rest and relaxation [ winged! ]

[Kilnarak]

The day had begun like any other for T'gan and her Othokenph. They had awakened near dawn - Othokenph first, amidst his nest of blankets at the foot of T'gan's bunk - and gone about their morning rituals: getting dressed and leaving the room they shared with M'rion and Romaph to take their breakfast. They then saw to the chores that had been assigned to them, and proceeded to go about their day. They took their usual hike about the Eyrie, which eventually ended in the gardens. The pair raced and climbed trees, playing like children - while initially she meant only to stretch her legs, Othokenph's cheer and entertainment were infectious.

They finally ended their play around mid-day when Othokenph grew hungry again. The blue took his meal, and then stumbled sleepily after His as they left the feeding pens - he was full and sleepy after all of the earlier activity, and while he didn't want to admit it, he rather hoped he could nap. T'gan, of course, noticed her bond's sleepy wobbling steps, and the way his eyelids drooped over his olive eyes. She also noticed the aura of exhaustion hanging about the little blue like a cloud, touching upon and weighing down her own mind.

"Sleepy, Oth? Should we go back ta our room now?" she laughed down at her blue, slowing a bit so he could keep pace more easily. A wave of emotion washed over her from Othokenph, childish and stalwart insistence that he was not tired. No! You're still awake, he huffed, ruffling up his feathers and picking up his paced to bound forward a few steps before resuming his dreary steps. Where are we going next? To the pond? Are you hungry, Mine? T'gan resumed walking at Othokenph's insistence, smiling softly down at the little simourv. "Nah. I need ta wash up, an' then I was thinkin' maybe I could soak a bit. Been a while, yeah? It's nothin' that interestin' Oth, it's okay if you sleep..." Othokenph only responded with an indignant squawk, and lead the way toward the public baths.

For all his denial, however, Othokenph did fall asleep rather shortly after the blue-pair arrived at the baths. T'gan took down a few spare towels and laid them out in a makeshift nest for the little blue in the relatively-dry changing room, before taking down a single towel for herself and stripping to head into the bathing room proper. Wrapping the towel about herself, she left her clothing in a neat pile beside her simourv - Othokenph could 'guard' them while she was away.

The girl went about washing the dirt and grime away away from the baths proper - she didn't want to get the traces of blood from Othokenph's last meal into the soaking pools. A few traces of Othokenph's lunch still clung about her hands and fingers, not to mention the dust and dirt that had accumulated on her arms and legs during their play - she even found a stray leaf caught in her hair as she cleaned it. It embarrassed her a touch to realize how dirty she had been, however it also amused her a bit, and she chuckled softly to herself as she tossed the leaf aside and resumed combing damp fingers through her hair.

After she had scrubbed the dirt away, however, T'gan moved to the larger pool and slipped into the steaming water. Really, she could use to relax for a while, and the hot water felt good after the morning's activity. There really hadn't been any bath-houses back home in Itnala, at least none she could afford, and so it felt like a luxury when she did make use of the bathing pools here - a rarely indulged luxury, as usually she couldn't find the time to properly soak. The sun-tanned girl sank up to her neck in the water, propping her head against the edge of the pool and closing her eyes to relax. Oh, but it was so deliciously hot...

[winged]

A heavy footfall soon superseded the gentle slosh of dispersed water, a presence carried heavily on sound alone. Someone was approaching, but it was nigh impossible to discern who. Nothing else seemed to carry over the denser air of the caverns housing the heated baths, none of the usual commotion that brought with it a large group of chattering girls, or the grousing of an older staff member seeking a moment of peace from endless chores. There was only the determined plod, growing louder in steady increments.

Then, the scrape of a boot heel on the slick stone from which the entire structure was carved and a thump as something heavy was deposited (or deposited itself) on the floor. Laces were done, the hiss of the braided strings unnaturally loud in the quiet. Not even so much as a mutter - they either hadn't seen T'gan basking in the larger pool, or they didn't care. Then the rustle of clothing, entirely cumbersome given their surroundings and their obvious intended use. Finally, a splash pegging the stranger in the water itself, after heaving themselves in with abandon.

It had been a long, tiresome day and it wasn't even finished. I'dou had only taken the time to come thanks to Laraph's well-intended nagging. Having sustained a plethora of bruises thanks to the Gray's (also well intended) rescue attempt turned tackle, her battered body was prone to aching after hours of use. It was the only balm the woman would accept - she would see no healer, having accrued enough embarrassment through simply participating in that debacle of an adventure.

She'd seen T'gan as soon as she'd crossed the threshold into the inner cavity. It had given her a second's pause, a moment where those steady footfalls had faltered, but the lure of the water and a chance to scrub herself clean after a particularly messy feeding time was enough to override that natural precaution. She half-hoped the other woman wasn't in the mood to chat; T'gan had been the one rescuing her from her moment of terror after she'd submerged, and her skewed memories of the eventful afternoon brought a rush of florid color to her face. She hadn't spoken to her since.

Settling against a comfortably worn niche in the stone, I'dou began rinsing the week's accumulation of grime from her skin, careful around the nauseatingly discolored bruises spanning her midsection and chest - places where stones had been ground painfully into her skin with the weight of Laraph and T'gan both pressing her down. She did so for lack of something to occupy her idle hands with, a habit sustained from when idle hands meant unpleasant things. It distracted her mind from the other girl's presence, at least partially.

Soon though, the silence grew unbearable. There was something about the quality of it that made it impossible for I'dou to stand another moment of. It was pregnant with the unspoken conversation that already had its roots firmly planted in her mind. Finally, a shivering intake of breath, and then uncertain words.

"I hope you didn't get hurt too badly." You know, when my simourv flattened you. Happens all the time, don't you know. Better watch out, next week I might trigger a landslide in the canyon. The ridiculous necessity left a sour taste in her mouth.

[Kilnarak]

Only a few minutes in the bathing pool, and T'gan had already begun to doze - half-awake and drifting she didn't hear the footfalls, the sounds of another presence in the baths. It was only at the sudden splash, the ripples of displaced water striking against her face, that she realized she was no longer alone. The girl started slightly, her eyes snapping open and her hands finding the worn rock seat beneath her to push herself up straight - neck and shoulders above the water, but little else. She blinked somewhat owlishly at the other occupant - it took her a moment to recognize the other girl, to place why she looked familiar.

When she did realize who the other girl was - I'dou, bonded to the gray Laraph, whom she had really only met recently at the pond - she offered a somewhat hesitant smile and a quietly voiced greeting. "Hey," she might have waved as well, but she thought better of it, keeping her hands on the stone seat. The greeting was not responded to, however, drowning in the silence between them - the other girl hadn't even seemed to look at her, her attention for herself, for cleaning. Her fingers curled against the worn stone beneath them, their short nails scraping against the rock - perhaps she had been too quiet? or perhaps the other girl disdained her company? She was bonded to the young gray, after all, did that make her a queen as well? T'gan was hardly on her level, if so. From what she had seen, the other girl had seemed the solitary sort...

After waiting a few moments in that silence, T'gan slowly sank back into the water - ducking her head under briefly to hide the flush that stained her cheeks. Perhaps she had been out of place in speaking? For all that she had been here a fair amount of time, the unspoken rules and workings of the Eyrie still escaped her. She held her breath, staying under a few moments longer, only to come up again, her drenched hair plastered about her face. T'gan then busied herself with combing her fingers through her hair, working out tangles and pushing it back slick away from her face. If they were to be silent, she could be silent, she could do like the other girl. Perhaps she might nap again - the water was still warm, still comfortable, even if I'dou's presence left her a touch self-conscious.

When the other girl spoke up, however, T'gan was momentarily startled once again. She blinked, her eyes refocusing on I'dou - it took her a moment to realize what she meant. "Oh. Oh, at th' lake? Just a few bruises an' scrapes, nothin' I won't get over," she laughed softly, a touch awkwardly. "Ah, I think you must've taken th' brunt of it. Are you doin' all right? Figured that doctor woulda seen ta you better'n I could've."

T'gan scratched absently at the back of her neck, ruffling up her hair a bit in the process. She really didn't begrudge the girl or Laraph for the incident at the pond - Laraph had only been doing what any other simourv would, trying to protect her bond. "Oth would've done th' same, I'll bet, had it been th' other way around. Did you see him when you came in?"