Nape

Nape

By Nehal

Rating: PG
Summary: T'Pol experiments with art.
Notes: Entry for Quills' Contest at the House Of Tucker.

More: This story saw its birth, surprisingly enough, at the Linguistic Database, and their excellent challenge in a can. I drew the following words 'Da Vinci, Awareness, Nape,' but since my Hoshi muse was asleep I decided to apply them to T'Pol.

---*---

Solutions surround her. Water. Oil. Warp Core Sealant-

There is even a small bottle of cologne sitting on the desk, it's glass stopper still encased in protective metallic housing.

She formulates them herself. Humans cannot be trusted to get the composition exact. And for this task, as all others, precision is key.

A pink rose. It stands tall in amidst a vase of daffodils. The flowers, like everything else in the room, serve a purpose.

Utility. Purpose. Precision-

The three cornerstones of logic.

What underpins them all, however, is control. And with that thought in mind, she plucks three rose petals and places them onto a petri dish in front of her.

Two drops of oil. A milligram of sulphate-

Five milliliters of hydrochloric acid, Ph 1-

Controlled, yet at the same time, strangely primal. Art, she concedes, is beyond logic. Still, she cannot help wondering whether Da Vinci would have been as celebrated had he been Vulcan. Taking a moment to deliberate, she decides that he would not. Vulcans had, by his lifetime, long departed from art as a form of expression.

Pink. A soft, pale, earthy pink that perfectly mimics the skin behind Commander Tucker's ears-

She raises an eyebrow. This is her first attempt at paint formulation. According to her book-The Science Of Art Pigmentation- it should have taken many attempts to get the desired affect. Perhaps her experience is different because she is not human. After all, the Captain had bought this book from a human colony-

Her higher Vulcan awareness must mean that she can articulate her perceptions far easier than humans. Yes. She decides that has to be the reason. Perhaps she will note her findings to the Vulcan High Commission for further analysis.

A glass vial-

It is small, but suitable, and carefully, she pours the pigment inside. Then, just as carefully, she prepares a handwritten label, to aid future reference. It is in Ancient Vulcan, a language, she is certain no one aboard Enterprise understands. Secrecy, although not necessarily a fundamental aspect of logic, is tantamount to this task if she is to finish it without being discovered.

Once finished, the note simply reads nape.

---*---

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Four of you have made comments

so.. I get it's T/T ness.. but what does "Nape" mean????

nape is the back of the neck..
though when i first read this story i thought when she actually painted she would need to consider whether he was blushing at the time since this would affect the shading among other things.

he does blush very beautifully

:)

A very interesting observation piece. It felt like the prologue to a story. Please tell me you have a story following on from this little teaser? I want to see what T'Pol intends to paint and why she needed to capture Trip's skin colour so perfectly. Hmmm. The thought of T'Pol painting nude pictures of Commander Tucker is intriguing.... His reaction would be delicious to see! Thanks for such an unusual story, Ali D :~)

I loved this when I read it on ff.net. I love it now. :)