Page 18 of Right Next Door
She’d asked Davard how to put out an add. She was only one person doing an unknown service, so she didn’t expect a huge deluge of clients on day one. She needed time to build her base.
But she really underestimated her allure as a human and mate – maybe? – of the char. A position that didn’t have an equivalent on Earth but was apparently a Big Deal. She already had her appointments booked out through the next tenday. She was only going that far, and she was giving herself a lot of time with her clients, to allow herself a lot of room, time wise. In case doing this took longer than she expected. It was better that she have free time than clients be left waiting. As she got better at this, she’d be able to more accurately gauge her timing, but for now, she was only seeing three people a day.
And the first one who came in through the front was a young male. She immediately beamed, standing up from her tray table – it would float around with her stool – where she had been setting up her tools for this, her first client.
The male had a curious expression on his face as he looked around, gray fur glistening in the light with white stripes that made him seem to shine. He was wearing a loose robe in bright, spring green with pretty simple embroidery. Or maybe she was just used to the elaborate way Davard dressed.
“Welcome!” She greeted brightly, pulling his orange gaze onto her. He blinked, like he was startled, before his expression softened.
“Hello,” he said, blue gems over his nose flicking as it seemed like he was trying to sniff. “Er, I believe I have an appointment.”
“Yes. Flik, right?”
“Yeah. That’s me. It’s an honor to meet you, charina.”
“Oh, none of that.” She waved his words away. “You can just call me Misty.”
“Misty, then,” he chuckled. “Am I, er, the first one?”
“You are,” she beamed, confident and excited. Not wanting him to think she wasn’t assured in her skill by acting shy or humble. “You ready for your consultation?”
“Yeah, definitely!” He perked up. His ears literally perking up. It was so cute. He was adorable. Very much like a puppy despite his clearly feline features.
“Did you see the braid suggestions I put up on the subsite?” She asked, leading him to his chair. “Did you pick one, or do you have something in mind?”
“I really liked the wrist cuff style!” He beamed, holding up his hands. “The way they crossed and slashed across the wrists. That was so interesting! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“And you never will anywhere else,” Misty chuckled, wiggling her hands. “I’ve been told that kreecharma hands are too big to do braids the way I can. Did you like the style on the site, or would you like to come up with your own first?”
“Can I?” He beamed, one of his teeth was gold. Which was definitely a purely cosmetic decision, because she had her teeth repaired with alien medical technology, so she knew he didn’t have to replace his tooth with a fake one.
They started out by designing the braid pattern he wanted. He ended up choosing a square pattern that was a bit more complex to do, but she wasn’t backing down from the challenge. Especially not with her first client.
After deciding on the pattern, she got started.
She began with a wash and skin inspection. Making sure she had a good, clean surface to work on. The fur was quickly dried thanks to a combination of the quick drying cleaning solution and the cool alien hair dryer that looked more like a short, squat wand. She added some styling cream as she was drying it off and, once her canvas was ready, she got to work.
Kreecharma fur wasn’t quite as dense and fluffy as cat fur, but nor was it as loose and long as human hair. It was somewhere in between.
But her decade worth of experience doing hair, including braids, and the practice she’d done on mannequins during her training assignments, meant that she very quickly found her groove.
The hovering stool was the best invention ever. She could rest her elbows and lean against the arm. It was moved by pressure she applied to the little foot stand. While she wasn’t quite used to it at first, she did quickly get comfortable with it.
The fact that Flik wanted his braids on his wrists certainly made it easier, since she just had to float in front of him and he could turn his wrists as she needed.
When she finished the last braid and sat back, she could only smile at her work. It really did look like he had tattoos. Not just because of the braids, but also in the negative space created by his skin peeking through between the braids.
He admired them excitedly, telling her how much he loved them, before making a second appointment for a couple tendays later so he could get more. He even left her a great tip before leaving.
And it turned out, she did have a lot of time between clients. But she liked that. It meant that she could fit more people into her schedule later as she got better and more comfortable.
The second client of the day was a female. She wanted braids in a floral pattern across her upper back, reaching down into a little point on her spine.
The third client was another female who asked for just a single, simple braid around one wrist, like a bracelet. She seemed nervous about the change, but when Misty finished, she was beaming at the result, proclaiming about how cute it looked.
Two very different pieces, both filled her with the same amount of satisfied pride.
And just like that, her very first day of business came to an end.
