Private Between the Lions

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Efret Farr

"Sure. You hungry?" Jonyna smiled. "There's a kitchen down the hall."

Admittedly, the sound of Jonyna's stomach rumbling probably keyed them both off to how hungry She was. "Uh...whoops..." Jonyna blushed. "...so tell me about Elias!" Jonyna blurted out, trying to change the subject.

 

[Efret Farr]

"Yes." Efret stood. "Great. Can you please show me?" She'd follow Jonyna as she led the way, walking side-by-side so she could read the Cathar's lips.

"Elias?" she repeated. For now, she was oblivious to just why Jonyna might be asking. They were, after all, not too subtle at the recent promotion gathering. If Masker San Tekka had noticed something between Efret and Elias, Jonyna likely had as well. Exactly what could have been unclear then, but, with the context of Efret's romantic troubles, perhaps it made more sense. "What do you want to know?" she asked rhetorically before starting to list off some information. "He's a healer specializing in herbalism. He leads an enclave on Bogano, though I don't know if he'll continue doing so considering he's Quartermaster over the entire Order now."

The women stepped into the kitchen and Efret immediately went to look in the pantry. She then turned back to Jonyna. "What kind of food do you like? I'll make us something, given the ingredients are here."

Jonyna Si​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Efret Farr

"And you have a crush on him." Jonyna continued, snickering. "I'll have a steak. I can help make it, I've got a particular way I cook mine."

Jonyna led them into a kitchen, still set up with the systems of old. A stove, a fridge that looked over a thousand years old in design, but when opened was stocked with fresh food, including a set of fresh steaks for Cathar.

 

[Efret Farr]

Settling her elbows down onto a countertop facing Jonyna, Efret hid her own face in her hands. She revealed in again in a moment's time, her skin flushed. "Is it obvious?" she asked rhetorically. "He's kind and smart, and knows Sign and Kinetic, has great hair and...is beautiful." Once she had stopped signing, her head dipped back into her hands. "Force around us, I'm so stupid."

She looked up again and straighten to stand up again. "I wish I was—" Her signs stopped abruptly. One of her hands went to cradle the other in a motion similar to a hearing person covering their would when they had stopped themselves from speaking. "No, never mind, I don't mean what I was going to say."

Efret was glad to let Jonyna cook herself a steak. While she often did eat, and even prepare and at times hunt, meat while she was staying with local populations during her archeological tours to experience their various cultures more thoroughly, the Lorrdian did follow a vegetarian lifestyle when she was off-duty. "Very well," she said. "You do that. I think I'll make a spiced potato sandwich. Would you like some extra filling to have on the side with your steak? How about a cup of coffee?"

Jonyna Si​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Efret Farr

"A potato with some cheese would be nice. maybe some garlic on top for some spice." Jonyna smirked, walking over and putting a hand on Efret's shoulder. "Come on, you can tell me. Trust me, I get it. I've been fawning over Jenn ever since I met her. More than colleges, I want to be friends. And if that means I have to be your wingwoman like how Valery Noble has been for me, I can do that much. He's cute, and I can see how you sign differently when you're talking about him. It's...like an accent. You take longer to choose your words, and put more emphasis on his name when you sign. It's cute!"

 

[Efret Farr]

"Part of me wishes I was precognitive rather than psychometric." Efret signed what was on her mind soon after being given permission to, pouting slightly. "Like I said, I don't mean it. I just... In this situation, it's hard to wait and trust.

"I also have a sign name picked out in my head for him," she continued. So far in her many interaction with him, or when she referred to him—even just now—she fingerspelled his name. "But I haven't used it because I...don't know, it means a lot for a Deaf person to give a hearing person a sign name. It means I accept him into my culture, which I do. He means a lot to me already, but I don't want him to think I'm accepting him as a friend and colleague. I want to be more than that. He wrote me a letter saying that's all I think of him as and apologizing for misreading my signals..."

She sighed, exasperation on her face. "I'm Lorrdian, Jonyna. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I can't help it. He didn't misunderstand anything."

Jonyna Si​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Efret Farr

"I've been using a word for Jenn that's exclusive to my culture." Jonyna explained, pausing to consider how to describe it. She chose a strange fusion between two signs. Love. And Innocent.

"It's that...feeling you get. When you meet someone and it's just...you feel like a teenager again, discovering love for the first time. That overwhelming sense of butterflies, where it feels like just holding their hand is against some sort of rules. That's how Jenn makes me feel. So I get it, ya know? We all want to make this work. You just need to be...honest with him, yeah? Guys are kinda dense most of the time, so you need to be blunt. Crack the shell, and make it clear to him how you feel."