[ OPEN ] Hot Springs Episode!

[shri]

CHARACTERS: EVERYONE
WHERE: The Second Flight
WHEN: DAY :022
SUMMARY: The Sauna!
WARNINGS: Nekkid times.

[ A few hours after the murder, she hasn't blown the ship up, and here they are. Another knock knock on everyone's brain: ]

( For those of you that are interested - I have secured us a place at the Sauna. Free for us to be use without interruption from outsiders.

You are to be clean before you come in. )

[ Maybe you're here because she bullied you, maybe you want to soak - maybe you're the poor bastard that is standing guard at the door. Either way, welcome to the Suana, have fun. Or don't. ]

Comments

[huntsmachines]

The opportunity to get out of constricting robes and to finally let her skin breathe without worrying about someone seeing her or giving the game away is an overwhelming relief to Aloy. She's missed being able to let the sun and wind touch her skin. Without it, she doesn't quite feel like herself! She's one of the first here in her eagerness to be free of her robes for once. It's been weeks! Aloy can barely contain the excited energy that's humming through her.

Her robes are left near the edge of the pool inside easy reach and she sinks down into the hot pool. Eyes half closed, she sighs happily as the water of the hot spring soaks into her skin. As she feels the faint disturbances from the water as another joins her, she opens her eyes to smile.

"Nice, isn't it? I feel a bit more like myself." She chuckles at the new arrival, heedless of her own nudity (or theirs). She's not going to bring up the murders. At least not yet.

[shiro2hero]

From where he'd sat himself, on the edge of the pool, all he can see is the back of her shoulder. Which works out great for him. Him and his shirt-and-rolled-up-pants wearing nonsense. He figures he'll just cite the arm and leave it there, if asked.

But this is Aloy, and he can relax a bit, where she's concerned.

"Well all owe Lakshmi big time for this one. I'm not sure I want to know how she managed to pull these strings."

[shiro2hero]

[There's a sense of gratitude toward Lakshmi's mind. They all definitely need something like this. After the last few days. After everything that's happened. All the death and intrigue and potential for disaster.]

[He'll just... have to make use of it when no one else is around. Hopefully it won't be that big of a task. Maybe when others are "resting". And, you know, not there to poke at anything he doesn't particularly want poked at.]

[So yes, when the bath looks empty, he'll be easing into the room.]

[You'll either find him (a) at the edge of the pool, in pants and a shirt, dangling his feet in the water idly. Or (b) up to his waist in the water, wearing a towel around his shoulders, still in his pants. As close to undressed as he's going to get.]

[And trying not to make much noise.]



((ooc: whoop my only topless icon, also I'll match format!))

A!

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam is definitely not wearing a towel. Or anything, a fact which the steam and heavily scented water doesn't really make any less obvious. He's clearly comfortable in his own skin - something Shiro's probably well aware of by now, but it seems it extends outside of the bedroom. His mind is calmer and more relaxed than it's been in a while, and though there's still a dull ache of grief and mistrust - it's distant and faint, far out of focus.

At the moment he's pleasantly warm, muscles relaxed, and he moves through the water easily when he spots Shiro. He nudges at Shiro's legs until he can slide between them, lazily resting his arms on Shiro's thighs as he leans against the edge of the pool. ]

I think you're kind of missing the point of this, sweetheart.

>> b

[otrazhenie]

[ It's been about a week since she'd lamented over not being able to use the sauna tents that had been set up after one of the days of competitions, so now that this opportunity has presented itself, Elena's making use of it. She's not entirely comfortable with showing off all of her assets though, so when she steps into the room, she's wrapped in a towel, her hair twisted up off her neck. The damp heat of the room clings to her skin as she looks around, spotting a very familiar figure in the water, and she doesn't hesitate to walk over to the edge of the pool beside him. ]

Mind if I join you?

b

[shri]

[ She has absolutely no interest in that kind of modesty. Obviously so, wearing the water like the only clothes she'd ever bothered to have. She is so very comfortable, right now, her arms hooked back and open against the pool ledge, legs curling loosely in the water. ]

Something the matter, Shiro?

[ She's smiling, if faintly, enough to say she might be teasing. ]

[miscreant]

Pre-Naked

[Lakshmi's mental message is pinged back with some strange bit of feedback from Seviilia, a mixture of curiosity and some gratitude.

By now, Seviilia had discovered that there were a few individuals who were perhaps a bit more conservative than she when it came to matters of the flesh. She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised -- to the dead, the flesh was merely a vessel and a tool to be used. A necromancer saw bodies in all different stages of consumption and clothing.

So when she first arrives, she occupies one of the chairs herself to soak up the warmth. Most of her time was being spent with Murphy at the present, but this was the sort of thing that demanded her attention. It was rare that she was able to spend time among this sort of warmth, and she was not about to let it pass her by.

Her veils and robes are eventually half-removed to make her intent known to the others sharing the space with her. If they didn't want to be around when she took to the water, the best have their fill of it.]

Post-Naked

[And, as warned, Seviilia eventually takes the opportunity to descend into the water, completely bare as the day she had been born. There were some marked differences between then and now, like the glowing runes all along where the eyes could see and the tell-tale signs of death at the furthest points of her body.

If she could ever truly be at peace, this was the fastest way.

Predictably, her eyes close and she remains firmly planted where she is not long after she descends beneath the water's surface. She is completely unbothered when she is joined by another, so much so that for a moment, she might actually look dead -- for good.]

pre-naked

[shiro2hero]

[That... is sure Seviilia walking in. And she is sure making to take everything off. He makes a face, hopefully hidden in all the steam, and, as per usual, ends up averting his eyes. Which should surprise no one, considering he's sitting on the edge of the water, with only his legs dangling in.]

[Still wearing a shirt and rolled up pants.]

Have you been all right?

[He hasn't seen her since the Hunt. And, admittedly, after everything that happened, he'd... been concerned.]

post-naked obviously

[calhar]

[ Even if he wasn't paying much attention, which he isn't, the glowing runes would make the figure at the other end of the small pool difficult to miss. Mat hesitates out of simple curiosity as he's about to slip into the water, squinting through the low light and trying to make out the rest of her features — the pointed ears, the strange off-color skin.

None of those are good things, frankly. He's reminded of other sharp features and sharp ears that had been matched by sharp teeth and far worse tricks, and for a moment he's seriously considering leaving. It isn't so much a testament to how much he's grown when he decides against it as it is proof that he's more stubborn than he is smart. He's earned a soak in a hot tub, thank you very much.

He isn't careful enough to keep his doubts from muddying up the mental link, cool and wary — but as soon as he's waist-deep in water, those doubts take on a different tone. He's no healer, but blue skin is usually a bad sign, and since he's noticed her he hasn't seen any tell-tale rise and fall of her chest. Doesn't help that they've already found corpses lounging around in these pools, either. After a very long pause: ]

Hello?

[ Are you dead, y/n. ]

post naked and idk after she surfaces wild cards the hell out of this

[shri]

[ She doesn't follow her down - where she's settled comfortably, Lakshmi might have spent a youth playing in the deep waters of a river, but she knew her own limits when it came to such things. The creature could stay down there as long as she wished.

But when she rises, Lakshmi is there, curiously looking - at all, not just her face, but all of her. Sitting at the edge of the sauna, lazily drawing her fingers back and forth across the water surface that reach from her to Seviilia in a rippled connection. Curious, wary, of course always, but mostly she leans that little forward. A little more alert and little less languid. ]

So, she immerges.

[skaikru]

I. butts on butts on butts ( open | day 22 )

( lakshmi summons, and it’s mostly curiosity that tugs clarke along in the wake of her invitation. she’s never been in a sauna before; had stumbled upon the entrance to the hot springs during her initial walk around the public parts of the second flight and been struck by the powerful scent of aromatic lavender; intoxicated, intrigued. but their concealment was the most important aspect of this mission, that had been pressed into her mind, and clarke hadn’t wanted to push her luck. but now, with the promise of some semblance of privacy and a nice long soak… well, it’s not as if she has anything better to do. sitting on her bed in the berthings or delving into the sea of suspicious stares that seemed to have flooded every hallway seemed distinctly less pleasant than lounging in lavender bathwater.

so catch her ( a ) right inside the privacy screens, already a little hot under the collar from the humidity that hung in the air like a blanket, and peeling off the hood of her costume to reveal thinly disguised skepticism. opening her mouth to reveal blatant skepticism. )

We’re not contaminating the crime scene, are we?

( or ( b ) closer to the pools, going through the now familiar motions of stripping headscarves. gloves, and shoes, placing them neatly on a rocky ledge before — looking a little too far over to the left to catch sight of others stripping down even further. significantly further.

she’s not blushing, it’s the steam rising from the spring. )

They’re naked. ( blunt, eyes a little wide. totally staring for a second before her gaze rockets upward, focusing anywhere but(t) on the fellow pool goers. whatever illusions of privacy clarke had maintained are crumbling, and she notices a line of neatly folded towels off to the side, but not a trace of any waterproof apparel. ) I thought there would be swim suits.

( or ( c ) sitting all moody-like in the water, hunkered up to her neck, legs and arms crossed, and desperately, desperately avoiding eye contact or conversation with anyone. this feels nowhere near as relaxing as she’d wistfully hoped. )

II. can we be friends again now please ( closed | day 22 )

( it’s sometime later, after her first bout in the steaming, heavily perfumes waters and all the strangled anxiety of being naked and vulnerable in the midst of a large group of people. eventually the heat had gotten to her head, and clarke had crawled from the water to sit on a rock, wrapped in one of the large, fluffy towels they had been provided with. somehow even the stones all around them felt warm and inviting, and it was so incredibly easy to tip her head back against a smooth patch of rock and close her eyes. the warm waters had done absolute magic for the knots in her should she hadn’t even realized were there, and despite all the unpleasantness of the last few days that festered in the back of her mind, this is arguably the most relaxed she’s been in weeks. maybe even months. there was no hard in prolonging that sensation for a little while longer.

she doesn’t exactly snooze, but seems content to sit for a while. rolling water droplets dry, humidity sweat take its place. when she’s moved to stand again, considering returning to the berthings for a nap, it’s to find that her entire body feels sticky and gross. and while not a long walk back to their sleeping quarters, donning all the various layers of their caribouschian disguises sounds unpleasant.

just one more dip, clarke decides. a short one. and sets to wandering deeper into the maze of grotto’s lakshmi’d had quartered off for their own private use. she ought to have just started in one of these more secluded areas and saved herself the bother, but hindsight’s 20/20. finally feeling far enough removed from the bulk of the naked nest, clarke rounds one more corner with the intention of sliding directly into the pool, only to belatedly realize — nope, it wasn’t empty. nope, it was occupied by one bellamy blake.

bellamy whom she hadn’t spoken to in a handful of days, days that seemed to stretch past their logical time restraints. long days that felt like weeks, enough time to freeze on the edge of the water and immediately feel… awkward. bellamy whom she’d stared at across the stretch of beds in the berthings, hoping to catch his eye, or see some signal that the angry feelings from lexa’s tent were behind them. clarke had considered approaching him once or twice, trying to soothe over hurt feelings and return to some semblance of normal, but he’d always seemed to get up and leave the room before she could work up the nerve. but now here he was, with only a few feet of dark, rosehip scented water and rocks between them.

clarke just looks at him, for what feels like too long of a time without saying anything. do you want me to leave? curls up on her tongue, but — no. she doesn’t want to retreat, not after the last few days. not having bellamy at her side, or at least approachable felt… horrible. she needs to tell him that when she’d told him to take a walk, she’d meant for him to come back after. )

Are you still upset with me?

III. wildcard, kiddos!

( idk, come make fun of her )

I (b)

[wille]

[ The least she could do is cover her most private parts with any of the folded towels lying about, or cover her conspicuous scar with her hands, or angle herself such so as not to impose her nakedness upon another person, or at least feign a smidgen of discomfort for sympathy's sake. Of course, she does none of this. Instead she stands in her skin with as much confidence as a fully-armored woman, one hand on her hip, wearing only an amused smile at Clarke's expense. Mind, there's little in the way of meanness in the way she speaks next, only light teasing, her mind as relaxed as the tone of her voice. It isn't that she has forgotten their previous altercation as much as it doesn't matter anymore. Her moods shift like the weather. ]

Now's the time to ask the intimate questions. Ever heard that saying?

[ She impresses the meaning upon the girl's mind: hadaka no tsukiai. A relationship stripped of pretense, what happens when two people face each other having left all worldly trappings in the locker. Point made, she eventually starts walking toward one of the smaller isolated pools nearby, testing the water with her feet before stepping in slowly. ]

C'mon. It's not fair if I'm naked and you're not.

I (c)

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ It's a hell of a relief not to have to wear all those layers. Sam's used to dressing mostly for freedom of movement, and their disguises make it pretty damn difficult. So he's at ease after he'd stripped out of his outfit, limbs loose and lax as he lounges in the water with a tray of fruity drinks on the rocks next to him.

As comfortable as he is with his own nudity, though, he's more than aware that's not the same for everyone, and for the most part he doesn't let his gaze linger on anyone. Until he spots Clarke within conversation distance, looking like she's regretting her current existence.

His eyes remained focused on hers - or technically, on her cheekbones just below her eyes, out of habit from working with too many soldiers who were either uncomfortable with prolonged eye contact or took it as a challenge - as he smiles slightly. ]

Takes some getting used to, huh?

Ib

[calhar]

[ Mat's still in the process of stripping when Clarke notices the obvious — sans the outer robes, having just discarded a small pile of discretely hidden daggers, still wearing the under layers. His response is delayed while he drags the vest off, leaving his hair mussed and his scarf crooked.

He tugs it back into place before following her (now diverted) gaze towards the pools. He isn't particularly offended or anxious about it; exasperated, maybe, but only a bit. ]

Swim suits?

[ It was kind of skinny dip or bust back home, lbr. ]

OTA, feel free to threadjack etc

[gunlock]

A. THE USUAL CARNAGE (TOO SOON)

[here is someone who despite everything is still, very much, a kid at heart. thirty years old? with the idea that there's no eternal night, that there's actual food, and his freckles are more visible on his pale skin, he wants to enjoy what little comforts he can get.]

[for all those wondering: prompto is team towel]

'ey, welcome.

[he greets casually, an innocent smile on his face, as he stands outside the privacy screens--or close to the pool. listen, any place is fair, and it's clear by his twisting a towel between his hands what exactly he's up to. surely, this blond, naked but for a towel wrapped tightly around his waist and mending injuries on his body couldn't possibly be up to no good...]

[if you engage... get ready to fight him. all in good fun, of course!]

B. CALM WATERS, NO MORE SMACKING

Aahh...

[eventually, prompto tires of his game (or someone pulled a fast one on him and he got too embarrassed to keep it up) and retires into the pools of the sauna]

I had a good run.

[he says cheerily, arms over the edge as he lets himself bask in the soothing, warm waters. showering before coming in was a blessing--soaking in an actual sauna? a luxury.]

[at another occupant of the pool, he turns his head]

Can't say how I feel about bathing in the same pool someone bled out in, but I'm tryin' not to think about it too much.

[not...the best conversation, but. this is prompto. take him or leave him.]

the butt smack prompt

[somnifacient]

[Here stands Noctis, towel neatly wrapped around his waist. He is eying that towel in his best friend's hands warily, kind of half-scooting along the side as he edges his way towards the pool. One must never show his backside to Prompto when he's so obviously plotting something.]

Yeah, don't even think about it, Prom.

[Last thing he needs is a whack on the ass and him jumping and making his towel slip off or something, okay. Still, he's obviously holding back a grin, because his attempts at being Serious never seem to hold up.]

finally a reason for topless icons

[calhar]

[ Mat's been salty about being locked out of the sauna since the pilgrimage started, so his showing up at the ship's saunas is a given. There's some moral quandary around the issue of stripping naked in front of women, but a) they've already got access to his brain, which is arguably more invasive and b) he's learned to put up with the Aiel running around stark naked for every weak excuse they can manage. This isn't any different.

At the (a) poolside, he's stubbornly casual about stripping regardless of who's around. He tries to fold his robes for the first time ever, which is kind of a moot point after a few days of disregard. Once he's down to the underlayers, it takes him a moment to dig out six daggers — from the waist, his sleeves, his boots. He puts two, three, five in a messy stack on top of the robes, then reconsiders on the last one. Might be a little awkward to hold onto it, but also: murders. He's weighing one absently in his hand when he hears footsteps, and the only reason he doesn't startle is because the mental link says ally. ]

How safe do you think it is, really?

[ The answer's kind of obvious. If two people are dead, not very. Admittedly, he's also having some (strangely cautious) doubts about whether they should all be shucking their disguises in the current climate.

Mat isn't precious about keeping his pants on, but he does hesitate when he gets to the black scarf on his neck. He's still wearing it when he gets (b) in the pool, and the moisture makes both the fabric and his scar itch. He ends up fidgeting with it more than usual, gently shifting the fabric or pulling it away from his skin. It makes his effort to close his eyes and doze off while sitting in the pool futile, but that doesn't stop him from trying. He doesn't take it off, either. ]

B!

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ It's probably not all that safe, honestly, but at the moment Sam's willing to overlook that in favor of actually spending a decent amount of time out of that damn disguise, and trying to relax a little.

And it's working, at least for him, enough that his mind is just a faint, contented hum as he slides back into the water after getting something to drink, unconcerned with his lack of clothing or anyone else's. It's then that he spots Mat tugging at his scarf, and raises an eyebrow.

He's not gonna ask why don't you just take off the scarf if it's bugging you so much because, well. Obviously he's got a reason, if he's willing to be uncomfortable instead of removing it. ]

One of the smaller towels might be a little more comfortable wrapped around there wet, man. [ There's a pause, as he realizes that it's unlikely Mat'll get the reference he's gonna make, and then goes for it anyway, teasing. ] ...unless your head's gonna fall off if you untie it, and then damn keep the scarf on.

[shri]

I. TAKING A DIP

[ It is entirely selfish - organising all of this. Quartering off this section of their party. But at least she deigned to share this - desperately wanted thing. A memory of a time and place that she hadn't had in decades now. Maybe not quite the same - not her ladies, not often as she liked, no ability to dye fingers after they are freshly cleaned, but when she's - first in, stripped off to her skin and scars and untangled long black hair that she submerges herself all the way down. It might not be the same but after decades and decades slithering through gutters and trudging through mud a filth, and then the dust of the pilgrimage, it's a pure and utter relief that sings high as a hymnal praise.

The only thing that stays on her body, is the long silver chain with a phial around her neck that sits heavy between her breasts.

When she rises her head up out of the water, she's sodden and for once - there is something visibly relaxed to her. Doesn't bother to seek out conversation as she wades her way back to the edge of the pool. Her hair shifting out black tendrils across the water's surface as she hooks her arms against the Sauna pool's edge, tilting her head back, closing her eyes and letting herself drift off. The low fire of her mind is settled low, a steady contentment, the steady breeze through a high up window.

Disturbing her for at least the next ten minutes is at your own risk. ]

II. POOLSIDE

[ When she finally gets sick of laying in the wate. She pulls herself up and lays out a towel on the edge of the pool. Happily immodest, her eyes shut, her knees hook one over the other to curl her legs up and over herself, swinging back and forth in a lazy, content doze. The ugly exit wound of a scar on her right shoulder a spider webbed mess of white raised line to match the old bites and scratches deeper across her body.

Every so often she takes a clay bowl and tilts her head into the water so her hair falls into the water - and tips it over her head so it becomes sodden again. Turning her head back, settling more comfortably. Until the next time she does it - the bowl slips from her hand, bobbing across the surface of the pool. She tries desperately to swat for it as much as she doesn't want to lift herself up further than her elbows. So far as the movement just sends it further away - which, with a sigh, she looks up at the closest person, up on elbows, legs curled up, steam collecting on skin. She's still, extraordinarily content. ]

Do you mind getting that for me?

[gunlock]

[?? on it, boss]

[if lakshmi were just a tiny bit more aware of her surroundings, she would feel this coming miles away. but as she is--and should be--she's content in her little corner of heaven. too content to notice the patter of feet rushing on wet, ceramic tiles, and the battle cry of a haWK--]

Naga scales!

[whatever that means,,]

[but in he drops, a cannonball of catastrophic proportions, disturbing, in fact, what should have been a lovely, restful situation for lakshmi and others. he surfaces from the waves of destruction (one could think leviathan had been in charge of) shaking his head quickly like an overly excited puppy, laughing, unawares of his impending doom]

[redheadcarrier]

On the Way In

[ Just the idea of being able to take a long, hot soak after the dust and filth of the pilgrimage so far is a relief. They've been able to wash, but it's usually been with damp clothes. This seems much more relaxing to Asuka. The idea that she can just try to forget about the grief that's still a sharp ache in her chest and let herself float. To be free for a short while before she has to get back into the stifling robes and veils and return to this elaborate game of pretend. In fact, it's a relatively fond memory of the time she visited a hot spring in Japan. It hadn't been nearly as crowded though nor with so many people.

Besides, she doesn't want to dwell on Misato or Ikari at the moment. (Un)fortunately for her there's definitely something that jogs her attention as she arrives behind the privacy screens to start undressing. It's not just the women of the Nest, is it? She freezes up for a moment, her head-dress in hand, staring at the hustle and bustle of those members of the Nest who have come down here. There's a slow flush creeping into her cheeks and she rounds on the nearest person with an indignant yell that's almost more of a squawk. ]

Why are the boys here?

[ Poor Asuka. ]


Steam and Heat

[ Despite herself, Asuka has settled low into the water, her good eye glaring balefully at any member of the male gender who happens to come into her line of sight. Her hair is spread out in the water around her as she tries to keep herself relatively modest. She's definitely not getting out anytime soon. At least not while there are people who might stare at her. She's a touch resentful at this point - she can't even soak properly! She has to keep an eye out for nefarious sneaks. She's folded in on herself, clearly trying to force herself into some sort of binary relaxation-hyper aware state. Bah.

She squints, eye narrowing in a glare as she catches someone's eye. ]

What are you looking at?

Wildcard

[ You know the drill! ]

[sistershoggoth]

Eh? Who cares if the guys are around?

[ She's somewhat less drunk than she was. Someone was kind enough to let her slosh a bit of her inebriated self-pity into their cup, and she's at a better equilibrium, turning her head to talk lucidly with Asuka. ]

[ophidia]

[It's the idea of a sauna on an airship that draws Richard in initially. The place might as well be a flying palace for everything else it seems to contain, like an fully upgraded version of those private jets you read about, but a sauna seemed one step too far. Luxury to the point of ostentation, but maybe that was the point. They were all supposed to be impressed into submission (for what?)

Not that Richard can pretend he isn't impressed, when he makes his way to the sauna and finds a whole network of damn hot springs instead of the wooden boxes he'd been expecting. After that, it isn't much for the appeal of warm water and getting the fucking awful robes off for five minutes. When in Rome. Taking a spot in one of the more dimly lit pools, arms splayed up over the edge and head tipped back, a warm cloth over his eyes, it might even be good enough to doze off.]

i was gonna tag this but i don't know if i trust that icon

[calhar]

[ Dozing off is the entire plan. Mat's content to ignore the other person in the small pool entirely, and Richie's only given a cursory glance as he takes a spot at the opposite end.

Everything's fine until he kicks the fake fish while settling in. It just slips away to keep offering its unique brand of underwater aesthetic, but Mat sits bolt upright. Surprise and disapproval scatter across the mental link, all knee-jerk reaction and not much control. ]

Blood and bloody ashes.

[ He narrowly keeps it to a hissed whisper, watching as the fish casually falls into slow figure eights — it's a little creepy, but it mostly just feels excessive. Same goes for half the ship, frankly. ]

[wrackful]

[Murphy has no idea what a sauna is, but if it's good enough for Lakshmi to pull strings to get them some private time, it's good enough to check out.

What he isn't expecting is a pool. Already stripped off, unmindful of his nudity or the scattering of scars across his body now completely visible to anyone looking, it's getting in the water that's making him hesitate. Bellamy had insisted the pool on the station wasn't deep enough to drown in, and this looks barely deep enough to dunk in, but Murphy's response in that conversation comes back to him clear: pretty sure you can drown in a puddle.

He can't shake it out of his head, and he lingers at the poolside for another moment before he steps back, turns to go back to his pile of robes.]

[shri]

[ She only catches him when he turns back around to his clothes - watches his retreat with the palatable feeling of his refusal of the water. She doesn't lift herself from her posed spot, laying warm in the water. ]

Leaving so soon?

[sistershoggoth]

[ She's not here because she wants to be so much as she found it unsupportable to be called out for her absence and not appear. So she comes when November calls for her, flush and drunk, but here she fucking is. She is among those who don't care about being naked, and yet she never really is. She keeps the bandage wrapped around her breasts, to keep the green slime that drips from her scar contained. The scar itself, however, is more vividly visible than it normally is. It is a jagged purple mountain range of distressed flesh from the bottom of her ribcage up to the dip of her collarbones. A tiny human body seared shut by the heat and energy of turning herself first inside out -- an enormous presence of might and hunger -- and then back again, into just this.

It's probably not a coincidence that she sits with people who have already seen it, those she's slept with, who have already seen it and won't ask her to talk about it. She's not in the mood, although she wasn't in the mood for this little 'outing' to begin with, so maybe that's unimportant. ]

[justttkidding]

[ When Annie comes after he asks (badgers) her to, he's surprised. It was a logical strain of thought that had prompted him to ask in the first place, but he knows not everyone follows that rule. He keeps his mouth shut about it, though, greets Annie as warmly as he can without going overboard. His mind brushes hers, tentative, familiar. All soothing nothingness with ice at the fringes.

Outside of their heads, he sits close, nonchalant, keeps an eye on her to make sure her chin remains above the water level. ]

Here. [ He holds his hand out, brushes his thumb across the back of her neck. It's clumsy, if one looks at the mental process. November is a quick learner, but all the nuances of the symbiote connection is still lost to him. This seems like the easiest way to let her use the abyss of his head. ]

[raw]

open: standing guard

[ This is a new role for Elliot, playing lookout. Still, somebody has to do it, and it's as good an excuse as any not to be taking off his clothes and just jumping in with everyone else. Of course, that means he's sweaty in his full robes, the steam from the baths curling in and around the fabric, making them cling to sticky skin.

Lest anyone assume he's just a voyeur, he's actually faced away from the inside. Leant in the makeshift doorway, staring out into space, his mental landscape just an endless scrolling succession of code like white noise: he doesn't need a physical computer to occupy himself. He ignores anyone leaving, but if you approach, his attention snaps back to reality and, with a careful breath that speaks to concentration, he double-checks you're allowed in to see all those human bodies giving the game away with a gentle symbiote-to-symbiote mind touch: ]

( Hey. )

[ Of course, he only got here yesterday, and he has no boundaries to speak of, so this Nest-check could easily turn invasive. Maybe that's even deliberate: Elliot often collects any floating surface thoughts of his Nestmates, skimming them like leaves from a ... well, pool. ]

open: bathing

[ Elliot hadn't intended to actually bathe, himself, but he's been on 'guard duty' long enough that it's not difficult to wait until most people have already finished their bathing and left before quietly letting Lakshmi know that he's ending his shift.

There's a small pool tucked away towards the edge, dim light on the steam wafting around a faux-outcropping, a concealing fern. He strips down to his boxer briefs and slips into the water, fast and silent. Thinks, to himself but not at all to himself: ]

( This might be a good time to take the other morphine tablet. )

bathing

[sistershoggoth]

( Man, seriously? That's your poison? Couldn't you at least do some fuckin' uppers or something? )

for November

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ It's been a few days since the funeral, and Sam - well, he's not exactly okay, but he's in a hell of a lot better of a place.

The hot springs sure as hell don't hurt.

Sam's lounging in the water, limbs loose and relaxed, when he spots November nearby.

He doesn't recognize the man by sight, thanks to disguises, but he recognizes the feel of their symbiote connection. Sam reaches out across it, mind catching and tugging in a way that could almost be playful, a swirl of wind and feathers. ]

( Hey, man. How you been acclimating? )

[justttkidding]

[ It's been a few days since the funeral and he's about the same. Still feeling a little behind, all things considered, but it's getting better. More people have lightened up, are more willing to talk.

Maybe it's the sauna. He knows personally, he likes being able to see the faces. Matches them with the minds he'd connected with a few days before, like clicking together a puzzle.

One of the first is Sam, who seems to be doing the same thing. He'd recognize that playful brush of feathers on his mind anywhere. November answers with a cool breeze and a smile. ]

( Very well. Does Lakshmi do this often? I may have to get on her good side, if so. )

[ And because he is genuinely curious: ]

( And yourself? )

Shepard | Open To All

[earthborn]

When Shepard had been a child, she had not often seen the point of bathing. That hadn't lasted long in life, once she'd had the wherewithal, and what untidiness remained in Shepard's life had been trained out of her by the Alliance. A few other things had been trained out of her as well, most of them ultimately superficial, like concerns about privacy, or the concept of body-shyness.

Why yes, now that you ask, she does need to sprawl like this with her head back and arms spread. She's suspiciously free from scars, lightly freckled, and her eyes are closed. Nevertheless, as you approach she might lift a hand in greeting, or motion you closer.

"I borrowed an apartment with one of these, once. Can you imagine doing this every day?" Her eyes are closed, head pillowed on the edge and a neatly folded portion of her robes, now slightly damp, "You'd never get me out of it."

[miscreant]

“Fortunately, I do not believe that is the objective here.”

Shepard has already seen Seviilia naked in water before, so there is no surprise waiting for her when she steps from the water’s edge and down into the pool with her. As the change of temperature hits her, so does a small cloud of mist begin to furl off her shoulders. Rather that sprawl, she allows herself to sink to her knees, long hair fanning out over the surface like ink. She wants to absorb as much of the warmth as possible.

She does, however, take the opportunity to float closer, lifting her head long enough to speak to the other woman without gargling bath water.

“As divine as it sounds, I do not think I could indulge so frequently. It gets uncomfortable after too long.”

@ november

[stilettoes]

[ there's a sense of relief to shedding a disguise, and with each piece that comes off, neatly folded and to the side behind some rocks, that sensation grows like a slowly unfurling thing - a cat stretching long and pleased in the warmth of the sauna. the last bath peter remembers having is an aching shower in the hotel room so already that's paling by comparison, the pang that comes with it being swatted away quickly.

there's a faint, yellowing bruise around his throat he's managed to cover up with both the coat he'd arrived in and the robes they'd donned prior to their descent, a few others that look as though they're following the same program, though he doesn't seem bothered by the sight of them in a brief glance at his reflection, just as he doesn't seem bothered by stripping down in front of strangers for a long, hot soak. ]

Well, if it isn't number 11 himself, [ easy and smooth as peter slips into the water from the side, abandoning a towel on the edge and reaching up a hand to lightly set his glasses atop it. his mood slips easily like silk along skin, warmed over and winding. ] I have to say, those robes really don't do you any justice.