Enjoy yourself with no regrets [Risa]
The smell of salt water and the quiet rush of the waves were a soothing constant in the background. Chris strolled down the boardwalk, restless, searching for something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Awake early for no good reason, he had slipped out of bed and dressed quietly, padding barefoot out the door with his shoes in hand.
Expecting to find things sleepy and shuttered this early, barely past dawn, he was surprised to find there were quite a few people out and about. Risa never slept, it seemed. Chris saw early risers out greeting the day and more than a few partiers who had been out all night and were winding down with a meal in one of the cafes.
There was something for everyone here, he realized as he found an empty table outside one of those cafes. Settling in with a cup of coffee, he brooded over that thought for a while. It was perfect here, a sunny paradise with anything anyone could want. He wondered if anyone here ever just wanted a gray, boring rainy day.
Still restless when the server returned to top off his cup, Chris sipped it slowly as his thoughts turned inward. Somehow being on solid ground here was stranger than he had expected and really drove home how far he was from everything he knew. The Enterprise would be on shore leave here through the holidays, and he wondered for a moment just what Christmas would be like here.
He’d heard excited chatter when the leave was announced, people making plans and happy to have the time off. But he’d taken it all in stride, just taking things one at a time like he had tried to do since they had first woken up here, with the result that he hadn’t made any sort of plans. So it turned out that while he’d seen quite a bit, he hadn’t really experienced much at all, and Chris realized it wasn’t only since arriving on Risa, but the entire time he’d been on board. Aside from that memorable afternoon with Jim and Bones, that was. He allowed himself a tiny grin just thinking about it, wondering if it would ever happen again. Wondering if Zach would be interested in anything like that…
Shaking his head as he realized he’d been going off on a tangent, though definitely a pleasant one, it took Chris a moment to get back to his original line of thought. Once he did, though, he realized that he had identified his problem. He’d been drifting here for the most part, just going along with whatever came to pass, too busy taking everything in to actively take part.
The restless feeling began to disappear as he thought, really thought, about what he wanted. Draining the last of his coffee, he began making a mental list of presents to buy and things to do later in the day. For now, he accepted a refill and ordered two more cups of coffee and some pastries to go, wondering if Zach and Karl were still sleeping. His purchases in hand, Chris made his way back toward the hotel.
Expecting to find things sleepy and shuttered this early, barely past dawn, he was surprised to find there were quite a few people out and about. Risa never slept, it seemed. Chris saw early risers out greeting the day and more than a few partiers who had been out all night and were winding down with a meal in one of the cafes.
There was something for everyone here, he realized as he found an empty table outside one of those cafes. Settling in with a cup of coffee, he brooded over that thought for a while. It was perfect here, a sunny paradise with anything anyone could want. He wondered if anyone here ever just wanted a gray, boring rainy day.
Still restless when the server returned to top off his cup, Chris sipped it slowly as his thoughts turned inward. Somehow being on solid ground here was stranger than he had expected and really drove home how far he was from everything he knew. The Enterprise would be on shore leave here through the holidays, and he wondered for a moment just what Christmas would be like here.
He’d heard excited chatter when the leave was announced, people making plans and happy to have the time off. But he’d taken it all in stride, just taking things one at a time like he had tried to do since they had first woken up here, with the result that he hadn’t made any sort of plans. So it turned out that while he’d seen quite a bit, he hadn’t really experienced much at all, and Chris realized it wasn’t only since arriving on Risa, but the entire time he’d been on board. Aside from that memorable afternoon with Jim and Bones, that was. He allowed himself a tiny grin just thinking about it, wondering if it would ever happen again. Wondering if Zach would be interested in anything like that…
Shaking his head as he realized he’d been going off on a tangent, though definitely a pleasant one, it took Chris a moment to get back to his original line of thought. Once he did, though, he realized that he had identified his problem. He’d been drifting here for the most part, just going along with whatever came to pass, too busy taking everything in to actively take part.
The restless feeling began to disappear as he thought, really thought, about what he wanted. Draining the last of his coffee, he began making a mental list of presents to buy and things to do later in the day. For now, he accepted a refill and ordered two more cups of coffee and some pastries to go, wondering if Zach and Karl were still sleeping. His purchases in hand, Chris made his way back toward the hotel.