Second Impressions

Posted on Tue Aug 9th, 2022 @ 9:41pm by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Sovas Nyseth
Edited on on Wed Oct 19th, 2022 @ 4:29am

Mission: S1 Episode 3: Phage
Location: Gym
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 2325
1901 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

To say that he was feeling unsettled might be a bit of an understatement for Sovas since he'd so blatantly objectified their acting Chief of Security in the cargo bay or the fact that he'd been so willing to engage the son of the captain in what would most certainly have been a duel to the death just because of the presence he was feeling in his mind. As opposed to when he'd first awoken in Sickbay and had attacked the doctor, it was not longer merely this hazy and indistinct sensation of just something maybe being there. It had grown over time to feel like there was another person sharing his head but it was intent on experiencing things through him and instigating various reactions seeming for its own amusement. Though the sensations of Pon Farr had seemed to have receded and he wasn't feeling the erratic effects, he still didn't trust that perhaps this was all just a matter of biology and things being out of sync, he did know that there were things that could trigger the reactions of Pon Farr but the doctor had given him a clean bill of health.

So he'd waited until late at night to visit the gym, deciding that he merely needed to work off what he didn't know but it was the only thing that he could see as being an appropriate means of handling his outbursts since he would be useless to the ship, crew or their efforts to return to the Alpha Quadrant. He was dressed for the gym since he figured that working off any excess energy would still be a good thing so he didn't have to worry overmuch about inconvenient outbursts like before. This late at night he didn't expect anyone to be there or if there was, it would be a sparse few people who just wanted to be left alone to their work outs.

Unfortunately for Sovas, the best laid plans…

Despite having been told to rest and take it easy, Madeline had been having trouble getting to sleep and instead opted for a late night visit to the gym. While she could have remained in her quarters to do the particular exercises, she wanted a change of scenery in hopes that it would help her reset in a sense. There were two other people inside with her, but by the looks of them they were packing up to head out for the evening.

Madeline for her part was barefoot on one of the long red padded mats to the side of the room. She was paying very little attention to anything around her; the mirrors in front of her gave her a view of what was behind so she didn’t have to worry. Her go to had always been Tai Chi forms for winding down. Her motions were fluid and graceful, practiced and easy. She did not think, she merely let herself get lost in the movements of her body and allowed her mind to drift with the ebb and flow of her hands. As the door opened, she shifted to look in the mirror and immediately frowned when she saw who was walking through the door. She could feel the back of her neck prickling slightly, but for the moment she chose to simply continue with what she was doing.

Sovas saw that he wasn't alone as he had hoped, having taken in the room out of an ingrained habit as he took note of the crew packing up to leave and leaving him alone with a particular woman. The entity within his mind seemed to take a keen interest in the fact that the woman they had seen before was presence and it was through sheer force of will that the half-Vulcan pushed it away as he moved to set up the bench press to start his work out. Though he found his attention being drawn again to the woman, Lieutenant Cassiel he believed was her name and so far he knew his track record with her wasn't great.

Eventually not being able to ignore her or the shame he was feeling over his actions towards her, he made his way over to the mats. He stopped a respectful distance away and kept his hands in sight while doing his best to be as non threatening as possible. "Pardon my intrusion Lieutenant but I wanted to apologize for my behavior in the cargo bay, that isn't how I normally act with, well anyone really."


As Sovas approached her, she stopped in the middle of what she was doing and first watched him in the mirror before actually turning to face him with a wary, narrowed gaze. The decision had to be made quickly on how to respond to this. Going too far one way or the other could endanger everything. “I should hope not.” She replied coolly.

Madeline was not a slight woman by any sense. She was tall, and the racer tank top she was wearing showed the defined muscles in her arms and shoulders that undoubtedly carried through her body. The tight fit of her clothes revealed the pleasing, feminine curves of her figure, but she was neither delicate flower nor voluptuous bombshell. She brought her arms up and folded them as she considered Sovas. On outward appearance alone, Sovas really had no notable physical advantage over her on height or weight; it was only the slight point to his ears that signaled there was more there than seemed.

He nodded and considered the woman a moment though it was a far cry from the previous hungry expression he had given her in the cargo bay. It was much more considering of her and not something that was seemingly driven by some unspoken internal drive, even though he did feel the alien presence in his mind trying to find a way to influence his behavior at the present. He let out a long, slow breath before turning his attention fully back to Madeline. "First impressions aren't something that can be taken back but I was hoping that I might be able to mend it to be at least better."

She wanted to snap at him, put him in his place, but she forced her shoulders to drop as she took a deep breath and lowered her arms. An unsure half smile appeared on her face, but she remained where she was. “Yeah… alright I guess. What was your name again? Solas? Somnus?”

"Sovas and I must admit that I only know your last name," He offered up while not making any move to step closer or close the distance between them.

“Madeline.” She supplied simply. “So what was the deal? You mentioned some sort of after effects from your coma or something like that?” Gods sometimes being like this hurt.

Sovas couldn't tell if she was being genuine or if she was merely playing the part to be nice but he honestly couldn't expect better given his own behavior towards her or his seeming want to engage in unprovoked aggression towards Andrei. "Yes, I believe it might have," He paused, his brow furrowing while considering his words and since there wasn't necessarily a delicate way to put it, he would be forthright about it.

"I believe that something has happened that may have prematurely triggered my Pon Farr."

“Ah.” At this, she reflexively took a step back from him and frowned. She wasn’t going to show it, but she knew her body was weak and run down right now and in the end she probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance if he did make a move. He seemed to be exercising some control right now though. She brushed her ponytail back over her shoulder and sighed. “You should probably get checked out.”

"Yes, that is the plan at least going forward, I did intend to try and work some of my energy off with a good work out but I did want to apologize since that behavior is not who I am." He replied while moving to start setting up his weight again at the bench press.

"I've no interest in forcing myself on anyone and I was taught to challenge my Pon Farr into a more acceptable path...or at least one I was taught to be more acceptable by Terran standards." He suppressed a laugh but it still came out as a chuckle and wry smirk.

“Well, thanks for that, I guess.” Madeline shrugged. He hadn’t really done anything wrong outside being momentarily exceedingly creepy which in reality wasn’t an overly rare occurrence in Terran men when they looked at a woman. She turned back to face the mirror, trying to decide if she wanted to leave or continue with what she was doing.

“I will say though, Sovas, if you look at me so blatantly like that again, you’re going to end up with no eyes.” It was spoken cordially, like one old friend to another; she even smiled back at him through the mirror. She was also obviously and completely serious.

This caused the half-Vulcan to look up at her before he gave a hearty chuckle and a genuinely bemused smile which did seem to lighten him a little, though he also could tell it wasn't an idle threat meant to make him stay back. "Duly noted and something I will remember, be more subtle in how I look at you in the future."

Was he potentially poking the Sehlat? Yes but he also found the idea thrilling since he was certain that she would make him regret it if she didn't like it. While it was a part of him that did relish this danger, he could also tell that he'd been partially manipulated into the statement by his unwelcome house guest.

“Mm, well I’ll leave you to that then.” Madeline walked off the mat to where her sandals were and slid them on though remained very alert to what was going on behind her and what Sovas was doing. She didn’t linger and headed for the door. She was confident she had made her point to him and if he hadn’t, he would undoubtedly underestimate her which would give her an advantage.

“Have a good evening.”

"You as well." He replied back as she began to leave, he hadn't thought his joke was that bad but then again, humor hadn't ever been one of his strong suits with it not having been something that could contribute to his survival. He sighed and turned back to the bench press as he considered the pure Terran woman from the looks of her, she carried herself well though not in the same manner that a noble might but she moved with a clear purpose. He thought as she left, he felt the urge to chase after her once more, to indulge in that primal nature that was in his blood, causing him to growl as he laid back before he started to lift the bar up.

The entity seemed intrigued by Madeline and the reaction that its host had to her, all sorts of emotions and neurochemicals began flowing. It would have to see if the same reactions could be triggered by others, it was finding this host to be quite interesting.

OFF