Traveling Off the Beaten Bath

Someone must have been taking care of the Slime Duty.

Uta's usual white outfit is covered in all sort of polychrome gunk, corroded at the edges, and splattered all over with a foul brown substance we won't investigate further. Needless to say, her boots are downright covered in it. Her hair is a clumpy mess, and her wings are none the better. She is shuffling by, dripping and with a << Filth >> status effect one can smell before they even see her.

Exhausted, she shuffles past the bathhouse. Wait a few seconds, and one can see her shuffling backwards into frame. She turns to look at it. "...A proper bath... haven't had one since..." A pause. She shakes her head. "No, no, Uta. Resist. Keep menu-bathing. Might not be as nice, but it's cheaper and less embarrassing." Another pause, a sigh. "I should really get over my shyness one of these days, but..." A determined stare. "Today, today is not that day!"

The slime duty has clearly been busy today.

There's Ayame, walking as well. Shield slung to her back, small suitcase in hand, there's a grimness to her as she trots along in the fitted skirt. There's also a nice outline of a shield from just below her eyes to about midthigh - everything inside that outline is nice, neat, pristine. The rest, not so much. Gunk is the best of it.

But she sees Uta! And there's a small smile offered across to her, offering a little wave in greeting "Those things get everywhere" She offers with a weak laugh "You've been busy as well, by the look of it"

Uta turns to Ayame, sluggish, and the tired glance she gives her speaks volumes. "...Yes. Slimes. Fascinating creatures. It's a pity that they pollute the local reserves of potable water. It pains me to be forced to occasionally stand in as a natural predator and have to cull their population in order to preserve-" She pinches the bridge of her nose as she frown. "Ooooow.... headache..." She sighs. "Sorry. Me tired. Me brain too hard. Brain no happy. Brain want rest. Brain go low power mode. Brain want me only speak in monosllyab-OW!" Another pinch, another frown. "...brain want me only speak short words."

Ayame sighs, looking Uta over and then nodding "You need a rest, I think. And to clean up" She makes a small face, before the sylph guides the spriggin into the bathhouse "You can clean up and then rest in the hot springs. Which I want. I need to feel a little normality today, you know?" She asks, sighing "And I'm sure if you ask nicely they'll make sure the slime bits are properly disposed of"

"I... Er... Ehm..."

Oh, great. Social pressure. Just what Uta needed. Despite Uta's reluctance at taking actual baths (as opposed to menu ones), it would be extremely rude to refuse at this point. But at least damage can be contained! "...I was, in fact, considering something like that. Washing off and soaking in the section which involves bathing suits. I am contractually obligated to advertise Gwen's creations, so...", she trails off. I mean, /technically/ that's absolutely true. "Ayame, right?", she asks, while performing a polite bow. "...and yes. It will never be too soon when I finally give these slime remains a proper burial." She looks up at Ayame and adds, tongue in cheek, "They went the way they lived -- down the drain!"

Ayame laughs a little at that "I'll happily take the section with bathing suits. Though I'm sure her clothes need no advertisement; everyone seems to be talking about them" She reassures. She returns the bow, a little slime sliding down her forehead and off her nose. Which she wrinkles and sighs "But quickly, I think. See you in the pool? You can advertise discretely there"

Uta mumbles, "Still. Contractually obligat-OW." Pinch. "Must do it." She manages to pull the corner of her mouth in a smile. "Yes. See you there," she says, and shuffles into the bathhouse, hunched over. Once she's sure she's out of earshot, she whimpers, "Oh man! What have I gotten myself into! This is going to feel so awkward!"

* * *

"This. Feels. Soooooo. Nice!", a properly showered Uta exclaims, thrilled. She's completely submerged except for her face, which also partially disappears after she's done talking, sinking down to leave her nose be lapped by the small ripples in the surface. A few seconds elapse while the vapors raise all around.

Ayame had taken longer cleaning up, and emerges, stepping for the baths, wrapped in a towel, which she removed before stepping in, folding it neatly by the side of the steaming pool. Garbed demurely in a dark swimsuit that contrasts her fair skin, the sylph flutters her wings just a touch as she settles in close by, sinking down to submerge her shoulders. When Uta finally surfaces, she looks something between amused and startled, tilting her head and smiling. For once, her hair is down. "Relaxing" She says with a sigh "I'd forgotten how nice this was."

"Me toooo....", Uta says, almost in a trance. She flaps her own dark Spriggan wings underwater, as a way to propel herself a bit further up (more akin to swimming than flying -- but it works. They're basically large fins...). As for Uta, she is wearing a white bikini with a fantasy-like design (having elements like rings and small buckles built into the straps, and sculpted wing decorations attached to the top), and a pastel slime pattern to it.

"So, Ayame it is, right? What was it, again, that you did?"

Fluffing out her hair to rest on the water, Ayame rests back on her arms. Her wings flutter, stirring the water and letting it set up little swirling currents, watching Uta swim about. Then she pauses, and her cheeks redden a little. Must be the heat.

"Oh. In here, or out there?" She asks, a trifle nervous

"Whatever you feel most comfortable relating," Uta hurries to add, in mild panic. "I meant in here, since I assume that's okay to share, but..." There is some sloshing as Uta readjusts her position. "We are here to unwind. Let's give each other permission to just skip any discussion that makes us uncomfortable, okay?"

Ayame nods, and smiles a touch, lifting her hands to gently fingercomb her long hair "Well. In here? I was specced to tank and summon" A little amusement at the blunt terms for it "Out there, I mostly cared for my family after the first crash. I'd been caring for one before then, but you know how it got - people got more and more disabled, and more and more carers were needed. I was about ready for university." A small pause

"I had a bit of an argument about that, actually. How about you?" As her hands slide back to the water, stroking through it

Uta hesitates. There is sloshing, and she gets that look chess players get before a complex move. "I was lucky in that I lost no member of my family to the Flash," is what she finally says. "I went to college. Didn't work out. I waited tables." Deeeeep inhale. "Now I don't do much. I'm just a humble a musical kung-fu nurse." There is an even more embarrassed silence; Uta sinks a little, both in the water and by giving a slight hint of balling up. "...I didn't spec anything. I was a complete newbie, and since I had no idea of how anything worked, I pressed the 'random selection' button for everything in character generation."

Ayame looks amused. She raises an eyebrow, but doesn't press. Then she pushes herself up and buzzes those little wings, propelling her towards Uta "You know, this could be a good way to get the feel for flight" She smiles, before sinking down. Then gesturing to herself

"Beats me. I didn't set this character up. Kuroyuri did." She grins sheepishly "Meant to be a present to play together."

"Oh, Kuroyuri! Gwen's new apprentice, right? I think we've met. I think." She concentrates. And thinks. And thinks. And thinks.

What she finally says is, "Don't get me /started/ on flight!" With an audible splashing sound, she lifts her wings up from the water, at full height. "I got /those/", she growls, livid, as she points tat them, "had to learn to adjust to their weight; had to re-learn to walk, sit, not step on them, not to slam things over or get them caught into things, and what do I get in exchange for that? NO. FLIGHT." She exhales. "But, as a sylph, I'm sure you are already painfully aware of that."

After fuming for a little time, she frowns. "...sorry. I... I tend to get carried away." She flicks her menu open, and a little squishy red ball shimmers into existence in her hand. Eyes closed, Uta gives it a few regular squeezes as she performs some breathing exercises.

"There, there. I'm calm now. I'm calm..."

The Spriggan clears her throat and with a smile, she continues. "I'll have to meet Kuroyuri again. Seemed nice... may I ask the occasion for the present? If... it's not private?

Ayame laughs as Uta rants, lifting herself just enough from the water to buzz her flickering wings at the spriggan, flicking water at her without using her hands at all. Just a very little touch of smugness there, but a little sigh with it "It's not exactly been the strangest of changes" She sinks back down; touching one ear, then the other. They droop to her fingertip "I've got expressive ears. That's just weird"

"And it's okay. Safe space, here. The worst you can do is splash more water at me" She assures Uta, nodding "So venting just gets the water hotter, and right now, that's pretty relaxing"

She thinks a moment "I. It's complex, but I helped look after her? She's really the gamer. She wanted to share the hobby, and I didn't want to say no. I just picked a really bad time to pick it up"

After a moment of joviality where she shields her face with her hand, and wing-flicks some water back at Ayame, Uta quiets down, and seems lost in thought for a few moments; slow, regular taps of her index finger on her lips punctuate her speech. "I think the wings were /definitely/ the weirdest change for me..." She trails off, distractedly. "I mean, these long things on your back you can move, or that spring up on their own when you're excited? Hard to beat that!"

Uta lets out a bit of a nervous laugh. "Seems like we have a lot in common. I'm not a gamer. I've joined the day of the Expansion. This is technically still my first session."

Uta goes ooooooh in admiration at Ayame's trick with her ears. "That looks pretty cool, actually," Uta chuckles. "I, conversely, have been stuck with dumb, regular ears..." She attempts to replicate Ayame's trick, and as she moves her fingers in a mirror image of what Ayame did-

...she also succeeds in moving the tip of her ears to touch the fingers. In fact, Ayame might have noticed that Uta's been moving her ears expressively all the time.

"Wait, I can do /that/?!" Uta stares for a few moments, eyes bulging out, and finally, she comments, quiet, "...I don't know what to do with that information!"

"Well, for your first session, you're doing great. Probably one of the best first sessions ever" Ayame says with a nervous laugh and a sigh "It is weird, right? The whole thing. I try not to think about it too much. Sometimes things bring it up" She sinks back into the water "Don't worry about it. I try not to. Just keep going, a day at a time"

Another little buzz around the water, floating and letting her wings propel her, before she sighs and sinks back "It's how I manage. I think most just ... accept what they are, you know? It's easier. For me, it means keeping my back straight, as they feel awful if I hunch at all"

"I wouldn't know about that...", Uta replies with a blush. "The first months I was here I kept getting trounced even by my martial arts practice mannequin. I hardly am the most capable of fighters."

There is silence, broken only by the occasional slosh. "Yeah...", Uta comments at the whole thing being weird, and sinks back into the water. Vapor wafts; little perals of sweat form on her forehead, and, deflected by her thin eyebrows, roll down her cheeks. "...Kita has estimated that, based on the floor count and the current pace of progress, It'll take about eight years to clear the whole tower." More silence. "Even assuming that clearing the tower will allow us to go back home, which not everyone believes, well... seems like that, in the meantime at the very least, we'll have to accept this situation as the new normal."

After a little though, she gives Ayame a side glance. "You mean... if you hunch, people will notice that you're not feeling great, and be concerned?"

"People get concerned, yes, but the muscles feel all wrong. So needing to keep straight helps the muscles feel right" Ayame corrects absently, floating to the side and sitting there, leaning back and resting her arms on the side, closing her eyes and breathing slowly

"I'm just assuming it will get harder. I honestly don't know if we'll make it out. Even if we do ... do we just want to live for fighting?" She asks, cracking open an eye "So I want to try to enjoy things at least a little, even as I help out. And look after Kuroyuri" She nods and then lets out a soft little laugh

"It's not about being the most capable. It's about being willing to learn. And you must be doing well enough"

"I can take care of newbie duties, as our mutual presence here proves!", Uta jokes, splashing Ayame further. She flicks her menu open, and the stress ball she's been holding until now shimmers away from view "I suppose that's what I do. Always try to learn. I don't know if you've met Xander. He's a warrior type. Like many other people I've met here, he makes questionable choices, but his heart is in the right place. Absolutely masterful at combat. He picked me up when I was an incompetent newbie, made sure I didn't kill myself, challenged me to grow in my combat prowess, and pushed me to go practice fighting against as many opponents as possible." Uta's gaze is lost in the distance. "It helped a lot." She turns to Ayame. "He's not my dad."

Another pause. "It's nice to already have someone to look after and who can look after you. I... well, I had to find them in-game." Without even noticing, her smile widens. "But I found so many people willing to support and help me. Rylen, Xander... Gwen's family has even decided to sorta adopt me. They've been... exceptional, I have to say."

Uta makes a loud splashing noise when she pulls her hand out of the water to slap her forehead. "Oh, right! Forgot that bit!"

Uta sighs, pinches the bridge of her nose, and pushes herself to sit on the edge of the pool, legs submerged below the knee. She clears her throat, and announces, loud and clear but to nobody in particular (but probably addressing the small handful of people who are bathing at a certain distance, but still within earshot), "'I sure am glad I got my swimsuit at the CHAINMAIL BIKINI PLUS ONE, the leading fashion shop in the Isle of Beginnings! I can enjoy the unparrallel quality one would expect from a MOONLIGHT TAILOR, and believe it or not, at incredibly affordable prices! The CHAINMAIL BIKINI PLUS ONE is located right in Alne's main square! Can't miss it! Also, have you heard? It's got delicious treats! There's no reason not to run and check out the CHAINMAIL BIKINI PLUS ONE right away! The CHAINMAIL BIKINI PLUS ONE, once you try it, you won't want to shop anywhere else!"

Ayame rests her forehead in her hands, her shoulders shaking, as Uta begins declaiming. Then she begins to giggle, rather helpelessly, not stopping until after the spriggin is done, having even dipped a little more into the water and bubbling her laughter through that, before grinning up at Uta and shaking her head, sighing

"That was amazing" She says sincerely "I might need to go shopping there. Perhaps I'l find something appropriate. What do you think? Where was it again?" She asks innocently. "What was it called?"

And then, calming a little, she sighs happily "That sounds fine. I'll have to meet him! People are really friendly. I need to meet more of you all"