06-29-2026, 01:04 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-29-2026, 01:06 AM by Hallowette Maxas-Darl.)
Hallowette's smile softened as Ardanna finished her story. There wasn't really anything to say that could make a childhood like that easier to carry, and judging by Ju's gentle response, someone else at the table had reached much the same conclusion. Sometimes the kindest thing a person could do wasn't to search desperately for the right words, but simply to let another know they had been heard. Fortunately, Ju had already said what Hally had been quietly trying to find words for.
The shift in subject drew a grateful laugh from Hally as she lifted her glass in a tiny salute. "It's nice to know I'm not alone." She smiled over the rim before taking another sip of her beneer juice. "I find people's stories fascinating, so I guess a small part of me hopes people find me the same way."
The question itself, however, gave her pause. What did she do when she wasn't on duty?
There always seemed to be something that caught her interest, another place to wander, another skill to chase simply because it looked fascinating. "Uhm..." she mused, tilting her head slightly. "Quite a lot, actually." The answer seemed to amuse her. "I hike whenever we're near a planet that will let me. Or just walk, really. I like getting lost somewhere I've never been before." She laughed quietly. "Within reason. My grandmother would probably insist I clarify that." Trill immediately came to mind, followed by tens of other worlds she'd explored to one degree or another. It wasn't really the scenery that drew her out the door so much as the feeling that every path belonged to someone before it belonged to her. Every trail had a story if someone cared enough to look for it.
She turned her glass idly between her hands, another thought arriving before the first had entirely finished. "I cook, though my little sister, err, half-sister, would tell you I'm much better at experimenting than following recipes." There was unmistakable affection in her voice. "She's probably right. I have a habit of deciding halfway through that something from Andoria would probably work better with something from Bajor, and then wondering why the results are... less than perfect." Her nose ridges wrinked as she added, "At least they tend to be educational." A particular memory made her laugh. "My poor sister."
"Languages are probably the biggest one, though." That answer came more quickly than the others, as though it had simply been waiting its turn. "I just...love them." She frowned thoughtfully before smiling at herself.
She rested her chin lightly against one hand for a moment, searching for the thought rather than the sentence. "Every language changes the way you think ever so slightly. There are ideas that only really make sense once you've learned the words someone else - someone so different - from so far away, invented to describe them."
Realizing she had wandered dangerously close to turning another simple question into an impromptu lecture, Hally bit her lip, smiling sheepishly. "Uhm.." Her attention shifted easily toward Ju, genuine curiosity replacing the self-conscious amusement.
"What about you Ju?" she asked. "I get the feeling you might enjoy cooking also." The smile in her teal eyes glimmered as she turned her attention towards her, "What do you find yourself doing when you aren't repairing starships and making new people feel like old friends?"
The shift in subject drew a grateful laugh from Hally as she lifted her glass in a tiny salute. "It's nice to know I'm not alone." She smiled over the rim before taking another sip of her beneer juice. "I find people's stories fascinating, so I guess a small part of me hopes people find me the same way."
The question itself, however, gave her pause. What did she do when she wasn't on duty?
There always seemed to be something that caught her interest, another place to wander, another skill to chase simply because it looked fascinating. "Uhm..." she mused, tilting her head slightly. "Quite a lot, actually." The answer seemed to amuse her. "I hike whenever we're near a planet that will let me. Or just walk, really. I like getting lost somewhere I've never been before." She laughed quietly. "Within reason. My grandmother would probably insist I clarify that." Trill immediately came to mind, followed by tens of other worlds she'd explored to one degree or another. It wasn't really the scenery that drew her out the door so much as the feeling that every path belonged to someone before it belonged to her. Every trail had a story if someone cared enough to look for it.
She turned her glass idly between her hands, another thought arriving before the first had entirely finished. "I cook, though my little sister, err, half-sister, would tell you I'm much better at experimenting than following recipes." There was unmistakable affection in her voice. "She's probably right. I have a habit of deciding halfway through that something from Andoria would probably work better with something from Bajor, and then wondering why the results are... less than perfect." Her nose ridges wrinked as she added, "At least they tend to be educational." A particular memory made her laugh. "My poor sister."
"Languages are probably the biggest one, though." That answer came more quickly than the others, as though it had simply been waiting its turn. "I just...love them." She frowned thoughtfully before smiling at herself.
She rested her chin lightly against one hand for a moment, searching for the thought rather than the sentence. "Every language changes the way you think ever so slightly. There are ideas that only really make sense once you've learned the words someone else - someone so different - from so far away, invented to describe them."
Realizing she had wandered dangerously close to turning another simple question into an impromptu lecture, Hally bit her lip, smiling sheepishly. "Uhm.." Her attention shifted easily toward Ju, genuine curiosity replacing the self-conscious amusement.
"What about you Ju?" she asked. "I get the feeling you might enjoy cooking also." The smile in her teal eyes glimmered as she turned her attention towards her, "What do you find yourself doing when you aren't repairing starships and making new people feel like old friends?"