Posted by Lieutenant Commander Brenna Neenna Atoded (Chief of Pets & 2nd Officer (COP)) in Let’s Try this Again (TAG CNS)

Posted by Lieutenant Eleyr of House Em’ujo (Chief of Keeping Our Brains Healthy (CNS)) in Let’s Try this Again (TAG CNS)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Brenna Neenna Atoded (Chief of Pets & 2nd Officer (COP)) in Let’s Try this Again (TAG CNS)
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(SNIP)

“Interesting is a grave understatement,” Eleyr huffed though it bore no consequence to her smirk. She traversed the room and plucked a large, gourd-shaped jar from its perch. Once pried open, another scent saturated the air. Savoury with a hint of honey-like sweetness, it was a sharp contrast to the typical mustiness Brenna might expect from human-grown beef jerky. Its appearance, however, was akin to rotten wood.

“It’s a new incense of my design,” Eleyr took in a sharp breath and savoured its scent, “cinnamon, a hint of pazafer, some pine needs.. and that little kick? The salt from the tears of my enemies.” Despite the deadpan, she couldn’t contain her smile for more than a few tedious seconds. “Kidding,” she shrugged.. almost sadly, “it’s redspice.”

Brenna grinned, “That’s too bad, the tear salt would add that little twist to enhance the aroma.” She inhaled the scent again. “I may have to ask you if I can have some. It’s rather pleasent and the Emporium can always use something to freshen the air.”

“Say no more, Commander.” Eleyr hummed, though it sounded more like a gnar. “Are your companions allergic to anything?”

Brenna shrugged, “Not that I know of but I several new animals that I’m not 100% familiar with. But my own companions are not.”

“Very well,” Eleyr nodded. “Give me two days and I’ll get you a pack, but for now..” she found her way to the incense and snagged one of the three sticks that remained, handing it to Brenna a moment later. “Try this and let me know if they have any reaction to it.”

If Brenna’s companions were humanoid, Eleyr would’ve handed her all three without a second thought, but they were animals and even a formidable Klingon like her couldn’t bear the thought of hurting an animal. Unless it was a spider. Then she’d wage war.

“Take a seat wherever you like,” she hummed. “Would you like something to drink?”

— Eleyr, CNS

Brenna glanced around and spotted a round floor cushion. Thicker floor cushions were a problem for her small stature. She sat, crossing her legs in front of her, but the cushion was so thick that her ankles wouldn’t hit the floor, and if she put her feet down she looked like a child sitting there, because unlike taller adults, her knees didn’t tower. So like a child she was able to completely sit crossed-legged on top of the cushion with out looking like a giant. She sat and shifted around getting totally comfortable on giant cushion and rolled her shoulders a bit. The long sleep had done her a lot of good, but now, her was very much aware of the tension she’d been carrying. “Jestral Tea.” Brenna grinned, mostly at her expense over the previous encounter. “Honestly I was just coming to welcome you. I was mostly running on autopilot and all I heard was ‘BOARDING PARTY.’ The Connie is known for their pranks, and it was aimed at you, but I think I’m the one who got caught out on that one.”
Lt Cmdr Atoded, CoP

Eleyr ordered Brenna’s tea with a sharp roar, her head tilted toward her in a gesture to say ‘I’m listening.’ Once the tea found its way into her palms, she carried it over and held both the mug and pair of jerky sticks out to Brenna. Putting them on the table for her to struggle with was just cruel.. even for Eleyr.

“And thank the Gods you had!” The counsellor plopped in the cushion across from her, pulling her legs into a similar cross-legged position. “If not for your intrusion, your dear Commander might’ve found himself in a less fortunate position.”

Brenna nodded her head in thanks and took a sip. “I would pay good latinum to see that. Lt Cmdr Marsh is extremely confident and skilled. It would be something to see someone get the better of him.”

“I am curious to see whether that will prove his rise or downfall,” she grinned in praise of the former. When she continued, it was with only a basic understanding of the idiom she employed. “But.. everyone could use a notch-knocking here and there.”

Brenna laughed, a deep hearty laugh. “Oh you have no idea how accurate that is. So at the Academy, before I really knew Cmdr Marsh, we were in the obstacle course run together and, he was such a show off. In the end it came down to the two of us. Well he was tactical and I was intel. It was expected that we be…tricky in gaining an advantage. Never on our ‘official’ runs of course. But he just needed…well I like to win.” Brenna grinned, “I raised the last tire in the tire spring an inch on the front end. He wasn’t prepared to lift his foot higher to clear it. He’s much more agile now. Sneaky and horrible of me I know.”

“No, Commander…” Eleyr whipped around, clapping her palms together twice in admiration “…that was genius! I wish I could’ve been there to see look on his face… and yours.” Laughter ripped from her throat accompanied by bugged eyes, but it soon dissipated into thoughtfulness.

Eleyr thought for a moment, her mirth subdued by an echo of latent professionalism. Looking at Benna, she noticed a lightness.. a relaxation that wasn’t there before. But she couldn’t pin her finger on whether it was rest-induced or her (temporary) reprieve from the ship’s antics. And there seemed to be many. Sooner than to assume the stress Brenna was under, she chose a simple question. “So,” she leaned forward ever-slightly, “how are you?”

— Eleyr, CNS

Brenna had been munching, or really tearing pieces of jerky off. She finished chewing, swallowed the piece and cleared her throat with a sip of tea. “Very well thank you. As much as I loathe to admit, I needed a couple of days off. Running a ship the size of Constellation, alone, for a month finally got to me. I was happy to do it so the captain could stay on paternity leave, but I was never meant to command a star ship, though I have the training for it.”
Lt Cmdr Atoded, CoP

“I find we are seldom put in positions we cannot handle,” she remarked, “whether we rise to the occasion or muddle through by sheer grit is inconsequential.” Eleyr tilted her head, studying Brenna in the quiet of a low grumble. “If not for command, what do you feel you’re ‘made’ for?”

— Eleyr, CNS

“I am very good at information gathering, and advising. I like being part of the senior staff and being part of the advisory group. But something I really love, that I didn’t discover until recently. I enjoy teaching.”
Lt Cmdr Atoded, CoP

“Teaching,” Eleyr echoed with genuine interest. “If given the opportunity, what would you teach?”

— Eleyr, CNS