Lt Alex Storm - A Quiet too Loud to Ignore
Karen Morris
(( Library - Deck 4, USS Artemis-A ))
MacKenzie: Well, I don't know about all that, but we all have... things that burden us in similar ways, I'm sure.
Alex tipped her head and her eyes unfocused over MacKenzie’s shoulder. oO Of course she knows. With eyes like that, she probably clocks every fracture line in her crew. And this burden … my burden … could affect her ship. Oo Her eyes refocused on the blue eyes across from her.
Storm: Everyone has something that weighs on them from time to time. oO Or something big that haunts them. Oo I’m surprised more people don’t seek solace in here.
MacKenzie cocked her head slightly.
MacKenzie: Not everyone's cup of tea, I suppose. And certainly not for de-stressing. I know many more people who would much prefer something dangerous or exhilarating to blow off some steam. Honestly, I'm not sure I would have pegged you as the kind of person to spend free time in the library.
oO Wouldn’t I prefer something perilous or physically demanding? Oo
Storm: Normally, I’d rather be free-climbing Betazed’s Janaran Falls on the holodeck. But … ::Alex dropped her hand from the end of the mahogany shelf. Her shoulders rose an inch or so before falling to their original places:: Here I am. Besides, it wouldn’t have surprised me to see you choosing a more death-defying activity with minimal safeties engaged yourself.
The Captain held up her own hands.
MacKenzie: People are complicated, like layers of an onion. There's certainly room for multiple seemingly conflicted interests to exist.
Alex’s eyes softened—not with agreement, but with recognition.
Storm: Indeed, there are.
The silence that followed wasn’t awkward; it was familiar.
Her gaze drifted over the shelves, reaching for words—any words—but the only ones that rose were the ones she couldn’t speak.
oO Perhaps she carries a weight too. Maybe that’s why I stopped walking. Oo
She shifted, and a sharp prick under her foot startled her back into her body.
oO Or maybe I should have kept walking. Oo
Alex’s mouth opened to say something, but either in anticipation of her query or a disdain for too long a silence, MacKenzie spoke.
MacKenzie: What struck your fancy today?
Storm: Oh!
Alex looked down at her hand and back at the Captain unsure what MacKenzie thought she saw. She lifted her fuschia heels that had been half hidden behind her back.
Storm: These?
MacKenzie: Response
Alex’s eyebrows briefly drew together.
Storm: I had felt like dressing up tonight, but I don’t know about you. Wearing heels pinches my toes after a while, and my feet scream for liberation.
MacKenzie: Response
Storm: But if I had chosen a book it would have been a high stakes search for a missing person, but with a happy ending. Maybe something like, The Rescue. It’s an old fiction book from Earth, but it hits home.
MacKenzie: Response
~*~
Tags / TBC!
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2