CHAPTER NINE: Physical Presence

PART TWO…No, I'm Not Jealous …

On a sturdy, new easel that'd been delivered just an hour ago, Vanessa stood painting. She paused, tucking her paintbrush behind her ear, to take a sip of juice from a ration pouch, and leaned against the couch behind her. The image manifested itself far earlier than these things usually did. The deep, red tones dominated the background of the piece, indicating what would likely be a viewer-confusing combination of flower blooms and living visceral tissues. Soft, warm skin tones indicated the large face at the center right of the image, which would obviously be the focus. Meryl's profile was already becoming clear, even to Vanessa, at this distance, with her poor sight.

She was going to paint Millie today, but she felt inclined to begin the Meryl portrait first.

Placing her hand beside her, on the couch top, to steady herself, her finger brushed against a blanket fabric and she jumped. Without turning, she knew this was the bedding Vash had thrown together before. He said he didn't want to wake her when he returned late, from the after-gallery party. Vash slept on the couch last night.

Vanessa's eyes narrowed as she tested the contrast of the image, slowly, until her eyes were only barely open, then wider to take the colors in once more. It needed more variation of texture in the background, and more non-local color in the cheek-nose area. And that lower right corner was just simply not working.

She bit on her straw, gnawing on it as she studied her work.

Those things needed fixing before she would go into the face with any more detail. There would be a lot of importance in her features, since they were very soft and telling. Meryl was a beautiful woman, by mathematic proportions and geometric ideals of the human face. She was very feminine in features, especially since her eyes seemed to be dilated a little more than eyes usually would. Things like that make women more attractive to the opposite sex, for various biological reasons. Soft, pretty women like her looked like they needed protecting, and her short stature sealed the deal. Except for her outward personality, Meryl was surely a draw to men's minds.

Vanessa went back into the red tones, adding highlights and pushing out the forms with shading.

She didn't know what relationship Vash had had with Meryl before Vanessa stumbled into their lives, and had always assumed that things like that weren't relevant anymore. What Vash did or did not do and feel towards Meryl back then was none of her business, she believed. In the same right, she had never mentioned her past relationships with human men to Vash, and imagined she would avoid the subject if asked. Such things would only clutter the mind and cast doubts.

Vanessa's left 'ring' finger was naked, as were all her fingers – free of any ring to bind her to anyone. She wanted Vash to understand that human ideas of romantic love didn't apply to immortals. They couldn't expect to remain tied to one another for hundreds of years, she surmised, and therefore, she saw no point in describing her relationship with Vash in terms of eternal love or a permanent union.

Laying paint thick across the surface of the canvas, she reflected on reality. She would have this same appearance, scarred and thin but still the physical embodiment of the human's ideal female form. There would always be human women Vash would find attractive – more attractive. Human beauty was proof that plants, though immortal, could and would feel great affection towards their mortal counterparts. The eye and the heart often overpower the logic of the brain.

Vanessa's memories reminded her that she, too, was weak to such a phenomenon. But that was so long ago, and since then her sight and trust had deteriorated such that she doubted she recalled how to desire a human. Perhaps it was still possible. It didn't matter much.

Vash was still capable of this love for humans, obviously.

She calmed her rather animated brushstrokes to make finishing details. She'd been painting for hours now, and was so thoroughly preoccupied (as a painter often is) that she'd lost track of time and hunger.

That eye needed just a bit more lightening.

OXO

Millie's class sessions were complete by then, and she activated the door chime before letting herself in. "Good afternoon, Miss Vanessa," she greeted cheerily while finding a place to set her knapsack. "Would you like me to get the rations now?"

Vanessa studied her canvas and wiped her hands. "This one's finished. Didn't take much." She shook her head. "Sorry, Hi. Um, the rations. It's that late already…Actually, you know, I don't think I've gotten them before. I should be more independent."

"Oh my, Miss Vanessa, that really looks just like Meryl…" Millie commented, just noticing the image, in awe.

Choosing to wind her hair in spirals over her ears in the old way instead of using the scarf, Vanessa turned to Millie before leaving. "Can you see them?" she asked, since a mirror wouldn't help.

"Wha?"

"Uh…My ears. Can you see them? Did I cover them well enough?"

Millie looked stupefied for a moment. She glanced at Vanessa for a brief moment before returning to stare at Meryl's portrait. "They're covered..."

"Thank you, Millie. I'll be right back."

OXO

Vanessa's heart was pounding in her chest as the door shuttered closed behind her. She paused to catch her breath before taking the ration trays to the kitchen area. It wasn't the effort that caused her pulse to race – it was the danger and excitement of being alone with the humans. She was scared, but relieved. Despite long periods of hiding, she was still capable of walking amongst the humans if she so desired.

"So it wasn't so much pretending to think about the questions," Tessla explained to Millie in the main room, having just returned from classes. "It was harder to decide which ones to get wrong, since I'm not sure how much direct influence it's going to have on my class focus from now on. But I'm moving towards sociology."

"That's people studies, right?"

"Yeah, Millie. Pretty much." She didn't turn towards her mother while accepting the ration tray. Crunching into a protein bar, she became visibly stiff in posture the moment Vanessa's weight hit the couch beside her. Tessla gulped hard and frowned. "But I'm sure if I could just show my intelligence a bit more, they'd place me faster and I'd be better off on Earth."
Vanessa opened her mouth to respond to that challenge, but stopped herself. She took a big spoonful of gelatin instead.

"When daddy comes home I want to show him this poem I wrote."

"Can I read it?" Vanessa asked through the gelatin.

"I'd rather wait for daddy; it's for him. Anyhow, I hope he doesn't get held up again – he promised me a walk through the far side of the ship tonight."

"I talked to him during lunch," Millie piped in, looking at her food. "He says he might be really late, helping some students who've been struggling. Actually, he mentioned that the students are really far behind, and he might have to stay late with them a lot from now on." Finished, she smiled at them with her eyes closed.

Vanessa thought this comment peculiar, but was also preoccupied with her daughter's cold comments. She began to think about things again, and was very until Vash came home to take Tessla for that walk. He wasn't particularly late.

When Millie stood to leave, Vanessa was sitting on the couch, still. "Millie, may I ask you something?"

Scared somehow, Millie turned. "Y…Yes?"

"Meryl won't be coming around much anymore…?"

Millie hesitated. She didn't remember having mentioned that. "That's right. She's focusing more on her studies, and she may not be able to spend time over here."

Vanessa remained stoic.

"Bye!" Millie called as she left, breathing relief as she strode through the hall.