fewer_explosions | The Ruins of Paddra, Sunday

In all her days at Fandom, Liara had never had anything approaching a large group of friends. There were people she recognized, people she spoke to occasionally. There was sunny, bright Karolina, who had long since left for her own reasons, and professor Starsmore, who had always been helpful but she had been unwilling to bother too much, and...

...and then there was Yeul.

Calm, quiet Yeul, always the eye of every storm.

She'd been Liara's anchor against the forces of social anxiety and the stress of dealing with too many people all at once. Much like Liara, she was gentle, and self-contained, though unlike her she was capable of shrugging off much. Capable for a reason, yes, but still: stoic.

Liara? Liara would hide. Liara would read her books. Liara would stutter her way through conversations with almost everyone else. Liara would say the wrong things, always the wrong things, would stumble during meetings and retreat whenever she was able.

Though there was something in common there, as well: they both did not enjoy confrontation, and tried to avoid it at all costs. Yeul was just more graceful about it.

...whereas there was certainly nothing graceful about the debris that went flying as Liara shoved it aside with her biotics, still crackling blue as she barged into the ruin of a small house with enough violence to shake the structure's foundation. Dust piled down but reflected off her violently, pounding against the walls.

"CAIUS!"

Caius	She was greeted with a sword levelled in front of her face. Caius had been taken off guard by the sudden attack, which was evidenced by the book he'd thrown hastily to the side, and the dust that was settling down on his shoulders and in his hair. Ordinarily, he would have just killed anyone who did such a thing, since an entry like that seldom meant anything good but, upon seeing who it was--even though she was glowing blue, which he had not realized she could do--he refrained. "Aren't you the one who likes ruins?" he murmured wryly.
Liara	There was a sword aimed at her face. Liara panted at it - heavy breaths that made it clear she had been running around for some time now, working herself up into a temper. But since he was not using it, she wouldn't make any - possibly futile - attempts to bat it away with her biotics. "Where is she?" she snapped. "Do you know yet? Why did you not tell me?"
Caius	There was only one 'she' Liara could be talking about. Caius lowered his sword. "She hsn't been reborn yet," he said, quiet sorrow in his voice. "It's only been a few months since her passing." The last question, well, he did not deem that worth answering.
Liara	Liara noticed that he hadn't answered the last question, which made her want to do something violent and appropriate, like stomping down really hard on Caius's toes. "She's my friend too," she snapped. She brought her hands up to rub at her arms. "How much longer is it going to be?" Because it was Liara, it still sounded a little like a question, but it also sounded a lot like she wanted it to sound like more of a demand.
Caius	Caius shook the dust out of his hair and slung his sword back up on his back. Then, he went to rescue his book, shaking it clear of the debris that had settled on it. "Five months, thereabouts,” he said. "“Though it may be as little as four." Pregnancies were very hard to pin down exact dates. Due dates were always approximate and external and internal factors made guessing the exact date of Yeul’s rebirth impossible. After a moment, he added, "Your friendship with Yeul had no bearing on the reason you weren’t told."
Liara	"Then tell me what the reason was," Liara snapped irritably. She dropped her hands and walked past Caius. She wasn't focused enough yet to examine the ruins around her, but she was feeling stubborn enough to sit down on a piece of rubble like she had no intention of moving.
Caius	He snorted and shook his head. "I never have before," Caius said simply, if rather coolly. "Yeul's passings and rebirths have not been marked by anyone except for myself in a very long time." He had not thought of alerting her friends, because of that. Yeul having friends was a strange change. Not one that he minded, but not one he'd really made allowances for either.
Liara	"Well, that is different now," Liara said. She crossed her legs. "Five months. Fine. I will be waiting with you." What was her other option? Returning home to mother's social life?
Caius	He paused in the act of picking up his chair--which was a) much newer than the rest of the ruins and b) had been knocked over by Liara's rampage--and stared at her. "You are intending to do what?"
Liara	"Yeul is my friend," Liara said. She tilted her chin up defiantly. "When she is reborn, I want to be there. So I am staying."
Caius	"Surely you have something better to do for five months than remain with me," he objected. "I am not your friend." Nor was he particularly sure of what to make of the idea of being stuck with her for that long.
Liara	She was perfectly good at being quiet when she needed to be, Caius. Don't be a baby. "You have books," Liara said, "And you are right, I do enjoy ruins. Perhaps I might even learn something about Paddra while I'm here. This suits me fine. Five months are nothing on an asari's lifespan."
Caius	It was nothing on his lifespan either, but that didn't mean he wanted it anyway. "I did not intend to remain here for the entirety of the wait," he replied. "If you must be here for her rebirth, go away and come back later." Honestly, Liara.
Liara	"And run the risk of returning here in five months only to find you have gone to collect her without me?" Liara said dubiously. (Besides, waiting here in these ruins - even just by herself - was far preferable to going to one single more of mother's parties.)
Caius	"Given the amount of destruction you visited upon this house out of anger at me," Caius said slowly, "I daresay that keeping you from Yeul's latest set of parents will only be a good thing." Because Caius did not have high hopes for the decency of Yeul's latest parents-to-be no. So, yes, he'd absolutely abandon her to go find Yeul on his own.
Liara	"I can contain myself," Liara said. She'd feel very, very embarrassed about her outburst... later, when the option of losing her best friend for good was no longer on the table. "Are you done? Because I am not leaving."
Caius	Yeah, he doubted that. Still, he'd deal with it later--perhaps once she'd gotten bored. "Do what you want," he said, and strode for the door. Caius added, over his shoulder, "And clean up the mess you've caused here. Most of the homes aren't fit for sleeping in." They'd need this one, come night.
Liara	She could contain herself. She preferred to confront problems with guile, or rather not confront them at all. But this was important. "Fine," Liara yelled after him. Then she turned away from him and began lifting the larger pieces of debris with her biotics.