Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part II

[momslilassassin]

There were plenty of tables and chairs scattered around the lawn for anyone who wanted to sit down once they'd had their fill of the buffet, or to recover from starting to find out what this place was all about. No one would judge the need to take a mental breather.

Some of the tables were out in the open, for those who weren't allergic to the sun, and some of the tables were in the shade, or far from the rest of the crowd for those who needed a little more space to process. Wherever people decided to rest, there was space enough for everyone.

[OOC: This is part two of the picnic, separated in an effort to save our browsers for as long as possible. Part one, to run into siblings, roommates and teachers, is over here, though teachers are also welcome in this post, of course. Because the picnic is outside, it is open to all students, teachers and townies.]

Comments

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

Liara... was not at what anyone could describe as her 'best' today. She had half-considered simply not going to the picnic at all, but her growling stomach had eventually driven her out of her room.

She sat near the edge of it all, hunched, staring at her vegetable patty like it was trying to make her cry.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[arsenicmauls]

Gert might not have noticed the upset-looking asari if Old Lace hadn't sniffed in her direction like she was trying to investigate whether that patty was vegetarian or something she wanted, but now she had and she was coming over, looking unsure. Old Lace followed, but didn't seen interested in the patty anymore. (Sigh.)

"Hey," Gert said, "are you okay?"

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

"I..." That jolted Liara right out of her sulk. "...I will be fine. Hello, Gert."

Perhaps she should tell her.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[arsenicmauls]

"I don't want to be rude or anything, but 'will be' doesn't mean 'am,'" she said, a hint of her usual wryness lingering in what was otherwise a very gentle tone. For Gert, anyway. "You know you can leave if the crowd and the heat are bumming you out, right?"

Old Lace took a step or two forward, tilting her head at Liara inquisitively.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

"I know," Liara said. "And I am grateful for your concern. I simply do not wish to bother you with my own problems. I am a relative stranger, after all."

... Sigh, Liara.

"I should however tell you that Karolina will not be making it back to school for the forseeable future."

There. That wasn't worrying at all.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[arsenicmauls]

"I'm apparently Fandom's junior therapist these days," Gert said -- which was possibly an exaggeration, but not much of one. "Don't worry about me."

As Old Lace sniffed gingerly at Liara's hand, Gert added, "Anyway, I don't think you're telling me you killed her and buried her body in a ditch, but I still could use a little more explanation than that."

Hopefully the jokeyness of that statement would register.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

Liara was not entirely sure how much to tell. Karolina had not given her any Gert-specific instructions, after all. "She has left to... settle some issues with regards to her homeworld," she offered eventually. "She is not sure when she will be back."

If at all.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[arsenicmauls]

"Majesdane, huh?" If it was a matter of settling something, then it sounded like Kar had been backed into a corner -- though there was always the chance that she had gone along with it as some kind of Karolina-esque sacrifice for everyone else.

But she did have a hunch about why Liara was so upset, besides the obvious Karolina-being-gone situation. "Any chance this has to do with the new space girlfriend Victor told me about?"

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

"...Space girlfriend?"

You'd have to explain that one.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[ultron_junior]

Victor almost certainly wouldn't have noticed Liara's mood, but he did notice that she and Gert seemed to be talking at some length and he could swear he heard his name in there a few times.

It did not take a brain surgeon to guess that whatever was going on there likely had something to do with Karolina and the rest of the team. Victor drew a deep breath, decided that of the two uncomfortable conversational options he'd go with the one with more direct knowledge, and shuffled over to Liara, pausing for a moment along the way to don his shirt again.

"Hey," he said awkwardly. "So -- promise I don't spy on you, but you were kind of talking to Gert for a while."

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

"Yes," Liara said. She was starting to regret her decision to go to the picnic. Surely she could have found some cereal in the cabinets in the common room. "I just returned from your world."

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[ultron_junior]

"Oh." Victor's jaw set. "Guessing things kind of sucked there?"

He was trying, and sort of failing, not to jump to any conclusions from the fact he didn't see Karolina anywhere.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

Liara hesitated for only a moment. Then she said, "Karolina asked me to tell you she would not be returning any time soon."

Having something to do kept her from sulking.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[ultron_junior]

Victor scrunched his nose. "Xavin, betrothal, peace mission?" he checked. "Yeah. She ... does that. Not fun to watch her go."

He approved of the idealism, though he still wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. Especially not with Xavin.

"For us she was back in a couple months."

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

A flash of gratefulness passed over Liara's face. "So she could return," she surmised, "not terribly long from now. That is... a relief. I did not trust Xavin."

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[ultron_junior]

"Xavin is a complete ass," Victor said, before honesty compelled him to add, "... But you can trust her. She's not in this to hurt Karolina at all. "

Robot issues aside, he had to admit Xavin more than came through in a pinch.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

"Xavin did not appear to understand or be interested in understanding our group dynamic," Liara said. She had heard a variety of pronouns thrown out about the being before, but she was not entirely certain to which to adhere. "Though they did calm down when Karolina capitulated... though I suppose you know that."

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[sciencesalarian.livejournal.com]

Ah. There was a familiar species.

Mordin had made the long trip to Fandom specifically to leave his comfort zone and experience a new culture. But it was nice for his mind to be able to process something he knew.

He approached the asari and greeted her with "Hello. Mordin Solus. Sur-kesh native."

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

Liara blinked. Then she blinked twice. Then she felt terribly stupid for blinking because back home this would hardly be a rare occurrence.

"Hello," she replied. "Liara T'Soni, of Thessia. I... did not realize we were expecting any salarians."

She would have asked the Portalocity office how they got there and whether she could use that passage to get back.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[sciencesalarian.livejournal.com]

"Ah, yes. Did not realize I would meet an asari here, as well. Contact with humans so recent. You are a student here as well?"

Mordin hoped they had a class together. Working together to make sense of humanity would be beneficial.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

"I am a sophomore," Liara confirmed. "However, I must confess that in my time, we have yet to meet any humans."

Mordin should be lucky. If she had not met Commander Alenko before, she would simply have baffled at the notion.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[sciencesalarian.livejournal.com]

"First asari to meet humans? Impressive. Have you acclimated? Have humans acclimated to your presence? Have many questions, many questions. Looking forward to hearing your experiences and analyses."

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

"They seem to be rather fixated on my skin tone," Liara supplied. "Also, they have little idea as to how to deal with biological differences in other species that do not match their own physiology."

Sorry, humans, but you were terrible at that.

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[sciencesalarian.livejournal.com]

"Ah. Unfortunate. For you as well as myself." Mordin gave a little cough. "Problematic."

He didn't know if human discomfort with extraterrestrial life would give him the distance to be objective about them, or would push him too far away to learn intimate details of their culture.

Variables. Would have to account for them.

"Said you had not made contact in your time. How did you come to travel here without Relay 314 operable?"

Re: Lurk! [Summer 2013 - II]

[fewer_explosions]

"I discovered a Prothean artifact that appeared to have some properties similar to a mass relay," Liara said. She paused, then amended, "That is my theory, at least. I did not get any empirical readings on the artifact in question."