Pet Store Confessions

Posted on Thu Jun 18th, 2015 @ 11:54am by Aewia Larani & Lieutenant Daln Hadren & Staff Warrant Officer Nexi

Mission: The New Sydney Fiasco
Location: Lounge

Daln was walking a little gingerly towards the turbolift with Nexi, to head back to the security offices. "You mentioned you don't mind training together. What time did you want to do it?"

"Well, apparently I gotta wait a few days," Nexi grumbled. "Why, what time's good for you?"

"How about next week, same day and time?" Daln was starting to like this girl. She was strong and secure, and he liked that in women, both as lovers and as friends. "Would you like to get something to eat in the lounge? I hear the chef makes a great venison steak, and I'd like to get to know some of my coworkers."

"Yeah, sure," Nexi said with a nod in response to both queries. "Hey Kiddo, you wanna come with or can you find your way back to our quarters?" she asked Aewia.

"I think I might want to come with you," Aewia said mysteriously, glancing again over at Daln. She was still convinced he worked at a pet shop.

"Suit yourself," Nexi said, although she was curious what this connection was to Daln...

They headed to the lounge, and took a table and sat down. Daln waved over a waitress and looked at Nexi and Aewia. "Ladies"

"Ooh, I'll have some of that mixed fruit cocktail juice you keep behind the counter." Aewia requested innocently. They made it for any kids that stopped by but it was still some delicious stuff.

Nexi ruffled Aewia's hair with a chuckle. "And don't skimp on the cherries this time," she warned the waitress. She ordered water for herself, not dumb enough to order any alcohol when she still felt a little funny from cracking her head on the floor, then cut her eyes at Daln. "So, why is my sister convinced that you worked at a pet shop?"

Daln ordered a Vulcan Spice Tea, then looked at Nexi. "Um...keep in mind I was young and stupid, okay?"

Nexi cast him a suspicious glare, a brow raised in curiosity. She said nothing, simply stared expectantly for him to continue.

Daln cleared his throat once, twice, then said, "I met her in a pet shop and told her that if she let me look at her...um, well...then I'd buy her the pet she wanted with all the supplies." He looked extremely embarrassed. "I got in huge trouble for it, too, and I deserved it."

"Uh huh..." Honestly, she expected worse. Aewia had been cogent back then and capable of making her own choices, so Nexi could live with this. Though if he thought he could pull the same stunt again now, then he was gonna lose his nuts. "Anything else happen besides pet shop peep show?"

Daln looked extremely uncomfortable. "Well, we started dating for a bit, and I have to say, I wasn't good to her. I'll just leave it at that." Their drinks came and Daln eagerly reached for the tea, hoping to keep his mouth too busy to answer any more questions.

Aewia sipped at her drink thankfully, enjoying the refreshing juice. This sounded like someone she might have been into just to rebel against her parents.

"Right....." Nexi eyed him a moment longer, taking a sip of her water. She broke her intense gaze just long enough to accept her glass of water from the waitress, then returned her attention back to the Security man. "Well, ain't happening now. As you can probably tell, Aewia ain't quite right anymore. She was in Intel and the Romulans got a hold of her, cut out parts of her brain. She's far too impressionable to be with someone who ain't gonna take good care of her," Nexi stated firmly.

Daln nodded. "I understand. Honestly, I think I was a bit of a petaQ back then, too." He shook his head. "I would never take advantage of a woman like that now." He looked at her. "And honestly, she's not the sister I'm attracted to anymore." He didn't know if Nexi was empathic, but if so, she definitely would have picked up on his attraction. He liked a woman who could kick his ass.

Maybe it was something about Nexi's Brekkian heritage which seemed to react in strange ways with her Betazoid blood instead of diluting it, or maybe it was simply that Nexi had worked hard to exercise her telepathy so that she was strong enough to be a full telepath; whatever the reason, Nexi's telepathy was very strong, so she was aware of Daln's interest in her.

'Oh, I'm quite certain that if Aewia wanted to she could still kick your ass' Nexi 'said' to Daln just to tease him. After all, all those skills were still buried within her sister's mind, even if she wasn't consciously aware of it. But Nexi had no interest in tag-teaming Daln with her sister and she let him feel that his intent was indeed reciprocated.

"You seem to accept that we're sisters easily enough," Nexi said more seriously, "but that's information we'd rather not leave the ship. The rest of the crew who know of our connection know not to talk about it. Our family, or what's left of it, don't know that I even exist. If it ever got out that Senator Larani had a bastard kid out there, it could cause problems."

Daln nodded. "It was pretty easy to pick up on your emotions and a few 'shouted' thoughts. And for the secret, I'd say it's safe to assume a few nobles know about it. Like my mother." Daln grimaced. "She is the biggest gossip I know."

"My mother never breathed a word about who my father was. I only found out about Senator Larani when I found some letters she left for me. And I've been very careful to keep it a secret. Aewia and I ain't been reuinited for long before we got sucked through time, so the chances of anyone outside the Hera knowin' is pretty slim," Nexi said. "And I'd like to keep it that way. Aewia's got enough problems, she don't need me making trouble for her claiming her inheritance or sullying what's left of our father's good name."

Aewia had finished her juice and was leaning back in her chair, losing interest in the conversation at hand. It was just too hard to focus on. "Inheritance?" She asked, picking up on that word at least.

"Don't you remember us talking about this?" Nexi said, wondering if Aewia had forgotten about their dad. "Your parents died, you're the sole legitimate survivor of their House. Didn't your mom have titles and stuff to pass down to you?"

"Oh yeah..." The memories of talking about it hit Aewia hard, but she did her best to remain strong for her sister. "I remember now. I don't think I want to deal with any of that yet."

"It's alright, kiddo, there's no rush," Nexi said, ruffling her sister's hair. "Betazed's already been informed of your condition, they got people lookin' after what's rightfully yours until you're able to claim it." There was a sadness in Nexi because she knew there would never be any lands or Houses or titles for her. Not that she really wanted that sort of thing, but it felt hollowing to be excluded because she was illegitimate.

Daln felt it and empathized. He was the eldest heir, but he and his only sibling were both male. That meant it wouldn't pass to him, but rather to his wife. "My mom was always upset because she didn't have a female heir. As you know, on Betazed everything passes through the maternal line. It stops with my mom, unless some girl is willing to take the name Hadren."

"Keh, ain't it a little soon to be proposing, lover boy?" Nexi shot back with a grin. Not like it would have mattered, that wasn't the life for Nexi. Not like they would have accepted her with her history.

Daln chuckled. "No, I was just trying to tell you I could relate with how you were feeling."

"I'm just messin' with ya," Nexi said with a snicker, but it was weak-hearted attempt to hide how much this topic was bothering her. "But seriously, could you imagine someone like me with title and influence? Fuck, I'd give them stuffy people something to talk about!"

"I think you'd do wonderfully. After all, don't most of them have secrets just as bad, if not worse?" Aewia asked, staring into her empty glass, a hint of her old self rising to the surface for a moment in a sort of zen-like moment of clarity. "Besides, I'm of half a mind to give you the inheritance anyway. Not sure I have any more than that to think with now and I know you can put it to good use."

"Aewia, don't think that way... You're getting better every day, and even when you're not entirely lucid, you're still doing so much better than you were when we first rescued you. You have more self-control and awareness; just give it time, we'll get you back to rights..." Nexi wasn't very good at all this stuff and it was making her really uncomfortable, especially in front of an 'audience', but she didn't let it show.

Just then, the waiter walked by and delivered a slice of chocolate cake to another table. Aewia immediately perked up and waved the waiter over. "Cake please!" she said cheerfully, her moment of lucidity completely passed and completely missing Nexi's discomfort. "With cherries and chocolate. Oooh, yeah, bring us each a small plate of cherry chocolate mousse cake like the Bolians make. That is soooo good."

The energy in Nexi's eyes dimmed somewhat as she watched her sister regret yet again. Sometimes she could stay lucid for long periods, sometimes not so long, and it hurt watching her taking steps back like that. But Nexi put on the best smile she could and at least tried to enjoy that at the very least Aewia was all smiles. Her smiles were always so infectious...

Daln picked up on Nexi's mood and said nothing, but put a hand on hers. If you ever need to talk I'm here he said to her. As the waiter put a piece of chocolate cake in front of him, he balked. "Ah...not sure I should eat chocolate right now."

"Why, too close to your bedtime? Will it keep you up at night?" Nexi asked teasingly. She took the cherry from atop her cake, placing it in her mouth with a sultry grin and tugging on the stem.

"I'm Betazoid. I get aroused."

The stem of Nexi's cherry popped off almost comically and she swallowed the cherry whole with a choked laugh. Damn, she had forgotten about that! She really didn't care much for chocolate so she never really experienced much in the way of the Betazoid chocolate arousal, but it really did give new meaning to 'keeping him up at night'.

"Nice," was all Nexi managed to say once she stopped laughing.

Aewia was unphased, eating her cake slowly, enjoying every bite. Unfortunately she had lost most of her sensitivity to chocolate but she still did her best.

Daln frowned at her, still smiling, and shook his head. "It doesn't make you aroused?"

Nexi shrugged. "Never really developed a taste for chocolate," she said, then took a bite of her cake. "But then again, my meals growing up consisted of bugs- I was raised by a Ferengi... So chocolate was an indulgence that I never really got into, too sweet. I just eat all the sweets now because Aewia orders it and it makes her happy." Nexi looked over at her sister enjoying her cake with child-like innocence.

"I don't remember getting aroused in years," Aewia replied innocently. "In fact, I really don't remember what it's like."

"I don't wanna think about my baby sister gettin' aroused," Nexi said in a flat tone.

Daln laughed at the sheer innocence of the statement; it seemed so logical and yet completely wrong at the same time.

'Now you see why I was trying to blow off steam in the gym,' Nexi said to Daln as she continued eating. 'I'd do anything for Aewia, but it does get tiring after a while...'

Daln nodded. Well, like I said, I'm here if you need a friend. Aloud, he said, "Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?" he asked, taking a sip of his water.

"Well, I gotta get down to New Sydney for... stuff... But I think I can make time for dinner," Nexi said with a nod as she thought about it. "Yeah, I think I could make time for dinner."

"I think I have another visit to sickbay tomorrow. One of the long ones too." Aewia remembered that the last one she had felt a lot more whole afterwards so was looking forward to this visit.

"You gonna be okay with me down on the planet?" Nexi asked Aewia. "Who's looking after you when you get done at Sickbay? Did you ask Angel?" But that meant that she'd be able to have dinner alone with Daln before heading down to New Sydney. fun fun!

"They'll have someone go home with me and make sure I'm ok." Aewia replied.

"Well don't be afraid to ask Angel to keep you company if you get bored. I'm sure she wouldn't mind the distraction." Nexi looked at Daln with a grin. "Looks like I'm free for dinner. Your place?"

Daln grinned. "Sure. My mother was very traditional and insisted my brother and I learn to cook. I can make a very good uttaberry tart."

"Never had uttaberries before," Nexi said. "But I ain't one to turn down free food, so I'll be there." It was a good thing he wasn't expecting her to cook or they would end up eating rations.

Daln's grin widened. "I'll see you there." He finished his water. "I need to get back to work. It's been a pleasure, ladies."

Nexi simply nodded and rose to return to her quarters with Aewia. This had certainly been an interesting day...