Carpathia IV: Episode 149 - Hairbrush and Tea
Amenaru's Quarters, NCCS Shadowdancer
Amenaru had just finished his shower and sat on the end of the bed with just a towel wrapped around his middle. Kit, kneeling on the bed behind him, did his best to run a brush through Amenaru's hair. It was a struggle. To call his hair unruly and unmanageable would be as much of an understatement as describing the Shadowdancer as slightly odd. No matter which way Kit brushed, Amenaru's hair only wanted do its own thing, a culture in which each strand was a wholly special, exceptional individual and that telling any of them what to do was a direct assault on their almighty creative expression. This didn't even take into account the tangles and knots, which were too much for even Kit's extensive martial arts training to overcome.
Amenaru: Now do you believe me?
Kit: This is impossible. How do you manage?
Amenaru: All I can do is just keep the tangles out as best I can. There's nothing I can do about styling short of dousing my head in a gallon of hair grease.
Kit kept on with the brushing, surprised that Amenaru didn't seem to be at all bothered by the harsh pulls through his hair.
Kit: I heard you got in trouble again.
Amenaru: Yeah, I did. I got so excited when I realized I could transform into everyday objects, I cooked up an idea before thinking it through. Honestly, I was lucky that Minnie just dropped me. She could have easily winged me right into an open plasma conduit.
Kit: Next time you get a bright idea, run it by me first.
Amenaru nodded, kind of, for it was a difficult feat while Kit was yanking at his hair.
Amenaru: Yes, I should. I also wish I had someone like you around back when I was sixteen. I could have avoided a lot of crap in my life.
Kit: What happened then?
Amenaru: Oh, you know that story. The awful band that I was in and the drugs I got into. The weird thing is that, outside of tobacco, I'd never had any interest in hard drugs, but that day, when the bass player offered me some niptro, I didn't even hesitate. I still remember exactly what I said. "Gimme that!" and snorted it all up right away. If you thought the catnip was bad, this was a turbocharged version of that and very addictive.
Kit: And that's what caused your heart problem?
Amenaru: That, and all the others. I tried just about everything and I overdosed four times before I finally went to rehab and quit all of it. Well, almost all of it. Quitting cigarettes was the hardest. I smoked for ten years and only finally managed to quit not long before I met you.
By now, Kit had stopped brushing Amenaru's hair, even forgetting the hairbrush was in his hand.
Kit: I don't remember much from after your mother gave me catnip, but I do remember that you didn't seem pleased.
Amenaru: I was horrified! That's why I got on with the Tokkastran Poison Control Center. I'm glad Meri was there to give Mom a piece of her mind, because I was too busy to do it.
Kit leaned in, pressing himself up against Amenaru's back, and hugged him tightly.
Kit: We look after each other.
Amenaru: Yeah, we do. Speaking of, today is my heart medicine day. I have to stop by sick bay before my duty shift.
Kit scooted across the bed to a large chest that Amenaru kept on the end of the bed.
Kit: Let's get you dressed and go together. Which underwear today?
Amenaru: Oh, I'll have to give that some thought!
Mikado's and Darius's Quarters
Darius regretted many times that he called "dibs" on the bunk that didn't have an awkward conduit running right next to it. There was another conduit, one he could not see, running just under his bed and whatever ran through it caused a highly irritating vibration that not only spread throughout his mattress, but rattled his belongings in the drawers underneath. Wrapping his belongings in old pajamas and t-shirts helped, but he never quite cut the noise entirely. At least once a week, and he never knew which day it would be, he was ensured a restless night.
While he was tossing and turning, he heard the doors to the quarters slide open and closed. With his bunk shutter closed, he could only listen for presumably Mikado entering. Through the din of the vibrations and the rattling of the drawers, he could hear Mikado shuffling around, opening and closing his closet, and trying to be quiet, but there's only so much one can do. Darius also knew that Mikado slept naked and, indeed, he was sometimes naked in the quarters even when he wasn't sleeping. On more than a few occasions, Darius walked in on Mikado in the buff, which never seemed to bother him that much, though it did fluster Darius a fair bit.
After some time, Darius heard the shutter around Mikado's bed close and it was time for him to go back to attempting to sleep. Soon after, however, he heard a completely different noise.
Mikado: Mmm... Mmm... Mmm...
Darius's eyes popped open and his ears stood erect on top of his head. These were unquestionably not the noises of someone enjoying a late-night sandwich before bed. In the past, Darius suspected what Mikado was doing in his bed with the shutter closed, but this was the first time he could hear it. Now, the vibration in Darius's bed caused an entirely new problem, one that was certain to prolong his sleep deprivation more than rattling contents in a drawer could ever achieve. Absent conscious effort, his paws gradually found their way into his boxers.
Nalma's Quarters
A get-together of two cousins, the first in a long while, despite both Nalma and Reylen being on the same ship.
Nalma: How are things with the doctor?
Reylen's face split into a wide smile and his ears turned red.
Reylen: Hee hee. Well, you know. To be honest, she was a little scary at first, but that was fun too. I think we're getting used to each other. You know, I've been brushing up on Carpathian culture and not a very typical, is she?
Nalma: Yes and no, I guess. Not your stereotypical human, but as humans vary greatly in their interests and personalities, she's a bit on the edge of normal, but still normal. Of course, on this ship, it's hard to tell what's normal, isn't it?
Reylen: Truthfully, I wouldn't know. I think it would be all new to me no matter what ship I was on.
Nalma: To be fair, we are the horniest species in the universe. To them, we're the weird ones.
Reylen: Good point, but Sorchae can hold her own well enough.
Nalma: How are you finding the Carpathians in general?
Reylen: They're all very nice! Very welcoming. But, there's something I've been wondering...
Reylen reached up and rubbed the tip of his ear while Nalma sipped his tea, awaiting whatever came next.
Reylen: Tokkastra and Carpathia are allies, right? I would even say friends. I mean, sure, there's a lot of bullshit posturing between governments and both of us have our ugly elements, but for the most part, we are friends. Why can't we just share all our technology with each other?
Nalma gave a slow nod as he furrowed his brow.
Nalma: That's definitely a complicated question. Sure, there's the government position, but I'll just put it in terms that I have observed. Carpathians are nice, but frankly, they're kind of crazy. One might call them naive, and I suppose that's true to an extent, but they're mostly nuts. Hey, look at that insanely dangerous-looking thing over there! Let's go scan it! I swear, if we gave them two of our microfold drives, they'd find some way to hotwire them together, stick them to one of their moons, and try to make it go faster.
Reylen: Hee hee. Okay, that's kind of funny to think about.
Nalma: I'm only half joking, honestly. I wouldn't expect them to do it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Absolute looney bins, they are, but I guess you'd have to include me in that. Can't lie. I am enjoying the ride.
Reylen: You think they're like this because they're such a mix of species?
Nalma: Maybe. It might also be why they don't have such a large, well-funded extremist right-wing that we have. Sure, the Saveas are down, but someone else will take their place eventually and I'm sure Carpathia would prefer not to allow those sorts to have access to their superior weapons technology.
Reylen: Another good point.
Suddenly, it was Nalma's turn to be deep in thought and he rubbed the base of his own ear, taking a sip of tea at the same time.
Nalma: Funny thing... I think Captain Valro just might be the oddest one on the ship. Don't tell him I said that, of course.
Reylen: I won't. And, how so?
Nalma: I was just talking about how Carpathians are kind of crazy, and, frankly, the elves are the maddest of the lot. Ramewet has only been part of Carpathia for a little over 15 years and elves are already close to outnumbering humans in the Exploration Force. They're just wired for a madcap adventure. Captain Valro, on the other hand, is almost demon-like in his personality. To use an example, before we set out to rescue Kit, Commander Joust had to push me into the ready room to goad Captain Valro into going. I mean, I know he would have come around on his own, eventually, but any other elf would have considered the situation for maybe a minute at most. Honestly, a demon would have made up their mind easily too, but for different reasons. In the end, the idea of having an adventure wasn't even a consideration for him. It was saving Kit and only saving Kit.
Reylen: That's not a bad thing at all, is it?
Nalma: Not at all, and elves have the capacity for compassion as much as anyone else. It's just that the adventure was never even a thought.
Reylen: That makes me think that the most of the elves of the Vashta are not happy about their situation at all.
Nalma: I would agree with that. Also, Captain Valro certainly does have some of the typical elvish streak in him. He is out here after all, but there's something in him holding him back.
Reylen: You said elves are the maddest of the lot. I'd have thought that would be bats.
Nalma took another sip of tea, once again deep in thought.
Nalma: Bats are a little tricky to pin down and I haven't met many. They certainly don't go charging into situations without care and consideration. In fact, I think they do that more than most, but they're really good at making it seem like they don't have a plan. They have a very complex set of rules that they live by, ones that we could never hope to fathom. I think they spend a lot of time planning for contingencies for problems that don't even exist yet.
Reylen: All this is more complicated than I thought.
Nalma: If you want complicated, try humans. I find them the most unpredictable. They have no defining characteristics. They can be as tinkery as a komodo, adventurous as an elf, playful as a nekomi, horny as a tokki, or as calculating as a bat. You just never know until you get to know the individual. Of course, all individuals have their own characteristics, but humans are the only ones I've met that defy any categorization at all.
Reylen held his teacup high and gave a big smile.
Reylen: Cheers, as the humans say, to having a lot more to learn!
Nalma: You got that right.
Nalma took that as a sign that Reylen was ready to shift away from heavy topics and brought up more light-hearted fare and, with that, they continued talking, and doing other things, long into the evening.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
