Ens. Gnai - Your Dog Doesn't Bite, But Does It Read Minds?

[Lich]

((Arboretum - Deep Space 9 ))

This whole excursion had been at the behest of Commander Adea, under his medical guidance that Gnai might benefit from some relaxation and time to unwind after the mission. It seemed that Gnai's own questions of where to go on the station had prompted Cmdr. Adea to realize his own need for a break from the hubbub of sickbay. Hence why Gnai found itself bobbing up and down in its tank at the commander's dog, Toto. A strange creature, it was. But so far... It was friendly. Good. Let's keep it that way.

Gnai: Would it be acceptable to continue talking telepathically again?

The whole experience had been refreshing, sitting in the sickbay and talking through their minds. The little extra effort that it took to use the speakers on its suit added up over time, whereas telepathy was effortless. Sure, it looked strange to others who might come along, but Gnai was already used to that.

It kept looking at the dog. Surely he wouldn't care about being excluded like this.

Adea: ~ Of course. Toto won’t mind, will you, boy? ~

What an odd thing to do. Gnai watched, curiously leaning closer, as Cmdr. Adea smooshed his dog's face with his hands. The creature didn't seem to object, at least not in any way that Gnai could tell. Cmdr. Adea still had all his fingers, for one.

Gnai: ~ ... Is Toto telepathic? ~

With a gesture with his cane - that cane that Gnai remembered very well colliding with the skull of a fleeing Romulan - the dog was sent off to go play on its own, leaving the two there alone amongst the foliage.

Adea: Don’t go too far! ::to Gnai:: ~ I don’t know if he understands that, but it makes me feel better to say it ~

Gnai: ~ Ah. Thank you for clarifying. ::starting to slowly walk around the arboretum:: Is he native to Betazed? ~

It thought that was a reasonably effective bit of small talk. Gnai wasn't certain what to talk about as they strolled through the place, taking in nature and trying their best to relax, but hopefully Betazed wasn't too taboo to bring up after such a harrowing mission there.

Adea: ~ Response ~

That had been its next guess. There had been a few dogs that it had seen on Earth during its Academy days, but they were all so varied that each of them seemed like a different species sometimes. And it thought it had heard of similar-looking things existing on other worlds, so was it really that far fetched of a guess? Like Alfa 177, for instance. The strange ore on the surface of that planet had been the topic of a lecture in one of its geology courses, and the professor had thought adding a touch of biology to the slides might have made it more interesting for those taking the class as an elective.

Gnai: ~ How did you come upon such a thing? Why take on the care of another creature? ~

Pets were not a thing on Galador II. The concept of an individual taking on another to care for it and it alone was alien; Galadorans were a collective and any thing that needed to be taken care of was done so with the collective. It was this sort of philosophy that was why Galadorans also had no concept of family or parenthood. Gnai had no idea which Galadoran it had budded off of in its first days, nor did it particularly care.

Adea: ~ Response ~

Tags/TBC :)

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Ensign Gnai

Science Officer

USS Artemis-A

A240102G11