Flowers for the Andorian

She was alone in the gardens, a veritable jungle of green and wild color growing from the rich, pungent earth along the pathways. She was seated, resting her tired body and taking in every leaf and stalk What looked to be a small, sterile gas mask covered her nose and mouth, fogging up lightly as she breathed. The med bay had stuck a respirator on her, clarifying the air and gently working the fluid out of her lungs while she breathed. It was annoying as fuck, though, and muffled her voice just enough to bother her.

She'd left the bar to HJ's less infected care, taking in the calming silence of the gardens. Everything was peaceful here - Da-an was doing an exceptional job at improving the space. Maybe she would come here with Tal, when they got back. If they got back.

The sudden pang of anxiety that thrilled through her made her tense up enough to warrant a cough, and the respirator adjusted accordingly, filling her air supply with a disinfectant and slight muscle relaxant.

Calm. Just her and the plants. Being alone never bothered her, though there was a slight, distant edge of loneliness that accompanied her solitude, now that she had begun to bond with people.

A few palm fronds in front of Lyfalten jerked and bobbed, as though a bush creature was stalking its prey rather clumsily. Two bumblebees zoomed out of the fronds, followed by a large tabby cat, who's alert green eyes followed them until they were out of reach.
The cat then pounced on a near by flower and began to chew on a frond.

Falten blinked, then jerked backwards when the leaves rushed outwards, pulling her feet up and putting a hand on her respirator.

A... cat?

She knew what felids were, but there were none on Andor, and in all her time wandering the wilds of space, she had never come across a common house cat. The occasional exotic sabre jaw, or variegated deep space tree-cat, but never the kind people were fond of calling pets.

She watched it curiously, grey-green eyes bright and intrigued. This one must belong to someone - she'd never seen it on the station before. Its round eyes and little cat teeth were remarkably adorable - his whiskers were twitching from brushing the leaves it chewed on, and she found herself smiling for the first time in what felt like days.

"Hey little guy," She said softly, her voice vaguely muffled.

The cat noticed her, and was sufficiently distracted by her voice to stop chewing on the leaf. It paced slowly, looking her over, then made a chirp-like mew. Its long, stripy tail twitched as it looked her over.

She felt a thrill of something in her chest, a sudden affection for it's little whiskery face and curling, independent tail.

"Hi," She smiled behind the mask. "What's your name?"

She hesitated, then she leaned forward slowly, reaching one arm out, offering her fingers towards the stripe coated creature. What sweet vocalizations it made!

The cat padded over and sniffed her fingertips, its whiskers pulling back. Then, apparently deciding that she was good, it rubbed its face against her hand, demanding to be pet.

Falten's eyes lit up, and her grin grew painfully wide beneath the respirator. It was so soft and intelligent! She'd never had an animal companion - Andorian fauna tended to be too large or vicious for much domestication, beyond farming animals - and the expression of acceptance from an animal was warming her from the inside out.

She ran her knuckles along the cheek of the tabby, then rubbed her fingers lightly behind its ears.

A small, girlish laugh escaped her as she watched the cat. "Who do you belong to? What are you doing in here?"

The creature began purring loudly as the Andorian stroked and scratched it, then flopped over onto its side and began washing its paws.

The animal perked for a moment as it heard a rustle from the foliage, but laid back again, as if realising who it was. A moment later, Val appeared, wearing a low-cut shirt with a blue-black shine to it, almost like snake skin, and stone bracelets.
"There you are!" He held the end of a thin scarf in his hand, dragging it behind him. "Got bored of playing with me pretty quickly in here, huh?"

Falten came off the bench, kneeling on the ground in front of her seat, and continued to run her hand along the cat's fur, from head to hip, when he lay on his side. She had a deep, weird urge to take her respirator off and snuggle her nose into the cat's belly, but she had no idea why. She resisted, knowing she might cough herself to death if she took off her mask, but the idea of soft fur against her cheeks was incredibly tempting.

She looked up when she heard the footsteps in the plant life, tensing slightly, but when she saw the Bajoran appear she let herself relax. She was wearing the knit hooded sweater again, and a pair of loose, plant fiber pants. The most comfortable, though far from flattering, things she owned.

"Is he yours?" She asked, giving a few scratches along the cat's spine as she ran her hand across him. "Is it all right that I'm touching him?"

"Oh, hi, gorgeous," Val said, just recognising her out of her usual bartenting look. "Sure, Papus is friendly." The cat stretched and continued purring like an engine. "Are you all right?"

She grinned and flushed a pleasant blue at his flattery. She hadn't had much of a chance to spend time with him at the Eel, but she knew of him from bar goers and had seen him around frequently.

"Papus," She said, looking back at the contented feline beneath her hand. She never wanted to stop running her fingers through his fur, and watching him stretch his legs and spread his little toes happily was soothing. "Hello, Papus... I've never seen a common felid before, you know. He's incredibly charming." She had the urge to make small, squeaking noises, as one would an infant, and she had no idea why.

She looked up at Val again, giving a half-hearted shrug. "Picked up some respiratory thing. My race has shit for immune systems, so leaving the planet puts us at a massive risk to be destroyed by a sneeze. I was bedridden for about a week, you missed me when I was super glamorous..." She made a face, then coughed lightly.

"Oh no! You and Da-an should trade immune system war stories," Val said, "Luckily, I've recently had a full checkup and I am not a danger to any vulnerable species."
He lounged on the garden floor next to his cat, who playfully batted at his hand without extended claws.
"Papus is Terran, natively. A very nice human gave him to me."