Terran Habits

Posted on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 @ 1:20pm by Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper & Lieutenant Commander Eliza McAdams

2,415 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Balowlli System
Location: Holodeck 1
Timeline: December 31st, 2386, 23:45

=^= "Ensign T'kaarch to Sehrrra"

Sehra was, for once, in her shared quarters. She didn't tend to spend a lot of time there, viewing it as little more than a place to sleep and she didn't do more of that than was completely necessary. At the moment, she was standing in front of her wardrobe trying to decide what to change out of now that her uniform was officially being put to bed for the rest of the day. It was often hard to tell when Sehra was on duty since she made it seem about as fun as when she wasn't but her attire was usually a dead giveaway. She didn't spend any more time in teal than she had to.

The chirp of her comm. badge had her smiling before she knew who it was and the caller's identity only broadened the expression into a delighted grin. "Ensign, it's nice to hear from you again so soon."

=^= "Sehrrra, could you stop by Holodeck 1 forrr me please?"

Truth be told, the Betazoid hadn't really decided what it was she was going to do with her evening but an unexpected invitation was just the kind of random happenance that she favoured. Sehra paused for a moment, a little surprised but completely approving of the Caitian's initiative, even if she hadn't perhaps pegged him as someone who went out on a limb quite so easily. Then again, all that feline agility... Her eyes settled on a particular outfit and the brunette grinned to herself, reaching forward to grab it from the hanger as she replied, "I'll be right there."

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Deep chocolate brown, burgandy, mahogany, rich cream... A turbolift ride in which the topic of discussion was your tunic dress might have been unusual for anyone other than the young Betazoid who exited with a merry laugh and a wave backwards to the pair of women she left to continue their journey. The floaty fabric with its swirly motif gave the impression of freedom whilst at the same time being quite fitted and matched the brown knee-high boots she'd selected with a perfection that indicated they'd been bought as a matching set. Pairing flamboyancy with style was an artform and Sehra was more than a willing student. Clothes happened to be perhaps her biggest vice.

As Sehra entered, she 'fell' into nothingness... well, actually, there was definetly solid floor under her feet, but the holodeck appeared to be as if in outer space. A few meters in front, T'kaarch lay down, well, in space, looking up.

As Sehra watched where T'kaarch was looking at, she noticed some kind of nebula.

T'kaarch turned around, saw Sehra, and started purring like a kitten. "Sehrrra, please join me, it's about to starrrt."

The sensation of walking across nothing was bizarre but Sehra was one for appreciating new experiences and she savoured this one, stepping carefully until she reached the Caitian's side and settled herself down next to him, bumping shoulders intentionally as she grinned at him. "Okay, Mr. Mysterious, you got me. Now tell me what I'm doing here."

"I've been doing some... rrresearch into Terran habits... Therrre was this one habit wherrre they lit up tubes of gunpowderrr which would blast into all kinds of colorrrs in the sky..." T'kaarch pointed at the nebula. "It rrreminded me of a sight I once saw on the shuttle I was on before... This is the Rrranta nebula."

Terran habits. They seemed to be catching lately. Lifting her gaze from her companion's face to the spectacle overhead, Sehra studied the starscape properly for the first time and smiled faintly. "Well, it certainly is effective, I'll give you th..."

Suddenly, the sky lit up. The mostly grey nebula suddenly started to form red, green and blue spots, explosions. As the sky darkened, then lit up again, T'kaarch faced Sehra: "Happy new yearrr, Sehrra..."

Reflected in the Betazoid's shining eyes, each burst of colour spread across space with vivid detail, turning the pretty landscape into a breathtaking array of hues that seemed to bleed into each other, each explosion lingering just long enough to merge with the one that followed. The concept of a new year was shared by many cultures, marked at different stardates of course and for different reasons, but she could recall, now, that the Christmas celebrations she had thrown herself into had traditionally occured towards the end of the Terran calendar year. A soft grin lit up her face and, without turning her head, she murmured by way of reply, "Happy new year, T'kaarch."

"I... You..." Suddenly, the uncertainty crawled over T'kaarch's face. "Thank you." The next bit was open to misinterpretation, but T'kaarch didn't seem to realise: "Even though I only know you forrr a month... You're the best girlfriend I have on the ship."

Though she was definitely still getting used to Caitian thought patterns, Sehra sensed enough of the ensign's underlying meaning to study him intently for a moment and then grin, a slow spread of affectionate amusement that was fully appreciative of just how endearing he was. Age was relative, of course, but there were times when T'kaarch acted like a kitten for all he had a good decade on her. The awkwardness she could sense and it curbed her teasing perhaps more than he realised but she couldn't resist retorting, "It's not a very big crew, T'kaarch, I'm impressed that you have a list at all." Laughing good-naturedly, she reached out to pat his arm and added, "Is that a compliment or a complaint? I could help you meet some more, you know, you really don't need to shut yourself away like you do."

"Well," T'kaarch once again looked down on his twiddling fingers, "Therrre is something about you... You're beautiful..." T'kaarch looked in the eyes of the Betazoid woman. "I would like to... be with you."

That was...unexpected. Shocking the Betazoid wasn't a very easy thing to do but surprising her could be managed from time to time and it was only now that Sehra realised she still had a lot to learn about the Caitian mind. It was true, in a sense, that some of his behaviour was consistent with attraction but she had learned not to judge people too quickly by the norms of her own species. Dark eyes studied the ensign's face for a moment, her expression not one of disapproval or distaste but one of intrigue and gentle acceptance. As much as he was an enigma, she got the feeling that hadn't been an easy admission to make.

For that reason alone, Sehra realised she needed to be careful. Liasions weren't the backbone of her existence but she'd had her fair share and tended to be reasonably liberally minded. Committment and monogamy were certainly desirable in some situations but they hadn't always been mandatory, not when the only goal had been to enjoy the moment whilst it lasted. That only worked when the other person was happy with it, however, and she didn't think, at least she was reasonably sure, that it wasn't what T'kaarch meant. She smiled softly.

"Well thank you," she said, addressing his compliment first. "That means quite a lot considering I'm sure I look nothing like what your species traditionally considers beauty to be. Tell me though," she continued gently, "what it actually is that you're feeling. I won't be offended," she added with a soft laugh, a means of reassuring him that lust alone was not a taboo. Sehra was a carefree spirit but she was also well on her way to being a psychologist and this was important. He was unsure of himself and, more than anything, she felt what he really needed from her was the comfort to speak freely.

T'kaarch played with his fingers, turned around, grabbed his tail for no apparent reason, turned back, and while still playing with his tail he answered softly: "I... don't know... You'rrre just... beautiful and sweet..." He then let go of his tail and walked towards Sehra. "This," He softly grabbed her and held her in his arms, "is what I... am feeling."

His reply, as well as the awkwardness with which it was made, was greeted with a smile. It was an understanding gesture and, by all accounts, not a discouraging one but Sehra was also not especially prone to being swept off her feet. That being said, she could definitely attest to the fact that Caitian hugs were comfortable things and not to be easily spurned. Ever since she'd met him, she'd been struck by the urge to see how soft his fur was but since that seemed rather personal, she hadn't mentioned it. Now she simply rested a flat palm against his chest.

"Well, that's as start," she quipped, eyes sparkling up at him. "But we really are going to have to work on your verbalisation skills." For a moment, her expression softened and she stepped back enough to allow her to take his hands in hers. "Listen, T'kaarch, I enjoy spending time with you. I'd certainly like to think I could spend more. The important thing to remember is..."

Inwardly, the Betazoid sighed. Sometimes being the more emotionally aware wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "Always keep an eye on yourself." Laughing softly, she explained, "Self-analysis isn't about stopping yourself from doing things, it's about trying to be aware of why you're doing them. We haven't exactly known each other a long time and though there is mutal attraction," she continued, her warm smile adding reassurance to the admission he'd no doubt be afraid wasn't going to arrive, "it's easy to try and imagine that into something else if that something else is really important. I like that I'm getting to know you and I'm more than happy for you to get to know me, just....don't going losing your head on me, okay?" Shaking her own, Sehra glanced down for a moment and briefly, though it was a rare occurance, almost looked bashful. "I may not be what you're looking for and really," she glanced back up, her gaze holding the utmost sincerity, "that's okay, if that's the way it turns out."

T'kaarch let Sehra go, looked her in her eyes while still holding her hands. "I would like to find out..." He glanced to the nebula, which had gone back to its grey, steamy, boring natural state. "Shall I walk you back to yourrr quarrrterrrs?"

"Well now, contrary to popular belief, they're not the most private place aboard."

The comment might have been shocking had anyone else been making it but Sehra's frankness wasn't about to disappear just because the situation had got delicate. She could be mindful of his lack of confidence but sugar-coating everything she said wasn't going to help either of them. Offering him a wink, she knocked her shoulder against his and said, "And I'm sure you're not going to run off and leave me after a proclamation like that. I'm here, I have no plans for the evening and no duty to attend to until the morning. What do you want to do?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" T'kaarch blurted out, blushing though the fur on his face hid it from view. "I... uh..." The invitation caught him off-guard, he really didn't know what to do. "I don't mind being with you some more..." Even his gentle purring had stopped momentarily.

"Relax."

The reply was gentle, as was the squeeze his hand received. Turning towards him again, Sehra leaned forward enough to bump him gently and quietly said, "I was teasing, but you know, even if I hadn't been..." Her dark eyes found his and sparkled, their usual merriment tinged with a hint of something a little more daring. "It would only be a problem if you're really not interested at all. It's not something to be embarrassed about," she added, angling her chin upwards slightly as she paused for just the right amount of time before concluding, "I'm not."

T'kaarch just stood there, silently... processing, thinking, trying to make heads or tails of stuff... feelings... and this... beautiful woman talking freely about... 'forbidden' stuff...
He closed his eyes, and steadied himself. His purr came back. "I am flatterrred, Sehrrra." he opened his eyes again, and looked up. "Computerrr..." He thought about what he was going to say next. He wanted something... more comfortable then the eternity of space. "Prrrogram Grrreen Hills" The computer blipped, and the eternity of space momentarily faded into the lines of the holodeck, only to disappear again to make place for a green meadow, shining sun, a single tree up one of the hills.

T'kaarch faced Sehra. "I made this... I would like to be with you, herrre."

It was beautiful. Perhaps the only thing that outstripped it was the depth of T'kaarch's innocence, which was far more endearing that Sehra had expected to find it given that she was quite frank about certain biological processes, as her grandmother put it. It was a fragile beauty, she realised, and one she was suddenly afraid of breaking prematurely. Briefly, a rare frown creased the telepath's forehead before it cleared and she leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"I tell you what." Reaching up to toy with the front of his shirt, the young petty officer smiled, the sun catching the impish glint in her eyes that was softened by her genuine desire to preserve his equilibrium at least long enough to give him time to straighten out his thoughts. "Let's get some food, have ourselves a picnic and we'll see how it goes." Her smile widened to a grin. "I'll even let you choose the menu."

T'kaarch returned the grin. "Shikkkan steak, fried Kerrrian liver, " he paused, decided it was time for the trump card: "Uttaberry crÃƒÂªpes and Etnari juice"

A slow, surprised yet utterly delighted grin spread across Sehra's face. And here she'd been thinking that his thought processes were a little addled. Touched that he'd taken enough interest to learn at least something about her culture, even if it was culinary in nature, the Betazoid inclined her head in agreeance and then waved her hand towards the lone tree. "You, my dear T'kaarch, have got yourself a date."

You gotta watch those cats brought to you by:

Ensign T'kaarch
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Archimedes

and

Petty Officer Sehra Vahn (PNPC Martin)
Morale Officer
USS Archimedes

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