Tara watches Zoe enthusiastically chew on her pantleg, the gzzk's head turning this way and that as it tugs and gnashes. It's unclear how much attention Tara is paying to the conversation on the porch.
#Leah'sHouse – October 9, 2023
Lema continues looking ahead, sometimes glancing at the gzzk, as the subject makes her uncomfortable. "My mom had, and she taught me a lot," she said, "but I've barely had any training in the last... nineteen years. And what I had back then was mostly about how not to hurt myself, and then some basic lifting and such."
Leah gives a few small nods, seeming to pick up on the young asari's discomfort. "Good. That means you should have a solid foundation to build on." she says through a tempered smile. The rambunctious gzzk briefly pulls her attention, causing her smile to widen, before her focus turns back to Lema. "But I do have to ask..." she continues, "...what is it you're hoping to get out of this?" It's an unassuming question. Honest and
Lema finally turns her attention back to Leah at the question, though she hesitates to answer for a moment. "I want to be able to defend myself," she said. "I will need to look after myself one day, and I can't be defenseless on a world like this."
Tara casts a brief glance over her shoulder at Lema, eyebrows furrowed, before her attention returns to Zoe, stroking the gzzk's back.
Leah falls silent for a few moments, mulling the answer over in her mind. Teaching someone to use their biotics in combat wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but there's an undeniable, unfortunate truth to what the young asari says. Out here, the value in being able to handle yourself in a potentially violent situation is much higher than it is back in council space. Something that Lema has already found out the hard way. Her
green eyes seek out Tara, a quiet question tugging at the back of her mind, but she shelves that for now. She nods again, reaching up to sweep her bangs back behind her ear with an outstretched finger. "Okay. I'll teach you." she says softly, drawing in a deep breath. "We'll meet twice a week. With my Respite shifts, I'm only able to do mornings, so I hope you don't mind getting up early." she offers, propping her smile back
Lema notices Tara glancing her way and frowns when she looks back, feeling guilty at how she phrased her goal. "That's not a problem at all, I'm usually up early for breakfast with dad anyway," she says, returning the smile. "Just let me know which days and I'll show up."
Leah gives a nod. "Then~..." she says, though before she can finish her thought, the front door slides open, drawing her attention.
Francois remains in the doorway, seemingly having no intention of joining them out here in the cold given his lack of jacket. "Bonjour." he greets, offering the young asari a dip of his head. "Leah told me you may be joining us this morning. But-..." he gives a lighthearted frown, looking around Lema as if something is missing, "...I can see my daughter is being a poor host." he continues, shooting a look Leah's way, "So, tell
Leah gives a roll of her eyes, scoffing playfully at her father's accusation. "She just got here! We were talking!"
Tara turns a little as the front door opens, the conversation making her straighten up and glance towards the inside of the house beyond Francois, reflexively ready to go fetch a drink for Lema. She tamps down on the impulse, relaxing as she listens to the exchange.
Lema is slightly startled when the door slides open, and she looks up at the man in the doorway. "She's right, I just got here," she says with a small smile, "but hot chocolate does sound good."
Francois gives Lema a nod, kind smile on his face. Drawing in a sigh, he feigns playful reluctance as he looks back to his daughter. "And you?"
Leah gives an exaggerated big smile as she lifts her cup of coffee, "I'm good." she says, a small declaration of victory in denying him an opportunity to do her a kindness after his sass. "...But thank you, dad." she adds, a bit of sincerity slipping into her smile.
Francois turns his focus to Tara sitting on the stairs. "Tara?" he calls, "How about you? Would you like some hot chocolate?" he asks, beginning to wring his hands to fight off the winter cold.
Tara looks between Francois and Lema, hesitating a few moments before nodding. "...yes please," she admits, not quite able to keep from feeling awkward.
Lema returns the smile and looks back out the front of the porch for a moment in thought before looking Leah's way. "So, will we have time to get started today?" she asks, "or... do you need some time to plan this out?"
Francois offers the group another nod. "Two hot chocolates, coming right up." he says before disappearing back inside.
Leah watches her father until the door closes behind him. She draws in a long, deep breath, green eye tilting back towards Lema. "Sorry about that." she says, "That is, unfortunately, my father." she says, though it's clearly in jest, before answering the asari's question. "Well~" she hums, "...I think we can probably work on getting a baseline on where you're at with your biotics today." Something seems to occur to her,
causing her big green eyes to light up, "Annnnnd~ I recently got just the tool to help with that!" she continues, smile widening as the wheels begin to turn, Halisi's Christmas gift coming to mind, "But other than that, we'll probably take it slow today since my gym is still under a few feet of snow." Lema may have noticed the blue canopy set up behind the house if she had glanced out the window of the skycar. She quickly
waves off any concerns Lema may have before she's able to voice them with a shake of her head, "...But I'll make sure all of that is cleaned up by your next visit." Her makeshift gym doesn't get much use in the winter, but there's not many other options. There's the gym in town, but a public place in shared company probably isn't the best place for a fledgling biotic to train. Then there's the Redrock gym, though she
somehow doubts Lema's father would be happy about his daughter spending a few days every week in a paramilitary building. So her small training setup will have to do.
Lema did not notice the canopy behind the house on her way in. The mention of a tool makes her tilt her head in confusion as she fails to guess what it might be, but she doesn't ask about it. "That's fine," she says. "I can help with clearing the snow if you'd like. It's... the least I can do."