What Tender, Young Creatures

Posted on Wed Aug 14th, 2024 @ 7:09am by Lieutenant JG Nayisa Wrea & Lieutenant Xavier Leiko

Mission: Into the Qniverse
Location: Magical Forest
2964 words - 5.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Nayisa was dancing with Astrja, and their surroundings changed mid-spin. More importantly, her physical support as the Suliban Slammers kicked in was no longer present, so without something to stop her she spun more than she intended to. Even when she stopped, the world continued to spin, and tilt. She stepped back, her foot catching on something, and in a rather ungraceful flail she landed on her back, the cape she tripped on draping around her.

A red cape? For some reason, this was funny to her, and the silver-haired woman started giggling, still laying on the ground. The environmental controls she was inspecting earlier were good. The breeze and the heat of the sun felt so relaxing, enough to let her nap right where she was...

There was a blinding white flash and Xavier used his arm to shield his eyes. When he moved his arm away the white light was gone and so were the dual suns of Legoria II. Instead, he appeared to be in some kind of wood, surrounded by trees of all shapes and sizes. He recognised a few of them but he couldn't place what planet they were from. He rubbed his head, realising for the first time that he was alone. A moment ago, his mind had been filled with the thoughts of others, but now there was nothing, silence. Wait, not alone, there was someone here.

Xavier turned in all directions and spotted a crumpled mess, shrouded in red. As he drew closer he recognised the other woman from the Athena, Lieutenant Wren or something. She appeared to be sleeping, so he shook her gently. "Are you okay?"

Her dozing off was interrupted by a voice, followed by a hand on her shoulder. "Huhwhuhimuhwake," she said, jerking into an upright position. Blinking, she concentrated on focusing her eyes before she turned to see who was with her, recognizing his features. "Leiko!" She gave him a dopey grin, "dude, these environmental controls are sick!"

"I don't think this is a simulation," Xavier replied as he helped her to his feet. It all felt too real; the breeze on his face, the aroma from the wildflowers that grew nearby, the heat from the sun. "I think we have been transported off-world," he continued, reaching the only logical conclusion he could think of. "What are you wearing?"

"Off world?" Nayisa did another look around, trying to gauge just how real it was. Perhaps that fourth slammer was one too many. At the question, she looked down at herself, seeing that she was embraced by a bright red cloak. "A cloak? Weird..." Standing, she swayed slightly before fanning out the cloak, watching it fall around her. "A nice one at that. I don' care who it belongs to, it's mine now."

"Well at least something good has come out today," Xavier replied with a grin. It was only now that he realised that he too was draped in the same style of red cloak. Unlike Wrea he didn't seem nearly as thrilled about it. "Are we in some kind of cult?"

Nayisa turned back around to face Xavier, holding out her hands slightly as the slammers in her system insisted that she needed to be several centimeters tilted to the left. "Maybe. Wonder what kind of cult. Obviously a fun cult, considering they give these to their members." It took perhaps a second longer than she'd normally take to call out her reply as a joke with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Heh, cult is kind of a fun word to say..."

Xavier shook his head in mild annoyance. "How much did you drink at the party?" He asked. He wished he had a way of sobering her up but they didn't even know where they were never mind how to get his hands on some coffee.

"Just a couple Suliban Slammers," Nayisa answered with a goofy grin. "Maybe like... four. But I know my limits, promise." While the slammers were affecting her, she had conditioned herself to handle it in case she ever had to drink to blend in during missions. Even the conditioning had limits. "You're just the DD if we take a shuttle."

Nearby, some bushes rustled.

Xavier was about to question what the hell a 'DD' was when he quickly turned toward the rustling brushes. He instinctively reached for where his phaser would be on his left hip holster but all he found was more of the red cape that he had spawned with in this strange place. "Who's there?" He yelled. "Come out slowly."

There was some more rustling, then a creature began to emerge from the bushes. Grey fur seemed to brush the leaves aside, and each step left a faint imprint of a paw in the dirt. Nose turned up, the creature sniffed the air, its ears perked with attentiveness. Once it was fully in view, its attention turned to the pair wearing bright colors. It displayed no aggression, nor did it move, aside from a very faint sway of its tail. Black beady eyes studied the two closely with hesitant curiosity.

The wolf watched the pair for a long moment. Then, slowly, it began to stand up. Its spine curved upward in a strange way, allowing its front legs to leave the ground. "What brings you so far into the forest, you little red tasties?" A rumbling voice asked. It continued to stand on its hindlimbs until its head was just above the taller of the two.

Nayisa was initially surprised at the presence of a wolf, but the sight of it standing up sent a rather startled shiver down her spine. She didn't often get goosebumps, but her hair was standing on end at the sight. It reminded her of stories her friends would share around campfires, and she assumed they were just trying to get a rise out of everyone. The way the wolf stood up was exactly like how those stories had described. She opened her mouth, then closed it, then repeated that a couple of times.

Xavier watched the wolf, just as dumbfoundedly as the intelligence officer. He had been in Starfleet for many years and had grown up in a Starfleet family. He had travelled the galaxy and met aliens of all shapes and sizes, but he couldn't recall ever feeling as uneasy as he did now. Maybe it was because everything about the wolf had seemed so normal until he had risen onto its hindlegs and talked. Not everything he reminded himself. Even before the creature had spoken, Xavier had been able to pick up fleeting thoughts from it. Not like when he was in the presence of other animals; no, this was different, this creature was sentient and he knew it long before the words flowed from its depth.

"How are you able to communicate?" The Betazoid asked, trying to sound more confident than he felt. "Who are you?"

The creature studied the tall one, a small twitch of the nose hinting to its own investigation of people in this part of the forest. "I communicate by thinking, then talking," the wolf responded, as if the question were an incredibly stupid one. "I go by many names, but the last ones through this forest called me... Wolfington Barkshire."

The initial shock of seeing a creature morph into a standing position was replaced by an outburst of laughter. Any seriousness Nayisa had in the moment was blown away at the creature's name. "Wolfington Barkshire?! Seriously???" Nayisa repeated, clearly amused by the ridiculous name. She seemed to be the only one. "Ok, those slammers have to be messing with me, there's no way that's actually your name! Also, talking wolf? Am I hallucinating?"

The shorter one didn't seem to take the creature seriously, the fur on its back slowly rising. Quickly, it scooped her up by the collar of the red cloak with its teeth and pushed her into a tree, using its strength to push her about a foot off the ground. As it transitioned to use a paw to keep her in place, one of its nails nicked her cheek. "There are no tricks here, little one. You better watch yourself. I can smell the intoxication on you... you are very easy prey."

Nayisa gasped when she felt herself practically flying, then suspended in the air by this creature, wincing when her back hit the tree and again when the wolf cut her cheek. Her hands went to the paw holding her, hoping to either keep from falling or from getting eaten. Maybe both. "M-my, what sharp teeth you have..." she squeaked out, unable to look away from the bared mouth of death right in front of her face.

Xavier acted as the wolf swiped the silver-haired woman from the ground. He tried to pull his arm free from her neck but with no success. He hadn't appreciated just how strong the creature was but now he was closer he could see the rippling muscles that would make Teyo look like a wet noodle, and the teeth... Xavier pulled harder as Wolfington bared its wide mouth, fearing for the life of his colleague but with a simple manoeuvre the wolf was able to fight Xavier off whilst still holding her off the ground.

Xavier stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, landing hard on his rear end. Something Wrea said resonated inside of him. The cloaks, the wolf, the teeth... "Do you know the way to Grandma's house Wolfington?"

Grandma's house?? Maybe you're the drunk one! What the hell are you doing?? Nayisa thought. She would have said it out loud, but the paw at her throat didn't provide much grace for talking, and she barely got her last words out. Instead of talking, she focused on trying to keep breathing, which meant trying to stay calm despite a very large paw trying to crush her.

The wolf turned its attention to the weakling that tried to break its grasp on the intoxicated one. Wolfington knew of a house in the woods, perhaps it was their destination. Why else would this black-eyed creature ask for directions? "What grandson doesn't know where his grandmother lives?" The wolf judged, an underlying rumble mixing into its words. "There is only one house in this part of the forest, by the three oak trees... hmm, I do remember seeing someone there. I wouldn't have expected her to be your grandmother, though you both have a similar... calm scent."

In the wolf's memory, a red-bricked house stood in a small meadow, surrounded by three towering oak trees. In front of the house was a small garden, and a figure was kneeling by it and tending to plants. Her greyed dreadlocks were pulled back into a bun, minus a couple that managed to evade capture by the hair tie. A piece of jewelry draped across her forehead, minimalistic in design due to the nature of her work. Her red printed dress had long white sleeves to protect from the sun, and a couple of tattoos peeked out from the sleeves whenever she reached down.

"Zora," Xavier said, the name escaping from his mouth without his permission. The scene in the wolf's head was clear and it was certainly her, though older than he had ever seen her. You're in a red cape, in a mystery forest, talking to a wolf -- Zora's age is the least of your problems his subconscious happily reminded him.

"It's been a while since we visited her," Xavier said as he slowly got to his feet. "I know, we're terrible grandchildren but we got a little bit lost. We're no threat to you," he raised his hands in the air as though proving his point. "Let us go and we'll be on our way."

The wolf's ears twitched as the tall one seemed to remember his own grandmother. The tall one seemed to gain a more... protective scent. "Well, I can help you find your way, you little red tasties," Wolfington said in a rumbling tone. "Your grandmother's house is a quarter of a league further into the woods. You'll recognize it by the three oak trees around it." Wolfington's lips curled into the wolf equivalent of a sneer, "perhaps I should let dear grandma know to expect her little tasties."

With that, the wolf let go of Nayisa, shaped back into a more natural wolf, and bounded away.

Nayisa flailed slightly when she was suddenly let go, collapsing to the ground under the tree. She gasped, then coughed, a hand gently rubbing her throat to try and soothe it. Imprints of the claws digging into her skin were still noticeable, and a small trickle of blood crept from the scratch on her cheek. If there was one way to sober her up, nearly being eaten by a sentient wolf would do it.

Xavier leapt to the woman's side as soon as the wolf was out of sight. "Wren, are you okay?" He asked, his voice slightly panicked by the blood trickling down her face. Any hope of this being a holodeck program was lost now, this was real, somehow. "I think it's going to eat Commander Zora."

Nayisa gave a thumbs up as she finished coughing. "Wrea," she rasped, correcting him. Sitting up, she gave her throat another rub before wiping the blood on her cheek. Scratching her was definitely a display of dominance, but she knew that wolves had a strong sense of smell. The scent of her blood could be used to track her if Wolfington had memorized her scent.

Heh, Wolfington Barkshire. What a goofy name for a wolf.

With another cough to clear her throat, Nayisa processed what Xavier had said. "Well, we can't let that happen," she replied. Insisting that she was alright, the intelligence officer stood up, her hand on the tree just in case. She could still feel the paw imprint, but it felt more like a shadow of a touch. "Remind me to get this tattooed when we get back, cause it's pretty hardcore," she commented with a little smile, pointing to her neck.

Xavier nodded. "I'm sure that will look very..." What was the term that Teyo had used that one time... "badass! But right now I think we should prioritise saving the Commander's life." He thought for a second, doing his best to ignore the ridiculousness of the situation. "You're intel, right? Think you can track a wolf with a goofy name?"

"Of course I can!" Nayisa gave him a look of mock offense and put a dramatic hand on her chest. Compared to some of the profiles she'd tracked before, a wolf should be easy work. Despite her rather laid back composure, inside she felt a strong sense of defensiveness after Leiko used the exact descriptor for the wolf that she was thinking of. Even if it was a passive read, it reminded her that, if anything, she had to be more careful with her thoughts when under the influence. This time, it was her opinion on the wolf's name, but she didn't want a next time. She had no doubt that Xavier could sense her reinforcing her mental defenses in response. In a way, she hoped he did sense it, so she wouldn't have to be serious and make a point.

Those proverbial doors were sealed.

"If you don't want me reading your thoughts maybe you should stop screaming them at me," Xavier bit before he had a chance to stop himself. He was sick of tip-toeing around humans and other species, protecting their precious thoughts like bars of gold-pressed latinum. All of them thinking they were utterly unique when in reality they were all more similar than they cared to admit. "Now let's stop wasting time and go and find Commander Zora. Lead the way!"

Admittedly, the reaction surprised Nayisa. He seemed a little extra defensive, but outburst aside he did have a point. If Zora was in danger, then they had to get moving. Instead of any verbal --or mental-- response, she simply gave him a bemused 'alright, chill' expression, choosing to not press the issue further.

The best place to start was in the direction the wolf took off. With a slight flick of her wrist, Nayisa satisfied her urge to make the cape billow behind her as she followed the paw prints left in the dirt. She noticed some specks next to the paw prints and knelt down, picking up a couple of the pieces. They were small seeds, the shape of the shell allowing it to catch in the fur of animals so they can travel and grow. Perhaps from some kind of shrub? Looking around, her dark eyes studied the plants around her, pouting slightly when she didn't see anything in their immediate surroundings that would match. Spotting some bright flowers, she stood and picked as many as she could, or more specifically the petals, and shoved them into her pocket.

Keeping a couple of petals in her hand, she made a small pile by the tree she was nearly devoured at, before following the paw prints. Every couple of meters, she would drop a flower petal, effectively making a trail so they could retrace their steps. Her keen eyes followed the paw prints, then the seeds when the prints disappeared beneath leaves. The trail soon opened to a path, and she saw both the paw prints and the seeds again. "Hope you brought your walking shoes," Nayisa said to him with a smirk.