[ 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

>> 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?

[shiro2hero]

Elena--!

[It's a guilty jump. A totally guilty one. Not that he has a reason to, considering how wrapped up he is. Maybe because he'd been anticipating turning around and ... well. Being confronted with a situation like Seviilia or Aloy.]

[He relaxes, though. Shifting his grip on his own towel-cape setup to wave sheepishly at her.]

No. Go for it.

[otrazhenie]

[ Had he not relaxed after that jump, Elena would have been concerned, but since he does... Well, she can't stop the smirk that spreads across her lips, or the amusement blooming through their mental connection. ]

Thanks.

[ While Shiro seems to be clinging to his towel for dear life, she unwraps hers without hesitation, revealing the blue underwear set that's serving as a bikini substitute. It covers more than a lot of the bikinis she's seen, actually, and she's not at all concerned with what she is showing - she's always been athletic, and she's not ashamed of the body she has. ]

You seem kinda on edge. Everything okay? [ There's concern there now, and she slips into the water and settles beside him before turning a questioning gaze on Shiro. ]

[shiro2hero]

[For a second there, he's concerned she's going to be like a certain Death Knight he knows, and this is going to result in whiplash from him looking away as fast as possible.]

[But she's in... a bathing suit? Maybe? Forgive him, Elena, he's a stupid boy and wouldn't know the difference unless there was tactile contact. Which he has no intention of doing. Either way, better than trying not to offend Seviilia.]

I'm all right. Startled me. [Truth.] I guess I already forgot how to relax.

[otrazhenie]

[ Shiro's lucky that she isn't like Katherine; Elena's entirely certain her doppelganger would have stripped right there and delighted in showing off and causing other to both squirm and watch in fascination. ]

I'm pretty sure if you say that around Sam, he'll make it his mission to fix that for you. [ She says it with humor and affection, her adoration of the other man broadcasting loud and clear to Shiro. ]

[shiro2hero]

[Since he's just wearing a towel around his shoulders, the blush goes clearly from the edges of his scar, all the way down to his collarbone. Thank you, Elena. Thank you for that.]

He -- should probably not be doing that where everyone can see.

[Humor is good. Humor is less flustering.]

[otrazhenie]

[ It's a good look on you, Shiro. Elena approves. ]

I have a feeling that won't stop him.

[ She's trying so hard to keep a straight face as she says it, but she fails miserably, a grin breaking out at the end and a giggle slipping out. The both of them mean the world to her, and she loves the two of them together. ]

[shiro2hero]

[Her feeling is probably extremely accurate.]

[He makes a face that... is way more flustered than actually annoyed. Because a good part of him isn't upset at all. Maybe it's her amusement. Maybe it's the warmth coming off her.]

[... he'd wonder if this was what it was like to have a sister your own age, if it occurred to him.]

I'll tell him you said that. I don't know what that's going to prove, but. Something.

[otrazhenie]

[ This is exactly what it's like to have a sibling close to your age, Shiro. The teasing, the companionship, the genuine care for the other person. She's been missing this closeness, a distance having grown between her and Jeremy as their lives twisted and changed around them, and perhaps that's part of why she's so fiercely embraced her relationship with Shiro. He's helped to fill a void in her heart, whether he knows it or not. ]

It'll make him laugh, I'd bet money on it if I had any.

[shiro2hero]

[Maybe if there weren't the hierarchy between him and the others of his team. Or if he didn't have such a weight on his shoulders around them. Maybe then he'd know more of what this was like.]

[As it stands now, Elena is what he's got. But he won't be complaining. From the first time they met, there was that connection. That understanding. He wouldn't trade it for anything.]

What is money again? It's been so long, I think I forgot.

[otrazhenie]

[ It's nice to have that easy connection with someone again, to not have to try because you know the other person will accept you without question. In the beginning, she'd doubted that connection a little, but now she embraces it, nurtures it, protects it with all she is. She would die to keep Shiro safe, to give him the chance at the life he deserves, just like she would for Jeremy. Without hesitation. ]

The thing you get from doing work, that you exchange for food, shelter, clothes. That thing that's usually more trouble than it's worth.

[shiro2hero]

That... sounds fake, but I trust you.

[It's mostly meant as a joke, but he honestly doesn't remember the feeling of carrying a wallet anymore, much less money. In a way it's... it's nice. Freeing. But on the other hand, it's a bit of normalcy he'll never have again.]

[Joking with Elena like this, though? That is normalcy. And he's just as grateful for her.]

[otrazhenie]

[ The laugh that bursts out of her is uncontrollable and couldn't be contained even if she tried. In that moment, Shiro strikes her as completely adorable, and she can easily see them watching movies together on the couch and throwing popcorn at each other, if only any of those things existed here. No, the only normalcy they have are their relationships with each other, and she's so glad for that. ]