The Art of Decoration

Posted on 03 Feb 2016 @ 1:37am by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim

1,749 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Akkadia Warraquim Sky Port
Timeline: MD 42 1300

ON:

Ariyndra guided the alien woman in the hover chair through the hallways. The few others they encountered all either curtsyed or bowed as they passed but did not comment.

The day had moved on to early afternoon when the two left the main House. A carriage that seemed almost archaic awaited them, open to the sky, and Ariyndra helped get the one named Tuula settled in.

Once they were underway Ariyndra turned and said quietly, "I have not seen such styles before." She touched a couple of the tatoos that showed, "Doctor....." Ariyndra looked embarrassed. "Forgive me, may I call you Tooo'laaahhh. I have trouble with the sound of your House name."

"Yes, I insist," replied Tuula, relieved that someone on this planet wasn't afraid to treat her as an equal in some small way. While she could easily get used to being waited on hand and foot, she still hadn't quite gotten over the awkward phase of going from being a junior doctor to having servants.

"Thank you. These are nice," Ariyndra commented on the decorations. "Mother Ryaldi frowns upon such things but then she does not strictly forbid them either. See..." Ariyndra rolled up on long sleeve of the light sleeving that attached to the bodice revealing a decoration that spiraled up her arm.
It was all lines in silver and gold that intertwined with sparkles that winked in the light of the twin suns. She frowned a bit. "This is all we have here I am afraid."

"It's beautiful..." whispered Tuula, running a hand over Ariyndra's body art. Seeing the way the gems and the metallic flakes under her skin glistened under the light of the two suns, Tuula knew she had to get some of these decorations of her own.

She smiled and looked up at Ariyndra. "Don't worry, my mother frowns on my tattoos as well. But it's not her body, so..."

Ariyndra laughed, "So the Twins take them all." She bade the driver to stop and then got out and came around to ensure her guest got out safely and then waved the carriage on.

"Well," she waved a hand. "There are several shops here, each artist has their own style but of course you can work with any for your own." Various signs indicating that they were skin decoration places all lined the street, ten in all, five on a side. Like many things here, various specialities tended to be clustered together.

"Thank you," whispered Tuula as she pushed herself forward towards the narrow street, looking up at the signs above the shops all advertising gem implants, metallic skin flakes, and other body modifications not found on Earth.

As she pushed herself forward, the various Akkadians milling about all stepped aside to make room for her; whether it was because of the house symbol on hers and Ariyndra's clothing, her status as an offworlder, or her chair, she wasn't sure. Still, even in there deference, the Akkadians couldn't help but stare at Tuula as she slowly pushed herself down the alley, peering into the shops as she went.

The first thing she noticed was the open rooms at the front of the shops. While they had rooms at the back as well, to drum up interest most of the shops were set up with open air rooms at the front, in full view of the passers-by. Tuula was also pleasantly surprised to note that most of the artists were female; the world of body modification was still in many ways a man's world, and aside from Charles in San Francisco, Tuula felt more comfortable under a needle held by a female artist.

She paused for a moment to watch the procedure; a woman getting an intricate geometric pattern of metallic flakes implanted into her arm. But as she turned away to proceed, she came face to face with another Akkadian woman, this one with many of these decorations plainly visible, even a few small gems implanted above each eyebrow, bowing before here.

"Forgive my intrusion, madam, but I have been a body artist for some time and I have never seen decorations like that. May I take a closer look?"

Tuula glanced up at Ariyndra who had placed her hands on her hips; normally such impudence would not be shown to someone wearing the crest of her house. "Of course..." said Tuula as she pulled back a sleeve, revealing her tattoo of a dagger and a flower. "I got these on Earth; they use a needle to inject ink into the skin."

"That's amazing," whispered the woman as she ran her hand down Tuula's arm. Feeling Tuula pull away slightly, she stepped back and bowed before her. "Forgive me," she said, "I am Alandra. If you are looking for decorations, it would be an honour to serve you in my shop."

Rolling herself forward, Tuula placed a hand on Alandra's shoulder. "It is all right, I took no offense," she said softly. Looking around, she could see that many of the other tattoo artists had an eye on them and some of them a look of envy on their face. "Take me to your shop," said Tuula, "I have some ideas for designs..."

****************************

In the open-air atrium at the front of Alandra's shop, Tuula was lying on her stomach on a tattoo chair with her shirt removed while Alandra carefully implanted some deep blue metallic flakes into her skin. It was definitely bringing attention to Alandra's shop, as passers-by and even other artists would stop to watch the procedure for short periods. It was not every day that an offworlder such as Tuula would be found on the planet, never mind one of these shops.

"So," asked Tuula, enjoying the painful sensation of having the flakes pressed deep into her skin, "I'm curious, how do you prevent rejection of the flakes and gems?"

"There is a sort of seal that goes around them. Not sure exactly how it works but it was developed a long time ago, matron. Perhaps your guide from Warraquim could better explain. Me I am just a simple artists Guilds person matron." Alandra worked gently. She would do her very best as whatever happened here would reflect not just upon her, the shop, but ultimately the Guild itself.

"If you do not mind, might I ask what if any the...ink, represents. It looks a bit like a constellation but none I am familiar with." Alandra touched the skin with her finger tracing lightly.

"They are the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor," explained Tuula, attempting to have her voice remain as calm as possible to avoid throwing off Alandra's touch. "Two constellations visible from my home planet of Earth. They represent two bears, a mother and her cub. The star on my neck is Polaris, the north star. My home is in the far north of the planet, a land known as Finland." Tuula paused for a moment. "Your people have constellations as well?"

"You mean patterns we make up out of the stars? Yes, I think it is only natural for those with curiosity. The stars though are only visible for a small time before the Queen of Night's Promise washes them out. It is what we call the rings. It is based on a mythological story." Alandra said.

"If I may, these stars here, I could make them glow like real things by putting in diamond dust. Would you like that? I will tell you a story then while I work. If you approve matron."

"Yes, that sounds good," replied Tuula, curious to learn a little more about Akkadian culture. "I'd love to hear about it."

Alandra nodded and then said, "The Queen of Night's promise is the Rings. It is said that she took the moon long ago and fashioned it into the rings as a promise that the gods would never again interfere like they did with the Twins. And that story goes thus. Once long ago there were two lovers. These two loved each other so much that the gods grew jealous. So they took the two and put them in the sky and separated them so they could see each other but never touch. The gods thought that the lovers love would die but instead it grew and grew until they shone with a brilliance that put the gods to shame. One goddess, realizing the wrong that had been done but unable to reverse what had been done decreed when the Lock and Key, the two bright planets, aligned that the two could touch and kiss."

Tuula smiled at the story. "That's a beautiful story," she replied. "Almost reminds me of someone I know," she added, referring to herself and Jynn and how Starfleet was trying to keep them apart.

"A child's story these days. There we are, please let me fetch mirrors," Alandra got up and returned with an apprentice who held a mirror under the bed while Alandra held the other so Tuula could see the work. "I hope it meets with your approval matron."

As soon as she looked in the mirrors, Tuula's eyes lit up with excitement. It was beautiful; the glint of the diamonds in the stars, and the swirling pattern of blue flakes. "It's amazing," she whispered, lost in the patterns on her back. "What do you think, Ariyndra?"

"It is very pleasing to the eye. I love the patterns in the blue," Arlyndra replied. She was unaware that Tuula could not see that blue metallic patterns had other patterns that extended into the uv.

Tuula smiled and reached for her top. To cover as much surface area as a whole backpiece takes time, and it was starting to reach into the evening. "Excellent," she replied, "what's the nightlife like on Akkadia? I'm in the mood for some dancing." She paused for a moment as her stomach growled. "And some dinner as well."

Arylndra smiled, "Yes we have dancing, but first dinner. As you no doubt have noted Akkadian cuisine is all very soft or liquid. If you would like we could go to the space port area for something that might fit you needs a bit better. It is of course, your choice."

Tuula smiled. "Whatever you recommend; I think we're going to have fun tonight..."

[OFF]

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Arylndra and Alandra
(temp NPCS of LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim)
USS Galileo

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