Closed [Soothing Waters] I Kissed A Girl, And I Liked It.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

81st of Winter, 514.

Days were passing into seasons since he'd arrived in the city. Still, the training was more rigorous than anything else he'd gone through. Nothing compared to the daily hassles of monks and crowds passing through the streets of Nyka; the slums of Sunberth were harsh, but there were moments of solitude that could be snatched occasionally. Every narrow corridor of Stormhold provided yet another challenge; every person just another shouting voice to struggle past, to blank out through the stone walls that were little more than parchment in their effectiveness against the clamour that would never stop, day in or day out. He felt sorry for the other squires, the ones with bones and muscles.. but he also couldn't understand how many of them kept going after such a long time. Where on earth could they even relax for five chimes?

Then he asked them. The Soothing Waters. A place to find warmth, comfort.. and a little something extra if someone had saved up their Miza's. Well, it wasn't like they could go out and find a brothel or anything under the scrutinizing eyes of their peers. Not to mention that it wasn't as though any of them would find a bath anywhere else in the city. Just like that, the daily exercises and training sessions were completely abandoned in favour of a day of relaxation. To Hai with Ser Iros. To Hai with the Training Grounds. To Hai with all the knights for just one day. He'd never gone bathing before.

The staircases and corridors from the first tier all the way down to the third passed in little more than a blur. Likewise, the final descent to the fourth tier and up to the reception.. already pretty crowded with people and armoured knights who were looking for some time away from the hussle. The squirrel was patient then, at least.. waiting for a young employee to greet each one and direct them off without a word and plenty of smiles. He almost didn't notice the squirrel once they'd all passed on, until Archailist coughed politely. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Hello there, can I help you?"

By now, the squirrel was quite himself again. "Oh, it's no trouble. I'm looking for some time in the pool." The price was pretty surprising, regardless of the fact he'd already been tipped off by his fellow squires, because he still couldn't believe it. After all, where else in the city could one come for bathing? If there was another, he couldn't know and therefore he happily dropped off two silver Miza's on his way past. He heard something about a changing room and storage lockers on the way by but he didn't have any need of them.. funnily enough, as a Pycon, he never needed to wear clothes.. ever. He didn't need to store anything away, since he'd brought pretty much nothing with him. He was far too eager to get into the water, though it was only when he reached the edge of the pool that he noticed something a little concerning.

I'm just going to sink straight to the bottom, aren't I.

[Aventis]

Training. Day in and day out, training and rounds, training and rounds, training and rounds. As soon as the winter season arrived, every single moment was spent working his hands raw, running his feet dry. Popping blisters, picking calluses, wrapping scrapes, healing bruises, fighting fighting fighting fighting fighting. And it didn’t much help that Aventis wasn’t quite good at the whole fighting thing. Or, so his patron had told him, which was often. Never outright telling Aventis, never just letting him know, it was all sly and snide and, quite frankly, amazingly irritating.

His rounds were finished, now. He had gotten up early and took the earliest shift he possibly could, ran his rounds, gave his shifts to some other poor sap, and hauled ass straight to the Soothing Waters bath house, where, as he had been informed, the knighthood received or discounted relaxation. That sounded like a great idea. So Aventis walked in, sat himself in a bath, and was now soaking in warm water.

For free.

It was beautiful, perfect. Though not all too comfortable with his lower set of arms being out in the open, there was no complaining, and the Eypharian couldn’t deny that it felt good to not be weighed down by his stained and unwashed clothes, which were now sitting comfortably in a pile, along with his weapons, directly next to his hand. It hadn’t been long since he had gotten into the bath, a chime at most, but he could already feel the steaming water massaging his muscles, relieving his aching tendons. It felt gre-

“Pardon me, sir, but I’m afraid that the baths are currently all occupied and if any more customers would like a bath you may be asked to share your space. Have a nice bath and please pardon the announcement.” She said, obviously one of the few employees. The girl had left the area as soon as she came in and gave Aventis no chance to reply. He could hear her repeating the same message in the same tone to various other patrons softly in the distance.

Aventis bit his lip. Not really one to complain much, he kept his trepidation to himself, quickly wrapping his arms around his torso in an effort to hide them as best he possibly could. This is exactly what could ruin the one day Aventis had off.

People.

Aventis

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He stood at the edge of the bath for quite some time, debating with himself. Surely the shallow end will be fine. Even from here he could tell that a single step would just manage to slip over his head. Sitting on the edge with his legs dangling over the edge.. not only was he not even remotely tempted to try it since certain death awaited below if he slipped, but it wasn't anything close to what he'd thought about when he came in.. he'd be damned if he was going to waste his money and leave now.

Abruptly, his thoughts were halted by one of the employees stepping in and announcing that there wasn't any more space. She disappeared again before the diminutive Pycon could ask for any assistance, leaving him cursing silently as he looked out over the bath. Even walking around the outer edges, only occasionally glancing down inside and avoiding every little puddle of water on the way for fear of slipping to his doom, he was left directionless until he spotted someone all-too-familiar. How many people could boast four arms after all?

"Oh, hey Aventis. Didn't expect to see you here." The Pycon casually wandered around the edges of the pool until he stopped right next to the man, looking down occasionally to the water to check its depth. Still the same - far too deep. What kind-of pool would be less than five inches deep? Stupid question really, but the squirrel could still hope and dream.. one day. How hard would it be to just set up a smaller pool somewhere for Pycons to relax in.. even just set down a few boxes inside one of the pools for them to stand on and avoid sinking down to the bottom?

Then maybe he wouldn't have to go through such awkward conversation that was almost physically painful for the squirrel; likely just as bad or worse for Aventis. "Uh.. so, are you.. you know, enjoying yourself in there? Nice water?" Stupid question, but there really wasn't anything else to talk about in here of all places. "I.. haven't actually tried it myself, just looking for some second opinions before I.. haha, make the plunge and all that." A bold-faced lie, but he braved it and set his face to a mild smile as he glanced casually around the bath-house to avoid eye-contact.

[Aventis]

Aventis stared in utter and complete disbelief at the scene laid out before him, certain that not even two chimes ago he had ruled this exact scenario as an option. To be fair, perhaps not this exact scenario, but this was a poor substitute. The Eypharian hurried to once again hide his arms behind his back, not doing the best job considering that there was limited room to hide them, that he was fully exposed, and the water was just about as clear as freshly created glass.

“Yeah. Hi.” Aventis responded, a bit irritably, but given the circumstances justifiably so. He wasn’t much sure how to react to Archailist. He had met with the squire a few times on patrol or otherwise, and there was no denying his respect for the Pycon, but this… This might be too close. He watched the Pycon with a careful gaze as he wandered around the edges of the pool, presumably inspecting depth.

“Uh.. so, are you.. you know, enjoying yourself in there? Nice water?” He asked, to which Aventis gave a quiet nod, his cheeks turning bright in anticipation. Archailist had been walking around the edges and was now getting close to Aventis’ side, close enough to see hi-

No.

Aventis desperately shied away from Archailist, instantly forgetting his arms and using them to cover himself as he turned away from prying eyes. He stared daggers at the squirrel, who didn’t seem to much notice the Eypharian’s bashful and intent mission of saving himself from the Pycon’s eyes.

“I.. haven't actually tried it myself, just looking for some second opinions before I.. haha, make the plunge and all that.” He continued. Aventis didn’t mind the sentiment, not a bit, but it was baffling how easily forgotten the whole thing was.

“... You’re kiddi-... Alright. Okay. You can bathe here. That’s fine. What you will not do is inspect what’s here. Sound fair?”

Aventis

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Frowned just a tad at the tone Aventis took up - seemed no matter what they did together, the four-armed squire was never happy. Then again, that was the reason they'd all come to the waters.. to relax and let all those stupid worries of knighthood and protecting the city melt away for a few bells. The sooner they got to relaxing, the better.. and with that in mind, it would be better to just come out and ask for the man to help Arch into the water and let it be done with, rather than messing about with awkward formalities. With the look on his face, Aventis probably felt the same way as Arch did about this talk. Pretty embarrassing to try and force such menial small-talk out.

At first, when Aventis began to pull away along the edge of the pool, the Pycon followed diligently; after all, how was Aventis going to be able to reach out and offer a hand if he was stuck all the way over on the other end of the pool? Bizarrely, just as he thought that, all four arms sprung out and disappeared under the remarkably clean and transparent water. Oh. He's busy with something? Underwater, though? Even more bizarre than before. He couldn't really question it because it would be rude to intrude on personal business.. but then his curiosity burst through all common sense and manners yet again. "Hey, what're you doi--"

Before he could get anything else out, Aventis cut through his words like a knife and just left the squirrel even more perplexed than before. "Why would I even want to inspect what's here? I know what's here.. you, me, and a shyke-tonne of water." Seemed silly, but he nodded regardless and complied. Though he also had to admit what he'd come here for, otherwise it looked like they'd be standing around forever, getting more embarrassed with every passing moment. "Actually.. I can't bathe here. The water's too deep... and I sink." It felt terrible just admitting it - as though he was ashamed that he couldn't swim, even though there was no chance of floating on his own accord through any means.

"I was actually wondering if I could borrow one or two of your hands so that I could just dip inside.. you know, just around neck-height." As long as his nexus was kept above the line of the water, he'd be fine. "I mean, it's alright if you don't want to.. you're obviously busy with something down there." Something very important if the squire was getting so worked up over someone just seeing it. Heck, how important could it be, after all? Probably something pretty cool if he could bring it underneath the water. "I can sit on your shoulder or knee or something if you want.. I'm kind-of heavy after all." Another embarrassed smile.

"I mean, if it's so important then I won't look at it or touch it or anything, don't worry about that nonsense. I've got a towel that you can put it under if you want." Admittedly, it was a pretty small towel.. more like a little strip of a normal-sized towel since the squirrel wouldn't be able to carry a full towel around. "Is it small enough to fit under?"

[Aventis]

OOCHey, sorry it's a bit short.

“No, Archailist. It is not small enough to fit under, thank you.” He responded without a hint of sarcasm. Something about that squirrel just made it impossible for a decent encounter to be made. Today was probably the happiest Aventis had been in a very, very long time. Between training, training, rounds, Vanessa, training, and rounds, there wasn’t much else for Aventis to experience. The bathhouse was a rare treat that he wanted to enjoy.

Alone.

Or… Not alone. He didn’t mind the squirrel’s company. What he was going to mind throughout Archailist’s presence was a bit more… Immediate. But amends must be made.

Aventis sighed, cupping his hands more securely around his groin, making sure, absolutely sure, that Archailist couldn’t see it even if he wanted to. He was not ready, or willing for that matter, to know Archailist on that level yet. He couldn’t believe himself, honestly. He had never in his life pictured himself in this scenario, let alone consciously allowing it.

“Yeah… Alright. Sure.” He said, propping up his right knee and cupping his upper right hand atop it, allowing a small pool of water to seep in through his fingers and create a miniature tub for the miniature squire. Seeing as he was not quite flexible, there was a small jump to be made, which Aventis wasn’t much willing to assist with. As far as he was concerned, he was being friendly enough as is. Forgiving, as well. He was being a right good citizen.

“Hop in. Mightaswell make yourself comfortable, I don’t intend on leaving for a little bit.”

Aventis

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

The squirrel made a bit of a shrug with his shoulders and left the towel on the floor near to the lip of the pool, within easy reach should he need it.. though he didn't leave without passing another few glances down to the hands hiding the mystery. It didn't really make sense. "You sure? Looks like it'd fit under there pretty easily, but.. hey, whatever man." He raised his paws into the air - evidently Aventis was being pretty secretive and protective of whatever it was he had; though this just made the Pycon even more eager to find out what was underneath, he knew that it'd be better to just leave Aventis to whatever it was and not bother him any more if he wanted to get in the pool at all.

Already, the four-armed squire was being incredibly generous by sharing the pool and holding up the Pycon so that he could enjoy it too. The little pool made by one palm resting on the cusp of one knee was so inviting, that he almost overstepped the jump and sailed straight over it and into Aventis' lap. Thankfully he gripped onto one thumb on the way down and made sure that afterwards he could climb back inside to sit down and relax. Close one, that was. Shouldn't get so excited over this stuff. It's just a bath...

But man, what a bath. Bathing was a privilege given to few with the coin to pay for such a thing, not to mention for those that could swim.. or that simply had pools that were small enough to bask in. Something that very few Pycons could really do. Sure, you could perhaps stand in a very small stream and let the cold water wash over you.. but then again, there was no chance of the water being hot.. and standing there was just going to make you even more tense. This was lying, in a pool of hot water, relaxing. This was basking in the comfort of a hand holding him up in it, cupping his heavy body. This was pleasure.

"Thanks for this, Aventis.. I mean it, this is really helpful.." the Pycon mumbled after several content sighs while the water slowly seeped into his body, melting his body - not literally - until the squirrel felt more like a lump than an actual squirrel. He swore that he could feel it seeping into his nexus, even. All of it pooling somewhere deep in his body, filling up an empty space never before touched in a way he never could have imagined. Shyke, it was a miracle that the squirrel could even stay conscious in such a state.. yet Aventis seemed completely functional. Perhaps it all had a different effect on different people.. different species.. who knew.. who cared.

"Yeah.. I.. I'm not leaving this for a long time." The squirrel let off one more long, content sigh before tipping his head back and squeezing all the clay in his body together.. condensing it.. before opening his mouth and letting a little stream of water sprout up from his mouth and shower back down into the pool again. Aaahhhh.

[Aventis]

"Yeah. Don’t mention it.” Aventis responded, wholly unaware of the phrase’s double meaning. The Eypharian meant it quite literally.

The many-armed squire leaned against the wall of the bath, careful not to shift his hand or his knee. He sincerely wanted to work, now. He wanted to do rounds, to improve himself. He wanted to feel that ache in his bones and the irritated new skin under a popped blister rubbing against the hilt of a weapon. Pleasant? No. Better than this.

The squirrel seemed quite at home, occupying the palm of his associate. Aventis could feel the weight of the micro marsupial. Or… Perhaps only the gliding type were marsupials. Didn’t much matter.

For being so outlandishly small, the squirrel was peculiarly dense, and the Eypharian could feel it directly as his hand dipped into the water more than he first intended as a result. He, as gently as possible, moved his wrist closer to the zenith of his knee, the base of his palm resting on the precipice.

Despite his careful practice, Aventis couldn’t want this little encounter to conclude more. He respected Archailist. He was a skilled tactician and a monstrous warrior. Pugnacious on the battlefield and tactitious outside it. He was knight material, for all the Eypharian knew. And that’s all he really wanted to know. What he didn’t need to know was his bathing ritual. That he was fine with not knowing.

Sylir above, he hoped it would end soon.

“Yeah… I… I’m not leaving this for a long time.” The squirrel squire expressed, followed shortly thereafter with a long, exaggerated sigh.

Greeeaaaaat.

Chin up, Aventis… Maybe he’ll get bored…

Aventis

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He'd have to find a way to return the favor. How, he didn't know.. maybe on the way out he could book one of the private pools for Aventis later on and pass him an invitation? Then again, members of the Order got all this stuff for free any way. Oh well, who knew. Maybe he'd buy the squire a coffee or a beer or whatever they served down at the White Swan. He didn't go in there often enough to know what they served.. but he was sure he could find out with a little effort.

For now, though, he figured he might as well try a little light-hearted conversation while they were already sat there, sharing their bath together as was normal for human bathing.. it was, right? Aventis probably would have said something otherwise. "So, how has life handled you so far, Aventis? Hope.. was it Ser Utis that you squired under?" He was quite sure that was the name, he couldn't quite put his little clay finger on it though.. names just seemed to elude him at the worst times. "Anyway, hope your patron has been doing you well these past seasons. Put all those arms to good use, eh?" He cracked a funny little smile at his own joke.

"Should think the next time you and I meet in these baths, we'll both be Sergeants wondering where the time went.." Heck, the squirrel didn't need to wait that long, he could already look back at everything else and wonder how he'd found himself sitting back in the baths after five long years of traveling all over the place and never quite finding what he was looking for. Even now, sitting there on the hand of a squire being slowly pulled closer, he could only wonder where the time had gone.. and how much would be left over once he found his true calling.

"You and I will be old.. battle-worn and tired of fighting." It was how the squire felt often already. Like fighting for his life every day, struggling under Ser Iros, fighting in the corridors just to avoid being trampled, hunting down monsters and slavers and thieves terrorizing innocent people hunting and exploring in the Bronze Woods was just.. too much to handle at his age. For petch's sake, he was five already. "We'll be thinking about settling down.. starting a family, growing old with those we love and moving on." Maybe he was becoming a little bit over-dramatic on all of this. "Ha, promise me that you won't remember the fun we had."