The only thing that would calm Lendulin’s clear case of nervousness, made clear by the way her tail pressed against the chair and the way she kept picking at her long fingernails, was a glass of the sweet-tasting bubbly alcohol that was flowing freely from the ice fountains. Once she had an ornate, crystal glass in her hands and a few sips in his stomach, she relaxed.

“I’m sorry.” She said with a sad little smile on her face, “I’ve never been at a party like this before… I’m probably going to make a fool of myself.”

“Well, if you do, we will too.” DH said as they took a drink. A nervous laugh escaped from Lendulin’s mouth.

“I doubt that.” She said, “You’ve probably been going to these kinds of things all your life.”

“This is our second party.” TO admitted, looking around at everyone. They themself wore a plain black suit, the jacket of which went down to the floor and flared out at their hips. Though Celesto had suggested accessories, TO only wore the other half of the pendant that DH gave them under their shirt, and had no makeup. They honestly thought that this outfit, the fine clothing and subtle details, had been far too extravagant to wear anywhere. Standing now in a sea of bright colors and glittering jewels, they felt horrifically underdressed.

“Really?” Lendulin frowned at TO. “I figured if you were from a well off family or something, you’d go to parties all the time!”

“Our family doesn’t really do parties.” DH muttered as they took a sip.

Lendulin nodded, drank about half her drink, then pointed to the edge of the clearing where the paintings stood. “Alright.” She said, “Let’s go look at the paintings!”

“Really?” DH asked. “I want to see them all. I love your- I mean, I love Venturi’s work.” Their ears pinned back, their wings puffed up. At least TO wasn’t the only one who got angry when they thought about Venturi. “But you’ve seen it already-”

“Yes, but I want to hear what people are saying about it!” She said, “I want to hear the critique!” Though she lowered her voice to a whisper, there was a life in her eyes, excitement that hadn’t been there before. “It’s really hard for me to get feedback if I can’t show people my work.” She said, “How am I supposed to get any better if I can’t get feedback?” She halted the light fading, “But… I mean, you’re not here for that.”

Before she could say another word, DH was pushing her towards the paintings. “You just tell us where to go.” They said, “And we’ll bring you there.”

“Are you certain?” She asked.

“Of course.” DH said and started pushing her towards the crowd around Venturi.

“Oh no, not near him!” She said. As soon as she saw where they were heading, the color that had brightened her cheeks suddenly drained, leaving her pale and ashen.

“Why not?” TO asked.

“Well…” She looked away, “There’s two reasons.” She admitted. “The first is because I'm pretty sure people don’t give him real crit, you know? He’s a public figure now. People won’t tell him to his face when they really think.”

TO looked over, and though they couldn’t hear the distant conversation around Venturi properly, they could see Venturi gesturing broadly, cheeks flushed from alcohol as they laughed with those around him.

He didn’t seem like he was taking critique.

“And the other reason?” they asked.

She shrugged, looking away from TO and DH. “I kinda promised when I got the tickets that I’d stay away from him at the party.” 

 

“What?” DH hissed, their hands tightening on the chair handles. “He asked you to keep away from him?” 

 

“No, no!” Another strained, nervous laugh escaped her, twined with an odd clicking. “I promised that if he gave me the tickets, I’d stay away from him. He didn’t just give me the tickets. I begged for them!” 

 

“That’s not right.” DH’s voice was a low, angry hiss. “You’re the artist. He should beg you to come with him!” 

 

“That’s not how this works.” She said, smiling sadly, “Really.. It's fine. Just-“ She pointed to a larger painting in which a single person was standing. “That Corvian guy, he’s an art critic. I want to see what he thinks.”

 

TO and DH exchanged glances, but did as she said and brought her over towards the large painting. It showed a man standing against a background of gray, his black suit plain save for the shimmer of iridescence, like aurora borealis, visible when viewed straight on. Shadows entirely obscured his face, leaving no features visible.

 

She gestured to TO and DH to be silent as they pushed her up, and carefully watched the critic as they approached. the Corvian, a species with black wings clinging to their arms, small eyes, and feathers forming a crest around their otherwise ordinary face, Stood with their hands clasped behind their back, chewing on their lower lip as they examined the work. 

 

After watching in silence, she spoke up. 

 

“The composition on this one’s weak, isn’t it?” She said. 

 

The critic gave a hum of agreement before their crest puffed out. They turned and only relaxed a little when they saw Lendulin in the chair. He glanced at TO and DH, then released a long breath.

 

“He certainly added the background as an afterthought.” He said, “Just dabs of paint with no reason for it. The values are weak too. He’s relied far too much on this iridescent paint process he’s got going on.” He shrugged, “It’s pretty enough, but if you’ve seen his other works, then this one becomes quite boring.” 

 

Lendulin nodded, “The figure too.” She said, “He’s so lifeless, just standing there. He looks like he’s just posing, not there for any reason.”

 

“Worse; it looks like he just painted from a mannequin.” He looked down at. Lendulin, the feathers around his crest twitching as he watched her, “You have a keen eye for… a person of your status. I wasn’t aware that many legless were interested in the arts.” 

 

Her tail pressed to her chair, “Well, -“ 

 

“Her name’s Lendulin.” TO said, “She’s Delsaphian.” 

 

He looked to TO, nodding, “Right, of course.” He said. “Still, I’m surprised to see… one such as yourself here, Miss Lendulin. Are you yourself an artist?” 

 

“I… well, not really-“ 

 

“She’s Venturi’s assistant.” DH said. 

 

His feathers pressed down to his neck. “Oh.” He said, “Yes, Yes I had heard-“ 

 

“I won’t tell him anything you said, so long as you don’t tell him what I said.” She smiled. “I just wanted to know if you shared my opinion.” 

 

He huffed and looked back at the painting, “Yes, well… that might be best.” He said, “I know you’d lose your job.” 

 

She nodded. “And you’d basically get castigated for telling the truth.” She said. Though if you have any advice, I can try to subtly pass them along. Make a suggestion here or there.”

“Yes, well, I’d say he needs to do a little more figure drawing practice. The people he paints always look so stiff in their poses.”

Lendulin nodded. “You’re absolutely right.” She said, “And what do you think of the show?” 

 

He shrugged, “If we’re being honest.” He said, “The art is fine enough; technically sound… but that’s about it. It’s pretty, but unimaginative.” He shrugged, “I’d say if he keeps this up, the art circles will forget about in the year, but his reputation carries him now more than his art.” 

 

“Isn’t that a little harsh?” TO asked. “It looks great to me.” 

 

“No, it’s accurate.” Lendulin said. “You just don’t paint.” She turned back to the critic. “I appreciate your honesty.” She said, smiling. 

 

“And I yours.” He said, “I imagine you’ll be heading over to Venturi sooner than later? Rumor of his leg-little assistant has been spreading like wildfire, and I’m certain that people are dying to meet you.” 

 

“Maybe.” She said, “I’m sure he has a lot of other people to talk to, though.” 

 

“Hmm, quite right.” The critic said. He took one last look at the painting. “Enjoy the party.” He said as he walked away. 

 

“… He was ruthless.” DH said, “I think it’s beautiful.” 

 

“Again, you’re not an artist.” Lendulin said, and she pulled a small notebook from a hidden pocket in the folds of her gown. As she flipped to a blank page, TO got glimpses of sketches and notes. “I’m not upset.” She said as she looked up at DH before scribbling down notes. “That’s why I wanted to come. I knew art critics would be here, and I wanted to hear what they had to say outside of Venturi’s earshot.” She pursed her lips. “He was right though; I did actually use a mannequin for this one.” She chuckled, “found it in the water, and thought I could use it for a painting. I couldn’t figure out why I hated it so much when I was done, but I needed to give Venturi something, and he seemed to like it well enough.”

 

“Wait.” TO said, their ears quirking forward. You wanted to come here specifically so you could have your work ripped apart.”

 

Without looking up from her book, she nodded. “Yup.” She said, “That’s how you make better art.”

 

======

They spent a good hour going from painting to painting, hearing what people were saying out of earshot. Finally, Lendulin said she just wanted to sit for a bit. “Honestly… if it’s not too much trouble, I wouldn’t mind just…” She flushed, “Sitting in the grass for a little. Maybe even getting some sketches.”

“Yes!” DH said, turning abruptly and heading towards the edge of the garden. “Yes! I can’t wait. I’m going to take my shoes off, and sit in the grass-”

“No no! You can’t! You’ll get grass stains on your gown!” 

 

“Oh.” Their ears dipped down in disappointment. “Really?”

“I’m sure it’s fine if you’re careful.” TO said, “And besides, I’m sure we can clean that or get it fixed.”

They went to the nearest grassy spot, fresh drinks in hand. As soon as DH got the chair on the grass, Lendulin pulled herself from the seat and used the chair’s edge to lean back. “Though, I’ll probably do the same to my dress.” She said with a laugh, “But my dress wasn’t as expensive as yours probably was.”

DH grinned, took off their shoes, and carefully set their toes into the grass, flexing their long digits against the greenery, enjoying the feel before they took off the other shoe and sat down.

 

TO did the same. The grass was cool on their feet, and had a lovely, soft texture. For some reason, they expected the grass to be almost papery or feathery to the touch, but really it had a texture all its own.

Lendulin grinned as she took out her sketchbook. “I never thought I’d feel real grass.” She said, looking up into the canopy, “Or sit under actual trees. Once, trees apparently covered Arkane.” She frowned. “That was before it was colonized, though.”

“Well, we have tech for oxygen purification now.” TO said, “And trees aren’t very efficient as a fuel source, or a source of building materials. Trees aren’t even used for paper anymore.”

“Yeah, I know.” She said, “They’re mostly novelties now. Still, it’d be nice to be on a natural planet.”

“A wild one.” DH said. “Outside the galactic kingdom?” 

 

She looked to DH, “Don’t you think about what other planets are out there? Ones that haven’t yet been discovered or colonized? Don’t you wonder what they might be like?”

TO didn't have to wonder. Synths knew what such planets were like. Shortages caused by the controllable natural phenomena of the planet caused scarcity and famine, and created violent groups of people who wished to stash supplies. Planets with such a low technical level often existed in a state of war, with class systems where only a select few had the privilege of security and comfort.

But, wasn’t that the same here on Arkane, a planet that had been in King Decon’s kingdom for centuries? What was the difference between a wild planet, and a planet that king Decon had under His control? Was it really any better? A moment of panic, of confusion, passed through TO before they shook those thoughts from their head. No… if it was this bad on Arkane, then on the wild planets, it had to be worse. At the very least, a colonized planet had resources from the rest of the galaxy fed into it, and that made it better, right?

A sparkle of light caught their eyes and pulled them from their thoughts. They turned, and saw that the sparkle came from the very ornate and elaborate jewelry of Celesto, who was standing at the edge of the grass, watching Lendulin sketching happily, not knowing she was being watched.