Interregnum - Soaking it up

[§~Samwise~§]

In the night sky above Smuggler's Vale sailed Valor Company and their retinues in Queen Sabine's airship. During dinner Taliesin had passed along via earring that the Glade was getting an overdue change but was lax on the finer details. Following dinner the door to the Glade was conjured on the deck. Passing through the door the Glade appeared to be enjoying a cool moonlit night. Posts with glowing green light marked two paths that went around the tree. Instead of the ever present mist on the edge of the Glade thick roots and vines could be seen rising upward in a wall. Moss, ivy, mushrooms, and other leaves rose up along those roots and vines.

Just in front of the wall were moving and pulsing small points of light; fireflies and faerie lights. Following either of the paths around the central tree revealed roiling mist ... only this wasn't mist. Any venturing that way would quickly recognize the welcoming steam of hot springs. Against the back of the tree there were a few more of the glowing posts along with marble benches and towels. The spring started a few feet in front of the benches and went just short of the wall more than 10 ft away.

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Taliesin made sure to invite Mirrai in whispered Sylvan during the dinner. He wasn't sure she would join not knowing how comfortable she might be joining him and possibly others. After creating the faerie door he walked forward and took the left path around the great tree.

He was only half the way around when it became clear that he was disrobing. He spoke out in Sylvan with a more pronounced Allurani brogue. "I think we have more than earned creature comforts."

To those who didn't speak Sylvan but instead spoke Elven they caught " - we- earn - pleasure-"

[uberwulfx]

Jaeger took up the invitation to relax in the springs, yet another of Tali's great additions to the grove. Besides, there was no guarantee that they would all be able to relax like this for a while. He'd be off in his own area, simply relaxing with the warm water all around him and the myriad thoughts in his head. His eyes were skyward, when they weren't closed. Now was the time for simply luxuriating.

[CautionCat]

Konane 100% wanted to soak in hot water. To not feel like a soggy mess, she changed to her human state. With a towel around her, she left her clothes in the room she had been sharing with Alastair, noticing Taliesin made the bed bigger. She made her way to the springs, and noticed Jaeger already in and soaking.

"Yes, this is exactly what I have needed. A good, hot soak. Does the skin good." She took off her towel, folding it nicely by the edge, and stepped in.
"With this, and talking to goblins about nicer clothes, I am having a good day."

[opius]

Alastair answered the invitation to the Glade with pep and exuberance, pleased to have an opportunity to relax and rest in some water that wasn't shockingly cold this time. Once through the fairy gate he spent a solid few minutes soaking in the reconfiguration, getting used to the new appearance. Taliesin was... flexing, it seemed. Taking this new connection to whatever magic the Green was and bending it into this was both impressive to see and, to some extent, a relief.

From the art of war, to the art of creation, this left him feeling hopeful for the future.

He called out toward Taliesin as he approached the springs, "This is incredible work Tali, you know that?"

Following marble stone, Alastair disrobed by the benches. Though Emmett remained on the Stormlight, Hermes followed him here and would act as sentry to his belongings and goods. Though he wanted to say he trusted the goblins, after seeing Al'Bhert's ...enthusiasm... he had grown wary of things going missing. So with Hermes seated upon his pile of belongings, he walked to the hot spring with a towel for modesty's sake and quickly slipped into the steamy water.

He was at first surprised to see Konane in the current form, but smiled and called out from the warm pool. "Freckles are back in season then? Too much trouble to dry the fluff, I suppose." And upon noticing Jaeger, he shifted to call after him as well. "Good to see you too, Doctor. It's a good day for a soak."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin had not sought the modesty that others had. His clothes were taken off and laid upon a bench. Without a thought he slowly dipped into the hot springs following Jaeger's eagerness. He smiled and nodded to Konane as she joined only to then look over his scarred shoulder once Alastair approached and called on him.

"This? I guess ..." He shrugged. "Silvanus gifted this connection, and I figure that this is ... more ... than a normal greensinger could do. And everything just feels ... natural. It flows."

He looked toward Jaeger. "So, what's your opinion of Bosun Toloma?"

[uberwulfx]

It was less eagerness, and more a knowledge that such rest was deserving, and he wouldn't deprive himself of it. There was also no pretense of shameful modesty; he wouldn't go around hip thrusting the air or anything, but this would be the third time they were grouped thus so he paid little mind to those disrobing. They had all felled monstrous foes together, it was well enough that they felled their soul's exhaustion together.

His eyes remained closed and his head remained skyward as he answered Tali (with a hearty thumbs up in Alistair's direction). "She seems cautiously eager to join us, which is good. Too much in any direction is bad-- too much caution, and she may object to some of the direct action we would have to take. Too eager, and I'd wonder if we had something of a death-seeker that wouldn't heed us when we did take the path of least resistance. Her temperament is good as well, I can imagine her forcing someone to clear the muck with their hands, just as well I could imagine her quietly enjoying a drink. If everything works out, I expect she'd be a great addition to Valor Company."

[CautionCat]

"Freckles in season?" Konane raised a brow as she got comfortable in the hot water. "Well, yes. Having wet fur is not comfortable. If I can avoid having it, I will do this. Plus, feeling hot water on my skin is very nice."

She smiled, and would scoot closer to Alastair when he entered the water and settled. "As long as we are not in any city, I will be a fox, unless I am soaking. But as soon as we go to a city, a large one, like Astor, I will be my human self again. I do not want to gain the interest of too many... But I feel very comfortable around you, and at the Refuge."

She stretched her arms up, cracking her elbows, and slid lower into the hot spring, relaxing. "However, I wonder if I would pass as a Tabaxi... I am not very cat-like."

[opius]

"There's a lot of difference between tabaxi and... Fox." He pursed his lips as he sank a little deeper into the water, thinking for some time. He considered himself somewhat learned, and even he was less informed about some of the various races in the world. Would a group like the Vanyr hunters go out of their way to accost Tabaxi by mistake? Certainly not... but to the lay man, Konane might be able to pass herself off as something different.

He shook his head, the hypothetical ideas not really helpful when it came to relaxing the mind part of the body-and-mind-relaxation approach. "She does seem like she has a story or two to share. And she keeps some pretty interesting company. Hopefully this crew doesn't balk too much about ferrying us into dangerous territory." He shifted a little.

"I had some thoughts about that, but I think it'd better to wait until we're back, uh, on the clock as it were."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin sank into the the waters a little further. He realized as Jaeger answered that his question had been a little over vague. He took the full answer into consideration and listened to other discussion and additions. He looked around and saw that neither Sae nor Mirrai opted to join yet.

"Indeed. She's certainly a kindred spirit." He offered initially. "She helped us undercut the Captains and took a marked pleasure in telling them to know their place when they tried to speak for her domain."

He stretched and twisted relieving tension at some joints eliciting cracks and pops. "I'm sure there is some magic you could use if you wanted to change your appearance." He offered to Konane.

[uberwulfx]

"That kind of thing is definitely encouraging," Jaeger responded with a nod. "I wonder why exactly she doesn't want to become a captain, herself? I know there's the responsibility over others, but I wonder if that comes with a story, rather than 'it doesn't fit my style.'"

He opened his eyes slowly, taking a deep breath before turning his gaze from the sky to Konane. "You have Klinkle, of course, but did you have many other friends or allies in your homeland? And given your story, feel free to say you don't wish to talk about it; I don't want to sour the mood here, in a hot spring of relaxation."

[CautionCat]

"I have some friends, but no one is as close to me as Klinkle. Everyone probably hates me, now that they've marked me as Vanyr."

Konane sighed, and sunk low into the hot spring, her hair sprawling out across the water, as she became like an inky octopus with black tendrils. Her lips were just under the water's surface, and she began to make bubbles.

Lifting her head some, she looked to Jaegar. "It is not surprising if that is the case. I am happier with Valor Compay than I was with the girls back home. I can be myself, and no one cares that I can turn into a fox lady."

[opius]

Alastair frowned at Konane's... moment. It was a bit saddening to consider- being surrounded by people but not really connecting. He did, however, laugh at her comment about Valor Company. That resonated.

"I think something can be done for a temporary transformation- I've been toying with transmutation in my notes. But disguises should be trivial with the spectacles Alain loaned us." He spread out in the hot water, feeling uncomfortable warmth and pinching on fresh wounds. Velkyn had done a number on all of them.

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin had closed his eyes and simply existed in the water while listening to the goings on. He let the conversation about the Bosun slip away as Konane became the central topic. He could tangentially identify, but there was little benefit in retreading that.

"If they knew you, and then let word that you may be Vanyr change their opinion, then they can go fuck themselves." He said calmly.

"A friend of years that turns their back based on unconfirmed claims is no friend at all. And they're the ones missing out due if they chose that." He shifted and opened his eyes to look towards Konane. It was a well meaning sentiment and the tone matched.

He didn't offer anything else yet as more felt like too much at the moment.

[uberwulfx]

Jaeger nodded to Taliesin's wisdom. He had been careful to warn Konane against answering if it was going to make her sad and still she did, so Jaeger steered the conversation back into a more comfortable area.

"I'm glad you take comfort in our company, you're fun to be with and a terrific cook besides. I'm glad to have found someone to let hold on to the magic spice pouch; my own cooked meals are certainly good, but I never had curry the likes of which you've made."

His gaze moved skyward again. "You seem to do well with the goblins, and perhaps if things are finalized, you can become close with Bosun Toloma. Certainly, you can cook her some of your delicious food, and she'll warm up to us all. Perhaps some sort of meal for her and all the newcomers, as advance apology for all the antics we will be putting them through?"

[CautionCat]

Konane continued to soak everything but from the nose up, blowing bubbles in the water. She was listening, and nodding, but she felt comfortable like this. The warmth enveloping her.

Intrusive thoughts bubbled in her mind, as she glanced to Alastair, thinking about what would happen if she grabbed his leg and tugged him under the water. Wrestle. Get tickled. But she was around company, and surely they wouldn't like her flirting like that.

She poked her head back out of the water, and smiled. "I am sure I will easily win their hearts over through their stomachs. I am not familiar with what they may eat, but if they are anything like me, meat is a staple."

Looking to Taliesin, she nodded. "They were... How you say... Just people I hung out with between learning and chores. They grew up with me, and I learned lots of gossip and things, but none of them really... Meant anything to me. I could not be open with them."