maskormenacelogs | And tell me, did Venus blow your mind?

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And tell me, did Venus blow your mind?

WHO: Samara + Open
WHERE: Heropa various locations!
WHEN: 22nd – 25th pick a time!
WHAT: Meditations by water, walking around downtown Heropa, possibly bumping into someone as she looks at clothes shops, and getting a malt. Pick whatever!
WARNINGS: None right now!

A; Beach

[ There was something calming and beautiful about the ocean. Alaska had been the place that Samara had found the most peace since she found herself here, however the beach came close. She spent a good portion of her day there, wandering the shore and letting the waves touch her bare feet. It might make a somewhat strange sight, the tall blue asari in her black outfit, minus the boots, casually walking along the shore. If the water was cold as it touched her feet she made no indication. In fact she seemed mostly at peace as she looked out to the sea.

At night, she could be found hovering slightly above the ground meditating as far from the entrance to the beach as she could get. A bright blue glow surrounded her and illuminated her location from a fair distance away. It was hard to miss the glow, even from a distance, but she didn't expect it to attract too much attention as the sun set. And if it did, she probably wouldn't mind the company. ]

B; Downtown Heropa

[ Lately Samara had been spending most of her time in Heropa itself. It was not the city she had originally found herself in, but travel could prove difficult for someone unregistered. It was far easy to simply pick a place and stay in it for a time. Besides, there was plenty to observe and learn here and that was where her interests currently found themselves.

For the first time in a very long time Samara found herself without a true purpose and she found herself faltering slightly. A justicar had no purpose in a world like this and her ways were drastically different than anything acceptable here. To take action as the Code would see fit would cause a great deal of death, including the deaths of many innocents, which went against the Code in and of itself. In the end she was left with something of a moral quandary.

She could wait though, wait, watch, and consider her options. Luckily for her Asari were excellent at waiting to see where the tides would go. For now though she wandered the streets of Heropa. Occasionally she passed a shop and it occurred to her that she should consider finding more appropriate clothing at some point. The idea is dismissed soon though and she continues walking, not paying much attention to the people walking by. People seem to be in a hurry today and she can't be blamed too much if she happens to bump into someone, right?

At one point, later in the day, she stops for a malt bought with money she'd acquired doing a few odd jobs that people in need had required assistance with. That was how she made any money she required, which wasn't that much. She'd made do with nothing for 400 years. It wasn't really that bad.

The server that prepares it seems a bit perplexed by her appearance, but he says nothing about it. He just stares, a lot, and Samara folds her hands over her chest hoping he'll get the hint to just prepare the malt and move on. Or ask his question if he's curious about her appearance. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah.

[ He grimaced. He didn't even... well, he couldn't judge her for that. It sounded hard, but she was right. She'd done the right thing, if she was killing, leaving a trail of blood. How many people had she taken out? He didn't think he wanted to know. Not with the way the Justicar sounded -- he suspected that this wasn't the sort of thing that would be taken care of overnight. Even a month could end in too many deaths, couldn't it? ]

I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I'd want to entirely. Just...set it aside until later? I'm glad that --

No, that sounds bad. I'm glad Shepard helped you. I can't even imagine how hard that would be.

No, it is alright to be glad. I am glad that I found someone to help me. After four hundred years it had begun to wear on even me. [ She said it with just the hint of a smile, it was her attempt at making the situation she was speaking about a little lighter. ] I owe him a great debt for assisting me with it.

[ She gave a nod. ] Forgetting it completely would be a dishonor to the situation you are trying to detach from. Putting it aside though, that is sometimes the best thing one can do. For now all you can do is focus on the now, not the what ifs of the future or the worries about our home. You cannot do anything about those things, not in this place and dwelling on those facts serves no purpose. Except perhaps to weigh you down as you try to find a place in the now.

Yeah, that's... it would be a little nice if we had something that felt like we needed to set things aside. [ Oh, they were looking into different things. Trying to help this place, but then again... they were also going months on end without anything. Kaidan didn't even know what to do with this much downtime.

Neither, it seemed, did anyone else. They could all talk a good game, but were they really working the time they had? Taking advantage of it? ]

What would you do, with all this time, then? It's not like being stationed on a warship -- or having missions at least six days out of the week. [ Maybe it was different for Asari, maybe it wasn't, but Kaidan... wasn't used to being so self-motivated. Being goal oriented was a problem when the goal was so nebulous. ]

[ That was a good question. One she suddenly didn't have an answer for and that bothered her. It bothered her much more than she showed. When she really thought about it she couldn't remember a time when she had so little to do, so little to keep herself occupied. ]

It is not like anything either of us have experienced. Which means there is nothing we can do with all this time except learn how to adapt. [ And she honestly wasn't entirely certain if it was possible for someone like her. ] Have you attempted to ask yourself what you want to do with all this time?

Quite a bit, yeah.

[ He laughed, like that was a question that was probably one most people should ask. He could understand why it was necessary. ]

That doesn't mean the answer is something that's easy to... stumble on, I guess. It's a big decision, to figure out what you're going to do for the entire time you're here.

Edited 2015-02-01 21:17 (UTC)

Do you have to make this decision all at once? [ She tilted her head slightly and looked at him for a second without saying anything. Yes, he did. Or at least that was the guess she would make about him. He had to make the decision now because he need a plan, a perfect map that would tell him what to do. ] Surely there are smaller things you could start with. Perhaps something as simple as trying to connect with people you had an interest in connecting with.

Yeah, maybe.

[ He shook his head. There were things he was trying to do, after all. People he was trying to do that with, but that wasn't figuring out how to make this work. Kaidan did have to have a plan, a map, a way to work through this. He needed his roadmap because he thought it through, and right now, he didn't have that. ]

I'm working on that. Getting to know the people I haven't had a chance to know yet. [ Pointedly. At Samara. ]

Ah. [ She met his eyes for a second and then gave an amused little nod. ] So I see. Have you learned anything of interest yet?

Well, what you just told me was pretty interesting, but not in the way I was expecting. [ He dipped his head, and shook it. He hadn't intended to actually... be that jerk who was only interested in the worth of a person as far as they were impressive. That wasn't the kind of man he was.

But still, it was interesting. ]

But I guess, I don't know, tell me more about...you? I'm sure you've...seen a lot, haven't you?

I must admit, now I am curious as to what you did expect. [ She could probably make a guess, but she chose not to. ]

Quite a lot. I spent most of my maiden years traveling.

Honestly? Something a bit more... [ He waved a hand. ] like a asari battle monk? [ To borrow something Kasumi had said, anyway. ]

I mean, it is, but... I don't know, I guess I...don't really know what I was expecting. Were you... where were you traveling to? [ To change the subject. ]

[ She almost laughed, which was actually something Kaidan should almost be proud of. The laugh was held back though and she simply looked at him with a clearly amused expression. ] I am sorry to disappoint you. Though I do have to wonder, how would you know how an asari battle monk would act? Have you ever met another justicar? [ It was actually possible she might have been teasing him slightly. Not that her expression or tone changed to indicate that. ]

Everywhere. I had no destination in mind when I began my travels. My only goal was to see and experience as much as I could.

[ Kaidan had the distinct feeling that he was being made fun of, and he frowned, before he finally gave in, and shrugged, giving Samara a sheepish look. ] I...haven't. It was all.. up here, I guess? [ He waved a finger at his head. ] I just... I guess I was a little overwhelmed with what it could mean.

I mean, did your experiences help you? Was all the traveling after you became a Justicar?

[ Well, at least he picked up on it. ] What did you think it would mean? [ She wonders if he's created the same stories in his head that her own people did when it came to Justicars. There's something oddly amusing about it. ]

They helped me a great deal and they were also enjoyable. [ She shakes her head. ] No, the vast majority of my traveling happened before I become a Justicar. After I swore my oath I spent my time in Asari space.

Oh. I guess I just figured you'd... be something like the superheroes here? Fighting injustice and evil all over the galaxy? An Asari version of a Spectre, I guess, but I figured with a more...religious spin?

[ Well, it wasn't quite close, but it was somewhat there. ] I don't know much about the Asari religion, so I'm not sure...how.

And you've determined from this one conversation that I'm not? [ She frowns slightly and shakes her head. ] Very few know much about our religion. I think we keep quite a lot to ourselves. Perhaps too much sometimes.

You think so? [ He didn't necessarily disagree, exactly. Kaidan didn't know much about the Asari, other than what was open on the Extranet, and well -- That was never very appropriate, was it?

[ He cleared his throat. ]

I mean, I'd love to know more, but we don't really know much. Then again, maybe we're not listening, half the time.

There is certainly some of that. [ Humans did tend to not listen that well. Still, there was also a lot that they simply didn't tell to others. ] There is also a lot we keep to ourselves. [ Like the condition her daughters had. ]

Yeah, I noticed. [ It's not an offense, but still. They were not good at listening to each other, perhaps. One too old and too patient, the other too young and impatient. Like oil and water, perhaps. ]

Do you regret that? Do you wish the Asari let out more?

No. [ To both of his questions. Perhaps they should let out more, but it worked in her favor in some ways. ] There are certain things that are better kept for us to deal with.

[ That earns a look from Kaidan, a tilt of his head. ]

Things? Like what?

The existence of ardat yakshi. It is a problem better left to our own. [ Or in her case better left to her to take care of. ]

Is it? You said she left a trail of death -- how is keeping us in the dark better? You'd think that if we knew about it, we could see the signs ahead of time? Maybe keep them from finding more victims.

There would be nothing you could do. It would only serve to cause panic. [ She says the words firmly. ] The signs do not manifest until it is far too late to do anything preventative.

Are you...sure about that? I mean, if it's such a closely guarded secret, how can you be sure? No offense, I mean -- I'm sure you guys have thought long and hard about it but...

Sometimes an outside perspective helps.

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