abraxaslogs | {Darude Sandstorm Intensifies}

... Help him, he tries. He tries so hard. But the laughter comes out anyway. A wheezing, vibrating noise in the back of his throat. Dammit Koby, why did your voice just do that.

"Yeah. Or a rocket. I'm not really sure." Maybe it was just a high-powered rifle. He shrugs. "Shredded up the rest of me pretty good too. But the ship's doctor'd worked on me before. And put my face back together - just slightly less strikingly handsome."

Which is a joke. Because he was always ugly, har har. Thanks Shepard.

There's that wheezing sound again. "Suitably sandy." At that, he plunks himself down on a discarded stool, long legs splayed way out in front of him. "It's... I mean. All that scale out for the party? Kind of stood out."

Have a sandy, ferocious scowl, Garrus. Take him and his squeaky voice seriously! He's very serious business! He's just also spiraling and/or shrill about everything.

"That's -- it's amazing you survived." Granted, Koby's seen someone else survive a cannon blast, but Garrua and Luffy are about as different as two people can be. He doesn't think Turian's have some secret rubber-body abilities...though he's never actually asked. Maybe they do.

Still wheezing quite a bit more than is probably healthy, Koby perches on a nearby box, tugging off his boots one by one to pour sand out of them. "I thought you looked very nice. But I don't know how you're supposed to look." Socks off now, pour those out. "You were very sparkly."

"Drink more water."

In response to the wheezing voice. It sounds like Koby should finish the canteen, honestly. In response to the rest, he shrugs. "Like I said, the Normandy's doctor worked a miracle. And I'm hard to kill."

The last word said with a lopsided, teeth-baring grin. Same thing he'd said to Shepard, at their reunion.

"Yeah, that was the glitter. I definitely don't... sparkle."

Ugh, so bossy. Koby is extremely unused to being fussed over, so there's a cautious pause, like he's wondering if Garrus is kidding. But then he takes the canteen, gulping down more water -- carefully, no more choking.

"Normandy that's your ship." It's a statement, a recollection of a past conversation. "What does it mean? The name? I've never heard that word before."

A bemused huff, and Koby offers the canteen. "I don't think anyone naturally sparkles."

"The ship I serve on, yeah." It's not technically his. It's the Alliance's, and by extension, Shepard's. But hey, close enough. "It's something important to humanity. I think they name their ships after major cities, or famous battles."

Like most non-humans, Garrus is sure he can identify a human-made craft, but their naming conventions haven't ever really been a topic of conversation.

He accepts the canteen, pretty much pouring it in his mouth intead of, you know, normally drinking. Hey, he has no lips. "You should see Shepard when she uses biotics," he drawls, amused. "That's sparkly as hell."

"That makes sense. People name their ships after...things they like, where I'm from. More or less." Koby sits back, finally able to breathe without wheezing for his life, then offers a grim smile. "I like Normandy better than Miss Love Duck, myself." To be fair, it probably isn't logical to compare Garrus's (dark, frightening) world with Alvida's preferences, right?

And then he brightens, that curiosity lighting up his eyes at the unfamiliar term. "Biotics? What is that, some sort of...weapon?" A sparkly weapon? It's not outside of the realm of possibility -- as stated, Koby's best friend is literally made of rubber.

He pauses.

Stares.

It takes several seconds too long for Garrus to get his brain in gear again enough to ask: "The... What duck?" What's a duck? That's probably going to be his next question.

Fortunately, he can talk about the other question without blanking. "Biotics are an ability some people in my world have," he says, rolling a shoulder. "It's... I guess a bit like magic? Here? You can call up a barrier to deflect damage, or throw people across a room with your brain."

Koby waits patiently, well-aware how...wildly absurd the name is. He'd thought it when he was first kidnapped, he'd thought it the entire time, he still does. It's sort of nice that Garrus agrees -- though he does wonder if ducks are even a thing where he's from.

Then, calmly: "The Miss Love Duck. It's the pirate ship I was on." Which is...sort of surprising, that he was a prisoner for two years on a ship named...that. "It was pink."

Oh, this is much more interesting. Koby brightens a bit, nodding slowly. "Right, magic. You can use it without touching people? It's not...like a physical ability? Like a Devil Fruit?" A what.

"A... pink ship. Named... duck." The pause is almost longer. "What exactly is a 'duck'?"

Something pink?

Frankly, they're both confusing the hell out of each other at this point. He shakes his head again. "Yeah, that's the goal. Shepard would know more - she's biotic, I'm not." And it's a rare thing for his people, at that. "And what the hell is a 'devil fruit'?"

Of all things, this is what has Koby sitting up a little straighter and frowning deeply in confusion. "You -- don't have ducks where you're from? They're a kind of bird." Vague hand gestures. "Small, fluffy, usually cute. Alvida likes cute." The name makes him twitch, reflexively, even still.

Biotics aren't magic, then, or not a type of magic you can learn. "It's something you're born being? Not like a Devil Fruit, then -- those are fruits that give you abilities if you eat them. Like turning into rubber or controlling fire or something like that." Among other really weird, out-there abilities. "They're really powerful, but if you eat one, you become incredibly weakened by sea water." Not a good thing in a world that's nearly 100% ocean.

"There's... pigeons. On the Citadel." He's pretty sure they're pigeons, anyway. The humans called them that. "They're not exactly cute, though."

They're kind of annoying.

"Yeah, born with them. They don't show up until later, I think." He's really not sure, frankly. They're not his area of expertise. "You'd have to ask Shepard for more details." If Koby wants them, anyway.

His head cants sharply to the side, confused. "Wait, but, isn't your world... an ocean?"

"Oh, we have pigeons too." That's weird, that Garrus is familiar with pigeons, but not ducks. Still, Koby doesn't really want to dwell on what birds transcend universes -- not right now. Maybe later.

Biotics are much more interesting. Koby nods thoughtfully, making a mental note to ask Shepard later. "But you don't have them. Are they only a human thing? Or does it depend?" Lore dump, lore dump, lore dump.

Then Koby nods grimly, toying with a sand-encrusted fold of his cloak. He's very fidgety, always moving in some nervous, unconscious way. "The legends say that the sea gods will abandon you if you commit the sin of eating a Devil Fruit. But they're very, very powerful, so it's worth it for a lot of people."

"Are they a nuisance in your world too? They sure are on the Citadel, if you ask some people." They shit on statues being the actual words, but he'll leave that out. It might make Koby pass out if he swore like that.

The questions get a thoughtful pause, with Garrus scratching idly at the scarred side of his face. "Not just a human thing, no. Some species have it naturally, my people just... don't come up with biotics very often." But no, he doesn't have them.

Not technically.

If he had eyebrows to arch, he would have, right there. "So it's just a superstition? The 'sea gods' abandoning you?"

Koby frowns over the question, before shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe in cities? In the villages I've been to, there are never enough to be a problem. Seagulls on the other hand are a horrible nuisance." While he presents a very clean-cut image, Koby's not horrifically shocked by profanity. Mostly. Garrus is an authority figure, for better or worse, though, so maybe that rule won't apply.

"Interesting. I wonder if there's any rhyme or reason to it at all, or if it's just chance..." More questions for Shepard. Sorry, Shepard. "It's probably useful in battles, right? Being able to control things with your mind?"

Then he shrugs, standing and brushing himself off once more. "It's a way to explain what happens. I'm sure there's a more scientific reason, some way the fruit changes your body so it's extra weakened by the ocean, but I'm not high-ranking enough to know things like that." Hm! That's a bit indicative of a totalitarian government there, Kobes.

"Really? They're just birds..." They can't be that bad. Can they? Just shoo them away, or exterminate them, right? Easy enough. On the swearing front, he's definitely judging based on the near panic attack at the question of having a boyfriend.

He shrugs a bit, rolling his shoulders. "It has to do with exposure to element zero. Somehow, it makes people into biotics." Doctors would know. Scientists. Hell, biotics themselves knew better than anyone. "Oh, definitely. Human and turian biotics tend to enlist and stay military."

... In his peoples' case, they didn't really have a choice in the whole thing, but oh well.

A blink, and his mandibles flutter while he processes that. "Wait, what do you mean 'not high-ranking'?" He gestures at himself, in example. "I don't know exactly what makes a biotic, because I'm not one. Not because it's classified..."

"They steal fish." That seems to be more than enough for Koby -- fishing is very serious business, after all. "If you're not on a fishing ship, it isn't as bad, but Alvida hated them. They'd make a mess of her deck." Bird poop and pink don't really mix.

"Element...zero. Right." Koby, stop sounding so skeptical, you're talking about devil fruit and other weird things. "I guess that makes sense. Militaries would want the most powerful people. But -- they let non-biotics enlist too, right?"

Koby waves a vague hand, shrugging. "There's a lot about the world that...most people don't know. Everyone's just trying to survive being attacked by pirates all the time, so that tends to be the priority."

"Right, fish thieves." Said like he's checking off a box in his head. Maybe he is - a mental note that seagulls steal fish. "Must have been hard, keeping flying things off a boat."

The look he levels at Koby speaks more than any words. Boy you were just talking about magic fruit, you can't criticize eezo. "Well, yeah. Of course. It'd be a crap contingent with only biotics. They're not common enough to fill all the ranks."

And that generates yet another look. "If pirates are such a problem, why are you so interested in one?"

"They weren't as scared of me. I tried not to hurt them -- they weren't doing anything wrong." Koby's voice is a bit faint, faraway, before he shakes his head, pushing the thoughts away. "Anyway. It's different on a Marine ship. The cannons and everything are noisy enough that birds steer clear."

Koby gives a look right back, which -- aw, that means he's bonding with Garrus, bless. "Well, I wasn't sure. It's all new to me, remember? Though I guess Devil Fruit eaters are fairly rare."

And that gets a heavy sigh as Koby rakes his fingers backwards through his sandy hair. "Believe me, I've asked myself the same thing for a while now."

"Well, yeah, they sound like they were just animals. Doing what animals do." The look on his face, the sound of his voice. Something's not quite right there. He wants to press, curiosity pinging at him, but maybe not. Not yet. "Not a problem here in the desert, either."

So maybe that's somehow a comfort.

"Rare, and, it sounds like, kept pretty under wraps," he says, casually as he can. Since apparently Koby isn't allowed to know these things? Pirates or no pirates.

Speaking of... "Guess it just doesn't track for me. Pirates kill people, take ships, prisoners, smuggle, and hell some of them even work with slavers." The last word has an undertone of a growl to it. "So I don't see how any of them could make that kind of a decent impression."

Koby hums softly, acknowledgement, examining his glasses for and sand scratches -- they're there, of course, he has a thousand scratches on the lenses by now. But it's really so he can avoid the topic at hand, which is dancing dangerously close to sensitive, painful topics. "Not a lot seems to live in the desert. It's...strange."

The word slavers makes Koby twitch, almost a flinch, his breath going tight in his chest. Shepard had called him a slave, when they met in the maze, when he explained why he'd been on Alvida's ship. Would she have told Garrus? Probably not -- she seems the type to let people make their own choices. Koby appreciates that.

"He saved me." It's a quiet response, as Koby puts his glasses back on, looks up at Garrus, solemn and serious. "I was -- a prisoner on a pirate ship, and Luffy saved me. And he doesn't...hurt people. He helps them. He calls himself a "different kind of pirate". One of the good ones."

"If you know where to look, there's more than you'd think."

Just a calm, quiet reply, while he looks Koby over. Listens to the response, and the unsaid things. Something's there. Part of him wants to dig, poke around, find out where the issues is. Where the truth is. Koby isn't a suspect, Koby isn't an enemy - there's no interrogation here, so he keeps his mouth shut. Though the thoughtful hum in his chest can't be muted.

"The pink ship," he guesses. "You were the prisoner there." His head tilts, and there's the quiet tap of mandible against his jaw. "That's why this guy's so important to you - he got you out of that."

Koby's not saying a lot, but the way he's standing, looking down at his feet, speaks volumes. He's tense, unmoving, shoulders rigid. He's focusing intently on not letting his voice tremble, when he finally speaks. It's not very successful.

"For two years, yeah. I got on by mistake, and the captain told me she'd let me live if I did everything she said." A pause, a slow inhale. Exhale. "It was awful." The understatement of the century, but maybe that's written all over Koby's blank, pale face.

Then there's a smile, a quirk of one, warm and soft. "He didn't have to, but he did. He didn't let me give up. I...owe him everything."

"Slavers always are."

There was a special place on his shit list for those people. Screw "cultural norms" or whatever the hell the batarians claimed. Anyone who pulled that kind of thing deserved what was coming to them. Of course you'd attach yourself to the first person who gave you an out - it made sense.

So maybe there was a pirate scum in Koby's world with a single set of morals. He knew mercs who'd do any job except slave and red sand running, so it made sense. Didn't mean a lot, just that there was a pirate who had a limit.

"Well, you see either of them around here, especially that captain..." The last two words are a threat. To the captain. "We've got your back."

"They weren't...slavers, really. She usually killed everyone she captured." Except him. Koby had thought it was a gift, a stroke of luck. He'd been wrong -- being chosen by Alvida was much, much worse than being bludgeoned by her. "It was just me."

That gets a moment of wide-eyed, round-lensed blinking. Then there's a faint quirk of a smile. "Thank you. That's really nice of you, Garrus. I'm sure if she shows up, she'll get in enough trouble to end up imprisoned before us Summoned could do anything." He is Not Sure. Not in the slightest. "But I'll tell you if I see her."

"Doesn't take more than one to make someone a slaver." In his oh so humble opinion. One was too many. One was always too many.

A shake of his head. "It's just what should be done." It's not 'nice', necessarily. It's right. The correct course of action. "They didn't last long when they ran into me, back in out world."

At least one of them hadn't. It ended... badly. For them.

{Darude Sandstorm Intensifies}

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