Ilyna wakes up a little before nine in the morning, and groggily casts a glance around to get an idea of the current time. It's a late morning for her, but it's undercut by her not falling asleep until the really early hours of the morning. It's still dark outside, so she begins untangling herself from Li to go check the time on her omni-tool.
#Halisi'sApartment – October 17, 2018
Ilyna sits up on the side of the bed, carefully casting a glance behind her to see if she woke Li. She breathes a small sigh of relief and picks up her omni-tool to check the time.
Too late to go back to bed, but it doesn't look like there have been any messages or missed calls either. Maybe Vasquez didn't return last night? Maybe she won't accept her? Jason would have at least sent a message, right? She considers sending a message right now, but if it's waited this long, it can wait five more minutes for her to get ready for the day.
She stands up and walks out of the room as quietly as she can, the orange glow of her omni-tool lighting the way.
Ilyna closes the bedroom door after checking again if Li is asleep, and then goes to change and get ready for the day ahead of her. She isn't looking forward to going to work, even if not knowing whether Vasquez will accept her is even worse.
The telltale beep of an omni-tool is eventually heard, signalling an incoming call. Ilyna's omni-tool, more specifically.
Ilyna lets it ring for a few seconds as she finishes getting dressed. "Did she come back last night?" she asks the moment she takes the call and it connects, too eager to get the answers to bother with the formalities. Her voice is almost a whisper in an attempt to not wake Li; that's also why she stays in the bathroom.
There's a bit of static that overpowers the call for a few moments, and Ilyna doesn't get a response beyond a disjointed greeting muffled by the static until it calms down. The less-than-impressive Aite infrastructure at odds with the winter wear-and-tear. Thankfully it clears up relatively quickly.
Jason's voice comes through. "...There we go." he says as the call seems to stabilize. "She did." he says, his tone a bit hard to read which isn't helped by the lack of visual feedback. "We talked and-... well, she's a bit shaken by it all. Which is understandable, I guess, but-... yeah. She came around." he continues, his words punctuated as he releases a breath through his nose, clearly happy to be able to deliver that
outcome over the alternative. "But you know how Linda gets." he continues, his voice lowering ever-so-slightly as he can practically be heard looking around to make sure Vasquez isn't going to drop down from above, "So you might want to give her a little breathing room while she wraps her head around all of this. But you're family, Ilyna." he repeats, a sentiment that obviously means a lot to him, "She knows that. And
Ilyna didn't know she was holding her breath until Jason's good news reach her, and she breathes a sigh of relief. A smile even shows up for a moment. "That's understandable," she says, the relief clear in her tired voice despite the interference. "Thank you, I.... That's all I would ever ask for." Though, giving Vasquez space isn't exactly a big ask as she doesn't speak with her often outside of work
matters. She is deliberately vague as she doesn't want to divulge too many details should Li listen in.
Jason draws in a breath, a small snicker escaping at Ilyna's reaction. "Don't thank me, I had the easy job. All I had to do was remind her just what kind of person you are." Maybe not entirely true. Sure, Jason was well aware that his conversation with Vasquez didn't exactly erase her concerns. The main reason she backed down was for him. Not Ilyna. But Ilyna doesn't need to hear any of that. Besides, whatever fissure this has
caused between Ilyna and Vasquez won't be healed by him. It won't be healed by talking. It'll be healed by time and actions. Ilyna's actions. Regardless of whether or not she should have to prove herself to Vasquez at this point, that's what it's going to take. And Jason's faith in his old friend is unwavering. "So-... uhh-... So thank you. You know-... for always being there to drag our asses out of whatever mess we
Ilyna sighs, having a hard time believing that. That's what she tried to too. Or rather, she wanted to convince her that she is stronger than her curse. "I'm glad I have friends like you," she says. "Not for the trouble, of course," a weak chuckle interrupts her for a moment, "but... friends who somehow make going through all of that worth it."
Jason allows a moment of silence to pass before drawing in a breath. He's certainly had his fair share of bad luck. Moreso than most, really. But there was one regard in which he has somehow managed to hit the jackpot: He's somehow found himself surrounded by a laundry list of good people. People he can depend on. And Ilyna has occupied a spot near the top of that list for years now. "Well... Get used to it. Because I seem to
have a knack for finding trouble." he says with a snicker despite the fact that it's probably not a joke. "I should let you go, though. I'm gonna go pick up a bite with V so I shouldn't keep her waiting." Recalling Va'ynna's request, he adds: "She was saying that she wanted to see you and the small fry, so maybe give her a call when you've got some free time."
Ilyna chuckles at first, but doesn't say anything about his trouble; she wouldn't have stuck around if it wasn't something she could get used to. When he starts speaking about Va'ynna, she starts to get a bit nervous about who might be overhearing him. After the good news she doesn't want to chide him for it, but she is curious. "Oh? She's with you?" she asks. "Are you at the Miner's Respite?"
Jason is quick to respond, unaware of the asari's concerns. "Nah we're at the office. She's gonna-..." his voice gets slightly more distant for a brief moment as he swivels his head away from his omni-tool to glance back towards his office, "...give me a hand putting some shitty furniture together and then we're gonna head out."
Ilyna breathes a small sigh of relief and nods to herself. She is about to suggest coming to the office to meet her right now, but given how Li's still asleep, she refrains. "I won't take more of your time, then," she says. "Again, thank you for letting me know." She then realizes that she hadn't answered Va'ynna's request. "Oh, and I'll send Va'ynna a message."
Li has emerged from the bedroom, silent as a ghost. She's rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she walks towards the bathroom, stopping to listen as she hears the phone call.
Jason briefly falls silent as a short amount of static interrupts their call once again, but it passes soon enough. "Don't mention it." he says, "...And I'll let her know. Alright, you take care of yourself, Ilyna. Give the munchkin a hug from me and I'll see you guys soon." Once he's wrapped up, a sharp beep indicates that the call has been ended. Jason vs. Shelf. Round 2. FIGHT!
Ilyna smiles slightly to herself, but the call ends as suddenly as it started without affording her a response. She lets out a sigh as she pockets the omni-tool and goes to leave the bathroom. Ilyna spots Li immediately as the door opens, and she raises her brows as she's snapped out of her thoughts. "Hey," she says, her voice still as low as it was during the call. "Did you sleep well?"
Li blinks repeatedly after ceasing her eye-rubbing. She nods as she enters the bathroom, still looking half-asleep.
Ilyna gives a small smile as she steps aside to let her in. "That's good," she says. "It was Jason who called by the way. He's working on a shelf with Va'ynna. She would like to see you again soon."
Li gains a small smile. "Can we go?" she says before furrowing her eyebrows as she struggles to reach her toothbrush. She generally relies on Ilyna to load it with toothpaste.
Ilyna walks up behind her and takes the toothbrush and puts toothpaste on it. "They were going out soon, and I didn't think you'd be up yet," she hands her the toothbrush. "I'll send her a message, see if she can come back to the office after their meal. Miner's Respite can't be that busy at this time."
Li starts to vigorously, if not quite correctly, brush her teeth while she listens. Halisi has tried to correct her method with limited success.
Ilyna doesn't comment on her brushing, not this time. "I'll go find some clothes for you, and get started on breakfast," Ilyna says as she steps back. "Oh, and we need to speak with Halisi about your hair. It bothers you when it gets in the way, doesn't it?"
Li , as if on cue, starts to go "Pfft! Pfft!" as her hair gets stuck in her mouth while she's brushing her teeth. She gives a small nod.
Ilyna nods. "We'll talk with her tonight, then," she says. "I've seen people use bands to keep it in check, but... yeah, she probably knows this better than me." She makes her way to the bedroom, closing the bathroom door behind her.