Memories of Bysorrn: An Evening at Home (Games)

The young of all intelligent species play games of varying complexity. The rules of many can be explained and comprehended by others. However some games can only be understood by those who play them…

Dylan thanked the Systems Alliance serviceman for bringing him to his street as he climbed out of the transport, no problem since the driver had business along this route anyhow. He said goodbye and the side door to his transport rolled shut and the vehicle drove off leaving behind a wispy, low cloud of dust. Dylan walked at a steady clip enjoying the reddening and darkening of the sky above as evening approached, the houses around him standing against it in silhouette. Hannah apologized for not being able to pick up him up today; her expertise as a coder was requested to help resolve trouble with one of the police station's servers and it looked as if she would be some time. Her parting quip about making it up to him with a shower for two sent tingles down his spine and a grin across his lips; both faded as his house came into view. The porch lights were not up yet; they were set to trigger one minute before the street lights. Dylan came up to the front door, sounded the bell tone to alert the children, keyed in the access code and went inside.

The living room lights were on and the door to Cadrina's room was open. He could hear his daughter counting upwards from inside. Dylan hung his jacket on the wall rack and stood in place, looking and listening for the other child the slow count was meant for. When Cadrina reached twenty a blue face popped up from behind the sofa and quickly tiptoed over to him seeking his help.

"Mister Dylan! Mister Dylan! You hafta hide me!" she whispered.

The amused father knelt down. "What's wrong, Oja?"

"… the Tickle Monster's after me…."

Dylan stroked his beard. "Tickle Monster, eh? Sounds serious." Then, while crouched low, he led her behind the recliner chair. "There're lots of different kinds, though. If I'm gonna help you I need to know a little more. Like, how tall is it?"

Oja moved her hand high above her head. "That big!"

"Mmmm, that's pretty big. Does it have blue eyes?"

The little asari nodded rapidly.

"Does it have hair like mine? Down to here?" Dylan stroked the sides of his neck with his fingers.

"… uh-huh…"

"… and likes a certain black and white cookie?"

"Uh-huh," she chuckled.

Dylan held Oja's shoulders. "Oja, you're in luck! I happen to know this Tickle Monster…"

"Here I coooome, O-jaaaa!" came Cadrina's voice from within her room, trying to sound eerie. "Kul-kura burp and hedgehogs' pri-ckle, I seek a little one who needs a tic-kle!"

Cowering behind the recliner's armrest with Dylan, Oja continued to plead. "Once she tickled me so bad I almost wet myself!"

Dylan took on a heroic tone. "Well, that won't happen while I'm here. Stay behind me."

Oja followed his instruction. Calmly he moved towards the rear of the chair while Cadrina crept out of her room at the same slow pace. Her hands were raised to her shoulders, fingers curling and stretching. She dropped her mock scary face and returned her father's silent "hello" but maintained the suspenseful mood. She inched closer to the recliner, breathing loudly.

"Now where can she be...?"

"… Mister Dylan…" Little hands tugged at his shirt from behind.

"It's okay," he reached back and assured the damsel. "I've got this."

Cadrina slinked even closer to Oja's hiding place.

"What are you gonna do? Feed her cookies? Tickle her back?"

"No." He prepared to act. "There's a better way to handle this monster…"

Cadrina was now in front of the recliner. Dylan felt Oja pressing harder against his back. Suddenly Dylan sprang to his feet, hopped out in front of his daughter and put his arms akimbo.

"HA-HAA!" he declared.

Cadrina mimicked her father, standing with her chest out and her hands on her hips shouting "HA-HAA!"

They were silent and motionless for a moment. Oja's supported herself on the recliner's arm and watched, waiting for anyone's next move.

Then Dylan leaned forward. "Ha-haah?"

Cadrina leaned forward also, her head nearly touching his. "Ha-haah?"

He jumped back and folded his arms. "Hahaah!"

She did the same. "Hahaah…!"

He bent his knees as if he were sitting on an invisible chair, crossing a leg over one. "Heh-hehhh!"

She adopted his posture with no trouble. "Heh-hehh!"

The two humans continued to pose and lean in odd ways, at times using the wall, all the while speaking only in laughter. Oja was dumbfounded at their antics and their seeming to have forgotten all about her. Dylan managed to spare Oja another vigorous tickling. But by acting insane? And Cadrina thought nothing of it and just played right along. The door tone sounded once again. Dylan and Cadrina ceased their bizarre exchange and hunched over conspiratorially, massaging their hands.

"Well played, Father," she sneered.

"Until next time, Daughter," he creaked in reply.

The pair reverted to their normal personas in time to welcome Hannah home with enthusiastic embraces and kisses as she entered the living room.

"Heya, Oja," she said after her family gave her space again.

Oja did not say a word, looking at Hannah in the same perplexed manner as when Dylan engaged Cadrina in that strange duel. There was a very good chance she would topple over if her head tipped any farther.

After dinner Hannah walked Oja to her home, holding her hand on the illuminated street. Oja would usually pass this time by talking about things she did or learned or asking about how many criminals Hannah and her krogan partner apprehended on that day. This night she had nothing to say and just kept walking. Hannah would have to do the talking this time around.

"You're pretty quiet, Oja. Something wrong?"

Oja thought about how best to articulate what was bothering her without making her best friend look bad in her mother's eyes. Unable to do so, she came right out with "I was playing with Cady… and Mister Dylan came in. I asked him to help hide me. Then before Cady could catch me…"

She hesitated. "They started… act-ing… "

"Like a couple of goofballs?" Hannah guessed.

"Yeah - how did you-"

"I have to live with those two, you know? What were they doing exactly?"

Oja looked ahead. "They kept moving and standing funny ways. And all they would say was 'Ha-Haaa, Ho-Hooo, Hee-Heeee.'" Oja's face, teeth and eyes widened, squeezed and stretched to illustrate each sound.

Hannah laughed heartily. "They've been playing that game ever since she was six years old!"

Oja looked back up at her. "What game?"

The human mother swiveled her head. "I dunno if they even have a name for it. I call it the Ha-Ha game."

"How do you play Ha-Ha?"

"They made it up… best as I can figure it starts when one of them stands in front of the other with their hands on their hips and says 'Ha-Ha!' like they're challenging the person. Then the other accepts the challenge by putting their hands on their hips and saying 'Ha-Ha!' From there, the person who started it goes into different poses and then laughs to challenge the other person to see if they can't pose the exact same way. If they can, they laugh back and then the first person tries to find a new pose."

"And you win if the other person can't do your pose?"

"I guess. Neither of them ever 'lost.' They always stop before anyone walks in on them. I have seen them mess up but then they keep going."

"You lose if you make a mistake; that's not right," Oja frowned. "And why can't they say 'now you try it'? Why do they have to laugh?"

"Oja, that's the best I've got. Take it or leave it," said Hannah, popping her shoulders up.

The Nocris house was a wide and low-set, two-story home lit strategically to bring out its amber, wood-like construction and oval curvature. It resembled a ski lodge from Earth out of place in the much warmer climes of Bysorrn. Oja ran ahead up to the front door and began jumping and waving excitedly, announcing her presence on the motion sensor-activated chimes and the vidcam. Hannah lowered herself down to say goodbye to the little asari as the door slid open revealing Ialvid and Eleya. Oja rapidly clapped both hands over her speckled cheeks tightly, refusing to move them in spite of Hannah's efforts.

"O-Oja, come on – what gives?" she laughed.

"Uh-uh… you're gonna pinch them. You –always- pinch them… and it's annoying…"

Hannah glanced up at Oja's parents momentarily and winked to let them know she meant no harm.

"If you keep them covered up I can't kiss them, either…"

"Well… that's the best I've got, Miss Hannah. Take it or leave it!" Oja refuted proudly, using the human mother's words against her.

Hannah moaned and pointed the corners of her mouth downward in pretend disappointment, her shoulders slumping. Oja was not persuaded and her hands remained firmly in place. Hannah then gingerly placed her own hands over Oja's, leaned forward and kissed the child upon her forehead. She began to back away but then quickly but gently grasped Oja's nose between a thumb and forefinger and shook it.

"G-NNIIIIIIIGHT, Oja!"

"Owww…" Ialvid and Eleya tittered silently as Oja slid her hands to her nose, leaving her cheeks vulnerable to Hannah. "Ooooh - not fair! Not fair!"

Hannah cupped and rubbed Oja's cheeks after squeezing them. "… 'Night, you little Smurf…"

"I am NOT a Smurf," stated Oja, having been educated on the mythical cartoon creatures by Cadrina. "Smurfs are only three apples high. I am…" She did a quick count on her fingers. "Bigger than three apples!"

"You certainly are," said Hannah, standing upright.

"Good night, Hannah," smiled Eleya and Ialvid as they guided Oja inside.

Hannah nodded and smiled back. She waited a second or two after the front door sealed up before starting back for her own house, letting her mind drift over her latest conversation with Oja. She remembered when Cadrina was younger. She had been watching an old vid, a cartoon of a cat and a mouse named Tom and Jerry. In one scene they were flipping a door end over end, alternately pinning each other beneath it. The cat and mouse each gave a triumphant laugh when they believed they had the other trapped only to have the door flip over again. Cadrina laughed along with the cat. Then Dylan popped up behind her and went along with the mouse holding his hands up, pretending he was over the door. Father and daughter went back and forth following the cartoon and the Ha-Ha game was born. It would be one of several ways they bonded with each other over the years.

Goofballs, thought Hannah.

As she came up to her front door, she mused over what games she could invent with her husband while in the shower later that night.

END

Author's Thoughts and Notes:

I had this scenario in mind for a while and couldn't figure out where to put it in other stories. I decided finally that it could stand on its own as a nice "snapshot" of life with the Shepard family. I have a few other snapshots that I'll try to write up in the future to splice in between the regular stories. Hope you liked it!