#Miner'sRespite – September 2, 2015

Damien is still snoozing in his chair, feet propped up on the desk. Sometime during the night, he had wrapped his jacket around himself with his head lolling to the side.

Halisi rolls over with a yawn, eyes slowly opening, followed by some blinking. Her eyes struggle to focus for a bit, but eventually she notices Damien in the chair. She props herself up on her elbows, lifting her head with a groan. Her hair is all over the place and she's managed to tangle herself in the linens.

Halisi sits up fully, closing her eyes for a bit and letting out another groan. She then reaches for the water, gulping down most of it before washing one of the painkillers down with the last. She brushes hair out of her face while looking around the room.

Damien stirs slightly and adjusts himself in the seat, mumbling incoherently.

Halisi studies the photo curiously before Damien's mumbling gains her attention. She starts untagling herself from the bed linens, and upon eventual success she scoots over to the edge of the bed, putting her legs down on the floor. She stops to rest her head in her hand for a bit with another yawn.

Damien wakes with a start, blearily looking at the wall. He stretches his arms with a groan and stands, working out a kink in his neck.

Halisi waves awkwardly at Damien, sporting an uncomfortable smile. "Hey..."

Damien turns around, nodding politely at Halisi with a small smirk. "Morning." He replies. "Hungover?"

Halisi grunts, rubbing her eye with her palm. "Urgh... I'm sorry."

Damien turns the chair around and drops back into it, shrugging. "No harm done. Well, except to your brain. Hangovers suck." He smirks. "Seriously though... Are you alright? I got the feeling you've never actually talked to anybody about your... Experiences of that day."

Halisi lets out a heavy sigh, the smile quickly fading away. "No, I... I guess I haven't. Kept busy working instead..." She says, gaze wandering from the floor to the wall, staying well away from Damien.

Damien nods, waiting for her to elaborate. Concern is etched on his face as he leans forward, elbows on his knees and hands entwined together under his chin.

Halisi shrugs. "Don't really know a lot of people here... and, well... working constantly didn't really help that. So I just-..." She trails off, chuckling awkwardly. "I'm sorry, you've been plenty patient with me already. I don't, uhm.... don't drink much. Wasn't expecting to-... you know."

Damien | "Get so drunk that you couldn't tell me your room password and I had to give up my bed for you for the night because I'm such a kind and noble soul?" He finishes for her, sitting back and striking a heroic pose.

Halisi blushes, but can't help but laugh a bit. "Yeeeah... that. Again, I'm sorry. And... thanks. I'm-... I'm not normally such a mess..." She scratches her neck, glancing at the door.

Damien laughs, smiling warmly at her. "Don't worry. I would argue that it's healthy to divulge in self-pity from time to time." As she glances to

Damien - the door, he smiles again and gestures towards it. "You probably want to head off and get cleaned up. It'll look mighty suspicious if anyone saw you running out of my room at-". He quickly checks the time on his omni-tool. " Quarter to eight in the morning."

Halisi nods faintly. "Heh. Right. Yeah, I'll-..." She looks back at the door as it buzzes.

Damien frowns and looks at the door. "Who the hell?" He stands and walks over to the door, opening it.

Leah is standing just on the other side of the door. Dressed in jeans, her usual clunky, black, unlaced boots, and a white tshirt beneath her open light blue jacket. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail that sits high on her head. In each hand is a disposable cup. "Hi!" she says enthusiastically with a mischevious grin on her face as though she's quite sure she's probably waking

Halisi opens her mouth to speak but then closes it again as Leah continues to ramble. She dosen't seem to know what to do, remaining very still in the bed as her gaze darts awkwardly across the room before she looks back at Leah, breaking out another awkward smile. "Hey. Hi. Uh... I was just leaving, so..."

Damien pales, his hands fumbling for the cups. As she hands him the second one, he shoves it straight back at her, regaining his composure and frowning slightly. "What is this, some sort of shitty sitcom?!" He says aloud to no one in particular. "This is not at all what this looks like!" He sighs explosively, calming slightly. "Try to be a nice guy...". He mutters.

Leah furrows her brow for effect before shaking her head. "No, no, no, no, no!" she says, ignoring Damien's first remark entirely and continuing to speak over him, "I have soooo much to get done today. I can't stay..." she trails off as Damien finishes. She frowns and looks over at Damien, punching him in the upper arm with her now-free hand. The intent is to seem playful with

Halisi is about to get out of the bed, but halts her movement as Leah begins speaking again. She runs a hand through her hair, unable to shake the rather stiff smile still. She opts not to say anything further.

Damien 's face twitches at the punch. "Leah. Listen to me." He pauses and emphasises each word carefully. "I. Did not. Sleep. With her." He looks back at Halisi, smiling very faintly. "Besides," he says turning back to Leah. "I doubt she's that kind of person to just sleep with whomever. Can you please let me explain?".

Halisi puts her elbows on her knees, hiding her face behind her hands in embarassment.

Leah 's expression goes neutral momentarily as Damien lays it out, but quickly turns to an offended frowns. "Oh? And what kind of person would that make her?" she asks, glancing over at Halisi as if to say 'Are you gonna take that from him?' She snorts, "What does that kind of person even mean!? You mean the kind that's in control of their own body and can do what they please with

Damien blinks. "W-what?!" He takes a step back as if he was just struck a blow. "N-NO! That's not at all what I meant!"

Leah snatches the coffee out of Damien's hand and walks past him, extending it towards Halisi. She glances back over her shoulder to glare at Damien for a moment.

Halisi mostly just seems to want to teleport to another planet at the moment, but remains seated on the edge of the bed. She apparently finds the temptation of coffee hard to resist even with all that's going on, taking the cup in both hands and sipping it uneasily.

Leah takes a seat beside Halisi on the edge of the bed and stares up at Damien. She takes a loud sip from her cup.

Damien sighs, making his way over to his chair and flopping into it. "First off, sorry. I didn't mean for what I said to be derogatory. Truthfully, I wouldn't do." He smiles apologetically at Halisi, before turning his gaze back to Leah, his expression falling. "Where do I start...".

Leah tilts her head to the side. "Why do you need to start anywhere?" she asks, still giving off a bit of attitude, "I don't need an explanation. If you say you two aren't a thing..." she glances from Halisi to Damien and raises her shoulders before letting them droop back down, "...then you're not a thing. None of my business either way." She narrows her eyes on Damien but quickly

Damien sighs in exasperation, rubbing an eye blearily. "So what's with the attitude, Leah? Hmm? If it's about what I said, I'm sorry. Christ, I may be a scumbag but I'm not that kind of scumbag!"

Halisi takes a long sip from the coffee and then stands up rather abruptly, adjusting her t-shirt with a tug. "I-... I should really go." She says, starting towards the door.

Leah glares at Damien, but quickly scrambles to her feet as Halisi speaks. "No! No, really." she offers, "Stay. I'll leave. I wasn't trying to make things... weird." She offers the woman a smile and takes a few steps towards Damien. "There's no attitude." she says, her smile slowly fading away, "None at all. Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt."

Damien stands up, looking down slightly at the woman before him. "I was just trying to help...". He says softly. "She saved my life, the least I could do was help her when she needed someone." His hand twitches towards Leah's, clearly conflicted about what to do. Eventually, it drops back to his side with a heavy, tired sigh.

Arenn'Zahir ambles inside of the bar. He grumbled to himself as he walked. ~Finding a job among humans is hard..~ He sighed internally. Why couldn't he have afforded a ticket to a planet not full of discriminatory monkeys.

Halisi stops with a sigh. "Look, I was just-..." She trails off again, clearly not very comfortable with talking about the state she had been in, or the sudden interruption of what had been a much-needed chat. "We, we didn't... do... anything. I'm sorry. I'm-... I'll leave you two alone."

Va'ynna looks up at the quarian as he enters, but remains behind the bar.

Leah pats Monroe on the shoulder. "Of course. I understand." she says with a small smile and a nod. She shakes her head as she glances back towards Halisi, "You have nothing to be sorry about. Neither of you. Really. I should've sent a message before just... showing up like that. It was rude." She sighs, suddenly shifting her weight back and forth between each foot as though she's

Halisi seems unsure what to do when Leah also gets up to leave. She opts to not start moving again just yet, letting the woman pass her.

Damien sags his shoulders, simply falling back into his chair. Well this wasn't how he thought his morning would go. "Yeah... Sure." He says without much enthusiasm. He keeps his gaze firmly fixed on the picture by his bed, resting an elbow on the arm rest.

Leah makes her way out of the room, pausing just beyond the door to glance back and give the pair a short wave. "Talk to you both later!" she says quickly before starting down the hallway. She stops near the stairs and lets out a deep sigh before taking a sip of her coffee and heading down to the bar.

Arenn'Zahir approaches the bar. "Keelah Se'lai. Double filtered.. something Turian." He didn't care what exactly it was as long as it wouldn't kill him and he could sink his emergency induction port into it.

Halisier turns towards Damien, looking both apologetic and humiliated at the same time. "I-... I didn't mean to cause any trouble..."

Leah stomps over to the bar and hops up onto a free stool, leaving a space between herself and the quarian. She sets her coffee cup down on the counter and leans an elbow beside it, propping up her head as she stares straight ahead at the shelf of booze.

Va'ynna nods and walks off to find a bottle, taking quite a while as she looks over several bottles of turian brandy.

Damien sighs, eventually turning to look at her with a small smile. "Don't worry... It was just horrible timing is all... If you still want to talk, then stay, please. Though I can understand if you don't want to, given what has just happened."

Halisi doesn't seem sure quite what to do. She remains standing where she is for the moment. "I, uhm... I didn't know you and Leah..."

Arenn'Zahir looks over at Leah. "Keelah Se'lai. Rough day?" He tries to lean against the bar cooly when she comes in, but misses and crashes to the ground, trying to save it with a pose.

Leah glances over at the quarian and blinks a couple times at his slip. She makes no real move to help him, instead merely returning to staring ahead. "Too early to tell, but it's starting to look that way." she sighs.

Damien | "We weren't. We're just friends and sparring partners. I think she's made that clear," he says plainly. He glances out the window, shaking his head softly. "Unfortunately," he adds, too softly for Halisi to hear.

Va'ynna returns with a bottle of turian brandy, looking for the quarian as she thought she heard a sound from that direction.

Leah glances over at Va'ynna, still propping her chin up with her hand, and uses her other hand to point arbitrarily towards the floor as she sees the asari looking for him.

Arenn'Zahir scrambles back up, lifting himself with the counter's help. "Thank you." He breaths loudly, like you might imagine a turtle would after finally getting off of its back.

Halisi nods a few times. "Right. I... I see. Well, I'm... sorry. For making things uncomfortable. I..." She tries to fix her hair up best she can with her bare hands. "...well, I was going to ask if I could buy you some breakfast. To make up for my behavior yesterday. But I guess I should probably, uhm... get out of your hair." She forces a smile, quite clearly still embarassed both

Va'ynna pours a glass of it and places it on the counter before the quarian. "I... have served this to quarians before," she says. She looks over at Leah. "Can I get you anything?"

Leah shrugs. "Nah. Thanks, though." She seems to rethink it for a moment and straightens up a bit, "Wait... Is the kitchen open?" she asks.

Damien sighs and hops to his feet, shaking his head with a smile. "Seriously, it's fine, Halisi. It's just a misunderstanding. Besides-". As if on cue, his stomach rumbles, causing him to smile sheepishly. "I think breakfast is in order."

Arenn'Zahir sits next to Leah, fumbling to get the induction port into its slot and slurping from the cup of turian brandy.

Leah tilts her head to the side as the quarian hops seats. "Can I help you?" she asks, making no attempt at hiding her attitude.

Va'ynna shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but it's not open, because... the one stepping in for the owner hasn't arrived yet."

Halisi 's smile slowly turns more genuine. She nods. "I... think the Respite's kitchen is still closed. There's a café one block down though. Gimme a moment to, uh... do something about this?" She gestures at her hair, which is still proving a mighty foe for gravity.

Damien chuckles, nodding at her. "And I better have a quick shower and change. I'll feel funky if I don't... Meet you outside?"

Halisi nods, her mood improved as she turns to leave the room, going right across the hall into her own, now that she can actually remember the code.

Damien closes the door behind Halisi, quickly making for the en-suite. After a quick shower, he opens his wardrobe and pulls out the only forming clothing he has. A white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, blue jeans with a leather brown belt and some slightly faded dark brown boots. Once changed, he leaves his room and makes his way downstairs.

Arenn'Zahir sips his drink, obviously not answering her now since she's turned on him.

Leah shakes her head as she's ignored by the quarian and slumps back down once Va'ynna speaks. "Oh... Then I'm good, I suppose." She glances over at her coffee before adding, "Actually... Would you mind heating up my coffee for me? It's getting a bit cold..." She uses her free hand to push the cup towards the asari. As she hears the movement on the stairs, she glances over. Spotting

Damien waves awkwardly over to her with his cybernetic, clearly visible by any and all. He takes one step towards her before deciding against it. Wayyyy too soon. He nods once to her and makes his way out of the Respite, shoving a hand into his pocket.

Va'ynna tilts her head, but decides against inquiring about it. "I can get you a new cup of coffee instead," she says. "Is that alright?"

Halisi emerges from her room a couple of minutes later than Damien. She's quite clearly had a shower as well, her hair in order now, resting on her shoulders as it usually does, and her makeup has been touched up. She's wearing black pants and a lime-green tanktop, without print this time. She starts walking towards the stairs.

Leah frowns as Damien marches off. "Yeah, that's fine..." she responds to the asari, still watching Damien until he disappears through the doors. Once he does, her posture slacks once more.

Arenn'Zahir sighs as he drinks. "I should go back to looking for a job.." He stands up and leaves with his drink after paying for it.

Damien waits outside the Respite, simply gazing around as the sun basks down on the buildings and streets. He smiles slightly, leaning against the wall with arms crossed and one foot pressed against the wall.

Va'ynna raises an eyebrow. "You... can't take the glass with you," she says, although it might be too late for the quarian to hear the soft-spoken asari. She doesn't acknowledge Leah's answer immediately.

Leah glances back over her shoulder at the quarian. "What a mess." she sighs, "Already drunk and it's not even eight-thirty in the morning..."

Halisi descends the stairs with a faint smile, still adjusting her hair a bit. Upon noticing Leah she offers a small wave and then starts walking towards the door.

Leah glances at Halisi and returns the wave. She gives the woman a wide, fake smile and follows her with her eyes. "It was... It was good seeing you again, Halisi!" she says, instantly cringing at how forced it sounded.

Halisi winces slightly. "Y-... yeah, you too!" She responds before leaving in a hurry. Upon exiting the Respite she looks around until she spots Damien. "Hey." She says, walking past him down the street. "Let's see if we can do something about that empty stomach, hm?"

Leah frowns as Halisi exits. The fact that they both left merely seconds apart not lost on her. She turns back to the asari. "Alright, maybe a dash of rum in it?" she asks, "But not too much. I'm not a drunk! Honest!" She takes notice of the new arrivals, but her mind is far to occupied to really pay them too much mind.

Damien smiles and nods, quickly falling into step beside her. "You look nice," he comments, looking down to her. He looks around, quickly offering an apology to a turian he bumped into.

Va'ynna sighs and walks over to the coffee maker, and takes the mug off the plate. She pours some of it into a 2/5 pint coffee cup before putting the mug back on the heating plate. She walks over to Leah with the cup and places it on the counter in front of her. "It's... morning," she says, "but... I can get you a shot of rum."

Leah winces and lowers her face to her hands. She mutters softly to herself a few times as her head slowly shakes back and forth. "Fine! No alcohol! I get it!" she says, not bothering to look at the asari, although one would probably assume that's who she's talking to.

Va'ynna frowns. "I..., I'm sorry," she begins. "Do you... want to talk about it?"

Halisi smiles, failing to supress a brief chuckle as Damien bumps into the turian. "Thanks. It's... nice to be out of my doctor's coat for once. Hell, I've ended up sleeping in it more often than I care to admit..." She glances at him before focusing on the side street as they cross over it.

Leah moves her hands slightly, her watering eyes glancing up at the asari. "Yes! Yes! I wanna talk about it." she says. Her voice goes quiet as she places her hand against her cheek to prop her head up once more, "Just-..." she sighs and reachs out to grasp the cup, "...thank you."

Damien hums in thought, glancing at her. "Yeah, that tends to come with the job. But you make it sound like you never get time off."

Halisi shrugs as they find themselves on the sidewalk again. "Well, I... don't, really. The hospital is always understaffed, and with administrative duties as well, it takes up... most of my time. I don't mind it, most of the time. I'm here to help people. And... I need to stay busy."

Damien nods in understanding. "To keep your mind off of... Y'know?" He steps around a few pedestrians who are in that annoying habit of walking in line with their friends, creating a wall of people taking up most of the sidewalk. Bastards.

Va'ynna tilts her head. "It's about you... and him?" she asks, seeming a bit nervous.

Leah lowers her gaze to the table. Unable to just blab about everything, suppose this'll have to do. Besides, bartenders are for spilling your guts to, right? She gives a short nod. "I guess. Kinda..."

Halisi nods, trying to sidestep the pedestrians on the other side and failing, catching her elbow on the edgemost one and causing her to stumble a bit before she continues to walk next to Damien. The café is now within sight. A human place, advertising that it is 'Earth Style'. "It... helps. To have something to do. Something useful. You know?"

Damien lets out a single breathy laugh in response. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. But you've never talked about it to anyone, right? Bottling something like that isn't healthy...".

Va'ynna frowns. "What... did he do?" she asks. "If I may ask, of course."

Leah begins to speak, but quickly notices the new arrivals. She waves Va'ynna off. "I'll be fine..." she says, rubbing at her eyes and causing her makeup to smear a bit, "You've got work to do. Don't worry about me." She forces a smile at the kind asari. She's used to bottling everything up by this point anyway, after all.

Halisi stops outside the café, her gaze falling to the ground temporarily. "No, I... I suppose it isn't. I haven't really had anyone to talk to."

Damien light touches her arm to get her attention, smiling warmly. "Well, now you do! It's the least I can do, after all."

Va'ynna returns a smile. "I'll... be here if you want to talk, though," she says before walking over to the new arrivals. "What can I do for you?"

Halisi returns the smile. "I appreciate it. Really." She opens the door to the café, stepping inside and then looking over her shoulder to Damien: "How's the arm feeling? Are you happy with it?" The inside of the café consists of several small booths along the large glass windows that overlook the street, some tables with chairs, as well as a counter with a display of sandwiches,

Leah continues to stare at her coffee cup as the conversation takes place off to her side.

Va'ynna takes the datapad and reads it quickly. "I... did hear a little about it," she says. "I'll be right back." She makes her way over to one of the terminals, placing the datapad beside it and types a message to Steve.

Steve emerges from the back door about a minute later. He isn't wearing his hardsuit, as he hasn't had a chance to pick it back up yet. He has on jeans, a black tshirt, and a Carnifex holstered on his right thigh. "Problem?" he asks as he steps out.

Va'ynna hands over the datapad and gestures towards the asari and salarian who's waiting patiently. "They gave me... this," she says. "I... just wanted to let you know."

Steve furrows his brow as he takes the datapad from Va'ynna. He stares at her for a moment before looking down at it. His lips move slightly as he reads over it. After a short pause, he shrugs and passes the datapad back to Va'ynna. "Looks like everything is in order." he says.

Va'ynna nods. "So, I... should just let them through?" she asks in a lowered voice.

Steve gives a shrug. "Sounds like this is what Aylena wanted." he says, "I mean, I'll keep an eye on 'em, of course."

Leah sips at her coffee, but otherwise keeps to herself.

Va'ynna nods and walks over to them. "The signatures checks out," she says, gesturing towards the nearest way to get behind the bar. "Welcome to the Miner's Respite.... I'm Va'ynna Atana, it's good to finally meet you."

Steve follows Va'ynna over to the pair, giving them a nod once Va'ynna finishes. "Steven Briggs." he introduces himself, "I handle security 'round here."

Skythix entered the Respite wearing her typical warm clothing. She stretched out her arms over her head and stretched her back out in an exagerated yawn. Her mandibles clicked against her face a couple of times while she walked to the bar. She was still not one hundred percent on identifying humans but the one sitting at the bar looked familiar to her. She hazarded a "Hello" to the

Leah slowly turns her head to face the turian. Upon recognizing Skythix, she straightens up her posture once more and wipes at her eyes quickly, attempting to clean herself up a bit. "Hey!" she says, it's obvious she's not in the best of spirits, but she's doing her damndest to hide it, "Uhhh.... Sky, right?" she asks, not completely recalling the turian's full name, as it's not

Kanaya makes her way around the bar, dragging her suitcase with her. "Kanaya D'Inea," she says. "I need a moment to unpack my things, and then I'd like a meeting with each of you."

Steve raises an eyebrow and glances over at Va'ynna momentarily, suddenly feeling like he's been called to the principal's office. "Yeah, of course..." he says.

Ennik follows after her around the bar. "I'm Ennik," he says. "Pleased to meet you both."

Skythix tilted her head minutely at Leah's initial reaction to her arrival, almost indistinguishable from her other motions if you didn't understand turians. "Ah, yeah. You can call me that, I guess." She said with a shrug and a half grin. "Mind if I sit with you?" She asked in a careful tone. She'd been dying to just talk to someone since her time at the gym.

Va'ynna nods. "Oh... okay," she says. "I'll see you there." Then, an impatient patron signals for her and she makes her way over.

Leah shakes her head and pulls her second coffee cup closer, as to not take up as much space on the counter. "No, don't mind at all." she says, "Unfortunately, they're not serving food right now." she continues with a sigh, assuming that's probably the reason someone would come to the Respite this early, unless they're an alcoholic, "Was hoping to get some breakfast myself."

Kanaya tilts her head. "Something wrong?" she asks. "I just want to know how things are around here, and get to know you all a tiny bit."

Steve shakes his head. "Nothin' wrong on this end." he says with a smile, "Just lemme know when ya wanna talk. You need any help gettin' that sh-... stuff to your room?"

Skythix muttered a curse under her breath and took the seat. "Sometimes good conversation can feed the spirit." She said with a dismissive sigh. She then closed her eyes and sniffed at a pungent aroma coming from in front of Leah. "What on Palaven is that lovely smell?" She said in an airy tone, her face drifting closer to the coffee cup.

Leah grips her coffee cup and holds it up a bit. "Coffee." she says with a nod, "I can't function without it. Jumpstarts my system in the mornings." She takes a quick sip, as if to punctuate her point. "Quite the coincidence, running into you twice in such a short span of time. You staying nearby?"

Skythix took in a deep breath and for once in her life, wished she could induldge in a human drink. "Sounds like apha to me. A bit thicker than coffee but works pretty similarly. Doesn't smell nearly as good though." She shuffled herself in the seat and nodded her head. "Indeed. I'm only a few blocks away in a tiny apartment. I pass by the Respite in my morning run everyday." Today,

Kanaya smiles. "That would be great," the matron says, handing him the suitcase. "It's through the back door, and I have the key, that's about all I know about it, to be honest. That enough to find it?"

Leah gives a nod, lowering her gaze to the cup in her hands. "I'm a bit of a walk from here, so I don't make my way out here nearly as often as I'd like. We've got quite a few folks from the agency cooped up here, though." she says with a nod towards the stairs.

Skythix looked in the direction that Leah nodded and grinned. "I'm vaguely aware." She said with a chuckle. "I spent an evening drinking with Jason during my first couple of weeks here." She leaned over slightly to look at Leah's face. She wasn't perfect with human expressions but she could tell something was wrong. "You have a bad night?" She asked in a quiet voice that didn't show

Steve returns the smile as he accepts the suitcase. He turns and starts through the door with a nod, rolling his eyes once he's turned away. "Yep. I know where it is. Right down the hall." he says, heading towards Aylena's office.

Leah sniffs and wipes at her eyes again once it's clear that Skythix is on to her. "No, I'm fine." she offers, "So... Jason." she continues with a nod, attempting to change the subject, but then that immediately sets in. How she betrayed him. Drugged him. Her expression goes sour and she reaches up to run a hand through her hair, "You... You know him well?" she asks, trying her

Kanaya and the salarian follows Steve into the hallway. "Appreciate it," she says. "There's four of you working here, right? You and the three others listed in the message, I mean."

Steve nods as he stops beside the door. "That's right. Sometimes I swap out with someone else from the agency, dependin' on my assignment. But other than that? Yeah."

Skythix furrowed her browplates as she tried and guage Leah's reactions and gestures. Her green eyes quickly watched Leah run her fingers through her hair, idly wondering what they actually felt like. She didn't know much about humans and she suddenly wish she did. "I mean, he's my boss and I've talked to him a few times but I wouldn't say I know him well." She responded casually. Maybe

Leah nods a number of times. "I've been with the agency since the beginning." she says with a somewhat forced smile. She pauses to consider it for a moment and rolls her eyes, "Well, I mean, since they established things here." She points towards the ground, remaining very animated and active with her hands as she speaks, "I guess they had a thing before this thing, but that

Skythix couldn't help herself from tilting her head rather far to the left with a bewildered look on her face. Yeah, definitely something wrong. She can't even form regular sentences. In her defense it was rather early still but that was never an excuse for herself. "Uhh... Right. I don't really know the history and something tells me you just told me the entire thing in five seconds."

Kanaya enables her omni-tool and opens the door with it, and steps inside, looking around the room. "I see," she says. "I'll hopefully have time to meet with all of you today, then." She turns around to face him. "You can just set the case right there," she adds, pointing at a spot beside the entrance door

Ennik enters the room after the asari, setting his backpack down by the entrance. "Is she the only bartender?" he asks out of curiosity.

Steve steps into the room behind Kanaya and sets the suitcase in the desired location. "You got it." he says as he dusts off his hands. He swivels in place to face Ennik as he speaks up and sidesteps past him to the doorway. "Nah. We've got a turian, too, but I gotta be honest... It wouldn't be a bad idea to hire on some more staff. This place can be a handful for 'em sometimes."

Leah frowns and lets out a deep sigh as she brings her hand up to her forehead as if she's just been caught red-handed. "Just a bad day." she mutters. "Seem to be having a lot of them lately. It's... nice of you to be concerned but, really, I'm fine. Or, at least, I will be fine." she sighs and attempts to elaborate, her hands growing animated once more, "Not that I'm implying that

Ennik nods. "Noted," he says. "Agreed, one bar is too much work for just two people."

Kanaya walks over to sit down before the terminal. "Thanks," she says. She starts typing on it to log on, then mutters something about the 120 unread messages.

Steve steps back through the doorway and stabs a thumb in the direction of his office. "Well, if either of ya need me, I'm usually right down the hall in my office. If I ain't in there, I'm either out by the bar, or off duty. I'm always on-call, though. Can contact me through any of the terminals around."

Skythix had to suppress a groan at Leah's dodging. You'd think she'd pop right out of her stool she was trying to avoid the subject so hard. "You're really not making me any less concerned. More so, if anything, at this point since I came in." She said with a palm turned up at Leah as if expecting to be handed the problem. "If you want, we can go sparring or shooting to take your mind

Kanaya nods. "Got it," she says. "I'll come by for a chat in an hour, maybe two." She chuckles as she looks over the screen. "A bit of a worrywart, that bartender, huh," she adds.

Leah puts her hands up, waving off the turian's suggestions. "No, no, no. Really. It's fine." She sighs, deciding to give in, at least somewhat. Perhaps she couldn't go over all of her problems right now, but she figured that the most recent one would probably be universal enough for Sky to understand and stop prying. "Just... Guy problems." she says with a sigh.

Va'ynna makes her over to Skythix and Leah. "Can I get you anything?"

Steve clasps his hands together, remaining in front of the door a moment longer before giving Kanaya another nod and setting off towards the bar. He pauses in the doorway as he sees that Va'ynna is busy and waits for her to finish.

Skythix sniffed and narrowed her eyes for a second. "Oh, is that all?" She mused with a light laugh. She put a comforting hand on Leah's shoulder and rubbed it gently. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound insensitive. You should have just said so from the beginning." She took her hand back and brought a smile to her face. "There's one universal constant and it's that men are awful across all

Leah gives the asari a polite smile and shakes her head, "We're fine." she says. Once Skythix finishes, she shuts her eyes and gives a chuckle. Oh, is that all. If only. "Yeah, that's all." she lies, giving a slight shrug, "I wouldn't say he's awful, though." She scrunches up her nose for a moment as she thinks on it before finally nodding, "Okay, maybe he is a little awful... But,

Va'ynna nods and takes a step back, looking around to see if anyone else need anything.

Steve pokes out of the doorway and waves Va'ynna over.

Va'ynna walks over to the doorway. "What... is it?" she asks.

Steve gives a shrug. "They're all setup." he says. "Seem nice enough. Time will tell, I s'pose. If ya notice anything strange, though, just gimme a holler, alright? I'm gonna keep an eye on 'em, I suggest you do the same. Aylena disappeared for a reason..."

Va'ynna nods. "I... will," she says. "I'm happy... that I don't have to... manage this place, though."

Skythix smiled at Va'ynna and waved her off with a 'no thank you', content with Leah answering for both of them. "Well, two ways I go about things like that. You either confront them on the issue immediately and get your answer or you cut them out completely. Black and white always leads to gray though, but it's a good starting point. Promise me you won't let it bother you too bad

Steve gives a chuckle and pats the asari on the shoulder. "Eh... You, uhh..." he begins, looking as though it's difficult for him to even get out. Then, all at once he says, "...You did alright." He sighs, as though it was painful for him to admit, "This place woulda sunk without you around."

Leah lets out a loud sigh as she returns to propping her chin back up with her hands once the turian finishes. "I'll be fine. I'm used to things not working out for me by now. I think talking to him about it at this point would just make things weird." She allows her head to lazily lull to the side, "...Weirder..."

Va'ynna looks a bit puzzled for a moment, but then smiles. "Thank you," she says. "It... means a lot."

Skythix gripped the bar's counter and tapped her talons on the top. "Give it time. You and him can cool off and get your heads on straight." She flashed a toothy grin at Leah. "Or you can let me talk to Jason and talk some sense into him." She said with a grim tone.

Steve gives Va'ynna a couple more awkward pats. "Right. Back to work for me." he says before turning on his heels and stomping off down the hall.

Va'ynna nods. "I should, too," she says before returning out to the bar, walking over to the first person to signal for her.

Leah gives Skythix a smile and nods. "Yeah, time heals all wou-.... what?" she pauses at the mention of Jason, cocking an eyebrow. She lets out a genuine laugh, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I mean-... No." She shakes her head side-to-side. If the man were here, he'd probably be offended.

Skythix blinked a few times in confusion. "I thought--..." She paused and looked around the bar while she wracked her brain. "I thought when you asked me more about Jason you were referring to him... Wait that suddenly doesn't make any sense..." She said the last sentence barely under her breath. "Regardless!" She shouted to try and recover and momentum she had. "I'll talk some sense

Leah looks fairly amused by the turian's antics, her smile growing into something a bit more honest for the first time since the start of their conversation. "Thank you, Sky." she says, "But I'm sure I can handle it. Like you said, just need to give it time." Her grin turns a tad mischevious, "Buuuuut. Since you already dug your own hole, I will take you up on that shopping offer.

Skythix looked crestfallen at the mention of shopping again, the plates of her face seeming to shift lower. "You really wanted to do that?" She said in a sad monotone. A groan escaped her and she covered her face with both of her hands before bursting out with her hands in the air. "Fine! It's better than training for two hours alone!... No it's not." She added the last part in a mutter.

Leah retrieves her omni-tool from her jacket pocket, giving a quick chuckle at the turian's outburst. "Hey, I'm all for a bit of training, too. I've got a little setup at my place, just outside of town." she explains as she taps at the haptic interface, "It's nothing fancy, but I had to put something together. All the open space is nice. Especially when it comes to my biotics." A

Skythix perked up slightly. "Oh! I didn't know you were biotic." She said with a blink. "And yes! You're going to have to pay me back after this shopping escapade with something to hit or shoot." She crossed her arms and turned off her omni-tool. "Call me a simple colony girl but that's just what I enjoy." She said, half-lidded with a smooth voice.

Leah gives a stern nod as the haptic interface dissipates and she tucks her omni-tool away into her pocket. "Sounds like a plan!" she says enthusiastically, "We'll make a day of it. Some shopping, a bite to eat, a little training. It'll be fun!"

Skythix 's expression softened greatly. Was she finally going to have a friend on this planet? "That... Actually sounds really great." She said in a sweet tone. Her foot started bouncing up and down on the ground with tempered excitement. "I'm looking forward to it." Wow, had it really been that long since she got to actually do something with people? "Can't wait." Her smile was wide

Leah slaps her hands down on the counter. "Then it's settled!" she says before taking another sip of her coffee, "I should probably get going, but I'll get a message to you soon and we can set it all up." She begins digging around in her pockets for her credit chit. After a few moments, she slides it across the counter and gives a wave to Va'ynna. "And-...uhh...." she continues,

Skythix grinned at Leah as she stood up to leave. She snickered and held back and further laughter as she went into a tyrade or promise keeping. She silently put a finger up to her own mouth and then pretended to be twisting a screw in place. She then leaned against the counter and examined the woman. That was the male that she was sparring with the other night, wasn't it? She couldn't

Leah turns a brighter shade of red. Lying... She's been doing a whole lot of it lately. She sighed at the thought, but immediately threw on a bright smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about." she said as she started towards the door. "I'll see you later, Sky." she called back, tossing a hand up over her shoulder to wave.

Va'ynna is just standing behind the bar, currently not tending to anyone as a few minutes ago is probably the extent of how busy a morning is when the kitchen is closed.

Leah shoves her hands into her pockets once she gets outside, her smile instantly melting away. Her gaze lowers to the ground as she slowly makes her way down the block, opting to make the long walk home to clear her head rather than calling a shuttle.

Skythix exited the Respite after attempting to socialize for a while.