JL | Lt Dai'Xun, Empress Xue'Daio | "The Intricacies of Sight"

Posted on Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 @ 1:44am by Xue'Daio Nox Tr'Verelan

Evan, for lack of a better name, had been gone for a mere four hours before the call came that the Vindicator had arrived. Three hours after that hot amber sat still within cool white porcelain, taking on a life of its own as steam spiraled and undulated away from it in a lewd attempt to draw in the two women sitting on either side of the cups. It begged to be sipped, savored, enjoyed - but both remained relatively stoic in spite of their common relation and ancestry. One was the color of snow, freshly fallen, with eyes of rose and honey. The other was a figment of the sea turquoise with eyes as rich as the fathoms with their beautiful aquatic depths. Both beautiful, both powerful without reason. The albino one wore that power with obvious grace and ease. It rested upon her otherwise serene features with a regal notion and brutal, fatalistic warning to any and all that dare trifle with her. The sea nymph left no such notion. Her zeal was well contained beneath her dramatic zest for life, and the brilliance in which she observed it. She was innocent, sweet... Maybe a touche naive, but still so smart, so strong.

She made Xue smile as she finally took up her cup and brought it to her lips. "Apsha misses you, Si'a..."

"It will have to miss me for awhile longer." The turquoise one replied. It was a quicker response than she'd anticipated and Si'a quickly offered a smile in order to soothe the burn of it. Her own hands gathered her own cup. It was custom, and more than that it was an act of bonding her back to her cousin and the link they shared as family. "I have obligations aboard the Vindicator."

"Whatever they are, they will pardon them." Xue responded from behind her tea, "You almost died. That's not something I can permit when you have obligations back on Apsha as well. Your family has found a proper mat--"

Si'a's head shook and her cup clattered back to its saucer on the table before them, "No... Xue..." She interrupted, her eyes suddenly wide as she struggled to catch her breath, "I can't go back. It's more than just Vindicator, it's that I have a life debt."

"To?"

"To Anaxar Shran." The name felt like satin in her mouth even when used as a shield to protect herself from the future. She knew what Xue had meant to say. Her parents had found her a match. A mate. Someone to marry and continue the line with. Nope. Not happening. Not now. Not when she was so convinced that Anaxar was something more than just a baby sitter and superior. Not when she was certain that his actions were more than just those of a concerned crewmate. Ra'lin's words echoed heavily in her ears, ringing throughout her skull and resonating down into her chest where they met her heart. It felt like it was about to explode. Cold fear and anxiety had settled into her belly.

"The Andorian?" Xue blinked in question, setting her cup down far more gently than her cousin had, and allowed her hands to fall prone in the bed of silk in her lap. The robes they both wore were cool, far from restricting, but looking at Si'a was to see a picture of uncomfortable tension - and she doubted it had to do with the clothing choice. She recognized that look... She'd seen it once before while gazing into a mirror. Si'a was in love, unconventional, but love and now the tides had come to potentially sweep her away from that love.

Si'a's mouth swept upwards in a hesitant smile and she nodded, "Yes."

"You owe an Andorian a life debt?" The albino questioned again, not that she didn't believe it but because she wanted to hear it - the explanation she knew that would follow. Hesitantly she reached for the luxury of her cup again, gently lifting it and prepping to bring it to her lips as she gazed upon her cousin with curiosity laced within those pink eyes.

"I would be dead if it wasn't for him, Xue." Si'a announced with great clarity, though it almost hurt to speak those words. Memories on him, dingy and blind, clinging to her through thick and thin in his attempts to warm and console her came bounding back to life. They stung on impact, forcing her to recant them time and time again through lips that felt lazy, but empowered. It was as if she were sitting there, watching herself curled and pressed against the man. Watching herself as she lay dying while he did everything in his power to conjure her spirits and keep her alive. Each little touch. The way he monitored her pulse. The ribbon across her wrists. Oh! The ribbon! She'd almost forgotten about the ribbon. Her eyes fell on their imaginary ghost weight, the feeling of them being bound together still high on her mind as if they'd never been removed. "So you see... He kept me alive and Craig married us, well... Handfasted... Married... Same difference in his culture... And so I choose to acknowledge that binding and honor it. I love him." She blinked, "Anaxar, that is. I love Anaxar. Not Craig, not like that anyway."

Through it all Xue sat quietly, listening, her snowy expressing her feelings and reactions more so than any nod of her head ever could. Her eyes, much like Si'a's, widened at certain parts of the tale - the crash and the Andorian's horrendous injuries being one particularly vivid point. She could almost see the way blue blood would mar the fresh winter landscape - perhaps even more shocking than the Terran's iron-red blood. Anaxar was owed a great deal for his selflessness... Stealing his heart from him was far from a proper thank you, in fact it would be more like kicking him in the teeth and pouring an unhealthy amount of salt deep into his wounds, letting them fester. "The marriage isn't legal... Craig isn't a priest or a Captain or a sovereign..." Her voice drifted off, fluttering through the air to what was certain to be a rapidly beating heart that would likely clench in fear at what those words could possibly mean or intone, "Have you..." Her fair fingers flicked gently as the Empress tried to figure out how to put her thoughts into progress in a delicate manner, "given yourself to him?"

Si'a's head tilted. Her heart did indeed hammer in her chest, painfully shivering as she felt what she was certain were fingers aiming to tear it from her chest. "Give myself to him?" She questioned, mulling the query over. Give herself to him. She'd allowed him to cuddle her and love on her as he saw fit during their incarceration. Yes. She'd given him her heart whether he realized it or not. "Yes. I meant the vows I took."

"No, Si'a..." Xue sighed a soft laugh and shook her head, reaching to gather up her cousin's hands. For such a brilliant scientist, the woman was so naive when it came to life beyond duty. "Did you lay with him? Did you give yourself to him?"

"OH!" Si'a exclaimed, feeling the heat of a blush creep across her delicate cheeks and bridge of her nose as the realization of what Xue was getting at finally dawned. "No. No I haven't slept with him." Not that she hadn't thought about it. Thoughts of gagh hunts and baths and their time in the tank all dawned and sizzled. They weren't thoughts to be had when speaking with one's Empress, or cousin. Still. They crept and settled within her.

The Empress nodded gently. Si'a... Her sweet, gentle cousin... Her hand rose to cup the woman's cheek and stroke it with her thumb, "You have my blessing. Go to him, Si'a... Don't let time get away from you. You never know what tomorrow will or won't bring." She smiled softly, inflecting her words with a quick rise and fall of her her eyebrows and another brief nod. The hand left her cousin's satin dappled cheek and gestured towards the door, "I won't be leaving for awhile. We can play catch up another time." the hands lifted, tugging the sea-hued woman towards her feet, "Go." she ushered gently.

Rising, Si'a's eyes were big as saucers and she struggled to catch her breath. "I... But... You... Apsha..." None of it mattered to Xue, she could tell. More off she could tell that Xue was heartfelt in her assertions that she needed to find and speak with Anaxar. Just like Ra'lin. Their eyes spoke at the same volume about the same things and Si'a, in her native robes and all, found herself drifting towards the doors, "Thank you..." She breathed. Now... Now how would she talk to him? What would she say? She had an entire trip to figure that one out. An entire trip on legs that felt weak as nervous, excited energy coursed through her veins.

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Lieutenant Si'a Dai'xun
Stellar Cartographer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

Empress Xue'Daio Nox
Queen of Apsha
Ruler of Aleine
Stenellian Ascendancy