It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - 8.250

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

In space, time was something that chronometers kept up with, and if you didn't stop to keep up with them, you'd forget about it in some ways. Night looked like day, the seasons were meaningless, and it kept on and on and on that way until you found a planet to land on and get your bearings. There was always the Galactic Standard Calendar to go by, but unless you were on Coruscant, it was simply just another row of symbols on the chrono.

There were certain times, however, that you just knew. For Cirrsseeto, it was the time that, at least on Carshoulis, would be the transition between summer and fall on the southern hemisphere, where he was born and raised for the most part. The same time of year the leaves on the bayossa trees started to turn orange was the time that, since he was a young teenager, another change started to happen.

Kree-arr.

For three days, give or take, it turned even the most even-keeled guys into sensory-overloaded idiots. It always started the same way - with a headache, which Cirrsseeto certainly had this morning as he sat in the galley of the Challenger. That was sign one. Sign two was cottonmouth, which again, he was having in a bad way, as evidenced by the entire pitcher of water he was nursing at the table. For once he had no appetite this morning, but he knew that even that would go haywire as hell very soon. Whenever his headache started to subside, he'd start being able to smell everything. After that, it would only go downhill.

Worst of all, there really wasn't any time on the leave roster to do anything about it. He was stuck on the ship, and he'd have to sort out his very Cizerack problem somehow or another.

[Chaz de Coventina]

Chaz woke up sudden, like an electric shock. For a long, disorienting moment there was just flickering sensation, as though she only half-existed, stood with a foot in two worlds that weren't material enough to take hold and topple her one way or the other. The woman blinked, blankly. She had no idea where she was or --

Aware suddenly of a gentle weight in her hands, Chaz glanced down. She was holding a sturdy duraplast tray, upon which rested a small plate of toast and a bowl of stewed fruit, light curls of steam rising from its spiced broth. The doctor frowned; she had no recollection of actually picking up the tray, nor did she know just how exactly she'd wound up here - here being the breakfast line in the galley, as further observation revealed.

"I need to get more sleep," Chaz muttered, reaching out and snagging a carton of milk to go with her stomach's apparent choice of fuel. Sleep deprivation was better than the alternative explanation (she really was losing her mind) and she adopted it readily, taking solace in the fact that at least she was off-duty; running on autopilot while treating patients was asking for trouble, a symptom that was in no short supply within the convoy.

With a yawn, the slim redhead shuffled forward in line, scanning the tables out of habit to find a quiet, unobtrusive place to sit. Her eyes fell upon a familiar face in the far northwest corner. The otherwise empty northwest corner. Perfect.

"Hello Cirr," Chaz greeted quietly once she'd made her way over. She put her tray down and eased into the seat across from the Cizerack, offering him a weary smile. "How are you this morning?"

[Jason Na'moda]

Jason had risen early, in relation to his chrono, to test modifications to his fighter, putting the Nexu's Grin through its paces with various acrobatics on the fringes of the fleets. That wasn't to say that it wasn't a good excuse for a joy ride and with a impish grin he had skimmed the plating of the challenger, belly of the Grin nearly scraping the metal. Besides that, the modifications had held out, and the lack of rattling as he put the ship into a continuous tight roll was definitely a good sign. Bringing the Grin around, he headed for the Challenger, deciding that a good breakfast was well deserved.
Once in the galley, he helped himself to some meat and recently baked bread, still warm and soft in his hand. The aroma of which made him think of Naboo and his old master. Not dwelling on past sorrows, he concentrated more of the homely feeling it brought on and settled down at a table with his tray. Tearing the small bun apart, he savoured the smell for a moment before tucking a slice of meat into it and biting in. Glancing down the table, he noticed Chaz and Cirr seated not too far away. They both looked fairly frazzled, especially Cirr with his pitcher. Jason was loathe to spark up conversation right now, he hadn't really spoken to them in person before but he supposed now was as good a time as any. "Rough night?" He questioned, taking another bite, it seemed like a sensible question, but asked with enough of a sardonic tone that it wouldn't sound like he was mocking them. To be honest, he'd have happily joined them, life aboard the Wheel was just a little monotonous from what he'd experienced.

[Tera Uolmi]

Further back in the breakfast line, Tera was struggling with the logistics of trying to carry a tray full of food with just one arm. A sling held her left arm close to her body whilst with her uninjured right she held the tray at the centre-most point, squeezing it as tightly as any droids servo-grip, but as soon as she lifted it she could feel the sloshing and sliding that would inevitably turn the entire meal into a mushy splat on the floor. The tray dropped the half-inch back onto the breakfast counter with a clatter and Tera felt herself a split-second away from hurling her blue milk carton into the face of the droid who was dishing the rations out.

[Jason Na'moda]

Jason felt the sheer annoyance which radiated off Tera like a cloud before he heard or saw her. Instantly he glanced over, although not wishing to embarrass her unnecessarily by drawing attention to her small problem. Dropping his bread and meat, he held a finger up to the other two. "One second." And walked over to Tera. He leant against the counter, easy going as always. "Mind if I make your life easier?" He smirked slightly, although it wasn't so much mockery as trying to promote a better mood from her. Making it a shared joke. "It's not as easy as dogfighting with one arm behind your back." He was wide awake from his flight and was well aware that in a freshly woken state, broken bones were an unnecessary annoyance.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr inhaled...her.

Through her antiseptic soap she'd wrung her hands in. Through her antiperspirant, through every bit of pomp that women teased themselves with, he smelled everything the Doctor brought into close quarters.

"How are you this morning?"

The slightly husky lilt to her voice massaged down his ears, and Cirr found his claws extending and retracting, digging into the surface of the table slightly. The veil of his headache lifted with every nuance she brought near to him, and even her sleep-deprived and disheveled look seemed to ignite something inside of him.

In one fell motion, he swept everything off the table. His carafe of water clattered, spilling everything out. Gone too was Chaz's breakfast, knocked aside. Her eyes widened as he pulled her towards him, over the table to meet in a ravenous kiss. Cirr withdrew, filling both paws with her hair as he kept her close, running a greedy rough tongue from her jawline to her cheek. She, for her part, jumped into his lap, sensing it was useless to resist, as sharp claws made short work out of her surgical scrubs. A utilitarian bra was the last line of defense, but Cirr flashed his fangs and went in as he pressed Chaz against him.

Meanwhile, Tera took one look at the scene he was making, and another look back to the Jedi who was running interference. In a sudden blur of motion, she roundhouse kicked Jason in the face, sending him sprawling against the sneezeguard at the buffet line. Knowing what she wanted for breakfast, she sauntered over to Cirr and Chaz, and poured her blue milk all over her white t-shirt, while taking a handful of gravy and smearing it across Chaz's now-liberated and perky breasts. Cirr then...


...

...

!!!

Cirr blinked, realizing that Chaz said something to him, and he hadn't the foggiest idea what she'd said. His mouth was half open, and he closed it, as well as his eyes. Giving a deep breath in and out, he opened his baby blues again.

The water and breakfast were still on the table. Tera hadn't kicked the Jedi through the buffet line, and neither woman were flaunting wet and glistening breasts in his direction.

"jI'm sorrry Chaz, jI'm having a rrough morrnjing."

Hiding behind his carafe of water, he took another few gulps.

Realizing that she wasn't the only one who had spoken to him, he looked to the Jedi, wincing a little.

"That's a ljittle harrd to explajin."

Boy, this was the wrong time for Master Chief Kochanski to be transferred out of the Wheel. With his safety blanket gone, he needed a release.

[Chaz de Coventina]

During the long, awkward pause that followed her query, Chaz began to worry that perhaps something more serious than fatigue was hovering over the breakfast table. Cirrsseeto's slack-jawed expression, his dazed eyes and apparent disorientation - it was as though he'd experienced a generalized seizure of some sort.

Even more suspicious was his uncharacteristic retreat. In their brief association, Cirr had always been enthusiastic and engaged, his good-natured affability lending itself easily to conversation. Chaz narrowed her eyes.

"Cirr," She leaned forward and grasped his wrist gently, pressing down with her fore and middle fingers to locate his ulnar pulse. "Are you feeling alright? You look a bit..." Chaz glanced at him, frowning, "Peaked."

[Mara Tallen]

Bothawui had been nice.

Well, nice was a relative term, if one set aside the fact that no sooner had Dorn Force been assigned there, then they'd been raked over the coals over a mission gone wrong. Fingers were pointed, the team was eventually exonerated, but someone had to take the blame.

So naturally, Mara mused with a heavy dose of bitterness, it had to be me. Reassigned to the Challenger...forced back onto a ship that was going to be spending its time with the Wheel. Which meant the half breed Felacatian would have no relief from the stress of holding herself together.

But...at least there was no Charlotte. And no Xander.

And also, no John. Mara winced at the thought as she strode into the cafeteria aboard the Challenger. Fingers tugged the hem of her drab olive tanktop and camo-print shorts, smoothing each of them out as they were fitted snugly to her curves. The sneakers on her feet made little noise, and made it plenty obvious that she was headed to the weight room after she caught a bite to eat.

A large mug of caf in one hand and a plate of toast in the other, she cast her eyes around the room. There, in the corner...a table with two people she actually recognized.

Heading over, she paused at the end of the table and smiled at Chaz. "Hey doc...good to see you..." Mara said lightly, before turning her smile to Cirr.

"Hey there, Cirr. Long time no...you alright?" she asked, concern in her voice as she took the seat beside him.

[Tera Uolmi]

Bunking with the testosterone-supernova that was Rogue Squadron had allowed Tera to build up a higher than average tolerance of male posturing, but this wasn't any ordinary morning. More than that, she didn't want the rest of the squadron tiptoeing around her as if she were as brittle boned as a Vor. She spotted Cirr out of the corner of her eye.

“I'm fine. I just...” She tried again to manoeuvre the tray into her arms, but it was like trying to herd kittens. Impossible.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Peaked?! -aHRUM!"

Cirr winced as his voice nearly squeaked out, just about the time that Chaz had her hands at his wrists. Mara also decided to join the party, and sat right beside him. He tried to mask the surprise with a cough, and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Nah, nothjing's wrrrrong. Nothjing nothjing nothing."

He caught a purr in his throat, and tried to will it down with another few gulps of water.

He cast his eyes over to give Mara a gruff nod, fearing to let anything linger longer than a glance. Of course she looked good. Even if his libido wasn't about to burn a hole in the ground, he'd agree to that heartily. But now it was that, and the fact that she smelled like hot buttered sex. The incidental contact her leg made against his as she sat gave him pause, and Cirr eased his carafe down, and ran both hands from his chin up each side of his face, and back to sweep his ears flush with his head as he exhaled.

"Just a ljittle hot jin herrrre. Heh, jI rrrrealljy should talk to the chjief on thjis shjip. Cljimate contrrrrol jis forrrr rrrrrookjies."

His mind ran circles around him, daydreaming between Mara and Chaz making out to trying to rationalize the ludicrous possibility of actually talking out what was on his mind. Doc was into fun with pharmaceuticals, was it too much of a leap to think she might have a few other fun times on the side?

And Mara?

His purr deepened, suddenly glancing at Jason with a paranoid inner rebuke. How was one supposed to go about kree-arr when you were surrounded by people who could read your thoughts?

Quickly, he scrambled to think of something other than glistening, heaving breasts, other than breathy, husky moaning and gyrating hips, and other than bare, daintily-arched feet spread akimbo at his shoulders, and....


...

...

!!!

"So, how's brrrreakfast?"

He blurted out, slapping a quick smile on to cover for his lapse of attention.

[Lucy Gray]

Kylie approached the table that Cirr and the others were sitting at. She had just finished a workout and was famished. She was wearing a white tanktop that usually went under her flightsuit and a pair of short short tight tight tight black workout shorts. Her hair was sweaty and her cheeks flushed with the recent workout. Her hair clung to her neck and sweat glistened off her neck, rolling down the curve of her chest and disappearing down her tank between her breasts.

"Wouldn't you know it, that the cleaners aren't back with my uniform yet! All I have to wear is this old thing."

Kylie sat her tray down beside Cirr. "Hey Cirr, what's up? You looked a little flushed." Kylie sat down and then saw that the seasoning was on the other side of Cirr. She leaned across him to get to it, rubbing her breast on his arm. She just had to stretch a little further and stand up a bit. Her breast then ran up his arm and back down again.

Sitting down, Kylie began to season her breakfast of eggs and bacon. "Now that's good."

"Are you okay, Cirr?"

[Jason Na'moda]

There was something... Jason half turned his head, still paying attention to the injured rogue, while he extended his senses out of reflex. Something in the mess felt like it was beating a drum and yodelling at top volume. He had been tuning it out earlier but now it was like it had been turned up another notch, adding a sledge hammer and cymbals to the mix.

Jason snapped his head back around to look at Tera as she struggled and felt like congratulating her on her stubbornness. Never surrender, it was a good attitude and one he definitely remembered from squadron flying. And the hatred of showing any weakness, the distaste of leaving any chink in your armour that your wingmen could and would exploit in the in-flight banter. "You just.. need some help with the balancing act. That's cool." He smiled, finishing her sentence for her. A quick glance at the sweating Cirr and he realised what was disturbing the whole cafeteria in his mind. Or where it was coming from at least. Maybe a peek in his mind wouldn't hurt... no. Surely it would be wrong, a breach of trust... But whatever was bothering him was really bad. He twitched his attention back to Tera, splitting his thoughts four ways, one side for Cirr and his problems, one for helping Tera, one for admiring Tera's form, even strapped up as she was, and one for blinking at the 'potential' shown by the women who practically flocked to Cirr's table. Yes, a glance at his mind would definitely be worth it. For Tera, he decided in favour of using the force, even though he preferred not to show off. Old habits died hard. He took some of the weight and steadied it, making the surface solid as a rock while he picked items of food she wanted out of the serving dishes, not by reading her mind but instead her body language.

"My name's Jason by the way." He said as he finished loading with a Muja muffin. "Jason Na'moda. New to the place." He nodded to the table he had been at. "Come join the party. Although I think Cirr's the one with the magnetic personality." Referring to the substantial increase in members at the table after he had left to help her. As he sat down, he took the liberty of peering into Cirr's mind, having a look through his emotions. That was interesting. He blinked and for an instance he was seeing through Cirr's eyes, watching what seemed to be a sepia coloured orgy erupting in the middle of the mess. Then he was back on his seat, smirking as he bit into a fruit and looking at Cirr with his most piercing manner, conveying the sense that he could see what the Cizerack was thinking. Then he shrugged with a grin, looking away to take a bite of the fruit and saying to no-one in particular. "I don't give a damn." Though he was certain that Cirr would realise that it pertained to him. Jason wasn't one for moderation. The wildest times were the most fun.

[Mara Tallen]

Arching a brow, Mara was hard pressed to not eye the blonde pilot. It would have been a crime not to, considering she was dressed for being looked at...or working out. Both, really, amounted to the same damn thing in the redhead's mind.

Kylie, if she remembered her last conversation with Carré correctly, was one of the newer squad members. The Rogues seem to have a stockpile of the most beautiful people in the Alliance, almost as good as Dorn Force's.

A jolt of warmth spread across her skin as her knee brushed Cirr's, and reminded her sharply that her last dalliance was far too long ago for her beast's liking. Not now...she thought distantly, focusing on Cirr and Chaz and Kylie and whoever the new guy was...ok, mostly Cirr.

"Breakfast is alright...light one this morning. I'm headed to the weight room after. Wanna come? You're the only one who can spot me properly." Mara replied brightly, a rich purr rolling under her tone.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

True to form, Jason had that look in his eye that he'd seen a few times from Jedi. That look where he was saying I've read that book before, and Cirr knew that he was outed. Even if Jason played it cool, he still felt somehow guilty for it.

Mara's purry lilt lit a fuse, and Kylie's incidental contact might as well have been a strike from a force pike, which caused Cirr to bolt up from the table suddenly and slap both hands on the table.

"Alrrjight!"

Maybe it was just a case of pheromones in action, but he was swarming with a lot more ladies around him than he was used to away from home, and not a one of them had a clue what was happening inside him.

With a small, almost polite cough, he gave the group of well-wishers a bewildered look.

"Thjis jis gonna sound rreally strrange jI know, but unless you all want to have sex wjith me rrjight now...you mjight want to fjind anotherr table to sjit at."

Of course, there was always the possibility that...hah, that would be the day!

[Mara Tallen]

Fingers rolled languidly through auburn locks as she turned and leaned back against the table, long legs crossed. There was no use trying to turn off the purr now, considering her beast wanted precisely the same thing as Cirr apparently did.

Tilting her head, she looked up at him and smiled, the tip of her tongue tracing her plump bottom lip. Elbows resting on the table behind her, long auburn curls ended up splayed across one shoulder.

"On the table? Didn't think that was your style, Cirrrrr. Always thought of you as morrre of the type to toss a girrrl over your shoulderrr and carrrry herrr off." Mara purred, glancing down briefly to see that her fingernails had elongated into short, sleek claws.

[Tera Uolmi]

Tera had just sat down when the big Cizerack sprang up out of his seat. The contents of her tray jumped as Cirr slammed both hands against the tabletop. Without taking her eyes off of the Cizerack, Tera picked up the muffin on her tray and tore off a small piece, popping it into your mouth. She watched Cirr a moment longer. Her tone and expression were deadpan.

“You're serious, aren't you?”

[Chaz de Coventina]

Well, uh.

It was a credit to clinic duty that Chaz was able to limit her bewilderment at Cirr's unexpected warning (... general proposition?) to a startled blink. One heard any number of things behind the curtain of an exam room - 'it was a dare', 'this has never happened to me before', 'It just slipped' - but coital shenanigans weren't exactly what one expected to find on the menu this early; and unless Cizerack society had an entirely different understanding of a breakfast special, there was something else at play here.

Perhaps more alarming than Cirr's clear anxiety and the sexual tension rolling off him in thick waves was the reaction it was garnishing. The present company didn't seem at all concerned by the direction this conversation was heading; Na'moda wore a Cheshire grin that wouldn't have looked out of place in a collegiate cantina; Tera looked as though Cirr had just proposed a discussion on the growth calculations used by moss farmers on Naboo; the sweaty, scantily clad blonde... well, that said it all, didn't it? And then there was Mara; Mara who was beginning to sound like the introduction to a bad porn holo, for star's sake.

She didn't have much knowledge of Cizerack biology specifically but it was common for many species to have particularly strong estral receptivity during certain times of the year. Of course, it was traditionally a female trait but there was no doubt that Cirr was showing all the symptoms.

And then some, Chaz mused wryly. The doctor cleared her throat delicately.

"I think," she said, "That perhaps we should go somewhere less public. Immediately."

[Lucy Gray]

Kylie had a bit of the eggs to her mouth when she realized what Cirr was proposing. She put the egg in her mouth and chewed, now interested in where this conversation was going. When it was mentioned that Cirr and Mara go at it on the table, Kylie was intrigued.

"I like a dinner and a movie just as much as the next being, but not while I eat my eggs. Take your foreplay over to that empty booth and when I'm done, then you can finish it up over here."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr blinked in utter surprise. Well, he didn't expect that! Forrda women, from his experience, were waaay more indirect than simply bringing up sex at the drop of a hat. Had he known that his present company felt the same, it might have saved a lot of tension. A lot.

"Well come on, what arre we wajitjing forr?"

Snapping out of his flummoxed state, Cirr moved around the table, taking both Mara and Chaz by the hand as he led them out to find a more discrete location to root that particular pair. In a perfect galaxy, Tera and Kylie would hop-to and follow their lead, but Cirr was just fine with settling on two! That was two more than he usually had!

[Lucy Gray]

Kylie gulped down the rest of her meal as the Mr. Horny-Cat grabbed his the two girls and led... almost dragged to someplace more private. Not totally private, but more private.

"Cat scratch fever." remarked Kylie as she stood up. She grabbed her tray and was about to leave, but then stopped. "Hey Tera, I hear that our replacement fighters are coming in today. I think I'll check them out after I change into something more appropriate."

Kylie nodded to all those left at the table, policed the remains of her breakfast, and then left the lounge.

She turned left, heading down the corridor back toward her quarters. She needed a shower.

[Jason Na'moda]

Jason raised an eyebrow slightly at Cirr's reaction, but shrugged it off with a grin, eating his breakfast calmly. A glance at Mara told him a lot, seeing her fingernails growing as she seemed to be beginning to morph. Jason knew when he was being ignored and didn't particularly mind it, he minded his own and seemed to get along just fine. If he wanted to draw attention to himself then he'd have done something drastic, but that wasn't really his style. He didn't judge, and almost didn't care. Almost.

He glanced at Cirr as the practically twitching pilot lead away the two most eager of the company. Tera seemed not to have made up her mind, which gave Jason some company while he ate, trying not to feel as though, with the hormonal Cizerack gone, the silence was awkward. He took a breath and allowed himself to relax, before glancing at Kylie as she rose and left, mentioning replacement fighters. Now that they were alone, he glanced at Tera. "Not going to join them?" He asked slightly sardonically.

[Mara Tallen]

"Well come on, what arre we wajitjing forr?"

Snapping out of his flummoxed state, Cirr moved around the table, taking both Mara and Chaz by the hand as he led them out to find a more discrete location to root that particular pair.Her mug clattered beside her now-empty plate as she managed to set it down just barely in time. A sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sensual purr emerged past her lips as she smoothly rushed along at Cirr's side.

The good Doctor was along as well, and it made Mara wonder about Chaz. The quiet ones were always surprising, weren't they...she mused, a purr settling into her throat and refusing to leave. There wasn't a single rumor circulating about the prim and proper doctor, save for what was said about her tact and excellent medical knowledge.

Glancing back over her shoulder, she caught sight of a knot of SpecForce soldiers getting themselves into the breakfast line. Two of them she recognized as Sixers by the patches on their shoulders, and managed a wink as they each flashed her a grin. She saw cred chips changing hands as the doors swung closed behind them and Cirr lead onward through the hallway.

The very edge of her vision had become a little hazy, and shimmered faintly. It told her that her amber eyes were darkening and her pupils elongating into a more feline shape. She carefully wound her fingers amidst Cirr's, taking care to only lightly drag her short claws over his knuckles as she did. Distantly, she wondered at the fact that she was so on edge and so suddenly prime and ready.

That would have to be explored at...a later time...later. Much...later. After she'd satisfied her urge and her beast was quiet again.

[Chaz de Coventina]

Oh hell.

Too late, Chaz realized that her pronouncement was a double-edged sword that could be easily misconstrued. The words had hardly settled in the air before Cirr quite literally grabbed the opportunity by the hand and ran with it. Chaz let out a burst of startled noise, face affixed in horror as she and Mara were tugged along behind the delighted Cizerack.

"Wait, wait, I was merely trying to inject some semblance of decorum into the situation, I didn't mean..." The doctor trailed off as she glanced over at Mara. The other woman seemed more than fine with this turn of events. Had they still been at the table rather than hoofing it through the corridors at an astonishing pace, Chaz would have dropped her head against the surface in frustration.

"Oh for the love of... Cirr! Listen to me, you horny bastard," Chaz smacked her free palm against Cirrsseeto's arm to get his attention. "You've got to try and get a hold of yourself. And you," she narrowed her eyes at Mara, the withering effect of the look diminished somewhat as they turned a sharp corner and the medic was forced to concentrate on not toppling over in her heels, "Take the same advice and stop encouraging him; can't you see he's not himself?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"What? No, jI'm fjine!"

Shit! He cursed inwardly, grimacing. She was right, and he knew she was right, but this had to happen, dammit! He looked to Mara and she was totally ready.

He closed his eyes, and the sane half of him grappled for control.

"jIt's just, ugh...kree arr. jI'm jin a bad way and jit's morre than a ljittle harrd to deal wjith that herre."

Oh boy, how was he going to explain this? His mouth felt a bit dry, and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears.

[Chaz de Coventina]

Kree arr? She wasn't sure if that was his word for this malady, an expletive of some sort, or indeed just a garbled noise of thwarted frustration. Perhaps it was three for three.

Chaz lifted her eyebrows and stared at Cirr baldly.

"If it's hard to deal with then by all means, let's carry on with this excursion of sexual depravity," the doctor scoffed, only to retract her statement in the next breath when the felinoid appeared as though he might take her seriously. "I'm being sarcastic, Cirr."

With a frown, Chaz pressed at his wrist. The Cizerack's pulse was like a club bassline, skittering wildly underneath her fingertips. She frowned, deeply. "Good gods, your heart's about to burst right out of your chest, isn't it? Come on," and seeing as how he was the one who had a grip on her, Chaz merely shook the arm he had hold of, "Take a breath. We're going to the medbay. We've got to slow that down."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr gave Mara a "I am so sorry in ways you have no idea!" look as the good Doctor ended up getting him to come to a semblance of sanity. He followed her along, keeping his eyes on his feet.

"Doc, jit's an everry yearr thjing. Guys, you know, uh, Cizeri guys, we, uh..."

Well, it was easier to explain in the context of Cizeri life.

"...we'rre sensjitjive."

His ears drooped, as he realized how stupid this sounded.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Sensitive," Chaz nodded and carried on walking, her tone neutral. "You're obviously very receptive to suggestion, vitals are elevated, pupils dilated, normally rational behavior usurped by sensory and emotional overload.

"This kree arr, Cirr," a shape was beginning to take form, amalgamated by the telling symptoms. Still, Chaz had to be absolutely certain. "Am I to take it that you're... in estrus?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"A whjich?"

Cirr idly scratched his head as he paused.

"jI don't know much about medjical stuff."

He wasn't being all that helpful, and he doubled his effort.

"Well, uh, jit happens afterr puberrty. Same tjime everry yearr. Back home, jit would be autumn."

He laughed nervously.

"We'rre usually just told to get out of the house and, uh, cause trrouble elsewherre?"

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Well, that answers my question of how you'd normally deal with this," Chaz blinked and scratched her head. Short of corralling Cirrsseeto's heartrate into a safe range, the physician was hesitant to apply medical intervention.

This was a biological process. It happened for a reason, wasn't exactly dangerous in a traditional sense, and needed to run it's course. Naturally.

So, she couldn't approach this as a doctor. Which left only her position as Cirr's friend.

"What can I do," Chaz asked, biting her lip, "Or not do, as the case may be, to not... escalate the situation?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Don't suppose you'd..."

As much as his active imagination would like to suggest otherwise, that wasn't happening. He sucked on his lower lip a little, and looked down.

"Damn."

When he looked at her again, he made a pained grimace.

"Don't suppose you've got anythjing you can gjive me that mjight zonk me out orr make me thjink jI'm somewherre else forr a week, do you?"

[Chaz de Coventina]

"I'm not sure that's the best idea, to be honest. Things always seem to go wrong when we intefere with natural instinct. Unless," Chaz hesitated.

"Cirr, are you familiar with the expression, 'let's toke up'?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr's ears rose up at that, and his eyes seemed to brighten.

"That, doc, jis a medjical terrm jI defjinjitely know."

So, some habits of Sanis's were bound to rub off on him eventually. Nevermind the fact that it was the best suggestion he'd heard so far, and was all over it.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Well then, in the interest of science, let's test the effects of medical-grade on kree arr."

A genuine glow took over the doctor's face and she diverted their path to take them away from the clinic, toward her quarters instead. All of the extracurricular hobbies in which she indulged were kept safely stowed away from prying eyes.

The space was made up of clean lines, it's modest size emphasized by the additional presence of Cirr. Chaz shuffled awkwardly around him and waved at the bed as she pressed her thumb to the biometric keypad on the wall locker.

"Make yourself comfortable. Are you a roll-your-own type or shall I do the honors?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"jI'm no good at jit myself."

For emphasis, he held up one of his oversized paws, which was great for, say, torquing down on a hydrospanner, but not up to the deft, dexterity-laden sort of thing involved in rolling a tube.

As Cirr waited, he could certainly detect a few familiar odors in the room. Doc must really be into alternative medicine, if this and his prior experience with her after Sanis's bar fight had any indication.

Of course, in the small confines of the room, something else caught his nose in a more aggressive way than before. Cirr leaned back on the bed, the springs creaking a little under his 270 pounds as he focused on a poster on the opposite wall, to keep his mind from wandering.

[Chaz de Coventina]

There was a deft grace to the way the doctor assembled a pair of spliffs. Her fingers worked quickly, each movement efficient and familiar in it's fluidness. It was a ritual that Chaz could have performed in her sleep.

"For you - may it bring peace," Chaz held out her palm, neatly trimmed joint resting in the center. She placed the other between her lips and took a lighter from the front pocket of her scrub top, flicking it and holding the resulting flame to the end of the bounty stick. Chaz closed her eyes, inhaled deeply.

Relief.

When she opened her eyes to pass the lighter off to Cirr, her gaze traced his and fell upon the poster.

"Ita dicimus omnnes. My alma mater's motto. That's a portrait of the campus, done in the romantic style. Ten credits at the gift shop."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr followed suit, a hand enveloping the lighter as he flicked it and pressed it to the tube he'd been offered. At first pull, his lungs threatened to seize and reject it, and he held his resolve, keeping the smoke in and focusing again on the poster he'd been looking at. Already, it was clear that whatever she'd packed, it was considerably more potent than what he was used to.

"Ita dicimus omnes."

Chaz's words sounded normal enough, but as Cirr thought about them another moment, they sounded (in his head?) fuzzy? At last, his lungs demanded oxygen, and he exhaled a sticky jet of purple smoke. As he breathed in, his pupils dilated slightly, and his blue eyes barely started to glow to offset the dimmed lighting.

"What's that mean?"

A content smile began to form. He felt at ease, from within outward.

[Chaz de Coventina]

There was a long silence as Chaz considered.

She knew this one. It was easy. Only... she was finding it hard to care at the moment, her mind drifting merrily along with no real direction but for a hazy, half-forgotten intent.

"You know, I can't remember." Chaz's shoulders jerked up in an exaggerated, lazy shrug. She grinned. "It's something brilliant, though. Very, very motivating."

There was a soft puhpuhpuh noise as she inhaled again.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"jI never went to school..."

Cirr continued to stare at the poster, his mouth just slightly open, as he felt like he could just stand up and walk into the poster, and be there.

He shifted his weight a little on the bed, then paused, having a near shudder. The incidental contact he caught from his shoulder against the near wall felt amazing. As he talked with Chaz, he slowly brushed against the wall with his arm. Back and forth, back and forth.

"What got you jinto bejing a doctorr?"

Cirr, quite relaxed, talked through a contented purr that was rising in his throat.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Because I was angry. Liv-id, you know?" Chaz sunk to the floor in a slow, methodical slide, legs extending out like dead things. Her feet flopped to either side. It was like they weren't even a part of her body, only they were and that was amazing. That belonged in a textbook.

She looked around the room, frowning. It was so dingy in here.

"It's so dingy in here," Chaz said. She wriggled her toes inside her sneakers. They still worked. That was important to know. It was imperative that all body parts still functioned because they would need to record that for diagnostic purposes. Or something. "Cirr, do you want to know a secret?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Yeah?"

Cirr, now fully leaning against the wall, gave a big nod, and leaned forward, sliding on the wall as he went. He paused, shifted his weight, and kicked both feet on the bed, as he listened to Chaz. His hands went to the mattress, claws extending and retracting as he kneaded at the bedding a little.

Chaz had suddenly become the most interesting person in the world. Her voice sounded like the thick purple smoke felt. He breathed in her voice, exhaling purple once more.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"I flunked out," the words were exhaled on the back of a plume of smoke and Chaz stared blankly at the air in front of her. She laughed suddenly, jerking her chin at the wall. "That's why I bought the poster."

She opened her mouth to say something else but instead squinted at Cirrsseeto. Time dilated around him.

Like, around him. Like Cirr was in the middle of some kind of time whirlpool and it just kept circling around and around and around him like water in a drain, only the time didn't swirl down or only one way -- unless they were below the equator (did ships have equators? She would have to ask Ben) and that didn't even make sense because it wasn't as though where you were on the planet changed the direction that time flowed -- time flowed --

No, wait. They weren't on a planet. They were on a ship. And there wasn't anything wrong with time because... because, why?

Fraaaaak.

"How are you doing that?" Chaz asked, boggled by the absurd cyclone around the Cizerack.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

By this time, Cirr had slid down the wall to the mattress, so his back was on the mattress cross-ways, his feet propped up against the wall, and his head leaned down off the edge of the mattress, so that he looked at her upside down. His tail was going everywhere, and he stretched his hands down to the floor to touch fingers against the deck as he took another draw of the stim.

"What am jI dojing?" He asked with a giggle, his feet sliding together and apart along the wall.

Suddenly his eyes widened and he exhaled through a giddy smile.

"Hey, do you have anythjing to drrjink? Ljike namana orr a frrujit fjizzy orr somethjing?"

The smoke was giving him a mighty case of cottonmouth. He drew the stim to ash into the receptacle between him and the good doctor, while concentrating to lower his straightened legs over his head.

[Chaz de Coventina]

It was getting very hazy indeed inside the small room. The door to the 'fresher was hard to recognize, shrouded as it was in the thick shroud of vapours. Several moments of studious searching passed before Chaz was able to wave in it's general direction.

"There's a tap in there," she said, contentment making her voice float out lazy. "And there's a fip hlask... flip hask... flas hicks of emergency whiskey in my locker but," Chaz lifted her arm above her head; the tips of her fingers stopped a few feet below the wall storage. "I can't reach."

The whirly ripples were stretching outward and she clucked her tongue. "That's really quite amazing, Cirr. You're really quite amazing. Never seen anything like it."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"We'rre prretty sjimjilarr people, yeah? Rreal self-made moverrs!"

Cirr paused with feet in mid-air to remove his shoes, dropping them and socks to the floor to leave a pair of bare feet hovering over him. He tucked his feet in, rolling off the mattress and somehow managing to come down on his toes with grace. He turned to face her in a crouch, and easing up, he raised past her to get to the locker, and Chaz's flask. He smiled, his face inches from hers as he pushed the flask into her hands and bounded up to fetch a pint glass off the shelf, and top it with water from the tap.

Quick as a flash, he bounded back, this time dropping to the floor next to Chaz in a cross-legged position. He eagerly quaffed down half the glass of water, exhaling appreciatively, and returned the stim to his lips.

"jI feel ljike jI'm brreathjing out of my eyes. Out of everrywherre, brreathjing."

Everything was bleeding together. The smell of the smoke. The smell of her. The sound of her voice, the soft purple haze in the room, the amazing velvety buzzing feeling he got every time he touched anything.

[Chaz de Coventina]

She chuckled, drew a languid breath, chuckled again. He was right. He was so right. Except that they weren't breathing at all, they were swimming. Everything was so peaceful and soothing, like drifting atop a calm sea. It was all different; smaller. It seemed to Chaz that the room had flattened.

Vertically, not horizontally. The sky hadn't come down against the horizon like a giant foot and squashed the two of them, or anything like that -- though come to think of it, the sky always came down to the horizon.

And what was up with that? She remembered working rounds in the pediatric unit one day during internship, a small girl waving a water color painting she'd done in art class in her face, explaining how all the other kids always painted the sky as a blue strip across the top of the page, but she knew, she'd figured it out, that the sky wasn't just a stripe across the top, that if you looked you could see that the blue came all the way down to touch the ground, and when you jumped, you just, jumped up, not even trying very hard, you did that and you were in the sky.

Chaz jumped. Sort of. A little. Her shoulders did, at least. She didn't feel like she was in the sky. The sky was way, way up with nothing under you but hard ground and water far away that would grab onto you as soon as it could and if it had to pull too hard, it might get mad or --

Wait, what was she thinking about?

The sky. Right. Jump up and you're there, that's what the kid had said, too smart for her own good even though she looked like she was four and had a horrible, seepage-ridden cold. That was the problem with children. They were always talking nonsense like "if you jump up you're in the sky", when everyone knew there was no sky in ship quarters.

Right. That was why she didn't feel it, the being in the sky. They were inside. Inside in space. That made sense.

Chaz blinked and turned her head. Cirr was staring at her. "Did I say that out loud? Oh gods. I think I need some air. Can't swim in here."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Say what aloud? jI only hearr hummjing."

Cirr's tail curled over into his lap, and he ran the blade of a hand alongside it's length, down to the tuft, which flipped lazily upward in response. It was the tactile equivalent of hearing the most beautiful piano in the universe play it's full scale. He stared up at the soft lighting in the quarters, mouth agape as he watched the light diffuse through the smoke and his slightly distorted vision.

"Looks ljike we'rre gojing to hyperrspace."

He held the glass of water close to him and carefully offered it to Chaz.

"The waterr feels ljike a waterrfall gojing down."

His tail flipped down at her ankles, curling this way and that.

[Chaz de Coventina]

Why? Why had she waited 34 years to experience the exquisite sensation of a silky-soft Cizerack tail ghosting across her shin? It was incredible. Chaz shivered.

"Waitaminute," she wrapped one hand around the water glass, bracing her forearm against Cirr's, and arched forward, tugging up the leg of her scrub pants. "Okay. Okay. Do that again."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr obliged her, this time willfully guiding the tuft of his tail along the doctor's exposed shin. This immediately elicited a response from Chaz, and Cirr continued travelling along, toward the drawn-up hemline of her scrubs. Somewhere, in the drug-addled recess of his brain, some of the original programming started to connect the dots, and he leaned in towards the older woman's semi-open lips. After all, everything so far had felt just amazing to the touch.

[Chaz de Coventina]

The tickling felt familiar, like dozens of teeny, tiny legs glancing off her skin. Sort of like... it was almost... like a...

"Fever wasps!" Chaz choked and jerked, her arms flailing wildly in the air.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr caught one of Chaz's flailing arms right across the face. He nearly keeled over to the side, going with the motion completely. Rather than yell or respond in a pained manner, he laughed uncontrollably, his whole body shaking as he brought his knees up to his chest.

"Ahahahahahaha!"

He re-lit his stim, pausing only to notice a dab of crimson at his fingertip. He touched it to his tongue.

"jI'm bleedjing, hahahaha!"

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Shit! I'm sorry!"

Chaz covered her mouth with her hands, eyes going wide with horror. She'd wounded him!

"It's not funny, Cirr, it's," a strangled snerk caught in the back of the physician's throat and she bent over, bracing her arms on Cirr's lap as she dissolved into a fit of silent laughter. His own glee was contagious and it was all Chaz could do to catch her breath enough to peek up at his bloody nose. She reached out and pressed at the seeping flow of red.

"Oh, you really are bleeding, aren't you?" Chaz clucked and shook her head. With utter solemnity, she placed her stained hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry: I'm a doctor."

The sincerity lasted a full ten seconds before Chaz snorted and collapsed across his legs again, a helpless chorus of hskhskhsk accompanying her mirthfully shaking shoulders.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr leaned back, contentedly laughing along with the doctor. As he caught his breath, he took back the glass of water for a few gulps, the initial one washing away the salty, ferric remnants of blood in his mouth. As he finished his stim, he leaned over Chaz to extinguish it, casting her a lopsided grin.

"You rremjind me of someone..."

His smile got a little more wistful as he stretched, reaching his hands up to his head to sweep his ears back.

"jI, heh, was marrrjied once."

He laughed.

"Once, haha. jI am stjill, technjically! But jI rran away."

He tugged at an ear nervously.

"Does that make me a bad guy? Rrunnjing away?"

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Depends on the spouse."

Chaz replied after a moment of heavy consideration. She laughed again and then wriggled, rolling over by inches until she was on her back, Cirr's muscled thigh serving as a pillow. Her own joint had been crushed... well, she wasn't sure when, but it had disappeared and so she reached up, fingers scissoring around her injured patient's roll.

"Tell me about her," Chaz inhaled and reveled in the way her chest seemed to stretch. "Or... him?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Herr!"

Cirr laughed at the thought, but continued.

"Herr name's Iesshaauurri. Hang on, let me get thjis shjirrt off, jit's burrnjing up jin herre."

He peeled his faded work shirt over his head, and flung it across the room to the bed.

"jI dunno. She's olderr, verry smarrt. jI left because she djidn't trreat me well, but sometjimes she was a wonderrful perrson to be arround."

He laughed and shook his head, looking down at the woman laying contentedly against his lap.

"That's a turrn for the melancholy, sorrry. jIt's a long tjime ago, and jI'm not that same young kjid. To hell wjith rregrrets."

[Chaz de Coventina]

She listened, eyes closed blissfully as the free-falling high blew thoughts and sensations through the room like chaff. If everything stopped right now just as it was, if a universal pause button existed and was depressed, this wouldn't be such a bad place to be frozen. It was warm. There was a shower. What else did they need?

Food, maybe. But not for awhile. The body could go an awfully long time with no sustenance.

She was so wasted.

"You shouldn't say that," Chaz mumbled, the space between her eyebrows furrowing. "That's what we're made of, you know. Regrets. They're what keep us breathing."

She opened her eyes and looked up, lips parting in the whisper of a smile.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

With her face below him, Cirr felt like he could step off a precipice and fall into those inviting lips. And in his mind's eye, he did exactly that. Nothing was awkward, nothing was foolhardy, and everything felt right.

If a neutral fly was on the wall, it might have seen something a lot more clumsy and hilarious.

[Chaz de Coventina]

As Cirr toppled forward, a small insistant thought bopped Chaz on the nose, blinking to hold her attention. This is a bad idea, it said. You’re both high as neffins.

But then his lips were on hers and her hands were gripping his face and it was soft and warm and --

“Awesome,” Chaz breathed.

***

Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

It was a galactic fact that the blaring of a chrono alarm was an awful way to wake up. There was absolutely nothing gentle about the way it wrenched a body from sleep, mechanical voice screeching at neverending intervals. Of course, for a doctor it was particularly motivating; it sounded uncannily like a flatline alert and if anything could fire up the instincts, it was that.

Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

Chaz groaned, cheek pressed against the floor. “Gnnnng oh stars. Cirr. Turnnit off.”

There was a grunt and a clattering and then the alarm abruptly ceased. Blissful silence fell over the room once again and Chaz tugged at the sheet wrapped around her legs, yanking it up to cover her shoulders as she rolled over and bumped against Cirr’s side.

Cirr’s side.

… Cirr’s side?!?!

“Oh frell!” Chaz’s eyes flew open and she sat up. The sheet fell down and the woman gazed down at her naked chest in horrified disbelief. “Oh frell!”

Oh this had all gone so terribly, terribly wrong. The last thing she could remember with any clarity was the poster on the wall and now it was eight in the morning and--

“Oh frell! Cirr, get up, get up. Oh godsfrelling damnit I was supposed to be in the medbay over an hour ago!”

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr, deep in sleep, responded only with his subconscious. His tail swatted at the direction of noise and disturbance as he snored along, rolling a bit to peel the remained of the covers over to him.

[Chaz de Coventina]

Chaz swore and pushed herself up on shaky legs. There was no need for modesty now but the doctor drew an arm across her breasts and stepped over the mechanic sprawled on the floor. The entire room stunk of smoke and sweat, it's meager contents overturned and scattered in a way consistent with the ransacking methods of angry mafioso. Apparently they'd somehow managed to work through the lethargy and then some.

Inside the shower the hot water was doing a good job of making Chaz feel human again, though it was hard to appreciate through the gnawing in her stomach. This was so awkward. With a groan, she lathered her hair again in the hopes that the zitrone grass and alamond oil in the shampoo would wash away enough of the smell to pass muster in the medbay.

Out of the 'fresher she had to step over Cirrsseeto again to get to her rack of clothing. Most of it had been yanked out sometime during their... athletics. Chaz fished around on the floor, tugging on a pair of thin uniform slacks and the first shirt her hand closed upon. Her back was killing her.

"Cirrsseeto!"

A slipper spun through the air, beaning the Cizerack on his sleep-smoothed forehead.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Oww!!"

Cirr hollered, instinctively bringing a hand up to his head, but keeping his eyes closed and otherwise not moving. However, something in him began to parse the information around him.

Familiar woman's voice...

...he smelled spice...

...eyes still closed, he reached down beneath covers...yup no pants!

!!!

"Oh no!"

In his surprise, Cirr fell off the bed in a heap, landing ass-up. His tail hung over him in an arch, so that the tuft dangled in front of his head, mocking his night of indiscretion.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"That's one way of putting it," Chaz scrubbed at her face with her hands and then gathered her wet hair, slinging it over a shoulder so she could attack it with the towel while Cirr recovered on the floor. She stared very hard at the (scratched) poster, which now hung lopsidedly from a single corner.

There was no need for them to be embarrassed.

"There's no need for us to be embarrassed," Chaz valiantly attempted a casual shrug. "We are two consenting adults who engaged in... a spontaneous, natural activity. And we're simply going to go about our day and never speak of this again."

She cleared her throat. "How are you feeling, generally?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr allowed himself a moment to prop himself up on an elbow, and thought about it.

"jI've been a lot worrse." he conceded with a half laugh, scratching the back of an ear with his other hand as his tail flipped over him.

He wasn't sure how he felt. First, she was right. They must never speak of this again. Second, he really really could stand for a second go at that sort of thing.

"jI.....don't suppose you mjight feel ljike calljing jin sjick forr the day?"

[Chaz de Coventina]

Her back gave a sharp cry of protest at the mere thought. Chaz narrowed her eyes.

"Stop by the medbay later. I'll have a prescription waiting for you."

She turned to check her reflection in the small square of mirror secured on her locker door. Fatigued and pale, check, but the reasons for it were mercifully hidden from plain sight.

"Solid B-plus, by the way," A hint of a grin played across her face as she fixed Cirr with a sidelong glance.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Can count on me, doc."

Before Cirr could parse whether she was serious or spinning a double entendre, she let fly with her little assessment.

"Oh, hang on a mjinute!"

A smile betraying the mock dismay on his face, he bounded to his feet, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"jI can't be held to task ljike that when jI'm all medjicated and, ahem, not jin my prrjime!"

He closed distance with her, and paused mid-stride. No, he really needed to stop. A conflicted look crossed his face.

"Laterr mjight be best, jI guess."

With a sigh, he ran both hands down his face.

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Do you really want to contest a ruling that's in your favour despite a notable handicap?" Chaz shot back gamely, twisting her wet hair into a knot at the nape of her neck. "Take the win, man."

Though not given to pity, Cirr's obvious internal struggle wrung a sympathetic look from the doc.

"Despite my earlier unenlightened statement, I think you'd do well with a mild sedative to take the edge off. One that won't, mm, lower your inhibitions quite so much."

If she hadn't been so coolly rational and thereby immune to schoolgirl antics, Chaz would have sworn she were blushing.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr nodded at that with a sigh.

"You'rre rrjight, doc. jI'll be arround laterr today forr that."

He spent a few moments tracking down his assorted clothes and putting them on. Something was burdening his mind, and as he finished up, he looked pleadingly to Chaz.

"jI don't suppose you'rre the sorrt to talk about that sorrt of thjing, but please don't mentjion a worrd of thjis to Lyanjie."

He looked to his feet.

"jI rreally don't know jif she'd underrstand, and jI've got a lot of thjings to sorrt out."

[Chaz de Coventina]

"Even if I was the sort, I wouldn't talk to Lyannie about it. She's far too cheerful. It's unnatural." There was no need for Cirrsseeto to worry. If anyone found out about their little indescretion, it certainly wouldn't be because of hospital gossip started by her. She had a reputation as an incurably accrimonious curmudgeon to uphold and a good lay hardly fit within the bounds of that particular cliche.

Chaz balanced precariously on one leg, lifting the other to stuff her foot into a sock. "Believe me, Cirr, I'd like to keep this between us just as much as you would. Of course, that also means there's to be none of that pathetically dramatic and impractical avoidance of one another that follows these sorts of things; it makes it needlessly awkward and raises suspicion. Can we agree to behave as normal, civilized friends?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr was relieved at that, and almost tripped on his tongue to reply.

"Yeah, that would be grreat!"

She seemed rather matter-of-fact about it, which was fantastic. It would've been a quagmire if Cirr had to deal with any potential emotional hang-ups with his unfortunate little romp.

Something else tugged at his thoughts, and he cocked an ear.

"You thjink she's too cheerrful?"

[Chaz de Coventina]

An answering snort sounded in the now much-at-ease air and Chaz looked over at Cirr with a disbelieving expression. As if anyone could mistake Lyanie's unabiding optimism as anything but excessive.

"Have you never seen her all bright-eyed and chipper at the crack of day? That girl could be in a sarlaac pit and she'd still whistle a jaunty country tune." The tone with which this was said suggested that the doctor neither understood nor found acceptable such behavior. Chaz was herself of the firm belief that everything needed balancing with sense and that even good cheer in too generous a quantity lent itself to trouble.

But of course, she wasn't keen on Miss Quez, then, was she?

Chaz cleared her throat and shrugged airily. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm sure it's a very attractive quality, if you're the sort who appreciates it."