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

[GypsyGirl84]

"I'm curious to what you programmed and how it translates," Luci said with a grin. "Want to get cleaned up and meet in the kitchen?" she added, grabbing a rubber ducky and climbing out of the pool.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

"Of course," Steve said hastily, grabbing his own ducky. He had not forgotten what Luci had said about the bubble bath, and he wanted to share that experience with her too.

As he got out of the water he wrapped two tentacles around himself and squeezed gently, running them the length of his body. The water flowed off him and pooled on the ground ad he calmly stepped out of it and gave himself a small shake to rid himself of any excess moisture.

He looked at Luci and waited until she was ready to go. "It will be interesting to actually eat something not prepared by hand. Perhaps you could recommend a dish Luci."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"I guess I'll have to see what you have in the fridge to make a guess. Don't suppose you have frozen pizza, do you?" Luci watched Steve "squeegee" himself and sighed. "I should have brought a towel. Now I'm going to be dripping water through your house."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve saw her predicament. "Well if you don't mind I can dry you off the same way. It might not get all the water off, and I will have to use more than two tentacles, but I do believe I can make you more comfortable."

He then remembered her no touching certain parts rule and blushed again. "Oh sorry, I forgot. I can't touch all of you so it won't work. However I can at least do your hair."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci just laughed at Steve's blushing. "I don't think anything but my hair will "squeegee" anyway," she announced. She gave the matter some thought, then said, "You could just carry me to my room, if you don't mind your fur getting wet again. I don't think I'll drip that way."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve nodded in his way. "Very well Luci, I can do that. The small amount of water on you will not affect me in the slightest. Still let me at least do your hair."

He reached for her hair with two of his tentacles and gently wrapped them around it. Then squeezing it lightly he wrung it out and pulled lightly from top to tip. A large amount of water came out leaving her hair damp but reasonably dry.

"There you are. Now we can walk back to the elevator and I can carry you to your bathroom. You will have a towel you can dry yourself with there and if you wish to get changed for dinner you can."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"Here that duckie?" Luci laughed as her and Steve moved to the elevator. "He's going to carry us and then we'll have dinner. Pizza!" Luci gave the duck in her hand a squeeze and it promptly gave her a squeak in response, which Luci found hilarious.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve did not quite understand why Luci found the ducks response so funny but he was looking forward to her idea for dinner. He had always heard the term on the shows and movies he had watched and had seen the dish the people had eaten with relish.They had always had smiles on their faces and he had always wondered what the food they had been eating tasted like.

They got to the elevator and once they got up he walked in front of her and then extended his tentacles back towards her. "If you just hop upon my back,I will carry you to your bathroom. Unfortunately that will mean I will need to support you under your rear. I hope that will be okay?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci laughed. "Steve I think we've become too good of friends for you to worry about things like that. Besides, I know I haven't got anything you're interested in. Not in that way." It was amazing, Luci thought, how quickly accustomed she had become to the alien environ, and how quickly she thought of Steve as not only a good friend, but one of her best friends. Maybe even her very best friend.

Placing her rubber ducky in one of Steve's free tentacles, she happily hopped on his back with a laughing "Giddy Up!"

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve easily carried her. He wrapped two tentacles under her bottom and lifted her up onto his back and then strolled off towards her room. She was very light and he had no troubles supporting her. As he moved he pondered what she had meant when she had considered him safe, and that he was not interested in her that way. What way was she talking about?
He truly did consider her a very close friend, in fact he considered her his very closest friend, so what other way was there for him to look at her?

He got her to her bathroom very quickly and placed her at it's door. Her body had been dried a little by his fur but she was still damp. "I will leave you to get ready Luci and will go and get ready myself. I will meet you in the Kitchen and you can teach me all about this wonderful food Pizza."

He waved a tentacle and then began to walk out of her room.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"I hope this isn't a taboo question," Luci asked Steve as he was leaving, "But I was wondering what your bathroom looks like. For example," she continued, giving the rubber ducky in her hand a squeeze, "Do you have room in your bathtub for a whole flotilla of these guys?"

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve looked at her and then shrugged. "Well yes. My tub is actually very wide and comes up to halfway up my body. I normally fill it with scented oils to take care of my fur and stretch my tentacles out in it so they can get clean. Sometimes I even allow a special breed of fish in to thoroughly clean me. They are bred on Titon by a water people who use them and they are very efficient. However it could be filled with a scented bubble mixture and these rubber ducks. Why?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"No cleaning fish for me," Luci replied. "I once went swimming on a reef in the Caribbean, and the fish there were so used to getting fed by tourists, they'd nibble you if they didn't get fed! So I guess you do have bubble baths, don't you? And I'm just being nosy, is all," Luci added, grinning and crinkling her nose.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve stopped and looked at her. "Would you care to join me in a bubble bath after dinner Luci. My bath can easily accommodate the both of us, and I did bring my own rubber ducky," he told her holding his up, "So I believe I have fulfilled your requisite for us to bathe together."

He looked at her and waited for her answer. For some reason he was really hoping she would say yes.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci was a bit startled by the request, but then mentally shrugged it off. It wasn't like he was hitting on her or anything. This was probably just like pizza to Steve. A new Earth experience to be enjoyed and a new way to have fun with a friend. Probably even like a couple of kids having fun in the bath with their bath toys!

"Just promise me no fish, and it's a deal," Luci agreed with a grin. "Let me get cleaned up and I'll be in the kitchen shortly so we can warm up some pizza! And no hogging the rubber duckies!" she added, giving Steve a quick hug before heading back into her room.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve smiled but it would be hard for Luci to tell. He moved into the kitchen and waited for her to emerge from her room. He wondered what this bath was going to be like. He had been in communal baths before, but that had been with diplomats and special guests and normally of a Reptilian based life form, and they had conducted business in it. Steve did not think Luci wanted to conduct any business in his bath, in fact he thought she wanted to do the exact opposite. For once he was looking forward to the experience.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Getting cleaned up was easy. Getting the right wardrobe for a bubble with an alien artist...that was the trick, Luci laughed to herself.

In a short instance, though, Luci had her outfit. It was another 50s style bikini, this one with an added short shirt to it. The bikini was blue and white and made to look like an old style sailor suit. It was the sort of thing that Donald Duck might have designed for Esther Williams.

After donning the outfit, Luci heded to the kitchen, shouting out, "Let's warm up some pizza!"

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve had always seen and heard that New York pizza was supposed to be the best. He did not know what Luci would like on hers so he just started out with something safe.

Turning to the machine he pressed the order button the spoke clearly, "Earth style New York cheese pizza for two."

The machine buzzed for a few seconds then opened and a tray popped out of the front. It contained a flat, round dough based object with a tomato base covered with cheese that had been heated so both the dough and the cheese had cooked. He had studied up on his Earth terms so he knew what the ingredients were.

"Luci the pizza is ready. I hope you like it. I chose a basic one but you can choose a different one if you like. However I need you to teach me how to eat it."

He saw that it was cut into triangular shapes but he had no idea how that helped.

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"It's not Chicago style, but it'll do," Luci grinned, picking up a pizza slice and slowly moving the pointed end toward her mouth before taking a bite out of it. The pizza actually tasted pretty close to a slice she had bought in a pizzeria down in Albuquerque, run by a pair of transplanted New Yorkers. Luci was pretty sure that whatever the sauce was made from, though, had never came within light years of Earth.

"Now you give it try," Luci instructed, wiping sauce from her chin before continuing eating her slice.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve looked at her. "Oh you wanted it from Chicago. I am sorry I ordered a New York pizza. Next time we can have it make one in the Chicago style. I guess I should have waited."

He picked up his own slice and his mouth opened wide. For the first time Luci was actually able to see his mouth. For the most part it was covered by his fur but it never hindered his speech because of the translator. Now a section of the fur parted and a large mouth opened with another tentacle like tongue inside it. Steve bit down and started to chew his mouth disappearing again.

"MMMM this is good. Now I know what all the fuss is about on those Earth shows. No wonder you eat it a lot."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci looked at Steve's mouth opening and started giggling. "I'm sorry," she said, covering her mouth. "I'm not laughing at you. I was just thinking of a comedy skit I saw one time. I don't even know if I can explain it. It has to do with human eating customs. But it might be something that you'll enjoy, despite my odd sense of humor."

Luci found that the computer did indeed know what a Sno Ball was. Once the computer produced a Sno Ball, Luci showed Steve a large pink round pastry in her hand, covered with tiny white flakes.

"This is a Sno Ball. It's a white cream in the center, surrounded by a chocolate cake. The pink stuff is marshmallow creme, which is surrounding the chocolate cake. And then the white flakes are coconut flakes. You know how limited us humans are," Luci grinned, moving around her bottom jaw. "I can't extend my mouth open like you can. So the joke is that a guy says he likes Sno Balls because you can eat them in one bite. Which you can," Luci hastily explained, "But because humans can't extend their mouths wider open, like you can, eating a Sno Ball in one bite makes a mess!" Luci shrugged, hoping she got at least part of her meaning over. "Want to give one a try?" she asked, extending the hand with the Sno Ball in it forward.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Steve nodded and opened his mouth and delicately took the snowball from Luci's fingers with his tongue. It wrapped around the Sno ball and drew it into his mouth. He began to eat it and it was like nothing he had ever tasted before.

This marshmallow stuff was as light as a cloud but as sweet as nectar, While what she had called chocolate was both sweet but bitter at the same time. It was beautiful and he was sorry when it was gone.

"That was one of the most beautiful things I have ever eaten. This chocolate is unknown in our alliance but I believe it would be a sensation. However if you like things like that I believe you would like a Queen ball. It is a royal jelly ball that is sweet, covered in a layer of what I think you would call nougat or caramel and sprinkled with a sweet nut. Shall I make one for you? They are only about half the size of your Sno ball but very sticky when eaten. Perhaps a bath will be in order when you finish it."

 

[GypsyGirl84]

Luci shook her head. "I prefer my calories with tomato sauce," she laughed, grabbing another slice of pizza. "And New York style is good. Chicago style is good, too, but I can eat one, maybe two slices top. Then there's Black Sea style. The folks over there like to put seafood on theirs. But to each their own," Luci concluded, finishing her slice with that bit of wisdom.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

"Seafood," Steve whispered. "Just how many styles of Pizza are there?" he asked her. "I thought it was just the one and now you are telling me there are many different varieties. I think I will have to investigate this further at some point."

He picked up his second piece and began to eat it. "However this is very good so I wonder what the others taste like?"

 

[GypsyGirl84]

"Pizza is one of those things you can find ten thousand different ways of making it," Luci replied. "And I've been told that in the country pizza comes from, Italy, that pizza is nothing like what you would get in other places. That was delicious, Steve," she added iith a smile and a pat on her tummy.