turian thing, but now you've got a fist in your face that's connecting to a bald, tattooed, space-psycho wearing an absolutely hideous sweater. For now, there's no biotics involved. For now.

What do? ]

[betrayer]

[What do?

Saren wasn't going to let it slide, that was for sure. The human's assault caught him by surprise. He didn't recognize the woman - but her identity was irrelevant under this circumstance. The fact that the human dared to attack him at all was enough to gain his ire, and his attention. He lunged forward and grabbed at her throat.]

[hellodeadpeople]

[ The grab hits it's mark, but it's short lived, as Jack is having absolutely none of that shit. She's sending out a biotic blast, trying to push Saren away from her, and hopefully sending him tumbling a few yards. She lets out a growl, like this was totally you assaulting her and not vice versa ]

Watch it, fucker.

[betrayer]

[Saren caught himself before he stumbled back farther than the human woman intended, and he matched her irritation, glaring harshly. Did she have a death wish? If so, he didn't mind fulfilling it. Saren's philosophy was simple - never kill someone without a reason, and you can always find a reason to kill someone. With this human, he didn't need to think of a reason for long. Her existence alone provided it.]

You assaulted me, human.

[He took a step forward.]

[dontfuckwith]

[Though Aria hadn't been here very long, she was already becoming quite comfortable with this place... Well, as comfortable as one possibly could get here. She'd found a decent, albeit temporary shelter, and the cold didn't bother her, considering she'd taken care to find good cloths, and was now sporting a huge, white fur coat.

She walked down the street with an air of confidence, as though she had nothing to fear from this place or the darkness of an eternal night. And despite her surprise at seeing the outline of a turian up ahead, she maintained that confidence.]

Saren? What are you doing out here?

[betrayer]

[Aria T'Loak. Saren wasn't sure what to make of the Asari. It wasn't often that anyone tried to meet him on equal ground, because most tended to know better than to try. But the esteemed ruler of Omega was different in that regard. Saren wasn't certain if her confidence was well earned, or if she even deserved the tiniest bit of his respect - but she was a useful resource to have, and he was admittedly low on his option of allies, as she'd pointed out. There was no reason to burn this bridge just yet, though she was mistaken if she thought he would immediately answer to her.]

My own business.

[dontfuckwith]

It's too cold to be out here.

[It wasn't like she was really that concerned about him or why he was out here, but she made it her business to know things, especially things about people that she's still on the fence about trusting. Still, Saren is just another Spectre to her.

She goes ahead and takes a seat on a nearby bench, crossing her legs and resting her hands in her lap. Whether or not Saren sat with her didn't matter.]

Though, I suppose that it doesn't matter whether you're inside or outside in this place.

[betrayer]

You don't think I've noticed?

[Saren snorted. The thought of Aria being concerned about him barely crossed his mind at all. He was not immune to the cold. The frigid weather bothered him as much as it did with everyone else, even more so as a Turian. His own trust didn't extend very far with Aria yet, it was too early to tell just how neutral she would remain. It would do no good to ally with someone that would turn to Shepard.

Saren didn't join her, but he stood to face her, arms crossed.]

No, it doesn't. Turians don't tend to adapt well to this sort of weather.

[missedtwoyears]

[Whether Shepard's puffy black parka was indication of some comprehension of archaic methods of staving off the cold or just a bid to cover the possible existence of any hideous Christmas sweaters was anyone's guess. The only clear detail about it was the fact that it was short enough to allow her to reach the long knife strapped to her thigh. It was weighted for kitchen use rather than combat, but that didn't mean much. Most of the weapons here weren't, in the strictest sense of the word.

Her hand didn't hover by the knife as she straightened away from the car she'd been jimmying open as she caught sight of the turian on approach, but it was unmistakably near enough that she wouldn't lose more than a second grabbing it.]

Saren. Hadn't thought I'd run into you tramping through the cold.

['Had hoped very much not to' was probably more accurate.]

[betrayer]

[If Shepard's presence at all bothered Saren, he didn't let his discontent show. A confrontation between them had been an inevitable event - he only presumed that she had been avoiding him as much as he had been avoiding her, delaying it. He regarded Shepard carefully, took notice of her tense posture and subtle movement while he himself remained on guard, wary.]

Shepard.

[His voice was it's typical tone, arrogant, cold, and distant. It did him no good to show differently.]

I can't say that I expected to run into you, either.

[Despite their history, Saren held no ill intent to Shepard. He had no reason to oppose her. Not yet, anyway.]

[30minutesdead]

[The downside to being cut free from his monstrous Earth garment was dealing with the lack of warmth. The sweater hadn't done much, true, but it had served its purpose. Now, he was left in normal attire, at the mercy of the frigidness of the city. What should have been a minor hindrance became a large one once enough time had passed, and Nihlus soon found himself patrolling the streets once again, searching for anything that could supply him with enough heat to be comfortable.

The searched was proving to be fruitless and he was exiting yet another heat-less storefront when he caught sight of Saren. He pauses, watching the other turian warily. As reluctantly forgiven as Saren might be, Nihlus had made it clear during their last encounter that whatever trust they had was gone. Of course, he's fairly certain Saren won't try to kill him. But "fairly" certain wasn't "completely" certain, and Nihlus wasn't one to take risks. Not on this scale, at least.

If only he hadn't left his assault rifle with Legion.I'm starting to think you're

[betrayer]

[Saren stilled almost immediately when Nihlus revealed himself. He hadn’t expected to see Nihlus so soon, not since after their last parting. Saren stared at Nihlus, the slight wariness returned in kind. Nihlus’ feed confirmed that his memory was returned to its proper state, though how much of what he had lost was regained in the short amount of time apart, he could not be sure.

He recalled the sudden shock Nihlus had been sent into upon reliving his death clearly enough, and could admit that he may have been too hasty. But it was done, and obviously achieved what he had intended to some level. The consequences to his actions were not unexpected in the least. Trust - Saren hardly anticipated it.

He kept himself at a cold distance, and shrugged in response to Nihlus’ accusation, his tone even leveled.]

I wasn’t aware that I was in the first place.

[30minutesdead]

Yet you always seem to be where I am.

[He's not foolish enough to think Saren actually follows him, but the coincidence is worth noting. It had happened too often to go ignored, though what either of them could do about it was anyone's guess.

Still, there was no benefit to being so hostile. He inhales deeply, tipping his head back to look at the sky, contemplating his words before speaking.]

I didn't think it'd be so cold.

[It's curiosity, not conversation. A need to know if Saren is having as much difficulty as he in finding warmth. Yet there's still a certain friendliness to his tone that, no matter how hard he tries, he can't mask. It slips into his inflexion. A habit he needs to break.]

[betrayer]

It’s merely a coincidence, Nihlus. I wouldn’t waste my time.

[Saren's mandibles twitched - but he did not fault Nihlus for the suspicion. He picked up on the light tone of Nihlus' voice which sounded foreign to him now. He was not, however, foolish enough to think anything more of it, so it went by dismissed. If Nihlus intended to treat him as an enemy, this was a poor way of showing it - a habit that would only lull him into past familiarity.

He walked past Nihlus, careful to carry no hostile intent in his posture - his back turned to him as he calmly voiced his agreement.]

It’s harsher than Noveria’s climate on its worse days.

[Not a complaint, but a curt fact. It wasn’t quite the conversation that Saren was expecting, but he humored Nihlus’s curiosity.]