Drych Lake Spa: Hot Springs

The feeling of hot steam on her face felt absolutely wonderful, and Aria let out a deep sigh of satisfaction. The locker room was very warm and just as immaculate as the rest of the spa was. She couldn't wait to see the springs themselves- her shoulder was still aching from her fight in the circus.

"Isn't this great? I'm so glad we came along on this mission." She picked up a towel, marveling at its softness before turning to Estelle. Judging by her face, it was rather obvious the girl wasn't quite sure what to do. Aria chuckled in amusement, going over to the girl and giving her a soft pat on the head. "We change out of our clothes here, then we go out and rinse before we hop into the springs." She explained, stepping into a changing room.

Short moments later she steps back out, now clad only in a towel and shoulder length hair let out of its usual bun. Her clothes and scarf were draped over one arm before she stuffed them into a locker, motioning for Estelle to do the same. "Hey, when we get in would you mind washing my back for me? I'll do the same for you~" She winked, before taking their darling leader's hand and pulling her towards the door to the springs, feeling very excited to have a nice soak after all this time.

The springs were just as beautiful as she had imagined, and she paused at the doorway to take it all in. It had the feel of an outdoor spring, with high ceiling and rocks surrounding the steaming water. There were potted plants everywhere, and quickly Aria spotted the rinsing area. It had a wall of small faucets as well as quaint wooden buckets that people could use. Bottles of shampoo and body wash lined the wall of rocks, behind which was the high partition that separated the women's bath from the men's.

"It's even better than I imagined," she breathed, stepping forward only to have the patter of paws stop her. She looked down, eyes widening at the small puppy by her feet who was looking up at them in curiosity with a bucket of soapy water in its mouth. It tilted its head, sloshing some water on the floor and she bent down, giving it a pat on the head.

"Hello there, little guy. Whatchu doing in here? Are you cleaning the bath?" She was only joking, but a sudden scream from Estelle nearly had her toppling over in surprise. She looked up in alarm, only to see a man standing there, face red and just as nervous as they were and maybe even a little scared with a mop in his hand. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it, standing up quickly and adjusting her towel.

"I- um, we weren't aware that the bath was being cleaned-?"

Drych Lake Spa - Hot Springs

When Estelle asked if Quentin was a water mage, he had only nodded in response before she had turned her attention to Lute. He did not mind; the lass had spunk, if nothing else. It took some kind of vigor to shrug off getting clawed in the shoulder by a varren. Along with the others, Quentin proceeded to the hot springs.

The boys and the girls separated. With swift, fluid motion, Quentin snatched a towel and pulled off his top robes and undershirt with lightning quick efficiency. It was all he could do not to go running like a maniac into the hot springs. Finally, water! The battle on the trail had been much too long of an encounter away from a body of water and it had been a right nuisance, especially considering the type of enemy they had faced. However, that was in the past. The present held the anticipation, the oh-so glorious anticipation, of diving into a hot spring for a well-deserved and desperately needed soak. The dark-haired mage was grinning with glee when he noticed the virtuoso nearby sighing wistfully as he rubbed a towel on his face. Behind his sunglasses, Quentin felt his eyebrow arching. That was kind of different. He took off his sunglasses and polished the steam off them with his towel.

"So..." Lute said abruptly, turning to the water mage and totally trying to downplay how awkward that scene looked, "uh, not to make too fine a point on it, but...we take off our clothes before jumping into the water, right? I mean...really? I haven't been to one of these things before."

Quentin was positively puzzled. "Never been to a hot spring before, dude? You gotta be joking with me!"

Before Lute could answer - and truthfully, his look of abject embarrassment seemed to be enough of an answer anyway - Quentin sat down to yank off his own boots. "It's fine, man. Yeah, strip. It's like taking a bath, and I'm sure you haven't made it this far in life having a bath with underclothes on all the time. Quentin, by the way. I don't think I caught your name."

Sensing some hesitation on Lute's part, he added, "Chill, man. Once you dip into the hot springs, you're gonna be cool."

Drych Lake Spa - Corridor

"Woah woah WOAH!" Tau cried out as the bullets ricocheted past. Sure, nothing was broken, but what the heck?! Was she trying to get him fired?! Still, Miss Pix started talking about giving out autographs of all things, which at first Tau looked completely and utterly perplexed at. Either this girl thought a bit too high of herself, or... or...

"Why, are you gonna be famous? Are you already famous?" Hook, line and sinker. His striking green eyes sparkled as he brought his hand up to stroke his chin. He looked away from Trixie deviously. "I could get some good gald down the line if you will be..."

"And what, prey tell, is all this noise about?" A voice spoke out. Tau froze. Slowly, falteringly, he turned around...



Penelope stood over them both, once more with that sweet smile across her features. Now it was Tau's turn to break out into a cold sweat. "Ms Ste! I... uh... uh..." his eyes darted to Trixie, "cra-wait i mean drat! Come on! RUN!" With that he gestured to the Prankster and rocketed off down the corridor. Thankfully, Pen made no move to follow, instead putting her fingers to her forehead.

---

Drych Lake Spa - Reception

"Rhoden, love, how does it look from back there?"

Rhoden didn't seem to notice her words, staring transfixed through his binoculars. Those immaculate curves, the way they caught the light, that wonderfully soft appearance... "Divine... yes. Divine..." he muttered completely unabashedly. "Please, Marcy, use that walk more often. Please."

He cleared his throat all the sudden. "Anyway, I feel like a little walk, if you know what I mean," he winked. "Care to join me?"

---

Drych Lake Spa - Manicure/Pedicure room

Amy dragged them right in there, and to be honest Moira had no intention of protesting either. The pair charged in, leaving the very reluctant Syed trailing along behind them. Thankfully another member of staff arrived right at that moment, seating them down and lighting the candles as they sipped at their drinks. This was the life.

Moira kicked off her slippers. "Cor, I need some TLC down here," she sighed, wiggling her callused and blistered toes. "We do waaaaay too much walkin'."

"Heels probably don't help-" Syed started, removing his own footware with much less enthusiasm. He was quickly cut off by a flying slipper slapping him square between the eyes though, nearly knocking him off his chair.

"SHUT YER TRAP!" Moira bellowed, before she was gently shushed by the assistant. And with that, their feet were placed into small, beautiful bowls to soak and soften. More drinks were offered to those who wanted them - Moira most certainly being such a person - and they were allowed to recline and relax against those fluffy and soft towels which were placed behind their heads.

"You know, this is where we have a girly chat," Moira spoke. Syed immediately closed his eyes and turned his head away - he didn't need it pointing out. Moira instead turned to whom she considered her best friend.

"Well, I'm sure as hell glad you look better after that shit at the creepfest. You are alright though, right?" She frowned, having another chug. "We can talk about it if you want...? I know I feel better about shit after I shouted about it a while and punched some dudes."

Syed didn't say a word, knowing it best if he stayed out of this conversation. He couldn't help his fists clenching subconciously at the memory, however.

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa: Docks

Rowing his small boat back to shore and hopping from it with a flourish twirl and onto the wooden docks, Gramps lifted his head up and blinked his eyes as he looked all about him. As he was pulling back into port, he had discovered a most beautiful woman standing back on the dock’s deck, looking out at him! That had only helped fuel his need and desire to row back to the Spa, and now that he was here, and able to see the lass in front of him, Gramps nodded sagely to himself, once again confident and assured in his senses’ abilities. Even at his age, the ability to know when beautiful women nearby had never dulled.

Quickly tying the boat to the docks, Gramps began to saunter his way towards Nani, whom had been watching him approach. The man was quite small and wide, almost hunched over in body statue, as his age approached mid-eighties. He had very fine, whispy white hair trailing from a moustache and beard, and big, bushy eyebrows. As the man clad in fine, black robes, trimmed with white sleeves and boots approached Nani, he offered a wide, cheerful smile and saluted the pirate girl.

“Hello this, Miss! How are you? One of the Spa’s guests, I presume? My name’s Gramps! What, may I ask, could be yours?” The old timer walked up to Nani, and put his hands on his hips as he looked up at the much taller (in comparison) girl. “Are you staying with us at the Spa, today? You look like you could do with a good massage or two! Would you like one?”

---

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa: Hot Springs: Male Section

“Yeah, Lute, Quentin’s right! Don’t be afraid of getting naked!” Tobi’s voice from behind drew the attention of both the water mage and virtuoso, to reveal a completely buck naked marauder behind them taking off his boots with one hand, and swinging a towel about and onto his shoulder at the same time. For whatever peculiar reason, Tobi had decided to take his clothes off before his boots… an interesting challenge, no doubt.

“C’mon! Last one in’s a rotten egg!” Tobi laughed, whipping his towel off his shoulder and whiplashing Lute’s behind with it, as he ran straight towards the steaming springs and dove straight in. Marcus, Quentin and Lute were left speechless as they watched, until a sudden wolf whistle could be audible to all. A certain wolf whistle emanating from…

“…Lute?” Asked Marcus, whom had now finished changing and wore a towel around his waist as well. The virtuoso went beetroot red. Sometimes he hated his partner.

Tobi, meanwhile, started swimming back and forth.

---

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa: Hot Springs: Female Section

Estelle couldn’t take her eyes off her.

As both she and Aria got undressed, Estelle looked at Aria and was simply amazed at the girl’s skin and physique. She looked absolutely immaculate and beautiful, and Estelle could only wish she’d have skin that fine when she was a little bit older. But, considering all of the fighting she did, and the scars she bore, she wondered if that was even possible. But then again, Aria was a Guilder too, and she had her fair share of small scars too, so maybe one day…?

“Wash our backs…? Sure!” Estelle beamed, smiling widely and following Aria’s lead towards the springs. A part of her wished that more of the others were here to share in their excitement of the hot springs, but that was okay. She could simply come back again with them all later as well!

“Woooow~” Estelle gaped in amazement as they stepped out of the changing room, and into the outdoor hot springs proper. The outdoor area was furnished rather nicely, with a range of faucets and buckets to the side in a rinsing area, and giant rocks, peppered with potted plants and quaint, stone statues lining the edge of the steaming hot springs. Estelle couldn’t wait to enter the spring and find out what it was all about…!

And then she suddenly stopped, seeing someone very unfamiliar standing in front of her. A large, broad shouldered and lean, youthful man with messy hair, wearing an expression as shocked as Estelle’s. At the same time as the swordswoman’s own, his cheeks grew incredible red.

Estelle screamed.




“Ruff!” Jasper jumped and barked, sloshing more water from his bucket over the floor as Estelle screamed. His little tail wagged from side to side enthusiastically, happy to meet and talk to new people. His companion, Harvey Jr, however, said absolutely nothing.

"I- um, we weren't aware that the bath was being cleaned-?" Aria asked, readjusting her towel. Harvey took his eyes off Estelle to look at Aria, and recoiled back in surprise once again. He grew ever bashful, and averted his eyes to look directly at the ground. He then began to shuffle towards the changing room and exit, moving as quickly as he could to get out of their way and bare them the peace they deserved.

“S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-ssorry,” Harvey Jr stuttered so very meekly as he stopped at the exit, bowing deeply, and then rushed off again out of sight. Jasper in contrast, barked another, more jovial goodbye, and bounded after his best friend with a much more enthusiastic spring in his step, leaving an utterly confused and stunned Estelle and Aria behind.

Emerging into the reception, Harvey Jr stopped as he looked at the reception desk and saw the ‘Closed for Cleaning’ sign he had gotten out, ready to put over the Woman’s area, but having forgotten to do. The flustered man shook his head from side to side and buried it in his hands, before rushing off elsewhere. He needed to go find somewhere else to clean, and think about what he’d done, and the best way to apologise to those two ladies later.

Meanwhile, back on the docks, Estelle’s scream could be heard even as far as here. To the wise and worldly Gramps, he knew exactly what it was and where he came from. He smiled. He knew taking down the ‘Closed for Cleaning’ sign would be a great idea for his grandson!

Drych Lake Spa – Hot Springs

"It's fine, man. Yeah, strip. It's like taking a bath, and I'm sure you haven't made it this far in life having a bath with underclothes on all the time. Quentin, by the way. I don't think I caught your name."

Wait, wasn’t that going to hurt? From where he stood, the water didn’t look very … gentle. It wasn’t possible to get … burned, right? Before Lute could even address his brand new concerns, somebody called his name and he turned around to see one of their other companions- Tobias, was it? Unlike him, the other man was raring to jump into the springs; in fact, everyone had already changed out of their outfits and him standing around fully-clothed was starting to look strange.

“Wha-!?” Lute jumped in surprise when he felt something hit his bum. He could only watch in disbelief as the guilty party jumped gleefully into the spring, and the virtuoso turned back to his locker. As he was removing his shirt, Delilah let loose a piercing whistle and Lute got stuck. “T-that wasn’t me, I swear!” He shrieked and accidentally bumped against the wall as he struggled to get his shirt off. Good thing none of the guys paid much attention to it, perhaps attributing the noise to… well, whatever it was that could produce such a noise in this place. The virtuoso was far too busy making low key ‘dying whale’ sounds as he took off his clothes while hiding his face from sight; it was, after all, difficult not to get embarrassed when you were getting mental images of your nude companions repeatedly being flashed- and appreciated- by a spirit who lived in your head.

“D-don’t forget to rinse!” Lute skipped over to the open shower area and plopped down on the farthest stool. He opened the faucet and splashed his blushing face with the cool water. Delilah was cackling with maniacal glee when a scream- this time not caused by a perverted familiar- came in from... the other side of the building. The voice sounded strangely familiar too... The virtuoso stood up. Did anybody slip on a rock or something!?

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa

"Err... thanks man. See you later."

Jett waved and smiled at Tau as he sped off after Nani. Soon the H-ranker pulled up beside the pirate and continued talking mainly to himself. After sometime Captain joined in. Amused Jett responded promptly till the man and the parrot seemed to be engaged in an almost conversation.

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa: Docks

"You sure are smart, Captain... WOAH!"

The novice bounced up and down excitedly as he reached the very edge of the dock. He tethered along the edge swaying back and forth. The gentle breeze blew against his face and he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.

"Let's swim!"

Jett began unbuttoning his shirt and then unbuckling his belt. The last to be tossed aside were the bandages. With a jaunty wave, he backed all way towards the start of the dock, and then he dashed forward, narrowly avoiding Nani. At the last second he jump.

"Cannon ball!"

There was a loud splash as the enthusiastic rookie disappeared into the cool, clear water. Large ripples spread out and rocked the boat recently tied to the docks. Jett swam around just below the surface. Breaking above the surface he did a lazy backstroke towards the end of the dock where he last saw Nani.

"The water's great! Hey..."

His voice trailed off. Clearly the girl appeared to be busy chatting to the old man. He resisted the urge to splash both of them. Instead he rested his arms on the edge of the dock and peered at the other two.

"What's so great about a massage?" He asked curiously. "Is it fun? You sound totally excited."

Jett scooted along the dock till he was near Nani. "If it's as fun as he makes it, we should totally go!"

Drych Lake Spa - Reception Room

Marcy brought a hand to her lips, her fingers spread out and extended to accentuate their thinness and polished beauty. Not that it needed any accentuating to begin with - Rhoden was perfectly aware. "With pleasure, love!" She jutted her hip out to the side as Rhoden approached her, requesting that she join him in a little walk. With that cute ol' dastardly wink of his, no less. The moment he drew near, Marcy wrapped her arm around Rhoden's own and began taking charge of this so-called walk. "Oh, yes! Let's! My, Rhoden, you must be quite the mind-reader, as I was thinking the same thing! Hm hm hm~"

---

Drych Lake Spa - Nails nails nails

Amy too took another drink as they were offered, seeing as she had already finished the one she was given just outside. She intended to drink it a lot slower this time around, until Moira mentioned the 'creepfest' from earlier. The circus. Amy looked away for a moment before taking uncharacteristic chugs from her wine. Which was not something to really be... chugged.

When she lowered her glass, she looked back to Moira with a soft smile on her lips, before looking away again. "Yeah... I'm all right. Thank you." Her eyes drifted down to her feet, her toes wriggling in the bowl of warm, clean water. The masseuse working on her calves was doing an exquisite job. "I'm not really sure what else there is to say..." She let out a soft chuckle, obviously forced. "I'd hate to bore you."

There was a brief smile before Amy let out a sigh. Still she kept her eyes away from her two friends. "I never imagined I'd have to see those two again. Especially not over some kidnapping spree. We had a run-in a long time ago, and I know they're a bit in over their heads, and selfish, but... not to that degree." With a glass still in one hand, she held out for the other to be working on her nails. They were to be polished a deep emerald green, to match Amy's eyes.

"I mean... you saw them. How they were. I don't know how they acted before my arrival, but..." Her voice trailed off continuously. "When I heard that we were going to the circus... when I knew Guinevere and-- Vance were involved, I... ...I wasn't sure how to..." So many things left to be said, but she struggled with her words. Amy didn't mention it, but she was grateful to be able to reflect like this. Moira was right; getting shit off your chest with friends felt much better than holding it in. ... hah, with friends. Suddenly Amy started to laugh. It started to build to the point where she had to set down her glass to cover her mouth with her other hand; she couldn't stand laughing open-mouthed.

"And to think, after I had left them... I thought I'd be alone in all of this. Then, Trixie... Estelle, you, everyone else... hah! Now look at me. I've turned into a sap."

Her laugh was cut short by something booming through the room. Thankfully the employees were diligent enough not to screw up their handiwork on the girls, or they'd be worse than sorry.

"... Was that a scream?"

---

Drych Lake Spa - Corridor

"Running running running!" Trixie yelped as the intern gave the cue. He was pretty quick, much quicker than Trixie had expected, though Trixie being the speedster she was still kept ahead of him at least just a bit. As they charged further away from the seemingly nice lady, Trixie glanced over her shoulder to make sure Tau was keeping up. She yelled something back at him, but her dash was cut short as she ran straight into a wall instead of turning its corner.

She flopped back from it, wobbling dizzily, before catching her breath and continuing her charge down the next hall. "Pfffft! That was nothing for Pixie! I've been through worse and--"

A sudden scream filled the building. Trixie stumbled over thin air upon hearing this, and nearly crashed into one of many decorative columns. She hadn't even noticed the vase atop it tumbled and wobbled, threatening to fall off and shatter. "Didja hear that!? That's the sign of trouble! Come on, Sidekick Boy! This'll be your first mission - to saaaave the damsel in distreeeeess!" Trixie added a bit of an announcer tinge to her call.

Before Tau could even figure out just what exactly was even going on anymore, Trixie (with her guns back out) took off yet again, further down the aisle towards the origin of the cry.

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa- Dock

Cap held his head up proudly at the compliment. Nani was still wondering why the guy was boating so quickly when she heard Jett yell 'Cannon Ball'. Being the pirate she was, she perked up and looked around for where the cannon ball could have been- until she realized that Jett meant jumping in to the lake. "How disappointing." Though she should have suspected that kind of thing. "Oi, uh Jett-" But he had already jumped, and the guy, now recognized as...well an old guy approached.

She returned the salute and smiled. "Nice ta meet ya old timer! The name's Nani. I and a handful of others are guests, yes." Gramps seemed pretty chipper at the idea, but Nani didn't mind too much. "A massage?" She glanced over at Jett who kept close to the docks. "You don't know what they are?" She shook her head and then turned her attention back to Gramps. "Ah, I think I'll pass on the massage. Random people touching me? Nah. But my friend Jett here would love it! He's gotten pretty banged up from our recent activities of fighting large rats." After a pause, she shrugged. "Okay, okay. I guess I can get one as well. No harm in it I suppose."

She stepped to the side and gestured for Gramps to lead the way. "Well Jett? You gonna stay in the lake until you prune? Or are we going ta follow the nice grandpa?"

Nani turned her attention to the sound of someone screaming bloody murder. It was pretty loud if she could hear it from the docks. At first, Nani had the idea to go check out the situation...but with the handful of guilders in the building, they probably would have gotten to whoever it was before she did. "Are screaming people normal, or should we go check it out...?" Her question was directed to Gramps since he worked there and all.

Drych Lake Spa Hot Springs - Where Boys Are Doing Boy Things To With Other Boys

Compared to rubbing his face all over a towel, Lute's wolf whistle at the other lads seemed pretty normal to Quentin. The water mage saw Tobi run off to the hot spring, probably in clear defiance of some sign saying not to run around the slippery deck, and got into the spirit himself. Quentin dashed away, his towel flapping at his waist (had Lute been looking in his direction, Delilah likely would have been pleased) and, with a gleeful shout of, "Cowabunga!" cannon-balled into the hot spring. Ordinarily, this would have been a hare-brained idea, but Quentin was far from ordinary. He instead basked in the joy of water. Maybe, he thought, he was actually a fish in human form. Stranger things had happened, right? Like a pack of poser varrens, for instance.

Quentin resurfaced and heaved a sigh of relief and delight. He leaned back against the edge of the spring, thoroughly indifferent to the fact that his towel was now floating just below the water's surface. The heat soothed some of the ache in his tired muscles. A dude could get used to this kind of posh treatment. Quentin closed his eyes, content for the moment. He cracked his knuckles and his back, the latter eliciting a deep groan. He was really getting into this feeling when a scream pierced the air, and it was alarmingly close. Quentin's eyes snapped open. Lute was already on his feet. There was no time for hesitation; that was not the way of the water. The black-haired mage gestured with sweeping motions of his arms and hands. All around him, water bubbled and frothed until he was at the centre of a rising vortex, one that soon became tall enough for him to look over the partition dividing the ladies from the gents.

A quick scan of the situation made Quentin narrow his eyes. Estelle and Aria were in the spring and, already fleeing, was undoubtedly some ne'er-do-well voyeur. Quentin pointed at Harvey's figure retreating to reception accusatively and raised his other hand; a tall column of hot, swirling water rose at his side.

"What's all this, then?"

Drych Lake Spa - Corridor
Tau dived forward, sliding forward on his stomach with his arms outstretched in what he considered a badass fashion. He had this! However his gesture was in vain, as the vase simply wobbled in place, before finally coming to a stop without falling. He didn't know whether to be glad or disappointed.

He looked up again just as Trixie drew her guns again - oh gods - and continued sprinting down the corridor and in danger of going out of sight. Geez! He always thought he was fast, but Pix put him to shame!

"Hold up!" he called out, scrambling back up to his feet and chasing her. Not so much to find out where the screaming was coming from, however. Rather, to make sure this minature force of distruction didn't break anything else!

---

Drych Lake Spa - Those Nails
Moira looked to Amy as she spoke - as much as a fair amount went over her head. Syed, who at this point was mostly squirming from his ticklishness, found himself listening intently too. Especially once she started laughing - and slightly self-conciously at that. No... Amy didn't need to be alone in anything, if she didn't want to. Nobody in the Pride needed to.

"Eh, this group turns everyone into saps," Moira shrugged, flicking her hand dismissively. After all, Amy wasn't the only one who was lonely before this group. She would have continued, were it not for Amy's question. "What? I ain't heard anythin'..."

Syed suddenly sat up, tearing his feet away from the member of staff. "No, I heard it too..." he whipped his head around. "Shouldn't we...?"

"Maybe," Moira grumbled, blowing her now black nails to help them dry faster. "Someone else'll probably... uh... hello?"

Syed followed Moira's gaze, to where a small girl stood at the door. She was staring at him intensely, like she wasn't sure. He locked up a little. "Janie?" he asked quietly, his eyes darting back up to the door in concern then back to the girl. "What are you doing here?"



A wide grin spread across her face. "I knew it was you, Mr Dyjani!" she cried out, running forward and hugging him around his middle. "Mom said you had a... a... brain break or something!"

"...What?"

"Come on, somebody's in trouble!" she pulled at him some more towards the door. "Your friends should come-" while she called to Amy, she immediately faltered at the sight of Moira in fright.

The berserker had a face like murder.

Drych Lake Spa: Hot Springs

Aria blinked in the direction the man had fled in. He looked as if he was about to faint- poor guy.

"I think your scream just alerted the entire facility," she joked, getting up from where she had toppled. Her ears were ringing faintly and she rubbed at them absently-who knew their leader had such strong lungs? "But no matter. I couldn't care less if people started coming in, I'm not getting out from the springs until I want to leave. " Illusions were handy in that aspect, after all.

"What's all this, then?"

The illusionist looked up only to see Quentin floating there, a large menacing column of water besides him. She twitched, realizing that her towel was quite out of place from her fall. "We're fine, it was just a mistake. And you're the peeper right now, cutie." She grabbed a loofah from besides her, lobbing it at the man and smiling when it landed with a satisfying splat on his face, knocking him backwards. "Now put the water back before we get in trouble." She called over the partition before turning back to Estelle.

"So how do you say we get the scrubbing over with quickly before people start coming to investigate? I would prefer to be in the water by the time they arrive to rescue the damsels." She snickered, picking up two stools. "You want me to wash your back first?"

Drych Lake Spa - Dem Nails Tho

Amy recoiled at the voice of a little girl who suddenly popped near. Her voice was almost as grating as Trixie's. Almost, but not quite. She looked to Syed as he spoke with the child; turns out they knew each other. Her brow raised at the term 'brain break' though. Yeah, his brain was on break all right. What on Ddaear could that possibly mean...?

She didn't even have to look at Moira to understand how she felt about the sudden interruption - she could feel the steam blowing right out of the berserker's ears. Unfortunately for the fledgling, Amy was on the scary lady's side. "Look... if it were that big of a deal, they'd probably still keep screaming. Right?" She had goosebumps from the scream, to be fair, given that she was a cleric and saving people was pretty much her duty. But... her nails... and this treatment... was too perfect. What made her think, though, were the employees still tending to Amy and Moira despite the startling cry.

The one polishing off Amy's second hand flicked her wrist. "Calm down, dearies. It's natural. Happens at least once a day."

A bead of sweat ran down Amy's face. "Natural?"

The one tending to her calves and toes shrugged. "You learn to tune it out. There's a difference between danger-screaming and peeper-screaming. Trust us."

"Plus," the first chimed in again, her expression still neutral, "it came from the bathing area, did it not? That could only mean one thing." There was a pause between them, before they snickered quietly and went back to their jobs.

Amy merely blinked at how mellow the working duo were - as well as how diligent they actually worked. From the looks of it, Amy's nails were almost already completely done, with one hand polished and dried to perfection. Suitable for getting right into the spa and not washing off, all things considered. What a rewarding experience this turned out to be.

The cleric looked to Moira. Despite Janie's plea, Amy wasn't moving unless the redhead was, lest they were all subject to her anger so early in the day.

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa: Hot Springs

Another large column of water rose up into the air from the male portion of the hot springs, this time originating from Quentin’s body crashing into it after Aria’s thrown loofah splattered him right in the center of his face and disrupted his concentration. Tobias pointed and laughed in merriment at Quentin’s misfortune, and then went back to swimming laps about the hot spring.

“Ah, Estelle, Aria, is everything okay over there?” Marcus asked, walking towards the wooden fence partition and hoping that everything for the two girls was fine. Unlike Quentin, however, he was willing to show diligence and respect towards the two girls in respecting their privacy.

“Ah, um, yeah, we’re okay!” Estelle blusteringly blubbered back. “W-w-we just ran into an employee who was still cleaning. N-n-nothing major, seriously. We’re okay! Although… hey! Quentin! What are you doing peeping on us too?!”

Marcus laughed, glad to see that at the least Estelle seemed alright. Aria too, from her comment to Estelle asking her to wash her back so that they could get into the springs. Nothing much really seemed to faze her. Marcus turned and walked into the spring, slowly meandering towards Quentin to check that he was okay. “Q.T? You alive?” He asked.

“Oh, Lulu~” Tobias’ voice lilted towards the virtuoso as he practiced his backstroke. By sheer coincidence he had managed to appropriate the same nickname for Lute that Aria used. “Are you just gonna stand out there all day or what? Get in! This spring is awesome!”

“I… ah… haaaaaaaaaaaaa…” Estelle’s entire body sagged, her shoulders dropping far down below the waters’ edge as she and Aria, after completing the wash of each other’s backs, finally settled in to the steamy hot spring. The water’s soothing warmth was unlike anything Estelle could have expected, and it felt like her body could just melt. The thought of seeing that young man and his dog, and how he had seen them, completely washed away. This was something else. This was just divine. “This… this is awesomeeeeeeee…”

---

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa: Docks

Gramps scratched the back of his neck as he began to assess what it was that he should do with his guests, after Nani’s question and the pointing scream coming out from the Hot Springs. He was pretty pleased to hear Nani relent into accepting a massage from Gramps, something he would love very, very much, even if it did come at the expense of giving the strange lake jumping man a massage as well. He’d be all too happy and eager to lead them the way to his massage room, but there was a particular duty that called when it came to someone screaming like that. Even if Gramps knew precisely why such a scream occurred, he still had a responsibility to investigate it on behalf of the Spa… and such an investigation, he knew, brought rewards of its own.

“That sounded like it came from the Hot Springs. The Springs aren’t too far away from where my massage room’s located, so, we could always investigate that scream first, make sure whoever did it is okay, and then we can proceed with the massages, hmm?” Gramps smiled. What a suave guy.

“C’mon, young fellas!” He said, moving forward with a surprising spring in his step. “Let’s go check it out!”

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa – Dock

“Prune? Ha! I dunno… the water is actually nice.”

Jett remained bobbing for a while more as he gave Nani a teasing grin. Of course he was pulling her leg! He was ready to get out. Anything fun would be awesome! Frankly he can’t wait to see why the Gramps sounded so excited. The man seemed practically invigorated.

“Did you hear that?”

He froze with one leg perched on the edge of the pier and the other dangling in mid-air. The voice was clearly female, and Jett could have sworn it was Ms. Estelle. Odd, she didn’t seem like the type to be so easily startled. Was that giant spikey mole thing back?

The novice jumped to his feet and grabbed his stuff unceremoniously. “Lead the way, Gramps!”

“Oh never mind! Sign’s just ahead.”

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa

The rookie sprinted into the lobby. His wet feet slipped and felt himself pitching backwards. The young man flailed around till he regained his balance. He stood still with his hands pressed against his knees. Gosh! The floors are slippery.

As he pulled up, a few drops of water from his wet hair trickled into his eyes. Everything went blurry. Annoyed Jett wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. It was then he realized why there were two doors. His eyes grew bigger and a faint blush crept up his cheeks.

“Uh…”

Now this is a real problem. One side said Ladies and the other gents. Hell, no! He wasn’t gonna step into the female side. Nope. Nada. He didn’t want to be called a pervert again. Thankfully, he heard familiar squawk – that was Captain! The Guilder whirled around so violently that his shirt and belt flew from his arms. They smacked against the locker before sliding onto the floor.

“Nani! Boy am I glad to see you. I … can’t enter.”

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa- Hot Springs

Jett was all for a massage. Man, was he really that clueless about what they were? Well, no matter. The trio had a new mission at hand. Once they figured out who screamed for their life, then they could carry out the rest of the day. She followed the two males towards the spa, slightly surprised that Gramps was a little faster than he looked.

She watched as Jett sprinted off. "That guy is gonna fall. He's going to slip and smack right into something. And he's going to fall." She spoke to no one in particular, but it was loud enough for Gramps to hear. Cap squawked when Jett slid to a stop. Nani, slightly disappointed, looked at the bird. "Aw man, he didn't fall." She laughed softly and stood in front of the doors.

"Well if course you can't go in there! It's for laaaddiiiiess. What makes you think it was a lass anyway? Coulda been one of the guys that screamed, never know." She laughed a bit. "Go check it out will ya?" She pointed to the sign then looked between the two males. "Never fear, the pirate captain will make sure everything is fine and dandy." She pushed the door open and Captain flew inside, deciding to perch high up on the wall that separated the two hot springs.

"Oi! Anyone in need of saving? We heard a scream and decided to...see if there was someone being attacked." Her attention turned to the rather serene looking hot springs. "This place looks nice..." She noticed everyone else seemingly relaxed as well.

Drych Lake Spa - Nails
At this point, Janie was now hiding from the scary lady more than anything else. The two employees seemed calm enough, though, and the other lady was a little worried at first but seemed like one of those grown-ups that are too... grown-up for kids. She sniffled.

"Don't worry Janie," one of the women smiled towards her. "You always get upset when this happens, don't you? Why don't you go and find your mother."

Janie looked back up to Syed, her bottom lip wobbling. For a moment, she just seemed to stand there, her tiny fists clenching and unclenching. "...Is it really okay?" she ventured, looking up to him. "Is it really?"

Syed pulled a face, crouching down and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Go find your mum, Janie. Mums always know best." She seemed to accept that answer, nodding a little before wiping her nose with the back of her hand. She withdrew, walking out of the room again while looking back the whole time. She loitered for a moment more at the door, before she dissapeared out of sight.

Syed sighed, looking pretty distraught as she left for all kinds of reasons. "It doesn't feel right to just trust it's okay though..." he muttered, sitting on the edge of his chair.

Moira looked just as furious now as when the girl entered. However she turned instead to Amy, refusing to even look at her bound partner. If she wasn't currently getting her nails painted...! "I thought spas were supposed to be relaxing, you know?" she complained as one of the employees continued on her. "Yet here we got people screaming and kids running about." She chugged her drink, before demanding another.

---

Drych Lake Spa - ???
"Thank you, Janie. Go and find your mother," she concluded.

Penelope watched the little girl leave, crossing her arms. She then turned to a nearby staff member, gesturing her towards her. "I'm not to be disturbed, you understand." With that she left, heading towards the staff residences in the seperate annex.

---

Drych Lake Spa - Hot Springs
Meanwhile a man lurked in the darkness in his new secret hiding place, gazing through his binoculars. As always, nobody had any clue of his position - nobody bar his accomplice, at any rate. All was well and good, until his gaze moved to a man floating above the divider, causing him to nearly drop his binoculars in shock. No! No way he didn't want to see... that! He had a hunch one of them was a water magic user, but he didn't want the confirmation quite like this!

He may be an ass conneseur, but there was no doubt that there was a world of difference between a man and a woman!

Drych Lake Spa - Hot Springs

SPLAT! Quentin lost his concentration when Aria pitched a loofah at him. Here, he had been one step away from literally flushing out the peeping tom who had fled into the main building of the spa, and instead he was greeted with a loofah to the face. With his concentration broken, the water around him rained down into the steaming pool. Quentin tumbled in head over arse as well with a resounding splash. Even underwater, he could vaguely hear a shout.

"Hey! Quentin!" shouted Estelle from the other side of the partition. "What are you doing peeping on us too?!"

The water mage released a bubble of bafflement from his mouth. Last time he had checked, she was the one who screamed, and his Guilder instincts had kicked in, modesty be damned. He slouched in mild dismay at the thought of his noble intent being misconstrued. To his surprise, Quentin found a pair of legs approaching him.

"Q.T? You alive?" asked Marcus. Quentin emerged from below, spraying water out of his nose. After rubbing some water away from his eyes, Quentin smiled up at the wind mage.

"Sure 'nuff," he assured Marcus. He didn't say that part of the reason for that was the smug satisfaction of peeking in on the girls' side before he was knocked down into the water again.

"Hey, Marcus, question."

Marcus waited. Quentin hesitated. Sure, he could ask about what brought the Pride together or what rank all of them were, but in a quick sizing up, a completely different question trotted out of his mouth instead.

"You must be quite the ladies' man, huh? I bet they love the slender physique you got goin' on."

Drych Lake Spa – Hot Springs

“Get down from there!” Lute’s voice came out raspy and filled with terror when Quentin all but elevated himself over the partition. Aria was going to throw a knife in his eye! Or maybe a loofah. Whatever, all that mattered was that they still had a nice view of dat-

“Oh will you stop it, Dellie!? I’m trying to enjoy myself here!” The virtuoso hissed as the water mage fell down into the springs, causing a considerable splash that caused some of the water to flow over the pool’s edges. Delilah very reasonably argued that they can both enjoy themselves if only a certain someone would stop trampling on the other’s parade, though her companion just rolled his eyes as he sat down again. He wasn’t going to allow his friends’ bodies to be visually molested, thank you very much.

“Oh, Lulu~”

Tobias called him over and Lute blushed. “Y-yeah, just gimme a sec. I’m not going until I haven’t rinsed!” He immediately began scrubbing his skin with a damp towel and completed the process with an efficient and measured amount of water, almost as if the virtuoso was trying to save the spa some cost. In the end, as Tobi happily swam around and Marcus and Q.T. were talking, Lute slipped in by the side.

Literally slipped in. With a loud “Waaagh!”, he fell, towel and all. Coincidentally, he fell in on a spot that Tobi had just swum past, so the marauder was near enough to check if Lute drowned himself or not. Before he could look, however, the virtuoso reappeared from the depths (preceded by a floating white towel) and immediately began paddling back to the shallower regions. “O-okay, really hot. Kinda painful!” What skin that could be seen of the white-haired man was already tinged a light pink, steadily climbing a higher shade of red the longer he stayed in the water.

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa – Hot Springs

"Eh? Nani?" Estelle turned on the spot after hearing and then seeing the former pirate captain burst outside and into the women's hot spring section. She seemed confused at first, expecting to see something a bit different then what was presented after hearing Estelle's scream, and not so much a hot spring as wondrously inviting as this. Estelle's arm shot out of the water, rapidly waving from side to side as a giant smile beamed across her face. "Hey, hey, c'mon in!" Estelle grinned. "The water's awesome, Nani, come on! You used to be a pirate right? So you must love water! C'mon in!"

"Sqwaaark! Love water!" Cap saluted from atop the large wooden fence divider. Estelle's eyes sparkled once more upon seeing the adorable bird, and he whistled a pleasant tune as he turned to look over the other side, and at the male portion of the springs, just in time to see Lute fall and splatter his face directly against the surface of the water.



"Woah, Lute..." Tobias brought a curious finger to his lips as he saw bubbles rise to the surface. "Are you okay...?"

Thankfully the virtuoso was relatively unharmed, only his Pride suffering, muttering and moaning as he waded his way to the shallower side. Tobias laughed again, resuming his swim throughout the hot springs. Hot Springs were generally for relaxing, not for swimming or tripping in. But the Pride rarely followed conventional practices when it came to anything.



"Hey, Marcus, question." Marcus turned, to see Quentin sidle up alongside Marcus, checking him over. Marcus blinked, awaiting the water mage's question. "You must be quite the ladies' man, huh? I bet they love the slender physique you got goin' on."

"Hahaha... what?" Came Marcus reply, a bead of sweat trailing down the side of his face. "Me? A ladies man? No, not at all." The humble mage didn't like to think of himself in that way whatsoever, but it was true that he did seem to attract a lot of female attention. Images of Josette and Nikki in particular came to mind. And a slender physique wasn't dishonest, either. Afterall, it had managed to fool the guards at the Los Paraisos' Grande Diamond building when the need to cross dress as a way of infiltrating the building was needed, but Marcus couldn't be sure whether or not that was actually a good thing or not, or whether or not ladies would love something like that. "Besides, I'm sure most women would prefer someone with a bit more of a... manly physique?"

Meanwhile, on the other side, Estelle had got red after hearing Quentin's question, now imagining wrong thoughts about Marcus' body and his slender physique on the other side. Gosh, what kind of statement was that?! And why was she so embarassed? It's not like she hadn't seen him topless before! And then she realised why, and her eyebrows creased in a frown.

"You'd better not be a ladies man, Marcus!" Estelle shouted over the divide, loud enough for everyone to hear. Feeling all of everyone's eyes trained on her, Estelle immediately sought to quieten herself, and droop her body and mouth back under the water. "I-I mean, er, that is, um... n-nothing..."

"Sqwaaark! Ladies Man!" Cap saluted again.



"Gyahaha!" Gramps laughed from the lobby, throwing out his chest and laughing heartily. He turned to Jett, patting him on the shoulder, and pushing him through the male side of the Hot Springs. "Seems like everything's okay over here. Go in and have some fun, young 'un, those Springs are divine! Gyahaha...!"

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa – Hot Springs

"Exsqueeze me, comin' through!" From behind Gramps and Jett came little Trixie charging in. Tau had lingered behind a bit too much for her liking; he was fast, true enough, but she was in a rush, so even being a foot behind her was a foot too late, and she ended up dragging him along with her. Because she was a superhero and superheroes did that.

But now the duo were faced with a set of doors, one clearly marked for each gender. Trixie cupped her chin, narrowed eyes darting back and forth between the two doors. "Coulda sworn the scream was a girl's," she muttered, "but, but mister, you can't go into the girls side. Hmm. Hmmm." Then she lifted her finger to the sky. Her face shined with brilliance, as brilliant as the sun itself. What a swell idea she had come up with! "So let's go through this side!"

Trixie dashed right into the males' section, letting go of Tau's hand halfway through the room. The floors were slippery, so it was bad enough they were practically running on ice. Thankfully that didn't last long, and she found her way outside soon enough - where the four boys were enjoying the steaming hot spa.

The prankster whipped out her guns, twirled them, and held them in the air. "All right, everybody! This is a stick up! ... ... wait, wait no, that sounds like I'm trying to rob you." She looked back to the door, where she had left Tau further inside. "That's not what you say when you rescue people, right?" She turned back to the spa. "I mean! Who needs help, cuz I'm here to help you! ... oh!" Almost dishearteningly, she lowered her guns. Nobody seemed to be attacked or bleeding. Just a bunch of naked guys in the pool. Nothing interesting here.

"Hahaha... I guess no one needs help, right? Just... testing my heroism and how fast I can run and stuff."

Her ears perked up for a moment. There, over in some dark spot far away! She could've sworn she heard a girly "ooh la la" emanating from nearby. "...what was that." Trixie glanced around for a moment, sniffing the air for anything peculiar. In case someone was... someone was spying... or plotting evil schemes while the Pride was most vulnerable: without their armor or weapons! "Eh. It's probably nothing."