A/N: Translations in (-).
Master of Tides - Lindsey Stirling
Clarell had almost blocked Thane out of her mind, she was searching so intently. Admittedly, the Citadel wouldn't have been the first choice on her list of places to find Gherith Kerseral. However, one of her contacts had informed her that the bastard Batarian had been seen on the Citadel.
Recently.
She had enough presence of mind to know that Thane was following her closely and that he wasn't a threat. However, she was losing herself to the hunt.
Two years.
Two cycle years, she had been searching for Milara, and now she was finally making progress again.
She had to keep reminding herself that she was closer to finding Milara than she had been when she was searching for…Brial'e…at this same point.
Milara was so much like Brial'e. However, they would not share the same fate.
Oh, Brial'e…
"Is this 'Brial'e' the one we're searching for?"
At Thane's sudden inquiry, she was brought to a screeching halt.
How did he…?
"How do you know that name?" she demanded as she slowly turned to him, her tone only slightly more menacing than she had intended.
Thane instantly lowered his head and brought his arms up, palms open to her, in a submissive gesture.
"I only ask because you kept repeating the name," Thane appeased, lowering his arms when it seemed that Clarell would not attack him.
With her suspicion quelled, and Brial'e now planted firmly at the forefront of her mind, she closed her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.
"Is Brial'e our target…?" she heard Thane ask hesitantly.
She didn't want to tell him…but, at the same time, she did. She had carried the burden of her greatest failure for so many years, all alone. Niriel and Millon had tried talking to her about it. It wasn't something she wanted to share. With Niriel and Millon both dead, there was no longer anyone else that she would speak on it with. However, she was getting so tired of baring the burden alone. She had healed with time, but the pain was still there – would always be there. With so much time gone, she was growing wearier of the burden with each new year that passed…
If he asked, she would tell him but not until he asked.
After an achingly long moment she supplied, "No. Brial'e was my daughter."
She turned back to the task ahead and continued walking as if nothing had been said.
Thane had frozen in shock for a moment, before quickly recovering and catching up to her; this time, to her right.
"I'm surprised to know that you have a daughter. How old is she?" Thane asked curiously, as any fellow parent would.
"I, myself, am surprised. I had thought you more observant. Surely you heard when I said that she was my daughter," Clarell retorted. She knew that she was using sarcasm as a sort-of crutch, but it was better than dwelling on the path that the conversation was taking.
Thane was stunned, that she could tell, but he was also giving her an expression that she knew all-too-well. She had seen it on the faces of other parents when she had returned to Eralos after her failed mission, though Thane's was, admittedly, less pronounced.
Looking away from his pained, questioning face, she declared with a flat tone, "She's dead."
She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want him to ask the question that she knew was coming. She didn't want to answer, but she would because she had told herself she would.
What was it that Jack had said that one time? Oh, right.
Fucking shit.
Hoping to delay the inevitable, she increased the speed of her walk and hardened her heart. She was almost to Kerseral's last known location when she felt a strong, firm hand wrap around her arm and pull her to a stop.
"Peace, Clarell," Thane eased when she turned to him, with fire glowing in her purple eyes, and tried to pry his hand off of her.
He opened his mouth to say more, but she cut him off, hoping to delay the question with a plea, "My daughter is dead. I failed to get to her in time, and she paid the ultimate price for it. I will answer any questions you have, Thane, but not right now. I can't."
He looked at her for a moment, his expression soft, and then let her go with an empathetic nod.
With that issue temporarily dealt with, she returned to the task at hand.
Still, she felt no better than when she had left transport.
8888888888
Of all the places on the Citadel, the Flux was Gherith Kerseral's favorite. Normally, you wouldn't catch him anywhere near a place as heavily policed as the Citadel, but, well, everyone has a price. All he had to do was pay off a few of the right C-Sec officers and he was free to drink all the batarian ale he could consume without constantly looking over his shoulder. He didn't pay off any of those damn humans, though.
Batarians were a rare sight on the Citadel – bad history and all that – so Kerseral drew quite a few looks.
Eh. He didn't care. So long as everyone gave him his own space, he wouldn't add them to the list.
With his back to the bar and the Turian bartender, he surveyed the crowd and lazily sipped his ale.
The beings surrounding him were pathetic. What made them even more pitiful was that they didn't even realize just how pathetic they were. The fact that all of them had only one pair of eyes made them even more inferior. They made him sick.
He observed a Drell and Auriel couple as they entered the room.
Blegh. Auriels.
Everyone thought Auriels were so attractive with their odd skin, eerily glowing eyes, and freakishly long, pointy ears. He didn't understand why they caused such a stir. Sure, you had to keep an eye on them because you could trust them about as much as you could trust a pyjak or a wild varren. But that didn't mean that people had t gaze at them with a gaping maw and wide eyes. It didn't help that drell were rarely seen around either.
Stupid.
They were all just…stupid.
He had to give the Auriels some credit, though. They did make pretty good, uh, workers. With their longevity, they could work for their masters' progeny for generations.
Kerseral didn't bother to bite back the irritated huff when he saw the Drell man approach the bar with the purple-skinned Auriel woman on his arm.
The Drell leaned over to whisper in the Auriel's ear, and Kerseral sneered. When the Auriel smiled, in a way that made her face light up annoyingly, and rose up to reply to the Drell in kind, Kerseral new that he would probably wind up leaving early tonight – if only to get away from the disgusting display of inter-species mingling.
She had to give it to him; Thane definitely knew how to act. However, she supposed he had to in his line of work. If she hadn't known otherwise, even she would think that they were bonded with his tender looks and gentle touches.
At least Kerseral was buying it.
She could see, as his shoulders grew more and more tense, that he would leave soon.
Discomfort with the intimacy aside, she knew that the show she and Thane were putting on was working. However, she really didn't like having to break her barriers with Thane, even if it was just for the moment. She didn't even like pretending that he was bonded to her. It was nothing against Thane, he was wonderful, but there was a reason that she didn't allow anyone to get that close.
It never worked.
Her late betrothed, Brial'e's father Zel'vaas, had been the only man to earn, not only her heart, but her soul as well. She had loved him enough to go against the beliefs of the priests and soul-bond with him before their marriage binding – Brial'e had been borne of the soul-bonding. Her position as Clarell, and his as the head of the capitol's Nol'vayn (Undiscovered – Auriel-equivalent of CIA or MI6 but with army-elements as well) unit helped the priests to look past the lovers' "mortal error" and accept Brial'e as a Bond-Child. However, before Brial'e had reached her teenage years, Zel'vaas had been made the victim of a Blood Pack ambush while on a mission in the outer-Terminus systems.
Caught entirely unprepared, he and his small contingent of ten agent-warriors had been decimated. After that, she had tried finding other companions for the sake of Brial'e, but none of the relationships worked beyond, at most, two years due to her heart suffering a broken bond. The pain from her broken bond healed after a while, but after Brial'e died she stopped trying to find for someone herself and only sought to form mutually beneficial relationships – friendships – with her contacts and a few others. It was a lonely way to live, but she felt that it was needed.
It didn't matter how lonely she felt. She would rather suffer life-long loneliness than anymore heartache.
At any rate, she was playing her part and acting the same way she had when out in public with Zel'vaas. She wouldn't be surprised if Thane were doing the same, with her in the place of his late wife.
At that thought, her smile became more genuine. In him, she had found a kindred spirit. Knowing that, it would be easier for her to share her burden with him later. He would understand.
Returning her full attention to the task at hand, she cast a fleeting, subtle glance in Kerseral's direction. Judging by the set of his shoulders and the vice grip he had on his drink, it would take only one more, over-affectionate, gesture to push him out of Flux and on his way.
Right to where she wanted him to be.
She made sure to soften her face more and take on a loving expression as she rose up and placed a sweet, gentle kiss to Thane's cheek ridge.
She felt Thane's arm tighten around her before Kerseral reacted. She heard him emit a low growl and slam his drink – ale if she studied his preferences correctly – down onto the bar. He sent them a nasty glare and then shoved himself away from the bar, before stalking his way out of the club.
She immediately separated herself from Thane, her mask falling away to reveal the stoic façade of the Great Hunter.
Thane nodded to her, conceding to her lead.
She deigned any other notions a waste of time and moved silently, already blending into the shadows to stalk her new prey. Not even her specially-made suit dared produce a sound.
She and Thane caught up to Kerseral relatively quickly. She needn't have even the slightest worry of losing him with the terrible racket he was making as he tromped down the way.
There were few people out, and there would be fewer still as it got later. However, she wanted to wait for the opportune moment to pounce. That would involve utter desolation. She didn't need the attention that would come with interrogating someone in the middle of a street or hallway, should someone happen upon them.
No. She would stalk him to wherever he was going and immobilize him there.
She thanked the Guides that it didn't take him long to get there.
It took a few twists, turns, and sharp corners, but he finally stopped in front of an unassuming door that looked no different than any other in the Wards.
There was no one around at this time, and she needed to make her move before he got through that door and obtained the advantage of his own surroundings.
Thinking quickly, she allowed him four seconds to sate is paranoid mind before she pulled a bullet from her belt and through it his left – she and Thane hidden to his right.
As expected, Kerseral jerked his head in the direction of the sound.
Quickly, she ran up to him and shoved him into the closed door with enough force to stun him with pain and confusion. Then, she gripped his shoulder and spun, flinging him face-first into the solid, metal wall beside them. Not giving him enough time to recover, she moved on him, pressing him into the wall, and twisted his head to the side with just enough force to let him know that one small move would break his neck.
The anger and hatred she felt, knowing that she held the life of this man in the palm of her hands and that he was one of the ones responsible for Milara's disappearance…it was all she could do not to twist her arms just that little bit more…slowly…so he would feel as every bone cracked and ligament snapped. It would be so easy…just a little more tension in her shoulders and a twitch of her arms and this man's life would be hers…
In due time. She thought, shaking herself out of her dark stupor. For now, I have questions.
"Name: Gherith Kerseral. Race: Batarian. Age: estimated forty-plus. Crimes: Kidnapping, slave trafficking, drug-running, accessory to murder, murder, suspected piracy, and bribery, among others. I am Clarell di'Raevus and I will kill you if you make even the slightest move that I deem is the wrong one," she threatened, her voice deadly, before her tone became pleasant, almost charming. "Now, since we have the introductions out of the way, how about you answer a few questions for me."
It was obvious that she wasn't making a request.
"To the void with you, you infernal, worthless, lesser being!" the seething Batarian all but spat.
"My dear, your people were still primitive when my people were flying through space harvesting stardust," she hissed. She didn't know if her people had ever even thought about harvesting stardust; she just wanted to 'get the chip off of his shoulder,' as she believed the humans said.
His response was a very…primitive growl, which only seemed to add merit to her declaration.
"Now, if you're quite done with the sterile insults, I have questions that you are going to answer. If you don't, well, I'm going to start by cutting off one of your fingers. If you, afterward, you still wish to refuse, I will cut off another and then another, until you are left with naught but little stumps for fingers. We'll figure out where things go if you still wish to deny me at that point," she stated simply, her tone chillingly cheerful.
She felt Thane's hand settle gently, briefly, on her lower back and instinctively knew that he was warning her not to go too far.
She ignored him. She had control over herself; it was held by a fraying wire, but she had it.
Besides, she knew Kerseral's brand of criminal. They were all the same. They all acted tough, terrifying, and intimidating, but, at their core, they were naught but cowards.
If her words didn't break him, her first act would…
She could see in his eyes that he was warring between defiance and submission. She made sure that he could see the certainty and absolute hatred in hers.
For a moment, she believed that he may actually defy her – that she may actually have to start removing his fingers, which she didn't want to do; contrary to her portrayals, she hated torture – but then she felt him relax in submission as he closed all four of his eyes.
Immediately, so that he knew she still meant business, she turned and threw him face-first onto the ground, his hands spread to the side. Quicker than he could gasp, she had the barrel of her pistol in her left hand and pressed into the back of his head.
"You were involved in the kidnapping of a young Auriel woman two Galactic years ago. I want to know where she is," she growled. "And don't even think of feigning ignorance. Auriels are rare enough that I know damn well that you know exactly who I'm talking about."
When he didn't immediately start talking, she punched him in the spine as hard as she could with her free hand.
He shouted in pain, and Thane walked away, presumably, to go ensure that no one caught on to them.
"Start talking," she readied the pistol, "Now."
"Eungh – She came to us! She wanted something, and we told her we'd give it to her! I don't remember it all, but I'm certain someone on Omega would know. That was the designated transfer station at the time she was picked up. That's all I know, I swear!" Kerseral rasped, groaning in pain.
She took a moment to let the information sink in, to store it in her mind where she wouldn't forget the slightest detail. Omega. She knew exactly who to speak to on Omega. Nebula would know where to direct her. She could always count on Nebula to have all the details.
Then, she contemplated the fate of the batarian beneath her. There was no way she could let him leave alive. He would only continue the horrible deeds of his past.
He had, also, been the one to "recruit" Milara.
At that, she felt her mind go fuzzy and her vision sink into haze, her last vestiges of control slipping from her.
She said no prayers as she tossed her gun to the side and pulled out her polonium-coated, samarium blade and stated in a husky, sultry tone, "This is going to hurt."
She grabbed the back of his head with her free hand and bashed his head into the ground, disorienting him, before standing up and kicking him over onto his back.
Placing her foot onto his chest, she pressed her weight into him until he could hardly breathe. She allowed him to suffer that way before she relieved him of the pressure.
She wanted to make this last.
Thane had turned back to Clarell and the batarian when he heard the gun clatter to the ground.
He understood why Clarell was going about things in the way that she was. He had once been in her position, only for different reasons. However, when he saw her lift her blade into the air, aimed to maim and not to kill, the skin around her eyes black and her eyes tinted the same way, he knew he had to stop her before she did something he knew she would later regret.
Them – I let them linger.
He rushed to her, grasping her armed wrist in a crushing grip and wrapping his arm around her waist to lift her and twist her into the wall.
"Clarell, this is not you," he attempted to ease, a deep rumble emitting from deep within his chest in an effort to calm her.
She didn't make a sound, only glared at him through darkened, hate-filled eyes. However, she kept her arms lowered to her sides, so he was somewhat assured that she wouldn't attack him.
"You must control yourself, Clarell. I would not have you taint your soul in this way," he urged, hands rising to gently grasp her shoulders and shake her.
Her glare softened and some of the dark tint left her eyes, but he could still feel her murderous intent in the air.
"This is not your way, siha."
He hadn't meant to use the endearment the first time. He had only been thinking of how much she made him think of one after all that she had done, for him and others, but, after he had said it, he knew it was true. He had been undeservingly blessed to have one siha in enter his life, but, now, he was given a second one. She was Arashu's siha, and he would be damned if he allowed her to turn herself into something else, something darker.
He knew that she didn't know any words from his native language, but something in what he said seemed to get through to her.
Her eyes slowly returned to normal and the skin around them faded to a slightly-darker-than-normal purple.
However, it was the resignation in her eyes that let him know that she had truly returned to him.
After a moment of grimly searching his eyes, she murmured, "Then, you do it."
With that said, she pushed him lightly and he, willingly and easily, moved out f her way.
She didn't even glance at the Batarian as she began her trek, certain that he would finish the job.
When he was sure that she was gone, he picked her discarded pistol up from the ground, aimed for the groaning Batarian's heart, and pulled the trigger.
In the now quiet alley, Thane put his hands together and prayed; for himself and for the Batarian, but, most of all, for the troubled siha currently making her way back to transport.
He worried for her, but he would wait to follow.
She needed time on her own, right now. That, he understood.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Between working and going to college full-time, I'm so busy I can barely remember to eat.
A soul-bond is deeper than marriage or sex. It doesn't always involve sex (though it did with Clarell and Zel'vaas, as evidenced by Brial'e), and the "soul-bonding" bit could be considered Auriel religion – or mythology, depending on how you choose to look at it. They see it as a literal bonding of the soul, the ultimate show of intimacy, trust, and love. Clarell and Zel'vaas, as I stated before, were never even married. Soul-bonding doesn't necessarily involve the loss of virginity, either. For the record, Clarell did not lose her virginity to Zel'vaas.
If you want a visual aid for Zel'vaas, imagine early Solas/Fen'Harel, from Dragon Age: Inquisition, back when he had dark brown dreads, the hair at the to the sides of his head being close-shaven, and slightly dark, tan skin.
If there are any questions regarding soul-bonding or any other Auriel customs you're curious about (and not sure I'll explain), feel free to ask.
"The Great Hunter" is a reference to Vaas'an, the Auriel Lord/Guide/God of Hunters.
Brial'e is pronounced Bree-all-ee. Spoken together as Breeallee.
Just to make it clear, Thane is NOT in love with Clarell right now. Yes, I have him calling her "siha" early, but what would you do if she saved your son's life and is pretty much the only reason that you started having a relationship with him again? Hm?
Title is subject to change should I think of anything better.
As always, review if you want. I'd like to know what people think, and I'd appreciate it greatly.
-Hope
