Round 1 Blackwood & S'Acul: What A Tail Can Do

[Alexander Matthews]

((Observation Lounge))

:: It had been a stressful day, starting with the failed effort at prising samples out of the cat-person, the incident in the hazardous mats lab and subsequent investigation, the new mission briefing and finally the meeting with Dickens. Evanna thought the day could hardly be considered the most successful one. Her shift was about up and she decided to seek refuge in the peaceful observation lounge to plan the drills she was going to have to do with some of the scientists. She’d made her way quickly through the bridge and down to the lounge and was now sitting down with a number of PADDs and some camomile tea. ::

::The Caitian helm officer had only spent about fifteen minutes alone in his quarters before feeling antsy. He tried looking out the window, but his viewport was filled with the enormous dock. He was finding it difficult to focus on the Aurora’s old logs regarding the anomaly, and harder still to focus on assignments for the first day of official helm duty. But, considering he had spent so much time getting to know the ship, he knew the perfect place to go to have a delightfully relaxing view of the stars outside.::

::After downloading the remainder of the logs to a PADD, as well as his so far empty schedule roster, he replicated one more cup of raktajino - he’d really had far too many today, but it was helping him to stay focused anyway - and headed down to the observation lounge only to find it was already occupied. His ears raised slightly as he smiled, crossing towards the pile of PADDs that were hiding the red-headed officer.::

::Resting a paw on the back of the couch she was sitting on, near the far end from where she was sitting, he cleared his throat, his tail flicking slightly behind him.::

S’Acul: Hello, Evanna. Do you mind if I join you?

:: Evanna looked up and smiled slightly. Apparently her instruments of doom hadn’t scared him off, either that or he was crazy desperate for some company. ::

Evanna: ::Gesturing for him to sit down.:: Carry on.

::S’Acul returned her smile, moving around the arm of the couch and setting his raktajino on the table in front of him - but not daring to set his PADD down, lest it become the needle in the haystack that was her own work. He turned slightly towards her, crossing one leg underneath his knee and sitting sideways on the couch, the other foot resting comfortably on the floor. He set the PADD down on his knee and leaned one elbow on the back of the couch, resting his chin against the back of his paw.::

S’Acul: Lookssss like you have a lot of work, hmm?

:: Blackwood looked at her scattered mountain of PADDs and sighed before leaning over to stack them all neatly into a tower. One slipped from her grip and clattered to the floor so she had to bend right over to fetch it back. After checking she hadn’t changed the document she was viewing or entered any incorrect data she added it to the top of the tower. ::

Blackwood: I sure do mate, i’m runnin’ behind a little thanks to a few unexpected hurdles. They don’t mention the acrobatics skill you need to handle this when they throw it at you. What are you working on?

::He covered his mouth with his paw to hold back a chuckle when she dropped the PADD, furry brows raising in amusement. As she sat back up, he tilted his head to the side, looking at her almost sideways.::

S’Acul: Rrrreading up on the last logs of this anomaly, and working on the helm sssssschedule for tomorrow. I have ssseveral officers to juggle and each has a different set of rrrrequests for duty shifts, plussss I have to work mysssself in there at some point. ::smiling:: Don’t feel bad that I only have one PADD - I ssspent most of shore leave working on this ssstuff, since I didn’t rrrrreally need leave like the rest of you did.

::His tail flicked to the side to curl around the handle of the mug and lift it toward his face, and he took a long sip of raktajino. He turned the PADD on his knee and flicked the screen on, sighing a little and tapping a few keys.::

S’Acul: I am jusssst not quite used to being in charge of something yet. What are you worrrrking on?

:: Blackwood stared at the cat-person in amazement. She hadn’t seen him use his tail like an extra arm before. It was fascinating and she had to restrain the urge to reach over and start analysing the muscle structure of the tail which had so much strength and control. Instead she picked up a PADD and allowed her wandering fingers to walk over that instead. Suddenly she realised she was staring and wound her eyeballs back into her skull, covering it up with a winning smile. oOGood save.Oo Or so she thought.::

Blackwood: Ehhm... ::Shrugging:: Just some training simulations for the department. I’ve taken care of the most pressing jobs so i’m not behind by any means. oOThe pile just never gets any smaller.Oo

::If it had been anyone else, they might not have noticed her staring - but S’Acul’s vision was better than most, and he caught her staring out of the corner of his eye. He grinned toothily, which could have been scary at first considering his fangs were showing - but the way his cheeks turned upward and his ears raised, it was very much a smile.::

S’Acul: That’s good, this would be a bad time to be behind.

::His tail lifted the mug to his lips one more time before handing it off to his free paw, the other one still propping his head up from the back of the couch. His eyes sparkled with amusement as his tail disappeared behind him, winding around the rear of the couch and poking up just behind Blackwood. He was sitting just close enough for this to work, considering the length of his tail. The little tuft tapped her shoulder before disappearing quickly behind the couch.::

:: Blackwood wasn’t the best conversationalist and it hadn’t been the best day. Feeling the conversation peter out she turned back to her work. Barely a minute later she felt something on her shoulder and looked round expecting to see some wise guy behind her. She raised a curious eyebrow, which looked odd against her otherwise miserable face and looked about for the unlucky fool who was asking for a fist to the face. She looked this way and that but there was no one there. She ran a free hand over the shoulder, brushing it off and turned her attention back to her PADD. ::

::Hiding his grinning face behind his raktajino, S’Acul lifted the PADD from his knee and pretended to work on it as his tail moved to tap against her other shoulder before disappearing once again behind the couch. He kept his eyes glued to the PADD, and with both of his paws full he hoped she wouldn’t put it together. He saw her glance at him, and he turned his head to offer an innocent smile.::

:: Blackwood had barely clapped her eyes back on her work when the other shoulder was tapped. Her head whirled round so fast it nearly went into spasm, still she saw no one. She face crunched up in disgust and she turned right round to see if someone was crouched behind the sofa but the place was definitely empty. It was just her and S’Acul and he was busy with his work. oOIt’s a new ship it cannae be haunted. Cut that thought out right there. Ye dinnae wannae be thinkin’ o no ghosts.Oo She shuddered at the creepy thought. Paranormal subjects were best left ignored in her opinion and the less said or thought about it the better. ::

::An evil little grin flitted across his face as he saw the look of confusion on her face, saw her look behind the couch, his tail retreating quickly out of view. He thought he had played with her enough, though, and his tail snaked around one last time. It tapped her on the shoulder one more time, retreating just enough to miss the grab she was likely to make, then moved and tickled underneath her chin.::

:: Blackwood was trying to get back to concentrating on work and had a thunderous look on her face when there it was again. She slapped the PADD down on her leg, the noise whapped loudly in the silent room and her other hand snatched at air. Then came the tickle under the chin and she knew what had happened. She cracked a big grin and burst out laughing. ::

Blackwood: ::Shaking her head:: Nicely done!

::He flashed that same toothy grin and shrugged a little, a purr of amusement rumbling audibly as his tail tickled under her chin one last time before retreating to his side of the couch.::

S’Acul: Thank you - mosssst people forrrget about the tail when I don’t use it regularly. And you looked like you could use a little cheering up.

Blackwood: ::Still giggling and grinning:: Heh, yeah I really did. Thank you!

:: Blackwood looked at the fascinating new officer and found that she really liked him and enjoyed his company. It looked like he was going to be a lot of fun. She was surprised because she’d automatically assumed she wouldn’t get on with him but really delighted that she did. ::

::S’Acul smiled warmly, green eyes sparkling with amusement and delight that he had helped cheer her up. She had such a lovely smile, and he found he enjoyed seeing it. An awkward silence came over them as they looked at each other, and if he hadn’t had fur covering his face he would probably have been blushing. He stood after a moment, picking up his PADD and mug in both paws, and started to head for the exit - but not before pausing and turning to look at her again.::

S’Acul: If you ever need anyone to talk to, Evanna, or if you ever need anything. You let me know.

::He stepped through the double doors leading out to the corridor before she could respond, his tail waving goodbye to her as he disappeared from view. He blinked as he walked back towards his quarters, still quite unsure about what had just happened. It wasn’t until he had stepped back into his room that he noticed his PADD was still empty. He swore, then laughed and moved to sit at his desk, suddenly able to focus a little better.::

*****

Ensign S’Acul Aveunalliv

HCO

USS Avandar

&

Lt JG Blackwood

ACSO

USS Avandar