Human, why are you painting tiny pictures of animals along the tops of the walls near the ceiling?
...because my partner said they didn't think I could. -- Anon Guest
Companion Thark initially thought they were stickers. The Humans did have their peculiar little ways when they thought a space was too bland for their liking. The most popular redecoration tool was the humble adhesive image. It was only when ze attempted to peel one off the cornice that ze realised hir humans had been more creative than that.
A stepladder, a magnifying glass and, finally, a scanner told Thark that this was a painting of a sticker. One of the Humans had been extra artistic. Or, as they might say, extra and artistic.
Thark followed the trail. From emojis to dinosaurs, to a surprisingly realistic rendition of a fhitt[1] caught in a cobweb. From there, to a horrifyingly realistic rendition of the spider.
Human Iye was busily painting a very realistic lizard with its painted eyes on the painted spider.
"What. Are you doing?" demanded Thark.
"Paintin' critters."
This had evidently been the wrong question. The real question soon followed. "Why are you doing that? Why is it necessary to depict alarming animals on the ships' cornices?"
Iye pulled back from detailing the lizard's mottled skin. "Uh... Eoin bet I couldn't?"
Humans... When they couldn't get something changed by normal channels, they bet each other into doing things. Human Eoin especially had been complaining about the lack of decor. "Why the cornices?"
"Thought I'd start small? And branch out? I'm used to painting on post-its, so...." they gestured at their latest work. As if that were an explanation.
This was clear evidence that their Humans needed more enrichment.
[1] Fhitts are low-gravity pests that propel themselves through the atmosphere by means of a bladder full of hydrogen they've metabolised from ambient water. They are favoured prey of the ten-legged spider-like Oshits. They, like the Oshits, have become common pests in all Alliance spaces.
[Photo by James Tiono on Unsplash]
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