Helping can sometimes be a swift kick in the chest
Posted on Sat Mar 19th, 2022 @ 3:49pm by Remal Kajun & Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Mission:
*CD*
Location: Bajor
Timeline: Current-ish
Meanwhile, Rhenora floated in the hot mineral pool, allowing them the privacy for a conversation that didn't end up as a three-way split. Remal seemed intent on decrypting the enigma that was Patin and silently wished him luck. It would be something they would have to come to terms with if they were going to work together as a team.
She knew the intricacies of her husband, what made him tick, what pissed him off, and when to just let it go. Patin had changed in the past 30 years, whether she wanted to admit it or not. Remal would get under her skin, peel back the layers of her psyche like the layers of an onion. He would find what made her tick and what ticked her off, usually in the opposite order.
For now whilst they worked out what made each other who they were, Rhenora was content floating in the mineral pool, resting her mind, resting her soul and taking solace in the few rare moments of calm. Was it the calm before the storm? The moment in time where the universe tended to pause before whispering a silent 'cop this' and unleashing all forms of hell upon them. Or was this the eye of the storm, when one has been battered and broken for some time, then all breath for a moment before enduring the second phase of torment?
The thought of a ticking time bomb played in her mind. The fuse was lit, she had seen the explosion, whatever happened in between was now. If what the Prophets had shown her was true, her death was but a few short months away. How did one wrap their mind around the prospect they may cease to be through no fault of their own? It was a situation faced by many every day as they learnt of incurable diseases and the like. The clock was ticking, relentlessly closer with every passing moment. Tormenting with its innocence yet maddening with its insistence, yet unstoppable.
It made rest difficult, yet exhaustion worked in nobody's favor. It clouded judgment, blurred perspective and dulled the mind and body. Rest was vital to keep at the top of the game, ahead of the wave not falling off the back of it. So for now, there would be rest.
Patin turned her aggression to the large framed man before her, years of pent-up emotion, anger, frustration and hatred erupting in a flurry of limbs as her aging body fought with her mind to fight as she had in the resistance. Fight as though her life depended on it.
Tough old codger that he was, he just stood there and took her punches. At first, they weren't hard as she was not really trying to hurt him so much as get out of herself, her own demons. With each punch, landing on his arms or chest, she grunted and would cry out a pain that haunted her from her past.
Some of it was minor, the fuse from a bomb she set was one minute too short, or the time her gun jammed causing her to take a blunt shot to the leg, and so on. In his mind Remal felt she needed to be hugged, but only after she had had her release. But that was before things got real.
The tears in her frustrated eyes told a thousand stories when suddenly she reared back, eyes wide, and released a kick towards Remals' groin, which he barely managed to block. He eyed her knowing that was a bit closer to home than he would have liked, but she had more. "What was that one for?" He asked cautiously.
She wiped away the tears and snot that were filling her upper lip and in a low growl answered, "that was for every man who has ever laid a finger on me. Time and time again they tried to use my body as their personal plaything. I. Belong. To no man!" She finished with a yell and then she jumped feet first into Remal.
It was quick, too sudden a movement to block as he took two feet square in the chest. He was knocked backward, through a bamboo fence, but worse the wind was knocked out and he was gasping to breathe. She had fallen to the wood deck, laughing and crying at the same time. It was a maniacal release. He on the other hand was kneeling on the deck, a pool of water at his back, struggling to breathe. There was but one last thing to do.
He egged her on. "Is that the biggest demon you're fighting? Tell me Patin! Is that the best you've got?" Still clutching his chest, he rose to his feet. "Because I'm not through yet and I think, neither are you."
Her laughing was suddenly silenced. The glare on her face, downright evil. Looking out from under her wet fluff of badly cut hair and through clenched jawed teeth, she responded with, "no. You want to know my biggest demon? You want to know the pain that haunts me day in and day out, that scars my very soul?" She clenched her fists signaling to Remal she was about to attack again.
The distance between them was a good ten feet. As she spoke she slowly crossed that gap until she finished speaking an inch from his face. "It took only one violation, just one, before I chose to burn, rip, the uterus from my body. I made a choice that I would never allow a spoon head to impregnate me without my consent. My demon is that I will never know what it's like to have a man like you give me a child like Nozzies. I will never be someone's mother."
It wasn't the reaction he was expecting. Nor was it the first time he had heard of such a thing, but this hit closer to home than most. This was his wife's friend, and his friend as well. Her eyes pierced his soul, softening his defensive posture. There were no words, for he knew saying I'm sorry or I didn't know were of little comfort. Then she relaxed her stance as well. There were tears streaming down her cheeks and dripping from her chin.
She then grinned, "But now that you know, I suppose I'll have to kill you." She let out a blood-curdling yell and raised both hands above her head as if to strike.
Reacting, Remals' eyes were large, but he grabbed her at her waist, twisted, and tossed her into the pool, despite the sign indicating no diving. He waited for her emergence from the water to indicate the outcome of his actions. Would it be enough to temper a battered and broken Patin, the one with a will made of iron?
After a solid minute, she emerged dramatically, her hair soaking wet again, her breasts flopping about like flounders. There was a battle cry and then, laughter, lots and lots of laughter. It was enough to disturb Rhenora who had somehow found peace in a neighboring pool. Patin slowly exited the pool carrying a soaking wet towel over her shoulder.
Remal picked a dry one up and offered it to her without comment. She pat dried her hair, wrapped it around her waist, then picked up a fruit cocktail someone had left sit. She downed it then looked at Remal and commented, "I expect a rematch luv."
He gave a half-smile, "count on it." He said as she turned and walked off towards the locker room, while he was left holding his bruises.
TBC
