DL - JEO & Civ | Ens Balman & Sh'eik | "Home Coming"

Posted on 241412.22 @ 5:35am by Cadet Sh'eik & Ensign Balman

Mission: Holy Cow
Location: Deck 24 Junior Officer's Quarters

The Cait stood there in the corridor, eyeing the chime button, momentarily weary.
It felt odd to move into someone else's space, with no possessions.
Again, he felt like he should have a tote, or a duffle bag, or something.
Instead he just stood, looking dumbly at the door before he reached a handpaw, that was a little large for the thin arm it was attached to, up and pressed the button.

There was some rustling and what was obviously a cuss, but not in any language the Cait understood, before the door slid open to a male's voice "come!"
The doors whisked, nearly silently, out of the way, revealing quarters more dimly lit than the corridor, and beyond the threshold... Boxes... Boxes everywhere.

Sh'eik looked around, the boxes haphazardly stacked but all meticulously packed and marked.
A group of them shuffled and a blue hand waved, "one sec, be right out."
The voice was rich and deep, Sh'eik's mind wandered briefly as a memory of the Persephone's Captain flashed up, the voice being similar.
He stifled a guffaw when the Bolian finally emerged.

Persephone's Captain had been a rather stout Bolian man, a tinge of aquamarine mixed with pewter grey was his skin tone. An honest, authoritarian, but also friendly man...
Sh'eik looked up at his new roommate, way up. The Bolian towered easily three quarters of a foot over him, and if there were any extra fat hanging off him, like Persephone's captain had had, Sh'eik would've been hard pressed to find it.

A cat? Balman smiled down at the young man in front of him. His girlfriend in the academy had had a similar creature, as a pet, mind you it was maybe a tenth the size... And quadruped.
"Mr. Sh'eik, I'm guessing?" He held out his hand cupped, palm down.

Sh'eik responded in kind, remembering the Bolian traditional greeting he'd learnt from the Persephone's Captain.
"Yes sir. Why does everyone keep calling me Mister?"

Balman smiled a little wider, this was going to be fun.
The Bolian ignored the question, shrugging and heading over to the replicator.
"Would you like something?"
Sh'eik blinked, "something?"
"To eat or drink, kiddo?"

The Cait cocked his head to one side, "no, I'm alri-..."
He remembered his promise to Quoicho, rubbing his slim belly softly, left ear flicking a few times before he answered, "Something... Citrus?"
Balman nodded, "Computer, two Denebian Lime juices please, on ice."
The replicator chirped, then whirred as the chartreuse drinks appeared in some plain, square glasses.

Balman handed one to Sh'eik, sipping gently on his own, smiling, "interesting."
Sh'eik's ears perked, "you've never had it before?"
Balman shook his head, "Nope. A friend said I should try it though. Figured we could be guinea pigs, together."

Sh'eik brought the glass to his muzzle, sniffing it softly before taking a sip.
It was tart, acidic, and a little piquant. Like a spicy nectarine. His ears perked and he smiled, "hey, this is really good!" His tail swished happily as he slurped down a bit more.

Balman smiled, watching the cat be completely engrossed in a glass of juice, stifling a chuckle. He looked around a moment, the smile fading somewhat.
"Sorry about the mess... To be honest I just moved in here too, they upgraded my quarters so we could share. Did I leave you enough room for your things?"

Sh'eik blinked again, staring through the Bolian briefly before answering, "well I uh... I don't really have anything."
Balman's smile didn't fade, "have anything... yet!"
Sh'eik couldn't help but smile back, the man's unflappably good nature was infectious and endearing. Dhej was right, and Sh'eik was glad for it, feeling more and more at ease. It didn't matter that he'd literally lost everything, he wasn't alone.

"Oh hey! That's right!" Balman was over digging through a pile, as Sh'eik snapped back to the moment, "The Cap sent this down for you. See? You do have something."

Sh'eik looked down, quizzically for a moment before he realized... His bow and arrows. The very ones he'd nearly fired at Dhej just a few days ago... He'd brought them back?

An overwhelming amount of emotion flooded the teen then, and without even thinking he stepped over to and hugged the big blue man, closing his eyes, as little tears squeezed out, wetting his cheek fur.

A soft purr filled the room as the Bolian stiffened reflexively for just an instant before forcing himself to relax, returning the hug. The boy was probably going through a lot all at once, the show of emotion was understandable, and he didn't really mind anyway. It was all part of the healing process.
Balman squeezed the Cait gently, petting his head with a free hand, and rubbing behind his ear.
"Shhh. It's alright kitten. Welcome home."

Sh'eik instinctively pressed his head against the hand scritching behind his ear. He realized, suddenly, just how long it had been since someone had touched him in a personal way. He'd been longing for it for so long, it had blended into his depression. He didn't understand it, it might even be weird to the Bolian... And he didn't care. Just this once, he was going to be selfish.

And so they stood that way, the big blue engineer and the spindly orphan Cait, sharing a brotherly embrace.
Until a thought broke through the surface and Sh'eik looked up at Balman, a little sheepish over his display of emotion, hoping he hadn't crossed a line somewhere.
"What's a kitten?"

=/\= End Log =/\=

Civillian Sh'eik
USS Enterprise

Ensign Balman (APB Sh'eik)
Engineer
USS Enterprise