"And… that's checkmate, isn't it?" The batarian girl studied the board, lower lip between her teeth.

Tri'im kept her arm still, but mentally accessed the game controls so it illuminated the winning setup. "Looks like it, Jinny."

The girl pressed her lips together, probably already thinking about the next game. She leaned from side to side, laced her hands and ran them down the back of her head, flexed her jaw like she was imitating a turian's mandible flare. Then she jutted her chin out, lower eyes meeting Tri'im's. "I want a rematch."

Jona snorted and shook his head. And here Tri'im was, thinking he was engrossed with the ribbons on the memorial wall. "She is up eight to one."

Jinny's determined look wavered. "But there's still the one, right? Those odds aren't too bad?"

Jona shrugged. "Not saying it's impossible."

Tri'im let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. The last thing she needed was to try to cheer up the thirteen-year-old by losing on purpose, as Jona had suggested earlier that morning. A good turian would loathe the thought, and Tri'im was struggling to get out of the bad turian hole as it was. She glanced at the memorial board, dedicated to Surus Lorictus. Dead not long after leaving the shelter for bootcamp, ship destroyed by pirates looting a dead Reaper. The humans had set it up, but the turians lingered nearby, building up a collection of offerings to his spirit. She had nothing for him.

Even Jinny, as far from turian as possible excluding maybe Reapers themselves, had a wrapped wire flower in her pocket. That made Tri'im worse than a kid raised by pirates. Great way to look normal, stable, what have you, her ground level low citizenship was bad enough.

She jumped when Jona tapped her shoulder. Totally unnecessary. He wasn't a threat. Just sending a message to her.

Implant issues? It accompanied a warm, almost aching flood of concern and camaraderie. A subtle feel of friendship and confidentiality.

Her reply was nowhere near so kind. Any feelings of appreciation for his thought was drowned by a leak of frazzled, cold stress. No. It's fine.

"Who're those bird people?"

Tri'im broke contact with Jona to follow the direction Jinny was pointing. Sure enough, there was Therus Derin, standing near the memorial board, chatting it up with a feathered being Tri'im hadn't seen for years.

Jona stole the words out of her head. "What are the raloi doing here?"

"Who?" Jinny looked between the two, then at the alien. She shook her head and mumbled confused sounds.

Tri'im brushed Jinny's hand, giving her a quick burst of the relevant information and emotions. New to the galaxy, went into hiding like cowards, and now they were standing in the shelter like they had something to contribute to everyone else. Hopefully nobody would get sick from their presence this time.

Therus started moving, weaving through the curious youth with his eyes fixed on the raloi. His guest, on the other hand, was far from experienced in the shelter, and their head darted back and forth to avoid tripping on a toddler.

Tri'im hissed a curse when she realized Therus was coming right for them. She was not in the mood to put on the happy volunteer act for some stone-faced bird. Worse, the bird smelled like bruised ripe fruit, overpowering and sickly sweet. It blocked out even the shelter's cheap air freshener and infrequently-showering kids.

Jinny whispered something that sounded like a question to Jona.

"These are two of our dedicated volunteers, Tri'im Rusius and Jona'Hazt, and Jinartha-"

"Jinny."

Therus blinked slowly. "Jinny Loressan. A resident."

The raloi's head bobbed. "High met. I am Endai Ari'ka Traii." There was a pause, where the raloi's oversize black eyes met everyone else's. "…Child of Endai Ari'ka Tren?" Another couple seconds passed, and Traii's eyes narrowed. "Never mind."

Tri'im nodded to the newcomer. "Apologies. We did not keep up to date on the news."

Therus patted Traii on the shoulder. "These three are great. I need to go visit with Zenia, so you can talk to them. They've got good stories about living and helping here at the shelter." He was gone before Traii could say something.

"Might as well come sit with us," Jona said, pulling out a chair. He sat down across from the waiting seat, chin propped on one hand. Once Traii sat down, fruit smell that much stronger, Jona shot off a question. "So, what brings you to our lovely facility?"

Traii's eyelids batted, head tilted to one side. "I didn't see anything wrong with the shelter…"

Jona waved the thought away. "Oh, no, the place is nice enough. The management is another question."

Traii tittered, chin dipped into their chest feathers. "Therus Derin is not terribly popular?"

"Oh, he is." Jona sighed, exhaling so hard he shrank into his chair. "That is the problem."

"I see."

"Fun stuff," Tri'im said. She rotated the view on the chess game. Jinny wasn't paying any attention now, too busy trying to hide her staring at Traii to play, and Tri'im did not feel up for it. She quit the game without a second thought. Something didn't look right in the display… a message. One given so low priority it didn't even trigger an alert. Sender: Quintus Epictus.

All too familiar. She knew without looking it was a breakup note. An "I'm sorry it didn't work out" note, or a "maybe we should see other people" note, or maybe an "it's not you, it's me," note, which was worst of all.

Tri'im, the nice bird's asking you a question.

Her head snapped up, predator eyes honed in on Traii. Fantastic way to represent the facility, shutting out the junior ambassador or whoever this kid was. They didn't squirm, but their eye contact faltered and their arms pulled in a little. Good. Maybe they got the idea she wasn't happy to play host. "What?"

"I…" They cleared their throat and sat up straighter than before, something Tri'im had thought impossible. "Having been here on the Citadel for…" They sunk back down. "A-about one day, I have seen very little. Could you perhaps point out a couple places?"

Spirits, not today. Was Traii even legal drinking age for raloi? Because after this and last night, all Tri'im wanted was a few shots, or a cup, or maybe a whole bottle. She scratched her chin, fingers reaching up to tap her Syglar skull tattoo's exaggerated canines. "What sorts of places?"

Now they turned their head away, but kept their eyes on her. Big, naïve eyes. "I don't know. That is why I am asking you."

Jona spread his arms wide as he could without hitting anyone. "Why not?" He touched his boot to Tri'im's. Just try not to look at it like a chore. We can have a night out, and they're a new friend.

Tag-along.

Whatever runs your ship.

"Fine, there's a couple nice spots."

Jinny scooted her chair towards Jona, the most over-the top sweet smile on her face, her hands clasped with her elbows on the table. "Can I come?"

He tipped her chair away from him, stopping just before she tumbled off. "No, Jinny. We're going after your curfew."

Traii muffled a laugh.

Jinny blew air between her front teeth and her vice grip on the table relaxed so she could throw herself into a spread-legged, leaning back pose. "So? When's the last time I cared?"

Now Tri'im was fighting to not laugh. Allura, one of the stricter volunteers, had heard and padded up behind the girl, lips pressed so tight it pushed up the glasses fused to her nose. She stopped just out of the resident's sight, fists on her hips. "Ex-cuse me?"

Traii brushed their arm against Jona and Tri'im's. This will be good?

Very, Jona replied. All three pooled together their anticipation and amusement. Two, once Tri'im pulled away from the group. She didn't need to risk oversharing with Traii.

Allura leaned down so her thin nose hovered inches away from Jinny's second set of eyes. One blue finger, quivering she held her wrist so tight, poked Jinny's forehead. "No."

"…Why not?" Jinny grinned lopsided, lower eyes flicking around the room while the upper held fast on Allura. "I mean, they're volunteers and all, right? So... I can go with them?"

It didn't change Allura's dead seriousness. "There. Is. A. Curfew. And you. Are. A. Troublemaker!" She punctuated her sentence with jabs to Jinny's head, and by the increasingly zoned in look on the batarian's face, she was adding in a dose of crushing authority for good measure.

Traii and Jona shared a look. Sharing tales, too, by Jona's subtle nods and Traii's less subtle shocked expression. Fantastic way to get us in a good light, Tri'im thought, sinking down towards the table. She heard Jinny relenting a little too loudly and felt Allura glaring daggers at the volunteers. By the end of the day, Jona and Tri'im both would get a write-up and a strike, and the twenty overtime hours Tri'im finished last week to remove the last strike on her record would all be for naught.

They were definitely ending the tour of the Citadel at a bar.

Okay, so, I'd been working on this well before I put the first chapter up. I can't actually write 1,600 words in a day.