Chapter 12

Rane

“Sandy? What are you doing?”

Confused, Rane tilted his head as he watched Sandy run her stained hands over the walls. Spreading the dark color. It wasn’t paint. A bowl on the side table she had placed in the center of the hall was filled with black water. Ink, he realized from the smell. She was covered in it. The black spots stained her sleeves, though they were rolled up to her elbows, as well as her long skirt, her socks. All of them formerly white, now destroyed.

“Fingerpainting,” she answered, turning to him with a smile, wiggling her ink-stained digits in demonstration. As he watched, she dipped them into the water and smacked them against the wall, dragging her fingers down, creating a dark, messy line.

“Did you want me to buy you paints? Or a canvas?”

“Oh, paints would be nice. In every color you can, thank you. But I have my canvas right here. What do you think? I mean, it’s still a work in progress, and I haven’t really done art since college, but how does it look?”

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s a tree. Or it’s supposed to be,” she chuckled, wiping her cheek with her arm. “See, that’s the trunk here, and these are all branches here coming over the top. I’m going to add leaves next, but I want to finish the roots first. Maybe put in a few birds. Maybe some flowers.”

“Okay. But… why?”

“I’m bored.”

“And you decided that the cure for your boredom was… ink finger painting?”

“No. I decided the cure was general chaos and mild mayhem. And I already destroyed the chairs that were sitting here.”

“You destroyed them?”

“I upcycled them,” she corrected with a smirking grin. “They’ve become lovely baskets. Well, one of them is lovely. The first one is, unfortunately, the rough draft.”

“Right…” Rane mumbled, staring in confused amusement as she dropped to her knees to begin painting one of the roots of the black tree she was making.

He knew Lisra had come to visit her. Sal told him. Lisra informed him about what they talked about, and he had, in turn, informed Rane. He also instructed him on how to get clothing from s’skree merchants for Sandy.

The s’skree were an old species. They were among the original six that formed the Coalition back in the beginning. They were also the best, most trustworthy traders in the galaxy. They had an incredible logistical network that enabled them to deliver things quickly and accurately from all corners of the Coalition. They were the best people to order clothing for Sandy that would fit and flatter her and get here in time, but also would allow him to afford it. Since he was limited to using only a thousand credz a day, he couldn’t buy her everything at once. But they could start a list.

That, however, required her input. He already found a few things she might like based on her style to get her started, but he didn’t want to get her anything she might not appreciate. So, the moment he and the rest of the team returned from the away game they had been playing, he went right to her wing of the manor to ask what she liked – a decision Kirs and Orza had allowed without a fight.

And found her like this.

He wanted to laugh. But he also imagined how his mother would react if she saw this. She’d be angry, of course. She’d demand it be repaired immediately as well. The chairs would be replaced, the walls re-painted. All Sandy’s work undone.

It might be general chaos and mild mayhem, but he didn’t dislike it. And Sandy was smiling so brightly as she splattered ink water on the floor as she worked.

Rane stood back and watched as she created little stalks of grass and thumbprint flowers, then double curved lines representing birds flying off into the distance. When she finally stepped back and looked it over with him, fully half the front of her skirt was soaked, the floor and rug were stained, and the leaf-less tree looked dead. But she was beaming, proud.

“Not bad considering how long it’s been since I did this,” she declared, hands on her hips, nodding once with approval.

“My mother won’t like it.”

“It’s a good thing I didn’t ask her opinion then. Where have you been? It’s been a week since I last saw you.”

“A week?”

“Seven days. Actually, I think it’s been eight days. I’m losing all track of time in here.”

“Sorry. I’ve been at an away game.”

“Ah. I guess I wouldn’t be invited to those. Did you win?”

“Er, yeah. Barely. We’re lagging behind in points in the general competition, but we still have time to make them up.”

She bobbed her head along, still smiling. “Well, I’m glad you came to see me. Want to paint?”

“Actually, I wanted to know if you wanted to do some shopping?”

“For paint?”

“For clothes. Lisra said you needed some.” He looked down at her ink-stained outfit. When his eyes moved up again, she was beaming.

“Oh, my gosh, yes!” She laughed, delighted. “Does that mean we can get out of here?”

He winced. “No. Sorry. It has to be done off the subnet.”

Instead of being disappointed, she shrugged her shoulders. “Eh. Better than nothing. I’m probably not getting this ink out of my skin for a few days anyway. Come on.”

“Don’t you want to wash up first?”

She cackled. “No. I want to leave messes and marks on everything.”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

“I’m being mischievous. Shall we?”

Rane couldn’t help but chuckle as he followed her to the reading room. As promised, she was running her hands over everything. Spreading ink stains and smudges with every step. Blatantly disrespecting the house his mother had spent so much time and credz designing and decorating.

They got to the reading room, and she walked to a sofa. Instead of sitting, however, she stood over it and gathered her ink-soaked skirt. She paused then.

“Wait, this is your money,” she said before looking at him. “Sorry. I should have asked you. I know she’s going to spend your credz replacing all this. Do you want me to stop?”

“No.”

The word immediately flew past his lips. Before he could even think about it. He was enjoying watching her like this. Untouchable, messy, chaotic, happy. He could only smile as she wrung out her skirt over the couch before turning and sitting neatly onto the mess she had just made, no doubt smudging and sinking it deeper into the fabric.

Rane sat beside her and pulled up his combot. “So, I’ve been looking around, and I think I found a store that will have clothing more suited to your body type. It’s on Holotulle, the Coalition ringworld, but the delivery from there is fast, and it looks comfortable. Tell me what you think.”

Sandy scooted in closer to get a better look at the holo screen, surprising him. But he didn’t mind. He found himself staring at her as she perused his choices.

“They’re all white and tan and brown,” she said, something strange in her voice.

“Is that a problem?” He cocked his head curiously. Her expression was guarded.

She hesitated to answer him. But he recognized that look in her eyes. It was the same restrained longing he had seen when she’d been about to confess to wanting her hair cut.

“What would your grandmother say?” He asked, making her start in surprise.

She turned to him, eyes wide. Then, she beamed. “She’d tell me to stop dressing like I’m geriatric and dress the way I want.”

“So, what do you want to wear?”

She smiled, biting her lip mischievously, then began tapping at the screen. Getting away from the clothes he had picked for her. She began looking for colorful things. Bright pastels and vibrant neons, glitter and sparkles and ribbons and bows. The style was certainly feminine, but the colors were completely masculine, and the combination was interesting.

He didn’t know much about humans and what they considered fashionable. What he did know was that nothing she was picking was considered proper for a telfay female. But he adored seeing her enthusiasm, watching her ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over everything.

“Why is it all so expensive?” She asked, frowning at the prices. “Is it because they have to be delivered from so far away?”

“No. These are designer brands.”

She shook her head. “I don’t need designer brands. Can we look at something cheaper?”

Rane frowned. The cost shouldn’t even be something she needed to worry about. He knew he had enough credz to afford a full wardrobe of designer brands if she wanted them. But the spending cap hampered his ability to provide something so basic for her.

But she didn’t seem to mind at all when they began shopping for more affordable clothing. And at least this way, she was able to buy more at once. But it made him itch, crest lowered in shame, that he couldn’t give her those things.

Still, she looked so happy as she shopped, and that was enough for him.

He was so focused on her, he wasn’t paying attention to all the things she was picking.

It was the flash of bright pink out of the corner of his eye that caught his attention. He looked at the screen and the things just to the side that she had already added to her purchase list. All of them were bright, masculine colors.

Though, considering Sandy was human, that wasn’t exactly right. He supposed it would be more accurate to just describe them as bright. Pinks and purples and yellows – white being used to soften the harshness of the tones, but not a brown or beige anything in sight.

“This is what you want?” He asked, keeping his tone neutral.

“Yes,” Sandy smiled, adding a pair of pink, glittering shoes to her list. “I used to wear bright stuff when I was a kid, but I went through an artsy emo phase in high school and so I stopped. And then to save money in college, I began thrifting and those were all older style clothes. And then, when I came back home, it was just easier to share clothes with my grandma. We were the same size in everything, so it was easier to buy one thing for both of us. Which meant that my entire wardrobe was catered to an older woman. It drove her crazy. I think she’d like me going wild with the colors now.”

“And the fact that my mother won’t approve is a side benefit?”

Sandy beamed, adding a bright teal shirt to the list. “You know, I hadn’t actually thought about her reaction. Who cares what she thinks?”

Rane couldn’t help but smile, scooting in closer, putting his arm around her shoulder. “Are you going to tell me that your general chaos and mild mayhem wasn’t for her benefit?”

“Her detriment, you mean?” She leaned into his chest, surprising him. “And that’s different. Destroying the things she likes isn’t the same as buying things that I like. One is about her; the other is about me. Do you not like the colors?”

Truly, Rane wasn’t sure. Perhaps others would find it silly but looks and presentation were important to the telfay. Females mated based on sight, so it was important for males to be seen the right way. The separation of colors was also ingrained into their culture.

But Sandy wasn’t telfay. Even if the gendering of colors wasn’t as important to her as them, they still did it, just in different ways. The things she was picking didn’t seem all that fashionable to him, but maybe he was just judging from the standpoint of what a telfay female would wear. So, he couldn’t really make a judgement on her choices.

However, what he could say was that she looked so excited, so eager as she checked over her selection one more time. He honestly didn’t care what she picked at that moment. He might not be able to buy her all the things he wanted, but he could certainly support her buying whatever she wanted.

“Hard to say,” he hummed thoughtfully. “I supposed you’ll just have to model them for me when they get here so I can give you a proper opinion.”

She laughed as he went to purchase the items. She hadn’t fully hit his spending cap for the day, but he knew better than to think she’d want nothing else. They would do this again tomorrow. And the day after that. Every day, until he was satisfied she had enough to wear.

He finished and banished the holo screen, his combot returning to floating behind him.

But even once he had done so, Sandy made no attempts to move. She continued leaning into his side, head resting on his chest, smiling slightly. Relaxing against him in a way that seemed exactly right, even as she stained his pale beige pants with the ink that still soaked her.

“Where did you even get ink?” He asked, fingering the hem of her skirt curiously. Fascinated by the flashes of soft thigh that doing so revealed.

“I burned some stuff, collected the ashes, and mixed it with some oil I found in the bathroom. I think it was feather oil. Smelled nice and held the color well.”

Rane burst out laughing. She said it so nonchalantly, like it was the kind of thing anyone would do every other day.

“Want to paint with me?” She asked, turning her head up to smile at him.

And he did. He really did.

His clothes, the manor, whatever she had burned to get the ashes – none of that mattered so much as her happy smile when she grabbed him by the hand and dragged him back to the hallway. They passed the segment that held the tree she was working on and moved to a different section. She yanked a painting off the wall and tossed it away as he pulled over the nearly empty bowel of ink. He got to watch as she mixed up more ash – from the bathroom where she had destroyed the tub by burning something that looked like the clothes his mother had given her and the drapes off the windows – and added more feather oil.

She plunged her hand into the solution and mixed it up before offering the bowl to him. He didn’t hesitate to soak his fingers as well. The coolness of the makeshift ink, knowing it would stain his clothes – and maybe skin – just as badly as her, made it seem even more fun.

But then he turned to the blank wall, and all he could do was frown. Sandy was already working, slathering the ink on the walls, following whatever idea was in her head, but he didn’t really know what to do. He hadn’t ever drawn anything before. Especially not with his hands.

“Just do whatever,” Sandy said, surprising him. Did he look that lost?

“It won’t be any good,” he said.

“So?” She laughed. “This isn’t to make a beautiful work of art. This is to have fun. Just draw the first thing that comes to mind.”

The first thing in his mind, huh…

Unsure of himself, but eager to join in, he put his hand against the wall and quickly swiped it down. The resulting line was super thick at the top but thinned out very quickly. He definitely didn’t have the same easy technique as Sandy.

“There you go!” She encouraged, smacking the back of his shoulder. No doubt leaving a dark, hand shaped mark right there.

And he didn’t mind that at all. He just smiled as he kept painting.