An update before I go away for a week. Thanks for the reviews guys! Blackn'blue, there's more Andorian lifestyle stuff on the way I promise, and Gammara, here's more of Shran's family… well one of them anyway.
Enjoy!
Chapter 3
"Ready to go?"
"Been ready for ten minutes now Sen." Thy'lek smiled, giving his backpack a tug to emphasis his point. His brother smiled fondly and then patted him on the shoulder, jerking his head in the direction before them.
"Then let's go." The two brothers walked towards the ice cliffs that toward above them. The Ulio cliffs were the tallest in the Angenian province where their city Mec'naili was located. The cliffs were popular with experienced climbers because towards the top the ice gradually jutted outwards, so if one slipped, there was nothing to grab onto, only air all around you. The two brothers loved climbing it, both were experienced climbers, Senkrad was, in fact, a climbing instructor. Yet it wasn't the danger involved that truly kept them coming back to these cliffs. It was The Point. There was a particular place on the cliffs, tricky to find exactly, but worth it upon location, because from this point the view was not only so vast one could not take it in all at once, but the shapes of the different ice sheets, the way the light would catch it, the planet, moons, and sun overhead… oh it was just perfect. Thy'lek was especially enamoured with The Point, he always stopped and often had to be reminded that he'd loose his fingers if he didn't move after an hour of holding onto the ice, gloves or no. As they began their climb, ropes and harness free, climbing was no fun with things like that for the two, they started to talk,
"So how're Tholos, Thon and Keval?"
"They're fine. Keval is completely enamoured with Cralic, remember her?"
"Wasn't she the one that nearly threatened to kill you if you didn't…"
"Yes that's her. Apparently she's gotten over her attraction to me and is being quite receptive towards Keval."
"Hmm… her attraction towards you ended after you two slept together, right?"
"Yes. And I know, I know, should I be insulted or relieved that that's what happened, I know, now let's change the subject please." Senkrad chuckled as Thy'lek drew in a breath after his short rant.
"Alright, change it to what?"
"I don't know. I mean I know I should be thinking about this baby and I don't want to run away from it, and I won't, but…"
"I think you just need to think about something else and let your mind sort itself out."
"Don't I need to be asleep for that?"
"Cliff climbing's the same as sleep."
"Oh really, I did not know that." They both laughed and a comfortable silence descended between them as they climbed higher, letting their natural strong grip lift them easily up the cliff.
Andorian grip was a remarkable thing. From birth an Andorian could support their own weight on their hands, and they reflexively gripped onto the clothes of a carrier to free the carrier's hands. They could remain like that all day, and sleep without loosening it. As they got older they maintained this strong grip and by adulthood an Andorian could support his own weight, plus another person's on their backs on their hands. The true test for ice cliff climbers was to climb up a cliff like Ulio with another adult of around equal weight hanging onto their back. The record was supposed to be one climber carrying three adults up the Ulio, much to the shock of the public, who'd been disbelieving at the claim.
"How's your leg Thy'lek?" Thy'lek sighed exasperatedly,
"Sen, it's been a year, and for the last time I'm fine. I didn't hit anything major."
"No you just impaled yourself."
"Hey! The ice gave out beneath me! Not my fault."
"Uh uh. Whatever you say." Senkrad sighed, stretching his arm as high as he could to reach a nice looking grip. Thy'lek rolled his eyes as he hurried to catch up with his older brother, who'd gotten a bit ahead of him.
"What about you and Telk? You two still…?"
"Uh, no, why? You like him?"
"Well, he's attractive enough but not my type."
"Ah," sighed Senkrad, "The pickiness of a neuter." Thy'lek chuckled softly and grinned at him. He smiled back. They kept climbing, not minding the silence that fell again, content to focus on their work. Ten minutes later Senkrad spoke, "Why did you give Speckle to Erib?"
"For the last and final time his name isn't Speckle! That's the name Lissiel gave him to annoy me."
"So what is the name of your childhood stuffed animal." Senkrad was grinning,
"I can't believe I'm discussing this with you! All right, his name is not Speckle, it's…" Senkrad didn't need to look to know his brother was blushing a delightful blue.
"Thy'leeeeek?"
"Oh fine his name is Furball." Senkrad tried, he really did try not to laugh but he couldn't help it and burst into fits of laughter, while Thy'lek growled in irritation. "Well he looks like one. And I was three!" he muttered defensively. Senkrad howled with laughter, clinging to the side of the cliff, almost in danger of loosing his grip. "Stop any time now Sen." Thy'lek sighed as he continued his way up. Senkrad struggled, but managed to control himself. He followed Thy'lek, scaling the cliff face to catch up with him, still grinning broadly.
"Alright, I'm sorry, but why did you give him to Erib?" Erib was Sakrana's son, only four and he adored Thy'lek, like all his siblings and cousins.
"He was having nightmares the last time he and the others stayed over and I gave him Furball because I told him that the animal would fight away the demons that brought those scary dreams to him. I must have gone on for half an hour about that damn stuff animal's abilities, Erib loved it. When they left I told him to keep it so he wouldn't have anymore bad dreams."
"Cute." Senkrad chuckled.
"Oh shut up!" Thy'lek grumbled, pausing to reassert his footing before heaving himself up. "At least I don't still sleep with mine." He smirked as Senkrad blushed, "Feel like telling me why?"
"I may have had a bad dream myself."
"Aw, and you wanted your old friend Fuzzy to protect you." Thy'lek teased, smiling widely.
"Oh shut up." Senkrad muttered as he passed him out.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
"Race you!" Senkrad grinned and then sped up even more.
"No fair! You cheater!" Thy'lek laughed, clambering up after him. They were now about half way up and as their usual competitiveness kicked in they were quickly past the three-quarter mark, and near the beginning of the gradual jut-out of ice. "Sen! Stop for a minute!"
"Getting tired baby brother? Spent too much time sitting on your rear and talking?" Senkrad teased even as he slowed slightly,
"No just let me take a look and then we can keep going." Thy'lek gave him an eager look that was one of the few things he could not say no to. That face was one he didn't see often enough on his youngest brother. He stilled and nodded, Thy'lek grinned broadly and quickly looked around, searching for the exact spot. He then shuffled over to it and then stilled, only turning his upper body, twisting it carefully to get a proper view. Senkrad waited a moment before carefully climbing downwards, a risky thing to do without safety equipment, and stopping beside him. Before his eyes there was the vast Angenian province.
The sheets of ice extended all the way to the horizon and melted into an aquamarine sky, dominated by Geleri the beautiful, multi-hued gas giant, the mythological mother of all life. She shimmered with the slight silver hue of her body, and with her rings it looked, for a single moment, like she was dancing, her skirts flared out. Maybe she was, a dance of the planets, and their home world was a part of that dance. The largest moon, Hangele, the mythological father of all life, with his craters that formed a kindly old face, circled her in his vertical orbit, a contrast to Andoria, hovering between her and the sun during half the month, as if defending her, and hiding on the other side the second half, as if she was protecting him in turn, like a truly married couple. The sunlight shone down upon the land, causing the ice to sparkle with a beauty all its own. Dotted across the land were burning torches, massive torches, whose flames cast shadows and colours, forming shapes and images, telling stories through pictures. The red and orange and yellow were in stark contrast to the white of the surface and the slight hue of blue underneath as the ice went deeper. The sun was past its highest peak and was beginning its decent, so the shadows were lengthening, adding to the torches images. There was also movement on the land, as a herd of zabanthu raced across it, riders just visible on their backs. The land looked alive, it felt alive, deep within their bodies they could feel the life within it. The heartbeat of Andoria.
"You know I could stay here forever." Thy'lek murmured, "Just stay here, and enjoy the view. Do you know why I love this place so much?"
"The beauty of Andoria is best shown here?"
"No." he shook his head, "It's because, when I'm here, for a few moments, I can let the weight lift. I can know that all the things I've done, all the cruelty, suffering on both mine and others part was all worth it, all the pain, anger, utter agony was worth it, because this beauty is still here. Does that seem selfish?" Thy'lek turned to him and Senkrad saw the uncertainty, rarely shown, but always there, in his eyes. He slowly shook his head,
"No. No baby brother, I don't think it's selfish. It sounds nice actually." Thy'lek smiled at him gratefully, before taking off up the cliff.
"Race you!"
"Ah! Thy'lek! No fair!" Senkrad quickly scrambled after him, catching up and the two brothers were neck and neck up the rest of the cliff, jeering and teasing each other like typical siblings.
"Aoul deriy!" they both yelled as they slapped their hands onto the surface at the top.
"I was first!" Thy'lek exclaimed triumphantly, as they hauled themselves over the edge, resting at last after three hours of climbing.
"Did not! I was!" Senkrad retorted lightly, "And I'm prepared to fight you for it!" So saying he pounced on Thy'lek and they wrestled lazily, at least lazily for Andorians.
"Ah! Sen, no biting my ear!" Thy'lek laughed as he kicked him in the shin. They played around, laughing and using up the last of their energy. They grappled a final time and then collapsed to the ground, laughing hard. At last they quieted and relaxed, splayed out on the ice, the frozen crystals cooling the warm skin on their cheeks and brows.
Thy'lek wearily sat up and first pulled his backpack off his back and set it to one side. He then pulled his gloves off, then his shoes and socks, rolling up his sleeves and trousers, sighing in contentment as he cooled off. Senkrad copied him and then he sat on the edge, blue feet dangling down over it, soles facing the ground that seemed a light-year away. Thy'lek preferred to lean against an ice boulder, closing his eyes, and enjoying the feel of the ice against his skin. A Human, or a Vulcan or a Tellerite wouldn't dream of lounging against ice, surrounded by more, with exposed limbs, but Andorians loved this, especially after a thorough work-out like the brothers had just done. For them, whose bodies had evolved to be comfortable among the ice, there was nothing better than working up a hard sweat and then just feeling the ice cool your skin as it melted from your body heat, feeling the water trickling down the skin so delicately, it was just divine.
Thy'lek let out a contented sigh and Senkrad rummaged within his own bag, before pulling out a pad of parchment and a container of drawing tools. While Thy'lek dozed off in the comfortable air, Senkrad sketched the scene before him, his eyes flicking up and down, taking in moments of shadows and imprinting them on the parchment with quick, clever strokes of the tools he had. He paused a moment as he looked up and grinned when he spotted a bright star, it shone down brightly, despite that it only looked like a star. It wasn't normally there and it was moving too fast to be a star. It had to be the Enterprise.
Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep! The brothers both jumped in surprise at the sudden noise. Thy'lek rubbed his eyes tiredly, and rummaged through his bag, before pulling out his beeping communicator,
"It's probably Gral missing our arguments." he muttered as he flipped it open. "Yes?"
"Shran."
"Telev?"
"Yes it's me. I was just wondering if you wanted to meet with a few of us at the Salya'ht for drinks. With all the work you've been doing with the pig and the Vulcan-" Thy'lek rolled his eyes "-none of us have had a chance to see you."
"Aw, it's nice to know I'm so loved." Thy'lek grinned.
"Don't flatter yourself." Telev's smirk was audible. "It was just an offer, not a plea."
"I'm sure."
"Are you going to come or not?"
"Tonight?"
"No next year. Of course tonight!" Thy'lek bit his lip and looked at Senkrad who shrugged, not knowing what to do. Thy'lek sighed,
"Maybe some other time, alright Telev? I'm dealing with something right now, and as much as I would love to get drunk with you and the others, tonight's not a good night."
"Alright, but there'd better be a good story for this."
"Oh trust me, it'll be the best one you've heard all year."
"Alright then, Telev out." Thy'lek snapped the communicator shut and then put it back in his bag.
"I personally think this is the best story all decade." Senkrad grinned,
"Oh be quiet." Thy'lek grinned and then pulled his socks, shoes and gloves back on and rolled down his sleeves and trousers and Senkrad did the same. He went to put his drawing into his bag but Thy'lek stopped him. "Let me have a look."
"I'm not done." Senkrad pointed out as he handed it over.
"Still." Thy'lek looked it over and then after a minute he handed it back, a proud smile on his face. "I'll never understand why you dropped out of the Art Academy, you're really good."
"It wasn't for me. I like being an instructor anyway." Senkrad smiled. They both checked their backpacks, and ensured they were set up, before securing them and then jumping off the cliff with shouts of delight. Thy'lek somersaulted in the air before spreading himself out in a star shape and grinning at his brother who was already like that and then pulling sharply on the cord that hung over his shoulder. At once the front of his backpack opened out into a parachute and his body was jerked roughly as the material caught the air and slowed him sharply. He saw another parachute come into his line of view, Senkrad had released his too, and they floated down gracefully to landed firmly on the ground. They grinned at each other as they ensured their footing, and then pulled the second cord. The parachute was pulled back into the special pocket at the front of their backpacks and refolded for the next time they were to be used.
"So what do you want for dinner?" Thy'lek asked as they headed back to the climbing cabin where all the equipment was stored.
"I was hoping for a tuber root meal, or maybe redbat, redbat I think."
"I was hoping you'd say that, I got some redbat yesterday and it's nice and tender. Should be good." Thy'lek reached out and grabbed his brother's shoulder. "Hey. Thank you. I needed that climb. You were right, it did help."
"I'm glad." Senkrad briefly hugged his younger and slightly shorter brother before setting the bags in the cabin and retrieving their original bag, stuffing their things into it.
"Can I have that drawing when you're done?"
"Sure."
"I lost all of the ones you did before when the Kumari…" Thy'lek shrugged awkwardly, a darkness engulfing his eyes briefly, a darkness Senkrad had seen before, long before the Kumari was even built, and had grown to hate because it showed the pain his baby brother felt, and it made him afraid to let him out of his sight.
"Well I'll do new ones for you." he said softly.
"Thank you Sen, you're a great man."
"I know." he smiled, putting his arm around Thy'lek's shoulders and they walked to the platform and descended to their home.
See him. Don't see him. See him. Don't see him. What was he supposed to do? Thy'lek rolled over in his bed in frustration, his mind buzzing so much that he couldn't sleep. If he did see him, if he really was his son, then how would the government react? True Andorians policy with children was to accept them however they were, until they were adults and then they reacted however was appropriate. But that was for disabled children, ones who were deaf, or blind or had some other handicap, not for a child of two bloods. There'd never been one as far as he was aware. He snorted and buried his face in the pillow. Typical! He'd been the first in two hundred years to try to work things out with the Vulcans, and the Tellerites, and he'd been the first to encounter the Humans. Now he was apparently the first Andorian to have a child with an alien. Wonderful! But why a Vulcan? Why T'Pol? Out of all the people in that alternate universe, why did his counterpart have to pick the other T'Pol? Melanina, spirit of irony, must be having a laughing fit at him right now. What would his late-brother Trenach think of all this? What would his father think of it? It was rare that he felt this way but there were times when Thy'lek desperately wanted to talk to them, only to face the reality that he couldn't.
It was official. He was not going to be sleeping tonight. Grumbling, he got up and wandered into the main room, where he'd left his book. As he went to sit down on the couch, something gave him pause. He walked over to the shelf and looked at a particular picture. It was of six Andorian children. The tallest was wrestling with two of the smaller ones and the two girls were laughing, while in the taller girl's lap was the smallest one. This child was sucking on his fingers and watching curiously, a look of pure innocence on his face. The child was about seven months old.
'Was I any different than, compared to Soval?' he wondered as he stared at his much younger self. 'I didn't even know what the word Vulcan meant, had barely started to speak, so Soval doesn't know anything about the conflict between the two bloods that flow within his veins. How can I ignore that he's mine now, even if he wasn't before? I know I can't. I never could. He's mine, and I'm going to act like he is.' He nodded to himself and then checked the time on Enterprise, finding it was still early enough in the morning. As much as it pained him, he'd be patient and wait a little while, he didn't want to start off badly, he might not get to see the child then. He sighed and grabbed his book, turning on the padd and bringing up the page he'd been on. He read a few pages, and then set the book down, it wasn't really good, although he supposed that was because it was full of arguments, like all Tellerite literature, which he wasn't interested in reading. He rolled onto his stomach and rested his chin on his folded arms, one finger tapping the metal frame of the couch irritably. Could time move any slower? Doubtful.
T'Pol fought the strong urge to sigh as she rocked the screaming Soval.
"What do you want?" she asked him, "I have fed you, changed you, rocked you. What do you want me to do?" Instead of an answer he only screamed louder. She closed her eyes, hoping to find a moment of peace within which she could control herself. It was disturbed by the chime of her door.
"Come in!" she called. Trip entered, looking very tired.
"T'Pol, I was wondering if everything is alright? Do you need a hand?"
"I have tried everything I can think of to quiet him, but nothing works." she said, frustrated.
"Have you tried the jiggle?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Here?" Trip held his hands out and she carefully passed him over. "The Jiggle." He began to literally jiggle the baby in his arms. Soval's cries slowly quieted, and he seemed a tad bewildered at what was happening to him. "Works every time." Trip grinned. T'Pol sat down with relief, and clasped her hands together, flattening her lips. "You ok?" Trip noticed her behaviour.
"It would seem that everyone except me knows how to make my son stop crying."
"Ah come on, sometimes it's the change of pace that does it, and often Soval only wants you to sooth him." Trip paused and Soval instantly cried out. "Easy little fella, come on now your mommy's tired, let's give her a break." he said as he started jiggling the baby again. Soval stayed quiet. "Look, the cap'n told me that Shran said Soval's in pain from the lack of a bond. I'm sure once Shran comes along he'll know what to do and you'll be able to sort it out."
"Do you think he will be happy about being a father? I know that is important for a proper parent-child relationship among emotional species." Trip smiled fondly,
"Well, I'm fairly sure he'll be happy, I mean, come on, this little guy would melt any heart, even with someone as tough as Shran. I bet he's a real softy at heart anyway, so do don't worry about it." He crouched down before her, still jiggling the baby, "And if he doesn't want anything to do with him, just so you know, you're not alone in this. You've got everyone on Enterprise to back you up." She drew in a breath and felt much calmer,
"Thank you Trip." she said softly, reaching out and touching his arm in gratitude. He gave her a large grin and then looked down at Soval.
"Looks like Soval's all tuckered out." He raised his head sheepishly as he realised the bad joke in the words. "No pun intended." T'Pol leaned forward. Sure enough Soval yawned and his eyelids drooped. As Trip jiggled him gently the baby finally fell asleep. His little hand reached out and T'Pol slipped her finger into it. Instantly he gripped on tight. Trip stopped his movements and Soval didn't stir. They both let out a breath of relief. "Blessed silence." Trip grinned.
"I am sorry he has been such a disturbance."
"He's a baby, there's nothing you can do if they cry. Sometimes a baby's just gotta cry." Trip stood up after T'Pol carefully extracted her finger from Soval's grip. He then lay him down in the crib. Soval stretched, letting out a little noise as he yawned, his tiny aquamarine tongue sticking out. Trip chuckled, "He's a cute little guy." he grinned at T'Pol and then said,
"Well I'm gonna head back to my bed. Good night T'Pol."
"Good night Trip." she nodded and he smiled, stepping out the doorway.
Review pretty please, or no updates at all!
Night's Darkness (back on the 15th!)
