Some Enchanted Evening - Nightmares

Posted on Wednesday 21 August 2019 @ 20:53 by Commander Caroline Miller & Commander Save'ena (Sav) Tillatix & Lieutenant Marbim Rejal

Mission: The New Collective
Location: Lt. Marbin Rejal's Quarters
Timeline: Early Morning after Groundfall Post
3560 words - 7.1 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

It was around 3 am, or 0300 hours, in the morning. The lights were dim in the quarters with two sleeping forms on the bed, one male stretched out and one female cuddled against his side. However, this peaceful scene is sadly not to continue.

The female, a rare, reverse colored Mephetian, was beginning to show the signs of pleasant sleep becoming more sinister. Within Sav's mind, the days events with Miles explaining what he had saw, coupled with what she had seen in the dungeon, and that she was alone with a male in his room for the first time since her 'little incident', culminated in her memories sweeping for and placing her back within that dungeon.

Memories: She felt another by her as she was on her soiled straw bedding, wary as a couple of other girls were being disciplined in front of her and others to show what would happen to them, and then Mr. Thompson and Mistress Elizabeth appearing and pointing at Sav, letting the dungeon keepers know Diostros was there for his bought goods. They reached for Sav, and she snarled back at them, despite knowing they were going to knock her out anyways, and she had to protect whoever was sharing her soiled bedding.

Sav was jerking in her sleep, her eyes rolling, small snarls sounding from her. She began feeling over Miles, shifting to be over him, her claws coming out, being protective over him. She began gently tugging him towards the edge of the bed, then slipped off of him and fell off the bed and onto the floor. She shrieked.

Memories: Sav was trying to protect who she was with and put them into a safe corner of her cell, and then in trying to get into that corner, fell through the corner and onto the floor??? She must have been knocked out, which meant Diostros must have already taken her, and sure enough, as she looked under and about herself, she saw her shredded insides around her upon the floor, the deed done.

Sav seemed to be staring about her, but not seeing. She began mumbling... 'no no no no no no nO nO NO NO...." She now crawled across the floor, scooping at things not there, and then she scooped up his uniform, saying, "My insides are out... my insides are out..." She held his uniform close to her, hugging it tightly, as she continued, "My insides are out.."

Miles was having a pleasant dream, he and Sav were visiting a game preserve, and laughing at the funny marsupials. Then one of them started repeating 'no no no no no no nO nO NO NO...." Miles performed a combat roll to the opposite side of his room. For a moment, forgotten was the delicious warmth he'd been sharing with Sav. That had been replaced by his brain sliding into what he calls 'fight time'. With spear in hand he surveyed his room. Then what he was seeing registered. Dropping the spear on the floor, he moves over to a comm panel, "Commander Miller, this is Commander Rejal, I need you in my quarters asap, and please bring something to help calm someone down." Once he had summoned his backup, he moved into Sav's view. Dropping to one knee he reached out an in a quiet voice says, "I'll help you put them back. The masters have left. Let me help you put them back." Whether it registered in Sav's brain or not, hot tears were falling from Miles's eyes as he watched and felt helpless in this situation.

One of the dungeon helpers dropped into view. Sav growled as she bared her claws while still holding Miles uniform dear to her chest. She remarked, "My insides. Mine.. not Diostro.. stay..." His words, though, were not menacing, and even though male, his scent.. his scent.. was familiar, soothing. "Not masters... not Diostros.. Male... friend?" She leaned forward, sniffing harder, as his silhouette changed to a male Cardassian in boxers. Her brain registered Miles, and she suddenly came to be in front of him, her tail going behind him, as she protected him. She said, "Dungeon, not safe, stay with me.. need to find doctor.. get insides put back in..." Sav had a purpose, protect Miles at all costs.

"A doctor is coming, she has been summoned, we need to wait for her." With his back close to his replicator, he leans over and wakes it up, "Computer, replicate whatever drink Commander Tillatix orders the most." Once the drink appears, he leans forwards. "Here drink, it will make you feel better, until the doctor arrives."

Sav's mind perked up at the 'computer, replicate'. The Dungeon didn't have repilcators, just slaves to make everything for those visiting to buy the 'livestock' being trained for their whims. Sav smelled the herbal spiced licorice tea in Mile's hands as the dungeon fades to be a room, her mind finally coming out of its memories to be of a conscious Sav. She looks down at her 'insides', and realizes they are Miles uniform. A deep blush appears across her muzzle. She whispers, "Thank you, Miles," as she reaches out to take the tea from him, her claws still extended, and start sipping it. It still has not dawned on her she was crouching on the floor, protective stance with Miles behind her, and his uniform clutched close to her bosom. It would still be a few minutes for her to fully wake up from her nightmare.

Miles will reach out and gently stroke her tail, avoiding the base. In soft tones he adds, "You protected me the entire time. I'm so sorry that this happened to you." until he feels like she is out of the nightmares grasp, he'll stay stroking her tail.

Caroline had been woken up by a call from the 2nd officer. He hadn't been specific about who required something to calm down and well, different races needed different drugs. She grabbed her personal medkit and ordered a site to site beam to his quarters. He had stated asap. The beam put her directly in his lounge which was in darkness. "Lights," she asked the computer.

"Lieutenant," she called out assuming he was either in the bedroom or bathroom. "You requested me. Is everything alright?"

As lights flooded into the bedroom, Sav's reflexive action was to press Miles into her back with her tail as she extended her right hand with its claws extended even as her left hand kept his uniform pressed to her bosom. Then, she heard another's voice call out, and this was also familiar, very familiar. And, this was a bedroom, not the dungeon. She whispered, "Caroline?" as her nightmare faded further to leave her almost awake.

"Thank you for coming. Sav had a nightmare, and I wasn't sure what she would need. The tea I gave her seems to have helped her out of most of the nightmare. I didn't want to startle her, but I am concerned about her and uncertain as to where we go from here..." Miles seems to have forgotten his state of undress at this time, Caroline will notice that he isn't wearing a shirt or pants, other than that, Sav is blocking the rest of his body at this moment.

Caroline nodded. It wasn't the first time Sav or one of the crew had had a nightmare. She hadn't of course expected to find Sav in Rejal's bed. At least that meant she was moving on from Melody.

She didn't bat an eyelid at his lack of clothing, she has seen pretty much everything, it took a lot to shock her. "You did right to call me. Sav are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?" she wasn't sure how much of Sav's past Rejal knew and how much Sav herself was comfortable sharing.

While she gave them Sav a moment to respond and Rejal chance to grab any garments he wanted to cover up with , she moved her tricorder over Sav taking some scans.

At Caroline's words, the surreal dungeon room fully became Miles bedroom and the nightmare faded away. Sav's claws retracted on her hands and feet as she came out of her protective crouch. Her tail flowed from being behind Miles to now being in its usual place, behind Sav. She blinked, echoing 'Talk about it?' as her fully conscious mind took in the situation. She realized she was still holding Miles uniform, and it was still stuck on a recessed claw. She put down her tea and tried to remove the uniform from her claw. With Miles behind her and Caroline in front of her, realization struck her as she gushed out, "Oh NO, I had a nightmare, didn't I? I Shred in them.." She immediately turned around and began to check over Miles, looking for claw marks, saying, "Are you hurt Miles? Did I hurt you?" Sav was becoming frantic as she moved her hands over Miles, and now out from between Caroline and Miles, that he was wearing silk boxers could be seen. Sav was in her granny panties and a button down shirt of Miles, three buttons in the middle connected.

As soon as Sav starts her frantic search, Miles slides his fingers into hers, “No dearest, you didn’t hurt me, you protected me the entire time.” Once he’s got her eyes locked onto his, he’ll reach out and run his neck around her nose and mouth, “You locked onto my scent fast, and knew I wasn’t an enemy...”

Sav quit her frantic searching when his fingers entwined hers. She listens to his words, and was very glad that she had recognized him, even in the throes of her nightmare, and that the 'Uiqueria' personality had not surfaced. She whispered, "Thank's Miles.." Reluctantly letting go of his fingers, she turned around and approached Caroline, "Hey Caroline... sorry for getting you up like this. Ready to be checked over." While Sav was calming down mentally, her body was still in Fight mode with elevated levels everywhere. As Sav was there supporting Miles, and he had called Caroline in for her, it was farthest from her mind how the situation looked.

As Sav walked towards the counselor, Miles reached out and picked up his spear. Making sure he hadn't damaged the walls or floor with it, he put it back on its holder, and then threw on some PT shorts, for modesty. Turning he asks, "Commander, can I get you something to drink, Sav already has some tea..?"

"A glass of water please," Caroline said as she waved her tricorder over Sav. "Some slightly elevated readings but all consistent with a nightmare. Have you been under any stress lately?" she asked.

Standing at the replicator, Miles orders, "Water, four-point four degrees centigrade." The glass begins to sweat as soon as it appears. Walking over Miles will reach out with the glass in his left hand, while reaching out to hold Sav's where he begins rubbing circles with his thumb. "I believe I pushed the envelope tonight. After dinner, I asked if we could, hmmm, 'cuddle' is the term. After what I experienced on the surface of the planet I just wanted to feel her arms around me. We have talked about our past experiences, and I am not pressing for a more physical relationship at this time. I understand what Sav has told me of her past, and my previous experiences in dating haven't gone well. So we are working on getting to know each other, and spend time as we can. My request may have been the trigger...I will say that once I realized what was going on, Sav's primary goal was to protect me from whomever was coming to harm her...no, harm us." Miles is slightly blushing by this point, as this is the longest conversation he's had with the Counselor yet.

Sav blushed when Miles took her hand. She wasn't expecting him to be intimate in front of Caroline. However, this did stop her from saying anything while he got his say in. She churred gently at hearing his final words, about her realizing he was there and protecting him, no scratches or other to him. This actually caused her to feel much better about herself in that if she recognized someone, she wouldn't harm them, even in a nightmare. It was her turn to speak. "Well, I still have nightmares time to time, stress or not... but I think Miles is right. This is the first time for me to sleep..umm, as in sleep, not sleep, I mean... you know." Sav swallowed, then continued, "To be alone with a guy since my despoilment and near death in the dungeon. I wanted to do this, to be there for Miles after what he saw on the planet, and to continue my healing in getting my psyche to understand guys are not like Diostros, he is the exception, not the rule." Sav swallowed again, "I... I.. hope you don't mind. I guess I should have asked before doing this... but Miles needed me to be with him, someone to hold onto to make the bad go away... the bad go away.."

"I think you possibly rushed it as innocent as things were," Caroline said simply. "Many things can still trigger flash back memories. I know your not pressing for a physical relationship but lying together in a bed is still physical. I am glad neither of you got hurt though. I can't tell you not to pursue your relationship but I would caution about doing so while Saveena is still healing. But I think part of you knew that and thats why subconsciously you didn't speak to me.

Sav for you to get over this Diostros you need to let it all out. Not in a nightmare, not in a memory. The person you are now. I want you to write this man a letter or record him a holo message and tell him your feelings. That your angry but you have come out stronger. That your life is where you want it to be now and he has no further power over you. You need to confront it in a safe environment," she told her.

Miles is nodding his head slowly, but not letting go of Sav's hand...

Sav blushed heavily as she listened to Caroline. Yeah, just lying together, with Miles being a male, was still physical and pushing it. She was thinking the next was for her, but then it dawned on her it was to Miles. Then, Caroline's next words caused Sav to flinch and draw back from her at first. Then her mind caught up with the rest of what Caroline was saying. Caroline was right, she needed to say this out loud, record it, and play it back to herself. She still had it buried, whispering about it, telling privately about it... she hadn't just let it out of her system, always letting it hang over her. She nodded, swallowed, then replied, "Yeah... yeah, you're right. Umm.. I will do that.. but.. I may need some help doing it... or is this something I need to completely do on my own?"

"Too be honest," Caroline said. "I think this is something you need to face head on alone."

Sav took in a breath, then sighed it out, having deep down known that was going to be the answer. She snorted out in a humor laugh, mixed with a touch of a cry, and replied, 'Yeah, you're right, tis' sometin' ah need tah do, alrihght." She turned to Miles, "Umm, will yah be okay now? Ah should get back tah mah quarters, ayuh." She glanced at her 'pjs', then questioningly asked, "Can Ah get yah shirt back to yah in t'e mornin'?"

Lifting her hand, Mils runs his hot tongue over her knuckles as he kisses each finger. "My dear, you may return in whenever you wish. I believe we have some further decoration dates coming up, maybe during one of those I might find you something more appropriate than one of my old shirts to wear about the cabin."

Caroline winced inwardly as she watched the Cardassian lick Sav's hand. "Well I will leave you both and bid you good night," she said.

Sav looked a little confused at Mile's licking over her knuckles as she didn't think that would occur, especially as she has fine, short, silky fur covering her hands except for the palms and finger tips, which were hardened pads. But, she knew nothing about Cardassian dating, so figured this might be a Cardassian thing.

Sav called out, "Wait please, I'll walk out with you." She leaned in to give Miles a kiss to his nose, saying, "Thanks for bearing with me. I'll catch you later, okay?"

"Yes mam. Go get some rest if you can." Looking over at Caroline, he'll nod, "Thank you again for coming Counselor." He'll then close his door and head back to bed, an opera playing quietly in the background.

Sav let's go his hand and walks over to Caroline, smiling to her, "Ready."

"Sure am," the blond said. She placed a hand over her mouth top cover up a yawn.

After the door closes behind them, Sav's entire body does a 'heeby jeebies' shake. She blinked as she felt a gambit of emotions run through her as her body and mind adjusted to having been with a male, through a nightmare, and now getting back to her place of refuge. She looked at Caroline, then apologetically said, "Sorry about getting you out of bed tonight, Caroline. I.. was trying to be there for Miles.. I didn't think about any impact to me.. just not my nature. Umm, I... just, sorry."

"Don't apologize Sav. I'm glad I was called. It could have been something worse. Just ...." she turned and stopped for a moment. "I'm not going to tell you not to pursue a relationship with him but just a suggestion, take it slowly okay. Your still getting over the whole ... look its just another added layer of complexity that's all," she said softly. "And your still working through and healing from past events."

Sav's right hand unconsciously reached up to finger her light duty patch on her collar, which wasn't there as she was wearing Mile's Civie Shirt. The patch on her uniform was twofold: for her almost healed body, which had went into a hiatus in stasis, and for her mental state around certain triggers which the department heads knew about. With her fingers rubbing where the non-existent patch would be, she answered, "Yeah, yeah it is. I'm trying to take it slow. I.. can feel him sometimes wanting to speed things up... Cardassians marriages are usually arranged, so dating and such is not common, even though it does happen, but being arranged means.. umm, quicker than normal dating, and here I am trying to make it long."

Sav pauses outside her door, her ears moving while her tail flicks here and there. She makes a decision, turns to Caroline, and says, "It doesn't help that Melody said she told Draxx about me, but then Draxx said he never heard of me from her. I have been... intimate, with her, now, suddenly, she has a family, a child, umm, young adult, and once I was fully in her life, now... I'm shut out. I only want what's best for her, but.. feels like I'm dealing with two different people with differing timelines. I... " Sav visibly deflates.. "I.. feel alone, confused, and.. sometimes.. not necessary here. So.. umm, just so you know, as Chief Counselor, just so you know where I am coming from right now."

"Of course that would throw you. I mean she should have told him. Perhaps she found it difficult. Perhaps now he knows and is keeping a distance from you. He might feel threatened. I'm not saying thats right but men can be .... we both know men can be silly. But ultimately you won't feel like this forever. You will adapt to the change - Mels made her choice so you have to move forward and respect her even if she buryed her head in the sand, hadn't told him when she made out she did and handled it badly. Looks like your starting to with Rejal. Its just unfortunate you have all this trauma still to deal with thats not making that relationship simple," Caroline said softly.

Sav almost burst out a giggle, but stilled it. She figured it was just the situation and her emotions being on a roller coaster right now. She managed a smile, then leaned in to give Caroline a light hug. Releasing it, she replied, "Yeah, definitely unfortunate.. but.. working on it. Thanks so much, Caroline, for.. everything. Goodnight." She stepped into her room and the door shut behind her as she headed for the restroom, then bed.

OFF:

●● Lieutenant Marbim Rejal
Acting First Officer / Chief of Operations
USS Merlin

●●● Commander Save'ena Tillatix
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Merlin

●●● Commander Caroline Miller
Chief Counselor
USS Merlin