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“Erm, I guess, to about here,” she put her hand up to her chin. Her belly clenched with nerves at the very thought of making it that short. If the telfay didn’t trim their feathers, then there likely wasn’t a salon she could go to. Not that they were going to be let out for something like that anyway. “We need scissors.”
Chapter 10
Rane
Sh-h-hk.
The sharp scissors cut easily through Sandy’s hair.
His heart was in his throat. Pounding with excitement. The strands, so small compared to his feathers, were like silk in his hands. Cutting through them seemed wrong – he couldn’t imagine cutting through his feathers. But it was what she wanted.
He had his combot open beside them in the privy – she said it was best to do it there since it was easier to clean the cut hair. It had taken a while to successfully connect to the Earth subnet through communication relays. Sandy took over then, since he couldn’t read human, and she found him a guide detailing how to do a haircut at home. No video, because the connection to Earth’s subnet wasn’t that great. All they had were words and pictured that she talked him through.
He was nervous, because he was worried about getting it wrong. She assured him that it was fine if he did, that her hair would grow back, but she was still trusting him with this. He wanted to make sure he did it right.
They had left the party together. Orza and Kirs hadn’t even dragged them to the hover. Since his mother was trying to force them to mate, they weren’t going to interfere if they were bonding. They locked them into their wing of the manor but left them alone even when Rane had a pair of scissors delivered to them through the dumbwaiter system. He also took that time to send a message to Drevor – one of the few people his combot allowed him to contact – and told him about Sandy’s lack of food.
He didn’t know if he had responded, however, as he was now acutely focused. Sandy was perched on a chair they’d dragged in from the bedroom while he made absolutely sure that her hair was perfectly level.
He wasn’t sure how well he did. He wasn’t using hair specific scissors, and he didn’t have little ties to separate her hair like the pictures suggested, but he did his best.
And Sandy just sat there, trying to remain still. She was breathing quickly, but whenever he took a glance at her face, she was smiling. Her expression wild, like she was standing on the precipice of a huge drop, considering jumping.
Rane didn’t know why she trusted him this much. This was clearly something important to her, and probably something preferably done by a professional, but she smiled as he cut through the long, brown strands and let the discarded ones fall to the floor.
Rane kneeled, getting on eye level with her hair, following the instructions and pictures to measure the strands of hair on either side of her head against each other. He found a few strands that were just a bit longer than the others. He cut them carefully, methodically.
He was so focused on what he was doing, so locked in on getting it perfect, that he didn’t actually see her until he took a step back to inspect his work. And then he just stared.
Her hair had been down to her waist before. Now, it ended at her chin. The gentle wave to the strands, without the weight to pull it down, was deeper, more dramatic, and gave it more volume. Her little cheeks were such a vibrant pink, like she had just gone for a run.
The extra fluffiness of her hair seemed to change her entire face. It suited her better, the shorter strands framing her jaw like a lovely border. And maybe it was just the thrill of doing something she considered dramatic, but her pretty green eyes were sparkling.
“Well?” She asked, breathless, reaching up but stopping just short of touching it. “Does it look okay?”
Before he had a chance to answer, she jumped to her feet and rushed to the mirror. It was large, from floor to ceiling, allowing her to get a full view of herself all at once.
She gasped, then laughed, as she grabbed for the shortened strands.
“Oh, my gosh! Look at it!” She cried in delight. She shook her head, for seemingly no purpose other than to feel her hair fly around her head. “It’s so light! It’s so fluffy!”
Rane set the scissors down onto the counter as he stepped up to her from behind. She gave him a smile in the mirror.
“Is it okay?” He asked, cautious. Concerned.
“I love it!” She declared, twisting around excitedly. “Is it pretty?!”
“It’s beautiful,” he breathed, entranced.
He liked her long hair too, of course. That was beautiful in its own way, and if she had preferred it that way, he’d have no complaints. But what really made this style beautiful was the bright smile on her face, the joy in her eyes as she played with the newly shortened strands.
She had been so nervous, but now that it was done, she was luxuriating in the new, shortened feel, turning her head this way and that to get a look at herself from all angles, and just giggling as she touched the blunted ends.
Rane didn’t seem to have any control of his own limbs as he stepped forward. Closing the last of the distance between them. He took hold of her, sliding his arms in from behind. Pulling her against his chest.
It was even better than before.
When he’d clung to her last time, weeping against her belly like a youngling seeking comfort from their mother, there hadn’t been anything sexual about it.
