Lt. JG D'Cyra Varati - Are you sitting comfortably?
D'Cyra Varati
((The ‘Terraces’, Varati’s & Saavei’s Apartment, Marrakech District, Amity Outpost))
Saavei: Clear so far. ::Another nod of her head::
D’Cyra pulled small wicks from the bag and draped them over the small chalices that the figures held up, which normally served as candle holders. Then she took a dab of wax, rolled it between her fingers until warm and soft, before stuffing it visibly into the first chalice around the wick.
Varati: As you can see, this is yellow wax. It represents a relationship that is important to me. In this case, our friendship. Because I like you, it's nice to spend time with you, and I hope this friendship lasts a very long time. I will briefly explain the colours:
- Yellow - A relationship that is central to your being, usually of family or home, typically given to friends, children, parents, and sometimes spouses or housekeepers.
- Green - A relationship of enemies. Usually this person is not present. Green is the colour of Orion blood. This is usually someone the person wishes ill against.
- Blue - A relationship of lust or an unrequited crush. Someone you have spent a lot of time thinking of, but are not really attached to them as a full time romantic partner.
- Pink - A relationship of learning. Usually reserved for student/teacher relationships or mentor ships.
- Purple - A relationship entertainment. Usually reserved for favourite musicians, poets, writers, and other artists.
- Red - a business relationship, a relationship you treasure because of the prosperity it brought you.
- Orange - A rivalry or competitive relationship, one that pushes you to be better.
- White - A romantic partnership, something that brought you fulfilment with romantic love.
Shall we give it a try?
She looked curiously at Saavei, wondering if she would like to join in this little game of colourful lights.
Saavei: I believe I understand.
Saavei also took some of the yellow wax, softened it slightly, and then pressed it into one of the small goblets of the otet. Yellow was always a safe bet... after all, there were no rules in the legal sense. As with everything, it depended on the setting and the appropriate interpretation; ultimately, it was supposed to be fun.
Saavei: I also value your friendship, as I expressed earlier. I find your company enjoyable, you are intelligent, and it is satisfying to share experiences here with you. I too hope our friendship will last a long time, whether we are stationed together or not as the future comes.
That was a very nice description and entirely in keeping with the original intention of this ceremony: to strengthen the bond between people and to express things that would otherwise be lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, even though they enriched it so much.
Varati: Thanks, that's very kind of you. It's nice that you feel the same way.
D’Cyra was delighted and smiled just as openly at Saavei.
Saavei looked at the other colours of wax, D'Cyra was curious which one she would choose next, even though there were no fixed rules for this; nor for how many colours to use. Finally, she chose pink and shaped the wax just like the other blob before.
Saavei: You were one of the first of my fellow officers which I worked alongside when I arrived in the Delta Quadrant. The survey of the different sites on Idrustix? You showed me the drones you had recently programmed and allowed me to fly them to continue assisting. You are someone from whom I can learn from and I would like to continue to do so.
Oh, the explorations for potential settlements on Idrustix... that felt like ages ago. And she hadn't hesitated for a second about not letting Saavei handle the drones. She was a trained engineer, fresh out of the academy. There was simply no reason to doubt her abilities or not share the task.
Varati: You see... I never really thought about things like that before; it was just natural to me. But you remembered it and are sharing the memory with me again, so it stays alive, along with what we've experienced together. ::pauses:: Yes, I think we can always learn from each other, especially when we work in such similar fields. But otherwise, I hope you don't learn the wrong things from me... ::chuckles::
With that, D’Cyra also took a pink piece of wax and placed it in the second small chalice.
Saavei: I believe yellow and pink most effectively express my sentiments towards you. Unless orange also symbolizes cooperatively building one another to greater ability? What do we do now?
That was a matter of interpretation... but why not? After all, it was a kind of nice tribute, and they wanted to enjoy the beautiful lights right away.
Varati: I see we have very similar views and ideas. With several people involved, things naturally become a bit more interesting, and sometimes surprising things happen... Well, perhaps we can still use one more colour: I think we can add orange wax to the others: of course, this isn't a rivalry in a negative sense. If we can learn from each other, then hopefully we'll improve each other. At least, that's how I envision it in the best possible way.
Saavei: Response (?)
D’Cyra placed the last piece of wax in the candlestick and then set the otet down on the silver tray, which had by now turned black and stood between the beanbag chairs.
She hoped that the lighthearted ceremony had been a little fun for Saavei and was a nice sign of their friendship.
Varati: I hope you had some fun? You learn something about how someone feels about you, although of course you shouldn't take it too seriously. It's primarily meant to be a kind of social game; some entertainment. ::pause:: And now comes the best part, the one I always looked forward to most as a child: we're going to light our selfmade candles.
With a nod towards the tray, she gestured to Saavei that she should also put down her otet. However, D’Cyra hadn't yet revealed that it wasn't ordinary candle wax…
Saavei: Response
She reached for the lighter that had been in the bag with the wax and the explanation and lit the small wax candles on her otet one after the other, then handed the lighter to Saavei.
Varati: Here you go. And now we sit back and enjoy the show!
With an almost telltale gleam in her eyes, D’Cyra slid back a little with her beanbag and then leaned back in a relaxed manner.
Saavei: Response
At first, the small candles burned normally, spreading a soft and warm light. D’Cyra glanced expectantly back and forth a few times between the otets on the tray and Saavei. Surely it would happen any minute now...?
Varati: ::Excited:: Ah! Now! Look!
Excitedly, like a little child, she pointed at the candles…
Suddenly, the candles began to flicker one after the other, and small, crackling sparks, like a sparkler, sprayed from one of the chalices. A second candle began to reveal its true inner workings: whistling pink fountains shot upwards, and from a third chalice, crackling orange swirls broke free, flying into the air above their heads, exploding with a harmless "puff," and then fluttering down on them as orange glitter.
Varati: Aww, isn't that beautiful?
D’Cyra spread her hands to catch some of the glitter. Hopefully, Saavei didn't find such childlike delight in a bit of table fireworks too illogical.
Saavei: Response
Tag/TBC
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