Morning Routines

Artist Doe stretched her arms above her head as the morning sun streamed through the tall windows of Art Gallery Fortress. Her utility belt clinked softly as she walked across the polished floor toward her favorite easel.

"Perfect day for some painting practice," she said to herself, pulling out her trusty paintbrush. The bristles gleamed silver in the light.

She dipped the brush into bright red paint and made a confident stroke across the canvas. Instead of a bold red line, a thin blue squiggle appeared.

"What?" Artist Doe blinked her big, bright eyes behind her blue mask. She tried again. This time she painted with yellow, but purple dots scattered across the canvas.

Her small antlers twitched with confusion. She grabbed a green crayon from her belt and drew a circle. A wobbly orange triangle materialized instead.

"This is impossible," she muttered, staring at the backwards results. Every art tool seemed to be working in reverse.

The Solar Reflector

Artist Doe stepped back from her easel and scratched behind one of her small antlers. Something was seriously wrong with her art supplies.

"Maybe I need fresh air to clear my head," she said, tucking her backwards paintbrush into her utility belt.

She flew out through the tall windows of Art Gallery Fortress and soared over Canvas Metropolis. Below her, the busy streets buzzed with humans and other humanoid deer going about their morning routines.

A flash of silver caught her eye. On the roof of the old shoe repair shop, a woman with short black hair was setting up what looked like a giant mirror. The woman wore thick work gloves and moved with quick, precise motions.

Artist Doe landed softly beside her. "Hi there! I'm Artist Doe. What are you building?"

The woman looked up with sharp green eyes. "I'm Dr. Luna Martinez, age thirty-two. This solar reflector will boost the power to my invention downtown." She wiped sweat from her dark-skinned forehead. "It's supposed to enhance creativity in artists, but something went wrong during the test run this morning."

Artist Doe's eyes widened. "This morning? What time exactly?"

"About sunrise. Why do you ask?"