round 15 PNPC Andressa Castyr - Abandonment

[Guest]

((City of Vrans, Lower East End, Trillus Prime))

::Andressa Castyr surveyed her disorderly and chaotic room, taking a final look to make sure she was not forgetting anything. Azmol, the largest of her three domestic feathercats sat sullenly on her ratty bed, covered as it was in threadbare sheets and the down and quill casings her animal companions shed relentlessly all over the apartments furniture. He refused to look her in the eye, as was his habit whenever he saw his owner packing suitcases, seemingly in the hopes of guilting her into staying home instead of whatever mission abroad took her from him on occasion. ::

::She smiled sadly at the beast while brushing strands of bright red hair out of her face and tucking them haphazardly behind her ear. Her pet, who she had rescued from a life on the streets of an impoverished lunar colony when he was just a kitten had become preoccupied with mindlessly licking a pillow, determined to ignore the presence of a mistress who was sure to abandon him imminently.::

::She addressed her large pet sweetly, drawing out her words plaintively. ::

Andressa Castyr: Azmol darling.... you know I am going to come back for you, I would not leave you alone with those idiots forever, I promise.

::As if on cue, her brother Jazren shouted indistinguishably in the other room. Jaxan, the other brother she lived with answered equally indistinguishably, but clearly also in attempt at matching his older brothers intimidation-factor (and almost certainly failing, Jaxan was a slight, pale and reedy-voiced slip of a boy, whose singular ambition in life seemed to be to become as tough as his idolized eldest sibling).Andressa closed her eyes and massaged the bridge of her nose, before continuing to survey the room. Azmol lost a bit of his resolve and allowed his large reflective blue eyes to dart up to Andressa, before dramatically sighing and rolling onto his side with what could only be described as defeat.::

:Andressa abandoned her packing and pounced on the animal, aggressively rubbing his tummy and cooing at him ::

Andressa Castyr: Oh my POOR Azmol, how do you put up with how hard your life is....

::In spite of his attitude, he began purring quietly, as if against his will. Their moment of bonding was cut short as the muffled shouting began to take on a slightly more dangerous tone, and was now joined by the sharp bark-like sounds the other two feather-cats made whenever excitement was under way. She sat up, blowing the recently freed strands of hair out of her face huffily. ::

Andressa Castyr: Seriously dude, I am sorry for leaving you with those idiots, even if its not forever.

::She stormed angrily out of her bedroom to intercept whatever nonsense-scene was unfolding in their kitchen. It was difficult to figure out what had began it, but now her brothers were wrestling on the floor. The other two feathercats were also play fighting in solidarity, growling and barking (although their claws were still retracted, which was a reassuring sign that intervention was not required). One of her medicinal plants had been knocked over and dirt had been sprayed across the kitchen and into their living room, and for whatever reason, there was also bits of red hair pretty much everywhere. ::

::The boys paused in their scuffle, going suddenly still and quiet upon observing her entrance. The other feathercats took slightly longer to recognize that fighting time was for the moment over, but eventually got there, and also ceased their melee, sitting prettily to show off their obedience, their tongues ridiculously hanging out of their mouths. ::

::Andressa waited a beat before saying anything, drawing out the awkward absurdity of the scene. ::

Andressa Castyr: What.

::It was not delivered like a question, but she clearly expected a response. The two brothers looked frigthened and embarrassed for a moment, before they both started trying to explain themselves in concert. Jazren, the eldest (and toughest) who had been clearly in a position to win the scuffle, being positioned on top of their tangled pile of limbs was angry and accusing. He looked so much like their deceased eldest brother Jeheran, pale skin, green eyes and long red hair, although he was a great deal larger in build, having spent considerably more time alternately in gyms and prison. Jaxan, who was younger than both Jazren and Andressa had gone to great length to appear different than the rest of his large family, dying his long hair black, wearing thick black makeup around his eyes, and having cosmetically altered his eye colour from their natural Castyr green to an unnatural-looking bright red. Although she equally could not make out his words to those of his older brother, his tone indicated a plaintive and imploring nature to them. ::

::Baz and Gurr, the two other feather cats said nothing, but were clearly quite excited to be included in the proceedings. ::

Andressa Castyr: ENOUGH. I don't care, I am leaving in half an hour and I want to trust that you will be okay without a grownup supervising you.

::They stopped talking, and separated, sitting on opposite sides of the kitchen floor. ::

Jaxan Castyr: I don't think it is too much to ask to not shave in the kitchen sink. Its disgusting.

Jazren Castyr (accusingly): Well somehow the bathroom sink has become clogged with some disgusting black sludge, I can't imagine how.

Andressa Castyr: HEY! WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOUT NOT CARING?

::Azmol lazily ambled into the room. He was the clear alpha of their apartments pack, and the other two feathercats laid on their stomachs submissively assuring that their heads were not higher than their adored leader. ::

::Andressa had stopped yelling, and was again massaging the bridge of her nose. ::

Andressa Castyr: I need you guys to get it together, I have to get all the way to Deep Space Six, and then to J'naii, I might be gone for weeks, and mom does not need any added stress right now.

::Their mother Aelya was currently battling a deep depression, her second husband and their step father Fraz had been arrested at a demonstration in Leran Manev outside the presidential candidates debate at the Trill Senate Tower. He had been denied bail while awaiting his trial, and was currently enjoying the hospitality of their State, in the minimum security holding complex Erix Molaz. ::

::Jazren, the eldest (well, he was the eldest now, ever since they had lost Jeheran) tried to help, assuming a calm, soothing tone of voice. ::

Jazren Castyr: We are gonna be fine... this is routine at this point right? I mean you were doing work in the J'naii system three months ago and the apartment is still standing.

::Andressa's frustration got the better of her, and she blurted out without thinking ::

Andressa Castyr: Yeah but I have been trying with no luck for a week now to reach Avar....

::She stopped herself but it was too late. The boys both sat up straight, incredulity plain on their faces. Baz and Gurr also sat up at attention, aware that something emotional was occurring, although likely missing the needed context to make sense of it. Azmol had a solid 7 years on the kittens and had learned to stop minding emotional occurrences, and remained lazily reclined. ::

::Andressa's brothers mouths gaped open, shock plain on their face as she had just inadvertently given away that she was planning an action with the assistance of their well known and incredibly shunned former associate, Avaris Torrin. ::

Jaxan Castyr: ... Who have you been trying to reach Andressa?

Jazren Castyr: You can't be serious!

::They both began yelling again, but this time the accusations were being hurled at her. ::

Andressa Castyr: ENOUGH. Yes fine, you are right, its Avaris

::They protested loudly and vehemently, it was enough that Gurr and Baz joined in, howling in the pathetic, comedic way that centuries of inbreeding had rendered the once majestic and threatening calls of their wild ancestors. ::

Andressa Castyr: I know! I know its messed up, but the captain of the ship he is on is a part of the underground apparently, and even if we don't like the guy, he clearly has some connections that could help us.

Jaxan Castyr: Or his connections could get us all hanging out with Fraz in Erix Molaz.

Jazren Castyr: How can you trust him?

::Andressa was quiet, her tendency to burst out emotionally was subject to the very reasonable and accurate accusations and questions being directed her way. She seemed to be thinking carefully as she answered her brothers ::

Andressa Castyr: You both know I don't like the guy any more than you do. After he ran off with that HUMAN, that STARFLEET human at that, we all cut him off, and I think reasonably so. But this isn't about me and it isn't about Avaris bloody Torrin. This is about a J'naii non-conformist who is in danger. I think its worth burying the hatchet to help nem, even if it means helping the turncloak in the process.

Jazren Castyr: Well don't bury it too deep sister, you might find yourself needing a hatchet before you are done with that fence-jumping slime-mold.

Jaxan Castyr (hesitantly) : ... are you going to be okay with this anyways? I feel like its gonna be really hard seeing him again... I know how close you two were, I dont know if I could do it...

::Andressa looked seriously at both of them. ::

Andressa Castyr: I'll be fine. Eyes on the prize right? If I can't put aside my feelings to help this poor kid out, than what kind of Unjoined Majority operative would I be? I might as well cut off all my hair and get a barista job serving hot vanilla milk to the senators in Leran Manev.

::They didnt answer, but were still and pensive. ::

Andressa Castyr: Now. Can I please get your word you wont tear each-other or my apartment to pieces in the next month? I don't know how long this is going to take and I want to be confident you can handle yourselves in my absence.

::They both huffed and grunted in a general agreement. ::

Andressa Castyr: Good. Nyxa will drop by occasionally to help with the cats, she has the entry code so don't walk around naked either.

::They both laughed uncomfortably, still clearly upset about what they had learned, but unwilling to pursue it any further. Andressa turned around to go back to her bedroom and finish packing her things, on her way to the room she called back behind her ::

Andressa Castyr: And clean up that makla plant before Gurr eats it, I don't have time to go to the vet today.

::She didn't wait for confirmation that her orders were heard and obeyed before going back into her room and picking up a few final things. She rolled the name of Avaris ship around in her mind as she gathered ear-rings, scarves, first aid supplies and PADDs full of reading she would catch up on during her long trip. "The Darwin". Clearly named after some human or other, the name had that unsettling quality of sounding like it should be a word in Federation Standard, and yet had no meaning. It was easy to think of the humans language as being a universal one without any history or meaning aside from its utility given its prevalent usage across thousands of worlds and cultures with their own native and more natural sounding languages, it was interesting to remember that it had grown from a native tongue centuries ago, and that there were names that clearly came from the same etymological history. ::

:: She looked to a picture she kept on her night stand, a picture of their deceased eldest brother, who had once been Avaris Torrins lover, back when Avaris Torrin was considered to be basically a part of their family. She had adored Jeheran, and she had adored his boyfriend just as much. She had dreamed of their wedding, of being her brothers prime attendant at the ceremony, of how they would grow old together, maybe adopt nieces and nephews that she could spoil and fawn over. Jeheran had held their family together, was the broker of peace between the other more explosively-tempered members of their large family. He was also fearless and galvanizing, and had lead the charge in so many actions and protests and demonstrations and missions, that even their mother, a long-standing and established leader within the Unjoined Majority had looked up to his courage and commitment to their causes. And then he had been taken from them, before he had even seen his 21st birthday, and the void he had left in their lives could never really be healed. ::

::And before his body was cold, Avaris had run off, not just with anyone, but a Human soldier. She could not believe she was willing to speak to him let alone work with him again, and not for the first time, she questioned whether she could in fact ever see him again without falling apart completely. ::

oO You must Andressa. This is important. Oo

::She picked up the picture of Jeheran. It had originally been a picture of the three of them, of her with the two tall men on either side, their arms lovingly wrapped around her shoulders, a family. She had cropped the right-most third (and therefore Avaris) out of the picture, but you could still see his hand around her if you looked for it. ::

oO I think I need you brother. You are coming with me this time. Oo

::She placed the picture in the smaller of her bags, and felt a little better about facing ghosts of the past, knowing that in some way, Jeheran was going to be there too. ::

PNPC Andressa Castyr

Civilian

Unjoined Majority Operative

as simmed by

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Avaris Edral Torrin

Civilian

USS Darwin A