Lieutenant JG Amelia Semara - Messy Stories

[Max]

(( OOC: Apologies for the delay in simming!  Been a busy few days. ))

(( Amelia's Quarters, Deck 14, USS Khitomer  - En Route to Shore Leave ))

Amelia couldn't remember the last time she'd told the whole story of her lost inheritance.  But it felt right telling it now for some reason.  The easy company, the casual food, the free-flowing ale...  It was a comfortable moment.  But now Amelia wanted to busy her mouth with food rather than talk, and she very much wanted to know Ayemet a little better.

Semara: :: A big, tipsy smile. :: Your turn.  I wanna hear a story 'bout Ayemet.

Apparently the conversation was about as shocking as being stunned with a phaser - Ayemet appeared to mime being shot and falling over.  The greater worry was the sounds of hunks of cheese nearly getting snorted out the wrong airway.  Amelia giggled, and just waited for a moment for the woman to recover.

A.Dewitt: What do you want to know?

Semara: Everything, naturally.

She took another sip of her drink, a grin growing bigger on her lips.

Semara: Course, I wanna remember it all, too, sooo... Just one story for now.  Somethin' from younger days?

Amelia munched away happily, still aware of the little dance Ayemet's feelings stepped through through the hazy curtain the alcohol drew over her empathic senses.  If anything, it made the moment more intimate - hushing the perennial, busy undercurrent of the bustle of the whole ship and leaving the two of them together to their only little world.

A.Dewitt: Okay so I could tell you about Nisha. She was :hesitation: a good friend. No that’s a lie. She started off as my best friend but we developed feelings for each other. She was I guess you would call her my girlfriend, my first love.

Amelia lit up briefly, wanting to pounce on hearing about an adorable love story of a younger Ayemet.  The empathic energy in the air wasn't that, though, and she softened.  This wasn't a story of dumb, young love, or growing up and growing apart.  There wasn't a light at the end of this story.  There was a hole, of some kind, at its terminus.  A pit to fall into.  The rim was well-worn, and Amelia could feel Ayemet slipping down the slope.

As tears started beading, Amelia reached out the same way Ayemet had earlier, clasping the back of her hand.  As with so many telepaths, touch lessened the distance between minds as much as bodies.  She took a breath, softening and quieting herself so Ayemet's emotions would have more space, remembering the way she'd noticed Ayemet's sensitivity the first time they'd met.

Semara: Start with the good part. :: A little smile. ::

A.Dewitt: Before my father left we would play together pretending to be Captains of starships or explorers on adventures in I found lands. The Bajoran countryside is full of mountains and rivers and the most amazing crystal lakes. Then my Father left, the morning he was supposed to take Nisha and I out. He just left. 

Amelia smiled as she listened, not realizing she and Ayemet shared a passion for the countryside and exploring it.  Then she took a deep breath as the story took its first turn.

Semara: I'm sorry.  :: Beat :: Did you ever find out what happened to him?

A.Dewitt: I never heard from him again. I blamed my Mom I guess . Our relationship rapidly declined afterwards and it wasn’t until Connor brought us back together that I found out the truth.

Semara: That... ain't easy.  I'm glad you were able to figure things out with your mom, though.  :: A little smile, and a squeeze on her hand. :: I guess the man can do some things zaranza can't...

Amelia let go to finish her own slice as she chuckled with Ayemet, her nose crinkling a little as they seemed to make weird little faces at each other until Ayemet succumbed to the combined effects of food, booze, and gravity and fell backwards once more to stare at the ceiling.  There was still the story to finish, and Amelia was keen to hear it.

Semara: What happened with you and Nisha?

There was a reason Connor was part of this story, after all.

A.Dewitt: Nisha would become an escape from my mother. We would run away to the hills or the fire caves or the crystal lake. Slowly we began to realise what we had wasn’t a friendship; it was love. It was all so easy with her. Never doubted her love. It was her that got me away from Bajor and into the Academy. If she hadn’t….

And now they stood upon the lip of the hole at the story's finale, Ayemet hesitating to look down and describe its contents.

Semara: It's okay if you don't wanna say, Ayemet.

The offer hung there for a moment, the softness in Amelia's voice just over the ship's hum.

A.Dewitt: She took her own life. Whilst I was away at the Academy:  she had problems. I guess I let her persuade me to ignore them otherwise I never would have left.

So it wasn't a hole or a pit, but a grave at the end of the story.  Yet this time there was no tumble of emotion downwards, and Amelia smiled softly, grateful there was enough peace and warmth in the moment they could just look at the story together - naming the things without getting caught up in them.  It was a long moment she let it sit, watching as the woman poured another round. The story seemed to breathe like vintage wine, and Amelia let it.  At last, she took a long deep breath and let it go along with the sadness she felt for the woman.

Semara: You felt responsible, didn't you?

To the Betazoid, it was obvious.  The direct-line correlation her feelings drew were plain as day.  Not that Amelia would have been any different, in all likelihood.

A.Dewitt: I guess there’s a part of me that will always blame myself but I know why she let me go, pushed me to go. I just wish she could have seen me . But then I guess I wouldn’t have let Connor:

Semara: :: A little smirk. :: Or me and my marriageable zaranza.

She took a full sip of the ale.  Amelia didn't have the heart to push on the way the story ended, so she let it slide with a little joke.  The implication - no, the emotion radiating off Ayemet told the repeated story.  Father, gone.  Nisha, gone...

...Connor, gone...

At least Ayemet let the dumb, faux flirtation pass for what it was, smiling and nodding along with Amelia.

A.Dewitt: Well I could have told you about that time I got romantic with a Klingon called Korrath in a zero gravity unit at Starfleet Academy, but you wouldn’t want to hear about that.  :beat: Yeah took a long time to clear up after that.

Semara: :: A little shrug. :: I like messy stories.  More... color.  More flavor.  :: A twisting little smile. ::

A.Dewitt: Response

Amelia stacked the now-empty plates, cleaned her fingers of cheese and pastry, then scooted awkwardly on her butt around to the side of the table Ayemet was on.  The floor gladly accepted her laying form next to Ayemet's.  Her spine and ribs and shoulder blades all seemed to sink down into the hard carpeted surface, the pleasant heaviness of food in her stomach adding to the weight.

Semara: Thanks for trustin' me with your story.  I'm sorry you had to experience all that, Ayemet.

What else was there to say?  No one should have to experience a Father leaving or a loved one taking their own life, let alone both.  Her head rolled a little on the floor until she could see Ayemet's eyes, and then she offered a little smile.

A. Dewitt: Response

It was clear Ayemet felt things deeply and freely.  Amelia liked that about the woman.  Even if they were unpleasant for Ayemet, it was refreshing to have it there on the surface unfiltered.  Perhaps a little outside perspective wouldn't be unwelcome.

Semara: I think you've got a lot to be proud of, makin' it all this way, still makin' new friends and family despite it all.  :: Beat :: Says a lot about you, don't you think?

A. Dewitt: Response

Semara: I think... :: Trailing off in a slight haze. :: I think I've had way too much ale and zaranza to say anything smart. :: A little chuckle. :: But anyone who says you ain't worth havin' around sounds wrong to me.  :: A way-too-big smile. :: Which is why I'm plannin' on keepin' you as long as you let me.  Maybe we'll make some new messy stories over shore leave, whaddya say?

She softly elbowed the woman and giggled dumbly.  Quite likely, Amelia would be the trouble with the sort of mood she was in, but then again with the hints Ayemet had been dropping all night long, it was entirely possible the Betazoid had met her match and then some.

A. Dewitt: Response

Tag / TBC...  (( Or end? / Or cut to the cruise? ))

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Lieutenant Junior Grade Amelia Magnolia Semara

Science Officer - Special Projects

USS Khitomer - NCC-62400

A239710MA0