Jonas' New Nest

[Veloras Itana 0]

Jonas' New Nest

 

Tucked back in a corner on deck eight between the holodecks and their corresponding emitter arrays a light scratching sound could be heard from behind the walls of Ensign Veloras' new living quarters.

 

A low, primal grunt came from the lavatory, followed by an almost feline sounding yowl. No, this wasn't right. A soft snarl emerged from behind his fangs. Too small, too cramped, too close to the ground. A whimsical if somewhat irritated chittering of annoyance later and he was airborne once again, knocking over more of his companion's still unpacked belongings as he did. As he landed, there was some more scratching, a little digging, a few short sniffs of the surroundings and he hopped on to the next potential spot. There were no trees here, nothing from which to build a proper nest. No prey. No females. How did they live like this? He didn't care. How could HE live like this. That he cared about.

 

Oh he had his litter, he had his food, he had his companion. She smelled nice. He liked that. But, there was nowhere to sleep. No place proper and still, no females. There was no place high in the air away from the smells that distracted him. There were no females. There was a place to see the stars but it was small and not nearly wide enough. He couldn't sleep there. And, there were still no females.

 

He flew in close to the wall, hovering like a bird near a crack that seemed to get wider as he drew close. Flinching as the wall opened, he backed away, fearful and still more annoyed. An opening. He sniffed again as the wall closed around it. He drew near once more, bounding back as, to his surprise, it opened again. Gripping it with his semi-retractable claws, he pulled back with all his might till there was a loud hissing pop and the wall moved no more. Satisfied, he drew close one more time. Small flashes like the bugs near his home made in the night sky flew from the wall. He'd disturbed a nest? No, it didn't smell like a nest. It smelled burned but, no bugs. Creeping cautiously closer, he flew inside and sniffed, landing on a branch just beneath a ledge. No females. But, it smelled like her, his companion. He liked that and began to dig, tossing aside the things that he did not like, chewing down the things he did like to fit the ledge he found at the top of this strange cave. It took him hours and, when he was done, he hopped to the edge of his new nest for a look. Secluded, high off the ground, tucked back in a cave and, still close enough to his companion that he would be fed and, when he felt like it, stroked behind his large, mouse-like ears. Yes, this would do. Curling his long, prehensile tail around him, he tucked his thin, fleshy wings around his back and soon fell fast asleep, softly purring as he dreamed of endless food an array of females and places where he could dig without being scolded for it.

 

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Ensign Veloras Itana had been counting the seconds to lunch from the moment her shift began. If he had gotten out again there was no telling what he'd gotten into or, what would be left of her quarters when she got there. All through the staff meeting, all she could see was Jonas, her pet Tymiri, demolishing her room and everything she owned. She often wondered why she kept him. Then he would hop across the floor like a rabbit, bound into her lap, lick the tip of her nose and curl up in a ball purring and her heart would melt once again. He was her closest friend, no matter how destructive he could be and, she would soon dismiss any notions of returning him to his home planet, Trakus IV.

 

She'd named him Jonas because his always smiling, Cheshire cat-like face reminded her of her second year astrophysics professor. A Pridaean genius named Jonas Lir. It had amused him to no end when he met his namesake who had indignantly clawed his forearm for getting too close. Jonas had the body and head of a cat, ears like a mouse, wings like a bat that crested regally when folded just beneath the shoulder. He had long hind legs like a rabbit, a prehensile tail similar to that of a lemur and muscular front legs with claws that appeared more bird than mammalian. He was a handful all right, with an aggressive predatory personality. But, she loved him and despite the constant messes and mischief, she wouldn't be without him even if she could.

 

She had a half an hour before her engineering tour with Ensign Xavier. She hoped it would be enough time to get Jonas situated and get back before anyone noticed. As lunch time finally arrived, Itana hurried down the corridor to her quarters, stopping with a gasp as her doors opened. He had completely demolished the place and was now sound asleep on the shelf in the closet surrounded by scraps of what used to be her clothes. She sighed and began to clean up the remains of her entire wardrobe, occassionally glancing between the closet and the chest of drawers. She sighed with resolve, realizing that Jonas had chosen the site of his new nest. She made a mental note to order a LOCKING armoire at their next layover and headed back to engineering for the tour.