A/N: Alright, I'm temporarily interrupting our scheduled postings of Saving Nezzy for a little something for December. Nothing in this work will be Christmas-y, I'll go ahead and say that now. I'm not the biggest fan of holiday fics, mostly because of how same-y they all are. This will instead just be a lot of family interaction for a time of the year that's supposed to be about family, or whoever is important to you. A 'what if Aethyta and Benezia never split up' universe?
Anyway, this is intended to be a little something fun for all of us, drop me some prompts for anything you'd like to see about the T'Soni family if you are so inclined. :D
This was too easy. Nezzy liked to claim that she was getting slower in her 'old age' but, bah, she sure as shit wasn't going to see this coming.
Nezzy was talking to somebody on her omni-tool. Aethyta didn't know who and she didn't really care. Probably some ally of Nezzy in the Forum. Maybe someone she should care about as well, but Aethyta had never really given nearly as much deference for anyone in the Matriarchy like Nezzy did. Anyway, she was talking to somebody she considered important, and was looking out of the floor to ceiling window that offered a view of the much larger than necessary gardens on the T'Soni Estate. Nezzy really liked her flowers and it never failed to make her smile when Aethyta bought her some random-ass flower seed from some random planet when she messed up over something.
Aethyta supposed she could afford to be nice enough to wait for Nezzy to wrap up her call before enacting her plan. It was fortunate that she had caught her and whoever-the-fuck at the tail end of their little talk. Nezzy could talk for hours if Aethyta let her. Which was partly why Aethyta was doing this. Liara was due home in literally minutes, and she wasn't going to let Nezzy lock herself in this damned office all day for three days in a row. She knew this was an important period in Nezzy's little campaign year, but hell, the kid wasn't going to understand that. She certainly tried to, which was frankly depressing, and Aethyta wasn't a fan of Liara's 'you just kicked me in the gut, how could you?' big, blue eye routine.
"Yes, I will get back to you when the results of the vote come in tomorrow. Yes. Thank-you, Selessa, you have a good day as well."
And her opening has presented itself.
Quietly, but not too quietly, Aethyta slowly made her way into the room. Careful to keep off the squeaky floorboards, she made her way closer to her unsuspecting bondmate. Nezzy was apparently taking a little breather, and enjoying some sun from the window. Aethyta could admit the view was actually pretty damned beautiful, even if she didn't really understand the appeal of gardening. She sidled up directly behind Nezzy, her bondmate still not noticing a thing, and quickly darted her hands to Nezzy's sides, jabbing them gently.
"What'cha up to?" She asked, louder than she needed to.
Nezzy jerked in her arms, but gave no other visible reaction. Ha, got her.
"Oh, watching for Liara," she answered, with a slightly out of breath voice. Oh, yeah, definitely scared the shit out of her. Nezzy was never going to admit it, though. She didn't like to encourage Aethyta's startle games. Insisted they were going to give her a heart attack one day. Aethyta had laughed at the time and still did when it was brought up.
"Yeah? How about we both go down to the ground floor and watch for her there?" Aethyta asked, wrapping her arms around Nezzy's waist.
Nezzy sighed as she brought her hand to rest on Aethyta's arms. "I can't. I still have to call—"
"'Have to' huh? You know what I think? I think you have to take a break, actually. Me and the kid aren't doing too hot on our own. Turns out I'm not the best at reading stories. Not ones without spies and superheroes and shit, anyway. I don't get the voices for the Huntresses and the Justicars right or something. And I'm not the greatest at picking out outfits either. Did you know that yellow and purple clash? I figured it didn't fucking matter, but what do I know? Hell, you dress me too, now that I think about it. Nezzy, how could you leave us to our own devices like this, knowing we're both fucking helpless at fashion and crap?" Aethyta asked in mock seriousness.
Nezzy turned to face her, chuckling slightly. "Oh? You actually made an effort to dress our daughter, then? I had assumed poor Liara would have been a mud covered mess without me to make certain she bathed. We both know where she gets her determination to become as messy as possible while she is outside."
"Exactly," Aethyta agreed solemnly. "We're hopeless."
Nezzy sobered then. "I have been more busy than I should have been, haven't I?"
Aethyta snorted at that. "Yeah, babe. More than a bit. Kid's been asking about you. I know this crap's important to you, but these old biddies can handle you having a damned personal life, Nezzy. What do you think I tell them when they call me for support on votes? Take a damned message, I'm busy making sure my kid doesn't break her damn fool neck climbing trees and shit."
Nezzy raised her brow markings. "Really? That is all you tell them? If so, then I'll admit that is far less vulgar than I would have feared."
"Hey, give me a little credit here. I save my really nasty stuff for people who piss me off, not inconvenient vidcalls. Sure, if they get pushy, I might bring out something good, but most of them actually do back off when I ask them to. They'd do the same for you, too. Especially for you, actually. Nezzy, you got them all wrapped around your little finger, you could get anything you wanted from practically everyone in the damned Matriarchy. Take advantage of that and balance your time better with Liara."
Aethyta could see that Nezzy was taking her words to heart, she looked too guilty not to be. Hell, this was going to be easier than she had thought. She figured they would have had to get into a pretty good sized argument before Nezzy backed off of her job a bit. They were both a little more stubborn than they probably should be. Then again, Liara was both of their soft spots, and Nezzy knew Aethyta wasn't using the kid maliciously. If she was unhappy about something, Aethyta was more than glad to be as direct as possible to get the problem fucking solved. If she said Liara was bothered about Nezzy working too much, then Liara was actually bothered about Nezzy working too much.
"Yes, I know you're right. I'm afraid I've gotten too caught up in this upcoming vote to notice," Nezzy admitted.
"I'll fucking say. When's the last time you ate, by the way?"
That was when Aethyta noticed that their driver was dropping the kid off. She would have picked Liara up from school herself, but she and Nezzy needed to settle this little issue as quickly as possible. Liara and her overly large, neon-orange backpack, that practically swallowed her little body, got out of the skycar. Hideous, really, but she and Nezzy agreed it was probably for the best that their budding archaeologist, of all the future careers to choose from in this galaxy, needed an easy to spot identifier when she went out on her 'oh, I guess I forgot to ask for permission before I went off and disappeared for five fucking hours looking for rocks and shit,' digs.
Usually, Liara ran right inside, eager to share whatever she had learned that day with whichever parent she found first, becoming a right chatterbox for about a good hour and a half. And most people thought the kid was quiet. Aethyta would like to invite those people to watch the kid act while she was in her element; totally different than what most of them would expect. Except, Liara didn't run inside today. She actually took off right to Nezzy's personal garden, where she very nearly threw her giant backpack down and started moodily digging in the dirt.
"Well, that doesn't look good, does it?" Aethyta asked, interrupting whatever Nezzy was going to say, too distracted by what was honestly a totally out of character display of temper from the kid. Liara was pretty easy going, so long as she wasn't in any kind of situation that would make her a shy mess. At home, she was pretty much as far away from that kind of situation as possible.
Nezzy turned back to the window with a wrinkled brow, obviously wondering what Aethyta was talking about. Liara was by now finding little rocks in the garden and throwing them into the small fountain with more attitude in her little body than either of them would have expected her to display.
"No...," Nezzy agreed, puzzled. "Let's go and find out what this is about."
There were times when Aethyta thought the T'Soni Estate was way bigger than it had any business to be. This was one of those times. Why the fuck did they have to go down two stories and across the absolutely gigantic grounds to get to the goddess-damned gardens? There was too much space for three people here. Nezzy would claim that they used it all for the acolytes and the huntresses, but Aethyta didn't buy it. Figured somebody in the T'Soni line back in the day built this place to make some waves and the rest of Nezzy's family were happy to leave things as they were.
Eventually, they both made it to Liara, who was now covered in dirt and didn't seem to care at all, whatsoever. Which, wasn't too far from her normal behavior, admittedly. Nezzy had a point when she said that the kid took after Aethyta where that was concerned. Both of them figured that a little dirt never hurt anybody. This was different, though. Kid wasn't digging around, having a blast like she usually was. Looking for rocks she thought were pretty, or finding 'artifacts' about some ancient civilization that existed in her imagination, or the Protheans. They were a recent hit with the kid.
They were close enough to see that the kid was actually crying instead, which wasn't fucking good. Liara wasn't a crier. She got quiet when she was upset, but she was tougher than she looked. Actually getting her to cry was pretty damn hard. Somebody would have to go out of their way to do it, and that thought made Aethyta tense. Who the fuck…?
"Little Wing?" Nezzy went in gently, probably as surprised as Aethyta was to see her so upset. Kid had left home pretty cheerfully this morning.
Liara went still, but didn't turn towards them. Great. Aethyta could already tell this was going to be an exercise on her blood pressure. She was going to get to the bottom of this shit by the end of the day. Fact of the matter was, Liara was too damn nice to have anybody be cruel to her for an actually good reason. Took after her mother that way, but was missing that hidden sharp edge that Nezzy used to eviscerate her opponents in the Forum in some of the most deliciously subtle ways Aethyta had ever seen. But, to be fair, the kid was just that. She'd have plenty of time to develop her own brand of meanness later. For now, kid was sweet as fucking Armali candy.
"Come on, kid, what's up? Who's got you so hot?" She pressed after the kid didn't say anything.
"N-no one," Liara hiccuped.
"Don't sound like no one," Aethyta told her.
"Liara, tell us what is wrong, please."
Kid was quiet again for a while, but eventually her little shoulders slumped. "Aren't you mad at me? I messed up your garden. Again."
Nezzy shot her a puzzled look and Aethyta shrugged in response. Liara never much worried about messing up the garden. Not that the kid was particularly careless about it, she was just… kinda hyper and eager to play around outside. She never actually realized she made a mess until it was already done. Wasn't too unusual. Lots of asari kids tended to be that way. Benefits of the young, had way too much energy in their bodies, but not enough sense. Truth was, Nezzy never much minded anyway. Without the kid, there'd be no easy excuse for her bondmate to spend all that damn time and money landscaping and replanting shit. Nezzy really loved her gardening and she and the kid often spent time bonding by fixing the crap Liara wrecked as 'punishment.'
"I'm not mad at you, Liara. I am concerned. And you are only making me more concerned the longer you drag this out. We're only going to assume the worst," Nezzy said softly.
"Come on, kiddo. It can't be that bad, right?"
Liara shook her head violently.
"Okay…. So, it is that bad then." Aethyta let out a long breath and approached the kid. Enough was enough. Liara fought her a little, but she eventually got the stubborn dirt monster in her lap, facing her. Kid wouldn't meet her eyes, but this was better than looking at her back.
"I'm dirty," Liara protested sadly.
"What?! You are?" Aethyta gasped. "Well, I would have never noticed," she said as she wiped some of the mud from the kid's crest. No idea how it had gotten in there.
Liara gave her a sour look and pushed her hand away with a little of the grumpiness Aethyta would usually expect from her when she messed with the kid. "Dad, quit it." But her tone wasn't nearly as forceful as it should have been.
"Oh, look, there's some more here," she continued, patting Liara's shirt and dislodging a lot of the crud there, "and I would have never spotted this bit here if you hadn't said anything," she said and licked her thumb and wiped exaggeratedly on the kid's cheek.
"Dad!" Liara whined a little, and tried to dodge her thumb. "That's gross!"
Aethyta made sure to hide her smirk. "Well, you've gotta be cleaned up somehow, now that we know nothing's wrong. Everything's a-okay, so might as well get you taken care of. You know your mother's not about to let you in the house like this." She continued to fuss over the kid, turning her this way and that, using the tried and true spit-on-finger method to clear a lot of it on her face, exaggerating her efforts more than she needed to. Liara was squirming unhappily, clearly not liking the way this conversation had turned one bit.
"Okay, okay!" The kid finally got out. "They... were mean to me."
"Who was mean to you?" Nezzy asked as she joined them on the dirt, sitting much more gracefully than there was really any need to, but Aethyta knew that was just the way Nezzy was. Even sitting in the mud, getting her favorite yellow dress dirty, had to be done in the most prim and polite way possible.
"Girls at school," the kid answered fidgeting with her hands. "It was not anything bad. I'm making a big deal."
Somehow Aethyta doubted that. Probably had something to do with the way the kid was trying her damned hardest not to look her and Nezzy in the face. That was a sure giveaway of Liara lying than anything else could be. Which was weird because the kid didn't exactly lie about shit often. Aethyta didn't think this was a good sign.
"Hmm. Why not let your father and I decide that?" Nezzy asked, clearly like mind to Aethyta.
Liara sighed heavily, and Aethyta tried not to grin in victory. Wasn't something that was exactly appropriate here, especially since it wasn't going to be a happy grin. Kid would probably end up thinking Aethyta was mad at her, and that was the last thing she wanted.
"The older kids were calling me a name today, and they wouldn't stop," Liara finally admitted.
Aethyta could feel her eyes narrow in suspicion, and she could see Nezzy grow still from the corner of her eye. This was something they had talked about before the kid was born, hoping that it wasn't going to end up as bad as they had worried it would be when she started school and crap. For whatever reason, their people had a weird-ass hangup about having kids with each other. Sure, the Ardat-Yakshi condition was a damn tragedy, but that was rare. Certainly rare enough not to be fucking afraid of fucking each other.
"What was the name?" Aethyta asked, knowing exactly what it was going to be.
The kid bit her lip and shook her head again. "It is not a big deal," she insisted, leading them both to think it was, in fact, a big damned deal. Kid was about as stubborn as they both were, though, and it seemed like Liara was trying to protect them from something.
"I think it is, Liara. Please, you do not need to worry about getting in trouble for repeating it, or hurting our feelings."
"Yeah, just get it out and over with. We can take it, trust me. I'm the meanest damned asari on this planet," she winked at the kid. "And your mother has to put up with me daily, right?"
"They… they called me pureblood," kid said quietly, confirming Aethyta's fears and she had to grit her teeth. Who the fuck was teaching their kids this varrenshit? They needed a good fucking talking to. "I did not know what it meant at first, and it was easier to ignore. I knew they were making fun of me, they were the same girls from last week."
Ah, those kids. Liara had come home, not nearly as upset as she was today but still perturbed, asking Nezzy why anybody would want to make fun of her for reading so much. Aethyta thought it was as dumb as the kid did. Sure, she wasn't nearly as bookish as her youngest, but if she had been growing up, it probably would have saved her a lot of grief later on. Nezzy told her she spoiled the kid, but Aethyta couldn't help buying her whatever damned book Liara ran to her for on her omni-tool. Ah, after a good read of the summary, that is. Aethyta had made a bit of a mistake once and it lead to an early 'what's the Joining' discussion, much to Nezzy's fury. Anyway, Aethyta figured of all the things to spoil Liara over, fucking reading was a pretty damned innocent one. Except for that one time, admittedly.
"And then what happened?" Nezzy prompted, pulling Aethyta from her thoughts.
"I looked it up," Liara told them, not to either of their surprise. Poor kid. "And I didn't understand. What is wrong with two asari bonding? You're bonded. I tried to ignore them again, but then Celere Dantius started to call you dumb, Dad, and you're not dumb and I told her so, but she said that her great-aunt said that you were and that Mother was wasting her time with a...a brute and pureblood waste! So, I told her that she was dumb and didn't know what she was talking about, but that made her mad and she pushed me down, but Matron T'Mali came and Celere told her I tripped. I told her she pushed me, but all of Celere's friends called me a liar and Matron T'Mali said that making things up about people is wrong, but I-I wasn't!" The kid had gotten steadily louder and more upset, starting to hiccup again, and Aethyta could see that she was trying not to cry. "A-and then they all kept calling me pureblood for the rest of the d-day!"
Okay, so obviously hugs were in order, and Aethyta pulled the kid closer to her. Not at all caring about the dirt still left on her, and rubbing her shuddering back as those tears did finally come. Only good thing about this situation was that she had a name to work with. The Dantius's were gonna be getting a pretty nasty fucking visit over the next week. If Nacira, the old bitch, had a problem with her, she needed to bring it up to her and Nezzy directly. Not let her great-niece or whoever the fuck, fight her own damned battles for her with Liara. This was absolutely pathetic. And she considered herself the head of her family? Ha. Maybe it was high time she looked into what exactly the Dantius's got into in their spare time….
"Ah, kid. It's okay. We all know I'm smarter than I look. And you were damn right. These kids sound stupid as hell. Don't let them get ya down, they aren't worth the effort."
"Little Wing," Nezzy kissed the kid's crest, the only part of her head that wasn't hiding in Aethyta's chest right now. "Do not concern yourself with this. You know that I love you and your father very, very much. Nothing anyone could ever claim will change that. I will call the school and Celere's family today and get this taken care of. I would like you to stay away from this girl from now on, however."
Aethyta could feel her brow wrinkle at that solution. Calling people had never fixed anything in her experience. Not with an issue like this. Bullies weren't something she was unfamiliar with. Three other kids and the chances are at least one of them is gonna get picked on by somebody. Jumping into this themselves, aside from calling out Nacira, was only going to make things for Liara worse. This was an older kid, she wasn't going to give a damn about Liara trying to stay away from her of all things. What the hell? If anything, the little bitch was going to take that as a damned victory and up her game.
"How old is this kid?" Aethyta asked.
Liara shrugged, her voice muffled from her chest. "Don't know. Older. And bigger than me."
That was enough for her.
"Nezzy, calling the school isn't gonna do shit," Aethyta told her. "Except paint an even bigger target on the kid's back."
"Aethyta, we can't allow the school to ignore this."
"Fine, yeah, they shouldn't ignore an older kid picking on the smaller ones, but the world isn't run on 'shouldn'ts'. You call the school and this girl's folks, and she's gonna get even worse with Liara. Mommy fighting her battles is going to make these little shits think Liara can't stick up for herself."
Nezzy's mouth had grown into a tight line. "And what are you suggesting? I will not teach our daughter that violence is the answer to all of her problems."
"And we can agree on that, sure. Not all of her problems. But this one? Giving this kid a good smack is gonna teach her real fast not to fuck with people she thinks would be an easy target. She's already pushed the kid, what do you think would have happened to Liara if the teacher hadn't come when she did? This girl's got a fucking posse for Goddess's sake!" Aethyta exclaimed in disbelief. "You don't have to teach our kid that violence is the answer to everything, because I can admit that's a shit lesson too. But we can teach her how to defend herself when she's attacked."
"This is a playground bully, not a thug—"
"For now! Shit, Nezzy, these kids are only going to get bigger! Nip this in the bud and we won't have to worry—"
"I will be plenty worried about Liara resorting to fighting as I see fit!"
The kid tugged on her shirt insistently at that moment. "Stop it!" She was glaring at them both with some of that spunk Aethyta was used to seeing in her when she was annoyed.
Nezzy rubbed her temples as she visibly calmed down. Well, they could at least both agree that fighting in front of the kid about this was only going to upset her, and Liara had enough for today.
"We will speak of this later. For now, I will be making some quick calls. Liara, I will be down to read to you later. It's come to my attention that we haven't been spending as much time together as we should be."
Liara perked up at that, and Aethyta couldn't help brightening a little at the sight. She was still irritated with Nezzy and her insistence on pacifism where it wasn't needed, but at least she remembered their agreement. But she and the kid could spend some time together in their own way too….
She waited until Nezzy left back inside before turning her attention back to the kid, who was now contentedly resting in her lap, her tears gone for now.
"Liara, I've got a bit of an idea, and I need you to hear me out."
She had to chuckle at the suspicious look the kid sent her. "Dad, these kind of ideas usually get us in trouble."
"Hehe, yeah, guess they do. And that's probably not gonna change with this one. But, it's a good one this time and worth the trouble we'll get in. Look, kid. Before I get into this, I just want to say that your mother is a very, very smart asari. And usually I wouldn't be going behind her back like this. You know how we… uh, debate our issues. We don't have time for that in this case. This girl messing with you, is this the first time she's pushed or hit anybody?" Aethyta asked seriously.
Liara didn't have to think long on that question. "No."
"Yeah, that's what I figured," Aethyta sighed. "Kid, I want to be clear here. Violence really isn't going to be the end all and be all of your problems. Your mom's right on this. What I want is to teach you how to take care of yourself when things go bad, real bad, and there's no other option. Did you think she was going to hit you after she pushed you?"
"I… I don't know. It happened too fast. You're teaching me how to fight?" The kid guessed hesitantly. "But Mother's always said—"
Aethyta held up her hand. "Kid, we both know what your mother's always said. But this time? Dad knows best. Your mom's probably going to teach you how to use your biotics one of these days, so just think of this as me teaching you the physical side of defending yourself. Cause that's what this is gonna be. Defending yourself. I'm not about to teach you how to assault people, kid, have a little faith in your dad."
Her little eyes widened comically. "I don't think that! I just… I don't want Mother to get mad at you," she admitted.
"You let me worry about that. Besides, making your mom mad is kind of something that's inevitable with me, kiddo. We're a bit opposite of each other and will clash sometimes. Doesn't mean we don't love each other, it just means that Mom and Dad need some alone time to work out some steam with each other. Perfectly healthy with bonded couples and can be a lot of fun…," she trailed off, thinking of exactly how fun it could be to get Nezzy riled up as Liara looked at her blankly.
"Dad? I don't understand. How can getting mad at someone be fun?"
Aethyta laughed. "Oh, you'll get it when you're older. Don't worry about it for now. Just know that your mother and I will be fine if we do this. I'll make it up to her."
Liara didn't look completely convinced, but Aethyta figured she'd have time to work on that later. For now, it was time to move on to more important things.
"Kid, have I ever told you about the time I took down an entire arm of the Eclipse?" Aethyta asked with a wide grin.
Nothing distracted the kid more than an obviously exaggerated story of her past exploits. Most of her missions had a lot to do with covert spying and sabotage. Fun shit in the moment, not so fun as stories. When she was younger, the kid was much more willing to believe everything Aethyta told her. Add in a few explosions here, a diabolical bad guy there, and her completely honest, perfectly recollected missions were fit enough for a damned feature length vid. But, Liara got older, and much smarter eventually. The kid still enjoyed the stories, as far as Aethyta could tell, she just really liked to poke holes in Aethyta's carefully constructed plot lines and logic.
Liara shook her head, eying Aethyta was guarded curiosity.
"Well, you're in for a treat. But, we should probably get this shit off of us. Your mother will make us both sleep outside otherwise. Come on, and I'll tell you while we get sorted out. See, it started with reports of this new strain of red sand that could control minds," Aethyta said as they began walking back to the Estate.
"Dad, that's not possible," Liara immediately refuted. "I asked Mother yesterday about the mind control chips you told me existed and she said that—"
"Hey, who's telling the story here?" Aethyta interrupted. "Hold all questions until I at least get past the beginning. Kids these days, too damned impatient to wait for a good, old fashioned story set up. It's one of the most important parts! Sets the tone and everything…. Where was I?"
Liara sighed and shook her head in a perfect copy of exasperation from her mother. "Mind controlling red sand."
"Oh yeah. Anyway, the Matriarchs were getting reports of mind controlling red sand…."
It had been several weeks since Liara had come home, complaining of bullying. Aethyta had indeed ended up arguing with her over the proper way to address the issue, but Benezia had gotten her way in the end. She had called the school, as well as Celere's mother, and then they went in for an intervention between the two girls where counseling was provided. All in all, a much better result than teaching their all together too young, impressionable daughter how to street brawl. Benezia knew that Aethyta was not at all happy with this results, claiming that they were temporary at best, but Benezia was confident.
Not only had they handled the problem at school, both had approached Matriarch Nacira separately with their… concerns. Benezia had not been able to prevent Aethyta from having a talk with their fellow Matriarch in the end, as much as she wanted to. Then again, perhaps that was for the best. Aethyta would have felt that she had gone after the source of the issue directly and was less likely to do anything rash…. When it came to Liara, Benezia was afraid that her bondmate was not always logical or practical. Perhaps that had something to do with Aethyta's soft spot for all of her daughters, no matter how hard she tried to hide it beneath her rough exterior Benezia knew it was there, or perhaps it was the fact that Liara was her youngest and likely last daughter. Either way, Aethyta was very protective over Liara. She never did get a call from Nacira complaining of explicit threats to her health, or reports of bodily harm, so Benezia ended up assuming that Aethyta had shown unexpected restraint in the end.
Benezia herself had not exactly been the picture of polite with Nacira. It was simply unacceptable that the Matriarch's low opinion of her bondmate and daughter had made it to the ears of girls as young as Liara and Celere. If she had a problem with Benezia's choices, she should have bought them to Benezia herself. Benezia would not tolerate an attack of her person to come from her daughter of all sources. It was the height of bad form and cowardice.
And she had told Nacira that in no uncertain terms. The other Matriarch had acted the part of scandalized and insulted victim, but Benezia had seen right through her. If she wanted to play that game, Benezia would ensure that the Dantius line would have no place in Thessian politics. Let them move to the colonies or even the Citadel to enact their underhanded and distasteful tactics. Nacira had backed off at that promise.
So it was with great surprise and displeasure when Benezia received a call from Liara's school informing her that her sweet, shy, and supposedly innocent Little Wing had gotten into a fight. Benezia had no doubt whatsoever whose influence had spurred this incident, and she may have charged into the room Aethyta was currently sitting in with too much force, but she couldn't find it in her to care.
"Would you care to explain why our daughter's school has called me to request our presence for a disciplinary hearing over fighting?" Benezia asked, voice entirely coated with ice.
Aethyta froze mid bite of the fruit she was eating while apparently reading a book and looked at Benezia in appraisal. And now she had no doubt that her bondmate was in some way responsible for this mess. Benezia could practically feel her face coloring.
"They have, huh?" She asked after swallowing her bite. "Well, did they say who won?"
That was too much for Benezia.
"What?!" She hissed in rage. "That is your only concern?"
Aethyta shrugged maddeningly. "What do you want from me, Nezzy? We can't exactly turn the damn clock back and erase the fight from happening. Besides, a fight at Liara's age? She and whoever she 'fought' with will get slaps on the wrist at the most. Maybe some more of that stupid counseling crap they made the kid and that little shit go through last month."
"I can't believe this. No, wait, I certainly can. This is just like you. Total disregard of the consequences, perfectly willing to ignore what is actually important—"
Aethyta's eyes had narrowed into slits at that. "Careful, Nezzy. You're getting real damn close to calling me an idiot. Let me ask you something. Is it idiotic that I've been trying my fucking best to teach our kid how to protect herself when she has to? Idiotic that I've given her some actual tools to take care of herself when we can't do it for her? We won't be around for her forever. Sheltering her from the uglier sides of life isn't doing her any favors. You want to pretend that this varrenshit can be swept under the rug with fucking vidcalls and counseling. Let me tell you something about kids, babe. They don't give one. Fucking. Shit. About that crap."
"Ah, yes. Shower me with your wisdom," Benezia scoffed sarcastically. "You are perfectly willing to pretend that I know nothing of children or raising our daughter when it's convenient for you, but any other time I'm the one making the harder decisions!"
"Oh, don't even, Benezia! If 'convenient' is your way of saying that you act like a damned territorial varren when it comes to planning the kid's future out, then that's more like the actual fucking truth. Who's here with the kid while you go off and do your damned campaigning? Who's the one who checks for monsters in the closet? The one who the kid comes to when she wants somebody to fuck around with? Shit, Nezzy. I'm here for Liara when she needs me to be," Aethyta shot back.
"And I'm not?" Benezia snapped back. "I certainly remember your occasional months long 'consultations'. Tell me, when are you actually going to retire from working for the Forum? Liara certainly doesn't understand why we can't even call you like she is able to do with me when I leave her for days at the most."
She could see that Aethyta opened her mouth to shout back, but she suddenly shook her head.
"You know what? What's the damned point? You're gonna think you're right like you always do and nothing I can say right now can change that. Liara's waiting for us, how 'bout we see what this shit's actually about before we rip each others' throats out?"
"Fine," Benezia grounded out. She could hardly believe this. Aethyta has been teaching Liara to fight for weeks?! Oh, they were certainly going to speak of this later, Benezia was not done. Goddess, it was entirely possible that Liara had started this fight, taking her father's lessons too close to heart and doing something rash rather than taking more appropriate steps. She was just a child, a very smart one certainly, but their daughter was still rather naive.
The ride in their skycar was filled with icy silence. Neither of them willing to say a word to the other at the moment. Both knew that would only get them arguing again, which was rather counter-productive if they hoped to provide a united front for Liara at this hearing. Benezia would have preferred that Aethyta not come at all, but she knew that trying to convince her stubborn, infuriating, and foolish bondmate of staying home would be entirely fruitless and would only waste time. Perhaps Aethyta might even see the fruits of her actions and realize that Benezia had been right to forbid Liara learning how to fight in the first place. Though, that would probably be a miracle in and of itself...
It took only fifteen minutes to arrive at Liara's school. An old institution the T'Soni house had been attending for generations. Benezia was not so much concerned that Liara would suffer any permanent punishment for her role in any brawl, the T'Sonis had been donating far, far too many credits over the centuries for that to happen. The benefits of some rather innocent corruption. Instead, she was more concerned that Liara would learn that this was an appropriate way to resolve her problems. She would not be meeting any harsh consequences from the school itself, and any punishment Benezia would think up was more than likely to be undermined by Aethyta, who was undoubtedly in favor of Liara's actions.
Admittedly, it was not often that Aethyta would undermine her parental decisions, and vice-versa, but this was going to be an issue they would likely never agree upon. And Aethyta was likely to make that as clear as she possibly could. Her only hope would be speaking to their daughter herself, and trying to convince her that her father was wrong. Something that would be entirely difficult. Despite the fact that Aethyta loved teasing their daughter, the two were very close and Liara idolized her.
She did not realize that they were before the school headmistress's secretary until she was addressing them.
"Matriarchs," the matron greeted. "They are waiting for you inside."
Benezia wondered at 'they.' Where was Liara? Already within the office? She had hoped to speak with either her daughter or Headmistress Levina separately. Benezia often found that got her the clearest interpretation of events in any situation. Opposing sides would not be able to influence each others' stories through intimidation, interruption, or lies. Oh, well. This was probably the best she could hope for.
Aethyta swore under her breath when the stepped into the office, and despite herself, Benezia could not help but agree with the sentiment.
Instead of Liara and the headmistress being within the room alone, the other girl her daughter had complained of, Celere, was present along with... Matriarch Nacira. The other child's mother was not present, and immediately both Benezia and Aethyta were aware of this very misplaced and very odd power-play.
"Didn't know you were in the habit of visiting elementary schools, Nacira," Aethyta snorted distastefully.
What was this? It was obvious that Nacira considered this incident much more serious than was warranted by attending this hearing personally. To Benezia and Aethyta, this was merely a problem they were having with their daughter. Something Benezia had no doubt was occurring across the galaxy. Despite her anger, she was aware that this was a very typical, very ordinary childhood experience. Perhaps not every girl Liara's age have gotten into playground fights with another child, but certainly plenty did for this to have been some thing she and Aethyta would approach as parents. Certainly not Matriarchs. Neither of them, Benezia certainly hoped anyway, were intending to railroad this other girl into inordinate consequences. If both Celere and Liara were suitably disciplined for their roles, then Benezia would be satisfied.
And that was when she took into the appearances of both girls. Benezia had to suppress a gasp. It was... worse than she had anticipated. Liara's eye was swelling quickly, and she had another darkening bruise running across her left cheek. Her right hand was heavily bandaged as well. And, Goddess! Liara had broken the other girl's nose! What happened here?
"Mother!" Liara immediately exclaimed on seeing her and launched herself into her arms, Benezia was forced to catch her or risk stumbling over. Liara was becoming heavier than she used to be.
"I thought it best that my niece have equal representation in this... situation," Nacira responded evenly in the background. Benezia was still looking Liara over for more injuries. Her Little Wing winced when Benezia held her sides tighter, and she immediately gentled her grip. Her eye was certainly going to turn black in the coming hours, and Benezia could also spot a number of scratches along her arms. Was this what school yard fighting looked like these days? Somehow, Benezia doubted that severely.
"Representation?" Aethyta scoffed. "What the hell are you taking this for? We aren't in the Forum, don't think Nezzy and I can't see right through you. I don't know why you think going after our kid is a way to strike at us over something as completely stupid as who the hell we've decided to have sex with, but I'm certainly not going to put up with it. Watch your damned step here, Nacira. I'm not gonna tolerate this crap."
"Matriarchs," the headmistress was trying to regain control of the situation, but she was relatively young compared to the three other adults in the room, and she also had no idea just what Nacira was aiming to do here.
Liara was pulling on her dress sleeve urgently, but before Benezia could address her, she felt a familiar stirring the back of her mind. Normally, melds with Liara were filled with teaching moments, fond memories, or comfort. This time, Benezia could feel the discord in her daughter's mind even before actually accepting the meld. It was rare indeed that Liara began one herself, anyway. She was too young to be able to do it in any sort of regular fashion, not having enough control or stamina yet. The fact that she was able to initiate so quickly did not bode well for what her daughter was trying to tell her.
As Benezia lowered her mental barriers, her daughter came crashing into her mind, much more suddenly and harshly than usual. Had Liara been older, and more biotically powerful, her entrance would have caused a significant headache. As it was, the meld did not begin pleasantly. Liara's mind was frantic, flashes of what had happened rushing through both their minds and Benezia was having severe issues even making sense of what Liara was trying to communicate to her. It seemed that when upset, her daughter simply could not help stumbling over her words, whether they be physical or mental.
Little Wing, gather yourself. I am here now.
Benezia sent as many calm, soothing emotions through the connection as she could, and, slowly, Liara's mental landscape stabilized.
I just wanted to use the restroom….
Almost like a vid, Benezia saw what happened as Liara experienced it. Entering the room, the other girl and two friends already there. Liara shuffling awkwardly towards the stalls, hoping they would not notice she was there. With a sinking feeling in her chest, Benezia realized that these girls had not left Liara alone after the last time at all, if Liara's memories were any indication. Flashes within flashes of the name calling and taunts raced through Liara's memory and into Benezia's own mind. Aethyta had been right.
But Liara's hope had been for naught. The group had spotted her immediately and closed in, much to her daughter's dismay. That damnable word again coming from the lips of those who should have been too young to know of what they were speaking of, pushing lightly at Liara's person. However, these girls were older and larger than her daughter, light pushing was rather relative.
"Leave me alone!"
She needed to leave, they looked even meaner than usual….
They only laughed at her, the other two cutting off Liara's path to the door. Celere apparently wanting to deal with Liara herself.
"Are you gonna tell your mommy on us again?"
Another push, this one much harder than the others had been, and Liara's head collided painfully with the wall she had been cornered against. Fear raced through her daughter's mind, causing her to freeze for the barest of moments as she struggled with what to do. The advice Benezia had given her was useless here. There was no adult to turn to, they were alone.
And that was when anger sparked in Liara's chest, new and unfamiliar to her daughter at first, but her mind immediately latched to it and the spark roared throughout her tiny body. Aethyta's daughter in that moment, and Benezia could not have been more proud.
Even Liara had trouble recollecting what happened next clearly. Flashes of her launching herself at Celere, using her head to slam into the other girl's nose. Aethyta was going to be more than ecstatic to learn of this later…. Blood immediately surging forth. Two disgusted screams as the door slammed open, and then shut again. From there, the memory degraded even further as her daughter's mind focused only on escape at all costs. Striking at the body that still would not move away from her in slightly practiced motions, if awkward. Getting struck back repeatedly, but certainly giving even more than what she received.
Liara's memory did not come back into clear focus again until she and Celere were being dragged to the nurse's office by a significantly negligent hall monitor. Benezia idly wondered what in the galaxy the matron had been doing if she was unable to hear the commotion Liara and Celere had caused until it had gotten completely out of hand. Injuries throbbed into the forefront of Liara's mind as she came back to herself. Her little hand was lancing with pain in particular.
I forgot not to close my thumb in…. Dad's going to be mad….
No. She is going to be so proud of you, Little Wing. Perhaps some teasing….
Benezia could feel some of the anxiety Liara was feeling leak away. The reminder that her father could be completely insufferable when she was right about something actually providing no small measure of comfort. Familiarity in a day absolutely corrupted by a traumatic new experience.
Headmistress Levina does not believe me. Celere and… a blank was in Liara's mind. She did not know who this intimidating Matriarch was. Certainly not Celere's mother, even her daughter could determine that. They keep lying! I didn't start anything. I was just trying to use the bathroom! Just… just trying….
Benezia could feel the tears Liara shed physically leaking into the front of her dress as she burrowed her face into her chest, and heard them echo within their meld. Benezia did not bother hiding her thoughts from her daughter in this case, knowing that they would provide their own source of comfort. Goddess, she was furious. This should not have happened. Benezia was not certain why Nacira was choosing to fight this proxy war with children but she could guess. It ended today, regardless. Liara was certainly not getting forced into a punishment she did not deserve, and she and Aethyta would be taking their daughter home. Plenty of stories, perhaps a favorite dessert tonight, more hugs than Liara has received in recent memory, Aethyta finding new and amusing ways to insult everyone in this room, and a nap were all in order.
A watery streak of pleasure hesitantly made its way through Liara's mind at that last thought, and Benezia could feel the exhaustion from such an emotionally taxing meld begin to set into her young consciousness. She gently began to separate them both, sending as much love and gentle touches as she could to ease the parting when Liara instinctively gripped on her mind in protest.
I will still be here.
Reluctantly, Liara retreated from her mind and Benezia returned to the events happening around them. Liara still clung to her, gripping even tighter now that the meld was over. Benezia did not mind. Aethyta was already fiercely arguing on their daughter's behalf while they were indisposed.
"Their story is utter shit," her bondmate growled furiously.
"Matriarch Aethyta, please watch your language! This is a school," Levina exclaimed in frustration. Oh, she was fooling herself if she thought that was going to happen.
"I'm not going to watch shit," Aethyta repeated, with even more emphasis this time. "I'll call it like I see it, and right now, all I'm seeing is varrenshit. You mean to tell me that my kid, this tiny, awkward, and yeah, slightly nerdy girl is going to burst into a hall bathroom, swinging like mad at another kid who has a good 40 pounds and 5 inches on her? My girl's not an idiot, and she's certainly too damned sweet to even think about doing that, let alone actually going through with such an unbelievable, pyjak-minded, stupid as all hell, plan," Aethyta was looming over the desk at Levina, and Benezia could see her swallow nervously.
"Oh, certainly no one would normally think of doing such a thing, but there have been instances of children with… your daughter's make-up acting irrationally, and with unstable and dangerous motivations," Nacira drawled out carefully.
Benezia lowered Liara to the ground, momentarily ignoring her protests, and faced this awful... bitch with her full height, anger singing within her. Aethyta had gone very, very still and she could see the fury in her bondmate's face streak down into every muscle in her body, tensing implosively.
"What the hell did you just say?" Aethyta asked calmly and quietly.
"Please, Aethyta, do not make me spell it out for you, there are children present and we do not want to cause any undue fear," Nacira told her primly.
Aethyta's fists clenched. "'Undue….' Listen, you fucking two faced, cowardly, piece of shit—"
And now it was Benezia's turn to take care of their daughter. Aethyta had done admirably, but her bondmate's skills had always been in line with the physical, rather than political.
"Aethyta," Benezia said quietly, her deadly serious tone telling her more than any words could in this moment. Aethyta's gaze snapped towards her in confusion, but slowly cleared into an evil, gleeful smirk.
"Nacira, I warned you what would happen if you pushed this issue. My family, and who they are, are none of your concern. I certainly hope that you will be able to find any significant influence on the Citadel or the colonies. Perhaps Illium is more your speed? It certainly fits your personality. In any case, I am finished playing games with you. Aethyta, I wonder what interesting things could be hiding in the Dantius house?" Benezia asked, her tone borderline mocking.
Aethyta's grin grew wider. "Oh, babe, I was hoping you'd ask me that. Lots of interesting stuff! Bribery, political sabotage, some oddly convenient murders…. List goes on."
"Wonderful. Release all of it."
Even Aethyta's eyes grew wide in delighted surprise. Nacira had paled significantly, and Benezia ignored her sputtering to address Levina.
"Liara is coming home today. I hope you are not in the habit of punishing assault victims? If in case that is what you plan to do, I can definitely find Liara another school to attend within the hour. The donations I make towards this institution under my family name is not something many would turn down. By the time our daughter is ready to return to school, I expect this other… girl to be gone. I know that this isn't the first instance of her assaulting other children, but it will be the last so long as Liara is enrolled at this school. We don't need to get our lawyers involved," she said regally.
Levina was staring at her in shock, likely entirely blindsided at how this 'hearing' had turned. Benezia did not care. "Ah, certainly, Matriarch Benezia. I'm sure we can resolve this suitably. Liara need not—"
"Good," she interrupted, wanting to get Liara home as soon as possible now. She was currently hiding behind her legs, overwhelmed by the events of the day. She lifted her daughter in her arms, turning one last time to glare at Nacira. "We can speak more of this later. Nacira, the next time you wish to stage a political coup, I would suggest picking a much easier target. You are utterly outclassed."
Aethyta winked at Nacira scathingly as they walked from the room, knowing that they had done what they needed to.
It wasn't until they were outside that Aethyta spoke.
"What in the hell was she expecting from this?"
Benezia could feel her nostrils flare at the question, she knew exactly what Nacira had hoped. "I'm afraid we've become a much more formidable team in the Forum than either of us anticipated. I believe that she hoped she could assault us through Liara, hoping to prove that our family was indication of our poor sense. There was no other avenue for her to pursue, our platform has been too strong and we have too many votes on our side for her to make headway in a more traditional manner."
"Ah. So, 'prove' the kid was psychotic, and hope that'd make us look bad. That's… completely fucking stupid. Easily the stupidest idea I've come across in the past three centuries," Aethyta snorted.
"Oh, I agree. But Nacira will not be bothering us again for the foreseeable future. I will show her what real political sabotage looks like," Benezia said darkly.
Liara stirred in her arms then, poking her head out from Benezia's shoulder where she had been resting it.
"Dad, I forgot what you said about making fists," she told Aethyta mournfully, reaching out her little hand to show her father the tightly bandaged fingers.
Aethyta smiled gently. "Hey, don't worry about it, kid. Bet you won't forget next time, right?" She asked as she lightly squeezed Liara's offered hand in comfort.
Their daughter shook her head quickly. "No. That hurt. But I did remember what you told me about hitting with your head."
Humor lanced through Aethyta's smile as she beamed. "Oh, kid, don't tell me you busted that shit's nose with a headbutt?"
Benezia could feel Liara nod as she rested her head on her shoulder again.
"Ha!" Aethyta laughed.
Benezia decided she could afford to be slightly put out on a long debated topic between herself and her bondmate if it made Liara feel better after today.
"There may have also been a… bloodrage," she admitted with a sigh.
"Well, I'll be damned. You've got some krogan in ya, yet, kid," Aethyta said with as she laughed even harder. Liara began to giggle with her.
"Hey, have I ever told you about the time I took on three thresher maws on foot with your sister's first bondmate?"
Liara harrumphed into her neck. "Last time you told me it was four thresher maws," she said accusingly, always quick to point out the facts.
"Ah, details," Aethyta dismissed easily. "Guess that means you have heard this story then. Welp, guess I'll talk about something else…."
"Oh," their daughter said with obvious disappointment. "I don't mind hearing it again. If you want."
Aethyta shot Benezia a knowing wink, and she grinned back. This was what she had been looking forward to as she took control of that meeting. Aethyta started into her tale with clear exaggeration as she always does, and Benezia could feel some of the tension begin to drain from Liara's overstressed body. They would focus all of their attention on comforting their daughter for the rest of they day. Perhaps even the next, however long it took for Liara to feel better. Later, she will admit to Aethyta that she had been right. It was time that she stop pretending Liara was untouchable. Clearly she wasn't. Aethyta will continue teaching their daughter how to defend herself with her body. It was high time Benezia began to instruct her how to protect herself with her mind.