#RedrockAgency – March 19, 2023

Nathan seems to just ramp up the eyebrow wiggling, almost to the point that they threaten to soar off of his face and into the upper atmosphere. But, even he can't keep up such a fierce display and stops, laughing at her reaction. "What can I say? I'm a greedy man!"

Steve snickers and offers a few small nods. "With how rare days off seem to be over there, I guess ya can't look a gift horse in the mouth." he muses.

Leah blinks a couple of times, Nathan's ridiculous reaction doing a fine job of replacing her fluster with a look of exasperation. "Alright, Romeo. Keep it in your pants." she grumbles. She shakes her head in disbelief, though a small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. Beer in hand, she sets off past him, but not before reaching up with her free hand and giving his face- and the goofy expression on it- a little palm shove.

Nathan makes a noise caught between a 'bleh' and a 'wagh' as she palms his face. He springs back upright and offers her a shrug and a smirk before waving her off. "Whatever you say," he says after her before looking around at the party. It was at that moment, he thought... who the hell should he go talk to?

Emma meets Mendez' gaze with a questioning look.

Vasquez emerges at the top of the stairs as Jason appears in the corridor intersection, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth when she spots him. "There you are!" she calls while taking walking his way.

Leah continues shaking her head, colorful streamers bouncing behind her as she passes by Nathan. "I'm dating an idiot." she sighs fondly.

Thiago gaze briefly shifts to Halisi as she steps off, then back to Emma before catching himself, shrugging and returning his attention to the TV. Whatever her issue with the doctor might be, it's none of his concern and he's not about to press her on it. That's how you slip on a banana peel and land in a pile of conversation. Not happening.

Jason stutter steps as a voice calls from his right, drawing his attention Vasquez' way. "Here I... am?" he agrees, lopsided smirk crossing his features. "What? You missing me already or something?"

Tara blinks, looking puzzled. "I... know how to clean."

Elena has just lifted her bottle to her lips when Tara speaks, and she ends up spraying ale in a surprised snort of laughter, hastily bringing her organic hand to her mouth as she coughs. "Gah..."

Zaylus tilts his head, mouth slightly open. "Uhh... I kinda meant like," He puts up a hand to pantomime throwing biotic charges around, making small explosion noises with his mouth and occasionally glancing at Tara for recognition.

Sofia flinches as the spray threatens to catch her in its haze. She flicks her gaze to her dress and checks over it quickly. When she is sure that she was spared, the young woman focuses back on the talk and says, "They're asking if you can do biotics too, Tara."

Cynthia steps up to the table. Leans forward. Lines up her shot. Frowns. Lowers the cue. Steps back. Looks over the table. Takes a single step to the side. Repeats the process. Frowns again...

Holly giggles again, smile growing firmer. "It is, isn't it?" she commiserates, casting a brief, apologetic look to Priya before glancing down at her drink and taking a quick sip.

Emma seems satisfied with the exchange, and returns her attention to the TV as well.

Elena has just stopped coughing when Zaylus' colorful demonstration draws her attention, her hand lingering over her mouth to muffle a choked laugh.

Tara 's eyebrows furrow, looking a little embarrassed. She shakes her head, eyes down at her drink.

Sam snorts loudly, lifting her beer to Holly. "Finally someone that understands my pain!"

Priya's frown remains and she mutters something under her breath.

Shane merely shakes his head at Sam, far too used to her loud, drunken prodding to be bothered by it at this point. Instead, he turns his attention back to the game when it seems as if Cynthia might finally take her shot. But after she squares up numerous times, he lets out a heavy breath. "You planning on actually shooting, or are you just hoping ot threaten the cue ball into moving on its own...?"

Zaylus seems only mildly disappointed. "Aw. Me neither. Too bad, it looks fun." He remarks, getting a far away look in his eye, as if imagining all the biotic hijinks one could get up to. He sips his drink.

Ilyna raises a brow in surprise when Halisi steps up beside her, as she is focusing on the pool table in anticipation of the shot. Her anxiety about the others' reaction to their relationship does come back a little bit, however. "Cynthia is lining u a trickshot," Ilyna says with a glance Halisi's way.

Nathan decides to delve deep into the party and sets his sights on the ongoing pool game on the far side of the room. He navigates his way there, skillfully sliding past conversations and people before he deposits himself nearby. For the time being, he takes a wee sip of his beer and takes stock of the current match, gauging who's winning or, at the very least, doing better.

Sofia hums a gentle laugh as she reaches over to give Tara a small, reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It certainly looks handy, doesn't it?"

Vasquez slows as she draws closer to Jason, offering a token roll of her eyes at his question, but her smile widens, and rather than protesting the notion she slips an arm around his back and leans in for a quick kiss. "You weren't in the rec room when I got back, so I went looking..."

Leah gives Tara a playful poke in the shoulder as she steps past her, offering a brief smile before continuing on her way, paying their conversation no mind.

Shane is quick to look to Ilyna and Halisi and correct the former. "She's considering lining it up. Then she's gonna have to submit a request to the Council. Wait four-to-six months for approval. It's a whole process."

Jason tilts his head down to catch the kiss. "Yeah, I-... uhh-..." he indicates the gym with a quick glance towards the door, smile slipping ever so slightly, "...was talking to Lucy. Just-... felt like I should run the plaques by her. Make sure she was okay with it before I put them up, ya know?"

Holly looks a little guilty, eyes back on Priya, but it's undercut somewhat by the snicker that Sam's exclamation brings out.

Halisi chuckles quietly. "Oh? I didn't realize it such a complex ordeal," she remarks, lingering quite close next to Ilyna and taking another sip from her glass as she studies the pool table.

Cynthia pauses in the middle of doing more or less the same thing again. "Can't rush art. So why don't you all shut the fuck up?" she says, lifting her pool cue and... lowering it again, muttering a quiet curse to herself. Definitely probably not stalling.

Shane lifts a hand defensively, palm out, before bringing it to his lips and pantomiming zipping them. The shit-eating grin on his face undercuts the assurance somewhat, however.

Elena nods in agreement with Zaylus. "Would be fuckin' sweet..." She holds up her hand as if she could just about imagine the indigo glow around it.

Tara just shrinks further at the shoulder pat, but Leah's passing interruption seems to lift her spirits a bit, glancing up and briefly matching her smile before looking to Sofia and nodding. "Leah saved me and Zoe. With her... biotics."

Vasquez frowns, glancing over Jason's shoulder in the direction of the gym. "How is she...?" she asks, voice quieter and smile gone.

Sofia tilts her head slightly at that, brow creasing in thought for about a second before a small smile spreads on her face. "She's like a real life superhero, then." A gentle giggle follows, nodding after Leah.

Ilyna chuckles a bit at Halisi's comment, but Cynthia's desire for quiet keeps her from continuing her explanation, instead taking a sip of wine.

Jason draws in a deep breath, looking a bit unsure of how to answer the question. "She's dealing." he says simply.

Leah makes her way over to the infirmary couch, none-the-wiser to the discussion of her heroic deeds taking place behind her. "Heyyyy~" she greets Emma and Mendez cheerfully, slipping into the space between them on the couch. She seems to have no qualms with invading Mendez' personal space.

Mendez lets out an annoyed sound, shifting a bit out of Leah's way. "Done stuffing your face?" he asks flatly.

Leah scrunches up her nose as she gives the question more consideration than should be necessary. "For now." she decides.

Zaylus nods along with Tara, as if saving people were part of his biotic fantasy. But he's as impressed by it as he is curious, and casually asks, "Save you from what?", seemingly completely unaware.

Emma flinches just slightly as the inevitable jostling that comes with Leah sitting down sends pain shooting through her body, but still offers her a small smile and a nod. "Hej."

Leah takes a sip of her drink and looks to Emma. "Glad to see you out and about. To be honest, I wasn't sure if you'd be here tonight."

Vasquez nods, opting to leave it at that. Her gaze lingers on the door for a moment before tightening her arm around Jason and angling her face to press a series of kisses from his cheek down his neck, her free hand finding his side as she does.

Tara furrows her eyebrows at Sofia's comment, but she doesn't have time to answer before Zaylus' question draws her attention. "A truck."

Elena 's eyebrows rise. "Mierda..."

Cynthia scowls at the steadily growing crowd around the pool table, and then takes a deep breath and repeats her process one more time. This is it! This time she's taking the shot! In juuuuust a second...

Nathan watches Cynthia for a moment, the anticipation of her tactical decision now giving way to rising impatience. Eventually, he just sighs and says, "Just go for a block if you can't hit anything in." He pantomines the cue and the ball, gersturing to the table. "Seen Elcor with quicker decision making."

Emma briefly looks a little surprised, but then props up a small, tired smile. "I... needed to get out of the apartment," she says in a quiet sigh.

Jason's smile resurfaces, a little heavier than before, and he shifts to slip his arms around Vasquez in turn.

Shane snorts loudly at Nathan's addition but quickly clamps down on it, sucking in his lips. He gestures for Cynthia to proceed.

Zaylus lets out a mangled aproximation of a whistle, again seeming impressed. "Could probably send a truck right into the sky." He murmurs, mostly to himself. He appears lost in thought as he takes a swig, clearly not expecting the timid woman to elaborate.

Sofia looks surprised at that revelation, looking between Leah off by the sofa and Tara a few times before blinking herself back into reality. A truck? That was... both awesome and horrifying in equal measure. She takes a long sip of her wine before she looks to Zaylus. "Are there many Turian biotics? You seem to hold biotics in esteem."

Vasquez lingers for a moment, squeezing Jason tighter as she plants another kiss against his shoulder, right at the collor of his sweater. She draws in a deep breath. "Let's go be hosts," she says quietly before pulling back, one hand tracing Jason's arm to his hand and giving the alloy-polymer blend a squeeze before letting go and leading the way back towards the rec room.

Vasquez lingers for a moment, squeezing Jason tighter as she plants another kiss against his shoulder, right at the collor of his sweater. She draws in a deep breath, lingering close. "The fireworks are all set up. We're good to move things to the roof," she mumbles, seeming in no particular rush to break the embrace.

Zaylus blinks, humming thoughtfully. "There was one..." He trails, frowning. "Uhh, no. Not many." He corrects. "And the pressure is higher than normal for them to excel, get promoted up the ranks. You won't see a whole lot of them this far out of step." He remarks, gesturing vaguely around them.

Tara looks to Zaylus as Sofia asks her question, waiting silently to hear the answer.

Elena glances down the counter towards the food, pondering going to get something to snack on, but the turian's words draw her attention, leaning back against the counter as she listens.

Jason presses a kiss against the top of Vasquez' when she leans in. "Yeah?" he asks, seeming to be in no more of a hurry to get back to the party than she is. "What time is it?" he asks with a furrow of his brow, having lost track amidst all of the festivities.

Leah frowns, offering a nod in return. "I bet..." she says, "...And Freedom Falls isn't exactly the easiest place to get around without full use of your legs." It's said with a certainty that makes it sound like it's more than just an assumption.

Mendez gives an uncomfortable glance Leah's way.

Sofia listens, head tilting to the side curiously. "Added pressure? Because of their power? Seems a little unfair?" She idly trails a finger around the rim of her wine glass.

Cynthia grimaces as Nathan speaks, taking a step back with a wide gesture. "Great, I lost my focus!" she exclaims, letting out a sigh and cracking her neck before starting over again.

Emma 's faint smile slips from her lips, blue eyes studying Leah for a moment before she turns her head to watch some of the other guests, loose strands of silky hair slipping from her shoulder at the motion. "...no, it isn't."

Va'ynna hums affirmatively. "Yes," she says, "and... I'll make the most of the early nights until... D'Inea returns and changes things back again."

Ilyna raises a braw as Cynthia retreats. "There is a lot of pressure on her," she tells Halisi in a lowered voice. "Shane missed his, and she's going to demonstrate what a successful trickshot looks like."

Uvena heads back to put her plate away, but the crowd around the pool table draws her attention on the way back, causing her to step closer to see what's pulling in the crowd.

Vasquez 's hand leaves Jason's back as she turns her wrists and brings her omni-tool to life, checking it over his shoulder. "Little over an hour to go... should get moving if I'm gonna have time for my speech..."

Shane tilts his head back, mouth hanging open as he stares up at the ceiling and lets out a long, drawn out groan right in time with one from Sam.

Leah doesn't seem like she plans on elaborating, merely offering a knowing nod to Emma's addition. "If there's anything I can do to help-... picking up groceries or anything like that?" she elaborates, "Don't hesitate to ask, okay? After-... umm-... everything, it's the least I could do."

Nathan seems, by divine providence, to sigh at the same time as the other two. He takes a long, drawn out drink from his beer and decides to settle in next to Shane. "Aight, wanna start a betting pool?"

Jason raises a brow. "You need an hour for your speech? Shit, how many chapters is it?!" he teases.

Emma 's shoulders tighten a little. "That's-... thank you. I'll... keep it in mind," she says. Even if she's still facing away it's obvious that she's not quite comfortable with the offer.

Zaylus shrugs, apparently unsympathetic. "Sure it's unfair, it all is. Everyone knows biotics can do a lot more so they demand it." He glances over at the biotic in question. "She seems to handle it well."

Vasquez pulls back enough to level an unamused look at Jason. "Gonna take time to get everybody up there, asshole." She looks back towards the rec room. "Ready to go be hosts?"

Jason snickers, dumb grin plastered across his face. But when Vasquez suggests they get to it, he lets out a deep breath. "Might as well, huh?" he muses. He tilts his head down, pressing one last kiss to Vasquez' temple before reluctantly releasing her.

Elena listens for a little before the lure of the buffet grows too great and she pushes off from the counter, giving Zaylus a little wave with the cybernetic fingers wrapped around her bottle before heading off to secure some provisions.

Tara , on the other hand, remains by Sofia's side, listening silently to the conversation, eyebrows furrowed.

Vasquez flashes a small smile, her hand skimming down Jason's arm to give his hand a squeeze before letting go and leading the way back towards the rec room.

Halisi nods along with Ilyna's explanation, smile slowly growing. "Indeed? Hence the... stalling?"

Cynthia scowls at the ball, tuning out the impatient crowd as she lines up the shot. For the last time. This... is... it...

Sam's patience seems to be wearing thin. If she had any to begin with. As the onlookers fall quiet in anticipation of Cynthia possibly, potentially, maaaaybe taking her shot, she blurts out, "Just hit the goddam ball!"

Sofia hums at that, brow creasing in thought. She turns her gaze towards Leah and dips her head a little at that, but says, "Perhaps. But from what I gather, she has a lot of support with her too. Tara, my brother, whole of Redrock. Doesn't seem like they put that pressure on her, rather they take away from it." But then she shrugs and takes a sip of her wine. "Then again, I don't know much about the military for

Shane looks as if he might be dying a little inside and slowly that zipper across his lips comes undone. "Make the shot! Miss the shot! Hell, at this point? I'd be alright if you just bounce it off the table and take me out! Put me out of my misery!" he says overtop Samantha's own protests.

Priya sucks in her lips in an attempt at hiding her amusement, shoulders bouncing lightly as a snort escapes.

Ilyna can't help but laugh softly at the growing impatience around the table. "Yes," she says. "It was her who raised the stakes, though."

Jason falls into line behind Vasquez, following her into the rec room.

Cynthia flinches just as she takes the shot thanks to the shouting from the impatient spectators, and her eyes go wide as she watches chaos erupt on the table. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Except... the ball goes in. As does the next. And the next. And then, finally... the 8 ball... rolls... right to the edge...

Vasquez enters the rec room, taking a look around before clapping her hands together. "Alright everyone! If I can have your attention..." she calls out over the music and chatter.

Halisi and Holly both turn their attention towards Vasquez by the door as she calls out, the former having a sip of her wine as she does.

Cynthia takes the opportunity, no matter how brief, to bump her hip against the pool table the moment there's no eyes on her, and... the 8 ball goes in. She thrusts her hand clutching the cue into the air in triumph. "HA! FUCK YES! SEE THAT, ASSHOLES?!"

Shane's face runs through the gauntlet of emotions as the cacophony of clattering pool balls sounds out. And then... nothing. Just a blank stare at the hole the 8 ball just sunk into, one palm against the top of his head.

Sam jumps back as Cynthia finally takes a shot, raising her arms just a little in anticipation as she follows the path of the cue ball with a somewhat unsteady gaze. She seems to hold her breath as the 8-ball lingers at the edge before finally tossing her arms up fully when it sinks in and letting out a loud, "GOD DAMN!" and shooting a smug look Shane's way.

Shane tightly shuts his eyes. "Fuuuuuuuuuuck." he groans. Sam's addition only seems to further his aggitation and he throws his pool cue down on the table, marching off wordlessly.

Priya does not catch the shot, her focus turning towards the door as Vasquez begins to speak. It's not until Sam's exclamation that she turns her focus back to the pool table and, upon extrapolating what just happened, gives a very measured, "Nice shot." as she flashes Cynthia a smile.

Shane lifts his hand, giving Priya a point-blank drive-by bird flipoff as he passes in front of her and proceeds right past Vasquez and into the hall.

Jason follows Shane with his gaze, turning in place when he stomps past him. "Game go well?" he asks. A disembodied 'Fuck off' can be heard from the hall a few moments later.

Ilyna holds her breath as she watches the balls go in one by one, and her attention snaps back to Cynthia when she swears she saw the table nudge a bit right before the ball falls in, but she did not spot the act itself. "That was pretty good," she says with a small smile before turning her attention toward Vasquez.

Uvena turns her attention toward Vasquez without watching the full play, but the reaction from Shane walking past is enough of a summary.