[G-QTRS] JP by Lt. DeVeau and PNPC Saavok: Origami Time! - Part 1

[Sarah Eccles]

((Saveron’s quarters, USS Garuda))

::Paper was easy to replicate, and Alora was greatly pleased to find that someone had already programmed an option for origami paper.  That had made her life a heck of a lot easier, that was for certain.  She’d replicated it in an array of colours and patterns, then left her quarters.

She was off duty, her shift over, but she knew a certain Vulcan would still be in the science lab while a certain other miniature Vulcan was probably doing his homework.  Actually, if her theory was correct, he was already done.

Alora arrived at the quarters and engaged the chime that would alert the child inside to her presence.  When the door opened, she gazed down at him, her expression severe.::

DeVeau: Saavok, young man, have you finished your homework?

::Saavok looked up at Alora and her unusually stern expression. What had warranted that look?::

Saavok: Affirmative, I have completed my assigned work for this evening. ::He was trying not to show his puzzlement.:: My father will be home in approximately two hours.

DeVeau: Oh good.

::All severity melted away and was immediately replaced with her usual cheerfulness.::

DeVeau: Then...mind if I teach you a little about something people in Japan do?  It’d be ideal to have your father here as well, but I have to take care of something in a couple of hours and won’t have time then.  So if I teach you, maybe you can teach him. I think both of you might find it agreeable.

::Saavok considered this for a moment. Both father and son held an appreciation for learning new things.::

Saavok: I would not object to that.

::He stepped aside so that Alora could enter and, as his father did, changed the environmental settings to something a bit more comfortable for her, though still warmer than Federation Standard.::

DeVeau: Awesome.  Ever hear of ‘origami’?

::She knew the answer, but asked the question regardless even as she spread the paper over the small table.::

Saavok: I have not.

DeVeau: It’s the Japanese art of paper folding and it’s a lot of fun.  You make all sorts of things out of paper.  Some of it is really simple but it can also get really complicated.  We’ll start simple though.

::She motioned to the various shades and patterns displayed before them.::

DeVeau: Pick a piece of paper that’s aesthetically pleasing to you.

::Saavok regarded Alora for a moment and then the pile of coloured paper. He reached out a small hand and chose a piece of paper in a pale blue hue of varying intensities.::

Saavok: This piece. It is the same colour as the fountain pools at the Embassy.

DeVeau: It’s lovely. I’ve never been to the Embassy.  Of course, I didn’t really do much traveling off Terra until I joined Starfleet, and then I pretty much came straight here from the Academy.

::Alora picked out a piece for herself, one of light green with a scattering of tiny purple flowers.  They weren’t shaped like her beloved violets, but they certainly shared similarities.::

DeVeau: Okay, first I suggest we make a dog face and a cat face.  They are so simple you’ll get them right away.  Then I’ll teach you to make one of the most traditional beloved origami animals in the Japanese culture.  So, first…

::The faces were amazingly simple, only a couple of folds and they were done.  Alora fished out a pen from her pocket and added eyes, noses, and mouths to complete them.::

DeVeau: Aren’t they cuuute?

Saavok: Are they? ::He regarded the simple shapes in front of him.:: What is the definition of ‘cute’?

DeVeau: Um.  Attractive in a charming way. Babies are cute.  You are cute.  These are cute.

::That earned her a dose of The Eyebrow. Apparently even young Vulcans used that expression.::

::He was a Vulcan.  A child, yes, but a Vulcan, did she really expect much?  Ah well.::

DeVeau:  Aesthetically pleasing.

::There, that might settle better with him.::

DeVeau: Okay, really simple, right?  One of the most beloved shapes is the tsuru - Japanese crane.  We’ll take this slowly, step by step.

::Alora plucked another piece of paper from the table, that time a deep, solid teal.::

DeVeau: In origami, sometimes you fold and then unfold so that the creases you leave behind will help make things easier later down the line.  Anyway, let’s get started.

::Saavok selected a grey piece of paper with a silvery gleam to it and tiny snowflakes. He carefully copied her motions, small fingers deft.::

Saavok: What is a crane? And what is the purpose of making paper simulcrums?

DeVeau: A crane is a type of large bird.  There are a variety of species indigenous to various places on Terra.  The Japanese crane is particularly well liked in Japan.  As to the purpose, it’s considered an art form.

::Even as she spoke Alora began to make folds in the paper.  She would make a crane as he watched, then help him make one for himself.::

DeVeau: But it has other benefits beyond the aesthetic.  It’s a good way to encourage eye hand coordination, mathematical skills such as shape recognition, problem solving, fractions, symmetry, spatial reasoning.

::After a few folds, she had created an elongated rhombus and proceeded to fold those inward to narrow it further.::

DeVeau: And it’s just really neat to transform something flat into something so beautiful.

TBC

******

PNPC Saavok

Vulcan Child

USS Garuda

&

Lt. Alora DeVeau

Chief Science Officer

USS Garuda