Renala is sitting at the bar, quietly eating what little remains of her breakfast. A half-empty cofee cup is also on the counter beside her plate.
#Miner'sRespite – August 22, 2013
Iressa sits at a booth, intently reading off of a display on her omni-tool. With her other hand she absently reaches for her coffee, grasping at the air around it without any luck, but still not taking her eyes off the words to locate the hot drink.
Galatea enters the pub with a confident stride and takes a look around at the patrons before strategically positioning herself at the bar to be within easy conversation range of several people but not close enough to bother any of them with her presence.
Renala nods to Galatea as she takes a seat by the bar. "Morning, Galatea," she says to her before picking up her cup and taking a sip of it.
Iressa finishes the passage she's reading and dismisses the display from her omni-tool, putting her arm back at her side. Quickly she snatches the mug on the table and downs the last of her coffee before it can cool any further. Unfortunately her drink had already lost its heat and the cold, bitter taste made her shudder. She rises, moving over to the bar in hopes of removing the flavor in her mouth. After placing an order for more coffee, she turns to spy the other asari casually, dipping her head in greeting should she happen to notice.
Galatea turns her impassive gaze to Renala and her expression changes into a rather transparent-looking smile.
Renala sees the other asari in the corner of her eyes and glances at her for a moment. She recognizes the asari as the one who was here the other day. "Morning," she says with a polite nod to Iressa.
Iressa climbs onto one of the stools as she waits for her coffee, acknowledging the greeting with a slight smile. "I've seen you around." She mentions, not quite making eye contact but instead inspecting the bottles behind the bar. "Could I trouble you for your name?"
Renala puts her cup on the counter and extends her hand, a small smile visible on her face. "I went here for breakfast just as you were leaving last time, if I remember correctly," she says. "I'm Renala."
Steve sluggishly descends the staircase, yawning loudly as he reaches the bottom. A sleepless night has left dark circles beneath his eyes. "Morning ladies." he says as he approaches the bar, taking a seat on the stool between Renala and Galatea.
Iressa accepts her hand with a genuine smile, "I believe so. Hm, Renala." She repeats the name to herself, probably to commit it to memory. "I'm Iressa. You should call me that." She adds, just as she spots Galatea's expression before it can be obstructed by the human sitting down at the bar. She blinks a few times, wondering if she's quite awake yet and hastily grabs the new cup of coffee.
Galatea turns her bright receptionist smile to Steve and it broadens even more, now looking somewhat creepy.
Steve cocks his head to meet Galatea's stare. He blinks a couple of times and raises an eyebrow. "What's her deal today?" he asks, turning back to face Renala.
Renala | "Pleasure meeting you," Renala says before picking up her cup of coffee again and sipping the last of it. "I have no idea," she replies to Steve.
Steve sighs and waves down the bartender. After ordering a coffee, he turns back to Galatea. "Alright, Gal, I'll bite." he says, "What's up?"
Steve grabs his cup of coffee as it's placed before him, offering a quick smile to the bartender before returning his attention to Galatea. "Hmm? Mimics?"
Facial expressions. I thought it was clear. It is the next logical step after mastering diction to an acceptable level.
Yeah... Quick tip? Most people find irregular kindness unsettling. Looks like you're up to something.
Steve nods and takes a sip of his coffee. "So... I managed to find some work, Ren." he says, focusing on his drink, "Not exactly the kind of work I was hoping for... But anything is better than nothing, I suppose."
Renala glances at the menu screens, but decides against getting another cup of coffee. "You did?" she says. Even if she might know the answer from seeing S.Briggs in Maria's recruitment post, she asks, "What's it about?"
Steve fiddles with his cup, pushing it back and forth between his hands, as he tends to do. "Just a recovery of some animal. ExoGeni is outsourcing the job. It pays well enough, but..." he sighs, "I came here hoping to find a nice secure job, you know? Something boring. Reliable. I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing this."
Renala nods slowly. "I'm honestly torn on it myself, the more I think about it," she says. "Stable is good, but parts of me miss the running around doing odd jobs; even if I'm kind of too old for that by asari standards." She pauses, and adds, "I signed up for that job too."
Steve smiles to himself upon hearing of her involvement. "Good to know I won't be stuck with a group of strangers at least..."
Renala nods her goodbye to the other asari before turning back to Steve. "I hope that the fact it's not mentioned as a pack animal isn't a lie of omission, though," she says, but before she can continue, her omn-tool beeps in a repeating notification. "Looks like I got to go," she says as she stands up and drops a credit chit on the counter to pay for her coffee and breakfast.
Renala nods to Steve and makes her way to the stairs, and takes the call while ascending them, and then heading to her room.
Steve glances at the asari as she disappears up the staircase. "Seems like that thing goes off every ten minutes." he says with a sigh.
Steve drums his fingertips against the countertop for a moment. "What about you, Gal? You enjoy your job?"
My talents are optimally applied in my current occupation, and I would not wish to be anywhere else. I believe this qualifies as happiness?
Steve leans an elbow against the counter, propping his head up with his hand. "Why?" he asks plainly.
Steve rubs at his temples with his free hand, cringing slightly as another headache begins to set in. "You said your brain is fully functional... What do you need the software for?"
Steve frowns, largely confused by the circular nature of the conversation. "So you can't leave because you have their software... But you don't need their software. I must be missing something." he sighs.
Steve shakes his head. "Right, right, right, but I'm talking hypotheticals here. If you wa-..." he begins, but quickly goes silent. "Nevermind." he says, fishing through his pocket for his medication, "If you're happy with where you're at, nothing else matters, right?" he says as he swallows a fistful of pills.
There are in fact quite a lot of things that are more important, but I assume you are speaking metaphorically again.
Steve washes down the pills with a long swig of his coffee, emptying the rest of his cup. "Whiskey." he says as the bartender makes his way over. "You're pushing me to drink, Gal." he teases.
Steve lifts the glass slightly and stares into it, swirling the liquid inside slightly. "Uhh... Yeah, good enough." he says, "How about you? Is the-... Ugh... Water here... Acceptable...?"
Steve shakes his head. "See, that's your problem right there." he says with a smirk, "You need to unwind a bit. Relax. Have yourself a real drink once in a while."
Steve chuckles to himself. "A drink isn't going to damage your brain... Come on, let me buy ya a drink."
Steve lifts his glass and drains the rest of it, punctuating it with a satisfied, "Ahhh." before slamming the glass back down and waving over the bartender for a refill. "You don't know what you're missing, Gal. There's few things more enjoyable than damaging your brain with neurotoxins."
Steve shakes his head. "Hardly." he mutters, sliding his refilled glass in front of Galatea. "One more." he requests, to which the bartender promptly obeys. "Give it a shot." he says, smirk planted firmly across his face.
Steve reaches out and pushes the drink closer to Galatea. "Inadvisable according to who?" he asks, "Go on. Let your hair down for once."
Steve nods. "Just means... Relax a bit. Have some fun." he says before taking a long swig of his drink.
You're here to learn how to properly simulate normal interaction, right? What's more normal than two friends sharing a drink?
Steve tilts his head to one side, seemingly thinking about the question. "Well... It usually is." He reaches out and pushes the glass slightly closer to Galatea.
Steve puts his hands up defensively. "None whatsoever. Look, what's the worst that can happen? You don't like it? So then you don't have to finish it, right?"
I do not have to drink it in the first place. Its effects are fully known and researched, no further experimentation is needed.
Steve sighs. "Maybe experimentation isn't needed. But what about experience? Isn't that what you're here for?"
Steve takes another long sip of his drink. "Wonderful." he brags, "You don't know what you're missing out on, Gal."
Steve furrows his brow. "The condi-... What's that supposed to mean?" he asks, quick to get defensive.
Steve remains silent for a few moments. "You have no idea what you're talking about." he finally says, boring a hole through the woman with his eyes.
Steve snorts loudly, "The facts? The fact is that my health is fine." he says before draining the rest of his drink. "And what business is it of yours, anyway? This is what I get for trying to buy you a drink?"
Steve mutters to himself. Reaching out, he grabs the drink next to Galatea and sets it in front of himself. "I'm fine..." he mutters.
Steve shakes his head rather than directly responding to Galatea as he begins to work on the second drink.
Steve remains quiet, his mood visibly soured while he continues to empty glass after glass as they're served to him.
Renala descends the staircase, looking about the bar to see if any friendly faces are present. She raises her brows as the Steve is still at the bar, and makes her way over. "Hey," she says once within earshot and takes the seat beside him. "Didn't expect to see you here."
Steve straightens his posture as the asari approaches. "Hmmm? Oh... Yeah. Gal-..." he begins, looking towards the empty seat where Galatea was. Upon realizing she's no longer around, he shakes his head, "Nevermind... How is everything?" he asks, the slight slur in his speech indicating that he's had one too many.
Renala tilts her head. "Good enough. I've been trying to look more into the problems with the pistols," she says. "How about you? Aside from the fact you've had a few drinks, I mean." A smirk follows.
Steve raises an eyebrow. "Nah. I'm fine." he says with an exaggerated shake of his head as he waves down the bartender. "What's your poison of choice?"
Zeto`Bekk | The male sighed looking at the writing above his head, it was easy to see this place may be or once was at least human,regardless he could kill a drink, he strolls in settling away from the others,without raising his head he waves his arm "Barkeep your strongest drink.."
Renala looks at the menu thoughtfully ."That brandy, number six on the drinks menu," she says. "Haven't tried it, though, but I can't really expect Thessian drinks here, let alone at an affordable price."
Steve nods. "You heard her." he says to the bartender, who quickly complies, bringing Renala's brandy and sliding it in front of her. "I wasn't expecting you to come back" Steve says with a lopsided smile, "You're always running off on me."
Renala picks up the glass with a nod of thanks. "That was because someone back home is bad at checking the local time here," she says before taking a tentative sip of the drink.
Renala takes another small sip of the glass. "It's alright, but I might just be not used to the taste," she says. "It's a bit stronger than what I drank on Thessia, too."
Steve shrugs. "Nothing wrong with 'stronger'. Just gets ya where you're going quicker." he says. "So, how did you find out that this was the life for you?" he asks, leaning against the counter once again, "Most people don't just wake up one day and decide to come to the Terminus system as a career choice. Were you in the military?"
Renala shakes her head. "I think I've answered that before... or at least, some variation of it." She takes another sip of her drink. "No, I never was in the military, despite my father trying to convince me too do so long ago... Though that was when realizing sixty-one-year-old-me wouldn't want to stay on Thessia pursing a stable enough career, and thus grasping for whatever compromise she could find."
Steve shifts his weight a bit. "Hm?" he hums, taking a moment to think on the subject. "Maybe I'm not-... What I mean is..." he begins, leaning in closer to the asari, swaying slightly as he does so, "You don't get into merc work without knowing the consequences. It's pretty black and white. How did you find out that you were good at taking life?" he asks, almost accusingly, although it may be the inebriation causing it to sound as such.
Renala is a bit taken aback at first, then sighs and takes another small sip of the glass. "Taking life? I was part of a few merc bands over the course of my maiden years, but that's hardly all I did," she says, sounding a bit defensive. "And my father's idea of me joining the military wasn't baseless. I was a decent biotic as a kid."
Steve reaches up and rubs at his temples. "No-... That came out wrong." he says, closing his eyes tightly and letting out a frustrated sigh, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it..."
Renala | "Things usually do when you've had a drink too much," Renala says before trying to steer the conversation away from her life choices. "So... what's the occation?"
Steve shakes his head. "No occasion, really. Migraines have been acting up lately." he says, rubbing at his temples to get his point across, "Haven't been able to get any sleep. Drinking myself into a stupor seemed like just as good an option as any."
Renala takes a small sip of her drink. "I've never found alcohol to do any good when it comes to sleep," she says. "Might just be me, though."
Steve empties the rest of his glass. "Maybe you're just not drinking enough." he chuckles, but his laugh is quickly cut off as a sharp twinge of pain shoots through his head. "It helps drown out the pain a little..." he adds.
Renala shakes her head. "Maybe my most recent example is terrible, as it was after several weeks of little sleep and really long days at work." She takes a sip of her drink, it now being not too far from empty.
Steve sighs and slides his empty glass away from himself. "I'm gonna give sleep another shot." he says, holding onto the counter and rising from his stool. He places a hand on the asari's shoulder, "Look... I hope I didn't upset you, Ren. Sometimes I just-... It's the lack of sleep... And the headaches... Everything gets so loud sometimes and I-..." he sighs, worrying he may be coming across wrong, "...And I just ramble without thinking through what I'm saying. Are we... Okay?"
Renala nods as she looks up at Steve, a small reassuring smile visible. "Yeah, you needn't worry, Steve," she says. "I'll see you around."
Steve returns the smile. "Breakfast tomorrow. On me." he says as he heads off towards the stairs, using the handrail for support as he slowly makes his way to the top.
Renala remains on the Respite's first floor for a while, before leaving the bar, and then returning back to her room upstairs.