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Thread: Being a Cizeri Teenager is Hard and No One Understands

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    Complete Being a Cizeri Teenager is Hard and No One Understands

    Daanarri Meorrrei fled from the tiia'haa'ko meal into Jovan Station's promenade, hoping to lose herself in the crowd. Full of anger and confusion, the fifteen year old Cizeri girl dashed hot tears from her eyes and tried not to run into anyone.

    Why did her mother have to be so infuriating!? Daani had been happy enough to accept Taataani's proclamation of her impending marriage to some male she'd never met before. Not happy, exactly, but she accepted it. Having her mother pick a husband was preferable to whoever the Sun Palace would place her with, and Daani was not ignorant of the political implications of the Pride Mother being interested in who Daani married. Taataani had been hard, even cruel during dinner, but somehow Daani had not been surprised by her actions.

    Her older sisters, however, long held in high regard by the much younger Daani -- they were a complete disappointment. T'yeellaa, the original family rebel who had thrown away her place in the family business in order to pursue her dream of being in the Navy, had less backbone than a Mon Cal jelly. Rai'faani seemed like a spoiled brat, not a cool, fashionable icon.

    Daani found a lookout point, a section of the station set up for star gazing, or watching ships come in, and planted herself in the middle of the rows of benche. She stared blindly out into space while her mind raced.

  2. #2
    Payday. Payday after two months of work aboard the Quasar Fantastic, and Freddie knew exactly where his money was going! Two months had been plenty of time to debate, to hem and haw, and plan out a budget, and as soon as he was freed for an overnight stay on Jovan, and received his check, the gray-furred Nehantite made a mad dash for the mecca of every fifteen year old boy with money: the personal electronics store.

    His pink eyes went wide at the selection on display, the latest models of everything having apparently come out since the last time he was in port, and he chewed his lower lip as he debated splurging on something fancier than he had planned. It was tempting, so tempting, to be with the trend for once, to be on the cutting edge of personal entertainment tech, and show that he'd made it. And he could afford it, barely. There it was before him, glistening in chrome and his own personal selection of color choices, just waiting for him to pick it, to make it his own. It called to him, begging him to flaunt his newfound wealth.

    But in the end, reason won out, and Freddie walked out of the store with a refurbished model of the previous, previous generation of personal comm, on a budget prepaid plan, and a pair of wireless earbuds. Having a personal comm again felt like vindication for having to sell his old one so he could afford food during his first visit to Jovan, and his pink eyes were glued to its screen as he weaved through promenade traffic, connecting to the station's data network, and searching for cool background images and music to download. He'd have to slap an official Quasar Fantastic case on it when he got back to work, if they still had any left in stock. For one, he was proud of his new job, and two, he got a discount on official merch!

    His barefoot wandering led him to a lift, and up to a viewing area he'd tried - and failed - to sleep in before, knowing it'd be quiet at least, allowing him to better get to know his new-to-him comm, and get his earbuds synced. An empty bench was selected, not really looking around since he already had the object of his desire in paw, and he followed the instructions on-screen, pressing buttons and watching for flashing lights before pairing. Success! Freddie grinned, eagerly sticking one earbud into his right ear, then going for the left, only to have the right fall out, clearly not designed for his race's ear shape.

    "Crap!" he muttered, jamming the left one in deeper as he scanned the floor for the runaway right. It took a few moments, but there it was, by a girl's foot two benches ahead. Climbing over them, he nervously waved hi before starting to bend down. "Heya, sorry, dropped my earbud, just gonna..." It was then that he saw the expression on the girl's face, and his ears wilted in concern. "Are... are you okay?"

    He'd done it. He'd just spoken to a girl he guessed to be around his own age. But why? Fear began to pump through his veins as Freddie realized he'd not only started a conversation with a girl, but possibly one about feelings.

    Garfife, what had he done?

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    "jI'm fjine," Daani said automatically, startled initially by the boy's sudden appearance. "Jusst... jusst watchjing the sshjipss."

    Her obvious lie sat between them, filling the air until Daani felt stifled by its density. She looked away from the Nehantite quickly, before his concern made tears well up in her eyes again.

  4. #4
    Freddie hung there, half-stooped, paw outstretched to get his stray earbud, and he looked between it and the girl. Only after it became awkward enough to require action of any sort did he continue to bend down and pick up his new property from the floor.

    There were sneakers, and then there were sneakers, and to a lad who had just spent months debating over his big luxury purchase, Freddie could tell immediately that this girl's shoes cost more than his new personal comm. His eyes looked over her as he stood back up, and he hesitated there, unsure if he should say anymore. One, he didn't know her, and two, he could already tell she was way out of his league!

    "You don't... sound fine," he said. The words had escaped him, bypassing any common sense or personal shields, and he stood there, baffled as to just how he'd managed to say it. What help did he think he could possibly offer to some rich, trendy, cute... oh Garfife, she was cute, too, girl? He could feel his ears warming with a blush just thinking about it.

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    She sighed, turning to face the boy again, her eyes a little wetter than they usually were. "jIt'ss jusst famjiljy drrama." Daani bit her lip and blinked a little to keep the tears back. "Mjy mom and ssjissterr werrre fjightjing and Mama hjit my ssjissterr. jIt was rrealljy bad. jI sstood up forr herr, and then sshe jusst forrgave Mama ljike jit djidn't matterr."

    The words came out of her in a gush, and Daani gulped, hiding her face in her hands.

  6. #6
    In that moment, Freddie knew he had to do one of two things. Either he could sit and lend his skill as a good listening ear, and try and console this cute rich girl, or he could take a step back, then head off to do things he was actually good at.

    How his butt wound up on the bench beside Daani, Freddie had no idea, and his tail twitched in annoyance at not knowing, either.

    Fidgeting with the earbud in his fingers, he offered, "I'm... I'm sorry to hear that. Family can be rough."

    Garfife, you are so lame! His mind chided himself inside his head. You sound like the most generic sympathy card!

    "But... isn't that what families are supposed to do? Forgive each other?" he asked, though he hardly knew the answer to that, himself. He imagined that was the case, from the sitcoms he'd seen on holovision. "I mean, isn't that better than fighting all the time? Means you get... hit... lest often... I think."

    He trailed off at the end, now needing to look ahead, himself.

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    Daani stared out into the black, mirroring the boy. "Sshe'ss ssuppossed to be thjiss sstrrong leaderr. Mjy ssjissterr. jI wouldn't let Mama hjit me. And Mama ssajid sshe djidn't mean jit but... jI jusst don't know. jIt'ss ljike jI don't rrealljy know them at all."

    She sniffed hard, and wiped at her nose with her arm.

    "And now jI have to go back to Mama afterr jI ... jI thrreatened herr wjith ssomethjing rrealljy bad jif sshe hjit anjy of uss agajin. jI don't know what sshe'ss gojing to do to me."

  8. #8
    "My dad used to hit me," Freddie admitted. "A lot."

    And worse. Why he said it, he didn't know. He'd worked so hard to run away from it, to forget it. And there he was, openly admitting it in front of a girl he didn't even know.

    "I didn't have anything I could threaten him with, though. At least you've got that?" He found his head turning slowly, offering a pitiful smile of sympathy.

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    “Well jif sshe doess jit agajin, sshe’ll rregrret jit,” said Daani firmly. “jI don’t know jif sshe thjinkss jI’d rrealljy do jit. What jI sajid jI’d do.

    ”But jI wjill.”

    Daani flexed her hand, claws extending and retracting.

  10. #10
    "She's still family," Freddie warned. "You'll have to live with that, if you do it. Becoming a monster to stop a monster just makes two monsters. Sometimes you just need to know when to get away, and take that opportunity."

    A measure of sadness tinged his voice, though it ended with hope, his smile warming to something genuine. "Or, just, put on some good music?" A chuckle shook his shoulders as he extended the right earbud, his left paw holding his personal comm, a song apparently queued up.

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    Daani frowned, the thought of becoming like her mother swirling around in her brain until the Nehantite boy offered an earbud. She gave him a half-smile and accepted it.

    ”jI’m Daani, bjy the wajy,” she said, putting the earbud into her ear.

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    Meanwhile...

    T'yeellaa could have opted to fully dress in the tiia'haa'ko pit, but that would have left her in the company of Rai'faani and Mother. Honestly, she needed privacy. Not out of any feeling of modesty, or maybe that wasn't true. Maybe it was emotional modesty that she needed. She needed some place where she could put herself together again and smooth over her vulnerability. So, she'd hastily dressed well enough to pass muster while in the pit, then quickly headed out towards the forward section of the restaurant, which was dominated by a bar and a few tables intended for pre-killed casual dining. The restaurant was a disinterested buzz of individual conversations. T'yeellaa's ears perked and strained, fearful for any loose comments that her barely-functional state was disheveled enough to attract attention. Fortunately, that wasn't so. Unnoticed, the K'ohta'rrou disappeared into the establishment's refresher - a place where she could properly dress and do so alone.

    T'yeellaa locked the door behind her and turned the sink faucet on. She shouldered off her naval jacket, unfastened the three buttons she'd bothered to clasp on her blouse underneath, and set that on the wall rack as well. She plunged both hands into a stream of hot water, scrubbing away at hands that were largely clean already. She cupped a handful of water, and doused her face once, then twice again. As ribbons of water trailed down her nose, brow, and chin, T'yeellaa studied the face that looked back at her in the mirror. She frowned, and swiped a thumb at the corner of her lower lip to dislodge some stubborn dried blood, only to realize with a little tenderness that the blood was her own.

    She shut off the water, reaching for a disposable hand towel to daub the moisture from her face. Still touching the small cut on her lip, T'yeellaa moved her fingertips to a line on her face that she was sure hadn't been there the last time she'd looked in the mirror. At least, that's what she thought. Now? There was a feeling of otherness, like she wasn't completely sure the woman in the reflection was who she was, or if that were true, how she'd changed?

    Her hands moved from her face, down and past her chest, and came to rest around her navel. She pivoted, looking at herself from this new angle. There wasn't any outward sign, not this early on. But that wouldn't last long, would it? Her hands wrapped around herself in a kind of cradling sort of way. Was this how she was supposed to feel? Protective? Afraid? Determined, in the face of every reason in the galaxy not to be?

    Her eyes returned to her uniform. For someone who was almost disdainful of every other stitch of clothing she wore, T'yeellaa loved it for its constancy. She was taught early as a cadet how to wear it, how to take care of it, and exactly how to accord herself when in it. There was a safeness in that uniformity, a deep sense of comfort somehow set into high starched collars, double-breasted wool, and lace cravat. T'yeellaa lost herself in the ritual, returning her uniform back to her body the way it ought to be done, taking care not to malign the creases, to make sure that each gilded button and badge caught the light without the hint of a smudge dulling its luster. Alone in the refresher, she took longer than she might have otherwise, making certain that the look was perfect. Her hastily-drawn hair from earlier was let down, then drawn back, then back again into a tidy bun set against the nape of her neck.

    T'yeellaa's eyes returned to her reflection. There was the K'ohta'rrou, with all of her impressive lines. She was somewhere in there. Maybe she could hide for a while. Maybe. It sounded nice, but she knew it wasn't going to be that way this time. Soon, the lines of her very fine jacket would be pushed out. She wouldn't be able to hide then. Maybe it was time to practice coming out of hiding, before it was too late.

    Taking a moment to straighten her epaulets, T'yeella left the refresher. It was time to find Daanarri.

  13. #13
    Freddie's heart nearly skipped a beat when she actually took the earbud, and he swallowed to regain his composure. "I'm Freddie," he replied. "It's, uh, nice to meet you."

    For a moment he forgot what he was doing, then noticed the tick of her own ear. "Oh, oops, here we go!" he said, pressing play on a solid groove track.

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    Daani smiled at Freddie, then closed her eyes and let the music wash over her. For a few minutes it was nice to pretend that the rest of her family didn’t exist.

  15. #15
    And, for a few minutes, Freddie just sat there beside her, head bobbing and bare toes tapping to the groove, occasionally stealing sidelong glances at the girl who was way, waaaay out of his league.

    Was this what it felt like to have a girlfriend? If it was it was... nice. And for those few minutes, he indulged himself in his own little personal fantasy, all the while dreading the moment the track would end.

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    T'yeellaa wished she had a better plan than a brute force one, which currently was to patrol the concourse and hope she ran into her little sister. At least she didn't simply yell out her name. She had to imagine how Daani would've reacted to that, and it didn't bode well.

    So instead she pushed through the crush of dozens of sentient species and hundreds of individuals. She doubted she'd find her at any of the food kiosks - certainly none of them had much of an appetite after what had happened. T'yeellaa kept a particular close eye on any young Cizeri girls that passed, although from the way that Daani was growing, that distinction was harder to isolate. Daani was almost as tall as she was now!

    What about the jewelry hawkers? She couldn't imagine Daani being there, nor the clothiers. Shopping was an easy stress relief, but Daani wasn't Rai'faani or even the twins. She had her head in the stars.

    The Stars.

    T'yeellaa turned on a heel, looking at the array of windows at the outer wall of the concourse. At any hour, the windows at the concourse offered an unfettered view of incoming and outgoing ships. If Daani was going to be anywhere, she had to be there.

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    The song ended, and Daani looked sideways at Freddie as the next track started. She couldn’t even remember a time that she’d actually been around a boy her age, sitting together, hanging out. It was... nice?

    When he looked up she quickly flicked her eyes back to the vast transparisteel windows, avoiding eye contact.

  18. #18
    Freddie's ears wilted as Daani looked away, and he was prepared for her to just get up and leave him. But she didn't. Blinking, the young Nehantite thought about his situation, and took advantage of a lull in the slower next track.

    "You, uh, live here?" he asked. He'd seen many Cizeri aboard Jovan, and understood they held a permanent presence. "I'm just in for the night. My ship heads out in the morning."

    Instantly he realized it sounded like he was coming onto her in the worst possible way, so he hurriedly added, "I'm the engine tech on the Quasar Fantastic. We've got another race to get to. But it's kind of nice to just stop for a bit. Just take a break from things, y'know?"

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    She turned immediately to face him, ears perked forward. “jYou worrk on the Quassarr Fantasstjic? Arre jyou kjiddjing me?! What rrace arrre jyou headjing to? What’ss the crrrazjiesst wajy jyou’ve had to fjix sssomethjing mjid-rrace?”

    She was embroiled in politics and family garbage, and here was this guy her age, living the dream. Daani’s whole face had lit up as she barraged Freddie with questions, her troubles momentarily forgotten.

  20. #20
    "Y-yeah," Freddie stammered at first, caught like a nerf in the drivelights by Daani's sudden interest in him. Without moving his head, or altering his shocked expression, his eyes angled down to make sure that he was still wearing his official team 3/4 length sleeve tee, in the Quasar Fantastic's garish color scheme.

    "I've been on for about two months, now," he blinked as he brought himself back to focusing on his work. In a heartbeat, his awkwardness melted away, and an eager grin turned up his muzzle, as his thin earring caught the light while his ears perked. "We did the Sluis Van Invitational, and came in first! Took a while to complete repairs, though, and we're about to do the Dragon Void Run."

    The boy's tailtip bounced with excitement as he thought back over the near-disaster on the Sluis Van Invitational, and he tried to remember his limited media coaching. But it all just sort of came out in energetic rambling, instead. "So, we were in second, right? And Captain Maron gets this idea we should slingshot through a star's corona. The Quasar isn't really built for that, right? But we do it anyway. I shunted the power from engine two directly to the shields, and maxed one and three. It was good for a while, but two caught fire and failed at the end. Still, with that, and my afterthrust shield design, Captain Maron was able to squeak us just past the guy in first, and we took the race! But, ugh, before engine two went down I had to pull power from everything. Like, eeeeverything. No lights, no life support, no nothing, just enough for the gravity mesh so I could run back there and put the fire out!"

    The trauma of the fire suppressed, his mind carried on past it, and he chuckled. "But, ugh, it was like three weeks of work to rebuild engine two, and so many parts! Did some other system upgrades while I was at it, and I'll have a few things more to do before the Void. That's why we're here, getting some parts so I can keep working. That, and I could finally get paid, too. Got a new comm!" Freddie grinned widely, holding up the secondhand, older-generation personal comm he'd be playing music through, as if it were cutting edge and in style.

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