PNPC Ens Kliss'lai - Y'girl's Gotta Eat.
notyourfrog
(( Turbolift, USS Artemis ))
Kliss'lai: This is deck 5.
Renirs: Yes, it is. This is where we were going.
Kliss' heart was racing. She wanted to keep talking to the Trill with storm cloud eyes, but couldn't think of anything to say. Her stomach, still revved up from her exercise, still knew how to talk apparently, and it proved this by choosing this very moment to let out a prodigious grumble.
oO That's it! Food! Oo
Kliss'lai: Do you like food?
She wanted to die. Right there and then. Just *POOF* No more Kliss'lai. Just a pile of dust on the floor, mingling with the puddle left by an embarrassed girl who'd been swimming. Mud. Yes. Being mud would be better than being Kliss'lai right now.
Renirs: Yes, I love food! I have it every day.
Kliss'lai: I like to eat when I'm hungry. ::patting her flat stomach through the towel:: I'm clearly hungry. Do you want to have food? Um ... with me?
Renirs: …yes.
Kliss'lai: okbye
She walked out of the lift and down the corridor faster than she would normally have done. The flustered Andorian was 20 meters past her quarters when she realized she hadn't actually made any plans, didn't know Renirs' full name, was still in a towel, Renirs was nowhere to be seen, and she'd lost a sandal.
(( Kliss'lai's Quarters, Deck 5, USS Artemis ))
Kliss had retrieved her wayward footwear, found her way to her quarters, and spent a solid five minutes paralyzed in the fetal position under the shelter of her towel over her head on the floor by her bed. Her brain was overheating with simultaneous thoughts of self-deprecation, regret, wishing she was cool and smooth like Renirs, wanting to get up and get ready, wanting to stay under her towel until cellular death of the universe, and really needing to eat something.
Eventually, hunger and nervous excitement won out, and she got up, placed her towel in the replication reclaimer, changed out of her now-dry swimsuit into a dressing gown, and was currently staring at her meagre off-duty wardrobe. After an additional five minutes of deliberation, she deemed nothing she had was worthy of the occasion. She'd never tried using the replicator in her quarters for clothing, but she didn't see why it wouldn't work.
Approximately twenty rejected options later, she'd settled on a pale purple, gauzy, button-up blouse with the middle button fastened with a white halter underneath and a short pleated white skirt, strappy white sandals, and a thin silver chain with a fire opal pendant. She stood in front of the mirror, scrutinizing the ensemble, and had nearly decided to scrap the whole thing in favor of returning to hiding under a towel when the door chime rang.
Kliss’lai: ::to herself while walking to the door:: Ok. You got this, girl. You're cool. You're smart. You're confident. Think of something cool to say. Hey there, gorgeous, how's it going? No. What's a Trill like you doing in a ... absolutely not.
Time was up. She had to answer the door. OH NO! She'd forgotten to find out Renirs' first name! All hopes of a cool, confident greeting were sucked from the room as though there'd been a hull breach. She reached out a slender finger and pressed the panel to open the door. There she was, the cool, lovely, pink-haired Trill with storm cloud eyes.
Kliss'lai: Pretty.
Had the gravity malfunctioned again? Kliss felt like she was floating - or falling - or imploding. The last three seconds of Kliss' life replayed on an incredibly fast loop in her head. On about the 722nd repetition, she heard what she'd said in greeting. oO Smooth, Kliss. You big dork. Oo
Kliss'lai: I mean, hi.
Renirs: Hi, uh, Kliss’lai! I was wondering if, umm, you still liked food?
Kliss’lai: oO Food? Oo Oh. Yes! I'm famished actually. Do ... you want to go to Elysium or somewhere else?
Renirs: There’s this place on the Spacedock that has seafood. Would you, uh, like to try it out? It’s okay if you…
Kliss’lai: That sounds wonderful! I'm a big fan of seafood.
As Kliss stepped out of her doorway, the door slid shut behind her. The two of them were alone in the uncharacteristically quiet corridor. Renirs was smiling broadly at her. It transformed her whole face from the tough, competent, somewhat aggressive crewman Kliss had first met into a warm, happy girl who was genuinely excited to be getting dinner with her. It made Kliss' heart skip a beat. For an age they stood there, less than half a meter between them ... just standing.
Renirs broke their eye contact first, probably made uncomfortable by Kliss staring at those gray storms and the huge epicenters. As they started walking toward the lift, Kliss tried to find a good topic of conversation. Renirs beat her on the draw this time.
Renirs: So, Kliss’lai…
Kliss’lai: You can call me Kliss if you want. oO You dork! DUR DUR DUR ... ME KLISS. ME LIKE FOOD. Oo
She could feel her skin flushing warm, and was certain even as her antennae fell back almost touching her scalp that she was deep blue - almost lapis.
Renirs: Okay, Kliss! You can call me Jozial if you want.
Jozial. Kliss again felt that strange gravitational shift. It made walking difficult. Somehow though, she managed to avoid tripping over her feet. Jozial. It had a musical quality to it.
Kliss’lai: You have a very nice name, Jozial. oO Nice? Why not beautiful? Melodic? A name to make the poets weep for their inadequacy? No. You went with "Nice." Oo
Renirs: Response
(( Timeskip, 20 minutes later, The Sea's Bounty Bistro ))
Kliss'lai: Wow, Jozial, this place is really nice!
Again, the vile word "nice." the bistro was however ... nice. It was neither overly-casual to the point of shabbiness nor so far to the other end of the spectrum as to be pretentious. Whether it was luck or quick yet adept research, Kliss didn't know, but this would-be tough girl knew how to pick a good location for a first date.
Renirs: Response
Bistro Host: Two this evening? ::after acknowledgement:: Right this way please.
The post-adolescent Caitian girl led Kliss and Jozial to a table for two along the edge of the room. Here, the roof continued for a further meter than the wall, which was opened to the air. The resulting effect was their table felt both outdoors and in.
The view outside was lovely too: down a gentle, grassy slope was one of the many rivers that criss-crossed through the forested landmasses of Cait. On the far side of the rushing water, coming almost right up to the banks, was the densest forest Kliss had ever seen. The weather here was extremely hot (by her standards anyway) and humid. It was a wonder at what the plant life would do in such a climate.
She turned her gaze from the river and trees back across the table where Jozial was studying her menu.
Kliss'lai: What looks good?
Renirs: Response
Kliss'lai: I love calamari. I absolutely think we should start there. ::perusing the menu briefly:: Ooh! they have some really interesting choices!
Just then, another Caitian approached the table, asking if he could take their orders.
Kliss'lai: ::to Jozial:: You first.
Renirs: Response
Server: Sounds good, ::turning to Kliss'lai:: and for you?
Kliss'lai: I'll have the shrimp fritters, fried whiskerfish, a bowl of the chilled whitefish chowder, an order of the citrus shellfish, aaaaand ::scanning:: how about a broiled filet of guatoma fish. Does that come with sides?
The server stared wide-eyed at her. She'd ordered enough food to feed a human family of five. Kliss didn't know how her Andorian metabolism compared with the Caitian one. Based on his reaction, she guessed not.
Server: ::snapping out of it:: Sides. Yes. They're listed down here ::indicating the bottom of the menu::
Kliss'lai: How about the field greens assortment. That sounds good.
He nodded, entering the order on his padd as he walked toward the kitchen. Kliss looked again at Jozial.
Kliss'lai: Did I order too much?
Renirs: Response
TAG/TBC
Ensign Kliss'lai, PNPC