This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#Miner'sRespite – August 5, 2017
It's the evening of the 20th, and the weather is rather dreadful, with strong winds blowing whirlwinds of snow through the winding streets of Freedom Falls. It's the kind of weather that makes most people prefer to stay indoors. Even better if it's a building full of warm food and drinks. A crowded Respite serves the usual sorts, and others that have taken shelter from the stormy weather.
Dawn staggers into the Respite, taking a moment to steady herself once inside before heading towards the bar. She's wearing a thin hoodie in addition to the clothing she's been previously seen in - leather jacket, spaghetti-strap top, tight-fitting pants and fingerless gloves, all black. She has her satchel with her, but the larger duffel bag is nowhere to be seen.
Leah is in her usual spot: leaning up against the counter and chatting with a patron. "And so then Malelius promises to stay away so she can be happy." she explains to turian leaning his weary head against his left hand with a blank expression, "But you just know he can't stay gone forever, right? I mean, he's in love with Amanda! But Amanda is married to Cornelius now! And they're finally happy! Like, really happy! And
Cornelius deserves to be happy after everything he's been through, right?" she asks, which only gets more blank stares in response. With a sigh, she continues, unbothered by the turian's apparent lack of interest, "Everything was going soooo well. But then, last episode-..." she leans in a bit and knocks three times against the counter, "There's a knock at the door. Cornelius opens it and- DUN DUN DUNNNNN. Malelius
is back. Fade to credits." She allows that to linger in the air for a moment as if it's some big revelation.
The turian merely stares at her for a moment before lifting his head from his hand. "So.... Can I get a refill or not...?" he repeats tentatively.
Leah scrunches up her nose in a frown. "You suck." she groans as she collects his glass. She returns a moment later, still giving the turian the stare-down when she sets his drink in front of him before turning her attention to Dawn. Her usual bright smile returns to her face as she addresses the new arrival. "Heyyyyy. Dawn, right?" she asks, trying to recall the woman's name.
Dawn stops upon reaching the counter, lowering her snow-covered hood and staring at Leah with unnaturally violet eyes as she's addressed. An almost reluctant "Yes." is spoken alongside a small nod. She looks a little pale from the cold, which causes a bruise below her left eye to stand out. She closes her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose for a moment as she exhales. "Hamburgers. Three. With sodas."
Leah gives a slow nod. "Sure thing. Friends showing up?" she asks as she takes a step to the side, just making conversation as usual as she puts the order into the terminal. It's something she's not super comfortable with yet, but Va'ynna has shown her the basics. She hovers her index finger over the terminal, circling it a few times with a confused look on her face before finding what she was looking for and tapping at the
Dawn impatiently drums her fingers against the counter as Leah struggles with the terminal, her gaze going off to the side, scanning the faces of other patrons. "Hm?" she says as her attention snaps back to Leah upon realizing she's being addressed. She doesn't seem to have heard the question. The warmth of the Respite prompts her to unzip her hoodie. Part of a line can be seen tattooed on the left side of her chest,
Leah's attention moves briefly and discreetly to the tattoo. "Is all of this food for you?" she repeats, retaining her friendly smile as she charges the order to the account associated with the room Dawn rented. It's mostly just small talk, but Leah is security, so getting a read on the patrons is never a bad thing. The bonus of being so social is that she's much better at reading a room than Briggs ever was. He was a blunt
instrument. A blunt instrument with good intuition, sure, but a blunt instrument nonetheless. Leah's general good natured personality and less-than-threatening stature tends to cause patrons to open up to her much easier than they ever would have to Briggs (Not that Steve did much socializing with the customers anyway). So, perhaps there's a little more behind her question than just idle chit chat. Afterall, it never
Dawn doesn't look too pleased by the question, a subtle frown crossing her face, but she nods. "Yes." She's stopped drumming her fingers, but is keeping a tight grip of the counter. There is a small bit of scarring visible on each of her fingers, running out from beneath the fingerless gloves to her violet nails. Her focus is clearly a bit lacking at the moment, but she does her best to hide it. Her gaze moves to focus on a
Leah gives a couple nods as she steps away from the terminal and leans against the counter across from Dawn. "I could probably wolf down a few myself right about now." she snickers, suddenly wondering how long she should wait before taking her break. "So how long are you planning on sticking around for?" she asks.
Dawn 's gaze darts back to Leah. She sounds a little irritated by the continued questions as she responds. "I don't know." she half-mutters, shooting a brief glance at the turian patron next to her before focusing back on Leah, studying the smaller woman.
Leah sucks a breath in through her nose and gives a raise of her eyebrows. "Right!" she agrees, well aware of what that tone means. It means 'leave me alone'. "Well, your order should be ready soon. Do you want it brought to your room, or-....?" she asks.
Dawn stares at Leah as if it takes her a moment to process the request. "No." she blurts out. "I'll take a booth." She gestures over her shoulder, and then nods a few times, her attention quickly fading from Leah as she looks around and heads off towards the most poorly lit booth she can find. Leah might catch a glimpse of the telltale metal plating of a biotic amplifier through the jagged hair of her neck - and an unusual scar
running down her neck until obscured by the hoodie, half-obscured by a tattooed kanji character - 生.
Leah's smile fades slightly at the sight of the amp. At the very least, it serves as a bit of an explanation as to her anti-social behavior. Leah has met plenty of other biotics and it wasn't unnatural for them to sort of drift away from social norms. And who could blame them with how they've been treated. Nonethless, she gives a nod. "You got it." she calls out. Despite there being no real 'red flags' set off, so to speak, she
Dawn takes a seat in the booth, staring at the table in silence while rubbing her temples as she waits for the food to be delivered.
Tara emerges from the kitchen once the order is complete, struggling with the tray holding all 3 burgers and soda glasses. She looks around for the indicated patron.
Leah settles into place for the moment. Once Tara makes her appearance, she swivels around and places a hand on her shoulder. "Hey! I know it's pretty busy tonight, so how about I take that for you?" she offers with a smile. "I'm not doing anything right now anyway."
Tara blinks, looking a little confused, but she nods meekly. "Oh... okay." she says, holding the tray out for Leah to take.
Leah places a hand beneath the tray as she takes on the weight of it. She struggles with it for a moment, placing her other hand on the side of the tray. "How do you-..." she grunts as the tray begins to teeter. Suddenly, a blue glow envelopes her and the tray stays perfectly still, hovering just above the palm of her hand. If you've got it, might as well use it. She winks at Tara as she cheats the system. "Got it." she says
Dawn is pulled out of whatever she's up to as Leah approaches, her eyes immediately going to the food, her hunger obvious. She freezes momentarily as she notices the faint biotic shimmer, her gaze darting over to Leah's face, not stating the obvious.
Leah brings her hands to the sides of the tray, allowing it to simply float in mid-air for a moment. Once she has control of the tray, the blue glow dissipates and she slowly sets the tray down. Her attention moves to Dawn as she reaches up to wipe a strand of hair behind her ear and gives an embarassed tilt of her head, scrunching up her nose momentarily. "...Things aren't quite the same out here." she says, giving little
context. She's confident Dawn will understand. She isn't about to be preachy about it, though. It's far too presumptuous to assume Dawn's experiences as a biotic have been the same as her own. Scarred by hate, ridicule, and negativity. But that doesn't mean it's not worth saying just in case. Regardless, she gives a self-conscious glance around as if to ensure her own biotic display went unnoticed- a habit formed by a
Dawn watches Leah's biotic display without comment, but her words cause her to let out a derisive snort. She seems about to say something when her shoulders fall due to the follow-up offer of assistance. "No. I'm good." she says with a shake of her head, sounding almost hostile. She immediately grabs one of the burgers, her ravenous appetite quickly making itself known.
Leah's small smile fades at Dawn's reaction. Not what she was expecting. It certainly knocked a little bit of the wind out of her sails. She runs a hand along her hair, fixing a few loose strands as she takes a step back. "Alright..." she says softly, growing more self conscious by the second. She gives a couple of nods, her gaze briefly moving to the next booth over before back to Dawn. "Enjoy..." she says, though it's missing
a bit of her usual perkiness. She turns on her heels and makes a quick retreat back to the counter, feeling quite stupid.
Dawn 's gaze breaks away to look Leah's way after she's started heading back towards the counter. She lets out a quiet sigh, closing her eyes for a moment before resuming consuming her rather massive meal. The soda too she downs quickly, with all its sugary fuel, but not before slipping along a handful of pills from a small, unmarked bottle, swallowed bitterly, by the brief twitch on her face.
Leah returns to her post against the counter, her mood visibly toned down despite her attempts at hiding it. It wasn't often that she went out of her way to let people 'in'. Perhaps the positive recent encounter with Yan Sun caused her to let her guard down and misread the situation. She gives a deep sigh as she silently beats herself up over it. She's spent her whole life knowing what it feels like to have the rest of the
galaxy look at you like a freak. She reminds herself that, regardless of Dawn's reaction, it was worth the attempt. If just to let her know that she's not alone. Her gaze grows distant as she stares at the bar counter.
The turian, back to leaning his chin against his palm as he slowly sips at his drink, yawns loudly. "Oooh, I know that look. Someone else get tired of all that shit you're always talking and finally tell you off?" he teases tiredly.