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

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve chuckled again as he led Luci towards her room and then the elevator he had talked about that morning. ushering her inside they rode the gentle air currents down to the ground floor and stepped out into the garden area.

Steve began to lead her around a garden path, pointing out various exotic plants and telling her what worlds they had come from. Then he turned down a cunningly concealed path and after a few minutes he turned to her.

"I must cover you up now Luci, but don't worry it is only a short distance away and I will guide you every step of the way."

Steve walked behind Luci and wrapped two tentacles around her head and over her eyes, ears and just above her mouth, leaving her plenty of room to breathe but with the tips just resting on her lips. He then started to guide her down the path.

What he did not know was that, while most of his tentacles were covered in a light silky fur, the ends were actually a firm, fleshy substance not unlike an earthlings skin. With it being shaped the way it was as well, Luci was getting a very interesting feeling to say the least.

Finally they arrived at his surprise and he positioned her carefully and unwrapped himself from her face. In front of her was a fantastic alien forest clearing, complete with it's own miniature waterfall, deep pool, and exotic vegetation.

"I am sorry I could not provide you with an earthling type pool Luci, but I hope this will suffice," Steve said with a happy note in his voice.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci couldn't help but giggle as Steve placed his tentacles over her face, the light touch actually very soothing. For a moment, Luci let herself slip into a little romantic fantasy of that light touch caressing and exploring her face, but quickly dismissed the idea. So this is life in the friend zone, she mused, feeling more sympathy for the guys she had banished there in the past. Still, she could enjoy the light touch of Steve's soft fur and smooth skin on her face while it lasted.

Luci literally gasped at the idyllic scene the waterfall and pool presented. She stared in silent wonder for a few minutes before turning to Steve. "It's beautiful! Is it all right for me to..." Luci pantomimed diving in with her hands.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve actually laughed out very loud this time, his musical chimes dancing out into the air. "Of course Luci, that is why I brought you here. There is a gentle slope into the water that goes out about three or four of your meters before it drops off and you will no longer be able to touch the bottom. However near the waterfall there is a ledge you can sit on and as you can see several rocks you can lay back on and sun yourself on."

Steve was secretly pleased that Luci liked the place so much. He had never brought anyone else here before. In fact no one had ever really shown much interest in his gardens, even the ambassadors from the tropical planet of Greenfonduphund who were supposed to revere all plant life. They had seemed more interested in his paintings than the real life plant's outside his house.

"Ahh Luci," he began timidly blushing again, " Would you mind if I swam with you?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"Of course not," Luci said, giggling. "You can even take a bubble bath with me later, but you have to bring your own rubber duckie." Luci mentally admonished herself for flirting like that, but after all, they were just friends, so no harm done.

Not looking back, Luci ran to the pool and made a running lunge dive. The water was cool and exhilarating as she plunged deep into the pool. Moments later, she popped up on the surface, laughing. "Come on in, the water's fine," she laughed.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve approached the water a bit more cautiously than Luci but with no hesitation. He hated to tell her but with his fine coat of fur and the way it reacted to water, he could survive in water well below freezing point with no harmful effects.

He walked through the shallows and then slid smoothly into the deeper water and propelled himself quickly forward with his tentacles making a quick lap around the pool and then stopping a little way in front of her.

"It is indeed very comfortable in here. However what exactly is a rubber ducky Luci."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"It's uh, a..." Luci treaded water, trying to think of a way to describe a rubber duckie.

"It's a child's toy that floats," she began, "Made to look like a bird. An aquatic bird. Or more precisely, like the offspring of an aquatic bird called a duck. Children have various toys to take in the bath with them, otherwise they don't want to get in the bathtub and get cleaned up."

Luci laughed, flipped upside down in the water, and then came back up. "But when you get older," she continued, catching her breath, "You find out just how much fun it is to play in the water! But bath toys are still fun. The rubber duckie even has his own song!"

Luci sam over to the ledge by the waterfall, perched up on it, and began singing, bouncing her head from side to side while doing so:


Rubber Ducky, you're the one,
You make bathtime lots of fun,
Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you;

(woh woh, bee doh!)

Rubber Ducky, joy of joys,
When I squeeze you, you make noise!
Rubber Ducky, you're my very best friend, it's true!

(doo doo doo doooo, doo doo)

Every day when I
Make my way to the tubby
I find a little fella who's
Cute and yellow and chubby

(rub-a-dub-a-dubby!)

Rubber Ducky, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of you.

Rubber Ducky, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of -
Rubber ducky, I'd like a whole pond of -
Rubber ducky I'm of -
Rubber ducky I'm awfully fond of you!

(doo doo, be doo.)

"And that, my friend," Luci grinned, "Is the ballad of the rubber duckie!"

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve was fascinated. One by the idea of having such a beast in the water with him as he bathed, and two by Luci's singing. She had such a sweet singing voice it mesmerized him as she sang and he wondered why she did not sing more often.

"That was beautiful Luci. You sing very well. Why do you not sing more often? I hear you humming little tunes a lot, but you do not sing. You should, your voice is really very good."

As he swam more he began to wonder more and more about this rubber ducky. It sounded like a great thing to have. Plus Luci had promised to bathe with him if he possessed such an item and for some reason that prospect excited him.

"Luci would you be able to find this Rubber ducky on the television or draw it?" he said getting an idea.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci laughed as she leaned back and rinsed her hair in the waterfall. "Oh, my singing is good enough for showering and alien waterfalls, but nothing beyond that. But I'd be happy to sing for my supper," she said, carefully standing up on the ledge and then plunging into the pool.

As she broke the surface, she swam back to the ledge by the waterfall and perched back on the ledge. "If your galactic internet has all the broadcasts that ever left Earth, I'm sure they have Sesame Street. I don't suppose you have like a verbal command pickup thingamajig in here, and you're computer can do a search and project holographic images and such?" The tone of Luci's voice was both credulous and hopeful. I mean, I'm posing for an artist famous all over the galaxy, she mused. Holographic projections over jungle pools can't be too far fetched, can it?

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve laughed again. "You Earthlings have a strange view of how Alien cultures live their lives. Where would I hide a computer out here Luci," he gestured around with his tentacles. "We are in the middle of my garden. However I can bring one out here and if you are thinking of doing what I think you are I can even help you in that."

Steve touched a stud on one of his tentacles and then spoke in a strange dialect of chimes. " A robot will be here shortly that should be able to meet your needs Luci. For now though just try to relax and enjoy yourself."

He began to start swimming and diving down deep into the pool only to surface again and swim around in fast circles. If a comparison was to be made between him and an earth creature, he would have looked like a seal at play.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci shrugged. "Hey, all I've go to go by is Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica," she protested with a chuckle. She watched Steve play in the water for a little bit, then stood up and made her way under the waterfall. It felt more like a strong shower more than anything, and she stood under it for a few minutes, letting the water cascade over her body.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve stopped swimming and looked at Luci as she stood under the water. There was something about the image that he found extremely beautiful and he wished he had a pencil and paper to capture it.

Then he realized something. He was not really looking at the setting or the scenery, what he was really looking at was Luci herself. He wondered why he was doing that. He had never looked at another being and had these thoughts before. What was happening to him and what exactly were these feelings?

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci leaned her head back to let the water run through her hair, which inadvertently thrust her chest out. She shook her head once before stepping out from underneath the waterfall. She caught Steve staring at her, which put a broad smile on her face. He's probably thinking of how he could paint me in this setting. He's the consummate artist, she thought. So many good qualities. If only he could be in the body of someone who could be attracted to me.

Luci dove into the pool and swam close to Steve. "If you like, I can get your computer to make up a sarong wrap for me. Something red with a tropical print. And I could put a flower in my hair, maybe make a lei. I'm not a Pacific Islander," Luci added, "But I don't think you're viewers will know the difference. I mean, if you were thinking about painting me in your garden."

Luci spun around, treading water, as she looked for the robot Steve had called. She was going to see if she get a flotilla of rubber duckies for Steve!

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve was puzzled for a moment by her comment, then remembered a movie he had watched with a woman in the outfit she had described. He thought about it, picturing her in that type of outfit and glowed red with pleasure. Indeed she would look good in it. Very good indeed.

His musings were interrupted by a subtle beep as the droid he had ordered rolled up. It was a compact outdoor model, moving on it's antigravity unit with ease over any terrain. It had stopped 3 feet away from the pool and was now awaiting his instructions.

"It looks as if your instrument has arrived Luci. I have already programmed all my computers to accept your voice commands except where it would harm you, so you can begin your search if you wish. This unit is tied into the main one back in the house and that one has all of the information on Earth I was given. I do believe it is rather extensive so you should find what you are looking for."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"Okay, let's see if it works," Luci said, getting up on the slope and then walking out of the pool. Standing a couple of feet away from the droid, she unconsciously tugged her bottoms back into place, and made slight adjustments on her top, before she instructed the computer.

"Uh, computer, give me an image, Sesame Street, Bert, Ernie, rubber ducky, and project me a rubber ducky that you could buy in the store." It took the computer a few seconds to translate the request it had been given into a usable search parameter, but it quickly did. Fairly shortly, a holographic image of a yellow rubber ducky was projected midair.

"Cute, isn't it?" Luci said with a grin as she turned back to Steve. "That should be fairly easy for your computer to produce, right?"

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve looked at the image and then back at Luci.

"But this looks nothing like a duck as I know them from your planet. It has no feathers, no feet, it's proportions are all wrong. This machine is capable of producing my works Luci. It would be a simple matter for it to produce that thing you call a 'Rubber ducky'. In fact it should only take it a few seconds. It will scan it's data bases and reproduce it exactly. I have no idea why you would want one but just give it the order."

Steve was totally perplexed about this item and was wondering why Luci was so exited about it. Perhaps when he had one he would understand.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"It's not supposed to be life-like, Steve," Luci said with an overly dramatic sigh, "It's suppose to be fun!"

As soon as the machine produced and delivered a yellow rubber ducky, Luci picked it up and squeezed it. The ducky gave a high pitched squeak. "Now keep in mind, that this is technically not the proper setting for the proper use and deployment of the rubber ducky," Luci said in a mock serious tone, holding the ducky up to her cheek. "No bathtub, no bubbles. no nothing. But just give it a try," Lucy asked, as she tossed the ducky in Steve's general direction.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve shot out a tentacle and easily caught the ducky. He pulled it back to him and placed it in the water before him and let it float there. It did nothing and he felt nothing. Then he gently nudged it from underneath with his tentacle and the thing began to move.

He sent it skimming around the pool, doing small circles, and figure eights, then complex patterns and he started to smile. This was indeed a little fun. However it could be more enjoyable.

"Luci could you please have the machine produce several more of these please. At least four, maybe six."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci lifted up her finger in the air dramatically and shouted, "Release the Ducks of War!"

Almost immediately, Luci was tossing one rubber duck after another at Steve.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve caught each new duck as it was tossed to him until he had eight balancing on the end of his tentacles. He still had several more which he was using to keep himself afloat but he decided that this should be enough.

He began by having them all circle around the pool, following each other, then one group of four broke off and started to circle on one side while the rest continued to the other and then circled themselves. Then they began to do figure eights, then the whole group did a big figure eight around him gradually getting faster and faster before with a laugh he sent them off to do various shapes and swirls in the water. The little yellow ducks flew around the pond, performing complex maneuvers, at times missing each other by millimeters as they passed each other.

Finally Steve brought them in to surround him then let them go. He turned to Luci and glowed red in happiness. "Now I see why people use these devices. They really are amusing."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"I don't think little kids are using them for synchronized swimming, but yeah, they are fun," Luci laughed. "And distracting, if someone's trying to wash your hair. So is it safe to come back into the water, or is the ducky navy still on patrol?" Luci asked with a grin.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve looked up at her and blushed.

"Oh I'm sorry Luci, that was rude of me taking up the whole pond like that. What can I do for you that would make up for it?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"You're doing it, just having fun. Just remember, though the rule with bubble baths is only one rubber duckie per customer. As for the duckie patrol, I only got one thing to say," Luci laughed. "Cannonball!" Luci ran and launched herself into the air, then curled up and landed not to far away from Steve, sending water everywhere. She popped up from the surface, gasping for air and laughing.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve laughed. He enjoyed seeing Luci having fun. For some reason it gave him pleasure to see her happy and not sad. To hear her laughter was better than any of the music that he had ever heard and he had heard the music composed by the master from his own race. Yet for some reason her laughter moved him more than the best of Albert's pieces.

Steve still did not know what was happening to him, but as he felt these things, he also felt closer to her and he could feel his artistic vision becoming clearer and her beauty coming out. He felt for sure this was going to be one of his best paintings ever, but at the same time he did not want to get close to her just for the sake of his art. There was something else there and he just did not know what it was.

Ahh this was so confusing.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci let herself float on the surface, looking up at the alien sky above her, thinking of everything and nothing. "At some point we're going to have to get cleaned up and make dinner," Luci announced. "I'd be happy with whatever is the alien equivalent of take out or microwave."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve puzzled about that for a second then recalled what she was referring to from the movies he had watched.

"Oh we can do that easily Luci. I did tell you that the cooler was only used to produce fresh food when I wanted to cook. Normally I use the materializer for my meals. All you have to do is tell it what you want and it will have it ready in less than 5 seconds. I have programmed it with over 500 Earth meals as well from various recipe books. However you can manually program it as well and get what you want."