Worlds Apart part 3

Posted on Wed Apr 26th, 2023 @ 9:24am by Petty Officer, 3rd Class Lottie Daglish & Ziu'Liherasefra

Mission: Sojurn
Location: Under da sea
Timeline: Day 333
2875 words - 5.8 OF Standard Post Measure

"Careful, this part's slippery."

The city's coastal location gave it many opportunities to capitalise on marine exploitation but, for the most part, the Realians seemed to cherish their aquatic environments and so it was rare to find any sort of tourist-based activity that wasn't heavily monitored. With that in mind, any sort of tour or adventurous endeavour had to be booked in advance, particularly during the festival where controlling traffic became imperative to conservation efforts. Anything to do with nocturnal opportunities was usually booked to capacity weeks prior, and so a sudden spontaneous desire to leave the dancefloor and explore the ocean depths was usually impossible to satisfy. Lihera was resourceful, however, and had a local's insight into how to work around limitations.

She was also owed several favours by operators who put in last-minute desperate requests for assistance. More than once, she'd found herself offering guided tours with only just enough notice given to get herself down there semi-presentable. Now it was her turn to ask for something she needed immediately.

And so, it wasn't towards the boardwalk with its myriad of launch sites that she lead Lottie by the hand but in the other direction to a more secluded disembarkation point that housed the security and coastal patrol pods used for monitoring the waterways. The area was still well-lit, the pathway still intentional, but a recent snowfall had dusted the steps with a trail of thin ice that hadn't been trampled to a melt yet. Arriving on the sand first, Hera turned and offered her other hand so that both could help Lottie make the final steps without incident.

"Okay, tell me," she started as she fell easily into step beside the human, one hand still clasped casually as if it was perfectly natural to walk together in such a way. "Are you anti-ocean, an avid marine biologist, ambivalent?"

Lottie has left a message for Issac and the doctor to say where she was going so people knew, after dancing and getting tattooed on an alien world. It was beautiful, the design, which was a shame it was so dark that she could not show it off. “I grew up in a landlocked city so not much experience of water outside doing a few beach trips.” Lottie commented, weaving her fingers through the other woman’s seeing that she had not let go of her. “So what is this place?” She wondered thinking it looked like it was not somewhere tourists went often.

"Well, if you keep going that way," Hera gestured along the beach as it extended behind them, "You'll get to the boardwalk, which is essentially a portion of the coastline they've developed so that tourists can experience the water without traipsing all over sacred ground. A lot of the ocean around here is protected, they decided to compromise by taking control of people trying to explore it. It's very popular and always booked out."

Glancing back in the direction they were going, the Ziu'ni swung their arms back and forth and gave the human's hand a squeeze. "That many chartered tours lead to a need to develop a search and rescue division, and I happen to be quite good friends with a few of the officers." She grinned across at Lottie. "I'm going to borrow us a submersible."

The other woman’s hand was warm against hers which was nice against the chill of the air around them. She poked in the direction and nodded taking in what she was saying. “Never been to a beach in the cold. But it seems to be working, feeling very invigorated but that might be the company.” Lottie said taking the opportunity to be forward.

It earned her the jostle of a shoulder bumping gently against her, though as had been revealed throughout the night's escapades, Hera wasn't one to shy away from direct confrontation of her own thought processes. She turned and set her chin on Lottie's shoulder, leaning in as she remarked, "Or it could be that you just spent the last hour moving your hips in scandalous ways." Human dancing practises, at it turned out, were very complimentary to the ones Hera herself had decided to adopt, an amalgamation of the more provocative moves from the cultures she rotated through. With a grin, the Ziu'ni watched from her vantage for several steps and then broke away to insist in a renewed pace. "Come on, we're nearly there."

If the coastal patrol on duty found it strange to be approached by the pink-haired alien and her new companion, neither of them made it obvious. The exchange the followed seemed to require some negotiation but, judging by body language, didn't stray into anything overly contentious. Whatever the usual arrangement was, it was clear this wasn't the first time Hera had sought to pilot one of the spherical submersibles, with their transparent hulls that gave an expansive view. By the time the pair of them were cosied down into the small interior, with seats enough for just the two of them, the Ziu'ni had seen fit to explain things a little better.

"I trained as a volunteer a few cycles back. They run quite a few conservation projects that always have room for people willing to drive around in circles gathering data from biotags." Adjusting her seat to take manual control, Hera clutched at the joystick and watched Lottie's face as the pod dropped from its berth several metres into the water.

Lottie had stayed quiet as the exchange happened but it did not stop the questions once they were alone. “I can imagine this festival and the great freeze will give them lots of different data.” Lottie said as the pod moved into the water. She resisted the urge to make a surprised noise as the pod shifted under the surface and Lottie was taken aback by the sudden change in darkness.

"Nothing under here will hurt us," Hera assured, "As long as we stay within the security net, which we don't have a choice about." Leaning forward to peer at the display, she added, "The pod will power down if I try and drive you out into the great abyss, and then the autopilot will engage and escort me back to land for a smack on the hand." Hera grinned across at Lottie. "They're not ignorant enough to trust me that much." Very carefully, she angled the joystick up until the tiny pod broke the surface and, flicking several switches, Hera turned on the lights that lit them up like a bauble. "Still, it's probably going to be easier if we just coast around up here for a while, let you get used to the sensation."

“Well I am a city girl.” Lottie laughed as she wiggled a little in her seat to look at the woman better. “But I am not so much worried about anything hurting us, it’s just a different kind of dark out here.” She admitted. “But I am very much interested in exploring it. Never been taken out like this before. Dancing and now this… very impressive.”

Though it was dressed up as a compliment, Hera's interest in Lottie's remark came at it from a far more curious angle. "When I first met you tonight, you seemed resigned to having been abandoned by someone you'd made plans with. You made it seem as if you were just going to return home and consider it a failed night, but you haven't once refused anything I've suggested. You're very bold, Lottie Daglish. Why would you give up so easily?"

“I don’t give up. I am very stubborn.” The woman come assured quietly seeing the curious moon in her face. Lottie grinned and shifted a little out of her jacket now it was a little warmer now. “So I am glad we met. I would have missed out on a lot.”

"Well, I'm glad to hear that at least. Maybe next time someone's stupid enough to leave you standing around alone, you'll remember that and go looking for something better worth your attention." Hera winked and turned back to her driving. Silence ensued, at least for long enough to prove the woman was thinking. "I'm glad we met too," she eventually confessed, her tone considerably quieter. "I think this is the first time in quite a while where I haven't felt quite so lonely."

“You are beautiful. You should have people knocking down your door to make you less lonely.” Lottie commented with a grin leaning over to brush a lock of hair away from the woman’s shoulder.

"Says the person who got left at the bar on her own." Hera's side-eye held a certain pragmatic logic despite being predominantly flirtatious in nature. "People don't always make sense." She lapsed once more into thoughtfulness, eyes focused ahead to maintain a steady path towards the seclusion of the midway point, somewhere just far enough from shore that some of the noise from the city became little more than a distant nuisance.

"It's not always easy to find people you want to spend time with either," she added eventually. "It depends on the planet depends on the time of year, depends on people's perceptions. Depends on a lot of things." Hera glanced across again. "My people have a reputation that I don't match very well. It makes others...uneasy, sometimes."

“People do not make sense should be a motto.” Lottie commented just as thoughtfully. “And I was left alone by one person out of 70 of my crew. You have a whole planet.” Lottie laughed as she watched a strange green creature bob past them.

"Yeah, well..."

It was unusual, given the impression so far at least, for the Ziu'ni to linger in silence very often. Out in the comparative serenity of the harbour, under a cascade of auroric light bouncing off the icecaps, Lihera seemed to emerge from the sparkle of her public persona to reveal a far more vulnerable pensiveness. She smiled nonetheless, even if it was slightly on the rueful side, and glanced across at Lottie as she pulled them to a stop, bobbing on top of the water.

"It's just one of those things. My people are..." She screwed up her nose in search of a word that was apt without sounding conceited. "Highly sought as peacemakers. We have a reputation as successful mediators and tend to handle most of the governance on our planet, despite not actually being the most populated of the native species. We're actually pretty rare." Hera laughed at that, mostly because it was a succinct way of framing a quite complex birth-rate issue. "Aside from this," she focused for a moment until her hair rippled to a very faint blue, "our minds are capable of emitting psionic signals that most species find calming. It's not an intentional thing," she reassured, immediately chewing on her bottom lip as if this part of her confession worried her the most. "But people can get funny about it when it's just part of daily interaction."

Lottie nodded slowly before she smiled. It made a lot of sense to the woman if she was honest. Not everyone was as easy to keep a birth rate as humans. “Hmm what happens if I do not want to be calm?” She wondered quietly with a grin.

The tease reduced Hera to a coy smile, swiftly followed by soft laughter. "Well, some would argue you don't have a choice, which becomes the whole problem. It's not as manipulative as that, I promise. I can't control your thoughts, or your actions, or even your perception of events. At best I can maybe put you in a better mood to deal with it productively."

“I am teasing. Obviously why I am in such a good mood now. I cannot complain about that. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this … chirpy.” It was the only way to describe the current mood she was feeling. She had not let the situation cloud her mood and bring her down but she felt better at the moment.

There was a brief moment where Hera seemed to be searching the human's eyes for something and then she looked away, lifting her gaze to the starry expanse overhead instead with an air of quiet acceptance that bordered on defeat. In a way, it made it seem like she was disappointed in the response, or at the very least not a fan of taking credit for something that felt so accidental. It didn't require a very close examination of her situation to predict that putting people in a good mood all the time could wind up feeling somewhat hollow.

"I'm glad you're happy," she eventually replied, sincere despite battling against melancholy that hinted at her earlier claims of loneliness. Pale blue eyes scanned the constellations overhead before Hera looked back to her new friend and smiled with considerably less energy than she'd been broadcasting all evening, though her gentle features seemed to confirm her gratitude. "Hopefully we haven't done anything that you'll regret later."

Lottie realised a second too late the woman’s sparkle had disappeared at her words. “Hey… I was really teasing, Hera. This is one of the best days I have ever had since I left Earth. I’ve been tattooed by an alien woman, I’ve been dancing with you and now under this starlight you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Your abilities cannot control those thoughts or those actions.” Lottie said turning a little in her seat to look at the woman. She slowly lent over and caressed her cheek.

The reassurance, and the touch, provoked the dimple that appeared in the Ziu'ni's cheek when she smiled without inhibition. Reaching up, Lihera gently wrapped her hand around Lottie's and, turning towards it, placed a soft kiss to her fingertips. "I didn't meant to sound so dramatic. It can be complicated sometimes, knowing that my presence can leave people predisposed towards a favourable mood, but I would much rather people be pleased to see me than not." Settling her palm against the back of Lottie's hand, Hera kept it pressed to her cheek as she added, "And I meant what I said, I am glad that you're happy. And I'm glad that you're here. I think that's all I really started out trying to say, probably because I'm running out of ways to stall letting you go home." Soft laughter at the confession rendered Hera a little sheepish.

“Just because it put me in a favourable mood does not mean I go off on adventures with just anyone.” Lottie commented before grinning more. So that was what it was about, trying to stop her going home. Lottie could not help but blush a little more before leaning forward pressing her lips to Hera's. It was only after she kissed her that she realised it might not have been how the alien connected on that level.

The gesture was understood, familiar enough to convey a similar intent to what Hera's prior experience had involved, but that didn't mean that she had anticipated it. Slightly wide eyes, coupled with the hitch of a held breath, saw her revel in the explosion of excitement that coursed through her body before she relaxed enough to reciprocate, pushing forward in search of a deeper connection the minute Lottie started to pull away. A fumble for the controls saw the central console between them lower beneath a bridging cushion that connected the two seats and, suddenly, it was possible to break away long enough to wrap the human in an embrace that buried Hera's face into her neck.

"Do your people...," she murmured after a moment, "seek pleasure without formal commitment?" It was a hazy minefield at times, Hera had learned it was just easier to ask.

Lottie grinned as the woman finally reacted to her kiss and made her relax enough to get closer. She had to stop the kiss to go up on the sofa, breathe of air. She nodded. “Very much.” Lottie whispered.

It was always somehow subtle, the way the Ziu'ni's colours shifted gently through her natural palate. Amongst her people, she was considered unusual for a multitude of reasons, one of which being the breadth of her metachrosis, but when it came to the transitions that seemed mostly subconscious, it was as if someone had their finger on a slider that ran the full pastel gamut. At times, there was a connection to her emotional state that was fairly reliable, but that took observation and time to understand. Right now, she was breathing softly, shallowly, not wanting to interrupt or disturb the moment, but the shift of both eyes and hair from the cool pale blue to a warm and vibrant blush pink very much gave the impression of sudden coyness.

"You could stay," she quietly replied. "With me. Go back to your ship tomorrow." Or next week.

Lottie shifted so the woman was no longer hiding against her neck and grinned taking in the unexpected shift in colours. “I was planning to stay.” Lottie whispered leaning in to kiss her again.