Scavengers

First topic message reminder :

Clean up was slow in the weeks after the battle for Earth had concluded. The rubble that remained of the citadel was still being picked over by many. Not all of them were the good guys. Commander Shepard's people had already come through and collected the body, leaving everything else as it was. They wanted no part of it. Not even to make it a memorial. 
At that moment a group of Salarians were poking through the rubble, scowling deeply. "No." One them said to the other. "This is not the area. It wouldn't have been here." 
"Quiet, fool." The other hissed. He was looking in the other direction, frowning deeply. "The Quarians are here. We don't want to tip them off. We can't afford to lose this to them. It's too much. Do you hear me?!"

"There is a human saying. 'Me thinks thou dost protest too much'." Mimic quoted, grinning wickedly as he watched Ceres continuing to struggle. "Not to worry, my darling. We shall see if the new wears off or not. Hell, if he is that interesting I may want to try him for myself." He chuckled, turning to leave her alone in the cell. "I guess Aria is going to have to wait. What a shame." 

When Orinia saw what Victus was doing she hid herself around the corner in the hallway, watching him from the darkness. It was a strange sight indeed, seeing a turian of such high military status cooking for himself. Never mind the fact that he seemed to be enjoying it. She covered a soft giggle as she watched him flipping the food in pan, his song getting louder with each action.

"You can't just leave me like this!" Ceres wailed, her silver eyes wide as she watched Mimc walking away. "I'd rather be bound up in that dress again than be humiliated this way!"

It wasn't long before Victus had even started to dance around the kitchen. He lived alone, and so had even forgotten he was actually cooking for someone else.

"Of course." Mimic waved a hand over his shoulder as if he'd forgotten all about her. It was almost half an hour before the Salarian woman showed up and gently untied her. The elder woman was sporting a rather nasty looking bruise around her eye and scratch marks up and down her arms. 
She placed a blanket over Ceres and motioned her to follow. "There's a shower and clean clothes waiting for you." 

Shepard had changed so many people and he would never even know it. A Turian dancing and singing was unheard of. Enjoying life was not something their species did. This was very new. 
Orinia stayed where she was, watching this for a moment or two before she silent slipped across the room and placed herself in Victus' arms. "Care for a partner?" She breathed, falling into step with him rather easily.

Ceres pulled the blanket tightly around herself, but felt the kind of dirty that a shower would help. "Did he do that to you?" She whispered as she followed the other woman.

Victus jumped and quite obviously tensed up when he realised he had been caught, but a second a later he was smiling sheepishly. "You weren't supposed to see this." He breathed, spinning Orinia around.

"No. Mimic is his own brand of cruel but he reserves it for other things. And besides, he doesn't like a marred body." The woman said softly. "What he did to you was...odd for him. I have medi gel for that too by the way."

"Is there something wrong with it?" Orinia asked. "You are properly dressed and the food isn't burning. I'd say you are just fine, sir." She laughed softly, her talons resting on his chest.

Ceres shook her head gently. "No. Thank you, though. I want him to see it, maybe it will keep him away from me." She snorted.

"But my family, they would say it is a waste of time, when I am supposed to hire a female to do such tasks." He laughed. "And the dancing... Well, I think they may have even more trouble with that one."

"Very smart of you. It is a reminder of what he did." The woman said with a laugh. "Mimic needs to be reminded once in a while that he is just a man. He often forgets that. He fancies himself a god. He even ignored the reaper threat. He said it brought him more money than ever. It was all he cared about." 

"I can keep a secret." Orinia said softly, reaching over to pluck a piece of meat from the pan and hold it up to his lips. "After all, I do owe you that much. And besides, I rather like the way your hips move." She breathed.

"He is the kind of man I would think many women are chasing. Why must he bother himself with me?" Ceres asked wearily. "Why can't he avoid me like every other person in the galaxy?"

Victus closed his lips over the offering, allowing them to brush Orinia's fingers as he did so. He held her gaze and smiled. "Well i already know I am an excellent cook. You are the test subject." He teased, mimicking her action.

"I wish I knew." The Salarian shrugged, pausing next to the showers and opening the door for Ceres. "I have never seen him so obsessed. Not even over that red headed human and he keeps her on a pretty tight leash. Not that she's been getting much of him with you here..."

Orinia tried to mirror his actions, hoping she didn't look as silly as she felt. The flavor had her purring and she suddenly forgot to be embarrassed. "That's amazing, Victus." She breathed, closing her eyes.

That only made Ceres feel ever more hopeless; Mimic was obsessed with her and his previous pet had just cause to hate her. "I just wanted to study old ruins." She sighed wearily as she stepped into the shower room.

Victus grinned, seeming genuinely glad she liked what he had made. "Would it be so bad to eat this every night?" He breathed, brushing a caste kiss against her lips while Orinia's eyes were still closed.

"Don't we all." The Salarian snorted, shutting the door behind Ceres. 
Things remained quiet for the rest of the day. After she was returned to her cell she was locked in and left alone. No one came to see her and there was no sign or even a whisper of Mimic. For once she was alone.

Later that afternoon Orinia found herself in Iilum's shopping district. Though she was trying hard to concentrate on the dresses the asari women were showing her, she found her attention kept drifting to the shiny red sky car in the center of the district. She just wanted to touch it and maybe peek under the hood...just once...

This would probably have driven most women mad, but not Ceres. She was glad of it, having been only too used to being alone. It gave her time to reflect, and to obsess over the human she had mist likely doomed.

"You know, your husband looks awful familiar." One of the Asari commented as she brought yet another dress out only to find Orinia staring off into the distance.

Jared again sat with Alice in the mess hall of her ship. He was helping Golias find something his stomach would tolerate and talking with the asari at the same time. "So why are you going to Iilum again?" He asked, chuckling when the large Turian snarled at him. "I thought that was a slave traders meeting place."

"Huh?" Orinia looked up, surprised to see the asari woman staring at her. Her thoughts had turned to that morning and the gentle kiss that still had her lips tingling. "Oh. No. Just a kiss. Nothing special." She said, not sure what the woman had said in the first place.

"I have family there and a package to deposit." Alice replied, not really giving much away. Perhaps if Jared had been a little more receptive of her advances, she may have thought twice about handing him over to Mimic.

The Asari smirked as she laid the dress out. "Oh? Your husband is as familiar as a kiss?"

"I guess it'll be good to let the big guy stretch his legs. Maybe we'll make it in time for the three day thunderstorm." Jared added with a smile. "Have you ever seen a wet and pissed off Turian. Better than a wet cat." He chuckled. "You have to see it." He add, patting her hand. 

"We are new to this..." Orinia said, blushing deeply. She looked down at the creme colored dress, thinking of Victus' markings. She turned to the mirror, tracing the lines on her own face. She wondered how she would look with them and if she would even deserve to call them her own.

Alice pulled her hand away, again not meeting Jared's gaze. "I grew up there. I've seen enough thunderstorms." She told him curtly before pushing to her feet.

The Asari was watching Orinia closely, smiling when she saw the woman apparently see herself in that kind of dress for the first time. "When did you get married?"

"You're missing out." Jared called after her, wondering why she seemed so angry. "What crawled up her feelers?" He muttered, pushing Golias' plate back to his talons. "You think she knows we plan to make a break for it?"

"We haven't yet." Orinia admitted, still blushing. "I'm not even sure he would want to do that." She added after a moment, sighing as she handed the dress back.

"Probably got blue tits from you turning her down." Golias snorted, amusing himself more than he should have. "Or purple... Or whatever colour already blue would go." He added with a chuckle and shoved the plate away again.

The Asari frowned slightly. "That's not what he said when he called to say you would be coming. He said his wife needed a entire wardrobe."

"She doesn't want me. She hasn't thought of me like that in years." Jared snorted, pushing the plate back toward Golias without thinking about it. "And besides, I haven't given her any reason to think that way and I won't." 

Orinia paused for only a moment before she shook her head. "He told you that? That snake! We promised not to tell anyone we had eloped! Not even people we didn't know but apparently that rule was only for me." She pretended to pout. "He tricked me. I really should return the favor. But how...?"

"Maybe you don't know women like you think you do." Golias commented, pushing the plate back once more. "Even a blind idiot like me can see Alice wants you."

The Asari grinned and clapped her hands together. "We could plot a little revenge!" She giggled.

"Alice made her choice a long time ago." Jared said bitterly, though it wasn't clear if he was really even talking about the Asari. "I'm a push over I guess. Just bat your eyes at me and speak all sweet and innocent and I'm a fool at your disposal. Every fucking time." He muttered, yet again shoving the plate back at Golias. "I must have sucker written on my forehead...don't you dare respond to that." 

"What kind of revenge?" Orinia asked, trying not to breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn't really a lie. If they decided they liked one another it would be a type of elopement she supposed. "What do you have in mind?"

"You now, I seriously never saw Alice act innocent about anything." Golias snorted. "Sounds like you're pissed, and it ain't that ball busting Asari that had your panties in a bunch."

"We could make you even more beautiful, then tell him he isn't allowed to touch you." The Asari giggled. "I saw the way he was looking at you earlier, he's completely smitten!"

"I told you not to respond." Jared muttered, clearly pouting. "She was kissing him. Had her hands on him and everything. She probably used me to get to him. Gave up my job, my life...and all for a sob story that sounded so damn real." He sighed dropping his head in his hands. 

"He did?" Orinia asked, not sure she believed this. She couldn't imagine a man like Victus seeing anything in her. After all she was still young and rather foolish. She had none of the experience that a man like him needed to keep him entertained.

Golias grinned in triumph at getting this admission from Jared. "You know, you could quit acting like a teenage girl, and just go tell the damn suit rat she owes you a fuck at the very least."

The Asari was nodding her head. "I know your men aren't known for expressing themselves, but he was quite vocal about how important your happiness was."

"I'm leaving her to the drell. You know how Mimic is. He'll get tired of her soon enough." Jared shook his head. "Maybe I should have just stuck with Alice. Even if she did take you to her bed." He added, grabbing the plate and tossing it in the garbage. "Starving yourself isn't going to save your psycho girl you know."

"It's part of his job. I think it's just natural for him to say things like that. He's a military leader after all." Orinia said, convincing herself that this was the case. Victus saw her as a child that needed protection. She'd already made a fool of herself in front of him. "Do you think you could make me look beautiful?"

Golias didn't seem to react, but his eyes almost gave away that they could see every move Jared made. "Don't drag it out. We both know the thought of him claiming that little thing before you is killing you." The other man snorted, though his own mind was praying to any kind of god that Lolly hadn't been touched in the same way by Thomas.

"Child, you are already beautiful. I would only hope to make you more beautiful." The Asari replied gently.

Jared shoved his fingers through his wild blonde hair, the stray curls tumbling back into his eyes. "I'm not the kind of guy that deserves more than just a tumble. I guess it was the lesson I was needing to learn. I need to turn my focus on what I'm going to do with my life from here on out. Being a turian nanny isn't working so well." He muttered, dropping back into his chair and stabbing at his own uneaten plate. 

Orinia laughed softly at this and shook her head. "You are only saying that because you're getting paid. My mother told me once that she prays to the spirits I would marry someone with many markings to cover my hideous face. She said that my saving grace was that my father was a high ranking officer and in politics. She said no turian would want me just to have me."

"You could become a bounty hunter." Golias snorted. "Instead of trying to fix them, you just hand over a head for cold hard credit." He remarked, oddly wondering what the bounty for Lolly would be if anyone even knew about her.

"Let me guess, your mother was a shallow, self obsessed fool?" The Asari asked. "It sounds like she was jealous of you, more than anything."

"I could start my own crew." Jared said thoughtfully. "Maybe you and I could work together." It was clear by the way he'd shaken his head at the very mention of the word bounty hunter he'd already rejected that idea. "Wouldn't you like to save people once in a while, Golias? You couldn't see them but at least you'd know they were leading better lives." He teased. 

"Jealous of me?" Orinia asked, surprised at the thought. "Hardly. My mother is beautiful. Everyone knows her and wants to be near her. Males and females alike. Even the primarch would make it a point to speak to her at...events...." Her voice trailed off, her face forming into a frown. That thought certainly posed a new question.

Golias pinched Jared in those nose, though it wasn't as hard as it could have been. "Tell me now what I need to see." He mused with a cocky smirk.

"Oh no you don't!" The Asari huffed, knowing that dark look that has just taken hold of Orinia. "If that were true, wouldn't your mother have married the Primarch?" She asked. "It sounds like she is merely worried you will worry into a station higher than her own."