Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Calloway’s Quarters - An Unexpected Visitor

Posted by Lieutenant Kiama Naim (Chief Science Officer) in Calloway’s Quarters - An Unexpected Visitor

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Calloway’s Quarters - An Unexpected Visitor
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snips)

She had meant to return to her own quarters, but as she walked down the nearly empty corridors of the Manhattan Kiama suddenly found herself in front of Faye’s quarters. She knew, of course, that Faye wasn’t there. But she had not only promised to check in on Tess regularly, her friend had also said that she could visit the little kitten whenever she needed some company. So without checking if there was someone inside, Kiama opened the door and slipped into the room.

~Kiama Naim

At first Tess wasn’t visible, though it was clear the cat already had a presence in Faye’s living space and life. Her bed was set against the couch, and the food and water dishes were against a wall. The litter bin was hidden inside a cabinet in Faye’s bathroom and the door sensors on the interior doors of the quarters were set to trigger open so Tess could move back and forth as she liked unless Faye turned that off. The door to the corridor was the exception and locked except to those Faye gave the code to.

Knowing someone had entered the space, the door to the bedroom opened and Tess trotted out with a boot sock in her mouth. She took n Kiama for a moment and continued on, dropping the sock at Naim’s feet and giving a little chirped meow as if to say ‘hello, see what I’ve brought you?!’.

~Tess, Vanquisher of Sock Beasts

“Hey you,” Kiama greeted Tess softly as she crouched down in front of the kitten. “Did you catch that all on your own?” she asked with a gentle laugh and began to pet her. “Well done Tess!”

~Kiama Naim

Tess gave a chirp as if to accept the praise and a low rumble began to emanate form the cat. She rubbed the side of face on Kiama’s hand, encouraging more pets and more contact.

~Tess

For a few moments Kiama continued to pet Tess. Gently scratching her little chin and between and around her ears. By and by she felt herself relax a little. Yet at the same time all the emotions inside her began to bubble up, threatening to roll over her like a massive wave. Taking a deep breath, she gently scooped Tess up with both her hands and walked over Faye’s couch.

Once she had sat down, for once cross-legged and bent slightly forward, Kiama placed Tess in lap and gently petted her again. “I feel so overwhelmed Tess,” she whispered softly as tears began to run down her face.

~Kiama Naim

Oh if the empathic cat could talk! Settling into Kiama’s nap, Tess proceeded to gently knead the woman’s thigh, strangely careful not to extend her claws as she did so. That usually made the person feel pain and that was not a nice feeling. The rumbling continued, though Tess would look up at Kiama, her blue eyes seeming content. Tess was safe with Kiama and that meant Kiama was safe too.

~Tess

For a long time Kiama was silent as she continued to pet Tess, allowing her tears to flow freely while opening herself up towards the empathic kitten and letting her sooth her. As the tears became less, she started to tell Tess everything that had happened since her mother had so suddenly shown up on the Manhattan. And everything she felt whenever she thought about her mother. All the mixed emotions. Loving her for she was her mother after all. But also feeling so worthless and like a failure and disappointment. How she was almost always so afraid of standing up for herself. Or for anyone really, when talking with her mother. “What would you do if you were in my position?” she asked gently, despite knowing that Tess couldn’t answer her. At least not with words.

~Kiama Naim