JP: Cadet Morro Caras & Cadet Sevantha Saa - A Star-Crossed Tune (Part 3 final)
Morro Caras
((602 Club, San Francisco, Earth))
((Stardate: 240012.14))
Bursting out the side door into the small alleyway, she gasped for air before slumping up against the brick wall. Reaching up she wiped at her tears, trying to find value in feeling the depth of the heart break that lingered. Lorian didn’t have ill intention, he was likely curious and amused, but she couldn’t take him being there trying to act as if nothing had happened… that he hadn’t left her for someone else.
Caras eventually followed, he didn’t put his shirt back on, but carried it out with him. He looked back at the Vulcans but they were no longer there. Going after them wouldn’t help, but she did need it. His training from the seekers kicked in. He walked out into the cold, it was the cold season here on earth. Even though they were in a part of the planet that was mostly considered by humans to be perfect, it still got around 10°C.
Caras: Are you… alright?
Morro knew she wasn’t. He was dense but he wasn’t fully stupid. Plus he was better at social intuition than any of his actual studies.
Saa: …You didn’t have to follow me out here ::she sighed before wiping at her eyes again:: I didn’t mean to interrupt your night, I… I just can’t go back in there and pretend…
She huffed trying to contain it and yet she struggled. Anger was a poison when allowed to fester and no matter how hard she tried she was no Vulcan.
Saa: Who just breaks off an engagement with a girl then turns around and invites her to celebrate his restationing and engagement like they’re friends!? ::She exploded before burying her face in her hands:: I’m sorry, this is my mess, it shouldn’t be ruining your night…. You should go back in and dance.
He used his still warm shirt to drape on over her back, kind of like a cape.
Caras: Do you need comfort?
It had been almost three years since he had gotten a chance to ask someone this question, and five years since he had gotten a proper response. Before StarFleet, while he was still a pirate, Morro Caras was trained as a pleasure seeker and was a member of their guild. The pleasure seekers cleaned to be an ancient order of Orion courtesans, therapists (both physical and emotional) and entertainers. Similar to geisha on earth. They were trained to take context clues from people and help them find what brought them pleasure. Some found pleasure through games, others through dance and music, and of course there were those who were interested in the most simple, and basic of pleasures; pleasures of the body.
It was an important question for the guild but he had it so well rehearsed he didn’t need to think about it. If she didn’t he would leave her there. If she did, as a seeker, he would help her find her comfort. He knelt down next to her and wiped a tear away.
Saa: Do
I need…? ::She turned to look at him questioning why he even asked, why
did he care to.:: … I do, I don’t know what that looks like… if I did I
wouldn’t be here.
Curiously her fingers lifted to curl around the shirt that had been draped over her like a cloak.
Caras: Well then, I am yours for the evening. We should go somewhere quiet away from here. My room is a short walk this way and I’m quite certain my roommate left with a partner and won’t be back this evening.
Cadet
Rahayu had really been coming into his own recently. He and Morro
annoyed one another for the past two years, but not enough to get a
transfer. This year they had really gotten along, and with Morro’s tips
the Rahayu had been out with a different partner each weekend for the
past few weekends
He…
he wasn’t real right? Staring at him for a moment, Sevantha tried to
scrutinize his thoughts for any signs of deception. Any secondary
motivations that would entangle her in far more of an emotional mess
than she already was. His switch, this concern and resolve felt like it
had come out of no where, but she couldn’t find any place in his mind
that showed secondary motivation. She was suddenly the center of his
mind and she wasn’t sure what she had done to invoke it.
…Did she care even? The promise of escape was tempting.
Saa: You’re serious?
Strong emotions she was experiencing also could disrupt her natural abilities to read the thoughts and feelings of others, so there was an ambiguity that allowed her to both question and be unable to feel the truth. She didn’t want to trust anyone… but she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend the evening alone either. Stuck with her thoughts reflecting on the endless loop of sorrow. Betazoids and apparently Orions, culturally emphasized feeling each part of grief, but there was a part of her that resented it. Burying it sounded lovely.
Caras: I’m certain, tonight is about you. I’m here to help you find the thing to take your mind off of him, or the situation, or whatever else is bothering you.
His training had kicked in now. He was looking at her. She was very attractive to him. And now for the evening she was everything to him. His thoughts would be for her, about her, his body, his mind, his talents.
Caras: Come.
He gently pulled her up from the ground into his arms. He looked deep into her pitch black eyes. He brought her soft hand into his and began walking.
The contact brought her to a pause, causing her head to tilt a little, where was the showman who had just been there a few moments ago on the dance floor?
Saa: I… ::She just stared at him for a moment:: …alright…
There
had been a change mentally, One that she couldn’t place or understand.
The chaoticness of his thoughts focused suddenly on her and her alone as
if he’d been the entire time. Where had the dancer from inside gone and
where had this man appeared?
Did it matter at this point?
Quietly, she allowed her fingers to interlace with his, and allow herself to get lost in the dream for the evening.
((The Next Morning))
Once
it rang. Twice it rang, and on the third iteration of the alarm
Sevantha rolled over to reach for her PADD. Looking around the small
cadet dorm, she yawned a little before turning to look at Morro who was
still asleep next to her. Hopefully no one had been too alerted to her
presence in the dorm. Sitting up, she lifted the PADD and checked at the
alert screaming at her. There was a warmth still about the night
before, the Engineering student had not joked when he said the night was
dedicated to her and escaping the thoughts of her misery. Briefly her
gaze shifted to her hand where several markings were painted on her
skin, body painting that had been very relaxing after the message. It
all felt like a dream she’d woken up from.
oO Oh $#!+ Oo
The exam.
As quietly as she could, she rose out of bed and started trying tame the mess that she herself was. She was late. For the first time in her life she was abysmally late to an exam and it was going to require an explanation from her exam proctor. Lying wasn’t in her nature but she couldn’t reveal the whole truth. Looking at Morro, she wished she could figure out his thoughts but she had to go. No time to even get his fleet ID number. She’d have to snag the extra uniform in her locker at the academy.
For a moment she considered if she wanted to wake him up and say more, tell him she had enjoyed herself immensely but at the same time she had think of her career and the time she had. He also had to focus and think of his as well. The exam and then her next residency would start before her transfer to Starbase 118. Maybe she’d be able to contact him later, surely he understood, and who knew if this wasn’t something he did every weekend for some mess of a girl like herself.
Every chance to deny she was anything special in this came to the surface to propel her forward.
Slipping out of the room, she closed the door, and prayed there wasn’t anyone about to ask any questions. This wasn’t a walk of shame because of shame in actions, she didn’t have an unhealthy view of such encounters, she was just late, and that was terribly embarrassing in itself.
Who knew she'd be getting shipped off but not a few days later.
Lieutenant LG Sevantha Saa
Medical Officer
USS Astraeus
A240105SS2
and
Ensign Morro Caras
Engineering Officer
USS Octavia E. Butler
O240106MC1