Finding A Fuzzy

Posted on Tue Jan 2nd, 2018 @ 10:07am by Lieutenant Renee Salchin & Warrant Officer Koh Otassu

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/4
Timeline: The Day AFTER The Grand Galloping Gala

"My lab..." Renee muttered to herself as she shambled through the corridors. "I can hide in my lab, then go to my quarters, then back there." She was forcing herself to walk herself through what and how she was going to get herself through the next couple days, avoiding people and likely getting absolutely nothing productive done. But one of the odd things about what she did with Research and Development was that often, not much really got done. Testing of theory and hyotheticals, trying to brain out issues, and when none of them panned out, it seemed like NOTHING had happened. But at least she'd also be on call for any issues that J'Loni would need her for.

She rounded another corner, eyes on the ground as she kept repeating her 'schedule' to herself when she ran into someone, someone... Fuzzy. It knocked her off her course, but she kept on, "Sorry, didn't mean to run into you." Her voice sounded almost dead.

"No no, entirely my fault. I'm still learning the ha... Miss?" came the gentle and calm voice of the newest addition to the fighter squadron: Koh. He offered her a hand to steady herself. "You seem distant. Distracted. Is everything alright?" he inquired.

She accepted the help and some part of her recognized the voice but didn't match it to a name immediately like it should have, "I'm fine." She said, holding back newly arrived tears, proving the lie, "Noth-nothing is wrong.."

A finger covered in soft black fur came up to stifle the newly born tear, swiping it away into oblivion. "That tone doesn't suit you, and the most captivating thing in your day shouldn't be a Ts'usugi's feet." he commented on her downward glance. "It's not my place to say, but something seems to trouble you. As one of the first friends I made aboard, what can I do to help?" something was definitely bothering her, that spark... that fire that burned within her was gone. Ohhh, if someone hurt her, they'd never find the body.

"I-I-I-" Renee stuttered, then in one quick move wrapped her arms arounf Koh in a hug and started sobbing, "I b-broke uo w-with my b-boyfriend last n-night, he proposed to me."

GAH! A grapple! Wait no, this was how Alpha Quads expressed emotion. Remember your readiness reports. As she grappled him and started to sob, he brought his arms around her, to hold and stabilize her just in the off chance that she slipped and fell. His ears drooped forward slightly, curving to catch everything she may say. Though what she already said was clear. A proposal gone bitter, and a relationship in ruin. A tale known throughout the universe, from Earth to Ts'usu.

"Let it all out." he said to her, encouraging her rather than trying to bottle up her emotions. Humans were such emotional creatures. He gently patted the back of her head in a sympathetic gesture. He knew how a Ts'usugi would console another, but for now what she seemed to need was just to get past the shock of it all. It must have just happened recently.

She just stood there in his embrace, sobbing and babbling into his fur, making it wet with her tears for a good three or four minutes before it slowed down, finally giving him one last squeeze before pulling back from the hug amd wiping her eyes on hour shoulders, "I'm sorry... I just... It's just..."

"You just had a terrible moment." He finished for her with a nod, "You need something to ease your soul. Food." he offered, "Public place, no agendas." he suggested, though rather than push her along or start to walk, he simply remained at her side. "Whatever it is that eases you, lead on. You shouldn't be alone at a time like this."

The problem was, she didn't know. Three things beckoned to her: Ice cream and a movie; ice cream period; going to her lab and trying to drown herself in her work. She dimissed the last, no sense in boring Koh, yes that was her friend's name, with her work, plus it meant ice cream. Movies she could save for later, what did he like anyways? Something to find out, maybe. He was so warm and fuzzy. She looked over at him, taller thanbher now, sonce she was wearing flat shoes rather than her normal heels. "Oh my God.. I made a mess of your fur!" She reached up with a sleeve and tried drying him off.

He dismissed her attempts to placate *him* at a time like this. "Fur dries." he stated as he caught her hand gently, "I'm not some warlord who goes to panic because the sky is the wrong shade of violet." he commented with a smirk. "Besides, it's a good look." he reassured, "But worrying over me won't help get you back on track." he then took up a spot next to her, and took a single step, "Shall we walk? Talk? We'll eventually find where you need to be."

"A great philosopher once said that worlds are round so that if you start walking, you'll inevitably wind up where you need to be. Personally, I just think he was lost." he said with a smirk.

That got a little bit of a laugh from Renee and took that step with him, grabbing onto his arm in the just NEED for physical contact with someone. "I don't know where to go, just not engineering..." she told him, "And I lost my map."

He gave her a smirk, "And I know my way around this ship *so* well." he commented with smarm. "Do you like music? I keep a recording of a Dalacari concert on hand to relax. Have you ever heard Dalacari sing? It's haunting." He said, sounding impressed. "Or, we could just figure out our way around this ship the old fashioned way... getting ourselves good and lost."

"Oh, I know my way around the ship well enough." She took a step forward until they were walking together, "I just don't know where I want to go is all."

"Well then, let's just roam." he suggested. "As any mapmaker will tell you, it's hard to get lost when you have no destination."

"Didn't think of it that way." Renee mused, "But that makes sense, "Let's take a left up here." She guided them the right way, "I... Patience is a virtue, isn't it?"

"One of the six." Koh commented, following her lead, "Though I don't know if *our* virtues line up with *your* virtues, but yes. Patience is one of them." he smirked, "Patience, Ambition, Loyalty, Love, Desire, and Com... Dedication. The translation is a bit off." he covered. "But don't worry, there's usually only a handful of beings who can really relate to all six of the virtues... and one of them sits on a throne back home."

"I don't know what mine are, but oh my God... I look like a wreck!" She remembered the creature she'd seen in her mirror in the morning, now, "I'm sorry I look like crap." She steered them hard to the right, "And I'm sure that all this crying hasn't helped, has it?"

"Shhhhh..." he calmed her as best he could, with what he knew of their stigmas and social signs. "I'm certain you look fine. Though to be honest your ears are a little on the short side." he gave her a soft smirk. "Now, let me get a look at you." and he turned her to look her in the eye gently. "Hmmm..." he gave her an appraising look, "Just as I thought. You look perfectly fine. Not a single mess to be seen." he confirmed, wiping away a stray tear with a thumb.

"You're a paragon of your people, and a virtue to your household. You stood up with your ideals and stood your ground." he reassured her, "Bravery is your virtue tonight, and a thousand generals under the Ts'usugi flag would be jealous of your display. You took a stand and held your posture, you did what you thought was right, as opposed to what someone else expected." his reassurance rose in tone to something you'd expect to hear at a rally.

"You are fire. You are bravery." he said as he clasped his hands on her shoulders, and he gave her a solid nod.

Her cheeks reddened more, this time from something other than sadness, She went to her toes and gave Koh a very gently kiss on the cheek and gave him another tight squeeze, "You're crazy, you know? And a bit of a charmer. And brave or not, I think I'm going to be curling up on my couch with a tub of ice cream, probably strawberry, and watching something on the screen, the opposite of bravery. But delicious non-bravery." She paused for a moment, "You came pretty much straight from the Empire?"

His ears perked at the peck, and then he chuckled at the squeeze. "I'm a pilot, by nature we have to be crazy." though he didn't say anything to dispute the charge of charmer.

"And yes, pretty directly. Crash course in the basics but aside from that yes, why do you ask?"

"Why don't you come with me? Unless you have somewhere you need to be, of course. I've heard that your fruits and veggies are usually rather different than ours, but have you ever tried strawberries? I know they'd only be replicated, but they still taste real."

He gave her a smirk, "You've never eaten Insipp rations. Trust me when I say, we all leap at the chance for a posting at a Dalacari outpost." he chuckled, "We're working on a technology trade with the Dalacari to upgrade our Insipp units with their fabricators. It'll go a long way to extending the life of our times between resupply, but as you can imagine everyone needs to get their say in, which means it'll probably be another two or three years before the refits begin."

Though, that was all a delay as he thought of an answer to her initial question, "I've nowhere else to be at the moment, so lead the way." he mentally fortified himself, telling himself that he was supporting her through a crisis as a new friend. This would in NO way lead to anything tonight. She was in no condition to make those caliber of decisions.

Plus her ears were disastrously short.

"So what's a strawberry?"

"A delicious ball of red yumminess!" Renee smiled at how a little girl she'd known had put it, "It's a combination of sweet and tart, but I absolutely love it. I think, though, that you are going to need to make it's acquaintance youraelf." She pondered for a moment as she steered them left, right, then left again, "Do the Ts'usugi eat meat?'

"Mostly fish and shellfish. Land meat is a delicacy because, well, we need the room." he explained, then chuckled and gave her a glance at his teeth as he pulled on the side of his mouth in a large, ghastly smirk. In perhaps the most stunning and disturbing visual one could put together, Koh was a creature that looked like a rabbit, but had sharp canines in addition to those prominent incisors. Flat molars at the rear for mashing, naturally, but Koh had the tooth structure of an omnivore. "So, sweet and tart? I know a few people like that." he chuckled, letting his mouth return to its regularly scheduled appearance.

Renee didn't even blink, though inside, she shivered at the thought od an earth rabbit with those teeth. They would have conquered the world... "Well, ask a question, get an answer?" She chuckled, "I know it's bad, but I just assumed! But that just means I can introduce you to a good steak! Cow, it's an earthen land food animal, in case you didn't know."

He gave a chuckle, "So, on our end of space, land meat is a treat, a delicacy. On your end of space, it's abundant enough to have such a simple name. Cow." he said it, then said it again. "Cow." and he chuckled, "What a silly sounding word."

"Steak is a much better word. I like the sound of it. It *sounds* meaty. It sounds like a conquest. Steak." he chuckled, then reined himself in. "I'm getting hungry talking about all this. Let's start with ... what were they, oh yes, strawberries."

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Ens. Koh "Ghost" Otassu
Fighter Pilot and Escort
USS Beef Wellington

Lieutenant Renee Salchin
Broken Down Engineer
USS Wellington