Miite'ellaer

Posted on Mon 30th Mar, 2020 @ 4:31am by Mary Elizabeth Gregory & Maiek s'Ethien

1,100 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Romulan Park

Maiek carefully lifted the basket and smiled to unfold a quilt underneath it. "Ah, she thinks of everything." That had not been a part of his request but he appreciated it nonetheless. It was one that his mother had made, with meticulous hand stitching in reds, pinks and coppers. The edging and detailing were black.

"This is gorgeous!" Mary Elizabeth exclaimed upon seeing the quilt. She pulled a corner of it closer to her face to get a better look at it. "Don't you dare tell me this was replicated. This must have taken weeks to sew."

"My mother and I made it, when I was first getting into the world of fashion design. I would draw and she would sew." A fond little smile decorated his lips for a moment. "It was before she taught me how to sew, and I really launched my career on Romulus."

"You are a fashion designer?" Mary Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Then why are you working with the diplomats?" She gently laid the corner of brightly-colored quilt down. "I see you're a man of many talents."

"I am inspired by being here." he said quietly, hoping that the unspoken words were easy to read. "My maternal aunt is the Ambassador and she brought me along in hopes that I might have some success in understanding how Starfleet and human society works in order to relay it to her. Artists on Romulus look at the world very much differently than do any other caste. We as a culture must adapt, and the only caste accustomed to doing so is that of the artist."

"Well, yes, I suppose that would make sense. I think artists are among the most adaptable of people in all cultures," Mary Elizabeth said. "We like to experiment and try new things. Artists of any sort are more open to being adventurous, whereas many other people tend to like things to remain more or less the way they have always been. So what are the sorts of things your aunt wants you to learn about how Federation society works?"

"She wasnt really specific on that point" the wry comment came with a twist of his lips. "I dont think it matters and understanding and common ground are the goals. Do you trust me?" He held a small bowl that contained objects that looked vaguely like a gnarled ravioli.

Mary Elizabeth gave him a mischievous look. "As long as it's not gagh served live or flaked blood flea, I'm at least willing to try it." She looked over the bowl's contents. "Well, it doesn't look like jellied monkey brains, so that's a relief. Do you eat it with fingers or utensils?"

"Brains do not feature in any of our quisine," he muttered, looking disgusted at the very idea. "I am not a fan of organ meat of any kind. I have few things I will not eat, that is one." An atavistic little shudder went through him, before he looked down at the small puff. The filling in it was chopped nuts, and had a tangy sweetness to it. It would crunch when she bit down on it, and would fall apart as the shell of the pastry was cracked. Raising one from the bowl, he offered one to her.

Mary Elizabeth chuckled. "Brains are a feature in some Earth cuisine, but most humans won't eat them. The comment I made was a reference to a scene from a video drama. The main characters are an archaeologist and his friends, and they encounter a primitive tribe from the deepest, darkest parts of the jungle, where a feast is prepared for them--of the most appalling sorts of foods--and the group has to eat the meal or risk gravely offending the hosts."

She accepted the dumpling-like morsel that Maiek gave her. "Oh, this is wrapped in something like phyllo pastry!" She waited for Maiek to get one for himself.

Maiek opened a smaller dish of sauce and dipped it in before popping one into his mouth. Chewing for a moment he swallowed and smiled, as they were handmade, not replicated. He could tell. "You should try it with and without the sauce. I suggest without first."

"Oh, definitely," Mary Elizabeth agreed. She bit into her pastry and grinned. "Delicious! It's like a baklava, only shaped differently and tangy instead of sweet. Do these take a long time to make?"

"I do not believe so, most of it is an exercise in patience in stuffing them. " He drizzled one in the sauce and offered it to her before he licked the sauce from his fingers.

"The filling tastes like chopped nuts. So you mix them with something like butter or egg yolk to help them cling together, roll them into a ball, and wrap them, right? God help you if it's honey." Mary Elizabeth swallowed the remainder of her unsauced dumpling and accepted the one from Maiek. "Mm! That has a nice bit of umami to it. Someone told you the way to a cook's heart is through her taste buds, didn't they?" The sight of him licking sauce from his fingers made her want to join him in cleaning his hands.

Down, girl! Mary Elizabeth thought, a bit shocked at herself.

Is that what it takes to win your heart my lady? he thought, raising his eyes to catch the warmth of what could only be desire in hers. He reached out and brushed his fingertips against hers.

His touch felt electric against her fingers. "You do make me rather more interested in something besides food, though," Mary Elizabeth murmured in a throaty voice as another part of her brain yelped, What am I saying?!

His elegant fingers curled about her wrist, raising her hand to his lips. Once there, he pressed the gentlest of kisses onto the inside of her wrist. "I find myself also focused on more...carnal... pleasures than food."

"Oh, don't discount the food. What we've had so far has been quite excellent," Mary Elizabeth murmured. She leaned forward and kissed a droplet of sauce from his lips. "Where can we go? If we go to the Noose, my staff will know everything."

Fingertips raising to the place where she'd kissed, a bright smile dawned on his face. "I do have quarters on the Ehtevau, if you wish something private."

Mary Elizabeth blushed profusely but smiled at him. "Yes! Private would be--preferable. Yes. And on the way, you can tell me all about the Ehtevau."

 

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