Star Trek: Starbase 777 - papa-giovanni′s

"Papa... He's a father?" Lhi followed Alan towards the restaurant. Somehow between their location on the promenade and the restaurant, their steps fell in sync with each other, with Lhi eventually copying Alan's walking style completely. It was a subconscious action to the liberated Borg whose desire to mimic others around them persisted even post-liberation. "What sort of food do they have here?" Lhi asked whilst looking at the facade of the restauant that clearly marked it as a pizza place. He turned to look at his new acquaintance and then at the entrance of the restaurant.

"I'd imagine he is not just a father, but a grandfather, maybe even a great grandfather," Snakebyte said. He appreciated Lhi's curiosity, it was refreshing! "They have what us terrans call Italian food," Snakebyte explained. "They have roots in the terran country of Italy. Being a quarter-Italian myself, I am quite fond of Italian food. It looks like it's a pizza joint, almost like a family-owned place, from what I can tell. That way you know the food's made with love." Snakebyte looked up at the menu. "But it also looks like they have pasta! Several kinds of pasta, different sauces, all kinds of that stuff! And there are all the different kinds of pizza you can have. Us terrans have really gotten crazy with pizza toppings and styles, but I would recommend a high-quality cheese pizza to start if you ever wanted to try it!" And then in the front, was a pastry cooler. "And down here we have a bunch of sweets! Sugary stuff, like pieces of cake! Cannoli is a classic Italian dessert, you might like that if you ever decide to give it a whirl!"

"Oh, that is a lot of fathers!" Lhi responded, his eyes wideneing slightly and the little lights on his implants blinking as his brain received the new information. He listened to Alan's explanation of the restaurant, nodding occasionally to show he was listening. "I know Italy, a little," He said, trying to remember where he had heard it from. Or maybe it was when he was reading through the Federation database? "I look forward to food with love!" Lhi balled his hands into fists and did a little fist pump to show his excitement. Lhi followed Alan into the restaurant, his hair bouncing along with his steps. As he looked at the menu he was impressed with all the options, but it soon became a little too overwhelming and he looked away."There are a lot of options....." He stated, as he fiddled with the hands of his braid a little. Light green eyes scanned the restaurant to see the pastries in the cooler filled with sweet treats-- Lhi loved sweets! Even with the brief distraction, he still felt nervous in the face of so many options. "... What are you getting? I will have what you have," Lhi told Alan, not really knowing what is good or even how to choose. So much choice was scary and it made him feel very lost. Even after being away from the collective for so long, individuality was a hard world to navigate.

"Alright! Why don't we keep it simple?" Snakebyte suggested. Afterwards he approached the pizza making bench and asked the chefs for two slices of cheese pizza, two waters and two chocolate chip cannolis. Within ten minutes, the chefs came out with a tray of food at the table Snakebyte found for him and Lhi to sit at. "So you just take the pizza," Snakebyte said to Lhi, picking up the pizza at the crust before slightly folding it in half to be able to hold it easier. "Like this. And then..." Before he took a bite and then gave Lhi a thumbs up!

Lhi followed Alan's lead, not entirely sure what he was doing. He plopped down in the seat and waited patiently for their pizza to be ready. As he waited, his eyes focused on the chef's who were tossing the pizzas and covering them with sauce. The whole process was incredibly mesmorising! Before he knew it, their food was brought to their table and ready to eat! Lhi's attented turned towards his new acquaintance as he watched Alan pick up the pizza and fold it to eat. Leaning forward ever so slightly, he was clearly engrossed in the other's actions. "... Ohh," Lhi nodded slowly before picking up his own pizza and attempting to copy the action. He used his right hand for this as it was able to get a better grip on the food, his left hand was technically 'stronger', but the implant made it hard to grip things with. A brief idea of stabbing the pizza with his assimilation tubules crossed his mind but such an action would probably terrify the human officer. So Lhi just attempted to eat the pizza like Alan had demonstrated. As he opened his mouth, his pointy little shark-like teeth were fully visible right before he bit down and easily chomped off a piece and began to chew. It was a little crisp and very oily, something he did not expect. After a few seconds of pondering the taste he put the pizza down and looked Alan. "It is...... Why is there so much oil?" Lhi asked as he grabbed one of the napkins on the table and began dabbing the oil off, yes he was one of those people.

Snakebyte laughed before replying. "That's okay," he said. "Some pizzas are made with a good amount of oil. Not all of them. Sometimes it's the sauce, sometimes it's the cheese. You don't get to see too many pizzas on Romulus, I can imagine." Snakebyte took another bite of the pizza. "Does this pizza remind you of anything you learned about Italy before we met?" He was curious as to what Lhi had already known or if he had done research, not knowing he had been tapped into a database.

Lhi attempted to laugh along with Alan, opening his mouth for a couple seconds although no sound came out so it just looked like he was doing some weird fish impersonation. Upon realising he was not indeed laughing with Alan he dropped what he was doing and did small and quiet fast claps. It was the closest he could get to a laugh. That's when Alan mentioned Romulus and suddenly a wave of sadness washed over Lhi. "Umm.. I don't have a lot of memories of Romulus, I only lived there for... A few years," Lhi waved his hand, trying not to get into all the sadness and grief that came with remembering his people's homeworld. He told himself that Alan was human and that it was a logical assumption that since Lhi was Romulan, he had spent his whole life up until the supernova on the planet. "I'm from Devoras colony, we did not have pizza there either," He said with a casual shake of the head. "Hmm... It does not. I only learned about the location and the language. I wanted to learn Italian," Lhi said, looking down at his slice of pizza thoughtfully. "We are willing to hear out any Italy facts you may have though! We love new knowledge!"

Snakebyte backed off immediately once he noticed Lhi's sadness wave over him. "My bad, I didn't know you didn't know too much about Romulus. We don't have to focus on that right now." Snakebyte took another bite before replying again. "Hey, it's never a bad time to start pizza in your life. Especially depending on what pizza you get. Major businesses in the 20th and 21st century were all about pizza getting the most amount of profit due to them being extra-greasy and, as such, extra-unhealthy. But this pizza you're having right now, several hundred years later? It's the best pizza you can get because it's going all the way back to the basics. Perfect consistency dough, savory sauce. And don't even get me started on the cheese." Snakebyte smiled at Lhi's wanting to know about Italy. "Ah yes! Sure thing. It isn't just because of pizza, but Italy is an artistic country in almost every single way. A large portion of terran art and technology that helped to develop the very technology in this ship was made in Italy. Not sure if you've heard of The Renaissance? Michelangelo was a pivotal painter that artistic movement. Leonardo Da Vinci was a pioneer of a good portion of modern science and technology. As an arts guy myself, it's important to know where everything I have studied came from. If you want sometime we can go into the holodeck so you can check it out, life-size!"

"It's okay," Lhi shook his head, thinking it was an easy assumption to make given Lhi's age and species. As Alan explained pizza to him, Lhi picked up his slice again and attempted to take more bites. It was a little difficult with his low dexterity in his hands, but he managed to bite off a few more pieces. He made sure to chew slowly as his pointy teeth were great for ripping up meat, but more of an inconvenience when it came to every other type of food. He also had to be mindful of his long hair which came dangerously close to the drippy and gooey cheese. "Mmm... I like that the pizza is warm," Lhi commented before taking a few more bites. It was a little difficult to eat it from the point to the base so he decided to roll up the whole pizza into a cons shape and eat it like a burrito or something. It was a bit messier, but at least he could fit his whole mouth around it that way. "Oh! Yes, I have heard of those guys! They also loved pizza and they lived in sewers!" Lhi said when Alan mentioned the famous renaissance paintings. "I do want to see it life size and.. Can we meet them? Mmm, and I want to meet the pizza cats too," Lhi's eyes lit up at the idea of seeing some art in the holodeck. He had brief memories of terran art from his research about Starfleet and Earth. No one tell Lhi the renaissance painters were humans and not ninja turtles. "mmm.. I think I am done with the pizza," Lhi put down his slice, he was halfway done, not bad for his first time. He had mainly eaten nutrition cubes that had the texture of tofu so eating actual solid food was a big of a shock to his body. He then picked up his water and began to sip it slowly.

Snakebyte couldn't help but laugh at Lhi's confusion of the artists with the ninja turtles. "Sure thing, whenever you'd like we can meet everyone in the holodeck." Despite the fact that Lhi didn't finish his pizza, Snakebyte was delighted that Lhi could experience something new for the first time, and enjoyed it as much as he did. "No worries. You finally got a chance to experience quite a culturally rich terran food, and you can always come back here whenever you like if you're ready to try it again. Maybe one day we can unite the galaxy through little things like pizza." Despite that this was a figure of speech, Snakebyte felt that even something as simple as that could bring the galaxy together in peace... Or, rather, slices.

Lhi didn't see what was so funny, but he attempted to laugh anyway by opening his mouth ever so slightly and clapping his hands very fast to make a muted clapping noise. "I would like that!" He said with as much enthusiasm as he could, which honestly wasn't much. Just a slight raise of his voice and a nod was about as much as he could do. "That would be good.... Actually... Umm... I think that happened a little? There is a Borg tactical Sphere, 420, they apparently assimilated a lot of pizza, so I heard," Lhi said, briefly remembering hearing some of the liberated Borg at the reclamation project speaking about 'pizza', he didn't know what it was at the time, but now that he had tried it, he realised it was a food they were speaking of. "They also assimilated lots of other foods now that I think back to it, interesting!" Lhi's eyes grew distant for a moment as he attemped to remember what he had heard, his mind going off on a little tangent as it so often did. "And what is this sweet? A... pastry?" Lhi picked up the cannoli and stared at it, not quite sure how to eat it.

"Well hey, at least that's a start," Snakebyte admitted. "The more we can express how our cultures can coexist peacefully, the better, and we might as well start with arguably the most universal art form there is! Cuisine." Snakebyte quickly switched to helping Lhi with the cannoli. "Yeah, it's called a cannoli. What you do is you just take a bite out of it like you did the pizza. The outside is a lot crunchier than the pizza, so be aware of that. But the inside is really soft. Don't eat the whole thing all at once, just take it in bit by bit, that's how you get the best experience."

Lhi nodded in response to Alan saying the universe could be united with food. He was still new to trying alien foods, but so far he hadn't anything too terrible. He still wasn't a fan of savoury foods and preferred to get most of his nutrition through his little cubes. "Oh okay one bite at a time," Lhi opened his mouth and stuck out his long green tongue to lick the outside of the cannoli. He pondered over the taste and texture for a couple seconds before taking a small bite. A few more seconds to ponder the taste and texture, Alan was right, it was crunchier on the inside but the cream was quite good. Lhi took a sip of water to rinse out his mouth and then placed the cannoli back on his plate. "It's good! Very sweet! I always like sweet things and the cream is... It tastes a lot like a Romulan pastry, I like it a lot!" The slight smile and half lidded eyes was enough to show Lhi's delight in the Italian pastry. He even took a few more bites of the sweet. Even with his inability to show much emotion, the way he moved and slight change in tone showed his pleasure in the new food. "What do you think of it ?"

Snakebyte was delighted that Lhi enjoyed the cannoli this much! "Well first off I am so happy you like it! I'm glad it could bring back some good memories for you. Me? It's a classic dessert my family had. Be it buying it or making it in-house." Then he motioned to his own cannoli he had in his hand. "This specific one? I dunno. Let's give it a go." Taking a bite, he analyzed the cannoli carefully, evident by his eyes darting around somewhat. "Incredible! Just like home. The chocolate chips really add a nice touch! You get a hint of the chocolate chips in there?"

"I like anything sweet!" Lhi said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. When his face wouldn't make the bright smile he wanted it to, he decide to just happily sway back and forth as if that was a good replacement for a smile. "So... This would be 'soul food'? I think that's the term," Lhi said as he briefly remembered his first time on Rapture and talking to his friend Kiara when she introduced him to apple pie. "Chocolate chips?" When Lhi heard that an image of chips covered in chocolate came to mind and that was certainly not what he was seeing in the cannoli. "I see round pieces of black balls?" Lhi tilted his head as he looked closer at the pastry. "Is this chocolate? I don't know much about terran sweets, I.. Have never been to earth," Lhi said, actually he had never attended any sort of Academy or training. Ever. No Academy, no Romulan War College, he only had a high school diploma. "Where are the chips?"

"Oh, not potato chips, you're thinking of those," Snakebyte said. "No worries! Chocolate chips are very small dollops of chocolate that are solidified and used in many different desserts and foods! Chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip brownies, and in this case chocolate chip cannolis! The round pieces of black balls you see, those are the chocolate chips." Then Snakebyte snickered. "Although, I wouldn't be opposed to having you try some potato chips sometime. Might be something you could snack on if you wanted to. But I digress!" Snakebyte was relieved Lhi was enjoying this, and to the extent he was. This was what he was born for - connection, communication, and comraderie, especially with species that the Federation had just started to accept universally - he felt accomplished knowing he could make connections that, in the past, could have been seen as treasonous.

"Oh!" Lhi said, realising there was probably multiple definitions for 'chips'. He was still a little confused even with Alan's explanation. He held the cannoli up to his face reaaaally close to try and see the chocolate chips that his friend was talking about. Everything was a bit of a blur, especially up close. He tilted his head and flipped the cannoli over to try and see what the other was talking about. After a good few seconds of trying to get a better look at the chocolate chips he turned his focus back to Alan. "I can't see them, but actually, Alan, I'm blind," Lhi put the half eaten cannoli down and blinked his eyes once to make the little gears spin. "I can see a little, but not close up. I can see things other people can't though, my vision is like.. Infrared! Like you are a blob of green," Lhi sounded a little disappointed he couldn't see the details, but at least he could taste them and feel the crunch when he ate the dessert. He picked up his plate and spun it around as if that would make the picture any clearer but of course it did not. "Maybe I can try those! Texture is very important to me!" Lhi tried to sound as excited as possible but it was difficult when he was so limited by his physiology. He did smile slightly and sway from side to side, those things he certainly could do. Even with his limitations, Lhi didn't seem to let it dampen his spirits too much. "The cannoli was good, I'm done!" Lhi had only eaten about half his food, but considering normal food was still new to him it made sense he wouldn't eat so much. "This was very fun! Thank you for introducing pizza and cannolis to me!"

Snakebyte was still very happy he could make this connection with Lhi, regardless of how much Lhi ended up having to eat. It was a rare occasion when he could be able to do it all by himself, as normally it would be either on the bridge or on away missions or any location where it would be with a team. He felt fulfilled that Lhi took so much positivity from this. "Hey, you're welcome, Six," Snakebyte replied. "It's never too late to step into a new dimension of culinary exploration. Like I said, who knows? This could be the start of a wonderful peace in the universe. Something so delicate, and yet founded on something as simple as a new food dish. It's really deceptively simple and yet powerful enough that it could potentially unite everyone."

"I think this would be something my dad would be into, he likes new things," Lhi said and dug through his pocket to grab some pieces of latinum. He didn't have much money with him, but it was the least he could do as a thank you to his friend. He placed the money on the table and slowly stood up, careful not to bump anything with his long ass legs. Lhi's spacial awareness was also affected by his vision and he had learned that as long as he was cautious and slow with his movements he wouldn't just randomly hit things. "Thank you again! Umm, maybe if I am on the bridge, I don't really need to be there very often though, but if we need a stellar cartographer I will be there! Thanks again Alan!" Lhi waved both hands and then headed off on his way!

"Oh, Six! You don't have to--" Snakebyte started, but Lhi had already headed off. That was an incredibly nice gesture! Snakebyte picked up the latinum, inspecting them, taking in their unique sheen and texture. And yet, he felt that this was still a unique and memorable interaction with a new friend, and he hoped Lhi would come back into his life in some way - he definitely had the hunch that there would be another chance for them to interact. A singular tear rolled down Snakebyte's face - a happy one. An accomplished, content one. He had no idea how much Lhi was new to all this, and yet he was able to show Lhi the intricacies of something as so simple as a piece of pizza and a cannoli, and introduce him to so much more that the galaxy could offer, not even just limited to food. "You're a true soul, Six," Snakebyte said to himself, hoping that it would somehow get to Lhi. "A true soul." He took the latinum with him, keeping it as a memento for the many adventures he hoped he would have in the future with Lhi.

Essen shuffled into the pizzeria. She was ready to get into a new culinary place, taking on pizza and pasta rather than her usual chocolate and buttery world of popcorn loving. Essen approached the menu, waiting for Elaiya to catch up behind her. "Okay, not bad. What are you thinking you'll have? I don't wanna be basic but there is pasta here. WAIT - CALZONE! NEVER MIND! I'M HAVING A CALZONE!" (edited)

Before Elaiya could respond to Essen's question, her stomach rumbled loudly. The Ensign blushed, hoping Essen hadn't heard the noises over her rambling. "I'll get a margherita," Elaiya said, clutching her middle to stop it from growling louder. "Let's sit in that booth over there."

Thankfully, Essen was blissfully unaware of Elaiya's stomach sounds. She was just too focused with her eyes on the calzone-y prize. Without hesitation, she ordered both the calzone and Elaiya's margherita before she nodded to Elaiya and went with her to the booth Elaiya pointed out. "Another way we're completely the opposite," Essen chuckled. "You're staying with the essentials while I'm just splurging on food... why do I have the feeling we have a long way to go with ways we are complete opposite ends of the battery and yet we're literally already inseparable?"

Elaiya giggled at Essen's remark. "Very true. I feel like we're going to be on similar paths somehow, even though we're opposites. You going to get anything to drink?" she asked suddenly, looking at the menu. Elaiya skipped the alcoholic drinks part and looked at the soft drinks. A sprite would be good. Maybe a fanta. "Have you been here before?"

Essen smiled at that - no one really hit home as much as Elaiya did. Someone who understood her for who she was, how she operated, and what she wanted out of life. It was something she hadn't gotten a ton of back on the old vessel, or even back on Vulcan. But now that Elaiya was here? It felt like a hole had been filled. "Yeah, I'll probably just get a soda. First time being at this specific pizza joint. I've been at a few before, mainly the one on my old ship and the one near the Academy on Earth. I just have a feeling this one is going to be immediatley better. This place is more homey."

"It does look quite homely, doesn't it? Reminds me of my mother's library a bit. Not as much as an actual library of course," Elaiya huffed out a laugh, "but the mood feels the same. What's your favourite Italian food?"

"Ah, that's difficult," Essen pondered. "I... honestly I have to say it's a tie between chicken alfredo and just a good old slice of pizza, but garlic pizza with cream sauce. Not too basic, but not too fancy, just right. Alsogives them both a lot of customization options if I want." And then Essen paused. "Whoa wait-- your mom had a library? Like a full-size one? That's so cool!"

Elaiya's eyes widened. "I've never had either! I should try them some time." She smiled. Those dishes were definitely something she expected Essen to like. "Well, my mum works there," Elaiya added, to answer Essen's question about the library. "Has been since I was little. I used to go there every day after school."

"No way! That is so dope!" Essen said. Her smile was now even bigger than it had been earlier at the nail salon. "Can we visit there sometime in the holodeck? I am so curious to see it."

Elaiya's eyes lit up at Essen's suggestion. "That's a great idea! We could do it later this week?" Just then, the meals the two women had ordered were served. Elaiya thanked the waiter and looked eagerly at her pizza.

"Yesss!" Essen exclaimed. "I am so down! Whenever you are ready I am so ready!" When the food finally arrived at the table, Essen also thanked the waiter before promptly digging in without any sense of formal convention or decorum. She simply couldn't help herself as this calzone was just too savory and full of flavor that she felt it would be a crime if she didn't just dive right in. Within thirty seconds, Essen's normally red lips were covered in sauce, as were her new nails! Small crumbs, almost too small to notice, adorned her robes, but she didn't care - she was committed to this dish more than anything else right at this moment. Except her developing friendship with Elaiya - she was more committed to that than the food, and she was practically falling headfirst into her calzone. "I only am this ferocious with popcorn," Essen admitted in between bites. "It just comes over me like a storm. This calzone? It's probably something that could save the entire calzone industry back on Earth."

Elaiya couldn't help letting out a laugh of near disbelief as she saw Essen dig into her calzone. "Now that's dedication," she smiled before eating her pizza. "And to be fair, popcorn is morish. You think you could start an Italian restaurant? Give em something to compete with?"

Essen practically guffawed at Elaiya's question about her possibly starting an Italian restaurant. "You think I actually have the patience for that? Hellllll nah. I don't care about numbers or money or any of that shit. I just want to have a good time. If anything I'd be one of the critics chowing down. Plus, I'm absolute shit at cooking and I don't wanna put the work into it. I'm lazy and I'm proud of it." Essen erupted in giggles, she couldn't even contain herself at her own joke. Well... she wasn't lazy ALL the time, but often, yes. Certainly, she cared about a select few things, that was no doubt. She also found that putting on a show for Elaiya was oddly satisfying.

Elaiya grinned at Essen's response. "Touche. Though I have to ask - are you sure you're really lazy? I mean, you did say your ordinary work was mundane. Seems like you're pretty talented." Elaiya had finished her pizza by now. She put her knife and fork together.

"True," Essen admitted. "Well, my ordinary work is kinda boring. When it comes to battles though? When I am actually in the heat of it all? That's when I can help to obliterate our enemies. I like explosions. Blowing up enemy ships is pretty." Aaaaand there she was again. Essen's slightly psychotic tendencies came back in. The only thing that really restrained that for now was the calzone that she had just finished after saying that to Elaiya. She was in a great mood, and honestly the thought of pretty explosions in the middle of space in front of the command deck was quite exciting. "But," Essen said. "I haven't gotten that opportunity here yet. Maybe it's just a matter of doing holodeck practices for fun." Yeah... Essen was something else. As she had proven multiple times before that.

"Blowing up ships?!" Elaiya exclaimed. "We're not meant to blow up ships!" she laughed. "Though there was that one time when a seagull stole my chips. Very inconvenient. Wanted to scare it off but my mum said I wasn't going to starfleet to start feuds with seagulls." Elaiya took another sip of her sprite.

"Correction," Essen smiled. "We're not meant to blow up ships unless absolutely necessary. I find those necessary moments very exhilarating. See? Stolen chips, blow up ship. It's practically the same phrase." Now the tone in Essen's voice was evidently more jovial and clearly not meant to be taken seriously. "Seagulls aren't worth your energy to fight off anyway. You gotta save it for the big enemies."

"You're right," Elaiya smiled. "Though from what I can tell, we haven't had any big enemies yet. Hopefully my first month here will be uneventful and not chaotic. Though...have you encountered any enemies recently?" (edited)

"Not on here," Essen replied. "It's been quiet. Boring, actually. But hey, at least I haven't had to deal with any difficult enemy." Essen leaned forwards. "Let me tell you. I was joking about entrancing my enemies earlier because I always want to be one step ahead of them. Preferably two or three. It's something I need to do to stay sharp. I learned that out the hard way." Essen motioned to her scar, stretching from her forehead to her chin. (edited)

Elaiya listened to Essen speak. She wanted to say, 'that's a good tactic', but what could she say when her friend gestured to her scar? Instead, Elaiya nodded. "That makes sense." She smiled slightly. "Those spirals are cool though." Elaiya paused. She didn't want to ask about Essen's face. People had asked too many times about her father's passing. To ask was to dredge up more worries. So instead, Elaiya merely said quietly, "I'm sorry you learned the hard way." (edited)

Essen let out a dejected chuckle. "It's okay," she replied. "Sometimes shit happens. Although I haven't really had to feel like I needed to be on guard around you. You just don't give off any hostile energy. I appreciate that a lot." Essen looked at her spiralling nails. "Self-defense is always on my mind in one way or another. I just thought this would be a good way for me to protect myself that I never could leave behind by accident. Sucks that I don't know how to use them." Essen took a breath. "This scar is a reminder of why I still get up in the morning. That I'm still here. That nothing can stop me. That I will never let anyone or anything stop me."

Elaiya again listened quietly to what Essen was saying. Then, she spoke once more. "That's one hell of a motivator. But a good one," Elaiya added. "...It'll be okay, Essen. You probably already know that, but I just wanted to tell you."

Essen let out another dejected chuckle before looking at Elaiya with the eyes of almost a frightened child, despite her smile. "Thanks, Elaiya... I really do appreciate that a lot. It's not something I talk about often, especially like this. Normally it just doesn't process for everyone else the way it does for you. You're honestly the easiest person I've ever had to tell." Despite that, a tear rolled out of Essen's eye. She was not sad, but rather, relieved.

Elaiya's heart sunk at that. She had just met Essen. Had others dismissed her, or turned her away? Elaiya sighed softly. "I'm...glad you opened up to me. Thank you." She gave Essen a small smile. The urge to talk about her father was there, even though she wasn't ready. And Essen seemed...relieved now, rather than sad. "My mother's name is Nasim," Elaiya said suddenly. "It's Arabic for sky, I think. I think she'd like you. Just don't topple over her books, and you're good."

Essen literally had to blink after hearing Elaiya's mother's name. "Nasim? That's a beautiful name," she cooed. "I haven't heard a name more beautiful than that. I would love to meet her sometime - I wouldn't topple over her books ever!" Essen let out another relieved tear from her eye. Then another. "I don't open up like this often, when I do it doesn't end well, but right now? I could talk your ears off. Normally it makes me upset and even rage at others." Essen let out another relieved tear. "But talking to you? I don't feel upset in the least."

"I'm glad you don't feel upset. I was...worried that you'd be." Elaiya paused. She pulled a packet of tissues out of her bag and handed some to Essen. "You can talk, if you want. I don't mind." (edited)

TW, gore, CW discussion of injury Essen initially turned away from the tissues, just because she didn't want Elaiya to have to give up her own tissues for her. But then she realized that Elaiya went out of her way to show she cared. That caused the dam to burst, and Essen snatched the tissues before practically smothering her face in them as she choked up and cried. After a minute, she took a second to recover and blew her nose. "I never fit in. I was always the outcast. Because I rejected traditional Vulcan norms from day one. I thought it was boring. Almost oppressive. So I was often alone." Essen took a deeper breath. She now approached this carefully, which kept her calm. "I almost died when I was ten. I fell through the side rail into an active machine inside a Vulcan energy plant. The machinery started slicing into my head. I was told the metal made it through my nose and even to my brain. Spills of green everywhere, it was a bloody mess... I managed to use a scrap piece of metal laying next to me to jam the machine and destroy it. I rolled out, and I just saw the world through a foggy layer of my own blood covering my eyes." Although it was a quite heavy memory, Essen was still quite calm. "Since then, I have vowed, never again. I'll save everyone else the way no one else was able to save me. And to anyone who stands in my way, I will decimate them where they stand."

Elaiya's eyes widened as she saw Essen cry and listened to her story. Essen had gone through this awful incident and had somehow survived it. Elaiya felt like she should say that Essen was tough, that she was admirable, but then she stopped herself. That had no doubt been a traumatic memory to share. So instead, she said to her friend, "I'm sorry you went through that. And...that mindset makes you a good person. You are good, Essen. ...Without the incident, I think you'd still have that mindset. You'd develop it in time, help other people." Elaiya paused before speaking again. "I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I do know that I'm grateful you felt comfortable enough to share that with me." (edited)

Essen took another tissue before wiping her face. Her makeup was now quite runny, black streaks of eyeliner stretching across her cheeks like stalagmites. Essen took another look at Elaiya with her eyes filled with the spirit of her ten-year old self. "I'd be weak without it. I'd be a joke. Just another 'normal' one." It was finally at this time when Essen revealed something she would never reveal to anyone else - not even her family. "I'm scared of being forgotten. I want to make myself known to other people. I don't want to be left behind. I was afraid I'd just be left behind during the accident when I was ten. And the great thing about you? I've just met you and I already know... you won't leave me behind." And with that, Essen's smile struggled to return, but finally did.

Elaiya frowned slightly when Essen said she'd be weak without the accident, but didn't say anything. It was only when Essen smiled that Elaiya smiled back. She reached over and gently squeezed Essen's hand. "I get it. You want to make your mark on the world. You've marked me, if that's any indication of how great you are. And I won't leave you behind," Elaiya added. "I won't."

Essen was half-sure she was making the point across to Elaiya, but her inner thoughts were just too conflicted to be sure. It was when Elaiya grasped her hand that really changed her view. Essen looked down at her hand squeezed by Elaiya's. It felt so welcoming, so reassuring, something she hadn't felt in such a long time. It was cleansing, almost - refreshing, certainly. Essen nearly let out a gasp when Elaiya said that she had marked Elaiya - and that brought the smile back to her face, almost eliminating the frown or any negative emotion, causing all of them to simply melt away. Her newly polished spiralling toes curled underneath the table. Essen tried to respond verbally, but nothing came out - she was simply speechless in the moment, and in that moment, she grasped Elaiya's hand a little tighter (without hurting her of course!) and looked into Elaiya's eyes, almost as if to thank her a million times without actually saying it. (edited)

Elaiya felt Essen grasp her hand a little tighter and met her friend's gaze, giving her a small smile. She knew Essen was thanking her, in a way. Elaiya gave Essen's hand a light squeeze before pulling away after quite a few moments of sitting still. "I hope you feel better now, if only a little bit."

Essen practically blurted out to Elaiya without actually blurting out... "You don't know how much has been lifted off of me. You also have made a mark on me, Elaiya... I can't say I would have been in this place right now without you." Essen's smile grew even bigger, even exposing her teeth as well to Elaiya, as she legit felt like she finally had a little bit of peace thanks to Elaiya. "What do you say we head back to my place and hang out?" Essen asked, a bit of nervousness behind it. (edited)

Elaiya couldn't help smiling at that. "Hopefully, that marking can only mean good things. And sure! Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

Essen's face practically lit up like a star at that. She felt that Elaiya was not just a friend, and a very good and true friend, but a healing and caring friend. She needed Elaiya. And she could sense that Elaiya needed her too. Essen stood up from the table, standing by Elaiya's side. She offered Elaiya her hand. "A movie would definitely hit the spot! You down?"

"Definitely," Elaiya grinned, took Essen's hand and stood up. "Anything in mind?" (edited)

Essen almost had to hide the fact that she lost her balance from being so caught up in the moment. "Didn't really have anything in mind -- yet," Essen said. "I'm just--" Essen had to muster the courage to say it, but once she did, she felt even better... "I'm just happy I'm with you." She guided Elaiya out of the familial pizzeria to #ens-d’gheckimi﹢ens-essen

(( @Lt. Cdr. Ezran Ch'evhalen Can we get an archive of this channel so it can be deleted pls? ))