Betazed: First Day

Posted on Wed Jul 3rd, 2024 @ 6:17am by Leiddem Kea (*) & Delaney O'Callaghan
Edited on on Wed Jul 3rd, 2024 @ 6:17am

Mission: Fractures
Location: Betazed
Timeline: Feb 2398
2932 words - 5.9 OF Standard Post Measure

"Oh, wow."

As far as transits went, it had been a relatively smooth transfer. The fates had aligned and connecting transports had been easy enough to book, including an express service that covered the bulk of the distance fairly swiftly. Even though Delaney was in her second years of traveling aboard the Mary Rose, she hadn't been relegated to purely passenger status since her first journey from Earth had seen her disembark in Freecloud ready to try her luck at becoming a space adventurer. A certain restlessness had kicked in after a few hours, a combination of nerves and her usual inability to sit still for very long, but the only casualty to come of it was likely Leiddem's sanity as he'd born the brunt of her chatter and constant quest for food. They'd theoretically slept at one point, though in Delaney's case, that had mostly involved just enjoying the warmth of the pretty cramped bed whilst listening to her boyfriend's breathing. Sleep didn't come easily at the best of times, it definitely wasn't showing up when her cup of anticipation was flowing over.

It was nearly over, however, and as she peered out of the viewport of the small shuttle making the descent from spaceport to ground, Delaney was immediately struck by the vibrancy of colour. Given that their arrival time was already pushing into evening, they'd already made the decision to stay overnight in the city before catching a transport out in the morning to meet his family but Delaney hadn't expected so much foliage in what was otherwise a visibly urban area. It was as if the jungle had negotiated terms and still managed to come out with the lion's share of real estate. She had grown up in wide, open spaces, lush and green in their own right, but it was inspiring to see a truly harmonious blend of function and natural beauty.

Leiddem was as relaxed as he could be so far from the home he had created going back to the home he had joined Starfleet to escape. It was a bundle of nerves in his stomach that would not go away at all no matter what he had did to try and dampen the feelings. Leiddem smiled at her reaction and nodded looking away from her to take it all in. Betazoid was beautiful to say the least, there was no denying it as he led the way further out of the spaceport. The air here was different, fresh and tinged with the scent of blooming flowers, a stark contrast to the recycled air of space.

“What are you thinking?” He wondered passing several Andorians who were talking loudly about where they were going to stay for the night. Leiddem found himself focusing more on the small details of her to distract himself from his inner turmoil.

On a world full of telepaths, being asked to share her thoughts might almost have seemed weird had it been anyone else asking. Delaney was very accustomed, however, to Leiddem's reluctance to employ a psionic advantage no matter how many times she reassured him it might actually save both of them a lot of time. "Mostly trying to figure out how the hell they built all of this in the middle of the jungle without making it look like they knocked down a single tree." In typical fashion, Delaney wore the bulk of her sentiment as visible emotion, not at all inclined to hide the fact that she was staring slack-jawed at the scenery. So genuine was her appreciation that it earned a smile and a nod from passing terminal workers as they made their way out of the transit lounge properly and into the street beyond, but the woman herself was too engrossed to notice.

As they continued walking, Leiddem could not help but feel a sense of pride mixed with his anxiety. Betazoid was indeed a beautiful place, and despite his reasons for leaving, there was something undeniably comforting about being back. He just hoped he could navigate the complexities of his return without losing himself in the process or more importantly losing the woman he loved. "I have no idea how the ancients managed it."

"It's warm too." True to her heritage, Delaney didn't handle the heat all that well, though being trapped on a dead ship for days on end had also tested her resolve in terms of cold tolerance. If it had been raining, she would have felt immediately at home, but with every plant resembling a tropical postcard and the vivid contrast of colours beyond the shaded shelter of overhanging walkways, their surroundings were more reminiscent of the short retreats to Greece she and her friends had snuck in between university semesters. Experience told her that it wouldn't be too long before ridiculously large hats and an inordinate amount of sunscreen became necessary and yet still unsuccessful in keeping her from breaking out in freckles.

Leiddem nodded shouldering his rucksack more and grabbed her hand. The landscape was a stark contrast to the metallic and artificial environments they were used to on SS Mary Rose. The ground beneath their feet was soft, almost springy, with a carpet of moss and fallen leaves from the walkway. "It is a jungle planet. It is a world full of emotions, thoughts, and sensations. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, but it is home."

"It is kind of buzzy."

Only Delaney could reduce the impact of a psionic network that extended beyond the people and into the fabric of the ecosystem itself to a singular concept such as 'buzzy'. Inadequate as it was, it was the best way she could explain the crackle of energy that was working on keeping the hair on her arms permanently raised. The sensation wasn't unpleasant and in some ways it would have been great to be able to bottle this level of motivation and awareness for all those times when ship-life threatened to become monotonous. It was unfamiliar, however, and the amplification of a perceptiveness that she'd only just started to notice around Leiddem left the redhead feeling jittery and hyper-alert. It wasn't quite voices in her head yet but the jostle of minds around her was like the emotional equivalent of trying to navigate a crowded street without resorting to sticking out your elbows.

"Like, really buzzy. Wow."

"It'll become background within a couple of hours and it will be better away from Rixx," He promised, looping an arm around her waist and walking briskly along the path until they got to the hotel he had booked for the night. It was similar to the outside as they stepped inside with a mixture of inside and outside. Leiddem had never realised this before but it seemed to be a theme as he could remember all his homes having the same mixture.

One thing Delaney hadn't been sure of, but she had opted not to ask in a rare fit of impulse control, was whether or not the locals they encountered would willingly verbalise when trying to communicate. All her private research had indicated that, as one of the planets in the Federation that boasted a large non-native population, Betazed tended to embrace non-telepathic conversation within the major cities and most popular tourist destinations and that it was only within the privacy of homes, and in the smaller villages away from the multi-cultural mix, that silence reigned supreme. She hoped that would turn out to be the case because if there was one thing Delaney relied upon, it was her ability to navigate her own ignorance through social discourse.

"It's so peaceful in here," she whispered as they approached the main desk, wincing slightly as the man on duty lifted his head at just the right time to make it seem like he'd overheard, at least in some capacity. An attempt at deference left her scrambling to quell the flow of her thoughts, which ran like a torrent speeding towards the crash of a waterfall on most days. Leiddem had reassured her plenty of times that he loved the vibrancy of her mind but Delaney wasn't all that sure it extended to other telepaths.

Leiddem glanced around looking at the glass ceiling and smiled fondly. He had to admit the foyer of the hotel was peaceful and what he had hoped for. He wanted a moment of calm before she met everyone in his life other than Jeassaho. "He does love the vibrancy." The man at the desk commented before he blinked as he looked at Leiddem for a second before glancing at the woman again. "Apologises. I got caught...I mean... welcome can I take your booking name."

It was an intrusion that might have flustered most people, but once again Delaney's unique perspective meant that her immediate fascination was a genuine and authentic response that didn't need to pass through any control filters to exist. It had taken a while for her to convince Leiddem but telepathy didn't present as being quite the breach of privacy that some non-telepaths seemed to view it as. Typically speaking, she was terrible at keeping things to herself anyway and had lived her life so far as a fairly open book. With that in mind, when she considered that most of the grief she'd suffered over the years boiled down to inelegant communication attempts, the idea that people could pluck her actual intent right out of her head was more of a positive thing than something to avoid. The grin she flashed the desk clerk dismissed the need for an apology almost immediately, but she allowed Leiddem to answer since he was the one who had arranged their booking.

Leiddem did not know how to react to the man but gave over his name and quickly got directed to the room he had booked for she night. He was feeling proud that everything so bar was going to plan and he had not messed up any part of the booking. “Come on.” He said aloud as the man directed them to a turbo lift.

"What just happened?," Delaney attempted to whisper as the lift doors closed behind them. As much as it seemed easy enough to guess, she'd already decided that taking anything for granted here might not be the best idea.

Leiddem looked at her and laughed. "Nothing really important. He picked up your thoughts and answered your question but then panicked cause he is. So yes, I very much do love everything about you." Leiddem declared openly.

Delaney stood in dubious confusion for a moment, one eye squinted from the effort of trying to recall what she'd been thinking that would have lead to that kind of response. That was one difficulty, she supposed, with being around people who could pick up at least parts of where her mind drifted to; she often couldn't keep up with the speed of her thoughts herself, much less account for the fragments a telepath might pluck out of the jumble. "And here I thought I was trying to empty my head to avoid leaving a trail of migraines." Leaning up, she smushed a kiss playfully into his cheek.

“Lan… You do not need to be anything other than yourself.” Leiddem said leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. “I love you and all your variants.” He teased just a little as the door opened and then were joined by a Vulcan and a Betazoid.

It took tucking her top lip into her mouth and clamping down on it with her teeth for Delaney to avoid laughing for the duration of the short ride to their intended floor. Now that they'd arrived, most of the arduous part of the visit was over with, other than the return transit which threatened to be as equally dull, but they were also a day closer to meeting Leiddem's family which put them only three days out from her operation. A certain amount of nervous energy almost always put her in an exaggeratedly-gleeful mood.

Leiddem grinned as they got to their floor and he excused them from behind the pair and tugged her into the corridor and led the way. "I got a nice room after we have slummed it on the transport." He admitted as he palmed open the door and led them inside a room that was similar in theme to outside with glass and open space around them.

"No kidding."

The room's interior was every bit as stunning as anything else the planet had added to its first impression, and though Delaney usually wasn't too fussy about aesthetics, being just as happy to 'slum' it in the coziness of what was now pretty much their quarters, she could still appreciate intentional luxury when it wasn't at someone else's expense. The wall of glass that looked out over the city would take a little getting used to but, having a head for heights and the passion for risk-taking, Delaney made an immediate bee-line to pull aside one of the thick drapes and peered out at the impressive drop to ground floor that made the lack of balcony probably for the best.

"The view's definitely worth it." Turning, Delaney scanned the room and dipped her head in appreciation. "And the bed's about the size of our entire bedroom. Wait," she pushed away to take long strides in the direction of the bathroom. "Is there a bathtub?" Easily the biggest regret of leaving Hysperia, other than the obvious lack of dragons, was having to abandon the long soaks in scalding hot scented water that had definitely improved her capacity to drop off to sleep.

He leant against the wall and just watched her exploring the space and taking it all in. Leiddem looked at her and raised an eyebrow as if to say you do not know me at all. He rolled his eyes and tugged her hand and led her to where there was indeed a bathtub that allowed her to see another part of the city through the large windows if she wanted to." As if I would book anywhere and not get something that reminded me of one of the best couple of weeks of my life."

"Holy balls, it's huge."

The exclamation would have accurately described the bathroom itself, which was far larger than anything an Irish hotel would have offered. This was at least partially to enable it to comfortably house the large triangular tub that occupied an entire corner, and into which Delaney swiftly climbed, clothes and all, to sit and stretch out. "Maybe we can just stay here," she ventured, a jest that held at least an element of wistfulness. "Skip the operation, skip family time, just live in the bathtub until we're wrinkly enough for a senior citizen discount." As usual, when she sought to make a joke out of something, it was a fair indication it was actually attempting to bother her. Delaney wouldn't have denied she was nervous about both upcoming events, she'd already spoken about it at length several times, but with no alternative but to push forward her coping strategy had veered towards humour, as always.

Leiddem stayed where he was watching the scene and attempts at her wanting to avoid everything other than what was going on there and then. He had no issue for today ignoring it but tomorrow would come quicker than expected. “No.” He said firmly. “I want you in my life for a long time so you do not get to skip.” He said quietly.

An inelegant attempt to drape a leg over either side if the tub went a long way towards testing the size of it, though it left Delaney looking a little ridiculous. It had been proven enough already that trying to argue with Leiddem on the severity of her condition was pointless; glimpses into possible futures had been enough to spook him and, nervous enough herself to concede there was no good reason to take the risk, Delaney had accepted that an operation now would stand the best chance of eradicating any concerns further down the road, especially if she intended to pursue a life in artificial environments. She just wasn't a fan of hospitals or medical facilities or anywhere that tended mostly to exist because people were fragile. In her family, the only reason people went to hospital was to die. It was illogical but also just happened to be her experience.

"We should just order food in tonight," she declared, squeaking her way back to a proper sitting position by wriggling her butt back and forth. Exploring Betazed was a motivation for after her recovery, though she felt just about ready to eat her way across the country after existing on replicated food for the duration of their inbound trip.

He smiled gently as he watched her come to decisions in her head around what was going to happen. He was not willing to compromise now on it. Leiddem moved from the wall and shook his head leaning over to offer her both hands to help her out of the bath if she needed it. "I have no issue ordering in." He assured.

Accepting the help, Delaney clambered out and stepped close enough to catch her boyfriend in a loose hug. Chin angled to look up at him, all thoughts of delaying the inevitable pushed to the side, she waggled her eyebrows at him and declared, "Bath first. Then we'll see if you have any energy to spare for food."