I&#x27;m not as scary as I look

mjralenko started following you

He avoided the hard topics purely for the Commander’s sake. One stressful conversation after another, it would do nothing for Shepard’s state of mind. Because he knew he had to be hurting somehow. No one alive could take in the horrors that were happening around them and walk away with their sanity still intact. Yet Kaidan kept his mouth shut, twisting into a half formed smile. He didn’t need to hear any psych from his former lieutenant right now, or any time in the near future.

“Good to see you haven’t changed. We’ve all got to get a bit tougher now, don’t we? Not like the Reapers are going to make it easy for us. They never have.”

#mjralenko #[Gah this is super late I'm sorry ;-;]

John was good at hiding how he felt. In his years of constantly fighting something, he had learned that showing any weakness tended to end badly for him. It was an unhealthy attitude, but the Commander was unlucky to have learned the way he did. Keeping the façade of being unfazed was the only way he knew how to handle it.

"No, they haven't," he said, stifling the sigh that he could feel trying to get out. "But, like you said, we'll just have to get tougher. Be smarter, fight harder, and we'll bring them down." He let a chuckle escape him. "If a bunch of space squids are what kill us, I will be disappointed."

mjralenko started following you

He knew that look, and the Major couldn’t help but snicker. “Thanks. No need to look so worried. We’ve covered all the heavy stuff, about Udina, the- uh,” his face fell for a moment. “…the trust issues. It’s just- it’s been a while. Just want to know how you’re holding up. I know none of this can be easy, with the rest of the galaxy watching.”

John relaxed and let another small smile come to his face. He was glad that he didn't need to talk about anything really heavy again. That wore him out fast and he got grumpy when that happened. He didn't need to go snapping at his old friend because of that, especially since they were really only just recently getting back onto good terms.

"I'm doing fine," John said, shrugging. "It's not easy, but I get by. I've been at this for, what, almost three years now? Can't just roll over now that it's gotten harder." He actually smiled this time as he spoke.

#mjralenko

mjralenko started following you

“It’s good to be back,” he spoke with conviction, eyes turning to the Commander for a moment before tearing away once more, a faint laugh filtering from between his lips. Nowhere else he’d rather be. The one place he could do some real good for the galaxy. He only had Shepard to thank, for being the better man and accepting him back onto the ship. His ship. Constantly he was reminded that he didn’t have to — he could’ve turned him down just as easily. And honestly, he wouldn’t have blamed him for it.

“So, we never got much time to talk with all that went on down there…”

The scarred man gave a heavy sigh at the last words Kaidan spoke. He knew that was going to come up at some point, and he wasn't terribly eager to talk about it just yet, but he knew that he couldn't avoid the topic forever. Might as well get it over with. He leaned the wall, arms still over his chest. It was still rather relaxed, however. He pulled one hand out and waved at his comrade.

"Speak your mind, Kaidan," he said simply.

#mjralenko

the-silent-test-subject started following you

Chell blinked. That was quite a bit of change of heart. She was still for a long moment before giving her head a shake, both to clear it and to answer his question. She swallowed.

“N-no,” she said softly. “I don’t. I’ve never been here before.”

A refugee, John figured. She certainly looked a bit like one. Poor thing was confused as well. He figured she had been put onto an evacuation shuttle without being told what was going on. It was a common thing to happen to people here. He wanted to reach out and put his hand on her shoulder, but he doubted she would be very open to being touched. He had to wonder, though; had she been a Batarian slave? She was skittish enough to possibly have been one, and ragged enough as well. He would be careful with his words. He didn't want to distress her.

"Well, I've got a place here on the Citadel that I never use," John said slowly, wondering if this really was a good idea. The girl needed help, and her skittishness would not go well with the crowds in the refugee area. "If you want to stay there and rest for a bit, I can take you there."

mjralenko started following you

“Shepard,” he greeted in turn, words touched with a smidgen of affection reserved for an old comrade. Both he and what little possessions he could gather had already been stowed away on the Normandy some hours ago. Since then he’d been wandering, reacquainting himself with the ship’s interior, marvelling at the changes and what’d managed to stay. The SR-2 was something, he had to admit. Shrugging lightly, Kaidan cast an eye out over the room, humming thoughtfully. “No, it’s been- it’s been alright, actually. Good to see a few old faces here and there.”

#mjralenko #[/makes the Shep purr]

An actual smile flickered on John's face. He was glad to hear that Kaidan was settling in. He knew it was probably a little hard to get used to, being back here after nearly three years. But John was going to do his best to be good to his old friend; despite his reputation, John didn't like to hold grudges on people he knew well.

"Well, it's good to have you back," he said, his words genuine. He really was glad to have him back, even if the two of them had their disagreements about the Commander's loyalties.

the-silent-test-subject started following you

Chell could hear the sincerity in his voice and it relaxed her a little bit. She gave him a small smile and looked at him a little more, but it was obvious she was still a little scared.

“Um, nice to … meet you too,” she said softly.

John smiled a little more at the woman. She was so shy, so sweet. She just gave the Commander a nice feeling. He could definitely get used to having her around. And it really did look like she could use some help. He brought a hand up to rub his chin for a moment, eyes going over her for a few seconds.

"Do you have a place to stay, Chell?" he asked, wondering just how much help she needed.

mjralenko started following you

The Commander gave the other man a small nod in greeting. He let smile tug at his lips a little, but not much more.

"Kaidan," he said. He crossed his arms over his chest. It wasn't anything aggressive or intimidating; it was just how he liked to stand. "I hope settling back onto the Normandy hasn't been too hard."

#mjralenko #[Hello ^^]

the-silent-test-subject started following you

The Citadel. Chell rolled the word around in her mind and moved her tongue around the word for a few moments. She wasn’t sure what that was, or where, but it sounded impressive. The man had asked for her name. That seemed like a friendly enough thing for him to do. But she still couldn’t get the words out. She swallowed a few times and inhaled deeply.

“Chell,” she said, her voice coming out higher than she had hoped it to.

She was scared. The high pitch to her voice said it all. She was scared of him. John sighed internally, feeling bad about scaring her. She was definitely no threat to him, nor to anyone else, so there was no real reason to intimidate her. He let his posture relax and hoped that would let this young woman--Chell, she had said was her name--also relax.

"I'm Commander Shepard," he said. "It's . . . nice to meet you, Chell." And he was being sincere about that. She seemed like a nice young woman. Attractive too. He figured her personality would be something to see once she came out of her shell.

the-silent-test-subject started following you

Chell opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, looking a little bit like a fish out of water. She was speechless from nerves and she quickly looked away. It was making it hard to form the words that were stuck in her throat.

“I’m … lost,” she said softly, glancing back towards the man in front of her.

John raised an eyebrow. Lost? He knew it was possible to wander through the Citadel and not exactly know where you ended up, but this didn't seem to be the case with her. The way she had been looking around before hand told him that she had no idea where she was, and probably didn't know what the Citadel was. He sighed, starting to feel a little sorry for her.

"You're on the Citadel, if that helps," he said. He paused for a moment. "What's your name?"

the-silent-test-subject started following you

Chell jumped at the sound of the man’s voice. It was strong, loud, and obviously of someone who was in charge. She was nervous, and wasn’t sure if she wanted to acknowledge him, but she doubted he would let her just ignore him and keep going. She was lost here, anyway; he might be able to help her sort out where she was.

She sighed and moved a little closer to him. She could feel herself shaking and she gripped her hands together to try and make it stop. She then looked up at the man, her heart in her throat. His face was covered in strange, red scars and his eyes were red. That frightened her.

Seeing the young woman shaking from what was clearly fear made John feel a little bad for raising his voice at her. She just seemed skittish and nervous, not dangerous. She was quite a bit shorter than him and much thinner, so there was no real threat. But he'd keep his guard up just in case. One could never be too careful.

"You don't look like you're from around here," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. He was going to act like this until he knew what she was like. Once she proved that she was no danger, he would be more friendly towards her.

the-silent-test-subject started following you

The girl looked a little strange to the Commander. Orange jumpsuit that looked quite a bit like an old prison outfit, a white tanktop with the word "Aperture" printed across the chest--whatever that meant--and weird-looking boots that looked like a cross between a plastic foot cast and a leg brace of some sort. He was suspicious of where she came from, but he was also a little curious. She certainly didn't look dangerous.

"Hey, you," he called to her to get her attention.