Iskaulit mingle

[lord_wizard]

Who: Anyone!
Broadcast: No
Action: Iskaulit
When: Feb. Drift Week (and beyond?)

[The fleet, more or less patched up after their battle, has once again left civilization behind for empty space. Maybe it's a good time to distract yourself and get away from the endless repairs and nothingness, though there might still be cleaning up that needs to be done here too.

Whether you're grabbing a broom or grabbing a drink, this is a fleetwide mingle for the Iskaulit.]

Comments

[axiomed]

[ Folding his arms around her, Charles finds some of his own sorrow retreating. He can't help it. It's natural for him to shoulder the pain of others before he deals with his own and it's clear that Beverly truly needs it. His telepathy reaches out, not too deep, to wrap itself like a blanket around them. ]

You can climb on if you like. It's not like I have any feeling in my legs.

[dancingmd]

What?

[Beverly pulls back some - though she doesn't let go of his shoulders - and stares at him in surprise. She certainly wasn't expecting a proposal like that and she's not sure whether or not to take him up on it. Under normal circumstances, she would not even be considering sitting in his lap but... she can't say it doesn't sound comforting right now and there is something very sweet in him offering.]

You're... are you sure?

[What if someone comes in?]

[axiomed]

No one is going to come in. Besides, it's better than getting a crick in your neck for having to bend over.

[ Charles still holds to certain things with a naivety he doesn't realize is there. Especially when it comes to physical contact, he has never stopped feeling a little guilty for people who have to bend or lean in order to give him a hug. ]

Wrath used to do it.

[dancingmd]

[She laughs softly at that, perfectly picturing Wrath just plopping herself down on Charles' lap, no hesitations. Wrath's unreserved displays of affection were always something Beverly admired about her.

So, after only a moment more of indecision, she moves to sit across his legs, for Wrath and for him and for herself. Wrapping her arms around him once again, she rests her head on his shoulder and lets the tears fall as they may.]

I'm going to miss her. So much.

[And Finrod and countless others... she's so very tired of going through this, every time, and every time not knowing what's happened to them.]

[axiomed]

[ Charles brushes his thumb over her neck quietly. It's hard for him to express sorrow when someone else is at the breaking point, but he keenly feels it all the same. Wrath had been his first friend, a real friend. He shared his memories with her, he helped Wrath deal with her own. She had come so far and she always had time and space for him. There was a very short list of people Charles trusts unconditionally. ]

She was going to come home with me. It's what she — she wanted. I'm sure she'll find her way.

[dancingmd]

I hope so.

[For Wrath's sake and for his. He deserves to have someone like her in his life. If nothing else, it's a nice thought to cling to, much better than the only image that keeps cropping up every time she thinks of Finrod - a wolf, snarling and bloody, coming to tear him... No, she tells herself firmly, Don't think of that.

She curls into Charles more, burying her face into his shoulder.]

[axiomed]

[ The image trickles by but Charles ignores it. Instead, he keeps his tone gentle because it's important to draw comfort where they can. ]

I believe it.

[dancingmd]

[A quiet sob escapes her.]

I'm trying to.

[She's doing her best to picture Wrath at the school with Charles and the next sound out of her is halfway between a sob and a laugh. She lifts her head to look at him, her face red and streaked with tears, but there is a smile peeking out.]

Do you think the 21st century is ready for her?

[axiomed]

[ He brushes away some of those tears gently. ]

Unlikely. Though I would say no one is ready for my students. I think, no matter where she goes, she'll carry us in her heart. And she'll be fine.

[dancingmd]

[A blush of affectionate warmth runs through her at his touch and her smile dares to grow a little more.]

I know. She'll be fine wherever she is. [If someone told her Wrath had single-handedly destroyed a Borg cube, she'd believe it.] But the problem is that I'm terrible and selfish and want her here again.

[axiomed]

I don't think being selfish is terrible, not right now.

[ The process of grieving is important as well. Charles is hardly going to look down on it. ]

[dancingmd]

[She nods. He's right of course, it's only natural to feel this way when you lose someone so important to you, someone who brought you so much joy.

But speaking of selfishness... she rests a hand on his cheek.]

And what about you? You love her too.

[axiomed]

I do.

[ He leans into it slightly. ] But I'll be fine.

[dancingmd]

[She shakes her head.]

Don't do that.

[axiomed]

I'm not doing it on purpose.

[ He exhales quietly. ]

Out of the many people here, she was one of the few I opened my powers for. Shared memories with.

[dancingmd]

She was always good at that, at getting people to open up.

[In more ways than one.]

[axiomed]

Yes, she was.

[ It feels wrong, to refer to Wrath in the past tense. It was like she was gone and Charles could feel his throat tighten at that thought. ]

[dancingmd]

[Running a gentle thumb across his cheek, she thinks back to that first poker game Wrath hosted on the Windrose, to Wrath's enthusiaism and frankly terrible, if adorable, poker face. To when Beverly and Charles first met.]

And at bringing people together.

[axiomed]

[ He laughs softly, though there's no real humour in it. ]

This place will certainly be a quieter one without her.

[dancingmd]

Mmm. I remember how surprised by her I was when we first met. How open and... Direct she was. Didn't hold back anything, even though we barely knew one another,

[Which admittedly got her into some trouble at first with Beverly, but even with that, Beverly was drawn to her from the very start.]

[axiomed]

We could all benefit from that.

[ Charles certainly could. While he's come a long way in seeing what he means and making his own speech clear, he certainly suffers from pulling back and being deliberately obscure. ]

[dancingmd]

[She smiles softly and sniffs. The steady flow of tears has stopped but the ache is still there.]

Easier said than done though, isn't it?

[axiomed]

It always is. But I believe there is no lack of doing.

[dancingmd]

What do you mean?

[axiomed]

I mean, Wrath has already shown us a lot. Whether we realize it or not, we have changed. And we'll keep on showing those changes.