Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Tenkiller’s House- Tipping Point, Day 2

Posted by Major General Charles Tenkiller (Vice-Commander, Colonial Customs and Defense Agency) in Tenkiller’s House- Tipping Point, Day 2

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Tenkiller’s House- Tipping Point, Day 2
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Sharah hugged him on her back past him. Well, her arms were full of jars and what not, so she didn’t physically hug him, but it sure felt like it. It was one of those seemingly small but huge things for her to do. And she places the ‘blame’ for that tentative confidence straight on Charles and Yavia’s shoulders.

Reading aloud the list of ingredients and the amounts, Eela made sure that anything she touched was infused with good intentions. Heal, cleanse and release became her new mantra as she dropped things into the simmering pot. She murmured words in her native tongue as she gestured with her hand to waft the now scented steam about them. A little cleansing right now from all the intensity of the last day couldn’t hurt.

“We’re going to reduce that liquid to one-third, strain it and then let it cool, so why don’t you keep stirring that gently Yavia and Sharah and I can start the next one?”

Flipping through the pages, Eela held up a small jar of dark blue seed pods she wasn’t familiar with but had a strange recollection she had read the name before. “Do you know what these ones are? I think they are not Haliian and used as a substitute for something we used to use on Halii but is from a sensitive ecological area and was deemed too precious to use anymore.” She frowned in frustration. “I knew them both before but I can’t remember.” It was rare that she discovered outright memories or bits of information that had been once entrenched in her mind and now had vanished, and memories could definitely fade, but this was one of the side effects of having your brain smacked about in your skull.

“Hmmm,” Sharah took the jar and peered at it. It looks like Thorn Hyssop from Vogurn. Which is similar to Blister Aniseed on Halii. It can also be substituted for Vigia Nut from Catawba.” She opened the jar and sniffed and the. Took one of the seeds and rolled it around between her fingers. “Yeah this is Thorn Hyssop. See how it flattens but doesn’t break when you roll it. In the jar it smells sour but as you roll it it releases a peppery scent.”

Yavia watched what she was stirring but shook her head and glances at TK. “I think we have our own little witch in the house,” and grinned. Clearly teasing.

“Witch. Shaman. Sage. Medicine Woman. Priestess. Different names for the same talent. My Granny was a Medicine Woman.” He said with a fond memory and smile. “Most of the Plains Tribes were very matriarchal when it came to medicine and healing wisdom. My Granny passed that on to my Ma… she’s teaching my sisters. So all this?” He waved and gestured to the three women and the herbs and the aromas and pots and steam. “This is just like home.” and he grinned.

Yavia grinned, “Your ma is gonna adore Sharah then.” She stired the contents of the pot slowly waiting for the water to reduce.

Eeal smiled warmly at him. “Back on Halii, the word for herbalist means ‘one who balances the inner with the external’. They are seen as important to a person’s wellbeing as any health or spiritual practitioner. Ask me what an interesting childhood I had with that coming form my father, and then my forensic anthropologist mother,” she said, actually letting out a small laugh. Her parents had made quite the eccentric pair and she missed them deeply. More so right now when all she wanted to do was turn to them for comfort and advice.

“I’m actually really glad I had the foresight to make a copy of the book and keep the original safe on Earth,” Eela said. “I kept the copy with me on my travels, and of course we lost all our personal effects when the Steadfast was destroyed, so this is one of the few precious possessions I still have.”

~Eela

“It is a remarkable book, Eela. So much knowledge and care is inside of it. I freely admit I am a bit envious and really want to try everything in that book for myself,” Sharah shrugged. Herbal and natural remedies had been her thesis project. It just hadn’t ended the way she had hoped. It turned out to be something much more useful for everyone else. It just hadn’t led to the cure she needed for herself.

Sharah

Tenkiller

“Well, I have no compunction about leaving it with you if you would like to have it translated. But I warn you my father has a few abbreviations I might need to decipher for you. And actually, based on our pervious conversation about maybe blending some of these old remedies amongst the rest of my medicaitons, there is sort of an adjacent one I’d like to consider.”

Eela carefully flipped towards the back and pointed to a page where the script was far more staccato than the others. “This one for instance, is commonly added during a meditation practice. It’s not one I would want to use on a regular basis but is important for a few rituals. It can have ah, well, a light psychotropic effect, and can stay in the system for a couple days long after the effect has passed. I know for a fact that I can’t mix it with my anti-inflammatory.” These spiritual practices had been a huge missing piece in her life but it had been very necessary as her and her health practitioners had focused on just getting her functional. Not she needed more, she craved more.

Sharah glanced at it. “Hmmm there are.. things we could discuss about how and when to use as far as your medications and treatments go. Other than interactions I say go for it. The mind and heart are 90% of wellness.”

Her pocket buzzed and Eela hesitated to reach for it. Cort would not be sending anything her way so it meant it was something personal and she was in a far better headspace for that today. In fact she intended to call Cort in a bit and fill him in a little. Eela glanced to see who it was and the name was not a surprise, but the few words of the preview were. She opened the message and frowned as she read, but then alarm and dismay flooded her. “Oh no. Sh$t. Oh, hell…” She set the comm on the counter, letting them read, see, whatever the hell anyone felt inclined to as she stepped away to try and stifle the frustration.

Roger: |Know that we all love you and are here for you. Dee is worried, as am I, but if we’re reading too far into this situation, just tell us we’re being idiots. If not, El, then we’re here for you when you’re ready to share what’s going on.| Attached to the message was a video clip from one of Oed’s social news sites depicting the scene from the lobby of the Seven Palms Hotel where Cory was being escorted by the CCDA. Already, speculation was swirling about the armoured sliders and flashing lights.

“There’s no way for them to know who he is, but…” Eela paced, trying to work through the problem. “Who am I kidding? Around here. It’ll smell like a great story and someone will dig. I can get ahead of it though…” She spun to face them, her anger making her wish she could throw more objects again. “I get wanting to scare the crap out of him, but did we have to make such a public scene. Did no one think about the consequences for me?”

~Eela

Yavia turned and Sharah had to put a hand on her arm. She could feel the sudden hurt, disbelief, and incredulity rising in the Deltan woman and then her immediate focus on Charles.

Charles looked at her; a combination of concern, hesitant guilt, and some irritation on his face. “Our concern was your safety. As for consequences for you… I will say no, I didn’t think of rhe personal fallout for you. And for that, I am sorry.” He turned and began walking towards the den and the sanctuary that was his studio, but he stopped and turned and fixed Eela with a look that was hard to decipher. “But somewhere in this colony, someone is in a bad spot. Maybe like yours, maybe not. And they’re gonna see this. And maybe it will give them push they need to ask for help.” and he turned and walked out of view.

Yavia followed him. If he shut the door she would leave him be, otherwise she would stay with him. She understood Eela was spirling but it was also uncalled for. Charles’ hurt was like a knife to both women. Sharah grabbed his hand and slipped an arm around him, love and support, but she knew he needed to step away from the room and she let him, knowing Yavia was with him.

She hurt him, that much Eela knew. Why did her mouth have to run so much faster than her brain? Every damn time! How many arguments had escalated unnecessarily because she struggled to maintain a filter? She dropped her gaze, her shoulders slumping, even as the anger sat there, still wanting its say.

Sharah moved over and touched the back of Eela’s hand briefly while she breathed in deep and exhaled, reaching for that deep reserve. And on that exhale was a wave of peace and safety that was tangible. “That is all we have been thinking of Eela. We can discuss at length the personal and professional reasons for it all, but…” Then she took her hand and led her down the stairs. She paused before the last door on the left and scanned her hand on the wall. A door opened leading down. At the bottom was a gym. Every thing she could possibly want, including a large heavy bag. “You want to hit and throw things, let’s do that. Be angry Eela, get it out.” Because Sharah knew how overwhelming it could be.

Sharah

Tenkiller

Eela let Sharah lead her and went silently, trying to process what all this meant. She moved towards the heavy bag, her fingertips tracing the familiar form. She had spent many a time during her physical training over the years, honing her body and her combat skills. Yes, she had been a psychologist and a therapist, but she had never been weak and unassuming the way some might think. Yes, she preferred to use words to solve problems, but for four decades she could be in the thick of whatever was happening on her assignments and never feel like a liability.

Unlike now.

“I don’t know how,” Eela whispered, the guilt weight on her more than she thought possible, almost overriding the anger. Arguing with Cory always felt like a very separate thing from her interactions with others, but was it really?

“My anger has felt so dangerous. I feel dangerous. Unstable. I don’t trust my anger because…” Eela fought to take a deep breath. “It only ever made things worse. I thought I had moved past it here on Oed, but that was just another lie I told myself.” She couldn’t even deal with the fact that her daughter and Roger both knew there was more going on ninety light years away.

~Eela

“Anger is not dangerous it is how you use it that dictates. Down here you are safe to lash out. This room has holoprojectors. Request glasses, vases, pillows, baseball bats, whatever you want, darts and a target. Put his picture on the heavy bag. This is a safe way to be angry. Lash out Eela. What he did was wrong! And he shouldn’t get away with it. It shouldn’t be under the rug and hidden. He doesn’t deserve the courtesy. Your kids deserve to know YOU are not the bad guy. You have the right to protect yourself. I know you aren’t really angry at all of us. Be angry at Cory for causing this to happen.” She pointed at the bag, “Hit it, scream at it, throw things. Let your anger exhaust.”

Sharah