“I’m supposed to be on a supply run, but I got separated from the rest of my patrol,” he said.“Once it’s safe, I’ll have to go find them.”
My hands tightened on the damp towel as I set it aside.Supply run, patrol, safe, all words that treaded too close to the unspoken line in my head.Reality had hit me hard, and I needed a moment of fake normalcy before I accepted everything that had been thrown at me.Besides, weird alien quirks aside, it was so nice to have another person to talk to.I quickly translated his words into something more palatable.
“Oh, shopping, that’s fun.”I nodded jerkily and hesitated as I reached for my usual supplies.Normally I’d do a quick foot massage, then a cuticle remover, but Tovis didn’t have feet to massage, and while his red skin did meet the tops of his hooves in a cuticle, I wasn’t confident in messing with it.
If I accidently hurt him and he kicked me, my head would probably go flying like a bowling ball.
“Is it okay if I touch your legs?”I asked.“I can do an ankle massage with a nice peppermint oil.”
He was silent for a long moment and I dared a glance up at his face.His head was cocked to the side, his eyes scanning me curiously and I had a strange moment where I pictured him looking down at me from his point of view.
If I was weirded out by meeting an alien and coping by pretending he was just a normal appointment, how was he feeling?
“I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I?”I blurted out.I had sort of just shoved him in the chair and started manhandling his hooves.Delusion was a hell of a drug.
“I’m not uncomfortable,” he said, his shoulders curved toward his face and his back twisted to fit in the too small chair.He was definitely uncomfortable.
“Ankle massage?”I squeaked out again.
He shrugged and did his best to lean back.
“I don’t know what that is, but you can do whatever you want.”
Those were dangerous words to say to someone who had been trapped alone in a spa for six months.My eyes flicked to a bottle of sparkly nail polish on a nearby shelf.His hooves were huge, I could doso muchnail art.
“You’ll love it,” I said far more confidently than I felt.
Pouring some oil into my palms, I warmed it up and wrapped my greasy fingers around one of his ankles.Despite Tovis’ massive size and imposing hooves, his ankles seemed almost dainty in comparison.They were still almost as big around as my bicep, but I could feel all the bones beneath his skin, as if there wasn’t much muscle or fat protecting them.
Pressing firmly, I circled my hands in opposite directions and smoothed the oil into his skin.His hoof twitched and I stared down at the sharp edge of it, wondering how exactly I planned on completing this manicure.My clippers would be laughable useless against the hard material.
I’d have to use my file, probably several files, to even out the chips and scratches.Letting my hands fall into the soothing rhythm of a massage I catalogued the problem areas and planned my attack.
There was one big chip on his right hoof, right on the edge, and it had jagged edges that made me itch to polish them out.Shallow ridges ran from his cuticle to the scuffed edge of both hooves and I wondered if he’d care if I smoothed them out.
My fingers smoothed up his ankle to the bottom on his strangely shaped calf and he let out a grunt, and then a quiet moan.Startled, I looked up and found him staring down at me, his mouth hanging open and a blissed out expression on his face.
A giggle burst out of me, and I dug my fingers in a little harder.
“Good?”
“Very good.”His body melted into the chair like butter in the sun and I bit back a grin as I moved to his other leg.
“It’s been awhile since I did this,” I said, absently filling the silence the way I used to before everything changed.
“This was your work?”he sounded awed and a little confused and I shrugged.
“This, waxing, facials, a little of everything really.”
“Your mother band must have been very strong to have such luxuries.”His voice came out a little dazed and I risked another peek at his face and saw that his eyes had gone half lidded like the massage had sucked all the strength out of his body.
I wanted to ask what a mother band was, but I was afraid his answer would be a little too alien to fit into the narrative I was building so I ignored his comment.
“How many friends were you shopping with?”I asked instead.
“Hmm?”His voice was lazy as he replied.“Shopping?The supply patrols are always five males.Me, Tine, Kalhu, Dargo and Gigi.”
My hands stuttered to a stop on his leg.
