Page 51 of Ahelno
“Oh, I’m just sunburned.”
“The sun has burned you?” he said, alarmed. “Is there a flame underneath your skin? Should we jump in the lake to put it out?”
I laughed as we made our way back to the boat. “I do love a good swim, but that’s ok. It’s mild. It’s a human thing. My skin burns if I’m out in the sun for too long. I should have worn a hat or something.”
“Should I take you to a medic?” he asked.
“No, it will fade in a day or two. I might even tan.”
“Tan?” he asked.
“Yes, after I burn, the skin sometimes turns a very light brown before it fades back to my normal pastiness.”
“This is normal?” he asked.
“Totally normal for humans,” I said. I could understand his confusion. The Ptexari didn’t tan or burn or change any color, as far as I had seen. I’m sure this sounded strange.
He assisted me back in the boat, and we skimmed across the water. He stared at me intensely the whole time. Finally, I couldn’t take his scrutiny anymore.
“What?” I snapped at him as we docked, and he gathered our purchases to carry to the car.
“Is there a purpose for this color change?”
Surprisingly, I had never questioned sunburns. It was just a thing that happened in the summer. It never occurred to me that there might be some reason for it. “You know, I don’t really know. I never thought about it before. I don’t think so. Maybe it’s just a warning for us not to stay outside too long.” I shrugged.
Dakleth retracted his claw and poked my arm as I had. “It is very strange,” he said. “Does it hurt?”
“Not right now,” I replied. “It will probably sting a little later if I touch it a lot. This is minor - just a little pink. If I were really burned, it would be a deeper pink. Almost red. That hurts. A LOT. I went to the beach once with some girlfriends, and we fell asleep outside on our beach towels. Worst burn I ever had. Never again!”
We got in the car and headed back to the Palace. Dakleth poked my shoulder and watched the color change. “Stop poking me,” I said.
“I am sorry, Andie, I have just never seen anything like this,” he said, fascinated as he bent down and peered closely at my skin. I rolled my eyes.
“Look, I get it. It’s super weird. But it does hurt a little when you poke it,” I complained.
“My apologies!” he exclaimed, straightening up immediately. “I had no intention of harming you. You said earlier it did not hurt.”
“Meh, it tends to get worse as the day goes on. It’s not bad or anything, but it’s a good thing I’m out of the sun for now. I’ll soak in a cool bath when we get back to the Palace.”
“So I was right, we should have jumped in the lake.”
I laughed. “Ok, ok, yes, it was a good idea, but water reflects the sun. My lower body would have felt better, but the sunon my face would actually have gotten worse. Taking a bath indoors is a better step.”
“I see,” he said. “Do you enjoy swimming?”
“I do, although I haven’t gone swimming here. On Earth, we usually swam in man-made pools or near the shoreline of the ocean. I don’t know what kind of critters live in your lakes and rivers, and I didn’t want to find out the hard way.”
“You are wise to be cautious. There are some predators in the larger lakes that could be bothersome, but there is no issue with swimming in the smaller creek that runs behind your village. And there are bathhouses in the city with pools. Perhaps we could go sometime.”
“Maybe,” I said non-committally. “Right now I’ll stick with the tub in my room at the Palace.” The sanitizing room at my cottage had a shower only, but the room I usually stayed in when I slept over at the Palace had a lovely sunken tub. The more I thought about it, the more appealing I found the idea of a cool bath.
“Perhaps it needs a good scrub,” he suggested.
“Nope!” I said. “The last thing I need is a scrubbing. I’d peel my skin off!”
Draketh looked horrified. “Your skin peels off?”
The look on his face. I laughed so hard I snorted. He looked at me like he had discovered a slimy toad in his soup. His expression was the picture of horror and nausea rolled into one.
