With eyes closed tight and as music filled the air, Veirik's fingers danced across the strings of a cello. His hand expertly moved the bow to and fro, playing Camille Saint-Saëns' "The Swan" with absolute perfection.
As the last note rang out, signaling the end of the piece, Anzyl clapped fervently and with bravado. "That was magnificent, Jaaju! I've never heard that piece played with so much…" He tried to find the right words.
Jaaju, or rather Veirik, held an air of romance and suave charm the likes of which the ship and crew had never witnessed. "I believe the word you are looking for, my dear Anzyl, is… passion!" He announced, setting his cello and bow to their stands. "That's something the Federation Orchestra taught me: to do everything with passion!"
Anzyl crossed his arms and smiled, wondering what traits and quirks he had inherited from this passionate and helpless romantic of a musician.
"Passion! Romance! Love!" Jaaju boasted as he strode and waltzed around the room. "That is what makes life worth living, my good boy!" He held both hands in a tight grip, the grip catching his attention in the Captain's full-length mirror.
The large, muscular Illyrian super-soldier that this suave romanticist occupied for the duration of the Rite thoroughly caught his attention.
"I must say, Anzyl," he paused, admiring himself—or rather Jaaju admiring Veirik—in the mirror, "you have a fantastic choice of friends." He posed and flexed Veirik's muscles in the mirror. "Are you as captivated by this man's body as I am?" He smiled a suave grin and raised an eyebrow, flexing Veirik's 20-inch biceps.
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It was a little-known fact that a vast majority of joined Trills considered themselves pansexual. Over their multiple lifetimes, they had been both husbands and wives, mothers and fathers in their past lives. Therefore, being attracted to all manners of sexual preferences was not at all uncommon for joined Trills.
---
Jaaju continued as he sat down in a chair and looked Anzyl in the eyes. "Do you have anyone serious in your life, Anzyl? You ARE supposed to enrich the Praxas symbiote as much as you possibly can."
Anzyl smiled softly as he sat down on the couch but shook his head. "Veirik sees me as his big brother. And as his Captain…" Anzyl's voice trailed off. "As THE Captain, I don't have a lot of options aboard for fraternization and finding a partner." He sulked on his couch and sighed heavily. "Other than the occasional one-night stand at some port, or planet, or visiting ship.... Starfleet captains are some of the loneliest people in the galaxy…" His voice trailed off. "Surrounded by people who adore them, but only out of respect for duty. But when they return to their quarters…" Anzyl looked around the room solemnly. "No one is there to welcome them home, or ask how their day went… no one to warm up a plate of dinner… and no one to warm their bed at night…"
Veirik/Jaaju shook his head softly. "To be surrounded by so many people, yet be so lonely…" he mused. "But love is more than just having someone warm your bed or greet you when you come home—a dog can fulfill that role!" He shook his head as he elucidated. "No, my dear boy, love is what makes music work, the emotions of a number sing. The colors of the day glow and shine. It's what makes food taste so good! Love makes life worth living!"
Anzyl retorted sarcastically, "I thought the five senses made all that possible…"
Huffing at the attempt of sarcasm, Jaaju then patted himself on the knees and stood up. "Well, I guess at least one of the hosts in the Praxas line needs to be helplessly lonely their whole lives," he walked back to the mirror to admire the eye candy he was riding in, "and probably die alone in some cold bed, all by themselves. If one of the hosts has to do it, might as well be you, then, Anzyl. Right?" He turned to Anzyl on the couch.
Despite not wanting to, the words that Jaaju had spoken pierced Anzyl deeply into his soul. Although Captain, Anzyl was deep in solemn thought, taking the words and advice deeply to heart.
As the Captain meditated on his past host's words, Jaaju turned to Veirik in the mirror.
"Now I know you can hear me, Veirik." Jaaju spoke to himself in his head as the two minds discussed. "I don't care what your feelings are for that man over yonder, but I know you view yourself as some sort of his personal guardian angel, so you listen close and you promise me one thing." Jaaju stared intently at the man in the mirror. "You protect and keep Anzyl safe with all your heart, mind, soul, and, if it comes to it, your body. That man is carrying six lifetimes of hopes, dreams, and memories. You take care of him. You hear me?"
Veirik nodded his head.
"And one more thing," Jaaju added, "tell him how you feel about him."
Veirik's eyes grew wide in surprise.
"Please don't let Anzyl die alone," Jaaju pleaded wholeheartedly.