​​​​​​​Lt. Commander Caedan Nkai - A Cheesecake and Her Muffin Are Not Easily Parted

[Doz Finch]

The subtelty of the writing, Nkai's inner thoughts, the brushing of Cheesecake's wet nose against his hand 🐕 just a lovely read! @Quinn Reynolds

Lt. Commander Caedan Nkai - A Cheesecake and Her Muffin Are Not Easily Parted

 

 

Quote

 

((Cyrithra Forest, Palanon))

 

Chatting with Alieth as he laid out the muffins in the space the Gorkon’s ravenous hordes had left behind, Caedan glanced around the campsite. So many minds, each experiencing the universe in their own unique way, imperfectly perfect brushstrokes on the Artist’s canvas.

 

There was the Admiral and her husband—a curious combination of personalities that somehow worked for them—along with Jo, their moods all fragrant blossoms with a playful tang of summer berries. Over there were Tagren-Quinn and Tahna, a melancholy note of burnt sugar playing through the El Aurian man underneath the light citrus of their laughter. Close by, Stoyer, Sevo and Pira spoke in tones of mellow tropical fruits, a relationship flowering in the balmy rays of the sun. And tucked over there was the effervescent Finch, head full of sherbet, talking with L’Rann and M’Rish. 

 

All the joy and warmth shared between colleagues, friends, and family was why the acrid, burnt plastic stench of spite rolling through T’Lar’s mind stood out so much. He didn’t know the reason behind the woman’s acrimony, or why she directed it toward Alieth, but the sickly sweet relish which accompanied her animosity made his neck and shoulders tense in discomfort. 

 

Nkai: I did a tea and brandy tour of Vulcan a while back. ::He looked back toward Alieth, the last muffin in his hand, a faint smile clinging at the corner of his mouth.:: Visited the tea fields and the vineyards. It was spectacular. 

 

Alieth: ::With a little nod,:: The hydroponic complexes are a genuine engineering feat. Did you have a chance to visit Hirat-kur Shi'masu¹? One of the traditional tea-fields, just outside the western wadis.

 

Nkai: I... think we did? 

 

He scrunched his nose up in thought, but the sudden shift of T’Lar’s thoughts from an acetous bite to molten cherry chocolate was almost overwhelming. He glanced in her direction, just as she looked away from him and retreated. Inducing such ecstasy was a pizza, of all things. Mek would be... What would Mek be?

 

Delighted? Amused? Vindicated? The old, portly Klingon would be somewhere on that spectrum to know someone enjoyed his cooking that much. And no doubt tease Caedan that it was Mek's pizza, and not the Rodulan's Ktarian chocolate puff that had elicited such a response. The thought briefly made him chuckle, and rubbing his forehead, he tried to concentrate on the conversation he was in. 

 

Nkai: I remember a little tea farm with rock walls and a lake they used to water the fields. 

 

Alieth: It is a little hidden secret that hardly anyone who is not really interested in tea is aware of. My father used to work there when I was an infant, so I visited it often.

 

From under the steel trap of Vulcan logic, the taste of petrichor and parchment seeped out of Alieth’s mind. Nostalgia and sadness; a combination he sensed every once in a while from Valesha, when she thought about a home she couldn’t go back to. Was it the same for Alieth? It wasn’t always physical barriers which kept one from home; he of all people knew that.

 

Nkai: That was probably it, then. ::He chuckled.:: Solan got very excited about going there. Said it was a hidden gem.

 

Alieth: How long ago did you visit Chi-Ree then?

 

Nkai: It must have been... ::He trailed off, performing the peculiar mental arithmetic which came from losing so much time to a Q’s pocket universe. To him, it was a mere handful of years. To the rest of the universe...:: Thirty-five years ago, now?

 

Alieth: Response

 

Heat flushed across his skin, rippling across his stomach and chest in an unwanted, intrusive sensation. He rolled his shoulders at the feeling of eyes on the back of his neck and turned to see T’Lar looking toward him once again. He shot her a quick, uncertain smile, and turned back to Alieth. A nudge of a wet nose against his hand reminded him of an unfulfilled promise, and he unwrapped the muffin from its case, offering it to Cheesecake.

 

Nkai: You’ll have to tell me the story of how you two found each other. ::He shot Alieth a small smile.:: I've not known any Vulcans to keep a dog before. 

 

Alieth: Response

 

Caedan gently ran his fingers through the fur atop Cheesecake’s head, brushing down the back of the dog’s neck. He wasn’t usually an animal person—a mind as primal as that was too much for many telepaths—but in that moment he found it soothing to fuss over her. The hound certainly seemed to be in her element, and he thought it might be nice for her to take full advantage of being outdoors while she had it.

 

Nkai: You want to take a walk? ::He nodded toward the forest.:: I could use a bit of fresh air, and it’s lovely at this time of night.

 

Alieth: Response

 

¹ Vulcan: Crimson Oasis

 

--

Lt. Commander Caedan Nkai

Mission Specialist

USS Gorkon

 

simmed by

 

Vice Admiral Quinn Reynolds

Commanding Officer

USS Gorkon

T238401QR0

 

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Doz Finch
Fixing spelling!

[Nolen Hobart]

I absolutely love seeing other people writing emotions as tastes and fragrances to reader characters. Splendid work!

[Piweh]

I'm a simple man, I see Cheesecake, I click Appreciations post.