G'day, Mate

[Tavis Daley]

[Made for Katrina Cole ]

Since he’d woken in Gamma Base two days ago, normally on his leisure time Tavis would be in the Rec Room watching a movie or playing cards, but today he was on a mission. He’d been informed by his superior officer that he’d been assigned a mating partner who’d just gotten in from surgery, and he was more than a little curious about her. All they’d told him was her name, Katrina Cole, and that she was in Unicorn Unit.

Now that it was finally afternoon Leisure Time, Tavis set out to find this Katrina who he was apparently supposed to make babies with. The idea seemed odd to him, since from what he had heard (not remembering himself) it sounded like powered people were the only ones assigned mates. Seemed a bit unfair to him, but he had no control over it, and he took it as an understandable cost for the power they’d given him.

Finally, after asking around, he found her alone in the Training Room. Quietly, he leaned against the doorway and watched as she beat one of the dummies. Her skin was… metal. But it looked ridged like scales, reminding him of the pictures of snakes he’d seen in some of the books here.

Just as he was wondering if the metal skin was permanent - and how the hell he was expected to have sex with a woman who looked like she could break him if she moved wrong - her skin faded back to normal. That was a relief at least. And now that he could see her properly he had to say he approved; she was beautiful.

Tavis raised his hands from where they’d been in his regular uniform pockets and clapped a few times, ”That’s pretty impressive, I’m feeling some envy here.” The corner of his mouth raised in a lazy grin, ”Being metal would make me getting pummeled in sparring a little less painful, I imagine.” He may be a bit arrogant, but he had no problem with self-deprecating humor now and again - especially if it was true. He'd done terribly at sparring so far.

Pushing off from the doorframe, Tavis walked up to the woman, ”You’re Katrina Cole, right? I’m Tavis Daley, I think we’ve been, ah, assigned to each other.” He couldn’t help the small grin that tugged at his lips as he threw his hands in the air jokingly, as if to defend himself. ”Don’t worry, I’m not expecting anything - we were assigned as mates, but I’m not about to try to cop a feel right here. And I doubt I could even if I did want to,” he chuckled and shook his head. ”How are you liking Gamma Base so far? You just woke up this morning, right?”

[Katrina Cole]

Katrina didn’t like feeling anything less than her usual self. It’d been a few hours since she’d woken from her surgery, and she was feeling much more like herself than she had then. Her headache from the drugs they’d given her had almost disappeared, leaving her relatively clear headed. Every muscle in her body felt a touch of fatigue from the strain of surgery, and she probably should be in her bed, resting. But she couldn’t. She’d quickly grown bored in her bed in the barracks, feeling her skin itch and crawl with the need to move. And so, swinging her legs over the side og the bed, she’d set off to test this new power of hers, and she’d found herself in the training room quite soon after Specialist Naveen had left her.

She was pleased to find that she barely felt any blows administered to the human shaped dummy while she was in her metallic state. Usually her arms and hands would've been sore by this point, but the silvery scales seemed to protect her from the impacts. This definitely had potential.

But she’d quickly found that her new power had limits, lasting only for a couple of minutes at a time. As the scales retracted for the second time since she’d set foot in the training room, Katrina found herself wondering if that was something which would evolve as she got to understand her newfound power better with time. But her thoughts were interrupted by a slow clap, coming from a man who’d entered the room without her noticing.

Katrina turned around, her head tilting slightly to the side with a raised brow as she looked the figure over. “You’ll have to learn to move your feet faster, then… That’ll take away the pain.” she replied, a smirk forming on the corner of her mouth. If he didn’t like to get hit, he’d have to learn to move - it was as simple as that. Theoretically, at least. Reality was, he’d most likely receive his share of bruises before he was able to mark the body of his sparring partner.

Nodding in confirmation that she was, indeed, Katrina Cole, she crossed her arms as he pushed out from the doorframe to approach her. “Well, Tavis Daley, if we have been assigned to each other, it is your right to cop a feel, as you say. But no, I doubt you could even if you tried.” A bit of humor shone in her eyes, and the words weren’t spoken defensively but with a teasing edge to them.

“Gamma base is… Something else. Not that I’ve had much time to explore yet, I’ve only been awake a few hours.” She’d had the tour to see the place, but otherwise she was only acquainted with the barracks and the training room.

[Tavis Daley]

Tavis laughed at the suggestion. ”I was never too quick on my feet. Maybe you could give me some private lessons?” He grinned, knowing exactly how that would sound, curious to see how she would react to what seemed like a come-on. He really did intend it at face value… but he certainly wouldn’t complain if it led to a tumble in the sheets. He wouldn’t mind private sparring lessons with a beautiful woman - especially if they helped him learn to fight better. He certainly needed the help.

He grinned even wider at her teasing and looked her up and down before shrugging and chuckling, ”That’s for sure, you look like you could bend me into a pretzel. I’m flexible, but I don’t think I could survive that. Ouch.”

Tavis nodded, ”You’ll have plenty of time to explore, we’re stuck here for life after all, whether we want to be or not.” He glanced around the training room quickly, regretting his bold words and hoping there weren’t any bugs in the room to listen in on them. He’d rather not be charged with treason. And Unica had given him incredible power, after all. Fair enough trade-off for his freedom, he supposed.

Clearing his throat, Tavis continued as if nothing was amiss, ”Have you been to the Greenhouse yet? They’ve got these little blue flowers that I swear are used to make drugs, they smell like pure ecstasy.” He winked, ”If you want I can show you, sometime.”

[Katrina Cole]

Katrina suppressed a smirk at his clearly suggestive way of choosing his words. The man had a sense of humor, which was potentially a good quality. Whether if was a shield for a faulty personality or an expression of confidence was yet to be determined. “I’ll have to. We can’t have you getting beaten black and blue every day now, can we?” A man with bruises and cuts from a good fight could be the epitome of manliness, but if he’d acquired the injuries because he was an unskilled wimp the matter was entirely different.

Her eyes shifted to the ceiling, quickly sweeping it for any place one might hide a camera. She had no idea if there was any or if the room was bugged, but the thought of someone listening in on his words gave her an uneasy feeling in her gut. Katrina was raised as a military brat, and as such had great respect for her superiors. But she was slightly suspicious by nature, and getting accused of treason was not high on her list. “I was given the tour when I woke, so I should be able to find everything alright… Though there’s no guarantee I won’t get lost and end up in the wrong end of the base.”

“Drugs cloud the mind… Is that part of your plan, to get me high on the scent of mysterious flowers so you can cop a feel?” she asked, a smirk playing along her lips. She was partly kidding, attempting to make the mood light an playful between them. After all, their duty as mates would be so much more pleasant if they didn’t see it as duty but as fun. But a part of her didn’t trust him just yet. "You'll have to show me. I must know if these flowers are as intoxicating as you say."

[Tavis Daley]

Tavis grinned at Katrina, ”Well, if it’s you making me black and blue, I’d be alright with that.” Well, she’d responded well to him, that was a good thing. He felt the thrill of talking to a beautiful woman who was receptive to his advances. Tiny sparks danced at his fingertips and he had to consciously will them to stop.

At her playful accusation Tavis threw his hands up again, ”Okay, you got me! That was my evil plan all along.” He chuckled and took a step closer, close enough that he had to tilt his head slightly to look down at her. ”I’d be more than happy to show you… I’ll even keep my hands to myself and let you make the first move once you realize how irresistible I am.” He winked, and was tempted to tap her nose with his finger and give her a tiny little shock… but he refrained. She still didn’t know him, and he wasn’t keen on getting a fist to the gut.

Tavis’s eyes wandered to the clock on the wall of the training room. Damn. He only had half an hour left of leisure time before he had to head to work. ”Maybe tonight after dinner? If you’re not too busy kicking ass then. And now that I mention it…” he chewed on his lip as if thinking hard, ”Would you mind if I joined you for dinner? I’d love to get to know you better.” This time his smile was warm and sincere; he really did want to get to know her. She intrigued him, and of course she was his mate as well. He preferred to know the women he slept with.

[Katrina Cole]

Katrina stretched her arms as Tavis spoke, trying to release some of the tension she’d build up from her training and the achy soreness caused by the surgery. The jittery, restless feeling she’d had before she entered the training room was disappearing, and after this she’d have to go back to the barracks to rest before dinner. “Learn to move your feet, and you won’t get a single bruise. It's very simple.” she said, smiling as she relaxed her arms and shoulders again. She wouldn’t go easy on him, he had to learn or he’d be of very little use to the military - no matter what powers he possessed. A dull weapon was no weapon at all.

She chuckled, looking up at him as he stepped closer to her. She held her ground, not moving back but allowing him to come as close as he wanted. She might not yet trust her mate, but he didn’t have to know that and backing off would show cowardice. Katrina was no coward. “Your plain was easy to see through, honestly…. You’ll have to try harder than that.” she teased, clasping her hands behind her back.

“Sure… We’ll eat and then you can show me the Greenhouse afterwards. That should give you more than enough time to think up a new plan, now that the first one fell through.” The thought of not eating alone on her first night at the base seemed pleasant enough, and she had to get to know this man on some level if their relationship was to be successful. They may have been forced upon each other, but that didn’t mean it had to be hostile. Might as well start with dinner and flowers.

[Tavis Daley]

Katrina’s boldness, her confidence, were beyond attractive. Tavis liked how straightforward she was, the way she wasn’t afraid to tease him and show the same hint of cockiness that he had. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had a feeling he wasn’t used to this kind of spirit in women, not ones he pursued with a romantic interest anyway. And the newness, the unknown of it, excited him. She excited him.

Tavis took a tiny step closer, until they were only inches apart, and smiled a lazy, lopsided smile at Kat. ”I promise I’ll try much harder next time,” he said in a low, almost husky, voice. ”Come up with a better plan. You have my word.” He gave her a quick, subtle wink before he took a step back, rolling the stiffness out of his shoulders and looking again at the clock.

”Unfortunately, this is where we have to part, I’ve got work duties. But I’ll see you tonight at dinner. Come prepared to completely fall in love with me,” he winked again and grinned teasingly before turning to walk out of the training room, only looking back once quickly before he was out of sight.

Katrina Cole utterly intrigued him, and he couldn’t wait to explore her more fully. Tavis loved a challenge.

[End Thread]