Portrait of the Artist as a Young Alien (Semi-Closed)

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve glowed red in pleasure again. He too was enjoying the company. It was amazing that in all the known universe he would find someone he could talk to from a forbidden planet.

"Perhaps it would be best if we started tomorrow Luci. At the moment you are running on what you humans call adrenalin I think. Once you sat down to actually pose for me I think you might actually fall asleep. Perhaps I should show you to your room and we can meet here for breakfast tomorrow."

He led her from the kitchen towards the sleeping rooms of his home. There were several to choose from, but he had put her in the one that overlooked the lush natural gardens, and hills of the planet. It even had a view of the large waterfall in the distance and it would let the morning sunshine into her room but not too early.

As the automatic doors opened onto the large room he gestured around. "This is where you will be sleeping Luci. As you can see you have your own balcony outside your windows," the windows were floor to ceiling and covered one side of the large room. "If you wish to go out on it please just press any panel and say open and it will open for you. If you wish for all of them to be open at the same time just say fully open."

He then pointed towards the bed which was just a bigger version of the seats. "I think you will be happy with the bed. It is similar to the seat you sat in except it molds itself to your entire body and makes sure to give you a perfect nights sleep." He then moved over to the wardrobe and opened it showing her a variety of clothes and gowns plus nighties. "I hope these will suffice for now. I did not know what type of clothes you liked so I picked a range and from every culture. I was only given your measurements and sex you see so I apologize if these are no good. There are undergarments in the drawers next to the bed and again they are a mixture of styles. Of course you have the clothes synthesizer if things do not fit or do not suit your tastes." He led her to it and showed her the screen. "I have programmed it to pick up Earth television so you just have to find something you like on a program and highlight it. Your measurements have already been programmed in so it will not take long for the item to be made for you."

Steve then showed her to the facilities. "Your toilet is in here and this is a sonic shower. It uses sound to get you clean. However it does have a water setting as well if you prefer. Toiletries have also been provided."

He led her back to the bedroom and showed her a control next to the bed. "If you slip this on your wrist you have access to our entertainment system. It is a pure holographic neural sound system. It will project the image in three dimensions in front of you and the sound will be transmitted directly into your brain. Do not worry it will cause you no harm and will set itself to a level appropriate for you. You can choose any program you wish, from Earth TV to our Confederacy stations. I must warn you though, while the language will be translated some species idea of entertainment may not match your own so do be careful. Also you will have access to our computer network. If you choose this option a virtual keyboard will appear before you and you will be able to how do you say..Surf the web..at your leisure. Do not worry, the translation also applies to the written word as well."

Steve looked at her and wondered how she was taking this all in. "Did you have any questions Luci. I hope this will suffice for you. If there is anything I have forgotten or anything you need please do not hesitate to ask. I want your stay to be as pleasant as possible."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. All the excitement had finally caught up with her. Even the luxury of an alien "Arabian Nights" bedroom and the opportunity to delve into the knowledge of the universe wasn't going to be enough to keep her awake.

Of course, part of her was telling her that all this should be freaking her out, and that she should be pressed in a corner somewhere, shaking with fear, looking for some chance to bolt, to flee. But that small part had been getting smaller and smaller throughout the evening, and was now practically nonexistent. Steve had stopped being the alien, the B.E.M., and was more like family. A bit formal for her tastes, but then sometimes family had to get comfortable around you before they knew they could stop being formal, even if you had already decided to accept them.

Impulsively, Luci gave Steve's center a quick hug before stepping back. "I'll make sure I get all my required beauty sleep," she sleepily giggled before stepping toward her bed, where she planned to have a long and solid sleep.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve glowed a bright white in surprise then red in pleasure.

"Goodnight Luci, I will see you tomorrow," he said gliding out of her room.

He made his way to his own spartan living quarters. It contained a bed and several art supplies and that was it. It was a stark contrast to Luci's room but Steve did not notice the difference. This suited his needs and that suited hers. In his mind both rooms were the same.

He was exhausted as well and made his way towards his bed. As he sank into it standing up as his race did he replayed her hug again. He had no idea why she had done that or why it had brought him such joy. He only knew that he would like to experience it again.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci woke up and sat straight up in bed, a broad smile on her face. She couldn't remember what she had dreamt last night, but she was sure her dreams were pleasant ones. She also remembered exactly where she was, and all she could feel about the whole thing was a sense of adventure and curiosity.

Well, mostly adventure and curiosity. There was still the whole painting thing. Although to call what Steve did "a painting" was like calling what an orchestra did "a bunch of notes." And Luci would be immortalized in civilizations that no one on Earth even knew existed by one of these paintings! The prospect was both exciting, a little scary and very, very humbling.

And Steve was going to have to touch her with his tentacles! Well, not just touch, because his tentacles did way more than that. And not all over, because he respected her wishes on that. And Steve's race wasn't capable of romance or love, which was sad, so it wasn't like he was going to be "getting off" on touching her. He was just being artistic.

Which mostly relieved Luci, although there was a little secret part of her that was disappointed.

Luci first took a shower with water, then one with sound (for the novelty), and emerged with skin that was literally tingling. After a little bit of experimentation, she found a small sphere that shaved her legs and underarms smoother than a blade ever did. Initially, she wasn't going to shave between her legs, since nobody in the foreseeable future was going to see her down there anyway, but on a naughty whim, she had the sphere shave her as smooth as if she had never had hair there in the first place. Blushing, she went back into her main bedroom to decide what to wear.

For a minute, she remembered that famous painting of Venus on a clam shell, but quickly banished that mental image as she wondered where all these randy thoughts were coming from. She could just wear something like she wore yesterday, but decided that Steve would need to see a little more of her shape if he was going to do his painting correctly. She wasn't going to wear anything revealing, of course, but maybe shorts or something?

In the end, Luci decided to wear swimwear. Not the kind that young women her age were wearing to attract the attention of young men their age, but something that her father was comfortable with and allowed her to wear. She had the synthesizer create an Esther Williams bikini, something that Annette Funicello would have been comfortable wearing, when she left the Mickey Mouse Club back in the middle of the 20th century. The bikini bottoms were much more concealing than a pair of Daisy Duke shorts, and the bikini top only left the tops of Luci's not unsubstantial bosom showing. She looked in the mirror and decided that, all in all, she presented a modest enough image for Steve, while leaving enough skin for him to "touch." And the bikini still showed her shape, so that should give Steve whatever he needed for his painting. Luci tried to decided what to do with her hair, before just letting it remain loose behind her. She let another robotic sphere dry her hair before she went to join Steve for breakfast and their first posing session.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve had been up for several hours as the humans told time. He had decided to adjust to her way of time keeping to make it easier than getting her to try to learn galactic time. After all she would not be here long and what was the use of teaching her something that would be wiped from her mind as soon as she learned it.

Steve did not require much sleep. An hour or two was all his body required a day to be fully refreshed. He had taken the time she was asleep to get his studio ready and to watch a few more Earth films about interaction between a male and a female of the species. He found it fascinating that there were so many different ways they did so, especially in their many mating rituals. He supposed that was what Luci was worried about but she didn't have to. While he appreciated her beauty he had no feelings towards her in that way. No Phelopian had those sorts of feelings.

As he heard her start to awaken, he made her a light breakfast of freshly squeezed Bloovian Mando berry juice and a light omelet. The juice would be similar to her orange juice but with a unique flavor all of it's own.

As she walked in he smiled by turning a slightly darker shade of pink and gestured to the meal. "Good morning Luci, I hope you slept well. Breakfast is ready and I can put coffee on if you need it. You look very nice in those clothes."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"Oh, this old thing," Luci laughed as she swirled around, trying to remember how an actress had said that phrase in one of the old movies her father was a fan of. In truth, she really did love both the dark rose color of her suit, as well as it fit. If the future meant everyone being able to get customized, tailor fitted clothing, she was all in favor of it.

Luci took a sip of the juice and smiled. It reminded her of orange juice, although there was just a hint of pineapple and something citrusy and exotic in it to remind her she was literally a million million million miles away from home. Light years, she told herself. On this scale, only light years could reflect the grand vastness of everything.

"I think I'm supposed to be making your meals, to earn my keep around here, but thank you," Luci said, putting her glass of juice down momentarily to give Steve a hug. Last night's hug had been half impulse, half sleepy reflex, but this morning's hug had been a deliberate act. While getting ready this morning, she had been thinking about Steve's isolation. She might be misunderstanding the facts. It was actually very possible she was misunderstanding things, since until yesterday, the only aliens she knew were the one in Steven Spielberg and James Cameron movies. Still, it seemed like Steve came from an emotionless race that planned everything super logically and kept Steve hidden away, only trotting him out on special occasions. She didn't know how long she'd be here, and was pretty sure that when she was returned to Earth, she wouldn't be allowed to remember anything. But Luci wanted Steve to feel like he had one friend somewhere, who liked him for himself.

Picking up her glass of juice as if the hug she had given Steve was the most natural thing in the world...any world...she continued, "I'm really excited to see how you make the paintings that you do."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve glowed red in pleasure again. For some reason her wrapping her arms around him made him feel substantial pleasure. He didn't know why or how but he decided he liked the feeling and would not discourage her from doing it. In fact if she did it again he may try to do it back to her and see her reaction.

"Well Luci after you eat we can get straight to work if you wish. My room is all set up and ready to go. I can take your preliminary sketches this morning and then maybe after lunch we can try a quick first painting. This will be when I will have to touch you," he said blushing. "I thought we might spend some time this morning also getting you used to the way my tentacles feel so you will not be so surprised this afternoon."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci recognized the color change Steve exhibited as embarrassment, and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Steve. I will admit that it's going to take some getting used to, but I know I can trust you. I can only hope I can be as inspiring a model as an artist like you deserves," she added as she finished her juice.

"Would it help if you started of with my hair?" Luci asked, leaning forward in her chair as she pushed her hair in front of her, hanging down over her face, and exposing her back. The gesture revealed the two straps holding up her top, one tied around the back of her neck, the other one fastened across the middle of her back.

"I'm just hoping doing this isn't too icky for you," Luci's voice said, emerging from her face, now completely covered by her long, thick dark hair.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve was very surprised that she wanted to start so soon and tentatively reached out a tentacle towards her hair. "It is okay if I touch this then?" he asked with a slight tremor in his voice. He then slowly touched her hair with just the tip of his tentacle.

It was totally different to his own fur. It was so sleek and soft, made up of long strands that felt so silky. He ran the tip from near her head all the way to the tips a few times and then teased the ends, fascinated by just how different it felt to his own.

Realizing just how long he had been examining her hair he hastily withdrew his tentacle and blushed blue again. "Sorry for taking so long Luci. Your hair is just so smooth and silky. How do you get it that way? My fur is not as long as yours of course but it is always so hard no matter how long I brush it. What is your secret?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci shrugged as she sat up, shaking her hair behind her, then realized that Steve might not be able to interpret that nonverbal response.

"A good diet and gentle shampoos. Plus I usually let it naturally dry, rather than speed it up and artificially dry it."

Luci felt herself relaxing under Steve's gentle touch and was more than a little thrilled that Steve was enjoying touching her hair.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Luci admitted. "I was actually a little worried that you might be a little grossed out, because of what I look like. It's kind of weird, that we're alike, we're different, but then we're alike again, if that makes sense."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve thought about that comment then nodded his head. It was the first time he had done so and it appeared as half his body had suddenly bent forward. It would almost look like a little bow to Luci.

"I agree with you Luci. We look totally different, but we seem to have the same sort of personalities, fears and likes. It is amazing to me as well. I did not expect to find someone as close to myself from somewhere as far away."

He tentatively extended his tentacle again towards her and placed it before her hand. "Luci would you care to touch my hand now. I assure you it is not like those ones from your TV programs. In fact from what I can gather it should feel very similar to your own skin except for the small pockmarks where my sensory organs are. Do not worry though, I shut them down when I grip things unless I am working and can control the contact."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci nodded and very carefully reached her hand out, touching the end of one of Steve's tentacles. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the skin on the top was smooth and flawless. She caressed it for a second, before she allowed her hands to travel further along Steve's tentacles, marveling in the softness of their purple fur covering.

"I think you should do a self-portrait at some point," she told her tentacled friend, as she continued lightly stroking his fur, "Because I think you are just adorable."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve glowed red with pleasure again. She had not been revolted or put off by him and in fact had actually enjoyed their feel. He had to admit that the fur on his tentacles was one of his best features. It was silky soft and he used it in various ways in his painting. He could use it to sense air currents and other spectrum's like electromagnetic waves. All of these were incorporated into his paintings even if most people could not see them. There were species that could however and they too could appreciate his art. That was why he was so revered all over the known universe.

"I am not sure I could do a self portrait Luci. It might be a little hard for me, but maybe after I have done yours I might try. First though we must do yours. Oh and thank you for thinking I am adorable. No one has ever said that before."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"Well, they should," Luci said in a voice that said it would brook no arguments with her pronouncement. With that, she stood up and gave Steve another hug, this one perhaps a bit fiercer than her other ones, as she said, "So do you want to officially start the painting session?"

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve was getting used to her hugs and did not blush as much this time. "Yes I think I would like that Luci. If you would follow me please."

Steve led her back passed the living areas and towards the front of the dwelling. Two huge double doors opened to a large room with a domed ceiling that let in an enormous amount of natural light, huge floor to ceiling windows on two of the four walls and art supplies of every description on the third wall.

Smiling he led her in and gestured around. "Welcome to my home studio Luci. I do a lot of painting here. With my style I can either paint on the world I travel to, or just take a sketch book and then bring that home and paint from that. I work mainly in oils and acrylics on specially treated canvases, but I also do watercolors, pencil works, Pastels, chalks, inks, computer graphics, and maybe some you have not even heard of."

He led her to a plain wooden stool and had her sit down. "I just need you to sit there for a few minutes while I do a few rough sketches. Just get comfortable while I find my equipment."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci was caught by surprise by Steve's question, so enraptured was she by his studio.

"Oh, yes, of course," she said, slightly embarrassed at having "spaced out" in front of him. "Um, how do you want me to sit? Or pose? Or whatever?" she asked, as climbed up on the stool, hair hands on the rim of the seat.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

"It does not matter Luci," Steve told her as he grabbed three art pads and several different types of pencils. "Just sit however makes you feel comfortable. At this stage I am just trying to get a feel for you and how you look. The pose does not really matter, so please find a spot that you can sit in for about ten minutes without moving too much."

Steve then moved in front of her and moved this way and that before finally settling on an angle and waited for her to get comfortable.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci brushed her hair out of her face and experimented with a couple of poses, first stretching with her hands behind her head while arching her back, then slightly teetering on the stool with her legs straight out, and a few other nonsensical poses just to make herself giggle. After about a minute, she scooted back a little so her butt was squarely on the stool, her hands folded in her lap and her back mostly straight. She thought it would be uncomfortable, no matter what pose she took, but she found herself so fascinated with Steve using multiple pads as he started his sketch that she forgot her posture.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

As soon as Luci was settled steve began to sketch. The thing was he didn't just sketch from the front angle where he was, he extended three tentacles to the side and three more to the other side and sketched from there too.

He sketched quickly and with sure strokes and was soon finished and the pages were ripped off and thrown to the ground and new tools found and more sketches done. Within the ten minutes he had changed mediums five times and multiple sketches littered the floor.

Finally he stopped and put the pads on a table and gathered up all the sketches and placed them beside them. He sorted them out and looked them over. They weren't bad. A little rough but he wasn't used to drawing a person yet.

"Luci would you like to see. I am sorry they are so rough but as I said these are only the sketches."

On the table were drawings in pencil, pastels, charcoal, chalks and paint sticks. Each one worthy of hanging in any art gallery on Earth.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci caught her breath as she looked at the "rough" sketches Steve laid out. Each one captured a different perspective of Luci, and she even caught a hint of the burgeoning friendship that was developing between artist and subject. Not in the same way that she remembered feeling the emotional impact of Steve's finished works in his gallery. But these were still amazing.

Every part of the sketch was incredible, but to Luci, the most impressive depiction was of...

"My hair," Luci said, kneeling down to look at one of the sketches that looked as if it had been done in pastel pencils, or whatever the equivalent that Steve used. "I mean, all of this is just...Wow! But my hair. I feel as if I could reach into any of these and run my fingers through the strands. And these are only the rough sketches," she added, her tone showing that she thought they were anything but rough. "You could do all that just be touching my hair?" Luci asked incredulously.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve was amazed at her response to his sketches. He believed that he had got her basic structure down now and could indeed draw it from memory, putting it any way he needed to, but he wondered why she was so impressed. Any half decent artist could do as much.

Then she mentioned the hair. He blushed a little and looked at his sketches. He had not meant to put that detail in, but he noticed that on all of them he had drawn her hair in fine detail. It must have been because he had just touched it and been thinking about it before beginning sketching.

"Yes Luci, that is the sort of detail I can get after touching you, although it will get better when I concentrate more on it. I was a little distracted so although this looks good, I would say it is probably only fifty percent of what the finished product will look like."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci reached out her hand and gently stroked the fur on the nearest of Steve's tentacles. "I know it's going to be wonderful. But there is something you can do for me," she continued. "When this is done, and they send me home, I think it would be a good thing if you got a companion to live with you. If your people won't allow it, talk to whoever had them give me to you, to have a portrait done. Whoever it is, they obviously have some pull. That's how we would say political influence, back on Earth," Luci explained.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve liked the way her hand stroking his tentacle made him feel. He had no idea why it made him feel so good but he did. It started in his tentacle and spread throughout his body, a warm glow that gave him a feeling of intense pleasure.

Then she started to talk about him getting a companion and he was confused. He could sense two feelings coming from her. One was sadness and the other was the one he had come to know as love. He wondered why those two emotions would be coming from her at the same time.

"I will look into that if you think it would be good for me Luci, but you know I am very shy. It would have to be someone who is as right for me as you seem to be. Do you happen to know anyone like that?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci actually chuckled as she lifted Steve's tentacle to her face and gave it a quick kiss before releasing it. "I'm not as conversant with members of the galactic community as you are. In fact, you're the only one I know," she added with a giggle. "And I'd happily apply for the position of being your companion, but I'm thinking they're going to want to ship this member of a primitive species back home as soon as you finish with her. Anyway," Luci continued, standing up and giving herself a good stretch, "Maybe you want someone as adorable as yourself." The last was said with a sad little smile.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve could not believe the feeling he got when Luci kissed the end of his tentacle. Even with most of his sensory organs shut off on it he still experienced a thrill he had never experienced before. It almost overwhelmed him and he wasn't quite sure what was going on for the next few seconds.

When he came back to himself Luci was talking about not knowing about species in the Galactic alliance, and that she would apply for the position but that she was sure she would be returned home. He sensed her sadness at this and was surprised. No one had wanted to stay with him just for the purpose of staying with him before. He would have to think about this long and hard.

"Maybe you want someone as adorable as yourself." She told him. His musical laugh rang out again and he wrapped his tentacle around her waist. "I think you would fit that description very well Luci. For someone of a totally different species you are certainly a very adorable woman." he said giving her a hug.