[G] JP-Lt. DeVeau & Lt. (j.g.) Moonsong: Girl Talk Part 1

[Amanda Nordstrom]

(Raissa Moonsong's Quarters)


::Ding dong merrily on high….the song came to mind even though the chirp
by the computer wasn’t anywhere near a ding or even a dong. It was an
extremely short series of beeps that simply alerted those inside that
someone was present and waiting. Although it wasn’t quite Christmas, it
still inserted itself in her brain despite herself and rolled around and
around, even after the door slid open and the friendly face of Counselor
Moonsong appeared. Alora’s own lit up with a smile.::


DeVeau: Hi!


::Raissa had given up on meditation and decided to just relax. Seeing
Alora at her door made pleasure rush through her.::


Moonsong: Alora! Come in! What brings you here?


DeVeau: I have something for you.


::That something was discreetly hidden from view, clutched carefully
behind her back with both hands. She kept it hidden for a moment longer
before bringing the object in question then presented it with a playful
flourish as Alora beamed.::


DeVeau: Have a plant!


::Raissa’s eyes widened in delight. All she had time for recently was a
sage plant that wasn’t trying hard::


DeVeau: It’s an African violet!


::Although the specimen wasn’t fully mature, it already boasted a single
flower. The blossom was mostly open, pink with a purple edge and deep
green, fuzzy leaves and planted into a small, lavender pot. Once Raissa
had a moment to study it, Alora extended it to her.::


Moonsong: It’s beautiful! ::she gently stroked the fuzzy leaves with
gentle fingers before she took the plant:: Please come in.


::Raissa stepped aside so that Alora could enter her quarters. She was
still working on removing the antiseptic feel of the standard starfleet
decor with her own touches. The walls had be recolored to a soft green
with pictures of forest scenes on the walls. Pillows and throws with
natural geometric patterns in earth tones were scattered to add a warm
welcoming feel Alora admired the decorations with appreciation as she
wandered further into the room. It was a comfortable place, much like
she tried to keep her own quarters.::


Moonsong: ::She set the plant down on the ‘window’ ledge next to the
tiny sage:: Sit down and make yourself comfortable. Can I offer you some
tea?


Deveau: Tea would be lovely. I’m feeling rather orange today so
something with orange in it, herbal.


::While Alora could be graceful when need be, she simply flopped onto
the couch, quite relaxed in such a friendly environment.::


DeVeau: Man, am I glad that whole mess is over. Well, mostly.


::There was still the Maquis to deal with, but Alora didn’t know how
long it would be until they could be found and what Starfleet wanted to
be done with them.::


::Raissa chuckled as she watched Alora ‘land’ on the couch. It took her
only a few moments to put together a tea tray.::


DeVeau: I do have to admit, it was interesting to meet the spiders
finally. Did anything happen on your end?

::Raissa set down the tray on the coffee table, the scent of orange
spice filling the air::


Moonsong: ::shaking her head with a soft sigh:: You have no idea.

::Alora sat up and eyed the counselor, eyebrows lifted.::

Moonsong: You were saying something about spiders on the station? Don’t
tell me we had an insect infestation on top of everything else, did we?


DeVeau: Actually, yes. Well...sort of. It’s an infestation that’s been
around since they started inhabiting the station. There are these
ginormous mechanical spiders though they have biological components.


::She handed Alora a cup and then curled up in the corner with her own
as she listened to the science officer. Alora accepted the tea and
inhaled deeply of the fruity scent before taking a careful sip of the
hot liquid.::


Moonsong: ::blinks in surprise:: Mechanical spiders….. ::Shakes her
head:: I can’t even imagine that…


DeVeau: It wasn’t that bad. They’re actually pretty
friendly...well...sort of friendly. I think they’ve decided we’re not
bad so we’re okay to let live around here or something.


::Sheba had called her a ‘maker’ whatever that meant. Did they think
she’d made them? No...but maybe her race? Or something? She’d have to
ask when she went back - and she would go back.::


::Raissa drew her legs up clearly uncomfortable. The change in her
Reader status would definitely impact their friendship. But it would be
dishonest not to tell her. At least part of it.::


Moonsong: Something happened….


::Alora’s eyes flicked up to study the counselor over the rim of the
cup, the steam casting a translucent white fog over her image briefly.


Moonsong: ::unconsciously rubbing her healed wrist:: You know I’m an
empath….


::Alora nodded. It was one of the things that helped Raissa in her
field, Alora was sure. She sometimes envied the ability to sense
emotion. The most she could do was study body language and facial
expressions.::


Moonsong: ::looking out the wide bay window:: Actually…. I should say I
was an empath….


DeVeau: Was?


::Had something happened? She knew that Core had lost his telepathic
ability, had something similar happened to Raissa?::


Moonsong: Something…. happened… It caused my ability to… spike…
Permanently. I’m T3/E4 now. ::She knew she wouldn’t have to translate
what those numbers meant.::


DeVeau: Really?


::So it was the opposite. Core had lost his, but Raissa’s ability had
gained strength. Alora took a long, slow sip of her tea, then queried.::


DeVeau: How do you feel about that?


Moonsong: It’s… strange…. harder to keep my head quiet. ::she shrugged
slightly:: Fortunately I grew up around telepaths and empaths. My
grandmother is Betazoid. I’m a little out of practice and I have to
relearn some things. ::She hesitated:: This means occasionally being
around me is going to be hard on your privacy.


DeVeau: Nah, it’s all good.


::Alora waved dismissively at the concern on the counselor’s part.::


DeVeau: I’ve got nothing to hide. Besides, I dealt with Kestra and she’s
pretty darn nosey. I’ll be fine so no big deal.


::Raissa found herself smiling at the dark haired woman. She felt some
of her tension leaving her.::


Moonsong: Of course I can feel your sincerity. ::She poked Alora’s leg
with a bare toe.:: Feeling emotions without touching is still strange.


DeVeau: Well, I have something else I can use too.


::This time it was Raissa’s eyebrow that jumped up to dance with her
hairline.::


Moonsong: Oh?

DeVeau: Kestra taught me how to bury thoughts. I mean, if someone really
tries to figure out stuff, they can do it, but if they aren’t trying
hard, I know how to ‘distract’ them so to speak. If I _really_ wanted to
hide something, I could do that too, but it’s not easy and someone
powerful enough could certainly figure it out if they really wanted.
Still, daily stuff, I can probably keep one thing from you if I wanted
to - for a really short period of time. It’s not sustainable.


Moonsong: I much prefer the interaction of speech and body language.
::she lifted the teapot and offered a refill:: Though, we’ll see how
long Carter will continue to love me when he fully understands that
occasion lack of privacy means.


DeVeau: Well, if he really does love you, then he’ll stick around no
matter what. So you and Carter...Greyson?


::She lifted her eyebrows and wiggled them up and down a little. She
hadn’t suspected, but then, she had her own things to distract her,
particularly work.::


DeVeau: I didn’t know you had a love interest.


Moonsong: I didn’t think it would go anywhere. He was a patient had a
fear aversion thing with a console. One session, he got over it and I
figured that was it.


::One session and he was over it? Wow...that seemed odd to Alora.
Usually when people had issues they took far more than a single session
to resolve. That was unless there was another reason he’d come to see
her under the guise of an issue.::


DeVeau: Are you sure that was the true reason he came to see you?


Moonsong: ::snort:: He told me he was interested in me and in Dr.
Skyfire in the same breath. I seriously didn’t think anything would come
of it…. But I couldn’t stop thinking about him…


DeVeau: You _and_ Dr. Skyfire?

::Could the man not make up his mind? Well, she did know there were
quite a few cultures where open relationships were very common.
Denobulans were like that - among others. It was not something Alora
subscribed too, however. She was a one person gal.::


Moonsong: ::slumps in the corner of the couch:: I know, pathetic.


DeVeau: No, no pathetic.

::Alora shook her head then sipped at her tea. She’d only had one guy
ever show any interest in her and it had ended _very_ badly. She
wouldn’t think of that then - it was not something she relished dwelling
on and it wasn’t something she needed to bother Raissa with. It was done
and over.::


DeVeau: So you two are going to try a relationship?


Moonsong: ::she made a face.:: I’m not sure… I’d like to…


*****

Lt. (j.g.) Raissa Moonsong

Counselor

USS Garuda

&


Lt. Alora DeVeau

Chief of Science

USS Garuda