open post

[takestheseat]

This is the space for any and all scenarios with Jaylah. Pun intended. Please provide prompts or starters. Mark anything that's NSFW and/or contains triggering content.

Comments

during the party

[slapdash]

[ The party is still going nearly two hours after it started. Jim has more booze in him and he's actually enjoying his birthday for once. He then spots Jayla across the room. When he hears the familiar opening lines of a certain song, he grins to himself and shakes his head.

He goes right over to her, offering her a hand, ]

Wanna dance?

hdu with that song

[takestheseat]

[Jaylah has still not quite taken off the edge that she's been told about, but there's finally a bit of tingle in her cheeks, enough that she's moved from the couch and has taken up a quiet lean against a high table to watch how everyone interacted so normal after what they've experienced. It feels surreal.

Jim's purposeful walk catches her attention first, and she eyes him curiously, gaze falling to his hand.]

Dance?

but it totes fits

[slapdash]

[ Humans are indeed strange. Jim won't even try to deny that. But because they are all together, all of them safe and in one piece, that's worth celebrating.

And he has no problem including Jaylah in on that. They wouldn't be here without her. ]

You know, moving to the music.

[ He arches a brow at her. Did she really not know what dancing was? He looks over to the area that had been designated the dancefloor. He jerks his thumb over there, ]

What they're trying to do.

[ Scotty was a little drunk. To say the least. ]

it does !

[takestheseat]

[Her eyes lift to his at his explanation, then they follow the motion of his hand to where Montgomery Scotty was clearly enjoying himself, a corner of her mouth curling in a smug smirk. She knows dancing, just hadn't known the word in English. Her confidence swells back, washing away any more uncertainty in her body.

Turning back to Kirk, she nods slightly while placing her hand in his.]

I will dance with you James T. This is a good song for dancing.

After the party, but before Jaylah leaves for the Academy

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ Kirk whistled, tossing the little data cube up and down in his palm, the filtered light of Yorktown winking off it. He had spent quite a few hours on everything this little cube contained, and he sincerely hoped the recipient appreciated his hard work. He thought that she would, given previous enlightening comments.

He checked the address once more before entering the building and heading up to the right level, finding the right door and knocking, slowly turning the cube over in his palm with his thumb. ]</sub>

[takestheseat]

[Jaylah has settled in as much as one with her odd collection of possessions from her time in her house, the Franklin. When Jim knocks, she's staring at her Academy uniform that's hanging from a hook, obnoxiously colored and neatly pressed, with a slight scowl, arms crossed over her chest. The frustration is small relative to her overall excitement, but there must be a way for her to bend the rules.

Bend... An idea forms alongside a smirk when there's a knock at her door, breaking her train of thought abruptly and snagging her attention. Sighing, she walks over to the door and opens it, her irritation melting into a smile. She didn't expect him to come visit again before classes started.]

Hello James T.

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ Ah, Kirk remembers that uniform, perhaps a touch more fondly than some other members of the Fleet - minus one or two incidents.

He smiles when she does, as always glad to see that she is doing well. He had every faith that she would succeed, but still, he worried a little. She had spent so long on her own, after all, but she was a survivor. And all right, he liked what she called him, in that accent of hers. He would miss hearing it for the next few years. ]</sub>

Hello, Jaylah. I thought I'd bring you a little going away present.

_{[ He held up the little cube and waggled it with an enticing smirk. ]}

[takestheseat]

[It's not horrible per say, but it definitely feels different, like she's giving up part of herself simply by wearing it. She supposes to most it might seem silly, or maybe childish, but after she escaped from her father she's just had herself to rely on while surviving, while growing up on that harsh planet. She didn't have much, but she had herself and the idea of compromising that gave her great pause. She'll need to think on that more later.

Her brow furrows at his words, and she tilts her head curiously a moment as he smirks. Soon, her eyes catch the little cube and her expression brightens slowly like a kid on Christmas morning, if she knew about that holiday.]

What is on it?

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ He could understand that, though he hoped she would come to understand what that uniform meant. Star Fleet wouldn't ask her to give up whom she was - that diversity was what made them strong. But it did ask all those who came to serve to be able to work within the group too. It was important. But Kirk thought she would come to understand that in her own way and in her own time. Trying to force it wouldn't end well.

Besides, her liked her as she was, and he wanted to see how she would fit into the fabric of the Fleet.

He enjoyed the slow brightening of her smile, letting the cube hand there between them. ]</sub>

You'll have to invite me in to find out.

[takestheseat]

[She understood well enough the concept, but needed to experience the dynamics for herself, to learn things first hand. Prior to that happening fully, Jaylah should try to improve her social skills ever so slightly. She'd come to things organically, but after Kirk's surprise visit, she's not thinking beyond him and his present.

Huffing slightly at his tease, she stepped aside just enough and held out her hand expectantly, waiting for him to drop it there lest she reach for it and he tease her by jerking it away.]

Why are you giving me this?

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk stepped in and put the gift in her palm. It was a simple, standard data-cube. It wasn't even all that large capacity wise, but it hadn't needed to be for what he'd loaded onto it. He motioned for her to go to the terminals that came with apartments and place it in so she could see what he'd loaded onto it - all the rock classics, naturally. Since she liked the beat and the shouting. ]}

A going away present, I suppose. So you don't forget me and the crew - and so you have something to listen to on the way to Earth.

_{[ He grinned widely, waiting expectantly for her to try the cube. ]}

[takestheseat]

[She absently shut the door behind him, but her attention remained centered on his gift to her now that it's in her hand, taking in the technical specifications of the device to try and determine what it contained as she walked towards the terminals. It's difficult to tell if his hand motion spurred her or she already had the mind to investigate, but the moment she's at the terminal, she plugged in the data cube.

She didn't even bother to sit down, throwing him a grin the moment he mentioned listening to it. A few clicks later and soon System of a Down poured from the speakers. For a while, she gave the terminal a dubious stare, but then the words started and she became pleased. It was appropriately noisy, and she even liked the mellower bits.]

This has good noise. I like this music. [A pause.] Thank you James T.

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ He watched her, amused as always by her intensity in all the things she did. She didn't seem to have a chill factor, but oddly enough it worked on her. The intensity - it was alluring in its way, and he thought that it would take her far in her career in Star Fleet, if she chose to see it to its end.

Remaining a step or two behind, he let her see to the data cube, waited for the music to come through the speakers with shredding guitars and rapid drum beats and growling voices. ]</sub>

You are very welcome, Jaylah. Be sure to play this very loud at all hours in the dorms.

[takestheseat]

[His suggestion receives an eyebrow tick upwards, as though to chastise him for trying to pull a fast one on her. She knows that loud music, especially her favorite sorts of songs, weren't exactly something to subject others to at all hours.]

It's not nice to try to get me in trouble.

[She stands, crossing her arms over her chest to offer him a more scathing impression, but she still appears amused.]

What other rules do you suggest I break?

[universal_charm]

_{[ What? He couldn't resist playing a little prank on a new Academy student. And maybe he enjoys encouraging a little rebellion. It is a trait he can appreciate in moderation in others. ]}

There's one about fights, but I kind of expected you to break that one without me telling you. You don't let anyone give you crap, so definitely don't take it there either.

[takestheseat]

[Too bad Jaylah's a bit too clever for that one. Pranks are more difficult on those with logically wired brains, and especially with those who want to make people like James T and Montgomery Scotty proud of her here. He's more likely to briefly teach her incorrect uses of words that will embarrass her, but that came with its own dangers, namely her retaliation.]

I do not take crap from anyone. [There's a bit of indigence in her voice despite her slight smile. Of course she's not going to inform him of any fights she's already found herself in with crap givers. They had all been self-defense anyways, or deserved for other reasons. Earth men were disgusting.] That is not hygienic James T.

MOAR

[willrevile]

It's going to take a dickyear (actual unit of time) to build a new Enterprise - he's got work, they've all got work, but it's practically vacation, a plethora of pseudo downtime. Literally downtime here and there, too, with the number of planetsides he's bumped to. This week is special: Earth. And not just anywhere on Earth! Starfleet Academy. Apparently, once a guy's eligible for vice admiral, he's also eligible for being roped into guest lecture spots. That's not going to end up with anyone on the Academy board upset, surely.

Anyway. Knock knock, dorm room. Hopefully Jaylah's been getting on with her roommates?

[takestheseat]

Jaylah certainly isn't on this plethora of vacation, tour de galaxy that Kirk found himself enjoying, finding her life turned upside down. At first, she found difficulty in adjusting to the structured, rigorous schedule of the academy. She's used to living and learning at her own pace, in her on manners, but that's not quite the way of it in Starfleet.

Eventually, she figured it out, or at least figured out ways to relieve stress and balance her personal engineering projects with her studies. When he knocks, her music is blasting loudly into her earbuds, but the lights had shifted in color due to a sensor at the door. The setup keeps the peace between her studying habits and the sanity of her roommates, who were currently out.

She's dressed in her preferred neutral tones when she comes to the door, peering to identify her visitor before quickly pulling open the door and exclaiming her greeting loudly with a bright smile as she yanks her headphones free of her ears. "James T! You are here!"

Someone doesn't get visitors from the Enterprise very often. Or, ever.

[willrevile]

"I'm here." A friendly agreement accompanied by a wide smile-- he didn't make the bond with Jaylah that Scotty did, but she did a hell of a job for them, and he likes her. And he's the one who got her ass into the Academy, so it would be rude if he didn't check in while he's here, right?

"I don't think I can go into the female dorm rooms," he says, making a wide motion with his hands - because he is Very Well Behaved and never did such a thing as a cadet, mind - and pushing back from the door frame, "but I wanted to say hello, see how you're doing. Make sure you're not following every rule."

[takestheseat]

Hugging is far too intimate of a greeting for anyone she knows, so she holds out a fist expectantly. Not a handshake. She's requesting a fist bump lead in to a very retro combinations of hand motions. It's something she's seen in classic movies and wants to try out. If anyone will know how to do this, it's James T.

He gets a dubious look at that. She's already heard all about the Well Behaved Things that he experienced while in the academy, and that's on top of cheating big time. "You went in Jaylah's house already." She's referring to the Franklin. "So you can go here." Before he can argue, she steps further into her room, expecting him to not follow that rule as an answer to his question.

[willrevile]

And lo: Jim absolutely knows how to do the whole fist bump song and dance, zero irony involved. He's here for you, sister.

And-- well. Maybe one of those inevitably broken rules can be platonic surface fraternizing. The fact that he's a long graduated officer makes it both more okay and more skeevy at the same time, somehow. He follows her inside, quietly enjoying the tiny spike of nostalgia at being inside an Academy dorm again. "Man, I tortured Bones sharing one of these with him," he chuckles. "Can't believe he never killed me in my sleep. You liking your roommates?"

[takestheseat]

Oh this delighted her on so many levels, and she enthusiastically completes the greeting, smile threatening to actual split into a lip-separating grin. Aside from Montgomery Scotty, James T is her favorite on the Enterprise for reasons like this.

It's not something she thinks about, fraternizing in the way that makes him feel even the littlest bit skeevy. She's still innocent and young in that matter due to her isolation and growing up alone, which could be dangerous if she wasn't such a fiercely independent warrior. Her eyebrows suddenly lift at the mention of torturing the grumpy doctor, but since he laughs lightly immediately afterwards, she understands that he is making a joke. Sarcasm likely, which still isn't her strong suit, but there's some improvement from living at the academy at least. "I do not want to kill them in their sleep." She lifts her headphones with an amused expression. "Now they do not have reason to try with me. They have bad taste in music."

[willrevile]

"Their loss." That music is not only excellent, it is a part of history, and it saved the Federation.

"I didn't come just to check in, though." Sort of. He has a few less light questions, but he's going to try and ease into them. "Feel like taking a walk?"

[takestheseat]

She's of similar mind, and his words brought a knowing smugness to her smile. He understood, right down to the fist bumping.

His next series of comments intrigue her, and despite already knowing the answer to his question, she stood there and regarded him for several long moments, thoughtful. The only way to find out what he's actually here regarding required joining him, so she nodded. "I will walk with you."

[willrevile]

"Good." Smile. "Let's go."

The act of getting through the campus to the side he wants to be on veers towards an experience - people recognize him and people recognize Jaylah, her new-to-the-Federation appearance clicking into place as oh, she's That offworlder next to Captain Kirk. But he's good at slipping away politely and never stopping; even before, people recognized his face or his name as his father's. The worst kind of fame prepared him for-- well, whatever this is. The James of four years ago would be smug, he's not sure what he is now.

"Do you like rock climbing?" is perhaps something he should have asked before bringing her to the largest indoor simulated rock climbing gym in San Fransisco, but he wanted something to do while talking.

[takestheseat]

Jim handles the attention with more grace and poise than does Jaylah, who found it difficult to try and ask him questions about what's new in his life. Any updates on how the crew of the Enterprise are handling their relatively free time. Sure she texts with Montgomery Scotty quite frequently for advice on many things, but as chief engineer he's been even busier than James T. At least, that's the logical conclusion given the fact that the captain walked beside her.

His question furrows her brow because there aren't any mountains here silly human, and for a moment she glances up to the towering buildings. That sounds like a worse idea, so she appears hesitant when she answers. "I climbed a lot on Altamid." Seriously, did he remember where her house was parked?

[willrevile]

Scotty's busier than he is right now, to be sure, though maybe it's just a different kind of busy. Sometimes Jim envies the engineer, who's free to tell everyone to screw off in favor of Working On Repairs, something that relieves him of 'Fleet politics with impunity. Jim never badgers him about it, though, not after the whole.. thing.. with the other man temporarily quitting due to his captain's shit behavior.

"Good." Cheerful. Maybe due to Altamid, this won't be wholly comforting-- but that's alright, too, because not everything in this line of work is going to be comforting. When Jaylah inevitably ends up offworld on assignment (perhaps on the Enterprise, if Jim gets his way), she's going to run into plenty of planets that are going to remind her of her prison, or be thrown into situations that will step on painful memories. Better to stretch that particular muscle somewhere safe ahead of time.

Once they're inside and suited up with safety ropes alongside the giant artificial wall, rubber hand-holds scattered around the entire way up, Jim looks over at her. "Weird, right?"

[takestheseat]

She imagines it's a busier that has finite conclusions and end points, tasks that could easily be crossed off of a list in the repairs of the ship. Instead Jim had the perpetual task of shouldering the responsibilities of both his crew as well as the more daunting tasks of being political and personable to people she herself wouldn't bother her energies with unless necessary, and even then she'd need a good reason. Engineering is far more her style in regards to all aspects of the job it seems.

It's awkwardly a bit of both. Climbing had been enjoyable in the times it didn't require her to risk Krall's bees or other local scavengers seeing her in order to set her traps or hunt. Surviving had its nerve wracking moments, but the more she dealt with them the more efficient she became. Jaylah plans on applying the same sort of approach to the Academy and Starfleet, but with one major difference, this time she had a family to lean on when she needed a little help. This time, she's not in it alone.

Jaylah had taken her time suiting herself up, not because of any difficulties, but due to her analytical nature she desires to know how each piece functions so she could recreate or improve the mechanics on her own. A harness could be useful in the future, and she might need to build it from scratch or unorthodox supplies. She likes keeping her clever muscles stretched and strong. Once finished with that, her strange eyes lifted to the massive wall, and it's evident she's analyzing that as well.

"It is not the same as natural," she comments finally, quizzical gaze turning to him. It confounds her that Starfleet would spare that expense with all the technology available to them, or considering how many ships this man alone has destroyed in the name of the Fleet. "Did they not wish to make it real?"

[willrevile]

"Having the fake one serves a bunch of purposes," Jim says, getting footholds to begin the crawl upwards. "Safety is a big one. Hard to build an overhead frame over a mountain. Some people want to climb a mountain but are babies about going outside..." ...also allergies, but Jim doesn't feel like going into those. He can feel the looming spectre of his CMO/friend/nanny waiting to jab him with antihistamines.

"We've really screwed up our planet over the years, too." Huff. Up. "To make one out of real materials, we'd have to remove something natural, and Terra's still healing. Probably will be for the next ten thousand years."