Posted by Civilian Jezem (Upstanding Citizen) in Pernicious Shenanigans

Posted by Civilian Thyr Th’arialat (Resident) in Pernicious Shenanigans

Posted by Civilian Jezem (Upstanding Citizen) in Pernicious Shenanigans
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻
It was almost a week after the day Shivan and Jezem had gone to the shooting range. Shivan’s shop was coming along nicely, mostly thanks to Jezem’s gifts and style. The med kit Jezem had gifted him had a permanent home in the front of the workshop, where it was likely to be needed.

Shivan had made a promise and he intended to go through with it. It had taken him this long to acquire everything he needed. These kinds of underhanded plans weren’t Shivan’s style but after Pavlajia, he’d had to find his own competence in them. After Jezem disappeared out of the sky. He found it funny he was now using those skills against Jezem, for fun.

Shivan had bought him three coffees already. Said he was trying to be nicer and all that garbage. And pay him back too, for all the dinners. Today the coffee had a little something extra in it. An Orion poison, enough to make him sick for about a week, but definitely not enough to be lethal.

Shivan entered Jezem’s house as he usually did and set the coffee on the counter. “Jezem! Coffee’s here!”

~ Thyr

“One minute,” Jezem called from another part of the house. The orion was in his room, sitting before an ornate gold and white wood vanity. Spread across it were various jewlery boxes and stands with clusters of various Orion beauty products and body oils filling the empty spaces in between. With a little cotton swab Jezem applied a thin white powder to the underside of his nails. Once the bottom of each nail was covered he applied a thin, clear coat of another liquid that caused the powder to turn transparent.

It was cute how Shivan thinks he’s being so underhanded. Insisting he couldn’t poison Jezem then bringing him drinks to ‘pay him back’. All Jezem had to do was discreetly dip a nail into the coffee and test for poison. There were only so many poisons Shivan could acquire with relative ease and without alerting authorities with any suspicious purchases. Oed wasn’t a bastion of criminal activity either so any offerings provided by local black markets would be similarly limited. What he couldn’t detect by the powder test could be smelled or tasted in coffee.

Jezem entered the main part of the house, “You know, I’m starting to get a little tired of all the coffee. Would it kill you to bring me a tea now and then?” Jezem pried the lid off the top of the cup to add a sugar mix with one hand while rooting around in another drawer for a spoon. And if he just so happened to accidentally dip the tip of a fingernail into the drink then that could be excused. Jezem stirred the sugar into his drink and oh, it was no effort to keep his face perfectly relaxed.

He feined a sip of the drink, not letting the liquid touch his lips, then retched, “Sisters, this tastes disgusting.”

Jezem

Shivan shrugged. “Tea next time then. What kind of tea do you like?” He must have been practicing his poker face. He knew Jezem dipped a nail in that coffee, yet his face showed… nothing. He went about his business, drinking his own coffee. “Breakfast today, or no? I have work to do at the shop.”

~ Thyr

“Ginger tea, or a redbush tea. Any kind of tea with a spicy taste to it,” Jezem dumped the poisoned coffee down the sink and with it Shivan’s hopes and dreams. Too bad, so sad. Suddenly in good spirits Jezem, fixed himself a cup of fresh squeezed juice before answering, “Sit down, I have some left over knenap.” It was a dish similar to an egg casserole but fluffier and lighter in texture and color. The dish was served cold and topped with dried pepper flakes and generous drizzles of what amounted to the Orion version of sriracha sauce. “Where have you been buying all this coffee anyways? I want to know so I can avoid it,”

Jezem

“Coffee place up the road,” Shivan said with a shrug. “The place near my shop is much better, but out of the way if I’m coming here.” He sat down. “It’s that, bad, huh? Couldn’t even drink it?” He’d had Jezem’s knenap before. It was spicy, like everything Jezem made, but very good. “Ginger or redbush. Got it.”

~ Thyr

“I think I know the place you’re talking about,” Jezem said sipping juice in between spicy bites of food. They ate in silence, getting their fill and once Shivan finished his plate Jezem set a packed lunch down in front of him. “You know, it’s been so nice getting these coffees from you. So I thought I’d make you an extra special packed lunch today. No need to thank me. Knowing my cooking keeps you happy and sustained with nutrients is enough of a reward for me.” Jezem spoke like a woman from an advertisement trying to sell you the latest kitchen gadget.

Jezem

Shivan eyed the lunch bag suspiciously, then took it. “Thanks.” Whether he’d eat it or not.... That was another question. He was way overselling it and considering what Shivan had done this morning he wouldn’t be surprised if Jezem had prepared his own surprise.

~ Thyr

The surprise was that it was a lovingly made home cooked Andorian dish. Something Jezem was sure Shivan would love and make it all the more delicious to imagine him struggling over whether to eat it or not. The meal wasn’t poisoned, but so long as Shivan suspects it might then he won. This is what you get for trying to play my games, Jezem thought with no small amount of pride. “Have a nice day at work,” Jezem sing-songed in the way that Jezem said goodbye to Argam in the morning.

Jezem

“Have a nice day… Doing whatever it is you do.” Shivan said back, and then he was gone out the door. By the time lunch came around, he was starving and Jezem’s food was all the more tempting. And then he opened the bag and saw what it was. A home cooked Andorian meal… And not that Jezem would have known but something he hadn’t had in a long time. Not since he was a child.

He sniffed it. There was no detectible smell of poison. He had nothing to test the food with. He tried a small bite. It was delicious and exactly how he remembered it, and no, he didn’t taste poison. He couldn’t resist it. If Jezem poisoned it then fine, it was worth it. He ate all of it.

When he was finished working later that day, he returned to Jezem’s house and upon entering, “Where did you learn to make shelatha? It’s a difficult meal to prepare, I haven’t had it in years.”

~ Thyr

Jezem looked up from the kitchen. Fresh baked bread sat on cooling racks and filled the house with tantalizing smell of baked goods. Jezem smirked, “Cooking videos and holoprogram lessons. It’s amazing all the things humans make available for free.” Plus all those cook books he read and studied but Shivan doesn’t need to know about that. “I take it you enjoyed your lunch?”

Jezem

“It was amazing,” Shivan said as if he worshipped the food. The truth was, it was something his parents had once liked making. He never spoke of his history though, so Jezem would never have known that. He sat down at the table. “Your cooking is unparalleled.”

~ Thyr

Preening under the attention and compliments, Jezem cut a slice of still warm bread and passed to Shivan along with a tray of herb-butter, “I owe it all to free cooking lessons and cook books.” He suddenly laughed, a memory popping to mind, “The first time I tried cooking for Argam. . . I burned the sauce, not that it would have tasted good if I hadn’t. I hadn’t really read the recipe, just added the ingredients and started cooking.”

Shivam buttered the bread and then started eating it. “That’s how I would do it.”

Sisters, bless Argam for suffering through his early adventures into culinary pursuits. That man ate everything Jezem made, even when it was barely edible. “I learned to read the whole recipe, learned the science and techniques behind cooking and practiced every day. Before long I was cooking as well as our cook on the ship and now I’m practically a master. I should get my own cooking show.” One that you have to pay to watch, of course, because why give his talents for free?

Jezem

Shivan shrugged. “I’m forever doomed to rely on your cooking. I hate cooking.” He finished the piece of bread. It had turned out perfect. Shivan planned to wait about a week. Today’s poisoning hadn’t been a failure but went exactly as planned. In a week, he had another trick up his sleeve. “Soaps tonight?” He asked.

~ Thyr

“There are worse fates to be doomed too,” Jezem said with a laugh, “I’ll get one going. You better thank me because I waited to watch the new episodes with you.” Jezem went on, the whole poisoning bet nearly forgotten. Life was good and he was. . . he was happy.

Jezem

Shivan was… working on things. He wasn’t happy, not by a long shot. But he was trying, just like he promised Jezem he would. He grinned when Jezem said he saved the new episodes. At least there was something to look forward to on this stupid rock. “Yes!”

~ Thyr

Another week slipped past and Jezem became caught up in helping Argam put out metaphorical fires at his business. Argam’s secretary had gone into labor early and was currently at the hospital. Jezem talked to Argam over the house communicator while putting together meals for the two of them plus Shivan. He needed to get everything together so he can get to Argam’s office and fill in for Louise. And of course this was the day two investors were due to arrive.

Sisters, some days Jezem missed being a pirate captain, because then he could say ‘not my problem’ and order some one else to deal with the mess. “Argam, I’ll be there soon. I need to focus.” The door chime announced Shivan’s arrival, “Shivan is here, I’m going to get him his lunch and then I’ll be over. Quit panicking and do some of those meditations I taught you. Everything will be fine.” Jezem closed the line before Argam could argue.

“Please tell me you have something for me to drink because I need something,” Jezem called over his shoulder while putting the finishing touches on all the packed lunches.

Jezem

“Redbush tea,” Shivan said brightly, setting the drink down on the table. He sipped out of his own coffee. He had no idea Jezem was so busy or he might just feel bad about what he was about to do.

It had been difficult, near impossible, to get his hands on a tasteless, scent free poison that Jezem’s powder wouldn’t detect. But Shivan had done it. He’d… had to get his hands a tiny bit dirty to do it, but Eryn wouldn’t find out about that. Hopefully. He took the packed lunch and nodded to Jezem. “I’ve got to go. Work to do in the shop and all that.”

By now, the shop was nearly ready to fully open. Set up and organized, with a solid foundation for the business side of things thanks to Jezem’s help. Shivam was preparing his first items for sale and ensuring he had a steady supply of materials. Then he’d be able to do a little ‘grand opening’.

~ Thyr