Erinyes

[Kes Akiena]

Kes gave only an acknowledging nod to his K'ohta'rrou before focusing once more on Dage. The use of his old nickname had most certainly not gone without notice, and only furthered his already aggravated mood.

"I thought it was perfectly clear that you were to be meeting me in my office, Quentin."

He could play Dage's little name game, and it was more often than not a foregone conclusion that pulling out the trump card of Dage's first name was the best way to win.

[Q. Samus Dage]

The cringe on his features was readily apparent as Kes uttered that horrid name, and Samus pursed his lips as he diverted his gaze upward. He gave a shrug, his hands coming from his front pockets to lift up in a helpless gesture. T'yeellaa's presence only made the sound of his own first name that much worse, like some embarrassing secret that'd finally come to light; and in some ways it was. His eyes went to T'yeellaa for a brief moment, then back to Kes.

"Normally I would, but the Captain decided to rotate out that little duty to Mister Rahgus. Something about it being a spot of good for him to get out of that pilot's nest he's always holed up in."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

She'd strolled into the eye of some awkward hurricane, and the name Quentin landed on curious skewed ears that only skewed more as she saw the familiar human rosy flush rise on Samus' face. A story for another time, as T'yeellaa dared not get terribly familiar in the company of Commander Akiena. That probably was as much a mercy to Samus as it was to herself. Instead, the K'ohta'rrou merely let her ears drift back into even array, and addressed her superior.

"Chjief Corrban jiss handljing ourr ljittle ssalvage ssjituatjion."

No sense for colorful adjectives, and T'yeellaa remained deliciously mum on the murderous details soon to unfold.

"jI...wassn't awarre the Kherra'va'sssjio wass sscheduled to be jin porrt."

There was no need for a pointed glance back to Samus. She'd find time for that.

"jIss therre anjythjing jI need to attend to jin rregarrdss to that?"

[Kes Akiena]

He'd won, and he knew it. But, at the same time it didn't help matters that the ship manifest and listing was more than likely already waiting for him along with Khera's pilot... back at his office. More frustration was vented in the form of a hissed breath as Kes finally turned to his second, raising a hand to wave at the air in a gesture that dismissed T'yeellaa's question.

"No no, I'll handle it-" a quick dip of his eyes to take in her unfortunate victims, "- you've got your hands full enough as it is."

Backing away, the redhead cast a last look to Dage.

"Just be sure to let Lok know that, in the future, she needs to tell me when she decides to change up normal procedures."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Oh I'll let you do that your own self; she said something about coming over after her debriefings were finished."

There was a moment as Kes seemed to hesitate, as if suddenly caught thinking to himself, but it wasn't long before he finally gave a nod. Turning on his heel, Commander Akiena stalked away, disappearing into the crowd.

Milliseconds later, Dage let out a long breath. His smile returned as he turned to face T'yeellaa fully, and head angling to the side, he once again stuffed his hands into his front pockets.

"Hello, Kitten."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

It had the aroma of bad blood about it, and T'yeellaa's eyes lingered on Kes as he retreated back to his office domain.

Kitten brought her around, however, and she returned to Samus with all her ambivalence to his sudden appearance.

"jYess, hello. jIf jI wassn't at the rrjight place at the rrjight tjime jI wouldn't even know jyou werre comjing to Jovan at all, gai'tou."

Why was she even irritated? They were both two stellar bodies in motion with their own gravitational pulls. The terms of engagement should have been clear. At any rate, the snark seemed less appropriate now and more like friendly fire. She shook her head.

"jIt'ss a rrotten dajy. Don't mjind me. How arre jyou?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Well, I was going fine, but it seems I've landed myself in trouble."

That she'd not gotten his message was concerning, and he wasted no time in putting to rest this notion she had that he'd not stuck to his word when they'd parted ways a month previous. But, it was certainly not something he wished to simply stand and talk over. Lifting an arm up, Dage gestured for them to walk together in the direction that would take them to the nearest lift.

"I sent you a message a week ago saying I was going to be in town."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

No you didn't was the petulant bite-back ready to go, but Samus was smart about their surroundings, so T'yeellaa put a pin in that.

"jIt doessn't matterr." She dismissed with a shrug and a sigh. "jI mean, we both have ourr platess overrflowjing sso jI'll take what jI can get."

Waiting for the lift seemed to slow time down by some dark magic, and their professional-friendly charade felt confining around the crush of foot traffic passing them by.

"How long arre jyou sstajyjing?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Bout three days."

The lift arrived, disgorging a small cadre of Dugs who barreled their way past.

"Of course," he deferred to her, allowing her first entry onto the lift before following. The door closed, shutting them away from the rest of the station for a small amount of time. "... if I've done something wrong, and you'd rather me not be about... "

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Sshut up."

T'yeellaa's right hand was already up behind his neck and trailing blonde locks, coaxing his lips down to hers to quiet them as she met in a kiss metered equally in urgency as it was in ease. There were levels of paradox to whatever this was. Thinking about it seemed to miss the point. His smooth tongue against her rough opposite, even in something unspoken amorous there was room for translation.

Lips parted as a familiar trill rose in the Cizerack's chest. She held close, an easy smile seemingly alien and juxtaposed against all the vex and rage of less than an hour prior. Bloodletting rabbits or the spleen of some faceless bureaucrat back home seemed so small and unfulfilling all of a sudden.

"Therre. All betterr."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Instinctively, one hand had gone down to wrap around her lower back, pulling her close as her kiss silenced the words that he'd hoped she would silence. It was fortuitous, not to mention a small gamble he'd taken. As their lips parted, Dage hitched her just a little bit closer, grinning as he delivered a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"I'm inclined to agree, but... "

And then he did step back, but not enough to completely pull away from her, and his eyes traveled downward in a rather pointed fashion to settle on the poor critters that he had a decent guess were the unfortunate recipients of her 'rotten day' frustrations.

"... I gotta be honest; you can't possibly be meaning to eat those bunnies."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The prospect of a bloody comfort gorge while wearing sweatpants in the comfort of one's own quarters and solitude suddenly seemed out of place. The rabbits for their part seemed ignorant of their stay of execution, huddled together in cramped quarters as they were. T'yeellaa tucked the caddy behind her back as her tail buoyed high, a disarmingly innocent look on her face.

"Wjith bad wjine and a terrjible actjion holo. jIt would've been a new low jin homebodjy tendencjiess."

[Q. Samus Dage]

The thought of an evening spent watching terrible holofilms and drinking wine, both while in the company of the woman that he had taken a rather polished shine to was enticing, and Dage gave her a playful wink.

"I love bad holos; Alliance Commando I'll admit is a guilty and very shameless pleasure... " The lift slowed to a stop, and the doors parted to admit them to the corridor beyond.

Hand sliding from the small of her back, the blonde took her free hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

"And I will never turn down a drink," foregoing the more gentlemanly habit of allowing for ladies to go first, Dage stepped over the threshold, pulling her almost playfully with him.

"So long as I've got company."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"So jyou do ssometjimess go fjirrsst, gai'tou."

T'yeellaa's purr-laced voice rolled like treacle as she watched him exit, deciding definitively that she liked to see him go. She didn't get much time to linger as he tugged her along, and she was happy to be in tow back in the direction that Samus already knew.

Tail lofted high, T'yeellaa traveled in tow towards her quarters. There was just one little thing she'd forgotten about.

Chief Corban was standing there waiting for her.

"I've, uh..."

The stocky junior officer clasped a datapad in both hands in front of him as he watched the Commander and the K'ohta'rrou arrive in tow.

"...got the name you requested, and all the logged comms."

His eyes traveled briefly from T'yeellaa to Samus, but didn't linger but for a heartbeat before returning. T'yeellaa quickly extricated her hand from Samus' grasp, and she applied a quick veneer of cool to her persona.

"Thank jyou Chjief."

Her blue eyes barely drifted to the contents before returning to Corban. He didn't need telepathy to know that the situation had changed.

"I should go, I think?"

He'd mercifully excused himself from something awkward, and T'yeellaa was suddenly grateful for human discretion.

"That wjill be all, Chjief. And Chjief, jI meant what jI ssajid. jI wjill handle thjiss."

The earnest reassurance put a little durasteel in Corban's back, and he did his best to swallow a reassured smile.

"Understood ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."

As an afterthought, Corban glanced to the unfamiliar man in her company. He wasn't so blind as to miss the Commander's pips.

"Sir."

And with that, Chief Corban made himself scarce with all due haste.

[Q. Samus Dage]

A respectful nod was sent to the departing man, but it wasn't long before his attentions were once more returned to T'yeellaa and her unfortunate meals. The small creatures were huddled together, their big black eyes wide, long ears swung back to lay against their backs. In a show of graciousness, Dage relieved her of the carrier.

"Keeping yourself busy then, I take it?"

He wasn't going to pry too awful much into whatever she'd said she would handle, but he wasn't a stranger to the need for venting.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Oh, jyou know. Ssome of thjiss, and ssome of that."

With Samus unburdening her of food she'd put off eating till later, T'yeellaa tended to the access pad on the door to her quarters.

"Plottjing the crreatjive demjisse of mjy enemjiess." she muttered with an annoyed ear flick. A moment later the door slid open, and T'yeellaa turned on the lights, heading to the small kitchenette to retrieve the aforementioned bad wine sitting prominently on the counter in a vacuum-sealed carton. She let the datapad clatter next to the wine carton, then went to retrieve a pair of nondescript plastic cups.

"jI majy not have jinhejirrjited mjy motherr'ss bussjinesss acumen, but jI got plentjy of herr temperr. Therre'ss an audjitorr on Carshoulis that ought to thank jyou forr drroppjing jin on me and defussjing ssome of jit."

Samus was still toting the animal caddy, and he seemed almost a little protective of it. It was ridiculous and cute at once. T'yeellaa paused in the middle of fishing off the plastic wine cap and smiled as she rolled her eyes.

"Alrrjight, put thosse on the counterr. Thejy'rre ssafe jif jyou'rre pajyjing forr deljiverrjy jinsstead."

[Q. Samus Dage]

He obeyed, and setting the carrier on the counter, Dage gave the clear top a little tap while leaning down a bit.

"Don't worry little guys," his voice fell slightly to a badly delivered 'whisper'. "... I won't let the mean lady eat you."

Blinking, he sent his eyes up to his companion, giving her a wide smile before turning back to the rabbits.

"And I'll gladly buy her delivery so you don't end up stewing in her stomach juices."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Well that was perfectly charming, and T'yeellaa simply fixed Samus with a deadpan glance that didn't quite clean away the amusement.

"Sso..."

The K'ohta'rrou metered out oversized portions of wine into each cup, and screwed the lid back on as she closed the distance. She passed one to her guest, tipped the other to her lips, and lowered it as her ears lifted and an impish grin stuck to her face.

"...Quentjin?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

Accepting the drink with a polite nod, Dage had the cup halfway up to his lips when she let out the sound of his first name. The cup lowered, and he made a face while inwardly cursing Kes.

Cardcounting little redheaded snake in the grass...

T'yeellaa's waiting expression interrupted his inner name-calling, and he blew a sigh out from the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah."

And then he lifted the cup back up, taking a healthy level off the top. He swallowed, then finally went on.

"Not every child is blessed with parents that choose decent names for their little ones."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Come on now...jI kjinda ljike jit."

T'yeellaa took her time in sizing up and reappraising her gai'tou in the new light. Maybe there was something lost in translation. Without further insight, it was all onomatopoetic music, and she ran a hand from his high collar, to his jawline, and to the edges of his hair.

"Commanderr Quentjin."

Her tail was rolling in a playful loop as she tormented him.