My mother told me...
Posted on Thu Jun 6th, 2024 @ 9:23pm by Commander Scarlet Blake & Civilian Lily Blake
785 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
To Boldly Go
Location: Mars Station - Promenade
Timeline: Day 1 - before the crew board the Fenrir
[ON]
The little girl’s nose was pressed against the viewport as she watched the comings and goings of the ships in the bustling shipyard. She’d already been told more than once that it wouldn’t help her see any better, but it had gone straight into one ear and out of the other.
“Which one is ours, Mummy?”
Captain Scarlet Blake crouched by the girl to take a look, one arm wrapping around her waist to subtly pull her back a few inches from the viewport, the other pointing out towards the resilient looking starship out to the right. “That one, Cub.”
“Wow…a real Viking ship…” Lily Blake grinned as she settled back against her mother to watch with wide blue eyes.
Scarlet chuckled softly at the description, but shook her head all the same. “It’s a Norway class ship, not an actual Viking ship,” she replied with the waning patience of a mother who had explained it more than once already.
“But they had ships, the Lady in the Computer showed me pictures,” Lily grinned, even as her fingertip traced the journey of a shuttle in the distance.
“True, but they were boats, for the water,” Scarlet watched Lily fondly as she settled to sit on the bench with her. She was growing up so fast…six years old, but she remembered when the dark haired girl had fit in the crook of her arm. She couldn’t quite help the wistful smile as she brushed a stand of long hair off of her face.
“D’ya think Vikings had dragons?” Lily mused as she wasted no time in clambering into her lap.
“No, Cub,” Scarlet laughed gently at her daughter’s enduring obsession with dragons. Of course, the girl was convinced that there were dragon eggs hiding amongst the stars and that it was only a matter of time until they found one. “Besides, if they did, they’d probably fight them.”
“Naughty Vikings!” Lily looked at her with wide eyed shock, her little world rocked at the very idea of it. “How you gonna fly with dragons if you’re mean to them?” She lifted both hands into the air with total and utter confusion.
“Good point,” Scarlet chuckled as she kissed her hair to settle her back down. “I guess that’s why they needed ships,” she teased.
“Oh yeah…” Lily rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “We’re not gonna bash monsters up are we?”
“I certainly hope not,” Scarlet replied honestly, absently teasing the girl’s hair back to redo her plait. “But sometimes we have to protect ourselves or other people, from bullies.”
“Like…when the lights go red and the ship tells off the bad people?” Lily asked slowly. It was how the young girl had understood red alerts, having grown up most of her short life on ships.
“Yeah, just like that,” Scarlet chuckled softly at the description, threading the long dark hair carefully together. “And what do you do when that happens?”
Lily cleared her throat and straightened up with pride at being able to answer the question. “Stay in the school room.”
“That’s right,” she planted a kiss on her head with approval. “And never go looking for Mummy if she’s not with you.”
Lily turned her head to look back at her, fixing a stubborn gaze on her that made her look unmistakably like her mother for a moment. “I’m not scared,” she declared with all the clarity and ferocity of youth.
Scarlet bit the inside of her lip to stop the threatening smile. She knew she should curb the stubborn streak in her, but she didn’t want to. She’d pulled through more than a few dire situations with nothing more than stubbornness in her armoury. She didn’t want to dampen that in her daughter. Channel it to useful traits, yes, but not dampen it. But it was also a balance. Stubbornness was at the root of a lot of childhood mishaps. “I know,” she finally replied softly. “But I am. I’m scared of you getting hurt. It would make me very sad.” A little manipulative, yes…but if she needed to wear the mantle of fear to allow Lily to be comfortable with the promise, she would.
Lily watched her intently for a long moment, as if trying to figure something out. Whatever it was, she seemed to reach a decision. “I won’t look for you, Mummy.”
Scarlet smiled gently, hoping the pride wasn’t too sickeningly obvious as she planted a kiss to her hair. “Very good, Cadet,” she teased softly.
[OFF]
Commander Scarlet Blake
Commanding Officer
Lily Blake
Civilian Child
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