The Cottage: A Trill-ling Adventure Part II

Posted on Tue Sep 3rd, 2024 @ 10:08pm by Ensign Kateyo Fenn & Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone

Mission: Into the Qniverse
Location: Space Has No Meaning
Timeline: Time Has No Meaning
2369 words - 4.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Teyo and Mason made their way along the winding path that led to the colourful cottage. As they got closer, the Trill could see the intricate details that were carved into the hardwood of the front door. Someone had carved hundreds of vines that interlaced with each other, crisscrossing to create a network of wild plants, escaping their humble beginnings and reaching for the freedom of the sky. Each vine ended in a wild rose, expertly and painstakingly carved, with no two of the romantic flowers resembling the next.

"It's not too late to turn back," Teyo said to Mason. His eyes pleaded with the man to agree while his heart knew that was the last thing he wanted.

Mason admired the delicate woodwork for a moment then turned to face the Trill. Staying silent, he watched the man, studied him for several seconds as he took in his stance, his expression. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but this was very unlike the brash Trill he knew. He was now very certain his friendwas afraid of something.

Eyes never leaving his face, Mason reached out to put his hand on Teyo's well-formed arm. "Teyo, whatever it is, whatever you're afraid of telling me, I promise, we're in this together. I promise, I got your back, alright?" With his other hand, he pushed against the door to open it. "We have to see this through."

Teyo the man was surprised by Mason's touch, it was unwanted and he longed to remove it by force. Teyo the newly joined host craved Mason's touch and he wanted to embrace it. Not just Kateyo and no longer Fenn, Trixx, an inner voice said, bubbling to the surface. Torn between these thoughts, he froze unknowing what to do and grateful when Mason pushed the door and entered the cottage.

The pair stepped into the room and though Teyo had never been here in his life, he knew every inch and detail of the home. It was quite simple and very modest. The room they entered wasn't much bigger than the average quarters on the Athena; one large room with a kitchen, dining, and living space. There was a staircase that led to a bedroom and bathroom upstairs, but the young Trill was unsure how he knew this. Everything was a dark wood but it wasn't cold, in fact, the place was homely and inviting. The wall closest to the door was lined with photographs and immediately caught Teyo's eye. In every picture, in different settings and poses, was a woman. She had a round face framed by short-cropped jet-black hair. Her eyes were jade-green and her rosy red cheeks were highlighted even more by her unmistaken dimples. Dark spots ran down the sides of her face, disappearing into her high collar, or vest, depending on the picture. In nearly every picture she was draped over a man, a human, a Mason.

Teyo moved to one of the pictures closest to him and he stroked it with a single finger. "Riani," he muttered softly.

Mason studied the pictures, at first not realizing who he was looking at . "You seem to remember the woman," he started, assuming Teyo was referring to the woman when he uttered a name, "can't blame you... Even I can appreciate her beauty." And the spots just made her look even more exotic. Then his focus shifted and his admiration turned to confusion. "But who is she, and how am I in those pictures?" It was clear something romantic had been going on between him and the woman, based on the evidence. But how? "Is this her house? Do we... live here?" What was Q up to, surely if he was involved he should at least have some memories?

He turned to Teyo, who seemed lost in the framed pictures. Again, he reached out to draw his attention. "Tey? What is she to you?"

"We live here," Teyo said solemnly as his finger moved back and forth between the two of them. He turned back to the pictures and found his favourite one towards the top left. The pair were outside underneath the oak tree just up the path. There were more leaves on the ground than on the branches but the brilliant colours of oranges, reds, and browns told a story of beauty and change rather than cold and death. The pair were being playful and the jade eyes shone more brightly than normal. "She's gone now," Teyo said in a faraway voice.

Snapping back to reality, Teyo shivered slightly and then clapped his hands so loudly that the noise echoed around the small room. "Drinks, I should get us some drinks," he said as he made his way to the kitchen. He filled the kettle with water from the tap and then placed it on the stove. It took three attempts to light it but this particular stove ring always did that. He pulled down a tin from one of the shelves and pulled out some leaves, instinctively smelling them before placing them into a teapot he gathered from the cupboard. "I hope you like tea, there's no coffee here. I think we have some honey too, it can be a little sweet but some people like it that way. I-- She-- Riani did."

"Tea is fine," Mason answered, startled by the echoing sound. His eyes fixed on Teyo now, alerted by something he said. "You are, or were, Riani," he connected the dots now, "the woman in the picture." He paused, remembering the tale Teyo told him earlier. "And I'm the woman's...husband? I guess?" He needed a moment to let that sink in. "And you... you're the new host."

He sank down on a nearby chair. "I think I need something a little stronger than tea.... How long ago did Riani die?"

"I think I can help with that," Teyo said as he brandished a clear bottle with a brown liquid inside. The bottle was half full and clearly homemade but from his experience, this was better than anything they had on the Athena. He hesitated before adding the liquid to the cups of tea he had just poured. He knew what was coming, he knew what this night was. Was it better to have their wits about them or should they feel a bit numb before the end? He decided that numb would be better and poured generous portions into the steaming cups.

"Here," Teyo said as he slid a cup towards Mason at the table. "I know this is a lot to take in, I'm sorry." He gave into temptation and took Mason's hand in his own but avoided the man's gaze.

Sipping the tea, Mason could feel the alcoholic addition burn down his throat. It had a pleasant taste he couldn't quite place. He watched as Teyo took his hand but made no attempt to pull it back as he felt allowed it was offering some sense of comfort. "Yeah," he answered slowly, looking up at him. "It is but it's alright. You're apologizing for something you don't have control over. Whatever happens, I don't think there's anything we can do to change it. Q would just reset it and have us do it again right?"

He took another sip of the spiked tea. "This is quite nice... Has a bit of a mead like taste to it? We're not bee keepers in this, are we?" He decided to try and keep things light, and hopefully draw a smile from his clearly troubled friend. "Tey, whatever happens, you're not alone okay? We're in this together, and we'll see it through together. Why don't you show me around this house we're clearly supposed to be sharing?" He squeezed the hand that still had his, hopefully in an encouraging manner. "And tell me about Riani? She sounds like a wonderful woman, I'm sure one my sisters would've loved to meet." He took another sip then set the cup down.

"She was," Teyo nodded in return. He couldn't look at Mason, she wanted to but he knew that he wasn't strong enough to allow that to happen. Instead, he watched as the steam from his cup rose into the still air and then vanished, becoming one with the millions of other particles in the air; a metaphor for the Trill maybe? "You would have loved her Mase. She was so intelligent and funny, but without meaning to be, in a dorky way, like you." He allowed himself a glance into Mason's eyes, his own showing a sincerity he was sure Mason had never seen in him before.

Teyo took a drink of the tea and a smile came to his face. It tasted like home, it tasted like here. "When she died it broke you, it broke me," Teyo continued, his eyes back on the cup. "The thought of our love ending so quickly, I knew I had to find you. I risked everything and broke our most sacred law without even knowing how you would react to this new body, react to me, Nuben." He looked back up at Mason and couldn't stop as the tears started to fall. "You, he..." damn these pronouns "...didn't love Nuben in the same way. But then he would move or laugh in a certain way and it reminded you, him, so much of Riani... well I think it was just some comfort for you. Half a love is better than no love."

Perk of being a linguist was that he could see from his body language that the Trill was being earnest. "Dorky huh, I'll take that as a compliment," he answered patiently as he listened, "I can imagine being broken..." He paused, watching Teyo intently as he'd never seen the man so vulnerable before. "Hey ... It's okay Teyo..." Without thinking, he walked around the table and wrapped his arms around the man in a thoughtless act of offering comfort. "We'll sort this out even if for some reason you're the only one with memories here."

He could somewhat understand why he would love one host but not the other as they were two very different people even though from his point of view, it'd probably be the other way around. He reached to wipe away the tears with the cuff if his sleeve. "Come, it's no good waiting here, let's go see the house and you can tell me why we chose to live here. Maybe I'll finally have some memories too... and if not I'll likely never forget this place when we get through this... and we will." Mason stood by his word, and he could see how it affected the Trill. "Don't worry about the pronoun, just act as if I'm him... because clearly from the pictures, I am."

"Part of Q's twisted mind," Teyo said bitterly. He looked at the timepiece in the kitchen, they had time for a tour of the place, time before they came. So Teyo led Mason around the home. He showed the human the living room where they would sit huddled together in the evenings by the fireplace and talk or read, or... you know. He showed him the kitchen where they would prepare their meals from the produce they grew in the garden beyond. He showed him the bedroom upstairs and the shrine they had built for Riani. He showed him everything of importance both to Riani and Jago and then to Nuben and Jago. Two half-lives all under one thatched roof.

"I can see why we would live here," Mason marveled as he was led around, "it's so peaceful and beautiful. If this were real, I'm not sure I'd want to leave. I could live here..." He smiled encouragingly, because he could easily see Teyo was apprehensive. "But if you feel we need to leave, then we will," he added quietly while glancing back at the shrine, which seemed oddly familiar. He couldn't remember where he'd seen something similar before, but he was certain he had.

Instead of watching Teyo as he'd done so far, he walked towards the framed picture at the center of the shrine and ran his fingers across the frame. Then he idly replaced the nearly burned out candle with a new, very fragrant one. He said nothing as he did so, then turned back towards Teyo. "You need to help me remember her," he implored. "Later...she deserves to be remembered as she's part of both of us now." He glanced towards the door, then back at Teyo. "Do you want to go back outside? To the tree in the picture?"

Teyo looked between Mason and the door that led to the outside. "I don't think we have time," he said, somehow knowing that to be true. As they spoke, the sky grew darker as the sun set at an incredible speed. Day turned to twilight into night all within the space of a few seconds. The light around the cabin flickered to life, illuminating the two with a soft glow. "They're here," Teyo said sadly. He reached up and stroked the side of Mason's face. "You need to know that he didn't blame you, he understood why you did it."

Reaching up as well, Mason held the hand to his cheek, feeling a little nervous now. "Who didn't blame me?" he asked slowly, unnerved by the quick change from day to night. His eyes traveled from Teyo to the door, then back to Teyo. "Tell me, tell me everything, so we remember," he begged anxiously. "Understood why I did what? Did I do this? Set them, whoever they are, upon you... us?"

He glanced towards the door again, squeezing the hand he still held. "Can we fight them? Convince them in any way?"

"They're here for us," Teyo said, fear in his voice. "There's no time to reason with them, we need to run." He grabbed Mason by the hand and led him to the backdoor knowing in his heart that their attempt was futile; this story only had one ending.