Commodore Jalana Rajel (& Family) - It's a jungle out there
Jess
(( Jungles of Endaasi - Day after the party ))
C. Laxyn: Don't you think this is a little ... too much?
P. Laxyn: ::chuckling:: You look like a beekeeper.
After the lunch with T'Seva and her mother she had begun to make
preparations for her trip into the jungle. She now wore a full
body suit with a hat that had a fine net around her whole head and
was fastened at the suit. Her pants, which she hated but were
necessary, were stuck in the boots to avoid any gaps, and gloves
covered the hem of her sleeves.
V. Laxyn: Don't listen to them, you wear what you want, Jalana.
The Trill sighed and waded through a aisle in the sea of leaves
that her family created before her. She carried a cross body bag
with her that did not only include water, snack and insect spray,
but also a small medkit.
Rajel: I know that for you it must be funny but I am joined you
know.
C. Laxyn: Yes yes, you are special.
Rajel: Yeah... real special.
That made Caline stop in her tracks and turn around to her
daughter. Jalana had never told them much about her past lives.
Especially not about Waeyna who had been a zoologist and died
because of an insect bite while she was on excursion to observe
animals in the wild. That would make her mother freak out beyond
compare. Caline didn't have to ask, Jalana saw the question in her
eyes.
Rajel: My biochemistry is different from yours. I just need this,
trust me. I'm a doctor.
V. Laxyn: She'll be fine, darling. Stop worrying.
Jalana just had to be extra careful. It wasn't like she had the
urge for danger, but her parents really wanted to visit this
place, so protecting herself was what she did. The last thing she
wanted to do was living in fear of it happening again. After all
this had been several lifetimes ago and medicine as well as
protective gear had progressed since then. That was what she had
done with a drug treatment before because she was afraid to fall
back into addiction. So now she was working on working against
that fear. She would definitely talk with Saveron about that
though.
Rajel: Come on, we are almost there.
She interrupted her parents and waved them with her. She heard
them follow and they remained quiet. Well that was better than
squabbling to be honest. Prax had been silently looking around and
was the first to break through the thicket.
P. Laxyn: Whoa. Look at that.
Jalana was the next to step out of the ocean of leaves and looked
up the structure in front of them. Remains of a building that had
long lost their natural colour. Not only the sun had bleached the
stone, but nature had taken over as well, with patches of wetness,
moss and ivy like plant life. Bird nests resting on higher spots,
leaves that had let go of trees covering the ground, mingling with
stone dust and smaller pebbles. It was coexisting and on the verge
of becoming one with the jungle over time.
They strolled around the place together, having a look and being
in awe over how old this thing must be to be overgrown and
withered like that. Jalana realized she didn't really know
anything about the Endaasi and their past. She knew that they
didn't have wars, so what happened to those who had been here? Did
they simply go away to live somewhere else?
C. Laxyn: This is quite impressive. Do we know what it was used
for?
V. Laxyn: Let me find out. ::He pulled out the metallic 'egg' to
activate the display. The device scanned the area and their
location to display the information about their current
location.:: Looks like this was an open common area for an Endaasi
village that once was here. The only building of stone to protect
it from wear and tear of the foot traffic. It's been abandoned for
decades.
Jalana couldn't help but smile, of course her father had grabbed
one of the guides to check on things like that. He wouldn't be who
he was if not.
C. Laxyn: Does it say why?
V. Laxyn: It says that the village has been here for ten
generations and then they decided to move to a new area and give
this place back to nature, giving it a break from population so it
can recover.
She nodded slightly and carefully stepped over some stones. She
tried to imagine what the structure would have looked like when
people still frequented here. This kind of thing was more what her
parents were interested in but Jalana had learned to appreciate
history of civilisations. Even though she didn't know too much
about many of them.
C. Laxyn: Do you remember when we were on Durin VI, these remind
me of the temples there, but it looks different, simpler but just
as meaningful.
V. Laxyn: I know what you mean. I remember you saying you wish the
kids could see it.
Jalana chuckled, of course she would say that.
C. Laxyn: Speaking of, wouldn't it be nice if this lovely fella
could see it.. what's his name again. Jeral... no... Oh Jerome!
As soon as her mother said 'lovely fella' Jalana knew what she
would ask. She clenched her teeth. Why did her mother have to ask?
Couldn't she be happy with just her being here? The younger Trill
pressed her lips together and dug her fingernails into her palm.
.oO They don't know. Remember they don't know. Oo.
V. Laxyn: Yes. Where is he, Jal?
They were curious, genuine, not trying to hit that spot that
already hurt. After all, they didn't know about that and had been
supportive of their relationship ever since they had known. Caline
had always said how nice it would be to meet him. But she had
tried to forget about his absence just for a few days. She'd be
reminded of that back on the ship around every corner but this
here was a planet where he'd never been with her. Where nothing
made her remember.
It took a few moments -though the silence felt like a small
eternity- before Jalana found her voice again after she silently
cleared her throat. Her eyes remained on the walls though, hiding
that things had gotten just a little blurry.
Rajel: He has family things to take care of. He'll be sad to hear
he missed your visit.
Prax watched his sister from the other side of the room. It was
quite possible that he didn't know her well, but he wasn't blind.
Their parents may have been distracted by the surroundings but he
could feel that awkward air around her. He noticed that tense
chin, the stressed shoulders. His gaze flicked to his parents and
then stepped to her.
P. Laxyn: Hey sis, you should see this. ::calling over his
shoulder:: We'll be back.
Jalana looked at him in surprise as he grabbed her hand and pulled
her with him. The sound of rubble was under her boots and only
shortly after changed to slightly squishy soil. He had lead her to
an area only a few steps away but the plants were huge and vividly
green, dotted with colorful petals.
Rajel: It's pretty.
P. Laxyn: Even prettier is the silence. Don't you think. ::He
looked to her and let go of her hand before he sat on a fallen
log.:: You looked like you could do without the prying questions.
Jalana took a deep breath and sat next to him.
Rajel: Thanks. ::she bit her bottom lip and let her eyes wander
over the leaves of a nearby plant. Their length was more than her
whole body. Impressive.:: How have you been doing?
P. Laxyn: ::shrugging:: Okay. Finished my studies, designed
buildings. The usual.
Rajel: ::smiling:: I heard... saw pictures of your first one.
Alex's brother also knows it, and I agree it's impressive. ::She
looked to her little brother.:: You've come far.
P. Laxyn: ::laughing:: Look who's talking Miss Commodore. Having
your own ship with over a thousand people on it flying through the
galaxy and all that is impressive too.
She felt her cheeks warm up and looked down to the tip of her
boots.
Rajel: I guess.
P. Laxyn: I know I got you away from the questions but... is
everything alright with that Jerome guy?
The older Trill took a deep breath, the net surrounding her head
was slightly bent towards her mouth before being pushed out when
she exhaled.
Rajel: I'm not sure to be honest.
P. Laxyn: That doesn't sound good. What's wrong.
Rajel: Nothing really wrong. ::A one sided smile:: He really is
taking care of family business. But... ::She hesitated.:: ... it's
been two years by now. And the messages get less and less.
There was a silence between them, one of thinking on both sides.
P. Laxyn: Must be hard. When did you hear from him last?
Rajel: Phew... a month or two ago?
The younger man's brows raised as he regarded her with big eyes.
P. Laxyn: He didn't check on you after the Court Martial?
Rajel: I'm sure he was busy. Priorities change or need to be
adjusted.
P. Laxyn: Jal. ::He said gently::
With a sigh she slumped over, placing her elbows on her knees.
Rajel: I know. I kept thinking about it. He is helping his brother
to raise a child, ironing out his brother's mess and such, he
might just not have seen the news or my messages. But it feels...
lonely.
P. Laxyn: Well you have to know what you want to do. But you
deserve to be happy and have someone to stand by your side when
things are getting hard.
Jalana stared thoughtfully some holes into the ground before them.
It was strange to get advice from her little brother, especially
since they had never been close. But it was also nice.
Rajel: What about you? Got someone to stand with you?
Another long moment of silence. She wondered if she had hit a
wound she didn't know about but eventually he smiled.
P. Laxyn: Yeah. His name is Weyan. We were roomates when we
studied Archeology and went into business together after and
well...
Rajel: ::Grinning:: Really? That's great. Has he met mom and dad?
P. Laxyn: Yes but they don't know we're together.
Rajel: Why that?
P. Laxyn: You know mom. She would be making this huge deal out of
it, be overbearing and want to see us all the time, already
planning a wedding and names for our children.
Rajel: You have to tell them one day.
P. Laxyn: Maybe a minute before the wedding. Just so we can do our
own thing.
Rajel: ::laughing:: You have strange confidence in believing she
can't organize a massive family event in a minute.
They laughed. That sounded very much like their mother. Jalana
couldn't remember ever even imagining that she'd have a chat like
that with Prax.
P. Laxyn: This is nice. We should have done this years ago.
Rajel: I was thinking the same thing. Why didn't we?
P. Laxyn: Petty jealousy? ::He gave her a smirk.:: You got all of
dad's attention back then. It was hard to deal with as a kid.
Jalana looked at him, her brows raised in surprise.
Rajel: Really? I wish he had given it to you. I was always jealous
that you could do what you wanted and had friends while I had to
do all this diplomacy training. It isn't as much fun as it sounds
to be homeschooled and spend all my time with dad, Ilur and a
bunch of diplomats.
P. Laxyn: I know that now. But back then it just felt different.
I'm glad that you got away and could follow your own dream. After
all those years it was just ...
Rajel: Embarrassing to admit?
Both of them chuckled. Prax rubbed the back of his neck, Jalana
looked at the tip of her shoes. She couldn't really do the same
thing with that beekeeper suit, as Prax had called it.
Rajel: It'll take some time to catch up I guess.
P. Laxyn: But at least we got the past out of the way now. That
makes it easier. ::He looked past her to the ruins.:: Ready to
head back?
Jalana nodded and pushed herself off the log, holding out her hand
towards her brother. It would take work, after all they didn't
really know much of each other. But it was a start, a pretty darn
good one.
-----
Commodore Jalana Rajel
Commanding Officer
USS Constitution B
Image Team Co-Facilitator
A238906JL0
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chandni_khondji, Discord: Jess#6085
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Player Pronouns: She/her