LtCmdr Jovenan – You better get a good grade after the trouble we went through to make the test extra difficult for you!
Jovenan
((Sadar-Aqila quarters, Deck 6, USS Artemis))
Their parted. Jovenan looked at Vitor from very close, her lips still tingling after the soft kiss. Kissing him, in the few days that they had been a couple, had not yet lost its excitement; it was still something that she had wanted to do for so long and yet something she couldn’t, or shouldn’t, do, and that feeling had not vanished in mere days. However she may feel after kissing him a thousand times, a million times, this kiss was special for another reason. It was, even if Doctor Sadar had left the room, their first public kiss, the first kiss as a known couple. They weren’t hiding it any more. The thought was enough to draw a blush to her face.
Jovenan: Love you.
Silveira: Love you.
Doctor Sadar rejoined them, as if having been listening to them behind the corner to make sure she wouldn’t catch a glimpse of the kiss. Jovenan sat down properly on her seat again and straightened her dress. They weren’t being secretive about the kiss, but she felt bad that they had to do it, in effect, behind Doctor Sadar’s back. Subjecting the poor Mizarian physician to any further expressions of affection, on the other hand, would have been cruel. She had already soldiered through the Mizarian rite and their awfully emotional responses to it, and still managed to give the two of them much to think about.
Jovenan: Thank you for officiating that, Doctor, it was lovely. I hope you weren’t forced to change the procedure too much for us.
Sadar: N-Not at all. Th-Though, I dare say, the two of you would make poor Mizarians. ::slight smile:: Too emotionally invested.
Vitor laughed, which in turn make Jovenan smile. She wondered if there was a culture she was a good addition to, having already left her native Edo behind and not fitting in well with the Humans either. Granted, she had never even tried to be like one of the Mizarians or sought inclusion among them. Maybe it wasn’t that bad that she’d make a bad Mizarian if that meant she could be with her boyfriend the way she wanted to be, too emotionally invested or not. It made her wonder how her old family back in God’s Claims would think of her emotional investment in a man like Vitor.
Silveira: I will take that as a compliment, my friend.
Jovenan: Again, sorry for not telling you at some other occasion. ::looks at her soup:: You probably had a lovely dinner date planned for all of us even without this twist.
Sadar: As an apology, please remain my guests until the end of dinner. ::slight frown:: I’ve an, uhh, ‘vested interest’ in seeing this through.
Jovenan would have stayed there for the entire dinner anyway – barring the possibility that she’d be called to rescue some of her minions again, like during her previous dinner date with Vitor – but the reveal that Doctor Sadar had some hidden motivation after all made her curious. She was worried that the Doctor had something important to tell them despite their inquiries into it before derailing the conversation to their newly-begun relationship.
Silveira: But of course, I mean… ::Vitor began to fully understand Sada’s words:: Wait… What do you mean?
Jovenan: Oh. Sorry, I didn’t realise you had planned this dinner for some occasion. What is it?
Sadar: Mmh... Some counselors on the Artemis-A have an odd way of counseling?
That was… Wait. What did that even mean? Doctor Sadar wasn’t a counsellor, and with all due love and respect, Jovenan couldn’t see her in that role, not without proper training into the calming confidence she’d need when meeting with patients at least. If she wasn’t counselling them, was it instead counselling for her?
Silveira: Depends on the Counselor.
Jovenan: Did someone tell you to try organizing the dinner?
Sadar: Lt. Commander Jashkaa. Thus far, she’s had me get a phaser recertification, and now, a dinner party... ::sheepish smile:: Suppose she’s trying to cure me of one anxiety source at a time?
Jovenan turned to Vitor astounded. She considered herself lucky that the counsellors she had met hadn’t pushed her to do any such things. She hadn’t met Commander Jashkaa yet, not for counselling at least, but she too had been to a session recently with… who was it again? Lt Seta, on the Excalibur. Maybe it wasn’t as recent as she had thought, but had there been something she’d need to talk about in the last two years? Vitor smiled and nodded.
Silveira: Phaser certification? ::He winked.:: Well at least I hope we haven’t embarrassed you much.
Jovenan: Well, whatever the reason, I’m grateful for being invited. To think of it, if I had been told to organize a dinner for a few friends, you two would have been on the top of my list as well.
Vitor was, given their relationship, an obvious choice, but she would indeed have invited Doctor Sadar to join them if a third had been needed. After all, their cooking night together had been a success; that was probably why Counsellor Jashkaa had made the Doctor to serve them this dinner.
Sadar: Response
Silveira: Do we have to write a report to Jashkaa? So far I will give you a straight A.
Jovenan laughed a little. If Doctor Sadar’s performance was being graded, the two hadn’t made it easy for her.
Jovenan: Do tell the Counsellor that you officiated a Mizarian couple’s ritual for us and could adapt it to our needs, despite we being particularly difficult about it. I’m sure she’ll be impressed by your performance.
Sadar: Response
Vitor laughed at the remark and reached for Jovenan’s hand. She took it and wondered if they would have acted differently if they had known that Doctor Sadar had to report her progress to a counsellor. Maybe that had been the point, not telling and acting natural? Hopefully the rest of the evening was as successful to her as it so far had been.
Silveira: Then we must progress with this “active counseling session”. What’s the next dish?
Sadar: Response
Jovenan looked at the dishes Doctor Sadar had brought in for them. The salad looked appetizing, with the honey gel dripping from the leaves and nuts. Then, there were the oyster shells. She didn’t even know where to start with them. Did… did they eat the entire thing? Cut it in parts with a knife and bring it to their mouths with a fork, like most foods, or was it something they needed a spoon for? They did have a vague appearance of soup.
Jovenan: Looks interesting! But, uh, pardon my inexperience, but how do I eat the oysters? I don’t think I’ve eaten them before.
Sadar/Silveira: Response
Jovenan: No, it’s quite alright! I must insist, you’ve gone through the trouble of preparing it for us, I have to try it!
Sadar/Silveira: Response
Jovenan followed the instructions, brought the oyster to her lips and swallowed. She was impressed by the taste, she could taste the salt of the water in which the oyster – or rather, the replicated specimen’s living ancestors – had once lived. However, she tried to control her face not to reveal too much of her opinion of the texture of the dish or the feeling of it slithering down her throat. She began to think for a hasty change of topic while pulling her salad closer.
Jovenan: Is there something else Counsellor Jaskhaa is making you go through? Perhaps either of us could help you with it. Going outside your comfort zone is much easier with a friend, I would imagine.
Sadar/Silveira: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11