One Girl’s Trash is Another Girl’s Treasure (Haasha 20)

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I had been approached by Rosa and Susan as they wanted to have a discussion with me of a personal and delicate nature. They brought me to Rosa’s office and closed the door which got me a little worried.

Nearly all my recent experiences in offices resulted in lectures, such as yesterday’s stern health reminder from Doctor Franklin on what is food and what is not food complete with pictures a toddler could understand. Considering I ended up in a diaper after a recent munchie mishap, I couldn’t blame him. That entire situation was a massive personal embarrassment as I violated a core spacer rule - just because something looks like food that doesn't mean it is. Act like a toddler, get spoken to like one.

Getting taken to another office with not one but two of my bosses for a private conversation? My tail drooped and dragged on the floor as I expected the worst.

I was confused as Rosa launched into an explanation of the scientific properties of my fur, with graphs and comparative analysis provided by Susan. I was introduced to the various natural fibers found on Earth, including cotton, silk, and wool. Each had advantages and disadvantages.

According to their analysis, my fur has similar properties to something called wool when it comes to retaining warmth. However, it is superior in softness that doesn’t fade or get scratchy. Silk is superior in sheen to other natural and artificial fibers but is easily damaged if it gets wet. Cotton is a traditional and popular natural fabric that has a variety of uses. My fur had less sheen than silk but naturally repels water and compared to cotton my fur was softer and more breathable.

It was an impressive presentation, if a teeny bit embarrassing when Susan presented slides showing how my fur could stand up to repeated washings without significant fading or damage. Why the heck would I wash my fur repeatedly? Did I really need to know that I could take 100 showers in a row with heavy detergents and my fur would remain in good condition?

“While this is all interesting to learn, how’s this a delicate situation?” I asked. “This all sounds like some fun science, and if you’re looking to get permission to mention my name in a paper or something comparing human clothing to my natural fur it’s fine with me.”

“Well… we don’t want you to get upset or mad,” Susan said hesitantly. “We know that your people are sometimes unfairly blamed for causing havoc with environmental systems, so anything related to your fur and cleaning up after it can be a bit touchy.”

A look of mild irritation came over my face. “Yes, but you humans don’t seem to be bothered by it at all. What’s so difficult that you needed to make this big presentation?”

“I may have been collecting your fur with some of my cleaning bots,” Rosa finally admitted with a guilty look.

I cocked my head to the side and looked at her with confusion. Why the heck would she do that?

Then she blurted out, “It’s so soft and comfy I was wondering if it would make a good cloth, so I cleaned the samples and put them through a fabricator.”

She then pulled a piece of pink cloth out of her pocket and handed it to me. It was just a little square about five centimeters wide, but I had to admit my fur weaved into an impressive cloth. Even if it was incredibly weird to be holding a patch of cloth made out of… me.

“I know this might be a little strange, but I’d like to try to make myself a scarf. But I don’t want to go behind your back or make you mad,” Rosa continued with pleading desperation in her eyes. “I don’t want you to do anything, just let me program some more bots to separate out and save bits of your fur that you naturally shed while on the ship. It’ll take a while, but I think it would be absolutely awesome to have a scarf. But if you’re not cool with it, I totally understand and don’t want to upset you. While your fur is scientifically superior, you’re too awesome to risk either our professional or personal relationships.”

I stared at the sample of cloth, then at Rosa and Susan. My stomach churned a little bit. It was weird, but there was also a part of me that was a bit curious and flattered. “Alright. You can make one scarf, but if anybody asks you got one dyed to match my fur as a compliment. You don’t tell them it’s actually my fur. I don’t want anyone rushing to shave me or any of my species. And if things get too weird, this whole idea goes into the recycler.”

Rosa nodded enthusiastically and Susan let out a little giggle of relief. “Oh, and Susan? Let’s keep this comparative analysis among friends.” I then left to head up to my quarters. I had the afternoon off, and lots of human movies to explore.

A few hours later, I had finished two movies and got up from my bed with a nice stretch. I opened my door and stepped out into the hall intending to head to the refresher. I noticed there was a cleaning bot outside but didn’t think much of it until it started following me at a discreet distance. Curious, I passed the refresher and it kept following. I reversed and went back to my quarters. The bot stayed put, but once I got about 5 meters away it started following me again. I bolted down the corridor and stopped after reaching the stairs up to the galley. The cleaning bot zipped after me and stopped just over 5 meters away.

“ROSA!” I bellowed out at the top of my lungs. We needed to have a talk.

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Quick story, quick State of the Haasha update! Currently, I have about 20 stories planned out before getting to a good "end of book 1" moment. Once things get to that point, I'll see where things are both from new ideas and audience. Interest in a series always drops off as it goes on, and it's harder to pull in new readers. If you like what you read, please drop an upvote to let me know to keep working on Haasha. And if something bugs you? This is my first series. Please don't just downvote, also leave a comment or send me a direct message so I can learn and improve! In either case, be aware that I'm going to try to post other one-shots and different things more often (like Leave no witnesses) to explore other writing avenues, but I plan to stick to 1-2 Haasaha stories per week minimum. A certain pink menace demands it. Cheers, and may the power of fur compel you!