Chapter 6
Romival
He had studied the humans. What little information that had been gathered anyway.
First Healer Donivi had almost all the data as he was the only one that Atem allowed to observe and document them.
The blood haired human – Scarlet, he reminded himself – was studying directly under First Healer and she was both the subject of his scans and the source of most of the information he recorded.
He also had the other females' scans, but those he kept under tighter security protocols as, unlike Scarlet, they hadn't given leave to be studied.
The only exception being the reproductive research that Donivi was doing.
Those scans included Adassani as well as the other females in their various reproductive cycles.
That research was kept fully private for all of them and, despite his best efforts, Romival hadn't been able to get to it.
First Healer was probably keeping it fully shielded and off network so no one could take it before he was ready to publish.
He respected that. Romival was interested in the topic, but it wasn't his primary interest.
His primary interest was in trying to figure out Holly. And, at this particular moment, why Holly was purple.
He had thought he understood the humans and their primitive, rather useless camouflage reflex.
Their blood rose in their face and turned it some shade of pink, red, or brown – depending on the skin tone of the human in question.
Holly turned brighter red; Alanna turned darker brown.
Either way, it was a result of blood rushing up.
Which was not at all how the chromatophore cells of his own body worked, and probably why the humans only changed to one color.
At least, he thought they only changed to one color. But Holly was turning purple.
Her lips, her tongue, and a few of her fingers were all the same, bright color. Even her teeth, normally off-white, had been tinted purple.
Was she... camouflaging? No. That was not correct. The color was too bright and the wrong shade to be the colors of the leaves around her. Were humans capable of adapting such abilities anyway? Maybe it was some kind of medical treatment? Something in the food?
At that thought, he looked at the table and immediately got his answer.
Celti berries. They were used to create a variety of purple and blue dyes.
They could even make black if they were concentrated.
She had a bowl of them, half eaten, in the middle of the table.
They were a popular treat, especially for younglings, and they had just come into season, so he wasn't surprised to see them.
Though he was surprised that they were turning Holly purple.
He kneeled, reaching out to grab her wrist and bring her hand closer for inspection. She stilled but didn't fight him as he turned her fingers over, running his own across the stained skin. The color didn't transfer to his own flesh, which was currently a simple green to match his robes.
“Your skin absorbed the color,” he said, fascinated. “Your skin is semi-permeable.”
“Er, yeah. I guess. Yours isn't?”
“No. My skin won't take colors like this.” He lowered her hand without releasing it, instead focusing on her lips. The thinner skin there had taken on the color even deeper, though the shade was slightly different as her lips were pink normally.
He didn't really think, he just reached out and used his thumb to pull down her bottom lip. Checking out her teeth and the moist mucous membranes, both of which had taken on the color. Those membranes were even more strongly dyed.
She was such a delicate creature that her skin itself absorbed her surroundings. A chill swept through him as he realized how easily that could be used against her. All it would take would be a poison rubbed into her absorbent skin and-
“Er, Ro'i'al?” She tried to say his name with her lip still depressed under his thumb. “'An you le' 'e go now?”
He focused back on her face, realizing a bit too late that he was being inappropriate.
“Ah. Forgive me.” He sat back on his knees beside her. “I took liberties.”
“No, it's okay.” She gave him a quick smile. “I get it. I'm fascinated by you guys too.”
“You may feel free to inspect my body at any time.”
Her cheeks turned bright pink. He wasn't sure what he said, but he leaned forward, curious about the near instantaneous color change.
It was such a pretty shade of pink...
“Er, Romival?” She called to him nervously.
He remembered, almost too late, his promise to be gentle with her. She was skittish. He could see it in the wide set of her gray-green eyes. In the cautious way she looked at him. Like she hadn't yet decided if it was safer to freeze or flee.
He leaned back again and giving her that room eased some of her tension. He didn't like that. He wanted her to be comfortable with him, regardless of how close he got.
Although, he didn't think he'd mind if that pink color painted her cheeks again.
“I know I am only supposed to be asking you about your home planet, but would you mind if I asked you some other questions, vora vakara?”
“I guess not? What kind of questions?”
“Things like this.” He lifted her hand, fascinated by the purple color. “I looked at all the information available on your species and I didn't know that you would absorb colors like this. Is it all things that stain your skin? Is it only fruit?”
“It's just certain things. Honestly, you'd probably get better answers from Scarlet.”
“I wish to talk to you.”
“You... do?” She looked surprised by the statement. Though he didn't know why. “I mean, I'll do my best to answer, I guess. I don't mind being studied.”
His heart thudded with excitement. “Truly? You do not?”
“No. It's okay.”
He grinned. “Then, I shall have to think of more questions. I'll write them down. I imagine I will have a great many. We might have to meet more than once. Tomorrow, I will have to be focused on learning about your planet.”
Holly nodded her head. That meant yes. “Sure. You're a busy guy. I'm not, really, so, whenever you're free.”
“I will make time in my schedule. I'm looking forward to it. I want to know what other colors you can turn.”
Holly gave him a small grin. Shy, but genuine, and his heart ached to see it. He wanted to see more. Of her. Of her smiles. And bigger. Brighter.
“Can I ask you questions, too?” She asked, distracting him from the fierce longing that suddenly struck him.
“Me? Of course. Anything you like.”
“I want to know more about your people. Your culture. Things like that. I mean, I ask Tilii a lot, but it would be nice to have even more perspective. Especially since you're like, the smartest guy on the planet.”
“Intelligence is a relative measurement. There are many I would consider more intelligent than me. I am just the scholar with the most variety in my knowledge set.”
“I honestly can't tell if you're being modest or not.”
“I most assuredly am not. I've seen your people's affliction for modesty. Mine do not possess such a thing. I'm telling you my skills outright because it is true.”
She smiled at him, and it was warm. Like he had said something right. Though he didn't think there could possibly be a wrong answer to such a statement, it was still somehow satisfying to get it right. Even more of a thrill when the approval was on her face than when it was marked on an exam.
“I have something for you,” he said, eager for more approval. He reached into his pouch and pulled out the five combots. He easily picked out hers and offered it to her.
“I already have a combot,” she said.
“These are new ones. For each of you. Vi Dominani asked me to make them. They include trackers I can activate remotely in case something happens.”
Instead of earning her approval, her eyes immediately snapped to his, tightening with worry and suspicion.
“Is something going to happen?”
“Of course, not. We will not let it. This is merely a precaution.”
She looked between him and the deactivated combot like it was a trap. Before he could convince her to take it, however, she reached out and plucked it from his fingers.
“Let me transfer your information from your previous bot,” he said, setting the others on the table before holding out his hand.
She put the new bot in his palm before releasing her current one from her own pouch.
It floated in the air between them. Romival wasted no time in opening it up and beginning the transfer.
It was quick, taking only a moment before the old one powered down and dropped into his palm and the new one took flight, fluttering around her like an excited insect.
She smiled as he put her old one in his pouch.
“I shall send this in for refurbishing,” he told her. “You may give these to the other females. The transfer process is simple. I can show you how.”
“It's okay. I watched you do it. I got it.”
He grunted in approval as she swept the combots into her pouch. He didn't mind which ones she gave to the others as hers was the only one with special features.
“Thank you,” she said as the bot continued to dance around her head.
“Romival!” Second Scholar Ryna yelled at him over the foliage. “We've got our data! We're going back to the academy!”
“I'll meet you there,” he yelled back.
Holly stared at him, but he made no effort to stand. He didn't want to leave her yet. He wanted to continue to drink in the sight of her.
“Ask me a question,” he said before his staring could become uncomfortable.
“Huh?”
“You wished for us to exchange information. I have learned that your skin is semi-permeable. It is your turn to learn from me.”
To his surprise, she started laughing. “I didn't think it would be so rigid a system.”
He didn't intend it to be. He just wanted to prolong his leaving. “It is only fair.”
“The combot trade isn't enough?”
“Vi Dominani asked me for that. So, no, it doesn't count.” Especially considering it was his own offer to make it in the first place.