[Aquillar Hot Springs] Rampant Relaxation (Stigandr)

[Andalusia]

Sunberth - Aquillar Hot Springs
22nd of Spring, 512 AV

Surprisingly lacking in her usual hooded beige cloak, Andalusia bounded down the rolling green hills around the outskirts of Sunberth. The only thing flapping with the wind and against her shoulders and back was her magnificent head of hair; wavy, luscious, yet messy raven-black curls that fell haphazardly around her face, yet it framed her features beautifully, naturally. She had a bright smile and warm look in her eyes, an expression you'd never assume to be held by a woman armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows, easily accessible as it was strapped around her waist. She walked amiably, with purpose and confidence, the latter being a concept that has not occured often enough for her not to consider it foreign. The hot springs were her only goal and her only aim, of which she was determined to accomplish.

She was greeted by the kind old woman, Natlana, with a partially slackened jaw. She knew Andalusia to be remarkably timid and mellow, hardly ever cracking a smile wide enough to even be considered one. She also knew her to have her Luvanor with her almost everywhere she went, and here she stood with not a canine by her side. "Common," she quipped casually, already handing over the five copper Mizas as she spoke. "I take it you're in need of some relaxation, my dear?" the old woman beamed at her, more delighted than appalled by her unnaturally grinning face. "I-I'm feeling relaxed," she chuckled as she spoke, feeling no fear or reluctance to express herself, "I j-just want to treat m-myself." She stuttered still, and swallowed her words from time to time, but that was Andalusia. Thanks to the many friends and expriences that she had encountered for the past few days, she found herself with more assurance, security, and happiness. It won't be long before every single day were like this; with her smiling, enthusiastic, and at ease. "You're in luck then, love, hardly anybody has gone in today!" Natlana laughed, ushering the young girl to the changing rooms. "It's a rather slow day, I'd say, only a few have come in since this mornin', and you may just be our last customer!"

"Th-The twenty-second does s-sound like an important day, doesn't it?" she replied cheerfully, glancing over her shoulder as the old woman left her to change and hop into the springs. She loved the atmosphere of the Aquillar Hot Springs, and most especially the service. If she were any closer to Natlana, she may as well be her vision of a mother. Quickly, she removed her torsolette, her shorts and her boots, folding and arranging them neatly inside one of the storage chests in the changing room. She was alone, yet she didn't feel loneliness. There was no silence, as the sound of dripping, trickling, and gushing water echoed through out the area. It was too peaceful, it would be impossible for one to make room for stress and sadness as long as they were here. After storing her weapons, she quickly padded over to the spring, where the heat struck her so suddenly that she had to pause and close her eyes for a moment. Slowly this time, she took gentle steps towards the edge of the steaming waters, the fogginess causing her cheeks to flush and her eyes to grow heavy. She moved as if any abrupt act could cause an explosion, yet the excited grin on her face told an entirely different story. With her eyes still shut from beforehand, she sighed silently as her feet entered the warm, soothing waters one after the other, until she was completely immersed from the chest down with the delightful spring waters. She told herself to open her eyes, gaze at the magic of the hot springs, but she just couldn't! She had to feel before she could see. For a moment, she wondered if there were any other people in the spring already, as Natlana did not mention that there weren't any others, but only a few. She distinctly did not recall seeing anybody inside, or hear anyone speak, but she had her eyes closed the rest of the way, and the fog often did deceive her.

RECEIPT-5 CM for Common Springs.

[Stigandr]

It was one thing to be caught in the rain, to feel the water running down one's skin in small trickles and rivers, dragging away the dirt with them as they went. It was something else entirely to be in a hot spring. It was a new feeling for the Kelvic. Feeling such warm water around him like this was almost...magical? Hypnotic? He was not sure what would described it best, just that is was amazing. The short time he was with him mom, he had of course taken a bath when told, but it was usually colder water and just enough to bring up and around to bath him, not even enough to cover most of his body. Here, there was so much water in the springs he could slide down fully immersed in hot liquid, feeling it creep over every inch of skin that he gave to, feeling his muscles relax more and more with every second, every minute loosening the tension in his neck and back. He was glad he had come here. The lady who had greeted him was nice and pleasant enough, not asking a lot of questions, just making small talk with him about the weather and things in the city. Stigandr got the feeling she knew more than she let on, but he did not pursue that train of thought. He had paid his money and moved into common springs where no one was and had stripped his meager clothing of a shirt, pants, sandals and the bandage, lying them aside out of the way, sinking into the water. That was a couple of chimes ago and time had slipped by without much activity. That is until he heard faint noises. He could not make anything out with the ambient noise around him and the steam in the air dampening sound. Slowly the voices faded away, but he still continued to listen and watch, though it was futile with all of the noise and how thick the steam was. Even his eyesight was not good enough if he could not see through the mess in front of him. Already his muscle were tensing with an unknown person here. He should be calm, and he knew that, but something unknown would always put him on edge. Slowly he began to move through the water, trying to make as little noise as possibly, thankfully most of any noise he made probably covered up by the noise of the spring around him. Slowly the other side came into view and he saw someone already sitting in the spring, relaxing with the water up to their shoulders and neck, their eyes closed. It was Andalusia! A new companion he had just met only eight days ago. She looked so at peace, he was not sure if he should say anything so he turned and began to move away again, trying to stay quiet once more. At least now he would be able to relax and stay calm, knowing the other person here meant no harm to him.

[Andalusia]

Finding confidence in the solace of being alone, Andalusia began to hum a soft tune. It was slow, and much like a lullaby, one that seemed to date back to the days when one was so youthful, that only the smallest snippets of your experiences remain clear in your brain, and the entirety of the occurence remains a distant blur, a lingering sensation. For the raven-haired girl, that song was what was left of her father, on her first stormy night, when she had trouble sleeping. It was a tune you could dance to, slowly, or fall asleep in. Nonetheless, it reduced her into an incredibly distracted, dream-like state as she ran her fingers through her wet hair, her eyes relaxed and shut. All she could hear was the sound of water cascading rapidly down a little waterfall, fueling the hot spring's magnificent waters, and the sound of her humming. Nothing could ever upstage the peace that the hot springs brought her, from the stillness of the water to the delightful sights and sounds.

She felt subtle, yet noticeable ripples make their way towards her, causing the waters to lap gently at her collarbone. Too serene to take notice, she continued to comb at her hair and hum, oblivious to the slowly approaching Stigandr. But the ripples continued to come in organized intervals, from left to right, as if someone was wading through the waters. Just as the Kelvic was about to disappear into the mist, Andalusia's eyes shot open to view his torso partially clouded in the hot steam. She yelped in surprise, fear rising up her body from her toes to her head, causing a ringing sensation in her ears, and a painful pang to her heart. Tingles ran up her spine as she jolted up, one arm going around her chest, the other reaching up for her hand to cup her mouth. Her eyes quickly looked up to find a strikingly familiar face: Stigandr's. "A-A, uh, u-uhm..." she rambled nonsense as she struggled to find the words to speak, "h-hi." She squeaked, slinking back down into the warm waters as she spoke, all the way down until only her eyes were left, wide and embarrassed. She wondered, could her blush be seen even behind the steamy silver curtain she had herself submerged in?

[Stigandr]

He heard someone...squeak...that was the best word he has to describe the noise he head. He turned around and saw as she covered herself up in the way humans do when embarrassed by nakedness, her hand covering her mouth to silence herself as she slid down into the water, mumbling random words the entire way down until only her eyes were showing, random strands of her hair floating around her head in a wild fashion. He moved back towards her, the water giving way before him as he pushed through it, stopping a few feet from her and kneeling in the water in front of her, tilting his head to the side curiously. His eyes look into hers, watching her with animal curiosity and intensity. "You should sit up so we can talk. Andalusia. You have no reason to hide from me." He waited for her to sit up and talk, the steam rising off of the water around them, making the air thick and blurry, yet pleasant to sit in. The heat was relaxing and felt great to the horse Kelvic, feeling his sore muscles relaxed by the heat, easing the pain of daily life. This really was wonderful, something he wished he had started doing sooner than now. As he waited, he suddenly went underwater and waited a moment, coming back up, the water plastering his hair to his head as it cascaded down his body, the sound of water drops breaking the waters surface echoing dully in the steam of the springs. This small action of going under into the hot water brought a rare smile to his face; rare because it was not natural for him more than he had no reason to smile.

[Andalusia]

Andalusia's eyes followed Stigandr's movements as she kept her flushed cheeks, as well as the rest of her body, completely submerged. She made the mistake of trying to speak again, only to have her words come out in bubbles, popping as the rose up towards the warm waters. He was moving towards her slowly, spending his sweet time as he waded closer and closer, giving her more than enough time to take in the fact that he was present, and the fact that he was completely, utterly, drenched and naked. Her cheeks burned so much that the waters began to cool around it, the steam rising around her could better yet be credited to her feverish body, rather than the spring itself.

Before she could even let out another squeak, Stigandr had his face so close to hers, with his eyes gazing right at her as he spoke. "You should sit up so we can talk. Andalusia. You have no reason to hide from me," he said casually, as he backed off a little bit. "N-No r-reason? I-I'm... I'm naked!" she thought anxiously as he watched him. He stood before her as if their lack of clothing meant nothing at all. She wanted to watch the little droplets of water that trickled down his arms, neck, and chest, but instead fixed her eyes on his rugged face. She watched in silence as he submerged himself in the water and came back out even more drenched than before, and with even more droplets that were vying for her attention. "Great," she thought to herself, flinching at the sound of splashing. She rose up gently, stopping just after her collarbone, her cheeks clearly red in embarrassment. "S-So, wh-what brings y-you, here?" she managed, as she held her arms together to prevent him from seeing her tremble.

[Stigandr]

Stigandr watched as her body stayed mostly submerged, settling himself down comfortably in front of her, his eyes watching her intently. She seemed almost ready to flee from him, like she was scared or uncomfortable. Her cheeks still held a soft red color, making her face contrast with the rest of her exposed body, "I came here out of curiosity and to relax and maybe wash up a bit. Why are you here?" Sitting in front of her, Stigandr waited for her reply, his eyes followed the wet tendrils of hair as they went down the frame of her face, sticking to the side of her neck and shoulders. "Do you want to go eat with me after this? I am getting hungry and would like your company if you want to come with me." Moving back away from her, Stigandr began to wash up, running his hands over his arms and chest, bringing up fresh hot water every few seconds to enjoy the fresh heat. Slowly Stigandr dipped under water and came back up, running his hands through his hair, his fingers squeezing out the water in his strands. As he finished, he looked back towards Andalusia, waiting for her reply as to what they would do, stay here and keep one another company for now or leave to get something to eat.