An Elliciean Gathering part 1: Arrivals and Greetings

Posted on Fri Oct 4th, 2019 @ 4:53pm by Commander Christopher SilverShadowMoon & Master Chief Petty Officer Mississippi 'Missy' MidnightWaters & Cadet Freshman Grade Charlie StarPocket & Graken Sunheart & Graken Soul Friend & Penny QuickTail & Kofe OathStoneWay & Drayce 'Dray' SnapFire & Ruelilly 'Lilly ' BrightBloom & Commander Arlaena Torr & Lieutenant Jaime Mallory & Cadet Freshman Grade Teryn Sera

Mission: Ready For The Weekend!
Location: Small Elliciean Village, Serene Colony
Timeline: 2388/08/31 1736 (Sun. Aug. 31 2388 5:36pm)

At the hilly outskirts of one end of Serene Colony, high in the trees at the bottom of one of the mountains, sat a small grouping of buildings. They resembled long huts made of wicker, although made of much sturdier, yet bio friendly, material.

Several of the buildings were homes with sleeping hammocks, and the amenities of a tiny apartment, with the luxury of a small pool.

In one building sat a grouping of tables and a kitchen. For the Ellicieans who occupied the homes this was where meals would more often be taken, providing the much needed and desired socialization.

***

"That wall," Kofe directed his 13 yr old daughter, she gave no response beyond doing as she was told. Her silent treatment had been going for several days. QuickTail had no problem with talking to her mother or the twins, but they weren't the ones she perceived was holding her back.

Kofe sighed, it was more than being denied a rite of passage. It was hurt, because she did not understand why her own father could praise her one moment but deny her, as her *Escheldi, the next.

Turning from watching her, Kofe's attention went absently to the twins, who were as usual bickering somewhere beyond his field of vision.

The contrast between the young twins and their older sister was great. QuickTail showed a great deal of maturity in many matters. Her flaw, that held her back, that had him hesitate to give her his permission, was her desire for significance.

No, it wasn't the desire so much as how she tried to find it. Or how oblivious she was to the desire's influence on her behavior. Kofe could point her in the right direction, give advice, but he could not make her see if she wasn't ready.

Searching for her true name would fail if she put her sense of self in the hands of others. Living life by the view and approval of others was dangerous, just as dangerous as having no honor or caring for only oneself. Only Elliciean children were allowed that naive or self-centered mindset, and a child QuickTail would stay until she overcame the last hurdle of childhood.

He passed QuickTail another painting to be put up on a wall, using the tip of his tail to caress her cheek. She turned her face away, several breaths passed before she sighed, "EskaSsdjlemOdsska" She murmured in High Elliciean. A plea for him to forgive her.

"NiehssDelissm." He replied in reassurance, his eyes roamed over the profile of her face and on down to take in her frame held hostage by tension. The issue between them was far from over but for the moment there was breathing room. "Talk we shall later, for now, that one place next to the last and come help me rearrange the tables."

"Ssieh" She sighed out in relief before doing as she was told.

Kofe picked up one end of a table, which they moved effortlessly. His eyes scanned the place, from the kitchen to the wall of glass opposite. Just as the studio was perfect for his art needs of selling and creating, this building was perfect for his people to eat together and was enough space for a "Solemn Place", with room to spare for him to perform his duties as Escheldi. Besides his family, there were two other Ellicieans, and perhaps in time there would be more in this sector.

His people were experiencing a great change in beliefs that had shackled them to Elliciea. It wasn't just the Starbred or Starfleet hopefuls stretching their tails beyond Elliciean skies. And no matter how far away his people ventured, they would always need spiritual guidance.

At the increased racket, Kofe grabbed one of the twins with his tail as they went to run past. "Aka!"

Drayce Snapfire started to protest until he realized it was his father who had him. Only looking mildly rebuked, the boy sullenly stared up at Kofe.

"Help you will, enough squabbling."

Snapfire groaned and muttered something in Elliciean.

"That was?" Kofe' prompted, waiting for his son to repeat himself in Federation standard. The twins could speak it well enough but often, stubbornly, reverted back to Elliciean. If they were to integrate into the colony, they would need to stay in practice.

"Apologize I do Eska." Drayce murmured after his father's glare deepened.

Kofe' put his hands on his son's shoulders, turned the slightly resistant boy around and pushed him towards the kitchen. "With Rue you set the table, if help you need let Penny should give it." He caught the twitch of Penny's ears and tail telling him she had heard the instruction.

They had only a short wait before the others would be there. Two others of his people plus their guests, one of which was a Filra. He had heard of them but had never met one, nor knew all that much about them either. He was eager to get to know her and see the differences between their tailed peoples.

Kofe' caught whiff of the food before his mate came in carrying several dishes. Missy placed the platters down, one of cooked Elliciean fruit and meat, and a spicy dish which was the Elliciean version of pasta. Penny followed a moment later with what Kofe' knew to be a popular Bajoran savory dish as well as a Bajoran dessert. A hearty Elliciean stew soon followed and when Kofe's nose led him a little too close to the pot of it his wife was placing down, he found himself receiving a flash of his lifemate's sharp teeth only a hair's breadth from his nose.

He gave her a meek look, although not particularly sorry. As penance he bought out the remaining dishes, several from Earth, sweet bread rolls he couldn't remember what culture they were from, something he was certain was Betazoid. The last couple of dishes he gave up trying to recall their origins.

There was plenty of seating, most suitable for Ellicieans, having no backs. Three tables had been setup in a U shape to accommodate a large group. The platters were placed in the center of the tables to be later passed around. The room smelled almost of Elliciea, especially with the faint whiff of Ulsh weed incense burning at the back of the kitchen.

Glancing around, he suspected SunHeart had curled up somewhere to sleep. The Graken would soon wake from the arrival of their guests if not from the aroma of food. Kofe' was expecting the Grakens to add to the twins’ mayhem, as Christopher would be bringing Soul Friend.

After lecturing the twins, Missy came over to stand beside him, her tail coiling around his own. She buried her face against his neck and muttered, "For mending my favorite dress, thank you." She had found it laying across their bed, waiting for her.

Kofe purred. "Welcome you are, always my pleasure."

"Uliisfil! The best lifemate I do have."

Before she could move off, he gripped her hard by the hair and kissed her. She growled playfully, nipped his lower lip and slid out of his grasp.

***
[6:00pm]
Charlie had said to be here at this particular time, and Tery had always been one who preferred to be early rather than late. Aunt Lwaxana had extolled the virtues of being on time to any affair, and how some cultures took it as a sign of disrespect if you were late. Of course, she had also dutifully pointed out that there were some who saw it just the opposite. Since Tery was unsure which this culture was, she had played it as safe as possible and come just on time.

As she approached the small hut-like structure -- this one was in the center surrounded by five other similar but slightly different structures, and it was where Charlie had told her to come to meet her, though she had yet to see the Elliciean -- the smell of the various foods had begun a subtle pull on her senses even before reaching the door. She recognized some of the smells but not all of them, and that fascinated her. She did find herself hoping that Ellicieans didn't do the whole thing with the gongs like Aunt Lwaxana did at formal dinners. That was very... annoying.

She reached the agreed-upon spot and stopped. "Hello?" she called, hoping that she wasn't actually too early.

Watching from a nearby group of trees, hidden by foliage, Charlie crept closer. She had decided to come dressed for the occasion, with much less clothes. Her flat chest was bare and she wore a mid thigh length skirt cut down the sides. Her natural markings aided her like camouflage.

She had arrived only a few minutes before her roommate and saw her approaching. The instinct to play at hunting, a set of skills children needed, were still strong in her despite her age. Not that it was unusual for adults to mock hunt either.

Tery was facing the other direction calling out, obviously unsure of herself. This made it easy to slip up a few feet behind her. Grinning, Charlie slid her tail around her friend and pulled her towards her in one quick move.

If this had been years -- was it actually years subjective time? -- ago, Tery might have given a very different reaction. Back in those days, she had been extremely self-protective. But then, Bajor had been a... rough place back then. Time away, held in the Celestial Temple, had given her a different perspective. So her original reaction of fight or flight was tempered by 'look before you strike'.

When grabbed, she had whipped around, eyes going along the appendage grabbing her to its owner. The next part of her normal reaction died without being executed because she realized it was her new friend, and the look said that she was playing with her. So instead, Tery laughed softly and twirled, winding the tail around her further as she spun inward toward Charlie, ending with them nose to... well, not nose.

"You are seriously way too tall!" she teased, playfully tugging on the tail that was wrapped around her.

Charlie laughed. "Height you have not seen till my uncle you see." She gave Tery a light squeeze with her tail before uncoiling it from the other girl's waist.

"Let's go up, enticing the smell of food is. Drool I might upon you." she joked, starting for the turbolift meant for non Ellicieans, a sudden thought hit her causing her to turn and give her friend a playfully daring smirk.

"Go up we could by lift or we could go in the way of my people. What say you?"

The Ellicieans being felinoid, that could mean many things, so Tery frowned in thought. "And what way would that be exactly?" she asked, her smile returning, showing a teasing quality. "Climbing the thing?"

"You do not have a tail or claws for climbing," Charlie said matter-of-factly, then grinned toothily, her tail reached up the side wall of the 'hut' that was part of the turbolift. It came down with two ropes that resembled hangmans nooses.

"These we will use." She put one foot in the longer one and her hand through and wrapped around the shorter. "On my feet you can stand, and hold onto you I will, if you would rather not do the same as I."

Tery chuckled. "Hey, I'm game." She'd never really seen a system like this for climbing, but she would give anything a try once. She put her foot in the longer rope as Charlie had done and put her hand through and wrapped around the shorter rope. "Like this?" She looked at the taller girl. "What now?"

"This.. " Charlie gave a hard pull on another rope dangling next to them with her tail. There was a grinding noise and suddenly the ropes they were holding on to began to rise, giving the girls a view into the life that flourished normally above their heads. Charlie often had a view like this on Elliciea, but the foliage was so different. For one there was no need to worry about carnivorous plant life on Sapientia.

As they rode up, the complex pulley system became noticeable. The 3 or so-story distance up only took about 30 seconds, the landing platform had grips to make stepping out of the ropes easy.

As they reached the top, Tery was grinning. That had been exhilarating! In some ways, it had reminded her of some of her climbing through the Bajoran cave systems during the Occupation. Taking hold of one of the grips with her now free hand, she disentangled herself from the ropes, grinning at her roommate. "That was awesome!"

With a hissing laugh, and enjoying her friends delight, Charlie replied. "My homeworld you would enjoy for this. Even higher our homes are and this is the way. "

Tery grinned; she couldn't help it. In some ways, she was kind of an adrenaline junkie… well things like this anyway. "It's kind of like a vertical zipline," she noted with a grin. "I think I would like your homeworld." Of course, she didn't know anything about it except what Charlie had told her, but so far, it sounded beautiful.

"Beautiful it is, and dangerous. Many do vacation there despite its dangers. Love to show it to you one day." Charlie felt a sudden pang of homesickness. She missed her many siblings, gangs of Grakens, and even the man eating plants, and the complicated social structure that had surrounded her like a blanket. Something she had never realized until now how enveloped she was by Elliciean life. Here she was more of an individual than at home. So much openness that it was somewhat overwhelming.

"Tonight you will get a taste of home." Charlie added, pleased by the touch of Elliciea around them.

Tery smiled. "I would love to see it someday!" She suspected that was an honor not afforded many outworlders, so she was suitably honored by it. "Home…" she murmured at Charlie's last statement. "I think I will like that." She remembered Betazed, but that was only half of her family. The other half was gone, and she would not see them again. But now was not the time for such sad thoughts, so she pushed them away and grinned. "Shall we?"

"Yes, let us." Charlie agreed.

At the top, they could see before them five homes placed around the building they were in, in a half circle. Each building had bridges and ropes between them.

Tery took a moment to pause and take in the surroundings. Her mind immediately began to calculate so many different things about how the buildings were constructed, how they were supported in the trees, and so on. She had to force it to stop, let the place just sink in, feel the beauty of it. And that was when the smells started to make their presence known.

The smell of food drifted through the air. The place was decorated with Elliciean weavings hanging along the walls. Bright, bold, and sometimes, by others opinions, clashing colours, strange designs that gave the impression of nature while not being direct images of such. There was a scattering of dragon art on paintings and tapestries with Elliciean drums playing softly in the background. On the homeworld they would be much louder, strong enough they could be felt through one’s entire being. Dancing was an important part of socializing but she doubted loud drums would be appreciated by the dinner guests.

She grinned at the sight of her uncle’s non Elliciean friend, Jaime, dancing, swinging her hips to the beat, out of the kitchen area, scantily dressed in Elliciean apparel, with a bowl of salad.

As the priest and host of the gathering approached, Charlie turned to look at her friend after seeing the food spread out. "Welcome, hungry I hope you are."

Tery had not been entirely sure what to expect, but the sights, smells and empathic sense that brushed over her as she followed Charlie into the central structure were almost overwhelming. Not in a bad way, mind you, but it was a lot to take in. She smiled though, trying to take it all in as she went.

***

Not far behind those two was the resident Filra. Since this was to be a sharing of culture, or so Chris had given her to believe, she had 'dressed' in the fashion of Filra. Her 'attire' consisted of what looked like a leather-and-metal harness that held cloth over the appropriate places. The leather of the straps blended completely with her fur, but the metal was of a silvery-blue color, as were the cloth coverings. Tonight, to give the full impression, she had worn a set of her hair rings, placed at intervals along the length of her butt-length black hair and another set at intervals along her tail. These rings appeared to be made of the same metal as the metal on the straps of her 'clothing', though these had rune-like etchings in them. Tonight, her tail was not coiled around her waist but swishing happily behind her as she approached.

"Wow.." With an approving look, Jaime approached her, thinking about how Christopher might react when he saw her too. "You look sizzling. If only I had a tail," she winked.

Arlaena giggled softly and reached out with said tail to brush Jaime's arm in a friendly gesture. "It's okay; you don't need one. You're gorgeous without it." she complimented in return. Taking back her tail after that simple gesture, she grinned. "Has Chris arrived yet?"

“Now he does arrive." Christopher's deep voice announced his presence as he stopped beside them. His lean, muscular frame highlighted by the native Elliciean loin cloth like garb, brightly decorated in color and pattern.

Chris's eyes swept over the women approvingly. He found both physically attractive despite how different they were in appearance. "Say I must you both are pleasing to the eyes." His tail first stroked up Jaime's arm and under her neck before sweeping to entangle with Arlaena's tail.

"Well, you're sexy as usual, Chris," Jaime responded, backing away with a pleased smile. "Thank you both for your compliments. Now, if you two will excuse me, I am still needed in the kitchen." Her look almost sly, she sashayed away, wanting to give the other two some time to talk between themselves.

Although he raised his brows at her quick departure, Christopher’s eyes remained with Jaime for a brief moment before being drawn back to Arlaena.

"Coming?" He asked, tail still lightly entangled with hers, a grin teasing at his lips.

When he had spoken, Arlaena had turned to look at the handsome Elliciean. Oh, she approved! Definitely! As his tail twisted with hers lightly, she reciprocated the gesture. Among Filra, it was an intimate gesture used among friends or family, so she felt honored and flattered by it. And yet, she reminded herself that it might not mean the same thing among Ellicieans.

She smiled and twisted her tail just a hair tighter in answer. "Definitely!" she purred as she stepped up to him and smiled brighter. That had not been what she had wanted to say, but there would be plenty of time for the less diplomatic wordage...later.

Chris opened his mouth to speak when abruptly SoulFriend’s head popped out from his hair and the little Graken gave a long and loud drawn out note, as if blowing a horn.

Having flinched from it being right behind his ears, Chris gave Arlaena an apologetic expression before reaching back and grabbing the little Graken dragon. His large hand spanned the dragons back and when he brought him face to face the Graken was being held unceremoniously upside down.

"Rude, that was!" He lightly growled.

SoulFriend first squawked in protest then made a series of apologetic grumbling noises. Knowing exactly what his bondmate was mad over.

Chris eyed him for a long moment before tossing Soul into the air. "Off with you. Go play."

He hadn't needed to be told twice. The young dragon having already zeroed in on the slightly older, unsuspecting, sleeping, Graken.

Chris turned back to Arlaena, held momentarily by her beauty before finding his voice again. "My apologies. Come, let's eat," his tail still lingering around hers.

The noise the Graken had made, so close to her, had made Arlaena wince a little. But that didn't last long. The interplay between the diminutive dragon and Chris had her giggling softly the next moment. "You two are cute." she noted as she moved a hair closer to Chris, their tails still entwined. "But yes, I think we should go in before the elders get annoyed with our slowness." She was teasing. She didn't really think that the others were annoyed by them taking a little time. She just seemed incapable of resisting the playfulness around him. It was as if he brought it out in her.

Chris laughed "Cute I will take." He led the way into what his people called the meal house. Once inside he waited on the side for Kofe' to finish his greetings with the cadets.

Arlaena followed Chris without a word. Her smile said everything though; she was happy.

***

Watching the cadets, Kofe headed their way. His intuition as a priest had him noting that the Bajoran looking girl was feeling lost, and not entirely from the strange culture she just stepped into for a meal.

Once he was before the girls he ran his tail over the Elliciean cadet’s shoulder and under her neck. In return she stepped closer, her face practically in his neck as she purred. Her own tail slipped down his chest before entangling with his own.

"Swellifsh rusillisf," they murmured to each other. A complimentary greeting of strangers promising to be family for the meal.

Charlie then stepped back and added, "Charlie A Pocket Full of Stars I am, and this be Sera Teryn my friend and sleep mate." Although sleep mate would draw a completely different meaning for some, to her fellow Elliciean it simply meant they shared the same space to sleep.

"Kofe' OathStoneWay I am, welcome you are," he replied before he knelt on one knee a little as not to be intimidating. "Swellifsh rusillisf, a greeting to you Sera Teryn. Your beauty graces our meal and to you I offer myself as a priest to help if you have need. Familiar with Bajoran practices I am."

Tery was a little taken off guard, but she tried to recover. "Thank you, sir." she said in a voice that, to her own shame, sounded unsure. She tried to remedy that, the next thing she said coming out in stronger tones. "I would return your native greeting, but I fear I would butcher it and insult you." She certainly didn't want to do that, and she was no diplomat like Aunt Lwaxana. She smiled warmly, passing over the 'sleep mate' reference in her mind because the empathic imprint that accompanied it had been innocuous.

"Welcome you are and no need there is to worry," Kofe replied. He gently took one of her arms, light enough she could pull it away with no effort, and grasped her forearm with his opposite hand and then wrapped his tail around their hands. "This is how many not of my kind, greet us. It matters not if you have a tail. Tonight, family you are."

Tery smiled. She felt honored and warmed by his words. She reciprocated his gesture, minus the tail, of course. "I am honored. Thank you."

Kofe gave her a respectful nod, and encouraging smile as Charlie led Tery to a table. He then moved on to Christopher and Arlaena. "Welcome, Swellifsh rusillisf," he greeted them.

The two men gasped each others forearms as their tails briefly entangled, and they slowly rubbed the sides of their faces together.

Stepping away from each other, Chris introduced his companion. "This is Arlaena, enjoys many skies she does, much like the great ones."

Kofe inwardly smiled at the younger man's unconscious tail movements. The way Christopher's tail seemed unable to stay away from Arlaena's for long. As many poets have written, the tail tells the soul's secrets.

He gave his full attention to the Filra. "Twice honored I am to share a meal with you. Kofe OathStoneWay I am, a priest to my people and anyone seeking guidance." He held out his arm to her.

"I am honored to share your meal and your space." Arlaena reciprocated. She took it as Christopher had. Her tail came around to follow Chris's example and briefly twist itself with the elder Elliciean's then slide away back behind her. She was unsure if she should do the face-rub or if that was meant for family. She had been raised by a diplomat, and so she knew the importance of honoring a host's culture. In that vein, and because she genuinely wanted to learn about Chris's culture, she asked, "Please forgive my ignorance, but what is the correct gesture in your culture for me to offer? I wish to honor your culture in this."

"As a female your face would be at my neck, it is a symbol of trust. For most of our hunters, and warriors, are females. I am honoring by trusting teeth at the core of my vulnerability." Kofe explained, curious as to what a Filra greeting was like. He'd have to inquire at some point.

Arlaena nodded. It made sense. Both species were at their base predators. And as anyone could tell you, the female of any species was the most dangerous. Filra were no exception, though their gesture was more based on the teachings of Kerramandrriya than their heritage as felines. "I am honored by the showing of such trust as I honor your ways." Arleina smiled. "However, you are much taller than I."

Kofe laughed, "That be the state of it. Envy shortness I do at times." There was a lot of ducking for Ellicieans off world. Plus they stood out frequently in a crowd, it meant some careers were off limits.

Kneeling just enough to accommodate Arlaena, he turned his head to allow her to perform her part in the greeting.

As she had seen the Elliciean girl who came with the Bajoran do, Arleina tucked her head under his chin, face close to his neck. She then purred softly, her tail reached forward to twine as she had seen the other girl do.

Kofe purred deeply in return, enjoying the sensation of hers. He noticed the Filra smelled different yet similar. It was hard to explain. Her fur was soft, Ellicieans 'fur' wasn't like it at all, and he was half tempted to bury his face in it, but refrained. He didn't want to give mixed signals.

From the twining of their tails he could tell that hers was also strong and prehensile. He half wondered if she could carry her own weight with it.

He gave a long rub of his face against the side of her head as he pulled away. "Come, a meal we will share, tonight you are family."


To be continued...