Museum Hunting Part 1

Posted on Fri May 19th, 2023 @ 10:41am by Petty Officer, 3rd Class Lottie Daglish & Ziu'Liherasefra

Mission: Sojurn
Location: Relea
Timeline: Day 334 20:00
2345 words - 4.7 OF Standard Post Measure

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm golden glow over the city, anticipation coursed through Lottie’s veins. It was the evening of her second date with Hera, and she could not help but feel a flutter of excitement that had left her in a daze since she had wandered back to the ship that morning. The previous night of exchanging stories and laughter had left her wanting more. Their conversation flowed effortlessly, like a gentle current guiding them through the previous evening. Their first date had been filled with intriguing glimpses into each other's lives, and tonight she wanted to delve even deeper. They shared dreams, passions, and aspirations, discovering common ground and subtle connections that made her heart skip a beat but also filled her with dread as she realised eventually, she was going to have to leave.

Lottie knew she was early as she stood there watching the woman sing but she wanted to listen again to it all. It was beautiful and she was hoping to savour everything about Hera and the world around them.

Given the nature of the establishment, whose primary objective was to feed the masses before they disappeared into the nocturnal pursuits of festival revellers, Hera was very used to playing to a preoccupied crowd. It suited her well enough, though she was occasionally struck by a sense of dissatisfaction that left her feeling like she could have played an entire set of children's lullabies and nobody would have noticed the difference. It was an easy way to make a living, however, and paid quite well and normally was simple enough to endure but tonight was fuelled by impatience and expectation. Her time on stage was merely the distraction to fill in the hours before her night actually started and Hera had spent the entire day thinking of very little else. She hadn't anticipated this visit producing anything that had such a powerful capacity to bring her entire life grinding to a halt, nor had she ever felt so compelled or so willing to slow down and anchor herself. It was as thrilling as it was unnerving, a combination of emotions that Hera realised she quite enjoyed, in this instance at least.

By the time she realised Lottie was not only a patron once again but that she seemed there with the sole intent of listening to the Ziu'ni's music, it was all Lihera could do not to throw her instrument to the side and follow first instinct's path straight into the human's arms. Thankfully, by that point, there were only a few songs left and there was time enough to switch out the last one for something a little more sentimental than first intended. As per the management's insistence, none of her lyrics were translated, since half of the appeal of hiring a Ziu'ni was the combined influence of her presence and her people's language on keeping the mood inside the busy restaurant calm and pleasant, but she held Lottie's gaze for the entirety of the song and, somehow, the intention of it was not too difficult to interpret. Had anyone been watching, it probably would have been no surprised that, having thanked everyone and then set aside her inuli so that the next act could set up, Hera made an immediate bee-line towards the human and slipped into her arms as fluidly and effortless as a meandering river rejoins the ocean.

Eventually, Hera grinned against Lottie's lips and murmured, "Hi. You look stunning."

The song had made Lottie more and more comfortable as it went from it. One of the communication officers would explain it was something about the frequency or tone but the nurse did not care, it was a nice feeling. Lottie was sure she was in an alternative universe as the the woman came up to her and kissed her without hesitation. It was a wonderful feeling to be wanted and needed by someone. “Hello yourself.” Lottie was wearing a dress that night that was a lot shorter than she would have normally wore but her former room mate had insisted that it would be perfect. “Back at you.”

A slightly quizzical tilt of Hera's head suggested that, once again, the translator hadn't quite known what to do with the colloquialism but just as she had been defaulting to since first meeting the human, the musician seemed to take the garbled hilarity in her stride. It was, after all, the little differences that made Lottie's company all the more enticing. "I was a little nervous you wouldn't show up," she confessed, navigating her way towards that as a response instead. A dimple appeared as she beamed at the very apparent lack of necessity of that particular concern. There was vulnerability to the admission, however, a day's worth of creeping concern that, away from her natural influence, Lottie would be less enthusiastic about allowing one single alien to dominate her time. People were generally happy to have Ziu'ni around, but that didn't mean to say the sentiment always held up to scrutiny once physical distance dulled their innate charm. "But only a little. Just enough for me to have a contingency plan that involved shouting outside large ships until I found which one was yours."

“Whatever for?” The nursed demanding leaning out to play with a strand of hair looping it around her finger to bring the women closer for a second to press a kiss to her lips. “You have been on my mind all day. Luckily I have had no emergencies or anything requiring my full facilities.” She admitted a blush rising to her cheeks as she thought about it all.

In response, the Ziu'ni's complexion rippled from soft lilac to the same shade of blush pink that she'd worn for most of the previous night. A slight fluctuation seemed to highlight the struggle between her own coy pleasure and a more exuberant sense of joy, her hair settling on a startling ombre before finally shifting all the way towards a mellow rose. "I've thought about you a lot too," she confessed, studying the human's face intently before beaming. A nudge of an instrument case brought with it some practical considerations. "Did you have any ideas for what you'd like to do tonight? I need to drop this off if we're heading out but, otherwise, I'm all yours."

The brunette grinned at the hair changes and had a vivid thought of watching her hair change last night in moments of passion. “Would you mind a museum stroll?” She wondered thinking of the museum she had seen on the way there that looked like it would be interesting as well as quaint enough for a date with her. She had show her so much.

Lihera's face lit up. The idea itself was appealing, she enjoyed the cultural aspects of the planet far more than most of the tourist trappings, but the fact that Lottie had arrived with a request filled the Ziu'ni with a kind of warmth she'd never experienced before. It conveyed sincerity of interest and certainly went a long way to eradicating any lingering concerns Hera might have had about monopolising the woman's time. "I'd love to," she agreed immediately. Lifting her case at the bar manager to indicate she was on the way out, Hera took the lead for a few seconds to practically dance down the flight of stairs leading from the restaurant and then turned with a flourish to grin at her company for the night. "I am going to have to rethink what I intended to wear though because you are out-classing me here without even trying."

"No, keep it on," Lottie assured checking her over quickly. She was pretty sure the woman could wear a sack and would still look stunning to her. "This is a borrowed outfit so please go in what you are comfortable with." She said looking up at the woman watching the way she moved through the crowds. She gulped, she was a goner that was for sure, she would never look at anyone else without thinking of the alien.

There was a missed opportunity to comment on the human's lack of concern for her clothing the night before, either because Hera hadn't quite translated the remark well enough for the innuendo to stand out, or more likely because the pale alien was setting a pace that almost rendered conversation impossible. By the time they were in the foyer of the hotel she was staying at, however, the Ziu'ni had the tenacity to playfully suggest Lottie wait there for her rather than risk the temptation of just not leaving again. Lihera didn't take long, and when she reappeared without the musical case, she had also switched her form-hugging pants for a pair of deep metallic charcoal and a halter-neck top of shimmering purple. She took Lottie's hand and tugged the woman towards the doors with the exact same energy she'd mustered the previous night.

"I was thinking while I changed, there's actually a few museums and even some art galleries that should still be open for a few hours. Did you want to do a cultural circuit? We can hire one of the holographic guides that I've never bothered to use before."

"You look shiny. Shiny and very beautiful." Lottie laughed as the metallic clothing attracted her attention for a moment before she was dragged through the doors back outside into the cold. The change in temperature made her adjust her coat zipper back up. "If that is a thing let's do it." She really hoped that the holograms were nothing like EDEN. It was still very basic back on earth so the whole concept was strange to her and belonged in movies and films. The future ship had made it very much real.

Pulling on her own jacket, a shade of cream, went a considerable way to reducing the shine of Hera's appearance but did nothing to detract from the brilliance of her mood. Fingers still interlocked, she cast a quizzical look sideways and then smiled as Lottie's response provoked several new trains of thought. Hera loved that most about spending time with the human, everything about her was so unique and new. "You don't have holograms back home?"

"No. We have had encounters but nothing permanent. My world is nowhere near as advanced as this world." She admitted seeing her quizzical look. "What else do they use them for on this planet?" She asked trying to make conversation so that she would not get distracted by her needs and wants.

"Just about everything," Hera generalised, because it had never even occurred to her to catalogue the use of them. Mostly, they were functional interfaces, a more personal and interactive way of dealing with information retrieval than simply reading off a screen, or used in entertainment. For an advanced civilisation, the Realians seemed to curb the desire to steer their technology down the path of self-awareness. When it came to the creation of life, their ties were very much back to the natural world. "But I guess they're mostly just used for aesthetics."

"Makes sense. Most likely safer." She dared not think of what holograms could do if they became more aware like EDEN but that was thousands of years away yet so that was good enough for her now. "But just about everything is very intriguing." She grinned as they ducked under a shelter for a moment as Lottie tried to get her bearings for what she had seen earlier.

"In many ways, Realian culture is a mass of contradictions. They have one of the most civilised, harmonious, functional metropolis' in the region and yet it all grinds to a halt once a year to mark the significance of frozen water. They are capable of innovation and inventiveness that paves the way in so many areas, and yet many of them choose to live outside the urban zones in structures built entirely by their own hand. They're very good at bringing people together but tend to hold themselves separate at the same time. They're a lot like my people, in that sense," Hera admitted. "But my people still live in their forests and don't usually let outsiders visit."

"Contradictions are not so bad." Lottie decided thoughtfully as she pulled Hera back out into the snow. "I think it is cause of the family set-up. I was talking to one of the engineers on the ship and he was telling me their families are pod-like. So several wives and husbands all equal." She had not believed anything like that had been possible but it seemed like it worked for their species.

"That's where they differ from my people," Hera agreed with rueful laughter. "Most of our pair-bonds are eternal and only severed by death, and since we lived a generous amount of cycles..." The alien frowned faintly. "It's a complicated thing. Many Realians enjoy similar endurance when it comes to their interpersonal relationships, but they also retain full autonomy over the choice of their pod-mates."

"It sounded nice. Very communal." She decided with a grin. She knew several people who had grown up in that type of environment and they were some of the best people she had ever known. It was starting to run true that, that type of lifestyle built positive experiences, especially on a planet-wide level.

"They seem to find peace with it at least," Hera agreed. With a sudden tug, she pulled the human close enough to steal a kiss and then curled her lips into a teasing smile against the embrace. "Though there is something to be said for not having to share." A second kiss nearly distracted her entirely and, stopped ridiculously in the middle of the street with snowflakes gathering on their hair, Lihera fought her way past her impulses to propel them suddenly forward with a peal of energised laughter. "Come on, let's find your museum before you turn my head into soup."