Lieutenant JG Amelia Semara - Inheritance

[Max]

(( Amelia’s Quarters, Room 145, Deck 14, USS Khitomer, docked at DS33 ))

Already thoroughly enjoying the unexpected company, Amelia put together a little tray of snacks with the cerulean-lazuli colored tea pot in the center, steam rising from the spout, and placed it on the low table in front of Banks.

Banks: ::seeing the teapot, smiling:: Ooh! I have to confess, I have a terrible weakness for tea. My mother jokes that I was issued with it along with the accent.

Accent?  Now that was interesting.  To Amelia's ears, Juliet sounded more like she was from Medara on Betazed than anywhere on Earth, and she associated it more with coffee and chocolate than tea and fruit.

Semara: Really!  I'll have to remember that.  :: A big grin. ::  Is there any particular kind or preparation you'd like?

Banks: Oh, I’m happy to try whatever you’ve prepared. When I’m making it for myself I tend towards light, fruity teas – like darjeelings and many of the oolong teas, if you’re familiar with Earth varieties – but I’m always happy to drink other peoples’ favourites. It’s the best way of finding new things I like.

Semara: :: Another big smile. :: 'Course! :: Moving off to fetch the rest. :: Anyway, I don't have Ras' touch with plants, but if you're just lookin' for company or an eye for decorations, I'd be happy to tag along. :: A slightly lower voice, and a grin. :: But then, I'm easy to entertain.

At last she returned and finished setting the little tray with all the accoutrements, set the tea to steep, and sat down on the couch across from Banks with a friendly smile.

Banks: Well, I certainly wouldn’t say no, to either the help or the company.

Juliet offered a grin as she nibbled on the selection of cheese and veggies, and Amelia already found herself liking the woman.

Semara: Anythin' in particular you wanna decorate your quarters with, 'sides plants?

Amelia eyed Banks with a relaxed, interested smile as she took a couple berries.  One of the stranger questions to get to know someone, but with any luck it might lead to discovering more about the ensign.

Banks: You know, I don’t actually know. I’ve been travelling light for years now! Academy quarters aren’t spacious, of course, and my Cadet cruise was on a medical relief ship so we were in close quarters there, too. What little space there was, tended to fill up with stray PADDs and study notes. ::thoughtfully:: I don’t think I’ve had room to decorate since I left home… ::a grin:: and I don’t think I need to revisit teenage me’s idea of great décor.

Semara: :: A musical laugh. :: It is hard to settle in the fleet to the point you can really nest.  Before Khitomer, I was on an ecological survey.  Was on a new ship almost every couple weeks, gettin' ferried around from place to place.  :: Beat :: But PADDs?  Oh, I am definitely coming along to help you out.

Banks: I can just see it now – I’ll replicate some ornaments to fill the empty spaces, just until I collect keepsakes and mementoes with more meaning, and by then I’ll have owned the replicated stuff for so long I’ll wind up getting sentimental about that and just keeping everything.

Amelia was already beaming at Bank's laughter and ease, and in anticipation of what felt like a joke brewing.

Banks: ::miming an interviewer:: “So, Commander Banks, why do you feel the time is right for a promotion to Captain?” ::answering as herself:: “Well, you know, I need the larger quarters as I’m running out of room for souvenirs.” ::a grin:: A flawless plan, right? No, far better to pick out some proper decorations now, I think. How would you recommend I start? How did you?

Semara: :: Laughing :: Well, I'd promote you with a pitch like that.

Amelia grinned happily as Banks dug into the cheese, and she snacked thoughtfully on a couple berries herself before continuing to the answer.

Semara: For me, art is good, and so are things that have a use, but I like things best that have memories to go with. :: Looking around, then chuckling :: I suppose you could say I got started a few generations ago - I inherited a good portion of these things.  When my grandparents passed, my parents didn't want the odds and ends.  So I took 'em. I started the academy shortly after, and I had nowhere to put it.  This is a first, actually.  Honestly, it still feels out-of-place.

The quilted blanket draped over the side of her sofa used to sit at the end of a guest bed in her home in the valley.  An ornamental basket used to hang on a wall in the kitchen.  So many things that were familiar from so many years seeing them in their proper place - they still didn't look entirely at home in her quarters.  She might have to move them around more.

Banks: Response

Semara: Well, almost everything that matters - like all the family land - went to my uncle instead of my momma or me. That's very unusual in Betazoid culture.  That's...  A whole other story.  For another time.  For when you've got several hours.  :: A chuckle. :: I still have a couple interestin' bits and pieces though. Here...

Amelia got up to collect a favorite - her gratitude bell was still on the miniature dining table.  It combined memories of two of her favorite things: food, and company.  She set it on the low table with the rest of the tea setup - she'd need it for later, anyway - and sat back down.

Semara: This, for instance.  You might be familiar with the Betazoid custom of givin' thanks for a meal.  It's traditionally more like a cymbal, but in Nantahala and other parts of Casperia it got changed out for more of a bell.  The theory goes that it's because shepherds and cattle ranchers were the first to settle the valley - still lots of good dairy and wool back home - and the animals all wore bells, so ringin' a bell was like givin' thanks to the animals as much as the chef.  The custom stuck even when the valley got more settled and turned to more diverse cultivation.  :: Beat :: It's a nice one, but for me, it's just the sound of bein' together with the family every night for dinner.

Banks: Response

Amelia smiled and reached up to her hair, and took out the pin holding up a few locks of curled hair.  She held it out in her palm for Juliet to see.  The Golden Leaf of Semizad: the only heirloom in her possession that was truly precious beyond its aesthetic and sentimental value.  Instead of solid gold, it was an incredibly intricate, filigree design of delicate veins that filled in the gold outline of a cherry-aspen tree.  A the leaf-root, just above the stem, a slightly pinkish-honey colored padparadscha sapphire twinkled in the light.  The fastener itself was carefully hidden on the underside.

Semara: Prolly the most important thing I inherited is the Golden Leaf of Semizad.  But it's jewelry, not a room decoration.  It's very very old - about a thousand years old, I think - and havin' it gives me an extra title in some circles, but that's just crufty old Betazoid stuff.  Supposedly, it's been given to the eldest Semara daughter on their fifteenth birthday ever since it was made, but I find that hard to believe.  For the most part it's just old jewelry.  It's real pretty though.  I like wearin' it.

Banks: Response

Semara: I'm just an only child, but my parents and I were always real close.  My daddy and me especially.  We were always gettin' out and explorin' the backcountry.  But I learned to cook from my momma.  I couldn't be more thankful.  What about you?  What's your family like?  :: A quirky smile ::  I don't suppose you could ask for anything from home to get you started?

Banks: Response

Tag / TBC...

Lieutenant Junior Grade Amelia Magnolia Semara

Science Officer

USS Khitomer - NCC-62400

A239710MA0