Test Drive #7 - Ten Forward and Captain's Yacht

[ten_fwd_mods]

Option 01. Ten Forward: The first thing you see is a bar. A large, lively bar filled with many different faces and many different smells, sights and sounds. This is Ten Forward, the Enterprise's off-duty lounge; feel free to get acquainted with your fellow travelers and try to find somebody who's in charge: this is your new home now, after all...





Option 02. The Captain's Yacht: Oooh, you sneaky stowaway! You've found yourself in a very exclusive part of the ship: Captain Picard's personal craft, used for short jaunts when a shuttle just won't do. (One must retain some decorum, after all.) It may not be as large as the Enterprise itself, but there are sure to be some surprises aboard once people start snooping.


[OOC: The Captain's Yacht is located at the very base of the Enterprise's saucer portion, so if you put someone in there you can also play them trying to get back to somewhere they know!]

Comments

[dresdensluck]

"You're welcome." He inhaled quietly as she say, his view clear and he averted his eyes as he went to sit next to her, so they both could see each other and the door, clearly. He glanced out at the stars again and breathed out slowly, smiling,ignoring how close their legs were.

"You're strong and smart, and you deserved a chance then. I'm just glad I could help." He nodded back to her as he sat, considering her. "What made you decide to get involved in the paranet?"

[whitefoxkitten]

She watched him as his eyes swept the room, letting her gaze slide past his when he looked back. "It was kind of hard not to, once I knew what the world was really like," she said with a shrug. "I guess there are just some things you can't un-see, and I wanted to be able to do something about what I saw. You know?"

[dresdensluck]

"Very true. And I understand. Some things are right, and you know it when you feel it and find it." He knew a few things like that, even if he did tend to ignore them, mostly.

Harry smiled at his own silliness, then stretched, feeling muscles ache slightly. He'd have to figure out a good exercise regimen for starship life. "I wonder if they are sending anyone to explain things to us..."

He refocused on her. "Talk to your family lately?"

[whitefoxkitten]

Inari shook her head. "I've sort of fallen out of touch with Lara, and I think that Thomas thinks that he's protecting me by keeping the family drama as far away from me as he can," she said, "But I wouldn't be surprised if he keeps an eye on me from a distance." She laughed, and muttered, "Dumbass," under her breath.

"I guess we all do what we feel is the right thing."

[dresdensluck]

"Alright. The family tends to be like that..." His smile was a chuckle as he shook his head.

Then he nodded to her, smiling. "Yeah. We make mistakes, and we find our own truths, but one way or another, we do what we think is right."

[whitefoxkitten]

Inari laughed, and then sighed. Life was a crazy thing, sometimes. "I guess we won't be sending any postcards from here, anyway," she said, "But it's nice to see at least one familiar face."

[dresdensluck]

"You never know. Later, if I can access the Nevernever, maybe we can get even more than that." He winked at her and put one finger along his nose. "Maybe." He was wary of making promises about such things. But he would sure as hell try.

[whitefoxkitten]

"It's okay," she said, "I know we have to try to play by the rules. Although...we might have to learn what the rules are, here, first." But she knew he would do his best to look out for her.

"Do you think there's anything I can do to help?"

[dresdensluck]

"Sometimes, breaking the rules is as important." He smiled at her. "I don't know. It depends on whether or not you have the ability inside." She should have manifested by now if she did, unless... the white court blood? Could that have tamped it down?

he nodded slowly and smiled. "We can try to see." Just then they were interrupted by a man in uniform, and Harry chuckled as the man greeted them, and explained about the ship, and the situation.

An hour and a half later, they were stepping into the main area of the guest quarters and looking around, having found them by instructions. "Well... I guess this is where we stay for now..."

[whitefoxkitten]

Inari smiled. They'd had to break a few rules to get her out from under her father's rule, so there was certainly a time and a place for it. But arguing with ship security on the first day was probably not a good idea. So she just tried to absorb as much of the information as she could, until they were directed to their new accommodations.

"I guess so," she said, peering around the tall wizard to see what there was to see. "So what do we do now?"

[dresdensluck]

"Well, I guess we can choose rooms. Apparently every door leads to two bedrooms around a middle common section? So we can room together, or merely near each other, your choice." He trusted her to be nearby. She knew as much as most.

[whitefoxkitten]

"Okay," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm used to having roommates, so it won't bother me, if it won't bother you. Unless you want the space to build a workshop, or something?" She figured he would probably want to start collecting supplies as soon as possible. He didn't seem like the type to sit back and pretend like he was on vacation.

[dresdensluck]

"Not while we're in here. There's too much chance of our working getting messed up in here, too much... interference. Maybe once we're in more normal quarters. " he paused, then colored slightly. "Er, when we each have quarters, I mean." He didn't mean to assume. Oh Hell's Bells.

He smiled and randomly pointed to one. "Maybe that one?"

[whitefoxkitten]

Inari nodded, and blushed, in spite of the fact that she'd understood what he'd meant. "It's okay," she said, ducking her head. "I know." She smiled, and opened the door that Harry indicated--looking over her shoulder at him as she stepped inside. "Come in and take a look around."

[dresdensluck]

Harry nodded. Well, at least if he was going to be awkward, she was too. That wasn't bad, right? He wasn't sure why it reassured him, but it did.

He watched her step in and it took him a moment to draw his eyes to hers and nod, stepping in, looking around, stepping close to her side.

"Looks... like a motel."

[whitefoxkitten]

Yeah, they could be dorks together. It was all good.

She took a turn around the common room, and then looked back at Harry, her head bobbing once in assessment. "About what you'd expect for temp-housing, then," she said, "But it could be worse." She smiled, and plopped down on a sofa.

"I guess we have plenty of time for catching up now, huh?"

[dresdensluck]

Dorks of the Universe(s), unite! Or something.

"Sounds about right, yeah. The replicator might be weird to get used to, but not terrible. We can experiment and see what it can spit out." He winked at her teasingly.

"I suppose so." He extended a hand and gripped one of hers. "We'll just have to see what happens, roomie."

[whitefoxkitten]

Inari clasped his hand, feeling both the tingle of power that ran across her skin as their hands met, and the echo of Harry's amusement. She also felt an answering surge of happiness bubble up inside herself, and she smiled as she tried to keep it from spilling over through their connection. For some reason, her sensitivity got dialed up a notch or two when she touched people. Or things.

"I guess we will."

[dresdensluck]

Harry's eyebrows went up as he felt that surge, and he nodded, smiling a little, and his cheeks ever so slightly red as he felt that warmth, and a touch of happiness.

"You're a remarkable woman, Inari." He had a feeling this was going to be an interesting time.

[whitefoxkitten]

"Tch..." Inari scoffed, blushing as she released his hand. "I would say you haven't seen my temper yet, but that's not quite true, is it?" She ran her fingers through the hair at the back of her head, in reference to the time she'd whacked him with his own blasting rod. Lucky for both of them, wizards could take a licking.

"I know I have a lot to learn yet, but I'm a quick study."

[dresdensluck]

"Heh. There was that. I didn't see much, though, not with the braining." His voice was lightly teasing. This was fun, a little. Wizards were good at taking knocks and lickings and pokings, and having fun, despite it.

"Then we can start by exchanging more news."

He sat back, thought, then rose. "Want some tea?"

[whitefoxkitten]

"Sure," she said, "that would be nice." She hadn't pegged Harry for a tea drinker, but then, she didn't really know him well enough to know what he liked, besides Coke. Or 'dead pigs and cows' on pizza. But she supposed that might soon change.

"I guess you've figured out that kicking the family curse didn't make me completely vanilla. It just...gave some of the other flavors a chance to surface." Less Raith, more...Inari.

[dresdensluck]

Harry turned to the replicator, and carefully edged toward it, holding his concentration. "Computer, green tea, hot. Two cups please."

"Working." The voice was feminine, but very mechanical and Harry nodded as two cups swirled into existence. He carefully took them, hen retreated to sit with he, putting one cup in front of her.

"There we go." He nodded as she spoke.

"Well, yes, I did. And I am curious. Exactly what has been peeking its head out?"

[whitefoxkitten]

Inari wrapped both hands around the cup, taking a moment to appreciate the color and bouquet of the brew as she inhaled the steam. She laughed softly at Harry's question, and gently shrugged her shoulders. "The best that I can figure is, I;ve got some kind of empathic sensitivity," she said, "Whether I get it from the Raith side, or my mother's I don't really know--because I can't go full-on succubus, but I can still pick up on people's emotions. And sometimes, if I pick up an object that's really old, or is really significant to someone in some way--say, antiques, or magical foci--I get these really strong impressions about its history, and the energies that it's been imbued with over time."

She grinned. "Psychometry can actually come in handy for the feng shui business. But obviously I still have a lot to learn."

[dresdensluck]

Harry listened as he inhaled his own steam a little, the scent helping him to relax a little and concentrate more, ironically. He listened with empathy and he nodded again. Sounded kind of like how his magic gad come out at first.

"That could definitely be useful, yeah. I might be able to help with some concentration and centering exercises, but we'll have to be careful. I don't know much about that."