Posted by Lieutenant Commander Stark Nightstalker (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Lounge- Late Night
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And it was then that he realized she was effecting him. When had he ever let anyone surprise him with a drink? Perhaps the risk would pay off? He didn’t take it back however.

-Lt. Orvos Legen, CE

Marishka bowed slightly and turned away. If he wanted a surprise she would deliver something special. Walking back to the bar she passed by Stark, caught his eye, and licked her lips. His ominous statement had not gone unheard by her but Orvos had not asked him to chaperone them yet.

Stark raised his glass in mock salute, grinning as he did so.

Stepping behind the bar she poured together several liquors and picked up two glasses and walked quickly back.

Sitting down near Orvos she decided to leave a bit of room between them, just top make the engineer feel safe… For now.

“This is called A Scorpion’s Kiss. It’s usually done in much smaller portions but I enjoy living. Shall I pour?” she asked indicating the clear liquid.

• Marishka

Orvos raised an eyebrow. “A scorpion’s kiss? Potent I assume?” He nodded his head in reply.

“I’ve been known to hold my liquor,” he added, though slightly cautious. He had rarely ever been drunk, though the few times he had been tipsy ended in some very interesting tales.

He grinned at her as she poured.

-Lt. Orvos Legen, CE

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Marishka lifted the pitcher and poured the clear liquid. It became a vivid amber as it left the pitcher and returned to a clear state as it settled in the glass.

“You will find it smooth and, perhaps, sensuous but it does have a sharp kick at the end although I suppose that depends on your sense of taste. You’ll have to let me know what you think.” she said settling in close and raising her glass.

Marishka had behaved perfectly. She had barely laid a hand of Orvos except to remove her errant strand of hair. She hadn’t asked him to dance with her, offered to sing or play music for him, perhaps she had been behaving too properly. Still, it seemed to be working.

• Marishka

He walked over to where Ghubari sat at the piano and leaned onto it with his torso, facing her and seemingly simply watching her play, kind of non-chalantly and suave… at least that was the vibe he was hoping for to throw off.
As his right arm rested on the top edge of the soft wood and his fingers curled around the wooden rim, he locked his eyes on Ghubari’s. She looked relaxed, even happy. He hadn’t seen her like that a lot…
He forced a smile on his lips, but didn’t notice that his four fingers under the wodden rim of the piano made small indentures in the wood as he still fought inside to fend of those puny feelings of jealousy and anger.

• Julien

To the casual observer the scene would seem quite normal but they weren’t observing it through Marishka’s eyes, or those of the two males she was entertaining either. Three if one counted Stark. She truly liked Orvos and found him intriguing and entertaining all at once. Julien had been the last person she had felt that way about. A part of her would always belong to Julien, she had warned him never to leave her alone for too long. Her appetites were too great to be left unattended. Either way, he had never seen her work a room, or person, before and what a man she had chosen in Orvos. He was brilliant, challenging, and quite handsome.

• Marishka

Stark watched the interplay but his smile had gone and his thoughts had become introspective. There was sufficient “firepower” in the room for him to relax his constant preternatural watchfulness and such moments were rare so he indulged in some inner reverie.

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Orvos was too distracted by Marishka to have noticed the goings on of others nearby. He raised a glass and drank. She was right about the smoothness and the kick at the end. However, he was nearly a millenium old. He knew how to handle liquor at this point, and he barely even flinched as it went down. He looked at the glass after the contents had disappeared. “Can’t say I’ve had anything exactly like it. Quite interesting.” He set the glass down and grinned.

“What brings everyone in here at this hour?” he asked, his defenses slowly being peeled away.

-Lt. Orvos Legen, CE

Stark was first to reply, “Insomnia” he quipped.

As the others talked and drank around them, Va’rek put all of his focus into trying to follow the musical notes and the counterpoint in the melodies. His fingers moved over the keys less smoothly than those of the Captain, but his understanding of the theory allowed him to keep up despite his lesser skil with the instrument. He kept up with her as best he could, adding small flourishes here and there, nudging the swing into a full 16th note swing as he arpaggiated chords.

-Va’rek, Engineer

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Marishka smiled and leaned back a bit in her chair allowing the loose garment to fall where it may.

“That’s different every night although the Commander’s right for the most part. Insomnia, shift changes, the twenty four hour menu, I’ve even heard a rumor that it could even be me.” Marishka let the last word hang in the air.

• Marishka