The next mini-fic in the Seth series from TP's hive...
Seth starts to feel some disturbing emotions when he's around TP...
Seth starts to feel some disturbing emotions when he's around TP...
Spoiler:
Green-eyed Wraith
“Seth, have you seen Steve?”
TP enters the chair room and when she speaks her question startles Seth. He had been calibrating the controls between this upper deck bridge and the one on the lower deck, enjoying the peace and quiet in the early morning before most of the worshippers are awake.
“Seth?” TP walks up close to Seth, making him feel quite uncomfortable with her nearness. “Sorry to bother you when you’re working,” she says.
“No, no bother at all. I was just…” he tails off, flustered and not knowing what else to say.
“Have you seen Steve today?”
“No. I would have thought he was with you.” For some inexplicable reason the thought of them together sets his teeth on edge.
“No, he’s been with SW for a while but she says he went off-hive this morning to supervise a cull. Aren’t they back yet?”
“No, not yet.”
The worried frown on TP’s brow makes Seth feel oddly protective and for a fleeting moment he has the most ridiculous image in his mind of comforting her in his arms. He shakes his head to rid himself of it.
“A cull at this time of the day – when the humans are still asleep – it doesn’t usually take this long, does it?” TP asks again.
Her obvious concern for Steve creates confusing feelings within Seth. On the one hand he’s jealous of him, this other wraith with the kind of looks and style that he could never hope to compete with. On the other hand his safety is important to TP and for some strange reason that makes it important to Seth, too.
“I have not received any distress signal from them, my queen, so I am certain he is alright,” Seth tries to reassure her.
“I know he’s alright,” TP replies kindly, recognising Seth’s attempt at reassurance, “If he was hurt or injured I would know, I would feel it.” A twinge of jealousy flashes through Seth’s mind. Would she know if something happened to me, he finds himself wondering? “But something is wrong, Seth. He’s been away too long…”
“Let me check for you,” Seth says, moving over to the comms console. He opens a channel and sends a signal to the cruiser that Steve had taken out early this morning. Nothing. The channel is open but dead. He tries a few other frequencies but gets nothing. “It would appear their communications are down,” he says casually, trying not to alarm TP. “I will send a squadron of darts down to the planet to find out why.”
“Thank you Seth, I appreciate that,” TP says, making him feel ludicrously pleased. “I have to go to work now. Todd is coming with me, so will you send a message to him when you know what’s happening with Steve?”
Seth feels so disappointed he’s almost bereft; recently he takes every opportunity he can to engage in telepathic contact with TP. Telepathy with a human feels curiously intimate in a way it never seems to be with another wraith. He wonders if it would be insubordinate of him to by-pass Todd and send the telepathic message directly to TP anyway.
“Of course,” he says, then rashly adds, “I could contact you directly, my queen…”
“That would be fine,” she replies casually as she leaves the room, “Whichever you prefer.”
Seth grits his teeth as he mentally berates himself for even thinking that she might actually want him to connect directly with her rather than through Todd, as if it even mattered to her. The only thing that matters to her right now is finding out what’s happened to Steve. With that in mind, he sets aside his calibrations and signals the darts, making finding Steve his own priority for the time being.
“Seth, have you seen Steve?”
TP enters the chair room and when she speaks her question startles Seth. He had been calibrating the controls between this upper deck bridge and the one on the lower deck, enjoying the peace and quiet in the early morning before most of the worshippers are awake.
“Seth?” TP walks up close to Seth, making him feel quite uncomfortable with her nearness. “Sorry to bother you when you’re working,” she says.
“No, no bother at all. I was just…” he tails off, flustered and not knowing what else to say.
“Have you seen Steve today?”
“No. I would have thought he was with you.” For some inexplicable reason the thought of them together sets his teeth on edge.
“No, he’s been with SW for a while but she says he went off-hive this morning to supervise a cull. Aren’t they back yet?”
“No, not yet.”
The worried frown on TP’s brow makes Seth feel oddly protective and for a fleeting moment he has the most ridiculous image in his mind of comforting her in his arms. He shakes his head to rid himself of it.
“A cull at this time of the day – when the humans are still asleep – it doesn’t usually take this long, does it?” TP asks again.
Her obvious concern for Steve creates confusing feelings within Seth. On the one hand he’s jealous of him, this other wraith with the kind of looks and style that he could never hope to compete with. On the other hand his safety is important to TP and for some strange reason that makes it important to Seth, too.
“I have not received any distress signal from them, my queen, so I am certain he is alright,” Seth tries to reassure her.
“I know he’s alright,” TP replies kindly, recognising Seth’s attempt at reassurance, “If he was hurt or injured I would know, I would feel it.” A twinge of jealousy flashes through Seth’s mind. Would she know if something happened to me, he finds himself wondering? “But something is wrong, Seth. He’s been away too long…”
“Let me check for you,” Seth says, moving over to the comms console. He opens a channel and sends a signal to the cruiser that Steve had taken out early this morning. Nothing. The channel is open but dead. He tries a few other frequencies but gets nothing. “It would appear their communications are down,” he says casually, trying not to alarm TP. “I will send a squadron of darts down to the planet to find out why.”
“Thank you Seth, I appreciate that,” TP says, making him feel ludicrously pleased. “I have to go to work now. Todd is coming with me, so will you send a message to him when you know what’s happening with Steve?”
Seth feels so disappointed he’s almost bereft; recently he takes every opportunity he can to engage in telepathic contact with TP. Telepathy with a human feels curiously intimate in a way it never seems to be with another wraith. He wonders if it would be insubordinate of him to by-pass Todd and send the telepathic message directly to TP anyway.
“Of course,” he says, then rashly adds, “I could contact you directly, my queen…”
“That would be fine,” she replies casually as she leaves the room, “Whichever you prefer.”
Seth grits his teeth as he mentally berates himself for even thinking that she might actually want him to connect directly with her rather than through Todd, as if it even mattered to her. The only thing that matters to her right now is finding out what’s happened to Steve. With that in mind, he sets aside his calibrations and signals the darts, making finding Steve his own priority for the time being.
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