Posted by Vashkilu (Infiltrator) in Eli’s Quarters: The Gift that Gives

Posted by Elias “Eli” Trenor (Medic) in Eli’s Quarters: The Gift that Gives

Posted by Vashkilu (Infiltrator) in Eli’s Quarters: The Gift that Gives
Posted by… suppressed (15) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Eli looked at the box sitting on his small desk, she would be by soon, he had thought about giving it to her last year but it had not seem right. Given the events around Sisnil’s capture he had not had much time to think about anything else. He sat and cleaned his weapons while he waited.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

After the new muscle got situated Vash disappeared and made her way towards Eli’s quarters. Probably another lecture about how she needed to stay safe and stop attracting stranger to her. It wasn’t her fault! Even when she actively tried to repel them, they still flocked around her. She stopped by the door and knocked on it firmly.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

“Come” he said loudly, when he saw her he smiled and stood walked over and gave her a big hug. “Have a seat” he asked and moved over to wash his hands before he pickted up the gift from the table. “Have a good time planet side?” he asked. Eli was nervious he was not entirely sure how she would recieve what he was about to do but she was the closest thing to a daughter he was ever going to have.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

Vash hugged him tightly. Her feelings for Eli swung wildly at times. From seeing him as a big brother, to a father, to even a potential life partner. She’d never tell him the last one because he would freak out and run away from the crew. Her heart belonged to Noril (though he didn’t seem to notice), but there were times when she could see that she and Eli could be happy. She could chase the darkness away from him. But that was never more than a fleeting thought. They didn’t feel that way about each other.

She sat down and smirked feeling his nervousness. “Eli, you’re nervous! OH!” she set a hand over her heart and batted her lashes. “Have you finally realized you can’t live without me, and you are ready to profess your undying love for me?” She made a little swooning face. She was teasing him and he knew it, but it would make him laugh and help him relax.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

Eli gave a small snort of a laugh, “You wish, you can’t handle me” grabing the rather large box and sitting next to her. “In all the mess, I forgot your birthday. I’m really sorry” he said.

Hmmmm She was sure they could handle each other just fine, but he was also probably right. She looked at the box. It was huge. Usually it was something small, but expensive. Eli spoiled her. She didn’t need the jewelry, just having Eli in her life was enough. She’d told him that. Maybe he had gone simpler this year. “You don’t need to apologize Eli. We’ve all been distracted and focused on more immediate concerns.

Something was different or wrong, he was happy and sad at the same time. His body language and tone was confused. He silently handed her the box but did not let go of it right away. “After you open it, I have something I need to,” he paused choking back something. “to say something” His eyes looked serious like he was about to tell her he was leaving, or dying or something.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

Vash held the box in her lap and stared at him. “Eli, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

Eli looked at her “It’s a good thing I think, just open it” he asked.

She wasn’t going to get an answer apparently. She looked down at the box and very carefully pulled at the ribbon and set it aside before removing the paper and carefully lifting the lid off the box.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

Inside the box was a cream-colored gown, it was like silk but somehow softer and felt cool to the touch. “Ja’kali, they are similar to a silkworm on earth found only on Bajor, the fibers are 100 times softer than silk though, it is very, very rare” he noted.

Vash had heard of it. Anything expensive and rare was known to an Orion, even if they didn’t own any. Her fingers carefully, delicately touched the material. It was perfection to her Deltan sense of touch. Smooth, soft, cool, flawless. It didn’t feel like any other fabric she’d ever encountered.

Sitting on top of the dress was a silver chain encrusted with white diamond-like gems along the entire chain. The center gem of the necklace area was a larger version of the smaller and reflected light in a way that was almost hypnotic.

The necklace though was…something else. It was simple, yet royal. She had to grin at having more jewelry, but somehow the dress wasn’t complete without it. The gems were of the highest quality. She looked up at Eli to protest. She knew he had money and lots of it, but she didn’t need expensive things from him.

Eli sat and watched her take it in as she was about to speak, he looked at her deep in her eyes. “It was my mother’s” he finally spit out. “One of the few things I have left of her.”

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

Her mouth dropped open in a delicate gasp of shock. She stared at him for a long moment and then back at the dress. “It’s beautiful,” Vash whispered softly. She was wary of touching it now. Afraid she might accidently damage it. When she looked back at him, golden tears filled her eyes and escaped. “Eli.... I can’t take this. I can’t take something that was your mother’s.” Her voice was tight, clogged with emotion. She couldn’t take his family heirloom.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

Eli raised his hand. “I’m not finished.” he said. “Besides I had the dress altered already.” he said breaking a little tension, but it was half won.

“On my home world, the chain is only worn by the highest nobles, which my parents were before they left for the simple life of the colony they helped build. ” He said staring off wondering how she was going to take it.

“Young ladies are given these chains as a symbol of them becoming woman, and in the case of a noble chain like this one, matriarchs. it would have gone to my sister when she was of age” he noted, and she could see his heart sink at the thought of her.

“I” He kept choking every time he tried to speak from that point forward like his brain broke on him

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

Vash very quickly put the box aside and slid over to and wrapped her arms around Eli. She held him, offering him comfort. She didn’t want to take the grief. That would take his love for them too. She just wanted to ease the paralysis. There was nothing she could say, she knew that now.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

As she took hold of him it comforted him, he pushed her back after a long moment but kept his hands on her shoulder. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, it would have gone to my first born had she lived.” sadness crossed his face for a moment, then cleared. “I have no wife, no blood heirs and never will” he paused and let his arms fall and looked into the distance.

“It’s a good thing that I got another daughter though” he finally said looking at her. “If she’ll have me”.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

Her face seemed to glitter with the number of golden tears that shed from her eyes. She threw herself into Eli’s arms, arms wrapped around his neck. When Vash first came to the Albatross she didn’t really know what love and family was. Sisnil, Eli, and Noril had taught her that. Eli understood her better than her father ever would. Better than he was capable of. Vash held onto him for a long time. Curled up like a small child against him. Finally she pulled back, blinking to clear her eyes. “Does this mean I can call you Dad?”

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

Eli was taken back by her reaction, somewhere inside he knew she would be ok with the idea, but on the surface he had not been. “If that makes you happy” he said, “But there is more, if you accept the necklace it means you are the matriarch of my clan, last matriarch you will hold the highest place of honor within and upon my passing, be head of the clan” he said there was more but he was not sure she would want to know. She would inherit everything his land, his money, his people upon his passing. They would challenge it given who she was and claimed he had been manipulated. He would have to find a way to certify it if she went forward, prove that she did not use her talents to obtain it. The next family in his clan was far removed from noble lines but they would press if they though Eli had been tricked. His ancestors had adopted a more clan like tribal society when the colonies were first formed.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

Vash looked at the necklace and back at him. “Are… are you sure you don’t have distant family that should do that? I don’t know anything about all if that. I mean,” she looked back at the dress and then Eli. “Yes I want to be your family, but…” she sighed. “Eli, I’m not free. I don’t want the Syndicate to take your family.”

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

Eli had thought about that, “Remind me why we have not bought your freedom yet?” he asked not wanting to let it go just yet. He could reduce the chain and and remove the heirlooms for now, Eli had wanted to by her freedom but she had not allowed him for some reason.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

“Because my father won’t accept any price. Now… now I fear his house is in danger. Maybe he would let me now.” Vash wished she could really be Eli’s daughter. How different she would be if she had.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

He thought about it for a long moment, his heart trying to find a way.

“maybe, we’ll find a way to free you” he noted. “Until then you can still be a woman instead of a girl, go try the dress on”.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic

Vash smiled. “It is just a matter of persuading him the right way. And a high enough price.”

She bit her lower lip and looked at the dress and back. She grinned suddenly and jumped up, grabbing the box and running into the bathroom.

The dress was exquisite. The fabric soft and divine. The pale color did amazing things with her skin color. The chains that passed for sleeves were delicate and light. The fabric.moved like it was made for her. The necklace, well she was a bit afraid to touch it. It was priceless.

She pressed the control for the door and stepped out into the main room. “Eli, it’s divine,” she whispered.

Vashkilu, Infiltrator

Eli whistled through his teeth as she stepped out. “Stunning” was all he managed. “He stood up reach in the box and took off the matriarch pennant and his family linage chains off the back, leaving only a few framework chains that would cross her back. Started with the choker wrapping the jewel encrusted silver chain around her neck gently. “I assumed the fabric would be wonderful for your Deltan side.” he noted as he pulled out the earring. “Though I’m afraid I may have ruined you, every fabric you put on after will feel like burlap in comparison.” he chuckled.

Fastening the earring to the chocker, he asked her to run her head all the way to the right. She would feel the earring just start to pull once the neck could turn no more.

“The tug at your throat, is to remind you that as a woman, listening is just as important as speaking, one without the other is pride, but together they will bring you wisdom.” he said to her more serious now.

He set the family piece aside in his drawer, inside was the other chain he had made for her all the family linage chains on the back were handmade 15 generations worth, adding her to the family lineage on her back, it would have to wait for now. As much as he loved her, his people had to be protected.

He then linked the arm sleeves. “These link to your voice and your hearing, because without wisdom there is no action that is good, may your actions always serve you, your family and your clan” he said linking each to the lower bracelet. “These bracelets remind you that your family is bound to you as you are too them” he said.

“The chain in the back would contain the unique chains of your family line, I will add those once we free you ” he added not mentioning her father, Eli no longer saw him as such. “I have made a chain that represents you to add as well.”

He pulled out the main necklace, the large stone no longer present. He laide the chain softly above her heart and turned her to look at him.

“Your heart must guide and drive all of these things. Wisdom requires strength,” he said grabbing her arms firmly. “Unity” he said grabbing her wrists. “Family” he said placing his hand on her back. “Ears to hear the needs of them all” he said. “A voice to guide them” he said placing his fingers on her throat.”

He placed forehead against hers and took in a deep breath placing his hand on her chest over frame that would hold the jewel on day. His eyes open they were so close he felt like he could see deep into her soul. His hand pressed hard into the frame, and a sharp edge on the underside pierced her skin. “And blood” he said “To save them all” he said.

He then kissed her forehead, “Stand firm, daughter of Elias Trenor, Son of Samual and Miriam. Keepers of the Fields and Stone, 9th house of the dawn.”
He stepped back, “You may not have the chains to prove it yet, but you are my daughter, and a noble woman” he finished eyes filled with liquid.

Elias “Eli” Trenor
Medic