The Song of Yarru, Chapter Two
Dec. 1st, 2008 06:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kalleahPrevious Chapters
Anahit and Aiku led the Doctor and Rose to a platform not far away and along a long tree branch. It looked like it had been flattened by something huge and heavy, compressing the top into a walkway wide enough for three people to walk side by side. Rose, eying the edge with some trepidation, noted the graceful, easy balance of the twins before her. Their tails flicked back and forth in counterpoint to their hips as they moved. A dozen or so Yarruni followed them, carrying long poles with blunted hooks at the ends.
The Doctor was at her side now, his attention moving from the twins to the branch and all around them into the forest, never seeming to settle on one thing for more than a heartbeat. She caught his eye and he grinned again.
"Tree Singers!" he said, his voice positively vibrating with excitement. "Not all of the cities here have them. We're incredibly lucky."
Anahit and Aiku stopped where the path ended. Smaller branches sprouted out in all directions from what now looked like part of an ordinary tree.
"This will be a new platform," Aiku told the Doctor. "We need extensions there" – her finger indicated another platform up and to their right – "and there." She gestured to the left. Several Yarruni, also bearing the hook-ended poles, waited in the uppermost location.
The Doctor followed the directions and nodded thoughtfully, scratching his chin.
"Sit," Aiku invited with a wave of her hand. "Make yourself comfortable."
Rose sat down, finding a small branch to fit into the small of her back and provide some support. The Doctor dropped down beside her into a cross-legged position. Anahit busied herself giving instructions to their followers, who arranged themselves along the path behind them. Once she was satisfied with their positions, she came back to the end of the path where her sister waited.
Anahit and Aiku drew in a breath, and another, and another, until they were perfectly in sync. They didn't look at one another but seemed fundamentally attuned, mirroring each small motion of hand or foot as they settled into position. Anahit circled a rising branch with one hand and trailed her fingers along its small stems and through its leaves.
Aiku opened her mouth and a low, tremulous sound spilled from between her lips. It started as a murmur and became stronger. Rose leaned toward her without realizing what she had done. The song – for it became a song – was urging, coaxing, entreating. When Anahit joined in, the two voices spiralled around each other. She could almost understand what they sang, although she could not distinguish any words. It isn't language, she thought dizzily. It's something more.
She swayed, like a snake in a basket, and saw with astonishment that the branch in Anahit's hand was doing the same. It traced upward, into the Singer's palm and along the underside of her wrist. It thickened and spread as she drew it upward and back, directing its growth. Leaves sprouted along the whole length of the branch. All around them, crotalistria flowers furled and unfurled, danced and waved, released shimmering pollen into the air.
Behind her, the other Yarruni extended their poles into the air, guiding and prodding the branch into position with their hooks. Every motion was controlled and precise. The branch glided upward with only minimal adjustment from the onlookers.
The twins' song became louder and deeper. The melodies twined together in a hundred threads, more complex than any two human voices could possibly have created. They trilled like birdsong and the tree responded to their patient attention. Rose could feel the vibrations of deep notes in her legs against the branch, and the treble of the highest notes made her scalp prickle.
She tore her eyes away from Anahit and Aiku and watched the Doctor. Like herself, he had come to lean in toward the Singers, his eyes wide with interest and manic grin faded to a tender smile.
Time passed; Rose could not have said how much. The branch continued to thicken and extend up toward the platform that Aiku had pointed out earlier. As it grew, it flattened and the smaller branches began to press back, fusing into the main branch and adding to its structure. In several places, different workers secured these smaller branches with their hooks, pulling the entire formation outward like warm taffy. The larger it got, the more formed it became, less a creation of nature and more a sculpture.
When it reached the upper platform, two Yarruni caught the branch and began to secure it in place, and the Singers quieted at last. Rose heard them both draw in a long, satisfied breath and exhale slowly. She wasn't sure, now that she was thinking about it, that either one of them had stopped singing long enough to breathe.
The forest around them seemed unnaturally silent. After a moment, she heard the skittering of a creature in the canopy above them, and the call of a strange bird in the distance. A child cried out and was shushed.
"Doctor," Aiku said. Neither she nor Anahit seemed tired or winded. "Was it what you expected?"
"It was what I hoped," he replied. He rose to his feet and offered Rose a hand. She let him pull her up and rested her head on his shoulder.
…
Watson had to put his shoulder into loosening the hatch gate between the survey station airlock and the docking ship outside. Bell hung back, allowing the fitter man to do the heavy lifting.
When he was finally able to roll the hatch to the side and reveal the already open other side, a stern man in a starched blue uniform stared back. He had two rows of colourful pins and bands over his left breast pocket, indicating fairly high rank.
The man stepped across the hatch, closely followed by two men in equally starched uniforms but bearing less decoration on their chests. They stood ramrod straight behind their commander, looking just over Watson and Bell's heads. The lack of eye contact in such close proximity was unnerving.
"I'm Rear Admiral Sellick, and these are Captain Moss and Captain Egan," said the newcomer. "I have authorization to assume command of this mission."
Rear Admiral? thought Watson. What is going on here?
"Sir," he said, trying not to be intimidated, "may I ask on what grounds? We were instructed to cooperate fully, but this is an independent survey –"
"You don't have authorization for that information," Sellick interrupted. "If you question my jurisdiction, you are welcome to contact your own chain of command to confirm anything you need." He waved in the direction of the offices and raised his eyebrows, and Watson averted his eyes. "I'm not at all offended that you should ask – Watson, I assume? It's quite practical. However, you will find that I'm in charge, and the sooner we are all of one mind, the sooner that we can complete our engagement and – leave you to your research."
Bell, to Watson's dismay, was nodding enthusiastically along with Sellick's every word. Yes, he could contact his own superiors and question them, but what good would it do? The follow-up communications over the past several days had been clear enough although lacking in any meaningful detail. Cooperate with the unit. They had their tentacles wrapped around Command, all right.
None of it answered his underlying question – why was there a military interest in Alpha Mensae d?
…
"You came at the perfect time," said Anahit as they walked back from the platform construction. She and Aiku had their arms around Rose from either side. "We celebrate midsummer tonight."
"Lots of food, and drink, and fun," Aiku added. "It's the best night of the year."
"We love a good party," the Doctor said from behind them. He had his glasses on and was examining the hook end of one of the poles. The other Yarruni were giving the butt end of the pole a wide berth where it was waving wildly behind him.
"What should I wear?" Rose asked, feeling some need to be practical. She didn't think jeans and sensible shoes would work for whatever kind of celebration a tree city would put on.
The twins giggled. It once again sounded to Rose like there were more than just the two of them laughing, and it distracted her momentarily from Aiku's answer.
"We'll help you. You are – forgive me, Rose – very strange to our eyes." She touched Rose's hair with her free hand. "Would you let me braid your hair? I have never seen such a colour before."
"It's – thank you, yes, I'd like that," Rose said a little shyly. It wasn't necessary to tell Aiku that it wasn't the colour she was born with.
Anahit turned to the Doctor, who had relinquished the pole to one of the Yarruni men, much to the relief of the bystanders. "There will be work to do at the upper platform as they stabilize the new extensions. Do you want to go?"
He took his glasses off and beamed at her. "Oh, I'd love to."
Aiku gave Rose a wink and added, "We'll entertain Rose while you're gone."
"Have fun," he said, and, coming close to Rose so that only she might hear, added, "I don’t even mind that you're just getting rid of me."
They grinned at each other and set off in opposite directions.
…
Anahit and Aiku brought Rose to one of the largest huts and gave her a quick tour. The domed interior was divided into two rooms by fabric panels hanging from the high ceiling.
In the first room, there were plump cushions arranged around a low table and stacks of wicker baskets lining the back wall. A glowing ball hung like a pendulum above the table, illuminating the room with a white, natural light. "Our gathering room," said Anahit.
In the second, smaller room, the floor was almost entirely covered by huge, scattered cushions and blankets. "Bedroom," Aiku said. She plopped down on a particularly puffy cushion and stretched out.
Rose had expected to see more inside the hut – somewhere to cook, to bathe, for privacy – but she remembered the fire pits outside and the food preparation. Perhaps they didn't appreciate privacy as much as she did? The twins certainly seemed inseparable, and they were married to the same man after all. She was suddenly awkward at the thought, looking around the small bedroom and trying not to imagine Anahit, Aiku, and Arri curled up together in these very piles of cushions.
Anahit took a basket from a stack at the back of the room and began searching through its contents while Aiku beckoned to Rose. "Sit," she invited, and Rose sat on one of the cushions in front of her. "Turn around. There you go." Rose felt soft hands stroking her hair, the fingers trailing against her scalp and through her hair, separating tangles.
Anahit handed her sister a brush and sat down next to Rose, where she began to unwind her hair from its crown. Aiku alternated brushing Rose's hair and her twin's.
"Your hair is so beautiful," said Anahit drowsily. "Platinum, silver, and gold, and darker at the top. And you have so little of it here." She touched Rose's forearm with one finger, and then her cheek. "And your Doctor too. Are all of your kind like that?"
"Yes. Our men have facial hair on their chins and cheeks – like the Doctor's sideburns, that part here." She traced her index fingers down from her hairline parallel to her ears. "But most of them shave it off."
"Shave?" asked Aiku. "How does one … shave?"
She supposed it was a strange custom, although it did seem to be common enough with humanoid aliens in her experience. "We take a sharp blade – a razor – and scrape the hair off." She gestured in the air. "Women shave their legs, and their underarms."
The twins giggled again. "You don't have hair on your legs?" Anahit tittered.
"No," she said. "Where I grew up, hairy legs are definitely a turn-off for men." She considered. "Well, most men."
Anahit stretched out her long legs in front of her and ran her hands up her calves to her knees. Her fine fur shimmered in the light from the pendulum ball hanging directly overhead. "I can't imagine. You must feel so bare." Her eyes widened with interest. "Would you show us?"
Rose giggled too. Why not? She stood up, a little sad to lose Aiku's touch on her head, and took off her trainers, socks, and jeans. Anahit and Aiku goggled at her smooth skin and couldn't help but touch her, which Rose permitted with increasing giggles. "I had it permanently removed," she confessed. "I don't shave any more."
"It suits you," Aiku said, nodding at Rose's legs. "Your face and your arms are bare, so it makes sense to have everything match."
"Thanks," said Rose, who despite her amusement didn't want either of these lovely women to find her wanting in some way. "I don't think I'm going to start any fashion trends here."
The three of them laughed again and settled themselves into the cushions. Rose brushed Aiku's sleek hair, which didn't really need the attention, and watched her twitching tail. Despite the fact that the twins had shown no reluctance to touch her, she was still a little shy with her desire to stroke the lush fur.
Anahit arranged herself behind Rose and began to work with small strands from her forehead, but finally smoothed it all back into place. "It's too short," she said, and began to sing again under her breath, her fingertips tapping all over Rose's head in counterpoint to her melody. Rose's scalp prickled and then bloomed into a full-on itch.
"Ouch," she said, although it didn't hurt exactly. It was uncomfortable.
Aiku turned her head and smiled at Rose. "It'll just take a minute."
The irresistible discomfort compelled her to scratch at her scalp. It felt delicious, but the relief was short-lived. Her questing fingers bumped Anahit's, and she scratched again. When the woman behind her stopped singing, the itch faded and left a tingling awareness in its place.
"That's better," Anahit said, pleased, and began to brush Rose's hair again.
Rose had a good idea of what had happened even before she reached back to run her own fingers through her hair. Sure enough, she had a good two inches more than she had before. "Oh my God," she said, amazed. "You just made my hair grow." She wondered how bad her roots would be now.
Anahit put down the brush and began to massage Rose's head, paying special attention to the temples and neck. "It will be much easier to braid," she said, and then, her voice caught. "You don't mind? I didn't ask. It's just what we do and I never thought –"
Rose swivelled around and hugged the other woman. "It's all right. I'm not upset. It's just very strange to me."
Aiku dissolved into a fit of laughter, and it took a moment before she was coherent enough to explain her amusement. "You spend all this time taking hair off your body. Do you want us to shave your head instead of making your hair grow?"
After the three women had finished attending to their coiffures, Aiku handed Rose a mirror so she could study the effect on herself. While the twins' hair was formal and intricate, hers was soft and flattering around her face. Anahit had braided two sections of hair and wound them up and over the top of Rose's head, forming a natural headband and smoothing back the darker hair above her forehead. Behind the braids, her newly lengthened hair was slightly wavy.
"We need flowers," Aiku said. "It's traditional. Let's get dressed and go and find the best ones."
Anahit produced three bundles of fabric from one of the baskets and tossed one to Rose. She unfolded it and admired elegant simplicity of the garment. While it was cut the same as the functional, sleeveless tunics that the twins had worn earlier and had no added decorations, the rich berry-wine colour highlighted the ornamental weaving of the fabric. She undressed the rest of the way and slipped the tunic over her head, enjoying the heavy drape as it settled into place just above her knees.
Anahit wore a tunic as blue as the TARDIS, and Aiku wore deep green. Together, they shone like jewels and held themselves like queens.
In an instant, their regal bearing disappeared and they became laughing girls, twirling and admiring one another. "Flowers!" Anahit said, and barefoot, the three of them rushed out of the hut.
After her initial excitement ebbed, Rose felt a guilty pang at the idea of picking the crotalistria flowers. Anahit and Aiku seemed to have no such problem, although they couldn't settle on which ones they wanted. At last, they came to a miniature golden dancer, its petals held wide open, waiting for a bird or other pollinator.
"It's perfect," Anahit pronounced, and reached for it.
"Wait," Rose interrupted, and they turned to look at her with curious, identical faces. "Do we have to – I mean, they're so pretty, and they're alive –"
The twins exchanged a confused glance before Aiku seemed to understand. "You don't want us to hurt the dancers," she said slowly. "Right?"
"Right."
Aiku smiled. "They're air plants, Rose. It won't harm them to be away from the tree for a while. See?" She cupped the flower underneath and pulled the entire plant away from the tree. The crotalistria flailed in alarm, but Rose could see several long tendrils below its green leaves where it was still intact.
"We'll bring it back tomorrow," Anahit said. "For tonight – well, we'll take the dancer dancing." She giggled at her own joke.
Aiku came over to Rose and settled the flower behind her ear. Its tendrils looped through her braid and held on tightly, as it had done with the tree. "There. You look like a Yarruni now."
"A shaved Yarruni," laughed Anahit, putting another flower in her hair.
Chapter Three
Anahit and Aiku led the Doctor and Rose to a platform not far away and along a long tree branch. It looked like it had been flattened by something huge and heavy, compressing the top into a walkway wide enough for three people to walk side by side. Rose, eying the edge with some trepidation, noted the graceful, easy balance of the twins before her. Their tails flicked back and forth in counterpoint to their hips as they moved. A dozen or so Yarruni followed them, carrying long poles with blunted hooks at the ends.
The Doctor was at her side now, his attention moving from the twins to the branch and all around them into the forest, never seeming to settle on one thing for more than a heartbeat. She caught his eye and he grinned again.
"Tree Singers!" he said, his voice positively vibrating with excitement. "Not all of the cities here have them. We're incredibly lucky."
Anahit and Aiku stopped where the path ended. Smaller branches sprouted out in all directions from what now looked like part of an ordinary tree.
"This will be a new platform," Aiku told the Doctor. "We need extensions there" – her finger indicated another platform up and to their right – "and there." She gestured to the left. Several Yarruni, also bearing the hook-ended poles, waited in the uppermost location.
The Doctor followed the directions and nodded thoughtfully, scratching his chin.
"Sit," Aiku invited with a wave of her hand. "Make yourself comfortable."
Rose sat down, finding a small branch to fit into the small of her back and provide some support. The Doctor dropped down beside her into a cross-legged position. Anahit busied herself giving instructions to their followers, who arranged themselves along the path behind them. Once she was satisfied with their positions, she came back to the end of the path where her sister waited.
Anahit and Aiku drew in a breath, and another, and another, until they were perfectly in sync. They didn't look at one another but seemed fundamentally attuned, mirroring each small motion of hand or foot as they settled into position. Anahit circled a rising branch with one hand and trailed her fingers along its small stems and through its leaves.
Aiku opened her mouth and a low, tremulous sound spilled from between her lips. It started as a murmur and became stronger. Rose leaned toward her without realizing what she had done. The song – for it became a song – was urging, coaxing, entreating. When Anahit joined in, the two voices spiralled around each other. She could almost understand what they sang, although she could not distinguish any words. It isn't language, she thought dizzily. It's something more.
She swayed, like a snake in a basket, and saw with astonishment that the branch in Anahit's hand was doing the same. It traced upward, into the Singer's palm and along the underside of her wrist. It thickened and spread as she drew it upward and back, directing its growth. Leaves sprouted along the whole length of the branch. All around them, crotalistria flowers furled and unfurled, danced and waved, released shimmering pollen into the air.
Behind her, the other Yarruni extended their poles into the air, guiding and prodding the branch into position with their hooks. Every motion was controlled and precise. The branch glided upward with only minimal adjustment from the onlookers.
The twins' song became louder and deeper. The melodies twined together in a hundred threads, more complex than any two human voices could possibly have created. They trilled like birdsong and the tree responded to their patient attention. Rose could feel the vibrations of deep notes in her legs against the branch, and the treble of the highest notes made her scalp prickle.
She tore her eyes away from Anahit and Aiku and watched the Doctor. Like herself, he had come to lean in toward the Singers, his eyes wide with interest and manic grin faded to a tender smile.
Time passed; Rose could not have said how much. The branch continued to thicken and extend up toward the platform that Aiku had pointed out earlier. As it grew, it flattened and the smaller branches began to press back, fusing into the main branch and adding to its structure. In several places, different workers secured these smaller branches with their hooks, pulling the entire formation outward like warm taffy. The larger it got, the more formed it became, less a creation of nature and more a sculpture.
When it reached the upper platform, two Yarruni caught the branch and began to secure it in place, and the Singers quieted at last. Rose heard them both draw in a long, satisfied breath and exhale slowly. She wasn't sure, now that she was thinking about it, that either one of them had stopped singing long enough to breathe.
The forest around them seemed unnaturally silent. After a moment, she heard the skittering of a creature in the canopy above them, and the call of a strange bird in the distance. A child cried out and was shushed.
"Doctor," Aiku said. Neither she nor Anahit seemed tired or winded. "Was it what you expected?"
"It was what I hoped," he replied. He rose to his feet and offered Rose a hand. She let him pull her up and rested her head on his shoulder.
…
Watson had to put his shoulder into loosening the hatch gate between the survey station airlock and the docking ship outside. Bell hung back, allowing the fitter man to do the heavy lifting.
When he was finally able to roll the hatch to the side and reveal the already open other side, a stern man in a starched blue uniform stared back. He had two rows of colourful pins and bands over his left breast pocket, indicating fairly high rank.
The man stepped across the hatch, closely followed by two men in equally starched uniforms but bearing less decoration on their chests. They stood ramrod straight behind their commander, looking just over Watson and Bell's heads. The lack of eye contact in such close proximity was unnerving.
"I'm Rear Admiral Sellick, and these are Captain Moss and Captain Egan," said the newcomer. "I have authorization to assume command of this mission."
Rear Admiral? thought Watson. What is going on here?
"Sir," he said, trying not to be intimidated, "may I ask on what grounds? We were instructed to cooperate fully, but this is an independent survey –"
"You don't have authorization for that information," Sellick interrupted. "If you question my jurisdiction, you are welcome to contact your own chain of command to confirm anything you need." He waved in the direction of the offices and raised his eyebrows, and Watson averted his eyes. "I'm not at all offended that you should ask – Watson, I assume? It's quite practical. However, you will find that I'm in charge, and the sooner we are all of one mind, the sooner that we can complete our engagement and – leave you to your research."
Bell, to Watson's dismay, was nodding enthusiastically along with Sellick's every word. Yes, he could contact his own superiors and question them, but what good would it do? The follow-up communications over the past several days had been clear enough although lacking in any meaningful detail. Cooperate with the unit. They had their tentacles wrapped around Command, all right.
None of it answered his underlying question – why was there a military interest in Alpha Mensae d?
…
"You came at the perfect time," said Anahit as they walked back from the platform construction. She and Aiku had their arms around Rose from either side. "We celebrate midsummer tonight."
"Lots of food, and drink, and fun," Aiku added. "It's the best night of the year."
"We love a good party," the Doctor said from behind them. He had his glasses on and was examining the hook end of one of the poles. The other Yarruni were giving the butt end of the pole a wide berth where it was waving wildly behind him.
"What should I wear?" Rose asked, feeling some need to be practical. She didn't think jeans and sensible shoes would work for whatever kind of celebration a tree city would put on.
The twins giggled. It once again sounded to Rose like there were more than just the two of them laughing, and it distracted her momentarily from Aiku's answer.
"We'll help you. You are – forgive me, Rose – very strange to our eyes." She touched Rose's hair with her free hand. "Would you let me braid your hair? I have never seen such a colour before."
"It's – thank you, yes, I'd like that," Rose said a little shyly. It wasn't necessary to tell Aiku that it wasn't the colour she was born with.
Anahit turned to the Doctor, who had relinquished the pole to one of the Yarruni men, much to the relief of the bystanders. "There will be work to do at the upper platform as they stabilize the new extensions. Do you want to go?"
He took his glasses off and beamed at her. "Oh, I'd love to."
Aiku gave Rose a wink and added, "We'll entertain Rose while you're gone."
"Have fun," he said, and, coming close to Rose so that only she might hear, added, "I don’t even mind that you're just getting rid of me."
They grinned at each other and set off in opposite directions.
…
Anahit and Aiku brought Rose to one of the largest huts and gave her a quick tour. The domed interior was divided into two rooms by fabric panels hanging from the high ceiling.
In the first room, there were plump cushions arranged around a low table and stacks of wicker baskets lining the back wall. A glowing ball hung like a pendulum above the table, illuminating the room with a white, natural light. "Our gathering room," said Anahit.
In the second, smaller room, the floor was almost entirely covered by huge, scattered cushions and blankets. "Bedroom," Aiku said. She plopped down on a particularly puffy cushion and stretched out.
Rose had expected to see more inside the hut – somewhere to cook, to bathe, for privacy – but she remembered the fire pits outside and the food preparation. Perhaps they didn't appreciate privacy as much as she did? The twins certainly seemed inseparable, and they were married to the same man after all. She was suddenly awkward at the thought, looking around the small bedroom and trying not to imagine Anahit, Aiku, and Arri curled up together in these very piles of cushions.
Anahit took a basket from a stack at the back of the room and began searching through its contents while Aiku beckoned to Rose. "Sit," she invited, and Rose sat on one of the cushions in front of her. "Turn around. There you go." Rose felt soft hands stroking her hair, the fingers trailing against her scalp and through her hair, separating tangles.
Anahit handed her sister a brush and sat down next to Rose, where she began to unwind her hair from its crown. Aiku alternated brushing Rose's hair and her twin's.
"Your hair is so beautiful," said Anahit drowsily. "Platinum, silver, and gold, and darker at the top. And you have so little of it here." She touched Rose's forearm with one finger, and then her cheek. "And your Doctor too. Are all of your kind like that?"
"Yes. Our men have facial hair on their chins and cheeks – like the Doctor's sideburns, that part here." She traced her index fingers down from her hairline parallel to her ears. "But most of them shave it off."
"Shave?" asked Aiku. "How does one … shave?"
She supposed it was a strange custom, although it did seem to be common enough with humanoid aliens in her experience. "We take a sharp blade – a razor – and scrape the hair off." She gestured in the air. "Women shave their legs, and their underarms."
The twins giggled again. "You don't have hair on your legs?" Anahit tittered.
"No," she said. "Where I grew up, hairy legs are definitely a turn-off for men." She considered. "Well, most men."
Anahit stretched out her long legs in front of her and ran her hands up her calves to her knees. Her fine fur shimmered in the light from the pendulum ball hanging directly overhead. "I can't imagine. You must feel so bare." Her eyes widened with interest. "Would you show us?"
Rose giggled too. Why not? She stood up, a little sad to lose Aiku's touch on her head, and took off her trainers, socks, and jeans. Anahit and Aiku goggled at her smooth skin and couldn't help but touch her, which Rose permitted with increasing giggles. "I had it permanently removed," she confessed. "I don't shave any more."
"It suits you," Aiku said, nodding at Rose's legs. "Your face and your arms are bare, so it makes sense to have everything match."
"Thanks," said Rose, who despite her amusement didn't want either of these lovely women to find her wanting in some way. "I don't think I'm going to start any fashion trends here."
The three of them laughed again and settled themselves into the cushions. Rose brushed Aiku's sleek hair, which didn't really need the attention, and watched her twitching tail. Despite the fact that the twins had shown no reluctance to touch her, she was still a little shy with her desire to stroke the lush fur.
Anahit arranged herself behind Rose and began to work with small strands from her forehead, but finally smoothed it all back into place. "It's too short," she said, and began to sing again under her breath, her fingertips tapping all over Rose's head in counterpoint to her melody. Rose's scalp prickled and then bloomed into a full-on itch.
"Ouch," she said, although it didn't hurt exactly. It was uncomfortable.
Aiku turned her head and smiled at Rose. "It'll just take a minute."
The irresistible discomfort compelled her to scratch at her scalp. It felt delicious, but the relief was short-lived. Her questing fingers bumped Anahit's, and she scratched again. When the woman behind her stopped singing, the itch faded and left a tingling awareness in its place.
"That's better," Anahit said, pleased, and began to brush Rose's hair again.
Rose had a good idea of what had happened even before she reached back to run her own fingers through her hair. Sure enough, she had a good two inches more than she had before. "Oh my God," she said, amazed. "You just made my hair grow." She wondered how bad her roots would be now.
Anahit put down the brush and began to massage Rose's head, paying special attention to the temples and neck. "It will be much easier to braid," she said, and then, her voice caught. "You don't mind? I didn't ask. It's just what we do and I never thought –"
Rose swivelled around and hugged the other woman. "It's all right. I'm not upset. It's just very strange to me."
Aiku dissolved into a fit of laughter, and it took a moment before she was coherent enough to explain her amusement. "You spend all this time taking hair off your body. Do you want us to shave your head instead of making your hair grow?"
After the three women had finished attending to their coiffures, Aiku handed Rose a mirror so she could study the effect on herself. While the twins' hair was formal and intricate, hers was soft and flattering around her face. Anahit had braided two sections of hair and wound them up and over the top of Rose's head, forming a natural headband and smoothing back the darker hair above her forehead. Behind the braids, her newly lengthened hair was slightly wavy.
"We need flowers," Aiku said. "It's traditional. Let's get dressed and go and find the best ones."
Anahit produced three bundles of fabric from one of the baskets and tossed one to Rose. She unfolded it and admired elegant simplicity of the garment. While it was cut the same as the functional, sleeveless tunics that the twins had worn earlier and had no added decorations, the rich berry-wine colour highlighted the ornamental weaving of the fabric. She undressed the rest of the way and slipped the tunic over her head, enjoying the heavy drape as it settled into place just above her knees.
Anahit wore a tunic as blue as the TARDIS, and Aiku wore deep green. Together, they shone like jewels and held themselves like queens.
In an instant, their regal bearing disappeared and they became laughing girls, twirling and admiring one another. "Flowers!" Anahit said, and barefoot, the three of them rushed out of the hut.
After her initial excitement ebbed, Rose felt a guilty pang at the idea of picking the crotalistria flowers. Anahit and Aiku seemed to have no such problem, although they couldn't settle on which ones they wanted. At last, they came to a miniature golden dancer, its petals held wide open, waiting for a bird or other pollinator.
"It's perfect," Anahit pronounced, and reached for it.
"Wait," Rose interrupted, and they turned to look at her with curious, identical faces. "Do we have to – I mean, they're so pretty, and they're alive –"
The twins exchanged a confused glance before Aiku seemed to understand. "You don't want us to hurt the dancers," she said slowly. "Right?"
"Right."
Aiku smiled. "They're air plants, Rose. It won't harm them to be away from the tree for a while. See?" She cupped the flower underneath and pulled the entire plant away from the tree. The crotalistria flailed in alarm, but Rose could see several long tendrils below its green leaves where it was still intact.
"We'll bring it back tomorrow," Anahit said. "For tonight – well, we'll take the dancer dancing." She giggled at her own joke.
Aiku came over to Rose and settled the flower behind her ear. Its tendrils looped through her braid and held on tightly, as it had done with the tree. "There. You look like a Yarruni now."
"A shaved Yarruni," laughed Anahit, putting another flower in her hair.
Chapter Three
