forgivetheinsubordination | IC Contact

FROM: varr.noh@cdc.org

Are you ACTUALLY volunteering to show me baby pictures?

[ Yes. That's a yes. ]

[He doesn't think Noh is serious. Time to play picture chicken.]

FROM: vakarian.garrus@cdc.org

Yeah, sure, come on over and see baby pictures.

[ On the one hand, meeting face-to-face might be awkward, especially given the subject matter. On the other, this conversation has been going well. Maybe they can do the 'just friends' thing. Noh-Varr weighs his options, then comes to a decision. ]

FROM: varr.noh@cdc.org

All right. See you in a minute.

[ WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO NOW. ]

[Wait what]

FROM: vakarian.garrus@cdc.org

Pretty funny. You win this one.

[He thought only mothers liked baby pictures. He's so surprised. But it could still be bluffing.]

[ wait wait what ]

FROM: varr.noh@cdc.org

Oh. You weren't serious?

[ He was looking forward to it... ]

FROM: vakarian.garrus@cdc.org

You were? You actually

[There's a short delay.]

FROM: vakarian.garrus@cdc.org

I thought you were teasing me. But I have some. Have a genuine invitation to come see them, then. They're not that cute, so you're warned.

FROM: varr.noh@cdc.org

Ok. I'll be over in a minute. For real this time.

[ There's a knock on Garrus' rover door pretty much a minute later. Picture chicken, my ass. ]

[He's still a little surprised that Noh's outside of his rover, but Garrus holds the door open and nods to the table.]

This some sort of Kree thing? Wanting to see baby pictures? I was pretty sure only mothers did that sort of thing.

[He's amused, though, even with the surprise, and he pulls up the first one - two seated adult turians, one with fringe, one without, both with the same clan markings he wears, holding a tiny, fuzzy, curled up turian.]

Once upon a time I wasn't like twice your height and three times your weight.

I'm allowed to be curious.

[ Traditionally 'cute' things don't appeal to him. But finding out more about Garrus, about his youth, about his culture and planet--that appeals to Noh-Varr.

He takes a seat next to the turian, admiring the first picture. The fringed turian is obviously female; while he's never seen a female turian the lack of fringe on Garrus' mother somehow seems appropriate, making her look somewhat more delicate than her counterpart. Garrus himself is, well-- ]

Fluffy. You were fluffy. Are all turians born downy, like that?

[Suddenly he's doubting he made the right choice here as he gets called 'fluffy.']

It's... Uh, yeah. I mean, it starts falling off when our plating starts hardening, between one and two, but... we've got fuzz, yeah.

[It's weird, feeling a bit self-conscious of baby pictures, of all things. The next picture shows Garrus sitting up straight on his mother's lap, still small, most of his down gone, but there's another tiny turian in the picture now too, fuzzy, without fringe.]

That's Solana. What do baby Kree look like?

Have you seen a baby human? Mostly like that, only we develop faster.

[ Noh-Varr's attention is on the picture, while he tries to imagine Solana Vakarian as an adult. Does she look like her brother? ]

What are your parents' names?

[He names his parents, tapping the picture to point out which was which. Just as baby Solana looks a bit like baby Garrus, adult Solana has a clear family resemblance to him and their mother.]

Mostly? So no antenna that fall off, or anything like that?

[Because Garrus is slightly concerned he may have just given Noh-Varr teasing material with the fuzz and he doesn't have anything new to tease back with.]

And now you've gotten to see me pre-scar. Pre-any of the scars, actually.

Many Kree have blue skin. Also, due to genetic engineering, some might not look typically Kree at all: different ear shape, scales, eye variation, that sort of thing.

[ He doesn't have images of his pod-mates, or the podlike tanks they were grown in. Why would he keep those? Kree don't attach sentimental value to that life stage; it's only once the child has begun to show accomplishment that value is given.

Noh-Varr traces the lines on adult Garrus and Solana and finds nothing like the swaths of scar tissue that mar the turian's face now. It's refreshing, and...well. Garrus is attractive now, and he was certainly attractive then. He won't say that out loud, though. Instead what he says is: ]

Your sister's hot. You should hook me up.

[ :) ]

[Garrus snorts, ignoring the sting from that statement.]

Like hell I'd set her up with someone who won't get emotionally involved. I love her too much for that.

[He looks directly at Noh-Varr before his gaze goes back to the pictures and he changes it to one where Garrus is about five and holding a rifle almost as long as he is tall.]

That, and she likes them more rugged. You're too pretty-boy.

Edited 2015-03-09 03:58 (UTC)

[ No comment on how much that stings, though he deserves it. He'd crossed a line. The next picture is somewhat more familiar in composition. He remembers being that age and his first guns, too. ]

Was that your first rifle? Who taught you to shoot?

[Must be this compassionate and caring to ride Garrus' sister.]

It was, and my father taught me.

[Not 'dad.' They've fixed a lot of their issues, but there's still a little distance between Garrus and Vakarian Sr.]

Pretty relentlessly, compared to the way a lot of young were taught. But that's part of the reason I'm as good as I am. We'd work until long after my arms were too tired to hold the gun anymore and I was shaking. Who started teaching you?

[ What a good big brother. ]

I learned with my age-mates, with our cadet instructor. But all of us had already begun learning in the pods--as soon as the brain is capable of assimilating knowledge, the Kree begin to teach. It's direct download, though, not traditionally 'taught'.

[ Sensory input directly to the developing brain. The very basics of forms, shapes, movement, preparing the brain for the body to come. It's taxing. Some don't make it through the training modules. It's no big loss. ]

Once we're old enough to move we're taught hand-to-hand and shooting, along with arithmetic, letters...

[ He looks at the family portrait again, pensive. ] My father didn't really teach me much, at that age.

How's that... work? The downloading. I mean, you're not building muscle memory, you can't be, but do you still get instincts from it?

[The way Noh talks about his father is noted, and Garrus hesitates. It looks like there might be baggage there, and he might not be welcome to ask about it. Then again, if he isn't, Noh-Varr will tell him and they'll go with another topic.]

And did he start teaching you something later?

No, no. Strengthening neurological impulses at first, quickening response time, basic shapes, colors--and so on. By the time we leave the pods most of us can read and speak comfortably.

[ Nothing physical is learned in the pods, though their bodies are encouraged to reach peak growth levels with supplements and nutritionally-dense food intubation. ]

He was my true teacher in both engineering and diplomacy. [ Noh-Varr's expression softens mildly, like he's recalling something pleasant. ] He was a peerless speaking, and a great leader.

[ Unspoken, but clear: I miss him. ]

[So not as sensitive a topic as it could have been. Maybe. He doesn't know if Noh's father is alive or dead.]

The pods sound pretty boring, but hey. They apparently work for your people.

[Noh's capable, smart, good with his mouth so the speaking thing clearly works too...]

And it sounds like you're pretty fond of your father. I wasn't. Gotten better about that, though. We see eye-to-eye a little more. Get where the other is coming from, somewhat. He backed me up when I was trying to get our people to take the reaper threat seriously.

[ The pods are 'boring' because they're meant to be, Noh-Varr would counter--they're healthy, balanced, nurturing places for young brains and bodies to develop. Full of carefully-calculated light and sound and just enough stimulus to motivate development without overwhelming it. ]

'Fond' isn't the word I'd use. [ It's complicated. Kree family units are complicated. ] I respected him tremendously. [ He glances at Garrus, obviously hesitant. ]

What brought you apart? Just clashing personalities?

[He's curious, really curious, but Noh's changing the topic so he'll go with it. Garrus doesn't want to push. There's a chance he'd wind up pushing Noh-Varr away, and this is the first time they've really sat and talked since the breakup. He's missed this too much to risk it.]

Mm. Clashing perspectives. I had a dream. He didn't like it. So he sabotaged it.

[Garrus shakes his head.]

I had the scores and the skills to get into the Spectre program. It's what Shepard is. Serves at the will of the Council, and rules don't apply to her. Special budget, special weapons.

[He reaches over to tap his Black Widow; that's something he wouldn't have without her Spectre status.]

Put my application in. My father pulled some strings, got it rejected, landed me in C-sec where he was. And then I went and joined a Spectre crew anyway, years later. But I'm not one.

[It's for the best, now. There's no Shepard without Vakarian, and he firmly believes that they'd both been needed where they were. But oh, he'd been angry for such a long time.]

[ Noh-Varr feels--distress? anger?--at what Garrus describes to him, the disrespect, the condescension. He would not have forgiven so easily. ]

Why did he...? [ He holds up his hand then, aborting the question outright. He doesn't want to know; he doesn't want to take a side that isn't Garrus'. ] I'm sorry, Garrus. But you moved out of his shadow eventually, at least.

[ If Noh-Varr had had a pretty decent impression of Vakarian Sr before, it's gone now. ]

Your sister, what does she do? Is she a fighter as well?

[Garrus shrugs when the question is broken off. He's dealt with it. But if Noh-Varr doesn't want to ask, that's fine.]

I did. Surpassed him.

[In rank, in fame, in accomplishment. It's still strange to him.]

And every turian is a fighter. It's what we do. She's getting reassigned now. She was...

[His mandibles draw close to his face for a moment, and his subharmonics get a little heavy.]

Cipritine's our capital. She was stationed there when the reapers hit. It's... There isn't much left. She and my father got off-world, and they're taking positions in the fleet.

[ He nods. He knows that turians, like Kree, are all combat-trained, but he knows that doesn't always mean each of them is a front-line fighter. She could be a medic, an engineer, a social worker. Still, he accepts Garrus' explanation with a nod. ]

I'm glad she's safe then, for your sake.

[ He turns his face up to Garrus, his shoulders moving back slightly to compensate for the height difference. ]

Thank you for showing me this.

[ Garrus is still someone he cares about. To have enough trust to be able to share these memories...he knows what he's being entrusted with. ]

If the Marvel becomes fully operational again--I can show you my memories, too.

(no subject)

forgivetheinsubordination - 2015-03-15 06:48 (UTC) - Expand

IC Contact - Consignment

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

wow speaker not speaking....

I knew what you meant.

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)