Event Horizon || Garrus Vakarian x FemShep

Chapter Three: Time

"No. She isn't ready. She needs more time."

Katriana's ears burned as she tended to her family's small flock of domestic chickens, though not from the heat of the system's sun: She could hear her parents discussing her future as they wandered the grounds of their estate, occasionally pausing to help various workers or managers approaching with questions. The young teen couldn't help but migrate after them, moving from watering produce, to feeding animals, to hiding behind stacks of harvested product to listen further; at her feet, a few hens were growing impatient, beginning to tug at the laces of her boots in their search for breakfast. She smiled and brushed them away, sprinkling what scratch she had left over the soil before resuming her eavesdropping.

"You know she needs to be taught, Selena; we can't let her struggle through biotics alone. It doesn't even have to be at an Alliance school! Some of the asari here have offered to tutor her for next to nothing."

The girl felt her heart jump to her throat, fingertips tingling with energy as she put a hand to her chest. Her father was trying to advocate on her behalf; though element zero was rarer on Mindoir than compared to other human colonies, Katriana had been exposed to it at some point while in utero. Her mother had never understood how, as her brother, Jameson, appeared to be developing normally. She heard her mother breathe deeply, and through her curtain of hair the girl could see her expression tighten, "How she gets started doesn't matter, Will; she will be taken from us if the Alliance sees potential in her. We never wanted that for our family."

The older woman turned to look across the clearing towards where Katriana stood, and the girl flinched, scrambling to catch a hen and cuddle it close in an attempt to look busy. She heard laughter approaching.

"Kat, you love those birds, don't you?"

Looking up again, she smiled with relief as she saw her older brother above her, and stood, her curly head of hair even with his shoulder: "Is that a problem, Jimmy? We can't have earth-dogs here, and Mom and Dad won't let us get a varren, so fat little balls of feathers will have to do."

She made a point to hug her chosen hen closer, and the bird sung low in its throat, confused but content. Her brother's grin turned devilish, and his dark eyes sparkled.

"Hey, how about when I turn eighteen, I go off-colony and smuggle back a varren pup for you? He can stay with me, so Mom and Dad would have no say."

Katriana snorted a laugh, playfully pushing her sibling with one hand, "Nah, come on! I want my own varren; or dog, or bird, or... Pet other than chicken. I can do it myself."

Jameson rolled his eyes and started to retort, then paused as he noticed their parents talking in hushed tones and looking back and forth at them. He frowned.

"Kat... How do you feel about your biotics? About the Alliance?"

The girl's mood dimmed, and she furrowed her eyebrows, setting the bird down before responding, "I... Don't know entirely. Part of me wants to listen to Mom; being tied to the military is an intimidating thought, and I can't imagine being pulled away from home, never knowing when I'd be able to come back."

She shook her head, loose curls bouncing around her shoulders as she clenched her fists with resolve: "There's another part, though, that's growing, and it wants to see just how much I can do, and just how far I can go. Sometimes it makes me feel so angry, and caged, and...!"

A low hum split the air between them, and a few bystanders gasped as several unfortunate chickens began to levitate around the two teens. Alarmed, Katriana's parents shouted from across the field at the commotion, running to see what was going on; the girl continued.