The most valuable thing, pt 2

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

Mission: Of Machines and Men
Location: Hel's quarters
Timeline: The morning after pt 1

Hel smiled warmly, still a bit sleepy, just watching Valeria still sleeping. The soft rise and fall of a well-shaped chest, clothed only in a thin Ts'usugi set of pajamas. She herself was clothed in a slightly warmer set, having purposely replicated them so she could be warm enough even in the cooler room temperature that Valeria enjoyed.

Now though it was time to wake up. If they wanted to shower, have breakfast, get ready for the day's duties, they couldn't lounge in bed anymore. Those ears though, now floppy and just leisurely resting. That bunny nose that moved with each slow, comfortable breath. Those eyes, now hidden from her behind closed eyelids but forever burned into her soul ...

Very gently as not to disturb Valeria Hel snuck out of bed. Not going far, not away for long, she returned a moment or two later with an instrument made of thin wood, colored a warm and luxurious brown, and with a long neck - an instrument strange perhaps to Ts'usugi eyes. She gently sat on the edge of the bed, smiling down at someone who was more dear to her than she had ever imagined someone could ever be, and started strumming a soft melody - the harmony ringing quietly out of her acoustic guitar.

A few strums in, and those eyes shifted beneath the lids. Slowly, slumber vacated the daughter of Ts'usu and wakefulness was... well, queued to make an appearance. Slowly, a lid opened to expose the pool of blue beneath it to the world. It moved from point to point, before slowly making its way to focus on Hel. That's when the soft smile started to slide along her lips. "Don't stop." she whispered, as she slowly became more and more awake. Bed Hair was one thing, but to include ears into the mess was a problem that probably only Ts'usugi had. Simply put, she was a mess. A beautiful mess.

"What time is it?" she asked before she gave a grand stretch, that went from the tips of her fingers down the length of her form to the toes on her feet.

"Time to wake up, sleepyhead." Hel smiled, then gave a musical giggle at the ears, and wiggled and mmmm'd a bit at the streEEetch. "Beautiful sleepyhead. Forty five minutes before our shifts start. I figured we'd wake up, you go shower while I make you breakfast, then I go shower, we get dressed." She answered, still strumming those chords, her foot tapping and torso lightly swaying to the rhythm. The music was almost enchanting, her fingers like spiders on the steel strings, the melody haunting. "No rush. Plenty of time."

With that she began to sing. What Valeera might have believed to be just a random set of chords was the music to a classic song from earth. "I close my eyes," Hel began the haunting lyrics that spoke of the passing of time, the ending of things. "Only for a moment and the moment's gone. All my dreams pass before my eyes a curiosity. Dust in the wind - all they are is dust in the wind."

She not just sang the words but felt them, let them permeate through her entire form. Her whole body swayed with the melody, her expression sombre, her voice passionate - almost breaking on occasion - and a lone speck of salty dampness appearing in an eye as she performed the climax of the song. "Now don't hang on. Nothing lasts forever but the stars and sky. It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind - dust in the wind."

And there she let the song, the words, the melody, the chords, trail off.

Valeera's tired ears perked as the strum became a song. Then the words came in, and there was such a haunting feel to them. A ghost of a song, sung by antiquity itself. She remained in bed, enraptured on each word and note as Hel sang for her. Such a lovely voice, truly. As the song trailed off, the rabbitess offered a bit of soft applause, "Excellent." she complimented, "Such a haunting song. There has to be a story behind it."

"Is there? Did the songwriter lose someone? Or is it more about the inevitability of death?" she asked. Knowing what she knew about Hel, it would explain a little as to why the song was so readily known to Hel.

"According to period records, the song is a reflection on all Man's accomplishments, that before the passage of time they are all minute and humble." Hel rose from the bed, offering Valeria a hand up. "It's a reminder of the inevitability of death, and that everything we do will, at some point, end." she smiled, giving Valeera a kiss on the cheek. "I like it because it has a beautiful melody and a strong message. It keeps me honest, so to say. Reminds me of my place in the universe." she added, as she showed the other the way to her shower.

She stood with the offered assistance, "In the end, everything ends. It's haunting." she remarked, then gave a smirk at the cheek kiss, "Human kisses are still so funny." She offered with a giggle. "No complaints, though." she added after a moment.

"I won't be too long. Promise." the daughter of Ts'usu remarked as she turned and headed into the bathroom, her next destination a nice relaxing shower. Hopefully one that'd help her wake up finally...

When Valeria came back from the shower she was greeted by she smell of something savory as well as very sugary. It smelled real, very real, this was definitely not replicated. And when she followed the smell to the small kitchen area of Hel's quarters, she found a small table set with two places, a plate for each of them, a knife and a fork. In the middle a large plate with a stack of flat, brown colored and delicious smelling round pieces of food alien to Ts'usugi.

"Ah! Perfectly timed." as Hel took her frying pan off the small two-pit stove and deposited one of those flat, round brown things on Valeria's plate. "Bacon pancakes. Here's powdered sugar, here's syrup. Pick one, distribute over pancake, roll up, eat with knife and fork. enjoy!" she explained in a sing-song-y voice, almost dancing around the table as she headed to her own plate. Someone was in a good mood.

When Valeria emerged she looked far more awake and prepared to face the day. That's when the aroma hit her. She perked up, her ears perked, her tail perked, her eyes widened. "Ooooo... I ... I know that smell." she started. That's when she spied them, and that's when Hel explained them.

They were called Pancakes! With Bacon. Oh, oh she knew bacon. Bacon was a new friend of her's.... She sat, and gave a deep sniff of the raw, untouched beauty of the stack before her. She wanted to try everything. Powder... Syrup... Powder AND Syrup... "This smells delicious, I ... " and she opted to just give one of the pancakes a powder, and then rolled it up and gave a nibble as instructed.

Somewhere, in her brain... neurons were exploding in ways they never even ignited prior. These were amazing! Another nibble, and then a chomp. The purest sign of enjoyment was how quickly manners flew out the window. "Deef aaar..." and then she quickly recalled her manners. She took a few moments to properly chew and swallow. "These are delicious. They're just light and fluffy enough, just meaty enough. Oh my littlest sister would be *singing* to you right now."

Hel laughed a melodic laugh even as she slapped one down on her own plate, electing syrup for hers. A streak dumped on the pancake, the pancake rolled and a sizable chunk cut of with the knife. It seemed this wasn't a food to be delicate with. "Well, maybe I'll meet her some time, make her some. You'll have to teach me Ts'usugi though, unless she speaks Federation standard?" A pause. "I should probably learn Ts'usugi anyways." And CHOMP.

"When I write them, and I do often, I write two letters. One in Ts'usugibo and the other in Federation Standard." the rabbitess explained, "My youngest sister, Andrama, knows a few words in Federation Standard already. The important ones, of course. Yes, No, coffee, tea, count to ten." she smirked.

"My oldest brother Janis, he's almost fluent in Federation Standard. Mom picks up what she can, Dad can almost absorb languages and dialects." there was no denying the pride there, though if it was for her parents or her siblings, hard to say. "As for learning, I could teach you a few choice phrases. Never know when you need to prove who you are, and the only way to do so is to tell me the time of day like no one else can."

Hel listened, trying not to be too distracted by Valeria's eyes as she nommed her pancake, condemning the sweet and savory treat to eternal damnation in consumption. After Valeera was done speaking she remained quiet for a moment, reaching a hand out to find its Ts'usugi counterpart. "We're here making plans for the future and it doesn't even feel awkward or weird." Another pause. "Part of me is kinda freaked out by that. But also excited."

Valeera took a moment to stop chomping to let Hel's hand find her own. "I'm probably just as nervous, but one of the first things a young Ts'usugi learns is how not to show it." she paused, "I'm very comfortable here." she stated, and paused to let that sit. "Where we go from here, as long as we do it honest, and together." she gave Hel's hand a squeeze, "That's all I could ask for."

"And all I could ask for too." Hel smiled, returning the squeeze. A brief moment passes before she drew her hand back and pointed at the stack. "More? I'm having more. I baked enough, don't be shy." This one with powdered sugar. "I thought about making apple pancakes, but I wasn't sure you liked apple. I figured you'd like bacon."

"We don't have apples on Ts'usu. Or anywhere in the Empire, really." she admitted. "First one I ever had was from the Federation. I wanted to try to introduce them to the Empire, but the Botanical Commission hasn't gotten back to me yet. They're afraid it could be an invasive species." Valeera commented, with a smirk as she took the next pancake on the stack, this one destined to be adorned with syrup. "They're delicious." she admitted in a whisper.

"Why don't you go get ready for your shift? I'll.... save you at least one pancake." she paused, "I promise. At least one."

"No need. I smuggled like two while you were showering." Hel winked, finishing her pancake, then rising from the table to go take her shower. "Apples. Invasive species. Hehehehe." She made sure to put extra sway in her hips as she walked.

Valeria gave a smirk, and gave a glance over as Hel departed. They kissed funny, sure, but they sure did walk nice. True to her word, she'd save Hel at least one pancake.

One. Pancake.

Hel came back a good ten minutes later, having quickly showered, pulled her hair in a ponytail, put in her contacts and pulled on her uniform. She chuckled when she saw the spare pancake and decided to eat it au natural - no powdered sugar or syrup on this one. She didn't feel a need to say anything, no words were needed. And perhaps that was the purest sign of the bond these two women had built up over so short a time, that silence was as comfortable as discussion.

Valeera had finished her selection of pancakes and was dabbing away at the syrup around her mouth. When she saw Hel return, she gave a soft yet honest smile.

It wasn't until Hel had finished her final pancake that Valeera rose up. As Hel had donned her uniform to become an Engineer, it was time for Valeera to become a Science officer. Moreso, it was time for her to become Valeria again.

"I like seeing you like this. Bold, determined." she complimented with a nod. "The only thing stopping you from conquering the world is not having enough space on your shelf to display it."

Hel grinned. "Sounds about right. Rawr." Then a smile. "I blame you, though." she mused, finishing her final pancake, the last one she'd made. "Go get ready, I'll clean this up. Fifteen minutes 'til our shift starts."

"I'm the guest here. I really *should* help." the rabbitess mentioned. "And no, it's not a Dishonor on the House and Family. You're allowed to refuse my help, as the Hostess." the first real lesson on Ts'usugi culture, over pancakes.

"In human culture the guests are supposed to be catered to, not do any of the work." Hel explained. "At least, where I grew up. Go get ready, you've already helped me. No way I could've gotten through that stack on my own." she winked.

With that, Valeera gave a nod, "Glad to be of service." she offered, hands softly folded before her. She held that pose for a moment before she gave a giggle, and made her way off to finish getting ready.

And with that, Hel set about recycling the plates and utensils, storing her powdered sugar and syrup.

As Hel had transformed into an officer of Starfleet, so to did Valeria as she returned. Ready to face the questions and quandaries of the day, her hair sufficiently floofed and maneuvered, her ears perked and ready to listen.

And those eyes.

There was no shine, no luster, no surrender. They took everything and all they offered back was a glance into a soft blue eternity. "Ready to face the day, Lieutenant?"

"Yep!" Hel said as she headed for the door, though there she halted, waiting for Valeera.

Valeria walked up to take those next few steps out together. Like an adventuring band taking their first steps out to a brave new world.

"Before we start the work day though ... " The pale engineer turned more serious, taking Valeria's hands in hers, moving up close to the other woman. "Remember that song I sang for you? Dust in the Wind?"

Once again, Valeria's hands and Hel's found each other, "Yes. I don't think I'll be forgetting it anytime soon."

"The real message of the song is that the most valuable thing we have is time. It's the one thing we have that always ticks down, that - once spent - never comes back. When it's gone it's gone forever. There truly is nothing more valuable. And you ... " Hel smiled warmly, her own black eyes drowning in those deep mysterious pools. "You choose to spend yours with me." And with that Hel wrapped her arms around Valeria and pulled her into a kiss slower, deeper and longer than any she ever had in reality or dream.

Being close didn't surprise Valeria. Being pulled closer certainly didn't. The kiss, however, was a surprise. Valeria didn't fight it, but it was unexpected. The emotion, the passion, the desire. The desire to spend more and more time together, the emotion and passion behind every single act. Where even the simplest action had moon shattering attachments. Welcome attachments. Valeria's arms found their way around Hel, holding her close during this moment they shared. Time, valuable time, time that they shared.

When the kiss broke, Valeria lingered close to Hel, her forehead gently resting against the human's. "You kiss weird.... but I like it."

"So you keep telling me, yes." Hel smiled. Just an unconcerned, honest, happy smile. Such a rare thing. "Time to go to work. And - ... Thank you. For being you."