Arriving at the office, a faint smile to those she passed, Jal headed straight for her desk. Gray eyes busily scanning over the notes in her hand, a smirk appearing as she read the first. "Amazing that someone would think a cat in a tree rescued by a passing dragon news in Rhydin." Shaking her head, she plopped down in her chair. Leaning forward to rest elbows on the desktop, still reading the second note in the pile. A faint frown appearing as her arm bumped something. She kept her desk tidy, as tidy as any ship hand would keep quarters. Dropping the sheets in her hand, gray eyes studied the elaborately wrapped gift. "Must be some mistake .. someone put it on the wrong desk. Or... since Des has gotten threats, it might be dangerous..." Her mutters trailing off as she leaned forward to look it over closer.

Noticing a card, she drew a light breeze to flutter it up so she could see what was written. After all, she didn't want to touch it, since it might be dangerous and at best, it probably wasn't for her. She didn't have a beau courting her at the moment..well, except for apparently... "Cherelyen," reading the card, "now why would he..?" Then it came together. The last she'd managed to get out of him was that she was supposedly his Lifemate. He wouldn't tell her more at the Annex, and she was so tired with all the ups and downs in her life since the man walked into it. Having him in her mind all the time, along with the sensations he evoked in her was wearing. Especially since they truthfully frightened her a little. And a Lifemate? She'd not long ago decided that she didn't think she was ready to be settled. Not to mention .. he was so by damned protective. It wasn't just the protectiveness, it was also that he was so dominate. A red flag to a lass use to riding the seas, roaming strange ports, living life by her rules and no others, save the few for her safety that her Captain had upheld after her Father's passing. All this rushed through her mind again, along with the whispers that he was keeping something from her. Not really surprising, considering she'd become very nearly hysterical with all of the events the night they'd met. Then tried to wash it all away in brandy.

But still, a tingle of warmth slid through her from head to toe as her finger brushed the lovely ribbon. His intent was clear from that feeling. Sharing emotions like this was another thing that scared her a little. Her mental shields were strong, she wasn't use to another entering her thoughts, memories and feelings unbidden. She was very carefully to avoid his that were as open to her. It felt like intrusion to her. They did not know each other very well, and had only met two nights past, in fact. Everything was happening so fast. Unconsciously, her fingertips brushed the red lover's kiss on her neck. He'd finally made her aware of it. Perhaps she'd already known and just avoided it. Wanting to believe it was just her blouse neckline chafing. He'd told her that it was to make sure other males knew she was claimed, keeping them from attempting to do the same. It seemed that his kind .. whatever that was .. claimed a woman in much the same way some humans did.

A deep sigh, she would have to sort this all out later. For now, he had left her a gift, and she had work to do before she could begin to try to get him to help her make heads or tails of any of it. Reaching out, she pulled the gift to her, a smile at the reminders of the stars on the wrapping. Carefully, she unwrapped it, a soft gasp of surprised delight as she took in the obviously expensive writing set. Fingertips running over the implements, gray eyes taking on a soft shine. Her pleasure in this would be something he would feel, she added a mental "Thank you, Che .. it's lovely and will be very useful to me here. I much appreciate the thought .. and the time it took to choose it for me. I will see you this eve .. and we will talk."

Setting them carefully within reach, but so they would not be knocked off the desk and broken, another caress to the quill with a smile, then Jal set about her duties once more.

A warm shiver rippled through her, a warm, soft smile appearing as she felt his arms. She was indeed well pleased with his gift. But she knew all was not well. She could almost feel the darkness. She could certainly feel the tension at times. Che'd invited her to visit his memories and thoughts, but she still could not bring herself to do it. Sometimes she wondered if that was because she was afraid of what she might find. Other times it was her determination not to lightly go traipsing through another's mind. She'd never cared much for careless psionics. To have someone force themselves into another's mind was not only rude, but akin to rape in Jal's mind. She would not violate Che in that way. Speaking to one another, yes, that she could understand. But prancing around in his past memories, no. Naught but ill lay that way.

She'd known another mind reader who'd done that once. The mind she'd entered was of a man who felt he'd done some truly horrifying things. Later investigation by a more experienced friend of the woman had discovered that the man had done a few things that were not quite honest. The horror and darker shadings to those memories came from the man's conscience. It was the shadings that he had placed on the events himself, as well as the effects his actions had on others. That the man had not truly brutally starved and killed a woman and her two children. But his taking her shop for non payment of a loan had caused one of the children to fall ill from tainted food. The other had been beaten by a gang of teenaged thieves for poaching their territory. The woman herself had given up at that point. The man's guilt at his shady loan dealings had finally caught up with him. It was his own mind torturing him, and that had tortured the psionic who he'd asked to help him find the reason for his becoming as near to crazed as a sane man can be and still remain sane.

Hearing the whole of the story, after she'd returned to port to find her friend a little more than a mindless heap of animated flesh, had shown Jal the ill to be found in another's mind. We all shade our memories as we perceive them, not always as they truly happen.


There was also the point that Jal wanted Che to answer her questions. To tell her the truth of himself in it's entirety. She'd spoken with a few friends and learned only enough to know that Che was not as other men. Several things she'd noticed weighed on her mind. But those were questions for only her Lifemate to answer. She'd not ask them of another.


These thoughts lingered with Jal as she went through her day. Taking care of the leads on her desk had taken most of the morning. As well as making notes on a couple of stories in progress. That afternoon she returned home for several hours to go over the books for her inherited businesses and approve a couple of changes the warehouse manager wanted to make in the repairs and refurbishing there.

The evening found her heading for the Inn, hoping to find Rosie to set up the interview for an article on her business. She knew Che's need to protect her ran very deep. She also knew her own need to live her life was just as deep. As she spotted Rosie, she decided she and Che would need to talk about this. She couldn't spend her days waiting for only his risings. It wasn't a question of needing to earn a living. Her inheritance had seen to that. It was that Jal could never be happy simply sitting and doing nothing with her life. And she doubted that Che would find much to admire about her if she should become that kind of woman.