Dinner Daze

Posted on Thu Oct 10th, 2024 @ 10:12am by Lieutenant JG Astrja Kyan & Lieutenant Commander Savin

Mission: Character Development
Location: Savin's quarters
Timeline: After Q
2785 words - 5.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Astrja balanced the tray on one arm, waitstaff always made this look so easy, and tapped the chime to Savin's room. "Astrja here, I have brought dinner."

It took a few seconds before the door opened, revealing a surprised looking counselor. "That is very thoughtful of you lieutenant," he stated, though his expression was full of questions as he stepped aside to let her pass. "To what do I owe this?"

"Astrja, please," she said "Last time we talked, you seemed a bit lonely, so I thought I would come and visit." She slipped in. "I used your profile to put together a meal, I hope it will be to your satisfaction."

"I have no doubt." Savin castle her a grateful smile as he gestured ahead to his small dining table. "Be aware...Sheba may come looking for attention, she is very affectionate. However, like me she cannot hear you." He held back a seat for her as he relieved her of the tray and set it on the table. "Can I get you anything?" He waited for her to speak, before going to retrieve any drinks.

"Some cool Andorian The with some honey would be lovely," she said adjusting the tray slightly.

Nodding, the Romulan went to get the desired drink and got himself a large glass of a Vulcan variant of apple juice.

One Savin returned with the drink, she unveiled the meal it consisted of a variety of classic Vulcan dishes, most notably a bowl of plomeek soup. Except this was a variant of plomeek soup which his mother had created, adding a Romulan twist to it that he'd never before realizes where it had come from. Growing up, he had never thought to ask and just assumed it was something regional. "This looks amazing," he marveled, "and you got all this just from examining my personal profile?" He peered down a different bowl and found two portions of what appeared to be Earth apple pie and warm custard. A favourite he had acquired when attending the academy.

As host, he divided the food over two separate plates and bowls and offered one of each to his guest

"Well, with a little inspired guesswork," said Astrja taking the bowl and plate. "Far too few people outside of Operations take the time to properly personalize their replicator meals. I think it is a wonderful art form, not as wonderful as actual cooking but far more accessible." She smiled.

"So, did the Q drop you into any strange adventure?" she asked.

"Yes...though the adventure was wholly unfamiliar to me. The people in the forest called me Robin....and I was on a horse?" The Romulan shook his head. "It was...very strange," he admitted, "and troublesome as I could not understand what they wanted of me. Their accent was so strange, I could not make much sense of it. Eventually, a fake king was disposed of and the real king returned. I will have to read up on the actual story because I am unfamiliar with it. What about you?"

"Mine was full of whimsy, it was based on a Terran story called Alice in Wonderland, and I was Alice the main character. Dr Solis ended up as the White Rabbit complete with ears," she used her hands to try and convey the idea of rabbit ears. "We met talking animals, flowers, and insects, a strange tea party and a most distressing queen. It was confusing at the time but fun in retrospect."

"I fear I am not familiar with Terran folklore," the counselor confessed, "but I see I need to remedy that." He smiled at the mental image of the doctor as a rabbit. "I have no doubt you had fun, and I can imagine it may have been confusing. Talking flora and fauna you say? That does sound more amusing than being shot at with arrows for stealing from the false king to give it back to the people."

"Oh, Robin Hood! Steal from the rich to give to the poor," said Astrja. "I remember watching a version of that at the Academy. The lead actor was so dreamy even if he did not know how to properly use a sword." She took a sip of her The. "I reread Alice, it is fascinating, I am almost disappointed we did not get to see the Jabberwok."

Savin cast his guest a look of sheer confusion as her last word didn't seem to land. "I am so... you did not get to see which? I do not understand what you just said, I am unfamiliar with that word." Down side of a hearing impairment was really that occasionally he just couldn't make anything of what was said, even though thankfully such instances were rare. "I fear I had little time to watch anything while at the academy as I was doing counselling and a medical degree."

"Oh, it is the monster in a story told, well a poem really, in Alice, 'the jabberwock with eyes of flame'. The poem is filled with strange and unusual words, for Carroll, who wrote it, loved to play with language," explained Astrja. "We did see a jub-jub bird, though, and it was quite frightening."

"I fear that unless you show me sometime on the holodeck, I will have no idea what you are referring to," Savin suggested, "it seems to me that what you experienced was the ultimate challenge of one's imagination."

"It may have been," agreed Astrja. "The jub-jub bird is not described in Alice so it may have been made from our thoughts." She tapped the datapad in her satchel, "I can show you, more or less, what it looked like. I worked up a hologram for my report."

"It seems like your scenario adapted to your own imagination." Savin nodded slowly, holding out his hand to receive the indicated PADD. "Was anyone thrown into your tale with you or were you on your own?" It still disturbed him that the person he'd encountered had disappeared on him later in the scene, having been replaced by a random character. And he'd been unable to relocate the officer, even after he'd been returned to the ship.

"Yes, Doctor Solis," she said handing across the datapad which showed a flightless terror bird, that stood taller than Astrja, with vicious claws at the end of its legs and a long hooked beak. "Who I had only met in passing before the adventure. She is back to normal now, rabbit ears gone. Do not tell her, but I thought she looked really cute with them," she added in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Why would I tell her something you told me, especially when I perceive it to have been in confidence?" The expression of surprise was genuine as he spoke, then frowned as he studied the image he was handed "That does look terrifying," he continued to admit, "was this chasing you?"

"It was a tease, Savin," she said with a smile. Looking to the jub-jub bird, "Not exactly, it was hunting and we might have been on the list. So, I hit it with a teapot and we ran away while it was dazed. I do not think we could have outrun it on flat ground, luckily we were in a forest."

"Oh..." Teasing was something he had great difficulty with as he couldn't always see or sense whether someone was serious. He nodded in agreement. "A good thing you had a teapot then," he answered, "not that I understand how you got by a teapot in the middle of a forest..."

"That was earlier at the tea party held by the Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse when I grabbed the teapot," she said. "It is really quite confusing, even for me, who was there." Astrja smiled. "But it was a most unusual way to spend part of a day, no one was hurt, and it will give me something to talk about for ages. So, overall, a positive outcome."

"It is confusing," Savin admitted, "because I have no idea what a march hare or a dormouse are, beyond what I assume to be mammals. It seems to me however that you greatly enjoyed yourself and that you were lucky with the adventure you were thrown into."

Astrja nodded. "Both Terran mammals, usually not able to talk, but in Wonderland, they can." She finished her pie and custard, using her fingers to scoop up the last of it and sucked them clean.

Savin frowned in clear disapproval at the lack of use of utensils but he said nothing. He was used to using at least a knife and fork, unless his meal warranted using a spoon. He had never just used his bare hands to eat, it just wasn't Vulcan custom. "Well that is the thing with a fantasy or story, is it not? Anything can happen, one only has to imagine it?"

Astrja licked her fingers clean and tilted her head at Savin. "Sometimes you have to get sticky to get the best bits," she said with a grin and a wink.

"Most stories have more internal logic than Wonderland," she said. "It was the point of the story to be partly nonsensical. Even most fantasies have a consistency to their world. What fantasies do you have, Savin?""

"None." He didn't even have to think about it as he never fantasized about anything. "There is no logic in wishing for something that may or may not happen, so no, I do not have such experience. But you obviously do, as Andorian are highly expressive and emotional people."

Astrja laughed delightedly. "We are yes," she agreed. "We can be passionate and playful or less pleasant things. But I try to stay on the positive side." She leaned in slightly. "Do you never speculate on how things might go? About what the future might hold?"

"No, I do not speculate," the counselor answered, "I see no reason to. Either something will fail or it will succeed, speculation on my part will not alter an outcome. The only alteration occurs if I change my plan of approach, but that only happens if I know for certain my original plan will fail. I am not in the habit of guessing towards an outcome."

"For some reason, that strikes me as unbearably sad, Savin," said Astrja. "Some of my best experiences have been things I tried because I did not know how they would turn out, while, yes, a few were mildly disastrous, they were a learning experience and provide good stories." She looked at him, as it trying to divine something in his soul.

"When we last talked and I mentioned that Shiv and I were lovers, you seemed . . . distant, well, more distant," she added with a grin. "Are you between lovers, Savin?" she asked directly.

"When we last talked, we were in a formal counseling session," Savin pointed out, "I keep a professional distance in such occasions. At least as much as is possible, or required, depending on the patient." He paused, giving her question some thought as it was a highly personal question. "I do not consider myself to be 'between' lovers, as you put it. I have entertained only one relationship in my life, so far and it was still very early in when it ended because the subject in question was transferred away. We agreed a long distance continuation was not going to be viable even though it was difficult for me. I accepted it, but I did feel what Humans would consider heartbroken. Eventually, I moved on."

He didn't mention having unreturned feelings for the XO's predecessor, as it wasn't important and he hadn't really shared those feelings with anyone. He greatly enjoyed his sparring of words with P'Rel but he considered her more a friend than anything else, even if that feeling might not be mutual. "I am not actively looking for a new romantic endeavour," he admitted after a brief silence, "who knows what crosses my path in the future, however."

Astrja watched Savin intently through all of this, her antenna forward. "Or even in the present," she said. "While I am not looking for romance not until the right Andorian comes along. So, I would not offer that, but if you would be interested I can offer companionship and exceedingly proficient sex."

The Romulan blinked in evident surprise, at first not certain he had understood that directly. Perplexed, he stared at her as it finally sank in. "No." He shook his head to affirm his answer. "While I will accept your offer of friendship, I cannot accept the other."

"As you wish," she said with a grin and a wink, "but you are missing out." She leaned back. "You just strike me as lonely, Savin, and I hate to see people be lonely. So, I am glad we can be friends."

"I am often avoided yes... People do not like counselors, therefore I am alone a lot of the time, but I do have a few friends." Very few, and yes on occasion he did feel lonely, but it didn't seem to bother him. At least not outwardly. "I am grateful for your friendship," he added, returning a warm smile.

Astrja smiled. "Would it be alright to hold your hand, Savin?" she asked, offering hers. "Simple touch is nice too."

In reflex, Savin pulled his hands back from the table. "I prefer not. Touching hands is intimate to my..." He hesitated. "To a Vulcan, and to me as I was raised Vulcan. Additionally, I am a touch telepath...I would not want to violate your privacy by accident."

"Oh," she said disappointed. "That is . . . unfortunate. A simple touch or embrace can be very comforting. It just is not as comforting without touching skin to skin. But, should you every fell comfortable doing so, I would be willing to take the risk."

"Not to me," Savin explained patiently. "I was raised Vulcan, where touch is reserved for family members and bond mates. To be touched without consent or preparation, without emergency need, is extremely unsettling. Especially to me as my telepathic and empathetic senses are more developed due to my hearing impairment."

"A shame," she said. "Well, when one only has snow, you make houses. It is very interesting to talk with you, Savin. I had no idea that Vulcan culture was so . . . careful," she said finding a non-offensive word.

"Why would you only make a house with snow?" Savin queried curiously. "And we are not careful per se... Touch is personal, and considered intimate. Consider the mind meld, it is engaged through touch and is an extremely intimate procedure. One is literally seeing into the other's memories, insofar the other person allows it."

Astrja smiled. "An Andorian phrase, it means to make the best with what you have. And we usually have a lot of snow." She nods. "Few things could be more intimate than letting another see your unguarded thoughts."

"Exactly." Did she finally understand, he wondered, why he was reluctant about touch? "I do not believe I have actually ever seen snow, at least not up close... I am aware Andor is an arctic world, and from what I ah ..learned, very beautiful. Coming from a desert world however, I am not certain I could cope with such temperatures."

"I am sure we could bundle you up enough to keep you warm, Savin," said Astrja. "And I could give you a holodeck tour of some of my favorite place sometime if you are interested."

"In time, I would be," Saving agreed, "but not right now."

Astrja stretched. "No, not right now. I think I probably should be going. But I look forward to visiting with you again, Savin."

Savin gave a simple nod in return. "Let me know when you wish to visit the holodeck ," he told her as he stood, making sure he kept facing her. He walked her to the door and smiled politely. "Thank you for dinner, it was very thoughtful of you."

Astrja smiled a lopsided grin. "I suppose a good night kiss is out of the question," she said with a wink. "I will work out a schedule. Sweet dreams, Savin."

Savin merely shook his head in answer. "Good night Astrja," he said instead, foregoing to mention that he (usually) didn't dream." As he closed the door behind her, Sheba hopped up into his arms, jealously craving attention as she'd been neglected all evening. Smiling, he stroked her fur as he held her close for a moment then released her. "That was an interesting evening," he mused to himself, his words going unheard regardless.