I recently came across a young woman who put me into a mind of thought. For those of you who are earth centric, it may surprise you to know that cosmetics are not a universal thing. Nano masks for makeup, hair dye, even how some translators can differ in appearance from small earbuds to larger animalistic ears. I myself have opted for the style that resembles mechanical elf ears. Style is always my primary concern after all. 

My point, if you’ll forgive my ramblings, is that for some species, cosmetics exist and are used, but for others, there is no real concept of altering parts of your appearance. So you can imagine how that may turn out. 

On my recent travels in less human-occupied stars I recently met a young woman by the name of Lark Ullia. Lark was born and raised on one of the many research planets in the universe. Hers in particular was on a planet with a rich marine ecosystem, so much of what made up her early memories involved a deep blue sea. 

When she left, off to become a ship's mechanic in more distant voids, she took to dying her hair a tone of blue to match the ocean. For many years she bounced around, ship to ship, until in a part of space with very few humans, she found a ship that she settled into quite nicely. Well for quite some time she stayed with that crew as the only human on board. 

Many of the crew had not heard of humans, and it's not unusual to find an unfamiliar species in any part of space, so it wasn't such a huge deal as some of you may be thinking. Small corrections to assumptions here and there, as Lark tells it, it was actually rather entertaining to watch. 

One in particular, a telepathic alien who strangely refused to give up the name of her species, was fascinated by the diet of the average space faring human. Another, Larks bunkmate, was absolutely delighted with how humans, when raised in similar environments, can handle what others would consider ‘extreme environments’ such as negative temperatures and tropic heats. 

Well, it was noticed after some time that Lark's normally blue tinted hair was beginning to fade back to its natural black, as Lark had forgotten to restock her supply of dye tablets. To the crew's mind, Larks hair was fading in colour because of her health. Afterall, what other logical conclusion is there.  So, the others hemmed and hawed over what to do, debating over the cause. 

“Perhaps she's working to much, we should give her a break” Some suggested

“No no, i’ve seen this in other species, perhaps she is missing something important in her diet” Others exclaimed. 

Well, much like among humans, miscommunications are rather important to fix as soon as possible. None would raise the issue in front of Lark, some fearing it to be the product of her emotional state and no one wanted to risk it. 

After meals upon meals, each spiced differently to be more human friendly, and work hours slimmed without a cut in pay, Lark would be foolish to not notice the odd glances among her fellow crewmates. At this point however, the reasoning for the sudden shift is completely lost on Lark. 

The thing about space travel however is that it is generally considered rather rude to ask about something not explicitly talking about. I mean, imagine a complete stranger asking about your parents marital status, or why you seem so much larger than another human they have met. The anxiety of are-we-close-enough-for-me-to-ask-without-getting-my-head-bitten-off seems to be one of the closest things to universal I have found in my years of travel. 

So, considering this, no one had really thought to ask Lark about why exactly her hair colour was fading. A taboo long held in space, and one that has both its uses and its issues considering the health of different creatures. Medics are often considered rather blunt in their questions for this reason. 

Everyone was getting rather anxious, and Lark could see it rather clearly. No one had tried to ask yet, and while Lark tried to make it abundantly clear that they could ask her anything and she wouldn't mind, she was not getting much back in terms of responses.

 While her hair was fading, that seemed to be the only thing wrong with her. As far as the rest of the crew could tell, she still had an appetite, still had plenty of energy, and was generally considered unchanged. By the time Larks hair had turned almost back to its original colour, she was starting to get tired of the fact that everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells around her. 

It was only when Lark had quite literally cornered her roommate and quite some prying that the truth at last came out. Well you can imagine the reaction, especially when Lark has described her roommate as rather emotional. 

“So you're not ill in any way?” Lark recounted her bunkmate exclaiming after Lark had finished her explanation of hair dye. 

“Not in the slightest i swear. It's just something that changes the colour of my hair.”

“Then does that mean your hair will turn back to normal soon?”

“Yes, I swear. Just as soon as we make it to a port that sells dye tablets, it's back to blue. And until then, I will be exactly the same as I always have been.”

Of course, the crew kept giving her odd looks, although they seemed to dissipate as time went on. When at last they reached a human port, the crew, although mostly calmed, did seem to give a sigh of relief when Lark appeared back on ship, hair as blue as before. 

It is rather fascinating, don't you think, not just the use of cosmetics, but how much the crew seemed to genuinely care for Lark. Although I suppose that's simply how things work on a ship that spends however many weeks in travel. I do quite enjoy hair dye myself, and often stock up on dye before any expedition. I just hope this journey will allow me to maintain my preferred hue. 

In the meantime, We press on!

Harrington, Signing off