[Soothing Waters] Dove in the Water(Dovey)

[Garland]

Winter 32

Garland was an absolute mess, he was never a heavy drinker, but whenever he started, he would just not stop unless it was something important, but the only important thing that happened last night was the drinking, the dancing, and the Dovey.

The two of them had gone out on a date to Kova's Well and then the Stone Gardens, and now they need to clean up after last night, a massage and bath would do wonders for both of them.

Garland led the way through the city, heading over to the Soothing Waters bathhouse, he avoided the main street, busy as it was, it would wreck their hangovers. Shame the tea house was gone, but there are others, shame none of them are as good as the destroyed Bean, but you take what you can get.

Garland sighed, even the back roads were loud, luckily they were near the bathhouse now. Garland opened the large double doors for Dovey and walked in himself.

There was a large staircase that went down, to another tier of the Stormhold Castle, to the receptionist of the Soothing Waters.

Garland waved to Ivis, he was known to come to the bathhouse from time to time, Garland's reputation was rather well-known, he was quite a heroic character, there were some rumors of Garland's exploits, but whenever he heard them, he would downplay his role substantially.

"Ivis, we really need a bath right now."

Garland could see Ivis, wrinkle his nose a bit at the two. "Garland... A pleasure, please, head on to the locker room, I'm sorry, but ma'am you have to pay the entrance fee, knights and squires have free admission but they cannot extend it to friends or family outside the knighthood."

[Dovey]

Dovey walked close by Garland's side, wincing at the noise of the streets - her head still ached, and it gave a pronounced throb at every unexpected sound. Her emotions were fragile as well, but she concentrated on her annoyance at the headache, stiffening her lip to keep it from trembling and firmly pretending that her greatest worry was her hangover. At last they reached the bathhouse, and Dovey welcomed the sudden hush as the door swung shut behind them. She halted in the entryway for a few ticks to take deep breaths of the cool, humid air, then followed Garland down the wide stone stairs and into the bathhouse's reception area. She smiled in faint amusement at Garland's abrupt greeting. He obviously knew the receptionist already, and he was right besides; they were in dire need of some washing up. Oh, she couldn't wait to scrub the smell from her body - a bizarre mixture of sweat, ale, and vomit, she suspected it of helping to dampen her mood. Her muscles would relax in the warm water, and she would rinse the oil from her hair, and somehow everything would be made all right again. She didn't challenge the longing assumption her mind made; she didn't have the energy, and anyhow the receptionist was speaking to her now. She focused her attention on him. "I'm sorry, but ma'am you have to pay the entrance fee, knights and squires have free admission but they cannot extend it to friends or family outside the knighthood." The little speech seemed practiced, the man who made it smooth and professional with a polite smile gracing his features. She returned the smile with one of her own, broad and hospitable. "Of course. And how much is that?" "Two silver mizas to enter the bathing pool," he replied. "We also provide towels for a copper miza, and if you would like your laundry done while you bathe, we charge one copper miza per garment." "Right, thank you so much." She counted out the requisite coins. "I'd like... all of that you just said, please." "Of course." He counted up the money himself before storing it away. "Your laundry will be taken care of, and a towel will be brought out to you. Women's changing rooms are to the left. Enjoy your bath." "Thank you," Dovey replied automatically. She turned to Garland, setting a hand on the crook of his elbow. "Well - see you inside?" (OOC: 2 SM for the bath, 1 CM for a towel, 1 CM each to launder her dress and undergarments. 2 SM 3 CM total.)

[Garland]

Garland walked into the men's locker room and stripped down, he picked up the clothes and walked into the bathing room proper.

Steam rose up from the pools, giving the area a nice misty atmosphere. Garland looked to the female entrance and waited for Dovey. Garland was still a man, and he did stare, but he was also a friend and he didn't care, he was more concerned about her well-being than getting his 'freak' on.

Garland just stood by the edge of the pool and just feel in, front first, there was a loud thump in the water, and he just floated there for a few ticks. He twisted and stood up. "Ahh... Shouldn't have done that... But it did woke me up."

A worker came over to Garland and placed some soaps, oils, and a towel where chose to do his belly-flop.

The water was warm, soothing, but it wasn't the warmest, there were private pools were were hotter, more expensive and had more privacy, but he wasn't sure if Dovey would agree to that, in truth he felt somewhat awkward with her, but he did have his charms and he simply hid his awkward feeling.

"Ahhhh... The water's great, there's nothing like soaking in the waters after a long day of working... Hey, to some people drinking is a lot of hard work." Garland laughed and accidentally splashed some of the water to Dovey.

"Oh... Sorry about that." Garland couldn't help but let a suppressed giggle out. I wasn't really all that funny, but he did try to laugh, maybe that would cheer Dovey up.

[Dovey]

Dovey followed the receptionist's directions, slipping through the door to the left and into the heavy stillness of an empty changing room. It took her only a moment to disrobe, slipping her dress over her head and piling it and her undergarments in her arms, but she hesitated a moment in the changing room nevertheless. The damp air was chill on her skin; her body pricked with goosebumps while her mind whirled with undeveloped thought. What were they doing at the bathhouse, how had she meant the suggestion to come here, how had Garland taken it? But petch it - she couldn't do this - just standing around, all thought, no action. She couldn't handle it now - she clutched the bundle of clothes to her chest with one arm and shoved open the door to the bath with the other. "Garland!" The touch of relief in her voice surprised her, but she shrugged it off, following her companion to the edge of the steaming pool. He was naked too, of course, but she was oddly uninterested in looking. Just get in the water. Just get in the water, then you'll feel all right. She stooped to set the bundle of clothing down, far enough from the edge of the pool that it wouldn't roll into the water, and caught the eye of a nearby worker. Nodding to her, he headed over to scoop up the clothes. She didn't wait to watch him; a loud, slapping splash brought her eyes wheeling round again to the bathing pool at her feet. Garland had done a belly flop. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight, Garland's joking words a few ticks later reassuring her that he hadn't hurt himself. She pivoted and lowered herself into the pool, an aching sort of relief spreading through her muscles as they were submerged in the heat. "Gods," she said, letting herself sink sideways into the water, toes scraping along the shallow bottom of the pool, "I think I really needed this." She nodded in heartfelt agreement as she listened to Garland speak, then cracked a smile at his joke. "If you're really dedicated, ale is - hey!" She tried to dodge the splash, overbalanced, and accomplished the opposite of her goal by going completely underwater before she could get to her feet again. She emerged a moment later, shaking her head like a dog might. "You twit!" Still, she was chuckling. "I'll have revenge!" She aimed a splash of her own toward him with her hand, careful now to keep her feet on the slippery tiles.

[Garland]

Garland genuinely laughed at Dovey, he felt a bit of a flutter in his heart when she laughed. "I'd like to see you try!" Garland laughed and wadded away from Dovey, trying to get away from the incoming splash.

He slipped on the tiles fell face first into the water again. Luckily this time not as hard, but he got just as wet. Garland rolled over and just drifter on the water. "Hah, I guess the tiles are extra slippery today."

Garland stood back up and wadded his way back to Dovey. He dunked his head under the water and started scrubbed his scalp and hair, trying to get rid of as much of the gunk and sweat before actually using the soaps provided.

"I've grown to like you a lot Dovey, but I don't really know much about you. Do you have any hobbies? Things to like to do, places to like to frequent? You know, the normal stuff people ask out on dates."

Garland facepalmed himself. "Oh how rude of me, I should probably start before asking you about stuff."

He cheered his throat and thought about what to say. "I'm a squire... Lived in Syliras for my whole life... well, I guess when I was a year old babe I was on the road, from Sunberth to Zeltiva then to Zeltiva to Syliras."

Garland took a bar of soap given to him by a rather beautiful lady. One could see that a lot of the males would choose to be helped bathed by with their bathing from the workers here and there, Garland simply ignored all of them, his focus was completely on Dovey.

"I believe my parents are in Sunberth, I thought they were dead for the longest time, but I apparently have a younger sister according to a Konti seer, and they are usually right with their fortunes, so they weren't dead when I was dropped off in the Orphanage. I don't blame them for leaving me here, taught me how to take care of myself."

Garland started washing himself with the soap, getting all the suds and foam to cover his body. "Never got adopted, mostly because I was a handful, no one wanted a child they couldn't control, so there's that. I lived alone for a year after I left the orphanage, I couldn't cook at all and more often than not, I was busy trying to keep myself from food poisoning."

"So a squire convinced me to join the knights, I always wanted to, but I just didn't feel like it was my calling, but it seemed like I was wrong about that. So now I'm here, a squire that is.

[Dovey]

Dovey chuckled, following Garland slowly and clumsily through the water. When her date slipped she startled backwards reflexively, almost falling into the water again, but managed to balance herself once more while Garland rolled over to float on the surface of the bath. She ran her fingers through her hair, fluffing it out; the oily strands caught in tangles against her fingers, offering small moments of resistance before they worked loose. With her hair, as well as the smell of too much drinking that lurked still about her body, she truly needed to wash up. She stooped, bracing her toes against the slippery tiles, and splashed warm water against her frame. She scrubbed lightly with her palms as Garland made his way back over to her side and began cleaning himself as well. "I've grown to like you a lot Dovey," he said, working his fingers along his scalp, "but I don't really know much about you. Do you have any hobbies? Things you like to do, places you like to frequent? You know, the normal stuff people ask out on dates." She took in a breath to respond, but before she could he was speaking again, slapping his forehead and apologizing for being rude. She hadn't thought his behavior impolite, but she didn't interrupt him to say so, listening instead with her eyes steady on his own as he told her about his life. He was a squire? That surprised her, mildly. She had assumed he was a knight, and nothing he had said before now had challenged that assumption. She supposed it made sense that he hadn't moved up in the ranks yet, being young; still, it was a little disappointing to discover Garland wasn't one of the city's brave protectors her mother had extolled, but only in training to become one. Oh, don't be a silly idiot, she scolded herself. Mother was too romantic about the knights anyway. Was. She bit down on her lip and listened to him talk about his parents, calm until she realized what he was saying: his parents had abandoned him. "They just left you?" She was too startled to be tactful. "And you don't miss them?" A pang of fierce jealousy stung her heart; she shoved it down, scooping water up in both hands and splashing it over her face. Noticing a worker trying to hand her a bar of soap, she seized it, nodding and mouthing her thanks. By her side, Garland concluded his story. She was silent for a moment, dipping the soap in the water to moisten it before beginning to rub it over her skin. "I traveled as a baby too," she said at last, not looking at the man beside her. "Well, I was born at sea - 'm half Svefra - but, well, Mother never got used to ships." She was starting already to rush her words, tripping hastily through them as if that would make the reminder of her family less potent. "Raised in Kenash, came here few days ago." She shut her mouth hard on the last word. She couldn't handle this. What had he asked earlier? Hobbies. Favorite places. "I like to drink," she said, with a quirk of the mouth like a smile. "I like to flirt, I like handsome men. But you know all that already." She rubbed the soap through her hair, working up a good lather. "I used to groom horses," she said, careful to stay nonchalant for her own emotions' sake; the past was a battlefield all its own now. "I enjoyed that. Maybe I'll get a job working with them here. Do you like horses?" Crouching, she scooped up a handful of water and poured it across her hair, keeping a hand at her forehead against the soapy liquid running down toward her eyes.

[Garland]

Garland nodded. "I think they left me, it's all very confusing, at first I thought they were killed by the knights by some misunderstanding, something concerning a pair of brigands, then the knights took me to the orphanage, where I think they thought they were dead so they told me that. I don't know what happened but they went to Sunberth and stayed there I reckoned."

Garland didn't really think about his family at all now, he had his own to worry about, even if it was very small. Garland washed off the soap and lathered some more on his hands. "Sverfa you say? I've met a few Sverfa before, nice chaps... Well... Nice if you like fighting, drinking, and seeing who has the biggest boat. Sorry, 'ship' I don't know why they get all uppity when people call their ships boats. I mean, they both float in the water right?"

Garland was just kidding, he did enjoy the angry reactions he would sometimes get from the Sverfa when he would say that, and a good brawl was something he enjoyed from time to time. "Never liked sailing myself, meet a Sverfa lady about a year ago once, she was quite a wildcard if I recall."

Garland listened to Dovey, Garland must admit he didn't know much about horses, but he did have his own horse, but he was too busy training or patrols to take care of his horse himself. "I like horses, but I don't think you would like my horse, he's about half a size of a Tiaden Warhorse, but twice as hardy and brave. I think he broke my ribs once when he kicked me, he's a smart one, but very hard to control I think."

A worker came over to Garland, offering him some scented oils. "No thank you." The worker smiled, and went over to Dovey and offered her some.

"Garland's a good man, brave, you should find his patron knight and ask her about his exploits, he'd downplay his role, it'll be best not to ask him then." She whispered and walked off.

[Dovey]

Dovey nodded, continuing to wash herself as Garland explained what he knew of his family. What a puzzling situation - but at least his parents were still alive. Not that he seemed to care, or that he'd gotten any good of them, but... still. The jealousy surfaced again and she squashed it, listening determinedly to Garland as he spoke. She chuckled, half-offended and half-amused, at Garland's comments on the Svefra. "Hey now! Papa would've punched you for that," she said, aiming a splash of water at him in retaliation. "Then he would've spent the next half bell explaining the difference between a boat and a ship." She shook her head, a hint of nostalgia creeping into her expression. "I don't know if I like sailing myself," she said, in reply to Garland's next statement. "I mean, it's not that I'm uncertain, I actually have no idea. Mother never let Papa teach me." Dovey's brow furrowed slightly and she glanced down and away from the man beside her as she lathered her arms with soap. She was telling Garland rather a lot about her family, wasn't she? It was strange of her, specially as... well, that... was such a sensitive subject now. Still, despite the twinges of grief in her stomach and on her face as she spoke about her parents, answering the squire candidly felt more natural than she'd have guessed it would. She smiled at Garland's description of his horse. "Oh, I might like him, he sounds like a warrior. I don't think I'd get too close, though! What's his name?" She dipped each arm into the warm bath, washing them clear of soap, then filled her cupped hands with water and sluiced her hair. When the worker offered her the oils, she hesitated a moment, then shook her head. "No, thank you." She expected the woman to leave, then, but instead she leaned forward to whisper in Dovey's ear. The Kenashian girl startled at her approach, but listened without interruption to what the worker had to say - which seemed to be a bit of praise for Garland. Dovey's eyebrows climbed her forehead. Was Garland famous, then, or was this a childhood friend or some such? Either way, she supposed it couldn't hurt to follow the woman's advice and speak to her dashing squire's patron knight. She had to admit she was curious. Dovey turned back to Garland, smiling. "I've just been told in great secrecy that you have a patron knight," she said, drawing out each word in a mock-conspiratorial tone. "Do tell me something about her."

[Garland]

Garland got splashed again, and he just laughed it off. "Never had the pleasure of sailing myself, been on a ship before, had fun, kinda bumpy when I got on though."

Garland dumped his head into the water, getting his head all wet and ready for cleaning. He resurfaced from the water and heard what Dovey asked. "Catherine? Where'd you hear that?"

Garland just shook his head. "Doesn't matter. How best to describe her... Off duty, she's like a sister to me, but when she's on duty, she's like a mother. More often than not though, she'll try to annoy and pester me with just about anything. When we're training, she does not let up until I'm beaten, she's good like that, forces me to be better rather than be complacent, she'll always find a way to make training harder. I think I can beat her in a one-on-one fight with my sword though."

"You'd beat me at what?"

Garland felt a foot push his head back down into the water and a splash soon followed after. Garland didn't even react at this point, somehow, he knew fate would place Catherine just where he was when they started talking about her.

"Dovey, this is Sera Catherine. Sera, this is Dovey."

Catherine gave a friendly smile. "Pleasure, tell me... Was my squire giving you much trouble? Because I didn't seem to have seen him come back to the dorms last night."

"I can ex-" Garland was thwacked on the back of the head and his head dunked into the water, he could feel the water go up his nose and it burned his nostrils. He resurfaced from the water and blew the water out of his nose.

"Twenty laps tomorrow, dawn."

"I-"

"Twenty-five."

"But-"

"Thirty."

Garland just kept quiet at that point, with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he slinked back into the water.

[Dovey]

Dovey opened her mouth, drawing in a breath to answer Garland's question, but he cut her off with a quick "doesn't matter." She shrugged, teasing her fingers through her sopping hair, her eyes on her companion as he described his patron knight. Behind Garland's back a woman approached the edge of the bath, but Dovey paid her no mind until she spoke - one foot reaching out at the same time to shove Garland's head underwater. Dovey startled, eyes jerking up to the formidable woman before her. Her muscled form, as well as her comment a moment ago, made it plain that this was Garland's Catherine. Garland emerged from the water a moment later, droplets falling rapidly from the ends of his hair. He seemed almost nonchalant as he introduced the two women to each other, and Dovey felt a tremor of amusement; it was clear this kind of situation was not uncommon with the knight and her squire. She nodded in greeting to Catherine - or Sera Catherine, Garland had said, was that what female knights were called? Mother hadn't mentioned it. "Pleasure," the knight began, and Dovey repeated the word as a matter of course, only a syllable behind. But Sera Catherine was not finished speaking, and though her tone was friendly, there was something foreboding beneath the surface. "Tell me..." The pause was momentary, but ominous nonetheless. Dovey knew it was Garland who would be in trouble, not herself, but she couldn't stop her shoulders tensing. "Was my squire giving you much trouble?" Catherine continued. "Because I didn't seem to have seen him come back to the dorms last night." Oh. Oh dear. Clearly, this sort of thing was more of an issue in Syliras than in Kenash. Suddenly Dovey was very conscious of both their nakedness. One arm inched up to cover her breasts as she cleared her throat awkwardly. "W - " She got no further before Garland, blessedly, had his patron's attention again. Or, Dovey supposed, not so blessedly for the squire himself. He didn't get much further than she had into his explanation before his head was shoved beneath the surface of the pool. She watched as he resurfaced and attempted once more to justify himself, only resulting in stricter and stricter penalties until he gave up and sank into the water like a granidile. Dovey wrapped her arm tightly about her chest, looking back to Sera Catherine. She smiled. "He, ah, he gave me no trouble at all. Sera. And we didn't do anything, if that matters." Her cheeks were hot, but when she spoke she managed a reasonable imitation of a casual tone.