Sunset (Part 1 of 2) [18+]
Posted on 19 Jan 2025 @ 3:02am by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Edited on on 19 Jan 2025 @ 3:03am
2,607 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
Episode 20 - Reconstruction
Location: Remidia I - Northern Continent, Creek Bed
Timeline: MD 07, 1608 hrs
[ON]
The soft whirring of the air purifier broke the silence within the tent. Sera hadn't moved since curling into Lamar's side. Even the hold she had on his hand was still. It would have been an ideal time to doze, but chaos within her mind would not allow for that. Formal meditation would usually be the de facto response to any such turmoil, but she did not have any desire to move from her current position.
"The daylight is waning. Is there anything that needs to be performed before nightfall?" It was a neutral enough inquiry, perhaps the Vulcan equivalent talking about the weather.
Lamar's eyes were closed while he rested, his physical form also laying motionless with one of his arms laying atop her rib cage and the other casually splayed out to the side. His breaths were slow and relaxed which was a welcome change from his state of mind several hours prior. He'd found contentment in her close and affectionate presence which helped warm his body while the sun above Remidia set in the distance. He momentarily opened one eye following her query then lolled his head over to rest his cheek against her forehead. "Another batch of firewood wouldn't hurt," he lazily mentioned.
"Then it would be illogical to tarry." Sera casually replied, initially making no effort to move. They currently existed in a liminal space but she had already disrupted the peace between by speaking. With a slow, measured exhale, Sera dolefully extracted herself from Lamar's embrace and pushed herself up to sitting.
"Firewood...perhaps we might also ascertain the temperature of the creek water? I am...sticky."
A throaty murmur sounded from between his lips, a subconscious verbal signal that he didn't approve of her extrication movements. He stifled a yawn then took a deep breath before fully opening his eyes and gazing across the contours of her lithe and athletic back. The small camp light within the tent cast enough yellow illumination for him to view the alluring intricacies of her bone and muscular structure beneath the soft layer of her exposed bronze-hued skin. Her long braided hair cascaded elegantly across her spine and to her bottom where it pooled atop the mattress. "Me too," he conceded. A bath wasn't a bad idea and was probably overdue. "Sun's going down but it might still be warm for another half hour."
He reached out and lightly ran is fingertips from the back of her neck down to her waist, the side of his hand brushing against her soft hair. "You're beautiful."
The small muscles along her spine twitched involuntarily as he traced his fingers down the line of her back. She looked over her shoulder at him as his hand dipped down her spine. He again remarked on her physical aesthetics, and she ducked her head slightly feeling somewhat…self conscious at it. Beauty was appreciated by Vulcans - it was not illogical to find something pleasing to the eye - but beauty, to a female anyway, oftentimes was seen more as a curse than something to be celebrated. It was a far better thing to be intelligent and competent than physically attractive. Nonetheless, Sera ‘hoped’ that this positive attribute that Lamar had repeatedly remarked upon would offset her…otherness.
“It is gratifying to hear you say such a thing, ashal-veh.” She responded in a relaxed tone meant just for him.
Now, once she craned her head to observe him, he was afforded the opportunity to behold her glamorous facial features within the canvas' ambiance. Sera's familiar heart shaped silhouette, full lips and deep blue eyes which resembled the uniqueness of a rare gemstone complimented her delicate cheek bones and jawline. Lamar privately smiled to her in silent reply to her reciprocation then moved his fingers from her back to lightly graze her mouth's soft perimeter.
Sera quickly dipped her head, but instead of kissing his finger, she nipped him and then averted her eyes as her cheeks flushed in a verdant sheen in a moment of self-consciousness. Even unscripted gestures of affection were displayed in such different manners between the two.
"Bath?" She inquired, using the inquiry as a manner to change the subject as it were.
He couldn't argue against the request despite his innermost desires to lay in the tent for many more hours. A soft sigh of compliance exhaled through his nostrils. "After you. I'll get some towels and wash powder from my pack."
Sera stood and unzipped the tent flap and stepped back out into the grove. She looked around in an unconsciously trained manner to ensure safety of her surroundings. Of course there was nothing of note other than the smoldering fire and now the waning light as it filtered through to the moss carpeting beneath her feet. She walked towards the small creek, hoping that the water wasn't glacier fed or anything of that nature. The air was chilled enough for her tastes...to have far colder water? It would be a quick cleansing if that were the case.
It did not take long to reach the creek's edge. The sandy shore was quite soft under footfall, but she paused before hitting the waterline. Crouching down, Sera reached out and dipped her hand into the slowly moving waters and found it to be of a tolerable temperature. She would remain in that position, with her hand idly trailing through the creek water, until Lamar arrived to join her.
"The water temperature should be suitable for you, Lamar." Sera said by way of 'greetings.'
He'd arrived approximately a minute following her initial suitability tests. A small gathering of items were clutched in his arms including basic toiletries and two large, soft absorbent linens they'd eventually need to remove the liquid droplets from their bodies once fully cleansed. The conn officer stepped next to her fully naked with bare feet then dipped his toes into the running water to verify her diagnosis. "It's...getting colder by the minute," was his best diplomatic response. Remidia wasn't a 'warm' planet by any means and the stored radiation from the sun which the ground contained was beginning to dissipate.
An audible slosh of water followed when Lamar trudged through the embankment then continued to walk until the creek's water level was waist-high. A small container of powdered soap remained elevated in his hand while he turned back to her then motioned for her companionship.
Sera looked to the water as if it were inherently suspect. Which is was. She did not know how to swim, and had never willingly entered water for the purpose of cleansing. However, she was also not a coward, so she acquiesced to his request and steadily strove in the water that immediately began to steal the warmth from her body. She walked out till she was as far out as Lamar was and set her feet into the sandy creek bed to keep her solid against the pressing current of water. "I would find it agreeable to be...expedient."
Expedient, he agreed. Goosebumps had quickly formed across his arms and exposed extremities following the temperature change. The ambient temperature in the air was quickly cooling, and soon with it, the water. Lamar deposited a healthy dose of washing material into her hands then followed suit into his own before tossing the container back to the shore. A quick dab of liquid into his palms followed by vigorous rubbing produced a bubbly, well-lathered coat of soap on his digits and wrists which he quickly started to rub into his hair then face.
His 'voice' in her mind was..unique. At least currently his tone was normal...for being psi-null, he appeared to be a fast study regarding the silent communication that could occur between mates. She nodded silently at his silent communication and followed Lamar's lead. She quickly lathered up the soap in her hands and began to wash herself, paying particular attention to various 'sticky' parts.
While she worked on herself, he worked his fingertips across his head and torso in a foamy froth then reached down into the water to perform a more private washing ritual. Once his groin was complete, he raised his legs until the knee broke into the air then scrubbed his thighs, calves and feet one at a time. He glanced up to his wife midway through the process to observe her progress.
She cleansed herself in a similar manner, forgoing any sense of modesty out of practicality. The water was rather cold. After washing all of the easily reached bits, she finished by washing away the evidence of their activities between her legs. It wasn't glamorous by any means...practicality overrode any particular urge to make her acts appear enticing. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and observed Lamar watching her...well...Sera's hands slowed and she turned her head to regard him in a far more overt manner. All it took was a single look, and chilled water or not, Sera felt feverish again.
"Turn around," he quietly said while observing her nude form once more, "so I can do your back." He approached in the water with slow strides until he was within a hands-reach of her and intimately close.
Sera raised a brow but did not disobey his directive. Slowly turning, she pulled her braid over her shoulder exposing her back to him. How had she survived before meeting Lamar, given how quickly she had begun to crave his touch. It was somewhat alarming, really. So much had happened over the last few hours and yet all she was content to focus on was the pursuit of sensation...with her mate. That had to account for something.
His pair of large hands traveled then settled atop the back of her shoulders. Slowly his palms began to slide across her skin with firm pressure while moving in slow, circular motions to lather her skin. The bronze highlights within her epidermis disappeared under a sheen of white bubbly body wash while his hands continued to work and descend lower and lower across her torso. He worked his fingertips into the flesh of her lower back, massaging the too-tight muscles before reaching out along her waist the sliding upward across her rib cage to her armpits...and then forward and onto her exposed breasts.
Sera's eyes opened and she observed his large hands lifting and squeezing her breasts. "Lamar...your hands have strayed beyond the proscribed area you proposed cleaning."
He waded through the water until he stood mere centimeters behind her. "I know," he whispered in her ear with his lips now teasing her sensitive and pointed hearing apparatuses. While he cupped and massaged her breasts, he lowered his head into the side of her neck and began to kiss across the line of one of her prominent veins. His grip on her chest tightened then pulled her body back into him to promote firm fully body contact.
It all seemed to return to this, didn't it? Sera sighed as his mouth moved against her throat, and she relaxed against his body as he pulled her against him. She shivered, but was unsure whether it was from the chill of the water or the sensations he was engendering in her. "Perhaps we should continue this back in the tent?"
That would be nice, he silently agreed. But that meant delaying other important tasks including gathering the firewood and preparing dinner. A subtle rumble in his stomach cautioned him to get started on meal prep sooner rather than later. "After we eat," he concurred before giving her a skin a final kiss and slipping his hands off her nimble form. "It's probably going to get very dark under these tree canopies."
A small, slightly disappointed sound escaped her throat. He wasn't wrong...but that didn't mean she had compliment him on logical behavior. "Very well. If you would care to prepare end meal, I will go collect combustibles for the fire." What was the saying, divide and conquer?
"I like the way you think," Lamar grinned. Vulcan efficiency. He quickly completed a final rise of his own body by dunking his head and torso fully under the water then stood back up and wiped the droplets from his eyes and face. "We better get going. That sun ain't waiting for us."
An Hour Later
A large pile of neatly arranged wood sat near the impromptu fire pit that Sera collected while Lamar re-stoked the fire and cooked yet another meat-filled meal. Sera picked at it, but more so that she had little appetite than due to its forbidden components. What really would have been beneficial was intensive meditation, but she didn't foresee spending her time here doing that. Instead she sat next to him, patiently waiting for him to complete his end meal. The sun had properly set and the temperature was cooling rather rapidly. That part did remind her of Vulcan. Once the light of 40 Eridani set, the ambient temperature plummeted to near freezing at times.
"This, the light that the fire casts in the darkening night, and the ever increasing chill...this is not dissimilar to dusk on Vulcan." She wasn't sure why she said it - it was considered idle, unnecessary banter - but it felt important to share.
"Sunset," he mumbled with a nod in between chews of the steak fillet bits he'd grilled, seasoned then cut into a salad-based amalgamation of vegetables and protein. "Humans...well, humanity was always captivated by the stars. We still do it every night on Earth. Watch the sunset, make out constellations, track comets and watch Starbase One and all the different ships arriving and leaving. We were late to the game until your people showed up so we had a lot of time to study the stars and imagine what would be out there. Some of it was pretty crazy," he chuckled.
"Humans are..." Sera paused and took a sip from a container of water. "fascinating. Your kind advanced so quickly; some of my people were rather concerned you would go out and bring forth calamity upon yourselves. Instead the opposite has occurred."
"The movements of the skies are integral in my culture as well. Even with the technological advances, the crops are not planted until the watcher, a constellation, becomes visible in the early dusk sky."
Lamar pondered the need for such a pseudo-scientific harvest method within an advanced culture but then presumed there might be another element to it. "Like a good omen? Is there any prophecy involved?"
"Hardly. It is a constellation that lies along our elliptic and is visible only during a certain time of the year. When it becomes visible in the sky during dusk, it denotes the appropriate time of the year in which to plant. Although I will not discount that some of our cultural mores hearken back from a time where Surak's dogma did not hold sway."
"Surak..." Lamar contently chewed on more crunchy salad, "he's a pretty big deal, right? The founder of Vulcan society?" Or something like that, he couldn't be 100 percent sure. Regrettably he'd fallen asleep during several of his Academy lectures on Vulcan history which he was beginning to regret. How could he have predicted he'd end up marrying a Vulcan?
To Be Continued...
[OFF]
--
Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Chief Engineer
USS Galileo-A
&
CWO3 Lamar Darius
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Tarin]