A moment in the sun

[Anonymous]

This was one of Alaric's favorite places. It was a small, outside little garden area that just seemed stuck onto the Citadel. Whatever it was, Alaric liked it. Not a lot of traffic and the plants were pretty.

Today, he had some free time and he needed to get away from the computer he was fixing. His eyes were starting to have problems focusing after staring at code for so long. Stretching out on the bench, Alaric gave a sigh of relief, tilting his head up toward the fake sunlight filtering through.

Treat time! Grinning, he turned to the bag he had brought with him. Tugging it free, he removed a plastic container of thin sliced, raw steak and a glass jar filled with cheesy salsa. People always seemed horrified that he liked this combination of food, but he did.

Rolling up a slice of the beef, Alaric dipped it into the cheese sauce and happily took a bite. Perfect!

[Anonymous]

Amaata pushed her hair back glancing around to make sure she was alone. She supposed she could simply push out and sense around for others, but she didn't particularly want to do so and Kuroth was constantly encouraging her not to rely on her psychic abilities too much. It was more than that, though. Thought and feeling were so intertwined for her even after her training that she just wanted to be alone. Kuroth's was the only mind that was not an intrusion.

But even here, in this little piece of quiet, solitude alluded her. She stopped short, eying Alaric briefly. He did not bother her like some of the others did, perhaps because he was a bit of an outsider as well. She hesitated at the edge of the little sunny patch, looking out into it. She considered pressing forward, her mental muscles reaching out automatically to test the emotional waters.

[Anonymous]

When Amaata appeared, Alaric stared at her blankly, half of a cheesy meat roll sticking out of his mouth. He hadn't really expected anyone to show up in his spot and it was a Pilot he didn't know very well. Only by name and face, but he hadn't had much cause to interact with her much.

Swallowing his bite, Alaric pulled the piece out of his mouth and licked his lips, a smear of cheesy sauce left in the corner of his mouth, "Uh...hey. Um...want some? It's...uh...raw, but um...you're welcome to have some."

Way to be smooth. Gabe would be proud.

[Anonymous]

Amaata smiled stiffly at the Pilot Echo, pulling back within herself. There had been times she would have given up anything to be a reflectivist, but Kuroth and the Network had changed that. He was more than worth the constant noise, and she already could not imagine being permanently cut off from the Network.

"Not hungry. Didn't mean to bother you," she said, her long arms wrapped about her torso. She was never sure how to work with people, despite the fact that she was able to read them. All the foreknowledge in the world was not enough to let her relate to people. As odd as it sounded, she would be happier as a bureaucrat than shoved into becoming an Auditor.

[Anonymous]

"Oh, uh, it's no bother." Alaric set the jar of cheesy sauce down and struggled to think of something to say. He was never really sure what to talk to about with, well, normal not geeky people. Blaine wasn't that geeky, but the blond always knew what to say, so that had never been a problem.

"Would you like to sit down? The view is really pretty over here..."

[Anonymous]

"I - uh - sure." Amaata pushed her hair back, the tufted tip of a pointed ear peeking out briefly. She always felt so awkward around people, and she was never sure if it was worse with men or women. And Alaric was both. She sat down a bit away from him and smiled tightly again. "It is nice here. I like finding places like this."

[Anonymous]

Alaric returned the smile with a fang filled one of his own. Unlike Amaata, there was plenty about Alaric that was inhuman looking. Nodding to her comment, Alaric looked around, "Me too. It's really pretty and tranquil. I didn't think anyone else came here."

[Anonymous]

Amaata's smile relaxed slightly, because talking about pretty little places like this was something that she could do. "That's exactly why I like it." She hated the constant mental pressure from having so many other psychics around her all the time. She should be used to it -- she'd been around the Citadel all her life -- but it wasn't pleasant. Of course, Kuroth thought she was too sensitive ... but he also was relatively understanding about that sensitivity. "It's a good place for naps, too."

[Anonymous]

"It is. Not that there is much time for naps. I like the sunlight it gets." Not that it was real sun, but the artificial one was nice. Warm on his pale blue skin, "I'm in the tech department, so I hardly ever get to see the light of day, ya know?" Alaric gave a short laugh, "And half the time, when I'm not working, I'm playing WoW with Gabe."

[Anonymous]

"There's never enough time for what we want to do," Amaata sighed, looking up at the artificial light. "Kuroth is worth it, though." She loved her dragon-partner, which was probably a good thing since she had issues forming and maintaining relationships with people.

[Anonymous]

"That is so true. It almost makes me afraid to move up the ranks. Even the jump to Echo was a impressive workload jump. But, I guess I can't whine too much." Taking another slice of raw meat, Alaric dipped it into his cheese dip. He avoided the dragon comment.

A lot of Pilots had better, and worse, relationships with their dragons than he did. But Kezef....he could do without.

[Anonymous]

Amaata laughed, but the sound was hardly a pleasant one. "I'm dreading being promoted, but I know it's going to come eventually." It was not exactly as though the dragons didn't know it already. Kuroth thought it was funny. It also wasn't the happiest topic of conversation. "So. Meat and cheese. D'you eat like this often?"

[Anonymous]

Alaric really wasn't sure why she was making such an odd laugh, but he was happy to change the subject. Looking down at his food, he gave a small, nervous chuckle, "Not often, but it's kinda my treat. Something about cheese sauce that I just can't get enough of."

[Anonymous]

"I'm a big fan of meat, myself. Wouldn't ever occur to me to smother the flavor like that." She smiled, trying to be light-hearted. She wasn't very good at it.

[Anonymous]

"Oh, I like it all by itself and all, don't get me wrong. But adding some flavor can be fun. I like the spicy and, well, fake cheese is the best thing ever." He wiggled the jar at her, "You sure you don't want to try any?"

[Anonymous]

Amaata hesitated, eying the obviously fake cheese dip. She loved meat, raw or cooked, although raw was better. And just because she'd never tried the cheese dip didn't mean she wouldn't like it. She licked her lips, and then reached out for the jar. "Never hurts to try."

[Anonymous]

"Exactly!" Alaric gave her another huge smile and used his free hand to snag his own meat slice and dunk it into the cheese sauce. There was something about the combination of spicy, fake cheese and raw meat that just appealed to him.

"Though my dad hates that I eat this. He thinks fake cheese is disgusting."

[Anonymous]

Even though Amaata was putting on a brave face, she was still a little anxious about the fake cheese. She was not sure that anything could actually enhance the pure culinary experience of raw meat, but she still dipped a slice of meat in the sauce and bit it, trepidation obvious on her face.

The flavor exploded in her mouth. As well as the deliciously sensuous flavor of meat, there was a touch of spice and an oddly pleasantly fake cheese taste. It seemed as though she shouldn't like it ... but she did. Swallowing, she looked over at Alaric in surprise. "Um, and people don't like this?"

People who obviously had no taste buds.

[Anonymous]

"Nope. Most humans don't like raw meat. Don't know why. It's their loss!" Alaric laughed, relaxing a little more. It helped that she seemed as awkward as he felt. He held out the jar again, so she could take another one, "Have you ever had Shu lian? It's amazing and most humans are too squeamish for it, though I really don't get why."

[Anonymous]

"I haven't," Amaata admitted. She was coming out of her shell a bit, relaxing and talking about food. "My mother is pretty damn human, and not particularly adventurous when it comes to food." She smiled, her tongue darting out to catch a little smear of cheese off of the corner of her mouth. "Sounds like something I'm going to have to try."