5 strand plait

Posted on Mon Jan 3rd, 2022 @ 8:38pm by Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani & Lieutenant Commander S'hib

Mission: Season 5: Episode 3: CAPETOWN
Location: civilian promenade
Timeline: A day or so after "Pink hair and even pinker cheeks"
1509 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

S’hib had been sat for quite a while in silence, an oversized and curly straw between his large lips as he stared at Miraj, who had also been sat in complete silence, in truth she had barely made eye contact.

“Something on your mind?” He finally mumbled, teeth still holding onto the straw as he spoke, watching her pick at the plate of food in front of her.

She sighed. "No, it's all okay," she lied cheerfully. "Nothing to worry about. What about you? settling back in alright? getting used to being the tall one again?" She gave him a sly grin, "not letting your dangly bits hangout?”

“I mean, they were out last night…” He shot back without even blinking, continuing to slurp at his fruit smoothie.

Miraj wrinkled her nose. "What you and colonel Azhul get up to behind closed doors is your business. i do not need details."

"We cooked a lovely Bajoran dish, then we went to bed..." S'hib smiled, placing his drink down on the table. "Not entirely sure what you're implying... but when I'm not on duty," He paused briefly, lifting his arms and looking down at himself in the same way someone might, had a drink been thrown over them.

"I take this woven prison off."

Miraj looked at him. "It's not that bad." A pause. "Is it?"

He smiled and gently shook his head. "I admit, I'm mostly used to it now... but, for my kind it makes us feel vulnerable, withdrawn... naked and exposed if you will."

"Like if you were forced to wear shoes all the time, you'd feel... incomplete, detached from the Elysium, no?"

She scrunched her toes into the carpet, feeling the slight buzz there. Warp seven point five, cruising, all smooth. "I will admit if I can't take my boots off, i take off other things."

"You're missing the point... you have options, I, T'han and the High Priestess don't..." He sighed, slumping in his undersized seat. "I haven't even discussed it with them yet either, as you... saw."

Miraj put her face in her hands, cringing at the memory, "And cannot unsee."

S'hib simply leaned his temple against the knuckles of two fingers, his wide lips tightly pursed. "For someone who enjoys certain holonovels you sure do act funny when it comes to recreating the scenes..."

"Nobody walks around with their bits dangling out in Bloodbeard books!" Miraj protested. "And there is precisely one shirtless scene so far. Which is the flashback to when Staines got flogged when he was in the royal navy. And if you hadn't noticed when I dressed you up, they wore a lot of layers back then. Even in the Caribbean."

"Oh, I was very aware of how many layers I had on..." He sighed, remembering how warm he got. "As well as all the fawning you did over certain characters..."

"I did not." Miraj said, indignant. "I barely even glanced at anyone. Who all had clothes on, I should point out. Lots and lots of clothes."

"You know, lying to a superior officer is a punishable offence..." S'hib jested as he leaned back and folded his arms, boring his eyes into her with a look that told her she wasn't squirming out of this one.

"Okay, so I may have looked. He is very handsome. But he's not real. Also, he's evil so looking is bad. Even if he did look amazing in all that black." Miraj's eyes went a little glassy as she recalled the diabolical Viscount de'Ath, and his raven coloured finery, and managed not to sigh out loud.

"I'll have to let T'han know not to wear anything black then... especially if you do end up going to see the Ambassador."

"Yeah, about that," Miraj began. "Do I have to go? Is it going to cause an international incident if I don't?"

"Of course you don't have to go, is that what's been troubling you?" S'hib said with a concerned tone.

"Yeah, a bit." Miraj waved her hands distractedly not sure how to frame things. "It just felt weird. You know? Wanting me to come to her room, so she could play with my hair. Especially just after asking about. you know."

"Ahh... Yes well, I feel I'm partly to blame for this... I haven't exactly said much about my people since coming aboard, not for any particular reason... the topic just never presented itself." He finished with a deep sigh, slumping in his chair as he reached back down for the smoothie.

"Though culturally speaking," S'hib started as he mouthed after the straw. "We associate a lot of importance to someone's mane, or in your case... hair."

He paused briefly, sucking gently on the straw before continuing. "So the Ambassador isn't at all interested with what else is between your legs, she is simply trying to picture what a bubblegum pink Sequus would look like..."

He paused again for a moment, finding the idea amusing. "However, the wanting to play with your hair part, well it's not playing... it's actually very serious and something I have wanted to ask you myself for some time... but having the experience of living amongst you all I know how inappropriate it might come across, especially to Naxea." He smiled awkwardly before quickly hiding his face behind the smoothie, glancing between its increasingly empty contents and Miraj.

"Yeah, it sounds really inappropriate." She agreed, feeling like she was balancing a fine line between hurting his feelings, and agreeing to something that was a bit more intimate than should happen between friends. "I don't want to get spaced by a bunch of angry marines."

"I think it would be me that would be getting spaced," He smiled with a soft sigh. "It's ok though, I uh... I accepted a long time ago that some parts of my culture will forever be oil on water... the two will never be able to mix."

"No-one should ever say never." Miraj patted his hand awkwardly. "Maybe you just need to talk to Naxea. Maybe get her involved, so it's not like you just... braiding other people behind her back." Please floor, swallow me now she added. this was getting frighteningly intimate.

"Maybe, maybe I'm just overthinking it." He replied, placing a free hand atop of hers. cupping her dainty fingers under his large Sequus hooves. "Regardless I'm glad we are friends though because you mean a lot to me..." S'hib added as he released her hand and sat back, patting the side of the table with his hands. "Which is why we should do another one of your holonovels, with ample clothing I might add."

Miraj laughed and leaned against his arm. "I haven't actually played since the last time, honestly. You wouldn't have to wear much."

"Knowing you that will still involve several layers..." He smiled. "But how come you haven't played with anyone else?"

Miraj shrugged. "Didn't want to get too far ahead without you. Plus I've been fiddling with my QSD program. I've been trying different configurations of stick. One stick, two stick, forced feedback, that sort of thing. I've mostly been sitting in the flight simulator, trying it all out. I get finer results with two sticks than one, but most people aren't used to stick at all, so I might be able to swing converting the helm to one, but I don't think I'd get permission to go the full two, as I'm not the only one allowed drive."

S’hib made a thoughtful hum as she finished, his eyes wandering off as his mind went to work. “We could… reconfigure the intelligence blister below the bridge… most of it is just open floor anyway,” He said enthusiastically, finally trailing his eyes back to hers. “If we pulled everything back five or so feet, we could set up your own personal helm with view screens and other haptics that you might need.”

"That would involve me surviving telling Lieutenant Sh'iss and the new CIO that i want to hack a cosy nest out of their intelligence hub." Miraj pointed out. "I think I'd have more chance of surviving a rabid Klingon."

"Let's bring it to the Captain first, then I'll handle the Intelligence department." He smiled wide with a wicked grin that seemed to relish the idea of upsetting Lieutenant Sh'iss.

"We should talk to Intelligence first." Miraj didn't like the idea of just going over their head. She had enough trouble with Commander Vaii hating her, she didn't need another enemy. "It's their space."

"Ok... draft up some ideas, let me know when you're ready and we will go and talk to them, deal?" S'hib quipped as he watched a waiter walk past with a tray of food, wondering if he should order something else.

"You can talk to them, I'll hide behind you and duck a lot." Miraj caught him looking at the tray. "But before all that, dessert! I'm going to order us both what my dad called unicorn poop."