Soave sia il vento

Posted on Fri Sep 25th, 2026 @ 2:11pm by Lieutenant Commander Isabelle Veran-Dallas & Lieutenant Lireh Vin

Mission: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT 09/26
Location: Lireh's Quarters
Timeline: Current

As we approach the door to Lireh's Quarters, we can just hear the faint beginning of an opera aria. Our view changes to inside her quarters. On the sofa, with a padd in one hand and the other gently caressing the screen, which we can now see shows an image of her ex, Jaxon Reevur, whom she recently separated from after four amazing years and whom she still loved.

The aria playing was their favourite piece from an Earth opera, Così fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As she looked at his face and through images of them together she smiled through the tears welling up inside her. She turned off the PADD, setting it on the table in front of her. She stared up at the ceiling, breathing deeply as tears streamed down her face.

Isabelle was walking the corridor with daughter N’vea, both to help her daughter sleep and to simply have a change of scenery from sitting in her quarters or office. Her empathic senses picked up on emotions from nearby, so she followed where it led. Pausing outside the door, she pressed the chime.

Lireh was startled by the door chime. She hurriedly wiped her tears from her face and tried to make herself presentable before getting up to the door, which slid open.

"Oh. Um hello Isabelle. What can I do for you?" She said, trying to act normal, not realising it was obvious, even to the untrained eye, that she had been crying.

“Hi, Lireh”, Isabelle offered a warm smile as she cradled her daughter. “Forgive me for dropping by unannounced, but I sensed your…distress.”

"Oh, um", she felt a little flustered, not sure what to do in such a situation.

"Would you like to come in?" She asked.

Isabelle nodded. “If you’re sure it’s alright”, she walked inside, waiting for the door to close. “I don’t like to pry, but I wanted to check if you were alright.”

The door closed. "Computer, raise brightness back to 50%." She requested

"I would be lying to myself and you if I said I was alright." She added

Isabelle nodded. “Would you like to talk about it? I’m here after all, and it might help to share.”

"It would be kind of silly for me to go against something I say to my clients." She said. "Do you want to let your daughter lie on my bed while we talk?"

“If you don’t mind?” Isabelle nodded. “She normally sleeps well once she’s out.”

"No trouble at all, but the teddy bear is mine." She added.

Isabelle grinned. “Don’t worry, we have plenty of those.”

"I am not surprised. I had way too many of them when I was very young. That particular bear was..." Tears streaked down her face.

“Ohh, Lireh” Isabelle gently placed her daughter down, making sure she was safely between a buffer of pillows before turning to offer Lireh a brief hug. “Come on, let’s go and sit down.”

She nodded as she moved over to her couch and slumped into it.

Isabelle passed some tissues before sitting down in a chair. “Tell me all about it.”

"We were together for four years. I loved him; I still love him, but things were not really working. We both made an effort and occasionally turned a blind eye to the obvious, but eventually, we agreed that it wasn't working the way either of us wanted, and so we agreed to stay friends. I guess part of me hates it, but because I love him, I couldn't hold him back, because I really wanted him to be happy, even if it wasn't with me."

Isabelle nodded as she listened. “You both did what was best for you. You can’t say you didn’t try to let it work, but when a relationship isn’t right, there’s not a lot you can do. Do you talk very often?”

" Occasionally. The last time was a few weeks ago. I know I will eventually get past this and move on, but it's the bit in between here and there that's so hard." She shook her head and mumbled, ' No, Vin, no. '

Isabelle gave her a curious look. “May I ask what it is Vin wants? You’re obviously opposed to whatever it is.”

She sighed. The majority of the time we are Lireh and Vin, but occasionally we don't agree on things, and Vin can voice that. Vin is of the view that breaking up was a mistake. "

Isabelle nodded. “Vin does have a few lifetimes of experience; maybe you should consider Vin’s views? You are a single person now; maybe that influence could help you?”

"Influence? Help me? I'm sorry, I'm not totally following you on this. "

“Sorry, I was just thinking out loud”, Isabelle smiled. “You have a symbiont that is older than you, that has lifetimes of experience; maybe that could be a help for you where your broken heart is concerned?”

" Yeah. I am drawing on the experiences of previous hosts who had similar situations even before they joined with Vin. I will get through this but right now I am still feeling the after effects of the breakup." She smiled, for the first time in the last few hours. "It's only a mistake if it's not the right thing for both parties. It was the right decision."

“Plus, being a Counsellor helps with the reasoning process.” Isabelle smiled. “Though talking to someone else to air your feelings helps too.”

"Yes. That's true. It's getting quite late, and I'm guessing your daughter is fast asleep on my bed. "

“Well, I definitely don’t want to be keeping you up” Isabelle smiled warmly as she stood ready to leave. “I’ll go and get N’vea, and we’ll leave you to enjoy your peace. Just remember if you need to talk, my door is always open.”

"Thank you. Isabelle, and should you need to talk about anything, my door is open too. N'vea is a beautiful little girl, by the way. "

“Thank you” Isabelle smiled warmly before heading into the bedroom, returning a few moments later with N’vea. “I hope you have a good evening, Lireh.”

"I probably will now that I have been able to talk about how I am feeling with you. If you hadn't come by, I have no doubt I'd probably be, by now, deep in a bottle of Aldebran Whiskey."

“Well I’m glad I dropped by in that case” Isabelle smiled warmly. “Take care Lireh, and if you need me you know where to find me.”

"Likewise, Isabelle.” Lireh replied.

Isabelle nodded before heading on her way she just hoped N’vea would sleep well that night having had such a long nap.