The Rules

Posted on Wed Mar 16th, 2022 @ 9:08pm by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Remal Kajun

Mission: *CD*
Location: Bajor

The slight waves in the water woke Rhenora from her peace, cracking an eyelid open against the bright light to see Patin still naked bar a towel heading towards the changerooms.

“ Ahhh what’d I miss?” She enquired, although such behaviour wasn’t out of the ordinary for her old resistance friend. Nothing was ever black and white. Meanwhile a server came around with some steaming morsels on a plate “ The manager has offered these, as we have no guests the food will spoil. A small gesture of thanks”

The situation with Patin was one Remal felt he needed to deal with. Ignoring the food, which smelled divine compared to the breakfast they had eaten, Remal stood up, nodded to Rhenora and followed Patin out of the water. A quick search found her at a well lit bar area surrounded by small contained fires.

The waiter looked mostly bored but had poured a large glass of something that smelt very alcoholic and set it in front of Patin. It would be something that resembled rocket fuel, but was a concoction she had fancied over the years she had worked with the resort. The order was standard, and they knew it was better to just serve it than face the consequences.

“ Why’d you have to go stirring up the past?” Patin glowered into her drink as she regarded the liquid inside, cloudy as was her mood.

He saddled up and sat down next to her, pointed at her drink then at the bartender to indicate he wanted a round of whatever she was having. Moments later a drink, murky and dark, sat before him. He took it and downed it then called for another.

Moments of understanding, that's what was needed. Patin was a unique case for a counselor to crack as she held fast to her armor, thick like titanium hard like duranium. It was finding the chinks in the underlayment which would be most rewarding and with Patin, most dangerous.

"Technically, you mentioned the past." He spoke before downing a second shot and hoping she would notice. "We were talking about resting. I'd like to call it finding peace, and for what it's worth Rhen and I have been fighting an uphill battle for a long time now with little moments of sanity in the mix. Other than our years apart, which for me were far from restful, we tend to have to make the calm happen in the lull of the storm."

“ How do you deal with it? The ghosts of the past? Do you shut them out, drown them in liquor or pretend they aren’t there?” Patin’s tone was downcast, her eyes fixed on her drink. “So many years fighting for our lives, it’s hard to just leave it behind and move on to something else. At least you had something to move on to, I’m just an echo from 30 years ago”

"An echo who moves mountains." He clarified. "And I bury my demons, literally." He saw the dubious look on her face and grinned before continuing. "I take each of my demons and bury them about a finger length into the dirt where I can nurture them and watch them as they grow into something beautiful."

He shook his head, which was almost lost in the colors and scents of his garden. "But that method is not for everyone. And I suspect your demons will require a much…”

She interrupted and reacted by throwing her untouched drink in his face and yelling, “You know nothing of my demons!” She then stood and definitely got in his face. “You don’t know what I’ve seen, the horrors I’ve witnessed. While you were running around saving people and planting the idea of hope in their head, I was killing everyone,” She punched him in the arm. “And everything…” She punched him again. “I could!”

He stood slowly, and acknowledged internally that this would be healthy for her, a release of sorts. She took his posturing as a signal he was going to fight or hit back and so she stood, still naked from the towel up, her white skin bright in the sunlight. Behind her a spa worker was watching the unfolding spectacle. Stupidly he commented, “Patin, remember the rules.” It was the equivalent of telling an upset woman to calm down.

Something in her brain flipped as she stared at the worker. “I’ve already broken two of your stupid rules today, a third shouldn’t matter.” She picked up the glass and threw it in his direction.

Remal, wondering what rules she had broken, grabbed her arm in an effort to redirect her attention. “Hey, this fight is with me, remember. You were just about to tell me all of the things you’ve seen that have scarred you. Things I couldn’t possibly imagine, remember?”

The redirect worked.

TBC