Lt JG Serala: En Route to DS26
Jim Davis
(( OOC: This takes place a few hours after meeting with Raga, while en route to DS26 ))
(( Shuttle Praxis Moon, en route to DS26, Par’tha Expanse ))
Stevok: Serala, would you please sit still. Everything is going to be fine. I know how much he means to you, and if you mean as much to him as he said, then you two will get past it.
Serala: You may be right, my heart, but you didn’t see him. He was broken. I have never seen him like that. He was trying to be strong, to put up a good front, but I saw right through it. He’s devastated. And I did that to him. How am I ever going to be able to forgive myself for that?
:: Stevok sighed in frustration. He hadn’t known about her feelings for this Toryn Raga when his pon farr had driven him to mate with her...and bond with her. That was unusual. Not all pon farr matings resulted in the lifebond. Usually, that was a deliberate act on the part of one or both of the Vulcans participating in the event. However, on rare occasions, when the attraction was particularly strong, or the pon farr, it would result in an involuntary bonding, such as what had occurred between Serala and himself. Afterward, the next day, he had seen her thoughts about this Raga, and the guilt washed over him. Especially when he realized that because of their now existent bond, she loved him even more than she had Toryn. And now, she had found out that this other guy had loved her back, only it was too late and she was now the one feeling awash with guilt, and he could do nothing to help her. She was going to have to work this one out on her own. He only hoped they could survive it together. ::
Stevok: Serala, you have to let this go. You didn’t know. He never gave you any indication. So why should you feel guilty? Logic dictates that if he had said something sooner, the situation between you two would be completely different today.
Serala: :: smiling at his attempt to comfort her :: True, but that same logic also dictates that if I had done the same, things between us would be completely different today as well. I am equally at fault here. Worse, because I have you and he has no one.
Stevok: Serala… :: He didn’t want to say what he was about to say, but he loved her and she had a right to know this information. :: ...There is something you should know.
:: He looked into her now curious stare and his resolve began to falter, but a tug on the bond-link warned him not to back off now. She was a volatile creature. ::
Stevok: Although it is rare for two people to bond like we did during … the pon’farr, it does happen. Case in point, us. Usually, the bond is formed deliberately during childhood, at the age of seven, when two Vulcan children are selected to become lifemates. It is called kan-telan, the child bonding. My parents chose not to find a child mate for me, which is why I was able to bond with you. The tradition is dying out. In any event, in the rare circumstances when a situation like ours occurs, we have a way that the bond can be severed if the female partner so chooses. After all, the bonding occurred involuntarily. There is a ceremony that the priestesses of Mt. Seleya can perform. It is not easy, and it is rarer that even the bonding that necessitates the procedure, but it is possible.
:: Serala had been listening to him with growing panic in her heart. She was afraid he was saying he wanted to separate their bond. By the end of it, she was positive that was what he was saying. ::
Serala: Why are you saying this to me! Please! Stevok, I just destroyed my best friend’s heart because I chose you over him. I don’t want to leave you. Why would you even suggest this?!
Stevok: Calm down, ashaya. I did not mean to frighten you. oO She’s terrified! Oo Calm!. I only presented this to you because of your strong feelings for your Toryn Raga. Until you met me, your heart belonged to him. I cannot be sure that the bond is not responsible for the change. If you wanted him, you should know that it is possible.
Serala: NO! :: Suddenly realizing that there were others on the shuttle and they were now staring at her, she forced herself to calm down before proceeding. :: No, heis’he, never. It may be that the bond established something that wasn’t there before, but now, the bond is just a pleasant benefit. I love you. It tears my soul that I destroyed Toryn that way, but I could never go on without you.
Stevok: But those feeling could just be the bond speaking.
Serala: Trust me, it’s not. It is not something I can explain with words, and my ability to speak with you telepathically is so new, I don’t know yet how to control it, or I would show you…
Stevok: Then show me.
:: Stevok reached out through the bond and looked into her mind. He guided her into showing him want she meant. Soon, he realized that she was correct. The bond had formed the connection, but her love was now genuine and as deep as any he had ever heard of. ::
Stevok: ~~ I am sorry ashaya. I see now that you speak the truth. I will mention this no more. ~~
:: Sensing her calming emotions, and knowing her need for additional reassurance, he pulled her close and embraced her. She settled into his embrace and hugged him close, still recovering from the near panic at the thought of losing him and still concerned over the way she had left Toryn. ::
NO TAGS/TBC
USS Atlantis NCC-76482
A239412S10