The most valuable thing, pt 1

Posted on Mon May 28th, 2018 @ 11:39pm by Lieutenant Hel Samedi

Mission: Of Machines and Men
Location: Hel's quarters
Timeline: The evening after everyone gets back to the ship

That all behind them, everyone back more or less safely and ship back in working order again, Hel finally had some time to relax. Tired - exhausted even after the efforts to bring the ship back online, resting wasn't on her mind. Instead, she tapped her comm badge.

"Samedi to Mordin."

Sciences had cleaned up nicely, especially after a direct encounter with a Class 1 Society. Or as near as anyone could measure, a Class 1 Society. Most of the instrumentation hadn't had the chance to record any more than just a blip of data from casual scans, but even that blip combined with the probe net scans would keep the resident rabbitess occupied for...

A chirp. Familiar, and pleasant. Especially with the voice attached to it.

"This is Mordin. Go ahead."

"I made plans for tonight and would be honored if you could join me." Hel offered, heading towards her bedroom to start getting ready. "My place, half an hour from now? Wear something that makes you feel pretty."

"Your place, half an hour." she confirmed, "The honor is mine. I wouldn't miss it." she replied with a soft smile on her features. "Mordin out." and she concluded her work at the moment. This was more a personal project than anything else. A Class 1 Society was rare in the cosmos, mostly because most species approached the .8 Class status and presumed that it was well enough. A true Class 1 was rare. Food for later thought, for now though she had to prepare.

Hel smiled, almost dancing as she went about her business. She had plans and was looking forward to enacting them. Thus she quickly showered, put on underwear, pulled on a low-cut, short black dress with a split on the side and pulled her hair into a simple ponytail. Elegant black shoes, Minimal makeup and a silver skull necklace completed the look. And just in time too.

Half an hour later, and there was an announcement chime at Hel's door. Behind it waited the Daughter of Ts'usu, dressed in a simple silken dress that went from her neck to around mid-thigh. Soft green trim, with an off-white primary color, and shoes with a flat heel to match. Her hair was in a simple fastened ponytail that let the length of her hair trail, the single loop in her hair held up by a pair of what looked like lacquered sticks.

"The trek to your door wasn't too terrible, though I think I may have sent a crewmember to the sickbay. Missed a turn, bumped a wall." she admitted with a smirk, and no loss sense of pride.

Hel gave a low whistle at the vision before her. "Valeera, darling, you look lovely." She smiled, stepping aside, motioning for Valeria to enter - once again doing her best to pronounce Valeria's name the Ts'usugi way rather than the federationalised way.

Hel's quarters were as Valeria remembered them, sparely but tastefully decorated, though with an overall theme of death, albeit in a friendly way rather than a threatening one. The lights were dim, as both women preferred. Hel didn't need her contacts in this light, allowing Valeria a glimpse of something only few people ever saw, Hel's natural silvery steel colored eyes.

Hearing her name pronounced properly brought a smile to her face, a full and honest smile that she shared only with Hel. Certainly, she could request that others use her name's proper pronunciation. Certainly she could, but it would rob the way Hel said it of its glamour. As it was, it was a rare treat, a flower that bloomed only in the rain.

"Thank you. I love your necklace." she returned, compliment for compliment. "It does a marvelous purpose in drawing attention." Though Valeera's eyes were drawn simply by Hel's natural irises.

"Thank you, I'm quite fond of it myself." Hel smiled. She liked the minimalist approach of the simple pendant. "Come in, come in. Just take a seat anywhere, make yourself comfortable. Mi casa es su casa." She mused. There was a soft, melodic music playing, a few candles here and there to offer mood lighting, the heating seemed turned down a little bit below Federation standard. Hel had even gone through the trouble of replicating a dozen or so pillows strategically placed around her quarters, though half of them on her couch, just to make it seem that bit more comfortable.

"Have you eaten yet? What would you like to drink?"

"Thank you." Valeria said as she entered Hel's quarters and just took a moment to breath in the atmosphere. The decor, the dark, the abundance of pillows. It was very comfortable here, and pleasantly cool. She closed her eyes and just took a breath, holding it in for that moment before slowly letting it out, her entire form seeming to relax as she did. All the stress of the day, of the week, just melting away in the comfort of someone she felt close to. Her ears slowly perked up, catching the hint of music in the background, like the final touches to a canvas. She sat on the pillowed couch, and just relaxed for the moment.

"Black tea, if you don't mind." she responded, "And I haven't had the chance to yet, no." Truth be told, she was sifting through so much data she may have skipped lunch.

"Black tea it is." Hel offered as she disappeared into the small kitchen area. She hummed along with the music as she worked, before emerging again a few minutes later, carrying two plates. One had a generous helping of various types of bite-sized pieces of meat - grilled, roasted, fried, even barbecued - the other two glasses of black tea and various small bowls of dip sauces for the meat bites.

"There you go. Your tea, my tea, something to snack on." the pale engineer mused, sitting down next to Valeria after setting the plates down on the table. She pulled her legs up underneath her and made herself comfortable, leaning against Valeria as she did, seemingly casually, but keeping a weather eye on how the Ts'usugi reacted.

The rabbitess took her offered tea with a nod of thanks before her glance fell on the platter. "An excellent selection. Thank you." and she selected a small piece of meat to sample for a moment, just enjoying the texture, the scent, and of course the taste. As Hel got comfy, the Ts'usugi couldn't help but offer a soft smile, and as Hel leaned against her, there was a momentary pause before Valeria returned the posture, leaning gently into Hel who was leaning casually into her.

Touch. Contact. Very important in Ts'usugi culture. It was nice that Hel was comfortable enough around Valeria to show it.

"These are delicious. Especially this one." commented Valeria, with emphasis on the barbecue selection.

"I'll cook you some myself some time. Real ones I mean. Not replicated." Hel mused, nibbling on a bite sized piece of steak. "Some other time though." she added, enjoying the taste for a moment. The taste and the company.

"I've been wondering, lately. Thinking." the pale Engineer continued after a few moments of quiet comfort. "It's no secret by now that I really like you. In a romantic way, I mean. So far you seem to return the sentiment." Hel half turned to be able to look at Valeria. "But I know that your people put a lot of importance into protocols. There's checklists for anything, it seems. It's all very formal. And I know nothing really about proper Ts'usugi dating protocol. Hell, I don't even know if there is such a thing, and whether it covers same gender dating outside Ts'usugi culture."

Hel remained quiet for a moment before continuing. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I want to see where we can take this, but I'm afraid of inadvertently doing or saying the wrong thing and offending you."

At the mention of her 'thinking', Valeria gave Hel her undivided attention. Sometimes, she smiled softly, others she nodded, and at one point she even giggled while nodding.

"I'm allowed to date whoever I want, provided they aren't going to hurt or hinder me or my family." she started, "So in that, I see no threat in you." and then she gave another giggle, "And yes, the secret to Ts'usugi happiness is in the protocol. Though, this is new ground for my people. We've never really interacted with an outside people long enough to gain an interest in them, never mind a romantic interest." she commented. "Aside from the Dalacari, but neither of our people find the other emotionally stimulating." she smirked.

"As for offending me, the very fact that you took the time to say those words means you would never directly intent to hurt me. In that, I could never throw away what we have here..." she paused to gently press her forehead against Hel's, "... over something like an innocent act or deed. I will let you know if something you do is troublesome, as I expect you would do the same for me." she pointed out. "And we can explore this, together."

Hel smiled warmly at that and nudged her forehead against Valeria's for a moment, as if to punctuate the words. "Good. Good. Because .... " With a quiet giggle she turned and swung a leg around, moving to straddle Valeria's lap, smiling one might say wickedly as she began to softly sing, a serenade for the Ts'usugi.

"A dangerous stream of passion flows through my heart. The melodies sung in secret, tearing me apart. Emotions fade into music and drift through the night, determined to wonder freely, forever more." She swayed her torso with the song, the words a melody, the melody soaring. "This feeling's rushing through me and again, I'm willing to surrender to the violent notes that spin around. I'd give it up for you. This feeling's clinging to me and again, I'm willing to surrender. I could lose my breath but even then - " She leaned in to plant a soft kiss on Valeria's nose, before finishing the song in a whisper. "I'd give it up for you."

It was a known fact that Ts'usugi metabolisms ran high, and with it a warmer-than-normal base body temperature. Hence their comfort zone of temperatures being slightly lower than normal. To say that Valeria was warm to the touch was a simple fact. To say that things got a bit warmer...

At the straddle, the rabbitess quickly set her tea down. At the song, at the sway, she followed the motions along. Her ears perked, her attention held tight, and then that silly nose kiss. Of all the things in the Emperor's court, humans kissed weird. Though, she was getting used to it.

"I could listen to you sing for years." she admitted in a hushed whisper, leaning in close so that the moment was only shared between them. Gently, she brought her forehead into contact with Hel's again, just enjoying the closeness. The contact. The moment. She had a soft scent to her, probably something either from Ts'usu's moons, or something concocted to resemble the original scent. It was soft, distant, more like remembering a scent rather then directly experiencing it. Gently, the rabbitess' hands found their way around Hel's waist. Nothing gripping, just ... making sure no one fell.

Safety first.

It was those hands, that touch, that melted away all uncertainty Hel had felt. The heart that had skipped a beat in anxiety now skipped one from that touch. She closed her eyes, shifting a bit to make more comfortable on Valeria's lap, then - foreheads still touching - she mirrored Valeria's gesture and brought her hands to the other woman's waist.

"Will you stay the night?" She asked in a hushed tone. "No expectations, nothing you don't want to do. Just - don't leave." Then a giggle. "I'll sing more for you."

"How could I resist such a temptation?" Valeria responded, then gently gave a nod. The soft fur of her forehead rubbing against the bare skin of Hel's. "I'll stay. But..." there was a soft giggle, "All these pillows are mine."

*Fade to black*

To be concluded ...