Behold, another attempt at one-sentence fics, this time centering around Thane and (as always) Caelie Shepard (Colonist/Sole Survivor/Paragon). For those who enjoyed my first series, A Hundred Little Instances, I do plan on making certain connections, so I hope you enjoy those when they come.

Of course, none of this would have been made possible without the help of a very dear friend from NSAS, whom you know as Hermia S. here on FF. She put up with my pestering, provided inspiration for most of these prompts, and always had an encouraging word or new idea. Credit where credit is due! Now go check out her work, you knooow you want to.

And yes, there will be more parts to come.

Please enjoy!

1. Fish
Jacob had taken one look at the dossier and made a set of particularly amusing jokes about walking fish-heads, which had her cracking up for a good ten minutes; after watching Thane take down a room full of mercenaries and Nassana without so much as breaking a sweat, she gulped and silently begged that he couldn't read minds, too.

2. Sea
Each time they board the shuttle back to the Normandy, he spends the majority of their travel time praying to Kalahira for the safe departure of their enemies' souls; much of the crew had a snide comment or strange expression to make whenever he did so, but he noticed Shepard would always be respectfully quiet.

3. Faith
There was a time, all together too long ago, when she'd believed in higher powers; too much had happened in her life for her to give deities the benefit of the doubt, but the way Thane seemed so content with his faith made her want to believe there would still be someone out there to listen to her prayers.

4. Song
His studies into the culture and traditions of alien species had revealed the peculiar harmonies and melodies of human classical music, which he found to be quite enjoyable; once, passing Caelie in the mess, he could hear her humming Camille Saint-Saëns' "The Swan" and had to pause when he realized his heart was pounding far too fast.

5. Weapon
Her body has always been trained in some way, whether it was her biotics as a girl or in the regiments of the Alliance; perhaps that may be one of the reasons she respects him so much, but the fact that she's getting so close to a man who could be better defined as a deadly weapon is utterly awe-inspiring.

6. Lips
Thane tells her 'no', much as he doesn't want to--the extreme weather was too much, they shouldn't do anything while they're still in the harsh conditions of Noveria, his lips might feel too bizarre for her while they were so chapped--but nothing he says will stop her from pulling him close for a teasing kiss.

7. Hands
Maybe she did have to stretch her fingers a little to accommodate the contrastive anatomy of his hands, but it felt as if nothing had ever fit so perfectly.

8. Time
He'd spent so long adjusting to and accepting his own impending demise; it seemed needlessly cruel someone so vibrant would come to awaken him just as there didn't seem to be any time left.

9. Sunrise
They sit together on a rooftop, tired and run-down from a night of endless physical combat; she glances over and remarks that he's surprisingly stunning in shades of orange light.

10. Blood
"More blood on my hands," he says almost regretfully as he holsters his rifle; the feeling of her hand resting on his upper back is a small comfort.

11. Memories
Her memories will never be as vivid or important as his, which is just as well; she's actually rather jealous that he can remember everything about his life, whereas nothing but the worst parts of her past come when her mind wanders.

12. Rebirth
Something had stirred within him, those first moments in the Dantius Towers, and he had pushed it aside to think on later; it is only after some time has passed that he realizes his meeting Shepard was the beginning of his own rebirth.

13. Air
Her life had ended with the suffering of air being forced from her lungs, and even after she was brought back to life, it was like that air had never really returned; after resolving to be with him, she feels like she can finally start to breathe again.

14. Home
Sitting on his cot with his back to the wall, Thane reflects on the fact that he has yet to mentally map out the vents and airlocks to the Normandy, and that he has no desire to do so; it has been an eternally long time since he felt so comfortable in one place, and he supposes it will be the closest to home he will ever get.

15. Strawberries
"They're some of my favorites," she says as she offers them to him, but after a few minutes of watching perfectly full lips and teeth biting into the moist red flesh, Shepard has an entirely different kind of 'eating' on her mind.

16. Green
She tries to pass it off as no big deal--"What should my eyes matter, when your whole body is such a striking shade of green?"--but he insists on studying them closely every time they are alone, telling her there may have been a new freckle or streak he might have missed.

17. Vigilant
The destruction of the first Normandy had done a number on her self-security, and as a result she would usually stay awake as long as she could just in case the Collectors ever sneaked up on her again; the long hours weren't quite so lonely when he started showing up to sit with her, two full mugs of coffee on hand.

18. Sacrifice
A suicide mission seemed like the perfect apex to his life, sacrificing himself for the greater good--but as they grow nearer to the Omega-4 Relay, it becomes all too clear that he wants to live; the thought panics him, and he tries to force it away from his mind, but he can't--Shepard has changed him, for better or worse.

19. Sacrilege
"This is a sacrilege--nay, it's an outrage!--" Caelie clenched her fists hard in the air, summoning the best pissed-off old man face she could; Garrus and Tali were nearly on the floor from laughing, but Thane showed only the barest of slight smiles; she would get him to crack up at some point, whether he liked it or not.

20. Alive
The stories that surrounded her--losing her family and comrades in such tragedies--had made him expect a cold and hardened person, focused only on the mission and her duties with no emotion; in contrast, she was unabashedly outgoing and spirited, always interested in the crew's affairs with a smile or word of advice on hand--it left him both envious and intrigued.

21. Shadows
He had made a career out of disappearing into the shadows, doing so long before she was old enough to even think of anything outside of her sheltered life on Mindoir, so she had no authority on the subject; nevertheless, it doesn't stop her from hoping every time he fades into the crowd, he will always make it back to her.

22. Falling
The platform rocks and his feet give out from under him, sending him down to what will probably be a horrifying death, but he doesn't feel the icy grip of fear in his gut until he sees her coasting down after him with her hand outstretched, giving no regard to her own well-being.

23. Driven
Everyone had told her it would be impossible, to expect to go into the void with no chance of survival, but they underestimated her tenacity; come heaven or hell, she would get her people out of that Relay, and they'd all go home with their heads held high.

24. Warmth
Her hair seemed impossibly bright, soft fire in his hands; her complexion pale like sun-bleached sand, freckles scattered all about like pebbles, and she was always warm to the touch; yes, he dreamed of the day he would able to step into an endless desert, but until then, he'd always have one in her.

25. Angel
At first she refuses to take his label for her seriously, looking at herself as nothing even close to his revered angels; once 'siha' becomes something of a pet name rather than a title, she's comfortable enough to let him get away with it.

26. Window
After some time, Thane notices Tali pointedly never looks up at the windows in the Engineering Core anymore; when he recalls the reason as to why that might be, he allows himself a small contented smirk.

27. Crest
She'd asked to explore his features with some trepidation, and he agreed with some amusement, convinced it would be a fairly clinical and curious process; when her fingertips stroked the sensitive skin just below his cheek crests and elicited a soft groan, she grinned triumphantly and decided she would need to see what else she could get him to do.

28. Reflection
On the ship, he is often alone with his thoughts, as he has been for much of the last ten years; while Caelie's persistent attempts to socialize with him were jarring at first, he soon comes to realize the change of pace is not unwelcome.

29. Rain
Sometimes when she has no immediate expectations demanded of her, she sits down on the tile floor in her shower and closes her eyes, pretending the water cascading down her back is the warm rain of Kahje--a poor imitation of the real thing, perhaps, but her imagination can fill in for the wonder his voice holds when he speaks of his old home.

30. Deep
"You're in deep," a gruff voice called from across the room; Thane turned back to give Zaeed a short smile as he replied, "Perhaps I am--but it would be a lie to say I'm not enjoying every moment of it."

31. Romantic
To think a trained assassin would be so tender and affectionate in his ministrations is like something out of the old 'Twilight Zone' vids, but as he tugs her close and lays a soft kiss on her forehead, she is far from complaining.

32. Soul
He feels peaceful, satisfied with the turns his life has taken; sometimes though, he worries that he will not be prepared for the end; the detachment of his soul from his body will mean she will be alone again, and the thought of it is heartbreaking.

33. Dream
She dreams of alien languages and concepts, fleeting visions of organic screams and groaning metal; she wakes in almost pained shock and trembles until a scaled hand cups her cheek, whispers of comfort from plush lips settling her nerves.

34. Body
A hand trails up the curve of a hip, stroking along soft skin to cup a heaving breast, teasing at a perked nipple--a husky voice brushes warm air against the ear--"Tonight, siha, I will satisfy a bit of my own curiosity."

35. Silence
While others may view their relationship as something rather abnormal--using small talk was generally considered a good thing--she's content enough to hold his hands in silence, exchanging a knowing smile every now and then.

36. Midnight
He finds her sitting by herself in the port observation room, gazing out at the stars in her pajamas; he sits down behind her and rests his chin on her shoulder; there are no words, simply a quiet enjoyment of the eternal midnight around them.

37. Moon
"Someday I'll take you down to Luna, the view of Earth is breathtaking there--," Shepard hesitates for a moment before adding with a laugh, "Hopefully without dealing with any sort of rogue artificial intelligence."

38. Snow
"It's cold," he says somewhat tersely, trying to shove the offending snow from the back of his coat, but she can't hear him--or even breathe--from laughing too hard.

39. Evanescent
Thane had a gift for striding the edge, being there in one moment and nowhere to be seen in the next; it scared her more than she wanted to admit, but if EDI thought it was strange she would ask for the assassin's location every time she woke up in a cold sweat, the AI was considerate enough not to point it out.

40. Memories
Each flutter of her eyelashes, each gasp of pleasure or surprise, every bright smile and mischievous grin; he takes all his memories of her and treasures them, content to know he could never forget her even if he tried.

41. Enthrall
She was sure he was probably getting tired and more than a little annoyed, but he said nothing as she ordered him to jump over a set of crates on the battlefield for the fifteenth time in a row, her eyes drifting to the almost hypnotic motion of his rear and thighs.

42. Beauty
A fist comes close to striking his face; he ducks down to avoid it and grabs a well-muscled thigh, throwing her back down to the mat--while she may not be anything quite like the drell standards, the bright-eyed being before him is a woman of ferocious innate beauty.

43. Death
Joking and feigned ignorance seem to work the best when trying to cope with her own loss of life, whether in the past or certainly near future, but she is reduced to disquieted trembling whenever the subject of his comes up.

44. Fire
He is utterly fascinated with Caelie's hair, constantly running his fingers through it, tugging and petting away at her; burying his face into the soft curls and closing his eyes against shades of copper and carmine, he thinks it's the most lovely way to burn.

45. Love
The comparison he'd made between her and Irikah had rather piqued her interest; in a way, she could make the same sort of comparison between him and Garrus, though she highly doubted either of them would appreciate it very much.

46. Weakness
Thane pauses for a moment and leans heavily against a crate, a hand held to his chest as he struggles for air; by the time she turns around to see why he isn't by her side, he is upright and at ease once more, holding her concern for his weakness at bay for at least a little while longer.

47. Wander
Her missions take her from one end of the galaxy to the other, never settling in one place for long; it had taken her a while to warm up to the new Normandy, especially considering her shady connections, but after everything her crew has gone through together, there isn't a place in existence she'd be more honored to call home.

48. Revenge
"What would you do if someone gunned down Shepard?"--his eyes widen imperceptibly when Garrus asks the question, relating it to his own betrayal from Sidonis; he knows this, but is barely able to keep the emotion from his voice when he replies, "I think you know the answer to that, my friend."

49. Words
Much to the chagrin of most of the universe, Caelie always tried to talk things out and negotiate before she went out on the field with her guns blazing; even with all of her experience in speech, words tended to fail her when he gave her that quirky little smirk.

50. Tides
Significant changes should have been done with him as he neared the end, but it seemed as though the universe had other plans for him when it sent a momentous tide in the form of Commander Shepard.