Chapter 3: Black Eye Remedy
October 31st, 2185
Even though I could feel the swelling of my right eye pulsate violently, I couldn't resist laughing. I successfully pranked a krogan. How many people could say they did that and survived? The only issue is that I just need to learn to duck faster. Sure my prank was evil and a bit sloppy (I blame the alcohol) but it got Tren good. So much so that he punched me the moment I popped out of the darkness, spooking him.
All I needed to relieve the pain was a good night's rest but the walk back to my quarters seemed to be taking forever. Every step I took started dragging across the floor. The grip on my bottle was slowly beginning to slip. I just needed to crawl into my bed, have a few swigs to numb out the pain jolting from my eye, and pass out. But then I noticed Lyrik walking towards me.
Oh shit. He'll freak if he sees this. I don't know why but he's so protective. I wouldn't be surprised if he punches Tren in return. Now I wish the power was still out. It would make it so much easier to hide this.
In an attempt to hide my injury, I flicked my hair over my eye and tilted my head away. He could sense something was different, "What are you doing?"
"Just heading to my quarters, going to bed… night."
As I passed him, he grabbed my hand and turned me towards him a little too quickly, making me slightly dizzy. I kept my head down but the smile ruined it all.
"Something is up. What's so funny?"
I brought my eyes to meet his, watching his expression immediately change when he noticed the discoloration under the strands covering my face. He brought his hand to my face and tucked my hair behind my ear.
"Geez Xora! What the hell happened?" Lyrik asked noticing the black eye I was trying to cover.
"Well…" trying my hardest not to laugh, "Josie kind of dared me to prank someone."
"Please don't tell me that it was to one of the twins."
"Then I won't say anything… other than it was totally worth it."
He shook his head in disapproval while I had a grin of complete satisfaction gleaming on my face.
"I dodged out of the way enough to not get the full force!"
"Obviously you weren't fast enough to not get hit at all. I swear you are getting rusty."
"No I'm not. It was just really dark. And I was drunk."
"Come on," Lyrik said leading me towards the living quarters.
When you entered the first floor of the Dolus Bia, the front part was the bridge, the middle part was the galley and lounge, and the rear was the living quarters. There was a hallway with three doors on each side and a door at the end. Starting from the first door to your left is the med bay, Hal's room, and then a storage room. He insisted on being in the middle of all the supplies. On the right side was Josie's room, a guest room (in case my brother visited), and Lyrik's room. The twins had their living quarters on the second floor next to the cargo bay. And my room… was the door at the end of the hall.
Lyrik stopped in front of his door and opened it, gesturing that I go in. I guess I won't be going into my quarters until I have had a stern talking to. It has been a while since I entered Lyrik's room. It was very clean and tidy. I felt like if I sat anywhere that I would disturb how neat something was. The bed was made, his desk was spotless, and even his couch seemed immaculate! One wall was adorned with his awards, most I never knew he even had, and there was an abstract painting that covered a majority of the space above his bed.
I walked over to his desk and noticed three photographs. The first one was him standing between his parents; the resemblance between him and his father was striking. The middle one showed him in a uniform from his days on the military. And the final was of me, which I found odd. Why would he have a picture of just me? The picture showed me sitting at the poker table with a cigarette in one hand and my cards in the other. I was smiling but not directly at him. It looked like I knew I had a winning hand and was about to rake in a good sized pot.
I don't remember anyone taking this photo. Could he have possibly taken it without me knowing? Although, judging by the nearly empty bottle in front of me, I don't think I would have noticed anything. Speaking of bottles…
I brought my bottle to my lips and took a good gulp from it. I was going to need it for this "discussion."
"Take a seat, wherever you want," he said going to his desk and digging through the drawers.
I took a look around and my choices of locations to sit were limited. There was his desk, on his bed, or on his couch. I didn't like the idea of that photo staring at me or the awkward feeling I would get from sitting on his bed, so I chose the couch. As I sat down, I noticed the couch was a lot softer than it appeared and felt especially comforting to my aching body. The weight of my eyes was gradually becoming heavier. I was on the verge of dozing off when the sudden movement of Lyrik plopping down next to me rejuvenated my senses.
He placed a white box with a red cross in the space between us and opened it. There was a series of medical supplies stuffed inside. It must have been his personal collection since I didn't recognize any of these from our medical bay. He grabbed one of the sealed packets and pulled a blue colored disk from it. He brought it to my face and gently pressed it against my eye. The moment the disk touched my skin, I jumped because it was freezing cold.
"What the hell is this? I've never seen this before," I had to ask.
"Really? It's in every medical kit aboard any turian vessel. I just happened to snatch one of these before heading to C-Sec."
"You stole it?"
"No, I snatched it. There's a difference."
"I fail to see how it's different but whatever."
"You shouldn't be complaining. If it weren't for this, what would you be using to heal that black eye of yours?"
"Well, I was thinking of slapping on a piece of raw meat and then drink enough alcohol to numb out the pain," I smiled jiggling my half-empty elixir.
He chuckled, "You humans are as primitive as we believe."
"Hey!"
"You know I mean that in the nicest way possible."
"Explain to me how that was nice."
"Okay so it wasn't," he said and I slapped him with the back of my hand, making him drop the ice pack.
"Hey! Don't hit the one who is trying to help."
When I went to retrieve the ice pack, my hand landed directly atop his. He paused for a brief moment before pulling his hand away from mine and returning the cooling disk back to my eye. The cold felt comforting against my swollen skin. I could also feel the warmth radiating from his fingertips. I never noticed before the difference in our body temperature. Granted, I usually am not this close to him. I made it a habit to give all my crew members their space since we are stuck in closed quarters all day long.
As we sat there silently, I began studying his face. Maybe it was the lingering effect of alcohol or the fact that I was exhausted (or both) but he looked damn good for a turian. His piercing green eyes complimented his deep purple face markings. He once told me what they represent, something about where he came from, but I honestly cannot remember. There was just something about his markings that captivated me. I just wanted to trace them with my fingertips, much like following the lines on my tattoos. I felt like I needed to remember every bit of his face… like a photograph… then I remembered…
"I was noticing the pictures on your desk," I said breaking the silence, taking control of holding the pack against my eye so I could lean into the couch.
"Yeah," he said casually, almost trying to dodge the subject.
"I am kind of curious as to why you have a picture of me."
"Oh, I didn't know I wasn't allowed to. I can take it down if you like."
"No, it's not that. It's just weird that you have only me and no one else from the crew."
"Well, I have known you longer than anyone else. You are my best friend… you very special to me."
"That makes sense then. Sorry if I seem nosey. It could just be the liquor talking," gesturing as I take another sip.
"It's okay. You are allowed to be curious."
"Until it gets me into trouble…"
"I think it's the liquor that gets you into that trouble."
"Only half of the time… okay, most of the time. But I have you around to keep me from getting into TOO much trouble."
"You also keep me around to take care of the aftermath, like putting an ice pack on your black eyes."
"I get your point. But remember, you volunteered."
"That I did."
"I don't see you complaining."
"I'm not. I actually enjoy all these little moments with you." I noticed his mandibles twitch as he mentioned it. Typically when we played cards it was his tell-tale sign that he had a good hand. But we aren't playing cards so does it even mean anything?
"Me too," I replied. Maybe it's because we have known each other for so long that I can find comfort in him. We have done so much together. I sometimes don't even see him as a turian, I see just see him as an individual who is taller than me.
*YAWN*
"Sorry, I'm so exhausted."
"Well, yeah, look at what happened today. I know it was a tough day but you stayed strong throughout the whole ordeal. You truly are a great Captain."
"It's just a cover. I was scared throughout the whole ordeal though, even when we were playing cards. At least we have the power back on. I hate floating out in space without any defenses on. We lucked out that nobody felt like attacking us."
"Xora, do you ever wish for something more… quiet?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, is this what you want to do for the rest of your life? Do you actually enjoy the uncertainty this job brings? Have you ever thought of settling down?"
"I honestly don't know. I never thought about my future. In fact I am surprised I even got this far. So I don't know. Probably… maybe I'll get back into rebuilding engines like my grandfather and I used to."
"You speak so highly about him."
"That's because he was wonderful. I cannot list one thing wrong with him."
"I wish I had the chance the meet him."
My grandfather passed away shortly after I acquired the Dolus Bia. He was there at my birthing for it. He knew he was getting short on time so he took every opportunity he had to tell me how proud he was of me. He said that as long as I have the determination to get something done, it will happen. He also reminded me that if I ever find someone that I know I cannot live without, to never give up on them. Much like he never gave up on my grandmother. In his final moments, he told me that my life will always be more important than any cause.
I broke away from my memories and shared, "I think he would've liked you."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, apart from the fact that he likes everyone. He would like how you are always watching out for me."
He smiled.
*YAWN*
"I really should get to my room soon."
"You don't have to leave yet," he insisted, retrieving the ice pack away from my face.
It felt weird to reopen my eye but I could immediately detect that it wasn't as swollen. He pushed my hair behind my ear and placed his hand on the cooled part of my face. His warmth sending shocks down my spine.
"See, you look much better."
I put my hand atop of his and closed my eyes. I had difficulty in reopening them. I guess the sheer exhaustion was finally catching up to me. I could feel myself slowly losing consciousness. Then he pulled his hand away, reawakening my senses yet again.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you are finding ways to keep me here."
"No, you can leave at any time. If you want, I can take you to your room right now? All you have to do is ask."
"I think I'm currently too comfortable on this couch to move anywhere," I muttered taking another sip of my poison. The burning sensation from the alcohol trickled down my throat, mixing with my body's exhaustion to amplify my buzz.
"Xora, I hate to bring this up but back at the poker table…" Lyrik nervously averted his gaze away from me, "Can I ask you about your implant?"
"You can, I'll try my best to answer whatever questions you have," I said holding up the bottle, the reason I may be absent minded.
"Where is it?"
I looked at my tattooed arm, the ink hid most of my scars but I could still see every single one by memory. I traced a path from my elbow to my shoulder, three inches up and one inch in. "Right here."
"Why there?"
"I figured if I ever got scanned, they would see all my robotic bits from my reconstructive surgery and think it was part of it. That and instead of adding another scar, they just cut through an existing one."
"What does it exactly do?"
"Well, if someone tries any sort of biotic ability on me while using a biotic amp, it rejects it. From how they described it… oh let me see if I can remember this correctly… it is connected to a series of veins and muscles and whatever, when it senses an increase in the mass effect fields it sends a series of shockwaves through my body to counterbalance it. The only issue is the attack must make be within a close proximity of my skin, otherwise it's worthless. For example, if someone throws something at me, I'll still get hit. Or if someone is using a biotic ability with an omni-tool it sometimes doesn't catch it either."
"Is that the only thing you have… implanted?"
"Wait, are you asking me if I augmented any part of my body? Like… my breasts?"
"What? No!"
"Okay good because that would just be plain weird."
"Well… Did you?"
"I have the robotic bits from the reconstructive surgery and the biotic resistance device. That's it, I swear. Why?"
"I thought I knew everything about you."
"What would be the fun in that?" I looked at Lyrik with my blurred vision and couldn't help giggling. "You look like a cat," I blurted out.
"You've said that before. In fact you are the only human to compare me to a cat. Others say I look like some sort of lizard. Typically they are saying it negatively."
"Be honest with me, how many humans have you talked to? I seem to remember a certain someone hating homo sapiens."
"I WAS like that but then I met you. Even now, you are the only human being I am close to, well close enough to share personal things with."
"You're the only turian I am close with… and the only one I meow to. Meow," I purred with the bottle to my lips.
"Are you doing that to further drill in that my appearance of a cat?"
"No, I just do it because it's fun."
"Well it's cute."
"No, cats are cute, me meowing isn't," I yawned.
"Maybe I need to see a cat to compare the resemblance."
"You've never seen one?"
"No, I can't say I have."
"Maybe one day I'll take you to Earth so you can see a cat."
"I would really like that."
"Then it's settled," I said closing my eyes, "One day."
"One day."
"We'll… go together," my consciousness drifted in and out.
"I'd like that."
I slowly opened my eyes, trying to adjust to my surroundings. It only felt like a few minutes but turned out to be about 3 hours. The first thing I notice is that I am not in my room, I was apparently still in Lyrik's quarters. Then I notice that my head wasn't on the soft couch but on something much warmer… and with a heart beat. I lifted myself up and realize that I was lying on the couch with Lyrik beside me. I had my arms wrapped around him and was using him as my pillow. He had one of his arms draped around my back and while the other one was clinging onto the area my implant was. I began wondering how long he was awake after I passed out, how much of this he witnessed. After gently removing his hands from my body, I slowly got up and did my best to not wake him. I had to fight every urge to just stay, my body was comfortable where it was and the throbbing pain in my head made it very difficult to move.
Just get to your bed and you can rest as long as you need to. Let's hope he won't bring this up in the morning… or any time soon for that matter. Let's also hope he doesn't get the wrong idea. How the hell did it come to that? Damn liquor.