What is this feeling?|Second Hope, Firegem Isles

[Darastrix]

Scarlet groaned quietly to herself and rubbed at the back of her neck as she left the guard house. What a day. She'd chased down two pickpockets in the market, had to break up an argument between a merchant and a customer that had gotten well out of hand, and then, for a change of pace, a Soahcian priest had needed to be restrained to keep him from harming himself after something he'd taken had thrown him into a total panic. He'd managed to bruise her more than the other incidents combined.

Oh, I hope Teneth is at home, she thought. A backrub would be heavenly. Or a hot bath. Or both. Scarlet paused in her walk and arched her back to stretch it out some. Definitely both.

She changed direction and set off for the public baths. It wasn't quite as nice as getting Teneth to heat a tub of water and rubbing her neck while she soaked, but with the way she felt, she was sure there would be plenty of knots let to be worked out when she left.

[Kender Bard]

The bath house was relatively quiet; though there was almost always usually someone in there, this day was a slow one. In the woman's partition there was only two people. One woman, old and gray-haired, half dozed as she soaked in the hot waters. Another, young and lovely, was wringing out her hair, humming to herself. She had long blonde hair the plastered against her bronzed skin, drawing the eye to her toned body and buxom chest. Spotting Scarlet's entry, she smiled and gave a friendly little wave. "Water's lovely today," she announced with a grin.

[Darastrix]

Scarlet couldn't remember the last time she'd seen so few people in the bath, so it was, she reasoned, no wonder she focused on the young woman so readily. She was one of two, and was actually moving around.

"I'm counting on it," Scarlet replied as she began to disrobe. "Hard day." She left her hair in its usual braid--she could wash it at home--and positioned her arm over the scar on her abdomen before slipping quickly into the warm water.

[Kender Bard]

The younger woman's eyes flitted briefly over Scarlet's body, not lingering to ogle but merely taking in the other woman curiously. She still smiled and moved a little closer. "I hear you," she replied. "My back was so sore before I came here. I had to work on these little bite-sized cake pieces that had to be decorated just so for my client. Bent over peering at them all day, I'm surprised I haven't gone crosseyed."

She laughed. "Oh and where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself." She held out a hand to Scarlet. "My name's Nythra! And what's yours cutie?" She winked.

[Darastrix]

"Scarlet," she replied with a bemused expression as she took Nythra's hand to shake. The woman was a little...odd, she supposed, though not in a bad way. She'd rather run into an overly friendly woman in the baths than an unfriendly one.

[Kender Bard]

"What a sweet name," Nythra remarked with a giggle. "So." She flicked a bit of water in a playful, tiny splash at Scarlet. "You know I work for a baker. Where do you work that's got you so sore and tired, hmm?"

[Darastrix]

"The city guard," Scarlet replied, pulling a face. "I like the work, but at the end of some days, it feels like it would have been easier to just hand someone a club and say 'Beat me.'"

[Kender Bard]

Nythra snorted which turned into a full blown laugh. "I'm sorry but that image was too funny. A guard! That's great. You and the rest of the guards make Second Hope one of the finest places to live, you know. But poor you! It sounds like it's hard won."

[Darastrix]

"It is," Scarlet agreed. "But it has its rewards, too. Right now, the reward is that this bath wouldn't feel half as good without my running around all day."

[Kender Bard]

"That's true," Nythra agreed and sank a little lower into the waters. "So how'd a pretty girl like you wind up in the guards? Was it something you always wanted to do?"

[Darastrix]

Scarlet shrugged. "It's what worked. I'm from Celentia, originally, and my dad's in the military there. I didn't really want that job, though, so I went into the guard instead."

[Kender Bard]

"Ah so you're not native-born," Nythra concluded. "Most people aren't, granted. I'm not either. I've got family on Grandisle, though not close enough ties to make much of it. I like it here, anyway. It's less complicated."

Nythra smiled and pushed her thick bangs back, revealing a Water sign, and touched it, murmuring. The water in the bath began to swirl around gently. She giggled and slid lower into the water. "So, pretty, do you have anyone you're going home to tonight or are you free after your bath?"

[Darastrix]

"Several someones, actually," Scarlet groaned and slid down a little farther herself. "Run around after people all day to go home and run around after smaller people." She loved the kids, she did. She wouldn't give them up for anything. But sometimes she really missed coming home to peace and quiet.

[Kender Bard]

"Oh, you have children!" Nythra exclaimed, her interest shifting focus. "How nice! How old are they...? What are they like?" She grinned. "I've always wanted children, myself. I've been thinking about adopting actually."

[Darastrix]

"I went from none to eight a few years ago," Scarlet told her with a light laugh. "They're between about fourteen and seven. Good kids, but a handful sometimes. If you adopt, I recommend starting with one or two."

Start with one or two and have someone who isn't a big kids himself to help you take care of them, she thought. And it helps if you don't end up almost running him off because you don't know how to say how you feel. Forces, but that had been a mess.