Completed [Soothing Waters] Should'a Stayed Home [M'wanii]

[Wanda Endust]

Soothing Waters Bath and Massage
75th of Fall, 513 AV
20th Bell

Syna had set only chimes ago. Torches were being lit one by one, illuminating the inside walls of the citadel. Whatever shadows the light crowded out now huddled in lonely corners.

Still, the torches provided little comfort to those heading home that night. Somewhere overhead a storm was brewing. Besides that, word had gotten around that some old factory in the warehouse district had been burned down. The general consensus was calling it arson. Some even went so far as to put a name to the perpetrator -- some unknown Rogue-something-or-other character.

All the talk had Wanda uneasy, and she pressed on through the sparse crowds to the Soothing Waters, drawing her cloak tighter about her body. She'd been a fool not to invest in some warmer clothes for the weather.

For the second time this season, Wanda'd been called in to work the night. The bath house seemed to be experiencing an extraordinary lack of workers as of late -- some either sent word that they were too ill, while others simply decided to take the city's advice and stay home.

With fewer people out and about, Wanda managed to make it to the bath house in good time.

"What if he makes his way to the Maiden District? Our own homes could be next!"

One of the twin doors swung ajar and a pair of burly bearded men exited, caught up in their conversation. "Eh, ye'd think that in a city that prides herself on justice and order an' whatnot, the guards would be able t' keep one maniac from escaping."

At that, the smaller or the two men caught sight of Wanda and elbowed his companion to silence. They crossed their arms simultaneously and continued on their way, their muffled tones now now hushed and their words hidden by the storm's own dull rumble.

Wanda frowned -- the first man had a good point. Maybe leaving her mother alone in their apartment was not a good idea...

With a worry-furrowed brow and a resigned sigh, Wanda descended the staircase to the reception desk. A worn-out Ivis hailed her. "Evening, Wanda. Before you get set up and all, we need your help with a... clean up."

"Clean up?"

"Yes. It seems a couple men got into a brawl in the main bathing room. The knights came by and swept them off to the tank. Anyhow, there should be an attending there already. But with our distinct shortage of workers right now," he looked bitter bringing it up, "I'm sure they'd appreciate you help. Besides, I don't think you'll be getting many clients too soon." He gestured vaguely towards the ceiling, indicating the storm. A clap of thunder rang out to emphasize the point.

"Oookay," the teen wearily acquiesced, already moving towards the main hall. The receptionist caught her by the shoulder. "It's this Rogue Knight figure," he explained, lifting his hand after a moment's contact. "He's gotten everyone riled up. Do be careful."

Wanda cocked an eyebrow, a teasing gleam in her eye despite the serious setting. "Since when am I not careful?" Ivis gave an incredulous look and waved her off.

There were very few bathers in the great bath. Most of those present were huddled together discussing whatever they were discussing in hushed tones. Like Ivis had said, an attending was kneeling, hunched, by the edge of the pool, scrubbing away at some stain.

"Ah, I was told to help you out here," Wanda spoke up as she approached. As she got closer, the stain grew more distinct. "Is that... blood?" The worker sat up, wiping his brow with a free hand. "It's nothing serious. But I do think someone involved lost a tooth. Or maybe a couple. Would you mind looking around for those?"

"Suuure." On one hand, she would've like to know what had happened. On the other, it was probably best to not think about it too much. With that, Wanda traipsed off towards the nearby wall, scanning the stone floor as she went. If I were a tooth, where would I hide?...

[M'Wanii]

M'wanii had made up her mind striding through the near empty streets, she was never going to get lost again. The sudden decision had come when she had encountered to Ghosts after losing her way in the streets. The beings nature still troubled her greatly, what were they. Passing by locals she heard mutterings that the warehouse she had seen engulfed in red flames was now no longer alight. That was a relief, when she had seen it the knights had been struggling even with the down pour of rain. The Charoda entered the bath house, her by now normal wear of a high scarf and low hood plus robes hiding her features as Ivis greeted her. He had been expecting her no doubt due to the fact she now spent her evenings in the bathes. Playing the normal fee for her pool, the manager pointed out to her the way and wished the amphibian well. Bobbing her head at him as a sign of thanks, she scurried over the stone floors. One or two attendants recognised her passing figure and darted out the way, whispering to each. She caught fragments of what they were saying, '...told me....vengeful spirit....hideous monster....never seen their face..'. Oh dear seems her concealitive nature had started some sort of rumour going. Better this then them calling her a fish monster. Why did it always seem to be fish? Charoda were more closely related to frogs than fish. Shaking her head at these musings, M'wanii passed by the main pool. There were fewer bathers than normal, mostly likely on account of the weather than anything else. Shame that the land dwellers despised the wet, she could never fathom why this was having grown up in the ocean. Most of the pools occupants seemed on edge, speaking in low serious voices. Members of the staff were cleaning over at the side of the pool, she was approaching. One was wiping up a gory looking puddle, there had been a fight again. It happened every few days, a little too much fermented fruit juice and a little too much joking lead to a fist in the face then the bruising of flesh and breaking of bones. Pathetic. Could these people not live peacefully with one and other as her people did. Sighing the Charoda continued on her journey, only to crash straight into a bent over small blonde woman that at that point rounded the corner. The girl had had her eyes to the floor and hadn't appeared to have noticed the visitor until they both hit the stone floor. The amphibian slowly pushed herself off the floor in to a sitting position, taking in what had happened. Concern over took any anger toward the incident. Instinctively M'wanii reached out to the teen, forgetting her lack of gloves to hid the membrane, claw-like nail and rubbery grey skin that were her hands. “Oh goodness! Be you okay young one?” Her common was broken and heavily accented but this didn't hide the heavy dose of motherly concern poured over every word. It was only then that M'wanii realised her hood had come off in the fall and her scarf was now displaced around her neck. Her natural Charoda feature were now on full display. Everything from the scars that raged over the right side of her face right down to her pupil less eyes and slit like nose. Perfect.

[Wanda Endust]

There it was! Wanda had caught sight of the tooth in question, but found herself planted solidly on the floor before she could even consider what had happened. She smelled copper, as if her nose was bleeding. She wasn't, evidenced by the lack of blood on the hand that the teen ran across her face as she straightened herself out.

Right. What had happened? She wasn't paying attention, and either she'd ran into someone or they'd crashed into her. Or both. Probably both. But who?

Before Wanda could totally regather her wits, a speaker reached out to her. The voice was foreign and tinny, and reminded Wanda of the time she and her father had spent the afternoon talking to each other through glass bowls.

Anyhow, Wanda sat staring at the hand offered to her. It's a fish, she thought matter-of-factly to herself. No, that couldn't be right. It was a hand, see? There was the sleeve, the shoulder, the face of the individual at was attached to.

Oh.

Mouth agape, Wanda slowly adjusted her position to sit on her knees. She was distantly aware that some people were staring, pointing, whispering, and generally making a small ruckus around the pair, but no one seemed to dare say anything outright.

Wanda paid no mind to the other individuals in the room -- why would she? The being before her was... interesting enough that the teen could find herself regarding the creature for quite some time. Naturally, she had no idea what a Charoda was, and Wanda found herself torn between stepping closer and retreating. Rather than doing either, she stayed where she was.

Now, Wanda couldn't exactly say that the being before her was hideous. She wasn't. Just simply... different.

But whatever semblance of a social filter Wanda had was dissolved in the shock. "I'm fine," she began easily enough. "You are a fish."

Out of the corner of her eye, Wanda saw Ivis make his way into the room. He surveyed the scene, frowned, and turned to his small gathering of employees. "Aaand back to work, folks!"

[M'Wanii]

Land dwellers. Petching land dwellers. Moment they laid eyes on a Charoda, it was always the same. Ahhh, it’s a fish person. Despite the clear obvious facts that Charoda lacked gills and scales, they always were related back to fish. M’wanii tried to not let her frustration form on her face, she honestly did but she had never had any skill in acting. At least Ivis was diverting people away, the perks of being a regular customer. The amphibian doubted she would have had the patience to deal with any more people staring and making comments at her right now. Fixing a horribly fake smile to her face the Charoda corrected the young blonde, “I am a member of an amphibious water-dwelling race from the south known as the Charoda. Pleased to acquaint with you, miss …?” Regardless of whether blondie answered the implied question, M’wanii quickly collected her hood from the floor. She then rose to her feet, or at least tried to, only to trip over her own feet and fall again. The amphibian was beginning to sorely miss the weightless feeling came with travelling in the water, Laviku’s personal gift to those living beneath the waves. Sore and cross, she rose to stand again, swaying slightly on her feet before gaining balance. Now which way was it to her pool. OOCSorry for late reply! D:

[Wanda Endust]

After staring for a tick more, Wanda eventually snapped herself out of her reverie just in time to notice the familiar look of frustration that crossed the being's features. Was it frustration though? Maybe different visual cues meant different things in different cultures?

Then the creature spoke once more and, despite her best efforts at a smile, it was obvious that she was indeed frustrated.

"Oh!" Wanda exclaimed suddenly. "I'm... sorry?" In all honesty, she didn't entirely understand most of what the being was saying -- not because of any difficulty with language on the Charoda's part, but because Wanda was unfamiliar with most of what she'd heard.

Amphibious? What did that mean? Obviously it didn't mean fishy. But it must have something to do with living in water. And south -- the fields? There were water-creatures in the fields?

It took a second for the teen to realize the Charoda had been asking her name. "Wanda," she offered, a split second before the sea-dweller found herself on the floor again.

Wanda rushed to her side, but the being found her feet again before the blonde had a chance to help her up. She bit her lip as the Charoda seemingly gave her a cold shoulder.

"Sorry, that was a little rude of me earlier," Wanda began, catching a glimpse of the peeved expression on her face. Unfortunately, Wanda was still a bit confused. "But, y'know, you are in the middle of a, uh, human-populated city. Most of us haven't seen you before. You can't seriously expect us to not be a little weirded out..."

[M'Wanii]

Wanda. The name matched its owner well. Shame, that she was very under informed about the world. In truth the girl hadn't done that much wrong. M'wanii had had a long and was just simply in a bad mood right now. Being on land was not her comfort zone but here she was. The teen had even apologised and what she had pointed out was indeed true. A worried young woman trying to deal with something she didn't quite understand. Heh, funny how that sounded like M'wanii barely a week ago. Lost and confused, almost literally a fish out of water in the city. Eyes focused on the worried expression before her, the anger seemed to drain away. Rapidly with this, her expression softened. There was no need getting angry over something that seemed to happen daily. Splashing her face with some water out of her water skin before pulling back on her hood and reajusting her scarf, the amphibian addressed the blonde maiden with in a warmer tone. “I am well aware of this fact. Though it still confuses me, as the humans known as Svetfa seem to have no problem with my people. Yet people here do? Also do you not think you are seeming to be strange to me, Miss Wanda?” The maiden's name seemed to almost purr out M'wanii's mouth as she locked eyes with the land dweller, bright hazel with pupil less grey. The Amphibian's face quirked into a toothy smirk at her own question. I wonder, do they seriously think themselves normal? These people on the land, of earth and sand and stone. So violent, loud and foreign in their way of life, yet they always seem to find mine unusual? How funny they are. How odd and different. OOCI'm terrible with late replies!

[Wanda Endust]

Wanda had spoken, and had somehow managed to form a coherent statement. Unfortunately for everyone involved, her mind kept going back to fish-people.

Fish-people didn't exist. Surely, surely this was some kind of dream. Think of it, fish-people! She nearly laughed out loud at the outrageous thought. What was even more preposterous, Wanda realized, was the fact that such a creature had found its way to the bath house she just so happened to work in, and had just so happened to cross her path. Oh yes, it was far too unbelievable to be anything but a figment of her imagination.

And yet, there it was in all its amphibious glory. The Charoda might not have looked particularly human, but her mannerisms -- particularly the way she adjusted her clothes -- were oddly human-like. It threw off Wanda sensibility to see such a foreign creature, especially one so resembling an animal, acting so incredibly civilized. More civilized, in fact, than a good number of folks she'd encountered in some parts of the city.

Nevertheless, when the Charoda spoke again, Wanda listened.

Svefra? the teen pondered. She was only slightly familiar with the seafarers. Were they really accustomed to the strange race? She would have to take the Charoda's word on that account, but she couldn't see any reason that the fact would be untrue. Svefra were sailors, and Charoda were amphibious fish-people. The two races seemed like they might have to encounter each other fairly regularly.

"Well, you kinda took a dive into the deep end, if you know what I mean," Wanda tried to joke, after pausing a moment to gather her thoughts. The Charoda did have a good point there, but some part of Wanda took a bit of offense to being called "strange".

But then she remembered the task at hand. This was all very interesting, but there were things to do. Ivis had already successfully dispersed the crowd, and she was sure it wouldn't be too long before he realized that she was dawdling. "Well, you think we're odd and we think you're weird, so at least we're all on the same page here," she cracked, "Buuut I've got to get to work." Wanda swept the floor with her eyes once more. She'd spotted that tooth just a couple chimes ago, hadn't she? Where was it now?

Ah, there.

Before she cast after it though, she glanced back at the Charoda. "How long are you gonna be here? If you need anything or something, uh, just gimme a shout!" She paused, considering her words. How good were fish-people -- or amphibious people -- at recognizing figures of speech? "Not, like, a literal shout though. Just, eh, let me now if you need something."

[M'Wanii]

"Well, you kinda took a dive into the deep end, if you know what I mean," M'wanii couldn't agree more with the blonde's words. When she had first ventured here, it had been to the many tales of it's wonder and peaceful nature. However since arriving she had been called names, laughed at and attacked by a vicious idiot with a stick. Not the adventure she had planned for and now with Autumn drawing to a close the Charoda feared for her safety during the time she was trapped on the land by winter's fearsome grasp. Regardless of the amphibians thought the Blonde babbled on. "Well, you think we're odd and we think you're weird, so at least we're all on the same page here, Buuut I've got to get to work." It was becoming quickly obvious she wanted to be anywhere other than here, which M'wanii had no objection to. However she appeared to be searching for something. Following her gaze, the woman speaking to her again brought the Charoda's head back around before she could properly see what Wanda was looking for. “How long are you gonna be here? If you need anything or something, uh, just gimme a shout!" She seemed to have stopped but just as M'wanii opened her mouth to reply the blonde jumped in with another barrage of fast spoken Common. "Not, like, a literal shout though. Just, eh, let me now if you need something." Waiting a few more ticks to make sure, Wanda had truly finished, M'wanii then replied to her. “Where be the Private pools located?”

[Wanda Endust]

OOCI feel like we should wrap this up soon

Wanda hadn't realized the Charoda had been trying to say something until she'd finished speaking herself. Almost immediately, a sensation of guilt prickled at Wanda's consciousness.

No, that wasn't quite true. Wanda knew that some small amount of guilt was the appropriate response to the situation. She tried to feel guilty. But, really, it was a difficult emotion to feel for someone or something so alien. Guilt required an emotional connection between two people, and how was one supposed to forge a bond with someone so unlike herself?

Now that was a sad thought, and Wanda felt guilty for her lack of guilt. "Down that-a-way," she began with an apologetic half-smile. Her hand waved in the direction of the opposite side of the great pool, where a smaller set of double doors were located, just visible through the swirling steam. "Through those doors, there's a hallway with a bunch of rooms for private pools," she explained as briefly as possible.

Again, her mind drifted. This fish-person -- uh, Charoda -- probably needed water to live, right? And if she was in a land city (for a tick she pondered this statement and wondered if there were water cities) did that mean she would be staying here a while? Oh gods, if the Charoda were staying here a while, that would mean that Wanda would be operating under the same roof as her?

Why did that matter so much? What if... What if I'm racist? There were certain people, Wanda knew, that were predisposed to think lowly of others because of they way thy were born. The thought made Wanda's stomach lurch. She certainly didn't think she was racist, and she'd never considered herself thus before now. Yet all signs here pointed to 'yes'. That was disappointing -- she didn't particularly want to have such an awful quality. Surely she wasn't. She was simply confused. Fish-people weren't supposed to exist. Or, rather, she'd never expected them to exist. It was a bit much for her already stress-frazzled brain to handle. She'd need to either work on her feelings or apologize. But that would have to be later.

For now though, she really ought to be getting to work. That tooth. Without hesitating this time, Wanda sidestepped over to the base of the wall and scooped up the tiny piece of bone, pitying the poor sap it must've belong to. Not only was he being detained by the knights, but his mouth was probably pretty sore to boot.

[M'Wanii]

"Down that-a-way, through those doors, there's a hallway with a bunch of rooms for private pools," Those words and a hesitant wave of the apologetically smiling blonde's hand were all the charoda needed. Sketching her face into a fake smile, M'wanii gave a sharp nod at the woman as a way of a thank you before placing one booted foot in front of the other as quickly as she could. It's not that she didn't like the land dweller but more the fact her skin was rapidly losing moisture. Having near 'drowned' on land a few weeks previous the amphibian had no desire to repeat the experience. Chest heaving for air that never came, head spinning as the world went blurry around the eyes of her vision and the feeling of firey dryness licking up and down her body, it was not something she would easily forget. However it was only one of the many dangers that being out of the sea provided. Reaching the doors, she fought briefly with the door handle before it complied and let her slip into a pleasant humidity. Once through the smile soon fell and an expression of complete exhaustion replaced it, it had been a long day. The hallways beyond was made of a similar stone to that on the rest of the Springs, 'and the rest of the city.' thought M'wanii. No coral anywhere, just stone, air breathers really were quite uncreative sometimes. Along the hall was various door ways, some were closed indicating the pool beyond was in use whilst others lay open inviting people in. Heading for the later, the Charoda had barely locked the wooden door when she collapsed next to the pool. A trembling hand scooped up the water and throw it one her face before she dared move. Pulling off her gloves, hood and boots violently, she only just remembered to take off her robe and bag before she jumped into the shallow pool. Disappearing below the surface or the warm water, the rest of her clothes were soon removed and thrown, sopping wet out of the pool. Stretching out in the water, M'wanii enjoyed feeling of weightlessness she had missed so much. Spreading her toes and fingers, she could feel the water shift with every slight kick her feet gave. If only the pool was larger and deeper then she would be able to swim again. Shrugging off that longing the amphibian slowly drifted off to sleep under the pool's surface, calm and happy for that moment at least. OOCAnd with that this thread is done. Feel free to add another post if you feel like it or just submit it for grading.