& NEXUS

The  outburst  leaves  her  silent.  The  words  cut,  leave  a  sting  unseen.  And  yet  she  doesn’t  shout  back.  And  deep  down?  She  knows  she’s  right.  That’s  all  she  has  been  so  far.  A  distraction.  Not  worth  her  time,  but  something  Shepard  indulges  in  anyway.  Something  Vetra  didn’t  put  enough  effort  in  to  even  be  considered  serious.  It  was  like  a  game.  And  she  hadn’t  thought  much  more  of  it  than  that.  

Silence  follows.  The  hum  of  the  Normandy  filling  the  air,  she  breaths  in  through  her  nose.  Footsteps  approach,  slowly,  and  gently  land  next  to  Shepard.  The  Human’s  hand  which  had  slammed  onto  the  desk  in  sheer  frustration  slowly  got  covered  with  the  Turian’s  own.  Subvocal  lulls delicate,  like  treading  on  a  fine  line.  Her  own  words  soft,  and  with  a  degree  of  warmness.  All  in  all,  like  a  foreign  comforting  purr.  ❝ Jane... ❞ Her  gaze  looks  to  the  Commander’s  own,  even  if  it  didn’t  peer  back  at  her.  

There  was  few  words  that  could  be  conveyed  in  this  moment.  But  there’s  an  acceptance  of  both  the  moment  and  the  woman  before  her  displayed  in  the  eyes  of  the  Turian.  As  well  as  that  of  her  own  mistakes. Her  fingers  grip  the  woman’s  hand,  as  thoughts  fill  her  mind.  A  realization  of  how  unfair  it  was  to  her.  

The  breath  which  she  had  drawn  left  gradually.  Speaking  up  softly,  her  eyes  focused  entirely  on  the  Specter  before  her. ❝ You’re  right... And  you  probably  deserve  better  than  what  I’ve  given  you. ❞  It’s  uncharacteristic - How  she  speaks  with  a  dip  in  her  confidence.  A  persona  faded  for  a  moment,  and  her  words  come  out  a  bit  more  raw.  Less  sure,  but  more  genuine.  A  sincerity  beyond  replication  weaving  into  every  breath.   

 ❝ You’re  right. ❞  The  words  echo,  an  answer  to  her  statement.  An  agreement  of  her  description:  Distraction.  But  yet  this  time,  not  content.  The  Turian’s  fingers  gently  press  into  Shepard’s  palm  as  they  squeezed.

❛    Aww,  is  THAT what  you  think ?❜ 

It’s  a  bit  of  a  stretch          the  other  certainly  has  the  advantage  of  height ;  but  she  has  her  own  tricks.  Index  finger  finds  itself  instinctively  under  the  mandibles,  precisely  where  plate  meets  muscle,  and  she  tilts  her  chin  upwards  to  where  the  turian  can  barely  see  her.  ❛    Awful  presumptuous,  Nyx         I’ve  killed  people  for  less  a  slight  than  that.    ❜   She  chuckles:  a  desert  of  a  laugh,  raspy  and  barren.  With  a  flick  of  the  hand  she  lets  go  and  pushes  past  the  other.

❛    I  assume  you’re  going  to  follow ?  You  can  watch  my  six.  I’m  sure  you  don’t  mind  the  view.  ❜

The  Turian’s  gaze  shifted  at  the  adjustment  of  her  chin  via  Shepard’s   fingers,  yet  the  same  look  of  taunting  remained.  A  sort  of  silent  ambition  and  defiance  present  and  obvious,  not   unlike  a  cat  playing  with  its  food.  ❝ I  know  you  have.  And  that  right  now?  You  won’t. ❞

nsfw hc under the cut 

➝ @turinyx····· said: ❝ NOW IS NOT THE FUCKING TIME! ❞ (To Ryder ASDFGHJ)

   Vetra was right about that, she knew the Turian was right and yet ― she felt like she needed to share her train of thought regardless, even with the still very deadly, very ANGRY Fiend threatening to outrun and kill them. Staying chatty mid battle was half of her charm though, wasn’t it? It helped keep her calm at least. She would have thought Vetra had learnt that by now. “ All I said was that I think Sloane’s gonna try kill me soon! The outcasts have ― ah fuck. ” She was forced to cut herself off, having to concentrate to put enough energy into her attack so that the Fiend would actually be pushed AWAY from Vetra and not just simply brush her biotics off and keep marching right in her direction. “ Help me out here, SAM! ” SAM reacted quickly, giving her enough support that she could continue her conversation as if nothing had happened as she allowed Vetra to once again get some distance between herself and their attacker. 

     “ You know the outcasts have been following us for a while now, I think they’re taking notes on how we fight and Sloane’s trying to come up with a plan that will get me killed for sure. She hates me! She would TOTALLY do that! ”

Legs  land,  one  foot  after  the  other  as  the  Turian  snapped  her  waist  around  to  fire  behind  her  towards  the  Fiend.  Where  it  helped  Ryder  keep  calm,  Vetra  was  very  much  still focused  on  the  problem  at  hand.  Shouting  over  her  shoulder,  she  couldn’t   help  but  glare  at  the  woman. Ryder.  It  was  a  unique  word. It  could  mean  many  different   things  depending   on  the  tone.  In  this  case?

Of course, Nihlus takes the chance to jape, deftly fitting into the role assigned to him as he takes a step closer to her, familiarity written in the very angle of his body.

“That would be the for the best, dear. Should we notify our friends to avoid this shop as well? Any business with such exorbitant prices—well, it’s not worth the hassle to travel all the way out here for.”

Discomfort visible, the shopkeeper stutters on his rebuttal, hands swiftly held out to halt both of the turians from leaving. “Wait! W-wait. Us settlement folk need to eat too, you know? Of course, you do! And, not to mention you two seem like a seasoned pair of guns… Th-there’s no shortage of work around Kadara, you’ll find, so how about half off any supplies?” Meaning: normal, regulation-approved prices.

Tilting his head, making a grand spectacle of considering the offer, dragging out the seconds as the bustle and hustle of Kadara Port continues all around (while some curious onlookers regard their conversation) he turns towards her; the sharp glean in his eyes suggesting pressing the merchant for even lower prices. “What? And get killed out there because of the second-hand equipment you’re selling? You’ll have to do better than that.”

Oh   yeah.  It  was  all  coming  together.  She  picks  up  what  he  puts  down,  and  it’s  obvious  what  hand  she’d  play  before  she  even  went  about  laying  it  out.  A  low,  devilish  smile  creeped  its  way   on  carapace-adorned  features  as  the  tall  figure  shook  her  head.  

❝ Listen~ ❞  Vetra’s  tone  is  sweet,  but  loaded  with  intent.  The  cunning  behind  her  eyes   is  focused,  directed  and  paired  with  an  almost  careless  casual  demeaner. ❝ We’re  all  a  long  way  from  home.  Cut  off  two  thirds,  and  we’ll  all  be  happy. ❞  She   doesn’t  wait  for  an  answer,  the  Turian  already  transferring  a  third  of  the  asked  price  over  via  her  omni-tool  and  taking  a  small  datapad  full  of  navigational  data  and  already  starting  to  walk  off.