"Now then, I know you have been working hard lately so Grava and I will work the first day guarding our diplomat. You and Xato can take the first day off to look around and enjoy yourselves. I heard the Humans are rather similar in after-duty relaxation so you should be able to wind down a bit," Thoza'Rolcamee said to Deya'Nazam.The two Sangheili were Majors and part of a diplomatic envoy. Those were rather frequent, now that tensions between their races have finally died down. Considering they were in an all-out extermination war with the Humans while still being part of the Covenant, things have been going surprisingly well. Deya guessed that most of the Humans were just glad it was over, even though some fools still cling on to the Covenant ways, not to mention the contemporary danger of the Flood. Fortunately, this system had yet to see that foulness and with vigilance it will never settle.
"Thank you Thoza... say, after we return, would you perhaps like to visit the temple garden with me?" she asked, a rather flirtatious tone in her voice. The temple gardens were popular for first dates, so her intentions were rather obvious. Deya'Nazam was a Sangheili woman at the prime of her life. Perfect age to look for a partner.
Thoza'Rokamee seemed a bit taken aback though. "I am flattered but I'm afraid I must decline. At the moment my duties keep me too busy." He excused himself and Deya had to suppress a growl. Too busy her ass! She knew he was looking for a partner too but he just wouldn't consider her.
"Oh... okay, it's fine," she muttered, before he left and she went back to her quarters.
On the way—while still fuming from the rejection—she thought about her situation. Despite being a healthy young Sangheili, she had absolutely rotten luck with men for one simple reason; she was very tall and muscular. Her body was also prone to storing fat, so around her muscles laid a cover of plush. It only made opponents underestimate her however , so she did not mind that. However, all the males apparently didn't like it when the female was bigger than them. Bunch of insecure idiots. How manly can these strong warriors be if their masculinity is challenged by a woman that is not as small and demure next to them?
Deya was confident in that being the only reason. Other than her being taller and stronger than most women, she did not look that much different from the others. In fact, her generous bosom and ample rump were very appealing to most males. Enough of them snuck a look when they thought she wouldn't notice, but none would openly ask her out. And if she made any advances herself, the same males who kept glancing at her ass would make excuses to not accept her. It was not like she was some sort of domineering beast either, oh no; she wouldn't mind some sweetness in a relationship. Tenderly cuddling and enjoying each other's warmth and she certainly would not mind plenty of fun in the shared bedroom.
By the next day, Deya had calmed down again, even though Thoza still refused to even meet her gaze. Nothing she wasn't used to by now. All together they accompanied their envoy to the meeting where they spent hours discussing political nonsense that quite frankly bored Deya. Sure, for the future alliance between their races it was important, but talking for long just wasn't her style. Deya was a lot more direct and thought the whole thing could have been taken care of in well under an hour. Finally, after what seemed an era of tedium, they were done and their envoy retreated to her chambers. This was the point where less guards were necessary, so Deya could go out for some relaxation.
Relaxation proved to be difficult though, considering all the stares she got. Most Humans were still tense around Aliens, but thankfully no one seemed to be in the mood to pick a fight. Others were at least only surprised. Although it was no secret that they were coming, they probably didn't expect to run into any Sangheili themselves. On her way, she came across the bar where Humans usually relaxed after their shift ended. Not a foreign concept to Sangheili of course but as she arrived, Deya immediately saw the difference. Bars on Sanghelios always had a very dignified atmosphere, just like it was expected of the warriors to be at all times. Here, it was way more casual.
Humans were laughing, telling stories and jokes, and making good-natured barbs at each other while they drank. She also saw them playing some sort of game with cards or at a table with a green cloth, pushing balls around with a long stick. At a wall they were throwing darts at a board with a target pattern on it. She never saw Humans using such a thing in combat, so Deya did not believe this to be some sort of training or practice. Not knowing any of those games, Deya decided to sit down at the counter and order a drink. The barstool was way too small for her, making her ass hang off the edges a The bartender had to call the station's medic to find out which alcohol was safe for her to drink, only for it to turn out it didn't matter which proved to be a relief. And so she sat there on that uncomfortable seat, drinking alone as the Humans steered clear of her. "Well, this is a fun evening," she muttered, before taking another swig of this 'wine' as the Humans called it. Admittedly, it was not bad tasting. At least there was something positive going for her.
Still, sitting there and drinking was a rather depressing way to spend her evening but she already knew that the other guard who had this shift off would rather spend it in his quarters alone. He too was among the list of males where she tried taking the initiative and was punished by him doing his best to remain polite, refusing to interact with her.
"Excuse me, mind if I sit down here?" The question surprised Deya as a Human stood next to her. He had short, brown hair and wore the typical olive shirt and jeans that most Humans here seemed to wear in their off time. Deya was taken aback, surprised that anyone would wanna talk to her this evening.
"Sure, go ahead," she said, glad that she wouldn't be sitting there all alone. Though he probably only sat down because... well, not because of a lack of room. The bar was full but not too much yet so he could have sat down somewhere else.
The man sat down, looking rather pleased at her allowing him close and ordered himself one of those beers that were very popular among Humans. After just the first sip, he spoke to her. "So, how do you like the station so far? By the way, my name is Mark and who are you?" Although there was a slight nervousness in his tone, Mark spoke freely to her. It made Deya feel a lot better at that, her face perking up in glee. Even though she failed again and again to get a male to notice her, perhaps she could have a nice talk for once.
"My name is Deya'Nazam. You probably know already but I'm one of the bodyguards for the Envoy. I had the luck of getting the first shift off after the meeting. Admittedly, I am a bit unsure on whether or not I like it here. I'm just not used to being on a Human station." She joined the military at the end of the Human/covenant war, so she wasn't even on a station as part of a boarding team. "It's a bit hard to relax when you're the odd one out." Deya wasn't sure why she was opening up so easily. Perhaps it were the drinks she already had or perhaps that she had so little opportunities to do so.
Mark listened and thought about how he could help this Sangheili visitor feel more welcome. "Well, it might not seem that way but the people stationed here don't mind having an alien on board as much as you'd think. This being the closest station to Sanghelios and therefore the main hub for diplomacy. There are a lot of people stationed here that are open to the idea; if you relax a bit, surely you'll fit in better than you'd think." He looked around to see if one of the pool tables or dart boards were free, or if there was room at a card table. "How about a game of darts? It's pretty simple and I'm sure you could have some fun with that too," he said, pointing towards a free board.
Deya did not entirely believe it would be this easy but it seemed like this would be the best chance to get some enjoyment out of the evening. "Sure, I'll give it a shot." After they finished their drinks, they got darts from the barkeeper and went off to play. Deya was quite bad at it first, terrible actually, especially with alcohol in her system and also being new to throwing weapons. But much to Mark's surprise, she managed to catch on quickly. It did take time though for her to see it less as a competition and more as just having fun, which in turn helped her loosen up a little. Just as Mark promised, other Humans joined in on their game, resulting in a very good time for everyone around.
For the rest of the evening, she tried out the other Humans games like pool billiard or poker while occasionally enjoying another glass of wine. At the end of the evening when the bar announced it was closing, Mark offered to accompany her to her quarters. Deya did not think much of it, considering she was on the station for the first time.