Every artist was first an amateur

Posted on 06 Jun 2020 @ 1:51am by Captain Jonathan Reynolds & Ensign Gwen Leighton

Mission: Mission 4 - Race against the machine
Location: Teaching room 07
Timeline: Prior to chasing Planet killer
1660 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

"CRACK"

"Oh by the love of …. everything" the voice of the male trill next to her groused.

Gwen's hand paused as she stifled a chuckle, "You okay over there?" Her head turned to the left as she eyed the owner of the frustrated voice.

"I hate charcoal. I broke another one," he muttered. "And look at yours. Your a natural,"

"Noooo..."She quietly let the word fall of her lips, "Nothing is natural. It's just hours of practice where people can't see me cursing quietly." Gwen motioned for him to look at her hand,"You're gripping your charcoal too hard. Hold it closer to the base and think of it caressing the page as your hand would a lovers skin."

"I haven't got a lover," he muttered but moved the charcoal so he was holding it like she suggested. He tried another attempt at filling in some shading. "Well that does look a little better,"

He stood back for a minute and nodded appraising it critically. Then looked over at her. "Thank you. Aarum Rol I suck at art but I'm not a bad teacher. So my students tell me. Well as long as its not art. I prefer teaching history anyway. Anyway nice to meet you."

Gwen's cheeks flushed slightly. She hadn't meant to ask about his personal partner situation. It was more a metaphor, "Gwen." She responded in kind with her name, "I wouldn't say you suck at art." Her eyes roamed over his work, "And if you know History, than you know that nothing is done right the first time." Grabbing a damp cloth she cleaned the tips of her fingers before brushing a hair from her face, "And nothing is ever worth judging without a full belly. Perspective is better with food. Hungry?"

Aarom nodded. “I’m always open to food, if you will have the company. What do you have in mind?”

"Well, we aren't exactly on a station with exotic restaurants and food stands. So I guess we have to make due with what we have here." Gwen offered a curious glance, "Do you follow Trill cuisine or are you one of those explorative types?"

"I'm a little bit of both actually. Enjoy some Trill food and sampling other cuisines. Not a bad cook either at times," he shrugged. "What do you fancy?"

"I'm in the mood for a Lida salad," Gwen said with a shrug, "So how about Trill today and we can explore other cuisines next time?"

Aarom found himself smiling. She had only just met him and seemed to be opening ground to future lunches. That was good. He wasn't the most social person well he was fine with school children. Adults he could have problems.

"That sounds very nice," he commented.

Gwen smiled, "Perfect. Let's tidy up and then head on out."

"Happy to give up the charcoal," Aarom said. "Where are you thinking? Medusa's?"

"Definitely," Gwen tidied up her supplies, hopefully not too eagerly and awaited Aarom.

---

It was busy in Medusa's Head. The hum of the crowd could be heard even before the doors opened along with the scent of a variety of dishes. It was appetizing and Gwen's mouth began to water.

"Look!" She pointed to a free table off in the corner, "We are in luck!" Gwen navigated the crowd and quickly took a seat, "Ha! It is ours. We didn't have to fight anyone for it either."

"Glad to hear that," Aarom quipped. "Teachers are not that good at fighting. So Gwen what do you do?" he asked.

"I work in Security," She offered, "This is my first posting out of the Academy. Prior to joining up, I ran the on site Academy Daycare. Staff, Diplomats, Officers - that sort of thing. It was one of the best jobs I've ever had.Which I'm sure you can relate to being a teacher. Unless, you hate kids...which would be ironic."

“No,” he chuckled. “There all amazing my students and being able to mould minds is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Just like you saving lives ehh Gwen. Glad we have you guys, who knows what we will encounter on this voyage.”

"I would more say Doctors save lives," Gwen laughed, "We aim to keep our people alive. Which also means taking lives if needed. It's a terrifying balance and one that isn't taken lightly. "

A waiter came around to their table and asked them for their orders.

The Trill looked to Gwen. "Ladies first," he said politely.

"Lida salad, dressing on the side and a sparkling apple cider." Gwen tilted her head to Aarom, "And you?"

"Steak sandwich with caramelised onions," he replied. "And an iced tea."

"So .. where do you hail from?" he asked.

"Earth." Gwen shrugged, "A simple humanoid. Human mother and father. No siblings. You?"

"Actually I was born on Starbase 308. Civilian teacher. This is the first time I've actually travelled and seen actual planets," He said. "Its a bit new still."

"Me too!" Gwen said that a little too loud and winced, "Sorry. Everyone seems to be so comfortable with all this. I didn't think anyone else would be as green as I was." She winced again, "Not that green is a bad thing. Green is a lovely thing."

"Well no. Not at all. Its exciting times but I concur it's nice to find someone finding their feet as well," he smiled at her.

"What do you like to do when your not working and ermm … drawing?" He asked. He liked her. He wanted to know more. "Hobbies?"

"I love attempting new things. I think that's one of the reasons I was so excited to try out Starfleet. I want to taste new foods, explore different planet terrain and hear new languages. I have a horrible soft spot for the outdoors which is unfortunately matched with a bit of an accident prone nature. If there is a way to trip on something, I will find it." Gwen laughed, "Thankfully when I'm on duty, I'm pretty aware of my footing but when I'm on my own time I get a little carried away."

Their food arrived and Gwen happily dove into her salad, "Onions..." She said looking at his sandwich, "How do you eat those?"

"Not a fan?" he grinned. "They bring out the flavour of the steak. Honestly," he ripped off part of his sandwich and offered it to her. "Try it," he suggested.

"Mmmmm nope." Gwen shook her head and pursed her lips, "Nope. Nope. Nope." Instead she shoved a piece of Lida into her mouth and smiled, "Mmm...I am very much a toddler when it comes to onions."

"Thats a shame. If I ever took you on a date I couldn't kiss you if I ate them," Aarom flushed realising what he had just said out loud.

A blush hit her cheeks and she chuckled nervously, "Uhm so..." She bit into her salad and chewed quietly, "Born on a Starbase...that sounds unique. Did you get to run around and cause trouble?"

"Oh yes. You have to find your own secret base. For us it was corridor XV111. We used to hang out, eat a lot of bad stuff and moan about the adults. Eventually you start hitting the social life. We were sneaking into bars and restaurant's. A friend of mine managed to get us some fake IDs. But as soon as you get caught by a Klingon bouncer you eventually grow up and evaluate," he grinned. "Did you ever sneak in anywhere underage?"

"No..."Gwen took a sip of her drink, "Sadly with two parents who were rather important within StarFleet I had some expectations of me." She paused for a moment, "Of course, that almost entitles me to a youthful relapse when I'm in my fifties."

"I would love to see that," Aarom said. "You deserve a youthful relapse," he chuckled. "Sounds like you grew up too quickly and with too much responsibility on your shoulders."

"Jumping into the role of Acting Chief of Security certainly isn’t helping these shoulders. "A fun laugh followed, "Either I'm a glutton for punishment or I enjoy rising to a challenge. Not sure yet which it is."

"That's pretty impressive. I mean I'm just a civilian but I do know that you start off an Ensign and there's grades to work up. To be given a chance to be a departmental chief you must have impressed people. Good for you," he told her.

"I just hope I can keep impressing them." Gwen added, "If I don't do well, it'll mark me for life."

"Well you impressed me certainly," the Trill said softly. "Would …. ermm …" why was talking to woman so hard? he wondered.

His symbiote fired into life forcing once of his hosts forward. "Just ask the lady. What have you to lose? Yes ask her. Shes pretty, interesting … intelligent" …. he could hear echoing from the others. "Reminds me of my second wife" Haroq piped up.

He squared his shoulders summoning his courage. He could always find a different art class and avoid her if this went south. The thought caused his hosts to giggle but he ignored them.

"Would you like to do this again. Like a proper dinner. A dinner … date? One where I wear something not covered in broken and smudged charcoal?"

Gwen laughed, "I think dinner would be fantastic." She smiled at him, "Broken and smudged charcoal doesn't look too bad on you though. It's the sign of a great artist."

Aarom blushed. "When you say things like that I like you more. I'll be in touch soon and promise to do the homework for the art class. I'm really happy I met you Gwen," the Trill smiled.

"Ditto," Gwen replied, "And you get free art lessons today."

OFF:

Aarom Rol
NPC Jonathan Reynolds

● Ensign Gwen Leighton
Apprentice Chief Security / Tactical Officer
USS Andromeda