This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#Miner'sRespite – January 2, 2017
Va'ynna unlocks and enters the Miner's Respite, which has been closed all afternoon. She has returned an hour or so before her usual time. It turned out to be a wise decision, because the bar is still a mess. Upon spotting the blood on the floor, she raises her brows and steps back. Without contacting security – Aylena had already given her some sort of summary with her instructions –, she immediately makes
for the stairs to find the quarian responsible for cleaning the Respite. When she reached the right door, she presses the 'doorbell' button on the interface. Va'ynna is dressed in simple black jeans and a long dark red shirt under her navy blue jacket with golden trims.
Hobo cracks an eye open and gasps as she hears the door chime, surprised by the sound. It had been so quiet after the shooting, but she knew it could be a trap. Everyone could be gone, dead, or injured, and this could be the shooters coming back for the survivors. She shifts a little from under her bed and opens the omnitool to view the camera footage outside her door and breathes
a sigh of relief when its only her friend and co-worker. "V-Va'ynna," she says into the intercom, "Is, um... i-is the coast clear?" She curls up a little tigher in her little Quarian ball, clutching a small stuffed elephant.
Va'ynna nods, looking up the simple door camera. "Mhm," she says. "D'Inea and the... attacker are both at the hospital." She takes a step back from the door. "I... I need your help to clean up and get ready to open again for the night."
Shyva'Nahl takes a deep breath which can be heard from the intercom, and exhales slowly. Finally, after several seconds of silent contemplation, the Quarian finally says; "Okay." There's a light shuffle from behind the door as she pulls herself out from under her bed and heads for her barricaded door, then a series of scrapes and thuds as she pulls the dresser and wardrobe away, then,
finally, the door opens to reveal the shaking Quarian. Her room was an organised chaos, it seemed. Perfectly clean, but with furniture moved about and chemical containers sitting on her workbench, but the most noticable thing was the light grooves starting to form in front of the door. "There's, uh... T-there's gonna be blood, isn't th-there." she asks, wringing her hands.
Va'ynna frowns, sympathy written all over her facial features as she studies the quarian and the messy room behind. She eventually gives a nod. "Yes, both... D'Inea and the... shooter were injured." She takes a step forward and holds out her arms to offer a hug, but she leaves the decision to Shyva. They were friends, but Va'ynna would only cling to someone whether they wanted it or not when she herself needed
Shyva'Nahl is quick to accept the hug, wrapping her arms around the asari and holding her tight. Its obvious by how much less she was shaking that he hug helped settle the Quarian's nerves considerably. She holds it for several moments before letting go. "T-Thank you." she says, quietly before going back into her room. "Come in, if y-you don't mind the m-mess." The Quarian heads over to
her workbench and starts going through the several bottles with home-made labels attached. "I s-should r-really get used to this at some point..." she muses. "B-Blood doesn't phase me a-as much as it u-used to, but... c-can anyone g-get used to firefights? Scorch-marks are a... e-excuse me... a b-bitch to get out."
Va'ynna gives a brief smile as the quarian accepts the hug, and she holds her tightly in turn. "I... don't mind," she says and steps into the room, closing the door behind her. She was about to make a suggestion about finding another workspace, but the next of the quarian's words took her attention away from that topic because of how well it resonated with herself. Her expression saddens as her own experieneces
come out to the forefront. "No," she says. "I... I... I was told by Jason that... he hoped I never would have to, but..." She gives a deep sigh. "I don't know.... I can't even cross the street without... worrying about... that."
Shyva'Nahl pulls out two specific bottles and hooks them to her belt, then begins searching once more. "I k-kinda wish I could f-find my own place." she says as she sorts through various cleaning products, from sponges all the way to old tooth brushes. "I w-was in here wh-when the shooting started, j-just minding my own business, sketching a-away then..." The woman stops and sighs, looking
out the window. "Before I kn-knew it I was under my b-bed. Hadn't left until y-you wrang my bell." She finishes her search and turns, fully kitted out. "But w-who knows what'll h-happen to me out there. One of m-my first outings I was a-almost mugged!"
Va'ynna opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it again. The quarian had her own problems and concerns, there was no reason for Va'ynna to compare her own. "Do you... know anyone that can walk with you to and from work?" she asks. The asari opens the door and steps out into the hallway to leave room for the quarian to exit.
Shyva'Nahl shakes her head solemnly as she follows Va'ynna out into the hall, and locks the door behind her. "N-Nope." she says, followed by a small sigh before she turns to the asari again. "Most of the p-people that come into my life," she points to one side, then whisks it to the other with a whistle. "J-Just head s-straight on b-by in the end. I t-think the only r-reason I s-still have
friends here is because we a-all work together." She starts down the hallway, dreading the sight she'd end up seeing. "I d-don't think you n-need to worry too much." The Quarian says, deciding to shift things back to Va'ynna. "Y-You have that, um... 'c-confident' red head behind y-you. I t-try not to watch but... she's c-crazy about you and h-has Redrock backing her up."
Va'ynna frowns as the quarian recounting her experience in this place, following beside her down the hall. The mention of Victoria makes her let out a short giggle which is quickly overshadowed by her guilt and doubt about it all. "I... I often stop to wonder what I did to deserve... all that," she says, "but... I would have gone insane by now... if not for them." She sighs, not happy with the conversation
shifting on her. She has enough shoulders to cry on, but the quarian did not by the sounds of it. "But... this isn't about me," she says. "There are... many good people here, you... just need to get to know them."
Shyva'Nahl nods as she begins heading down the stairs, then grabs the banister as the perfect mix of head nod and first stair throws off her balance a little. Real smooth, Shyva. "Whatever you d-did, you did it r-right. Victoria i-is certainly something s-special. L-Like a bear. F-Fierce on the o-outside b-but... Well, I a-assume bears are nice and cuddly on the inside, r-right? Why
w-would they make stuffed bears f-for kids otherwise? Like E-Elephants, cute on the outside and inside." Of course, she'd never actually seen a real version of either but... she realises the course of the conversation was starting to slip. "Y-You're a good person, V. T-That's why y-you have friends." As she gets to the bottom of the stairs, she surveys the carnage... then promptly sits
on the stairs with a resigned squeak. That's a lot of work... "Va'ynna... whenever I get to k-know someone, something a-always comes up. Nine t-times out of t-ten, work p-picks up and I never h-hear from them for a long t-time." The Quarian puts her head against the wall, resulting in a dull tap as the metal under her shawl taps against it. "T-That's why I c-can't seem to keep a-anyone
Va'ynna raises her brows, but she couldn't dispute the quarian's assessment of Earth fauna – she didn't even know what Aite had to offer beyond what little she overheard from patrons talking. She sits down beside her, and reluctantly slings an arm around her shoulders, looking a bit uncertain. She's used to seeking comfort from others, but when it came to giving it, she was very lost. "I... I... may know how
you feel," she says. "I... was alone for... most of my first year here. I... I did meet people,... friends, but... at the end of the day, I was back in my little room with my thoughts,... and fears. I rarely... left the Respite." She sighs. "Victoria.... I... doubted her for a long time, her intentions for me," Va'ynna continues, "and I kept pushing her away, but... she never gave up." She takes a deep
breath. "You... won't find out if there's... someone for you out here if... you stay up in your room between your... shifts."
Shyva'Nahl moves her head to rest on Va'ynna's shoulder once she feels the arm wrap over her shoulders. She hadn't had someone do that for her in many years, not since well before she left the Migrant Fleet. It was nice, to say the least, a little slice of home. "T-That's... pretty accurate." she says. "I o-only really h-have one friend now though, b-being you and a-all, but... t-thank
you. Its nice to k-know I'm not alone in feeling t-this way, even if you've gotten past it." As she speaks, she idly taps one of the bottles on her waist. "B-But... I kinda like b-being alone with my t-thoughts. Its b-better than being shot down here or m-mugged in the streets, and I get a lot of drawing done. I g-guess it can get lonely though." She lifts her head and looks Va'ynna in
Va'ynna tenses for a brief moment when the quarian's head rests on her shoulder, but she quickly gets over it and relaxes again. There was some pressure for her to say the right words, but she wasn't dealing with unfamiliar experiences. "I... do too," she begins, "but... talking with people helps when fear... and worry gets in the way of... good thoughts." She looks towards one of the booths. "What... I would do
was to... come down here and sit in one of the booths with a glass of water," she says. "Most times people left me alone, some bothered me, but... the other times made it... worth it."
Shyva'Nahl picks the bottle she'd been tapping off her belt and holds it in both hands, looking it over, half-heartedly. "How w-was it worth it?" Shyva asks, looking away from the bottle. "I m-mean... if someone b-bothered me, I'd probably end up m-melting and trying to e-escape every moment of t-them annoying me. I'm, um..." She looks back to the bottle. "K-kind of a coward." She turns
the bottle over in her hand and looks at the ingredients. "Y'know... t-this one's really good with the worst, dried up b-blood stains." She says, changing the subject after that little gem. "It k-kinda... burns through it, using s-several different chemicals. Quick spritz a-and a scrub, all gone. N-Needs good v-ventilation t-though... M-My mask helps me a-avoid it but, uh... not everyone
has the l-luxury of living in an eco suit." She puts it back on her belt. "My fresher stains one is much more, um..." She looks for the right word, then shrugs. "Safe."
Va'ynna nods, and she's about to speak when the quarian changes the subject. "You have... more than enough time to do your work before we... open," she says, "and I will... keep my distance while you work." Feeling that there's little else she can say about that given her lack of understanding for industrial cleaning, she tries to backpedal again. "It was worth it because I... met great people too," she says, and
a small amused smile shows up. "Victoria... well, she... hit on me the first time we met, so... not every bothersome person is bad either."
Shyva'Nahl nods as she looks to her utility belt and sees all the cleaning solutions and solvents of her own design. She could have been a biochemist... but then again, she only really knew a handful of different chemicals, all of which her father had taught her about, not nearly enough to be a biochemist... Ah, Va'ynna's bringing it back, great. "I guess I'm a little, um... l-less trusting."
she admits, looking down at the steps. "Zaan and Pip both hit on me first. We had great t-times, then... work. Both of them. W-Work got in the way." she shakes her head and sighs. "Maybe its t-true what they say, hm? T-Third time's the charm?" she asks, then looks to Va'ynna. "I, um... d-do you wanna sit in a booth together some t-time? As f-friends of c-course. Run m-me through how
Va'ynna frowns, not entirely understanding this. Her work was painfully tiring at times, and Victoria had her responsibilities, but they're still together. "That's... up to you to find out," she says. "Maybe you'll find someone eventually that... can... manage their time." She looks over at one of the other booths, a sad frown showing up at the irony of what she's about to sa. "I'm going to work all day until...
D'Inea is back," she says, "but... when... she's back, I'll ask Tara to... take care of the kitchen for a few hours so we can." She looks back at Shyva. "Is that... okay?"
Shyva'Nahl looks around at the bar in its current state before looking back to Va'ynna. That look of genuine concern for her wellbeing felt... well, like she had a friend. That wasn't a feeling the Quarian knew too well. "Considering h-how the Respite looks r-right now?" she asks. "T-That's more than o-okay. It'll t-take me all day t-to clean this up. D-Do you think we could institute a
'you m-make a mess, you p-pay Shyva extra' policy?" she asks, followed by a very small, nervous giggle. Their talk seemed to be putting her in better spirits. "And, uh... d-do you think an omnitool agenda program is a g-good first date gift?"
Va'ynna raises an eyebrow. She was surrounded by a network of support and reassurance in hard times, so the chance to offer support for once was something Va'ynna relished. "I... don't think it is," she says. "They... might not need one, or... have one already." She then glances towards the bar, what can be seen of it from her seated position. "Do you... need all day to clean this up?" she asks. "D'Inea was...
Shyva'Nahl lets out a tiny chuckle as she looks down. "T-That was, uh... t-that was a little joke." at her expense no less. Well, that was silly, why would she do that? She lifts her head again and surveys the damage done to the establishment, thinking of an estimate for her workload. "N-Not all day, b-but..." she gives it just a little more thought. "I d-doubt I'm gonna g-get it back to
Va'ynna gives a relieved sigh. "I... can help if you're not starting with the unsafe... cleaners," she offers. "I... did much of the housekeeping before... you were hired." From inventory to managment, there's little Va'ynna hasn't done at the Respite at some point. "So... I'm not completely useless at it."
Shyva'Nahl blinks a little in surprise. "W-Was there anything y-you didn't do?" Shyva asks, a little surprised before standing up. She really aught to get to work. "If t-there is anything, I'll l-let you know, but I s-should have everything under c-controll. Just... crack a w-window or two, j-just in case. Its hard to guage with t-the whole... y'know." She gestures to her mask. Before she
walks away though, she pauses, as if in thought. "Hey, um... I h-heard there's a Quarian s-ship docked n-near here. Y-You... maybe wanna check it out a-at some point? It w-would be nice to check out s-some stuff from home..."
Va'ynna gives a nod at first, but the second topic makes her raise an eyebrow. "I'll... see if... someone else would like to come with," she says. "Someone that isn't... a coward like us." Only then does Va'ynna rise from her seat, fidgeting with her hands as she tries to clarify, "I... don't mean anything bad towards you, but... the person behind my... uh, what happened to me is still out there somewhere."
Shyva'Nahl nods at the Asari in understanding. "Y-Yeah, that w-would help. I'm s-sure we'd be fine wh-when we get there... b-being amongst my own people and all." she muses, or, at the very least, hopes. "L-Let me know who you find, I'd b-be curious to know if t-they'd be interested." She turns as if to get to work, then stops, and turns back to Va'ynna. She wraps her up in another friendly
Va'ynna gladly accepts the hug, holding onto the quarian tightly. It was only a year ago that she'd tense up at the slightest touch, where such a hug would be a very awkward ordeal for her. "I'm... glad I could help," she murmurs, not letting go of the hug just yet.
Shyva'Nahl eventually lets go of the asari and smiles widely. "I l-look forward to... uh... hanging out w-with you. Sometime." she says, even though her smile is mostly hidden behind her mask. She would be sure to repay her kindess at a later time, probably in the form of a sketch or something. "B-Best get to work, hm?" she says, picking out one of the bottles along her belt. And with
that, she heads off to... all the blood. The spring in her step disapears and she slouches slightly. Oh boy...
Va'ynna returns the smile, well, by coincidence. "I'll... try to make that 'sometime' soon," she says as she follows her towards the bar. "You... can find me in the kitchen if you need me." She lifts her hand to pat the quarian's shoulder, but decides against it. They just hugged, more physical contact might come across wrong. Instead, she walks around the counter and starts making careful steps towards the door
to the back to avoid making more work for Shyva. The sound of her shoes somewhat sticking to the floor and the crunch of broken glass being stepped on implies she's having limited success.