Riddle Me This

Posted on Mon Oct 31st, 2011 @ 6:08pm by Tora Sulan & Janice Gree

Mission: In Our Time of Need
Location: The Nexus Club

Sulan's thoughts were in a whirl as she entered the Nexus Club. The day had been nothing like she'd expected and the tour of the station with Kit'rin'e had ended up with the two of them in a tree. Not what she thought she would be doing with someone she barely knew. But then, that wasn't exactly accurate, was it? Her visit to his quarters last night had changed the tone of their...whatever it was... already. She had sensed it but not really examined it. But after today, there was little doubt that something was in the air. Hidden in the jumja tree, they had talked and laughed like two old friends, completely comfortable.

Except there had been something just below the surface of the casual conversation, tangible but just out of reach. Or was she imagining it? And how was she to figure it out? Passing by the bar, she was so lost in thought she was unaware that Vic was there and waving to her. Janice's voice drifted from her office, wanting tonight's reservations and a cup of coffee. Su grabbed whatever was at hand, left Janice with an empty mug and a bar towel before drifting out again to the computer. She didn't notice Jan's footsteps as they approached behind her.

Waving the towel in front of Sulan's face to get her attention, Janice raised a brow at her. "Is this a good distraction or a bad one? If it's good, what's his name?"

"What? Whose name Jan?" The waving towel finally got her attention fully.

"Whoa," Janice laughed. "The name of the fellow who has you all dreamy and absent."

"Umm... well it's....that is a good question. Something unusual happened you might say. With someone I just met."

A concerned look crossed Janice's visage. "Something unusual? Care to define that a little?"

"You know a lot about men, Jan. How do you know if one is...interested? If he hasn't said so? Do you think climbing a tree with him counts?" It was a genuine question and Su's expression was serious.

"Climbing a ...?" Janice leaned back slightly and looked Sulan over again. Reaching forward, she felt the woman's forehead. "That's not some colloquialism like Connor's "root", is it?"

"Connor's....oh hell no!" Sulan blushed a furious red. "I mean we actually climbed a tree in the Arboretum. Well he sort of jumped up into it from the ground, but I had to climb. This was after he saw my feet last night in his quarters."

Now Janice was having fun. "I see. He saw your...," she glanced down and smiled, "...feet? That's what you're calling it? Okay, I get it. Not sure about the ...oh, wait... this is the big furry guy, right? Kit'trin'e? Gosh, Su, if I'd have known you went for furries, I could have introduced to you plenty of fellas."

Sulan smacked her forehead with her hand. "It was my feet. I took something he left here back after work and he invited me in. I took the heels off and it led to a discussion of my feet and which way they looked better. Then I offered to show him around the station, since he's new here. And we ended up sitting in a tree..."

Taking a chance that Sulan knew the song, Janice started singing, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love then comes... all sorts of things!" She winked. Sometimes, despite all her years, she could be a child. Growing up a bit, she sobered and added, "Okay, okay. That was really sweet of you to show him around. Have you considered the... logistics of dating him?"

"Meaning what? He's two feet taller? Outweighs me by several hundred pounds?" She missed, perhaps, the hint about the teeth and claws.

"Yes. All of those things, Sulan." She didn't mention the other possibilities present: teeth, claws, different mating techniques.

"Those are a very small part of the problem, Jan," she sighed. They have a really structured society. It falls to the female to make the first move. What if I do, and he's not one to consider another species? How do I tell him....or explain to him why my records are sealed? He's an officer, he can look and he'll notice."

"If he's not one to consider another species..., well, one, that's his loss and two, face the rejection and move on. No one's ever died of awkward. Or of rejection." She smiled. "As for your records... wouldn't he just guess that you're a former spook and leave it alone?"

"Maybe, I hope. I suppose it depends on how it goes. Eventually I'll have to tell him what's what." Su frowned a moment. "There one small issue....well one more."

"Just one?"

Su favored Janice with a glare. "I touched him."

Janice's knowledge of Caitian customs was rusty, at best. "You touched him? How is that a problem?"

"It leaves my scent on him. It can also be seen as a sign of interest. I'm a little hazy on the specifics but I think it affects them...chemically somehow. The one Caitian I knew hinted at it but never gave details. He also never touched me."

"Are you interested in him?" Janice waited for Sulan to nod. "Then... I suppose having touched him might be a problem, if he has a jealous mate at home. If he didn't like it, he could just shower and remove your scent."

"I suppose. Somehow I don't think there is one but I've not asked. I mean to I'm just not sure what..." Sulan considered a moment before she continued. "I suspect if I start this there is no going back, and it's rather sudden."

"Relationships usually are. Hit ya when you least expect it to and sweep you right off your feet," Janice said, thinking that she'd seen it happen hundreds of times.

"So...you are saying...there's nothing wrong with running off with a man I've known for two days?"

She hedged, "Wellll... Run off? I don't know about that. You have duties here, things to do, people who care. I am saying, though, that getting swept up, going to bed with and all that good stuff... feel free. You're an adult; so's he."

"I used the term run off loosely, I'm not going anywhere, nor is he. He's the Chief Flight Control Officer as I understand it. But...they are not the sleep around type Jan. If I go there, there's no leaving. And somehow...I think I want to."

"How do you know he's not the sleeping around type? He might very well like the idea of a quick roll in the hay. Look at that! Another euphemism," Janice laughed and shook her head. "Sounds like you might need to just talk it out with him. Or, you know, climb each other's trees."

Sulan rolled her eyes. "You've been climbing too many trees, Jan." She smirked. "And asking Jackson would be pointless, he'd say the same thing."

"Asking Jackson about anything romance related just might earn you a boot in the ass. Poor boy has been having a hellish time with women lately."

"I've seen. And I have no idea what to do about it either. You'd think that man, if anyone, would be snapped up in a second." Su suspected she knew the many reasons, but she kept quiet.

"Don't worry about him. Eventually, he'll either get what he wants or get burned and move on, or both." Janice frowned. "Now, think you could bring me a coffee and the reservations list?"

"What? Oh, sorry, of course Jan." She smiled sheepishly at the empty cup and the bar towel. "Here." She tapped the console and the reservations for the night scrolled up on the screen. Then she took the mug in hand. "Be right back." Turning, she moved back out to the bar.

*********
Tora Sulan
Up a Tree With No Escape Clause

Janice Gree
Sagacious Old Riddler