Observations: Dance
Primarch Adrien Victus did not travel down to the hangar very often. He wasn't even allowed on the engineering deck which, if the rumors were correct, housed a Prothean of all beings. Still the hangar was where the Commander and her ground crew pepped and left; it wasn't his place to be there. However, it was also where the team sparred and relieved stress. Vakarian mentioned he was going to be down there later and Victus could use a round or two to loosen up. But when he arrived, he noted that he arrived too late. The Commander and Vakarian just took to the ring.
Victus noticed the asari, Dr. T'soni, and the Lt Commander standing to the side observing so he walked over to them. "Doctor, Lieutenant," he greeted.
"Hello, Primarch," Dr. T'soni greeted pleasantly, her voice smooth as always.
"Primarch, Sir," the Lieutenant saluted. Victus turned his attention to the ring. Vakarian was in a traditional workout attire, a black spandex that covered his upper legs up to his cowl but leaving his arms exposed. The Commander wore something similar but in two pieces. Her muscle definition was present in her arms but compared to Vakarian, she seemed so small.
"Uh, Doc? Is Lola okay going up against Scars like that? I mean, she's going to use her biotics as a barrier right?" The Lieutenant seemed to voice the apprehension Victus felt inside.
The doctor chuckled lightly. "I watched them the first time they sparred on the SR1. I was concerned, but I had no reason to be. Shepard had Garrus pinned to the floor before any of us could blink." The asari chuckled softly. "Garrus demanded a rematch, claiming he held back the first time so as not to hurt her, and the next round was longer but ended the same. It was quite entertaining."
Victus watched the Commander roll her head in a circular movement, a human stretch, as she paced around a portion of the mat. Vakarian was stretching his arms, but his gaze was on the small human. Victus was too far away to guess what he was thinking but he assumed he was analyzing the woman, figuring out the best angle to approach her from. Despite Dr. T'soni's words, Vakarian did have to be careful. Turians were built to be predators and one of Vakarian's talons could easily slice through the Commander's skin, like a blade cutting through a gelatin dessert.
The Commander was still loosening up, bouncing her shoulders with her arms raised in front of her face and her fists lightly curled, but she started walking around the perimeter of the sparring mat. Vakarian took longer steps around, stretching his legs, but he took care to ensure the distance between them didn't grow too small. This was… interesting. Normally turians did not take as long to warm up before a sparring match but these two were different. They were old friends and old warriors; it made sense their preparation was ritualistic.
As if to confirm Victus' thoughts, as soon as the Commander came full circle to her original position she turned to Vakarian. She still moved around the mat, but her steps were slower and patient. Vakarian rolled his shoulders back on last time and as his shoulders relaxed, he hunched forward, a low growl emitting from him.
The Commander smirked at the turian. Her voice, low and—dare he say it—alluring called across to her opponent. "How is it going to end this time, Vakarian?"
The turian didn't respond but his sub-volcals flared up with a dark tone. The Lieutenant inquired about it, but Victus ignored him.
The Commander stopped where Victus was able to see her a little more clearly. Her green eyes glinted with excitement and her lips curled upward into a smile he had never seen before. "You'll have to to better than that Vakarian. I'll tell you how this ends. You, on the floor." She paused to blatantly examine him up and down. "Just like always."
Victus didn't recognize the look on her face, but if he was reading her thick tone correctly, there was much more… insinuation underneath. It seemed he wasn't the only one who thought so when he heard the Lieutenant breathe, "Damn, Shepard."
Vakarian, in what was only an instant, pivoted and launched himself towards the Commander. She dodged to the side fluidly, but Vakarian switched directions just as easily putting him in arms reach of her. He swung his fist towards her and she ducked and darted to the side. Crouched she sprang towards his mid section, intending to tackle him, but Vakarian side-stepped her. The Commander rolled when she hit the ground and rose to meet Vakarian's fist coming down towards her. Before it met contact, her left arm swiped it away as she brought her right fist up and underneath his chest. But her fist never made contact as Vakarian shoved it to the side, her torso twisting with her arm. She ducked underneath his arm coming towards her and glided around him so that for a moment they were back to back. They seemed to turn almost at the same time and then they were striking and missing again.
Victus suddenly understood why the Commander always took Vakarian with her on missions. Even when they were fighting each other, they understood each other. The Commander knew Vakarian had a larger reach and could quickly and easily land on her position than she could with him. Vakarian understood that the Commander was flexible and that despite being able to close in on her, she was still able to slide away. Victus almost wished he could see them in a true battle; their grace and intuition combined must be a force to be reckoned with.
"What a dance," the Lieutenant breathed. "I bet the Commander can tear it up in the club."
The doctor chuckled. "Actually, Shepard is the worst dancer I think I've ever seen. She has no concept of rhythm whatsoever."
"Perhaps when it comes to music," Victus interjected. The asari glanced over at him and smiled.
"Seriously? Oh well, maybe there's hope for Scars," the Lieutenant mused.
Victus returned his attention to the match, the Commander and Vakarian entwined in their battle rhythm. The calm fury of punches and blocks absorbed the room, both of them perfectly in sync, until the Commander slipped up and Vakarian's fist collided with her jaw. The woman flew back, but she recovered as she fell into a roll. Vakarian paced back and forth waiting for her to rise as she pulled herself on her knees. Victus watched her swallow hard before rising to her feet.
Victus' platelets fluttered uncomfortably. Vakarian landed a solid blow on the Commander. Her cheek was swollen and when she spat to the side, it was red. Her visage was hard but her eyes burned into Vakarian as he let out another low, dark growl.
"Doc, we have to stop this. Lola's bleeding and Vakarian sounds like… I don't like it," the Lieutenant said sternly.
"Garrus would never hurt Shepard," Dr. T'soni responded confidently. "Turians, from what I know, are accustomed to this level of sparring. While they may take a decent blow or two, it won't be serious enough to endanger the mission. They know where the line is."
Victus was impressed. "Dr. T'soni is correct and Vakarian's sub-vocals are an assertion of dominance. It's quite common during matches such as these." He was being partially true. He didn't think telling the Lieutenant that Vakarian was asserting possession, rather than dominance, was a good idea.
"Either way, I think this match is almost over," the doctor calmly asserted.
Victus looked up in time to see the Commander charge head on towards Vakarian. He thought she was going to tackle him, but Vakarian stepped just to the side and sprang forward with his arm extended. He slammed his arm into the Commander's mid section and she let out a piecing shriek as he slammed her into the mat. Vakarian swiftly knelt and gabbed her neck, bringing his face in close to hers.
"You're mine," Vakarian growled. Then he began to whisper something to the Commander that caused her to inhale sharply, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed. When he finished he released her neck, took one of her hands, and helped pull her up. She landed back on her feet cleanly and stared up at Vakarian. Victus couldn't read the expression on her face, he still wasn't good at understanding human body language, but Vakarian's harmonics thrummed with demand.
The Commander smiled that smile, the one she only gave Vakarian, and tuned towards their small observation group. Picking up a pair of shoes along the way, she walked over to them smiling broadly, her cheeks still flushed. The Lieutenant was the one to speak first.
"Hey, Lola, you up for another round?" from his tone, Victus sensed he wasn't serious. He sounded more curious than anything.
"Can't," the Commander grinned, "I have orders to carry out. I'll be in my cabin." Then she disappeared onto the elevator.
Vakarian had taken care of the sparring mats rather quickly and barely said a word as he soon rushed past them to the elevator.
There was a small silence until the Lieutenant spoke up, confusion in his voice. "Who can give Shepard orders here? Did I miss something?"
The asari sighed, slightly annoyed. Victus agreed. It wasn't that difficult to figure out…
"Doctor, I have been meaning to ask you about your research. Has it been enlightening to have a living Prothean to speak with?" Victus ignored the marine, turning his attention to the asari.
Behind her, the Lt Commander frowned and Victus' sharp hearing picked up a muttered, "I knew it!" before walking over to the shuttle pilot.
The asari watched the marine leave and she chuckled lightly before returning her attention to Victus. "It has been an… interesting experience." Victus followed her onto the elevator and pressed the button for the Crew Deck. He noted that the usually lit button leading to the Commander's cabin was grayed out. Victus couldn't help but chuckle, garnering the asari's questioning look. He didn't explain, nor was he required to, but he thought mentioning he was fairly certain the Commander and Vakarian were engaged a different dance would be rather distasteful.
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