IC Contact - City of Ariel

[forgivetheinsubordination]

Right. Because people are going to be leaving messages in my head now.

Try it.

Comments

[forgivetheinsubordination]

You're pretty close to Tali, near as I can tell. Might not hurt to drop by, or send her a message in her head.

[A beat, and then there's the faintest trace of humor in his voice again.]

She'll be there, in her head. Just so that question's answered.

[whomheloved]

Mm...yes, I'd like to think so. I'll check on her, then.

[There's a soft huff of breath, an echo of a laugh.]

I'll let her know you told me she'd be, shall I?

[forgivetheinsubordination]

Couldn't hurt. She might like the vote of confidence, after the week she's had. You sure you're good, Di? Anything I can do?

[whomheloved]

It sounds like things were pretty rough on her too.

Yeah...well, I will be. I've moved on so much since I used to be that way, I never thought I could be returned to it so easily. And Psii isn't coping well with what happened to him either.

I just...I don't know. Are you feeling up to being clung to by a troll for a while?

[forgivetheinsubordination]

They were. And... yeah. You can come over. Just don't cling too hard.

[A beat.]

Not... That didn't come out right. Got injured. Nothing serious. But I'm sore.

[whomheloved]

Oh! Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that. Are you okay? Can I bring anything that might help?

[forgivetheinsubordination]

I'm fine. Got shot, then got a little... Had an encounter I didn't see coming. But I'll live.

[whomheloved]

I promise my hugs will be gentle, then. But there are going to be plenty of them!

[forgivetheinsubordination]

Plenty. Used like this, it's a troll word meaning 'I'm pretty much gonna smother you whether you like it or not.'

[His voice is dry, not irritated.]

You know where I live.

[whomheloved]

Lies and slander! I guarantee that you will like it.

[She giggles.]

That I do. I'll be there soon.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

Yeah, yeah. Guarantee all you'd like. We'll see what the results are.

[whomheloved]

A hug back, I'm hoping.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

I might be able to swing that.

[He might even need that. But Garrus isn't saying.]

[whomheloved]

That is extremely kind and generous of you!

[Why is she still talking to him here, she's right outside his door...
Is that a knock?]

[forgivetheinsubordination]

[He opens the door to see her there, and his mandibles flare.]

Can I help you? If you're selling something, we've probably got five. Humans. They like to acquire stuff.

[His voice is rich with teasing, but there's something raw lurking in his eyes that undermines it just a little. Garrus steps out of the way to let her in the house.]

[whomheloved]

[Di smiles back, easily hiding her worry at the way something is clearly off with him just now. She steps in, resting a hand on his arm.]

Oh, no, I only sell my lasting wares to trolls. The piles they make! You should see them. I'm sure humans have nothing on them. But right now I have a very special all-you-can-grab offer on perishable goods! Hugs, to be exact.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

Piles?

[That's new. And Garrus is pretty sure he's got his emotional turmoil successfully hidden, too.]

And I don't know. Do they come with squeaks? Because I was starting to like the squeaks.

[whomheloved]

Haven't I shown you one of our piles yet?! Oh, I have to fix this!

[Di is super-sensitive to her friends, Garrus. It's going to take a hell of a lot of acting to hide something like that from her.]

They might come with squeaks. [And yes, that's a bit of a blush as she giggles.] I believe squeaking happens the most when they're being reciprocated, though.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

The hugs being reciprocated? Or the squeaks? I can do one. The other's not gonna happen.

[Garrus has never been a good actor, but sometimes he fools himself into thinking he's got a decent mask going. The door is closed behind her and Garrus takes a step closer, fully expecting to be basically tackled at any time.]

And unless you're talking about the stacks of pillows you had going on in your living room, I can't remember piles.

[whomheloved]

I meant the hugs, but if you insist on giving me ideas like that...!

[Tackling is only fun if he's not expecting it! So Di bides her time for now.]

That's right! That's only one kind, though. Trolls will make piles of just about anything they like. Psii's tend to be stacks of computer hardware.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

Never let it be said I didn't give people bad ideas.

[He tilts his head.]

But why stack hardware? Why not use it?

[whomheloved]

Never let it be said I don't take you up on them!

[She giggles.]

Because it's comforting to him to nap on it? He probably manages to have it all hooked up even when he does use it for a pile, knowing him. It was only one example, anyway.

[forgivetheinsubordination]

I know who to team up with, then, next time I want to prank someone.

[This could be good. He just had to find a time when the city wasn't breaking people.]

Though what I don't know is how someone sleeps on hard computer parts. It'd be like falling asleep on a turian.

[whomheloved]

Oh yes. I love pranking people!

[She sounds entirely too gleeful about it, actually.]

It's a troll thing! Technically we need sopor slime to sleep in, but we've learned to do without. [And now she's smirking.] I wouldn't mind falling asleep on a turian. [A particular one, of course.]

[forgivetheinsubordination]

[And there's the shadow in his eyes again, for the briefest moment, before he's shrugging and gesturing for her to go ahead and really come in, closing the door behind her.]

A turian, or a pile of turians? We complain a lot; I can't imagine a whole stack of us would go over well. Plus there's the whole pointy thing. Now a stack of salarians, you probably won't risk poking your eyes out with them. They'll wriggle, and likely spout scientific data at you, but they should squish well enough.