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TWO KILOMETERS SOUTH OF THE CITY - LATE AFTERNOON
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Narrator: The weather was just wonderful, a sizable grey cloud spitting down large but infrequent splats of icy cold water, striking the trees like unfrozen hail, making the branches shake off a miniature rainstorm of their own, as if the weather had been inverted between the canopy and the sky. These odd storms tended to blow over the mountains South-East of the lake, feeding it just enough that the ancient riverbed never dried out, and yet never quite returned to life. Well, at least, at home the weather was wonderful, from what little of the stormfront Froge could see over a barricade of trees. He let out a croaking sigh, blinking as the sun peeked out from behind yet another cloud full of false promises as it drifted by, before turning North once more and peering between the two mountain ranges. Shifting the single-strap pack to his back again and dumping some of the water he'd just retrieved from it onto his pale, orange spotted forehead, Froge continued his trek toward the town in the valley.
Narrator: As Froge approaches, the scale of the town became more and more apparent. Despite the decently fitted leather jerkin and satchel he was wearing, Froge and his kin didn't have the dexterity or desire for small details and intricate work, their homes usually little more than mud structures like that of a mudwasp, or else carefully stacked stone from the shorelines nearby. So approaching the tall, sturdy looking town buildings was somewhat intimidating for him. Just a few dozen meters short of the first structure he stopped, dumping the rest of the water flask on his head and splatting his free hand on his forehead to rub the cool water in. With a determined little croak, he sets his pace, forcing himself to speed-walk up the street, hand still idly rubbing on his forehead.
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RESPITE FALLS - OUTSIDE THE CITY
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Narrator: Strix had a plan! He was outside, in a small bit of clearing near a junk heap, occasionally jumping into it, and pulling something out to attach to whatever he was making, which was some sort of collection of long cylinders with a lot of other stuff bolted/taped/welded on to it. He seems...inordinately excited by it all, muttering to himself constantly.
Strix continues working on his new 'shiny', occasionally attaching some more parts to it with touches of his metal arm- the metal fusing together as he runs a finger alongside it. "Yes! Another Great Project!" He takes it and looks it over, "This will earn Strix respect! They will not mock Strix with my FlameyShine!" He cackles gently.
Narrator: There are a few loud explosions coming from the small little back alley Strix had set himself up in, and a rather overt gout of flame..and cackling. A lot of cackling.
Froge's step falters upon feeling the hot wind of a fireball gush out from an alley to his right. Such a thing was actually quite familiar to him, although the barrage of cackling wasn't entirely encouraging. Still, the curiosity won out, following the smell of smoke between the two buildings until he spies a short reptilian, apparently driven giddy by some strange... thing. Froge croaks out a wary greeting, every long vowel catching in his throat as it comes out, "Hey hello, are you alright back here?"
Strix: "Strix is fine!" The blackened kobold cackled back, soot covering most of his body from the half destroyed wreck of a contraption in his arms "Strix has made the FlameMaker!" He points it only slightly away from Froge, and activates in some fashion, he'd be in no danger, but it was probably a little bit too close for comfort as a gout of flame exploded out from the top, the contraption itself exploded, stress marks appearing down the sides, and soot and ash blasting back at the small reptilian. "AHAHAHA!! YES! I AM THE MASTER OF FLAMES NOW!"
Froge ducks down on his haunches, looking like the little wild cousins, though he watches the fireball in awe, mesmerised by it's raw beauty. Fire is as familiar to him as rain, though he likes to keep his flames controlled and purposeful. "Incrrredible! How did you get it to do that?" He asks, rising to a full stand again, though only around five foot four, Froge feels much taller looking closer at the kobold.
Strix: "STRIX Master the Shiny!" He considers his newest invention for a moment "This Metal cannot Contain Strix's genius! The next shot shall be its last!" And he fires it again, into the air, another gout of flame erupting, this time the contraption starts to shake, and smoke even more, weird popping noises emitting from it "AHA!" He stamps his feet a few times gleefully, before dropping it, and diving behind a sheet of metal. The Contraption starts ticking...
Froge is confused only for a moment before realizing what's going on. He launches himself back into the alleyway, covering his head with both hands and waiting for the inevitable.
Narrator: Nothing happens for a solid twenty seconds, and Strix emerges from his hiding spot "Strange. Strix sure it would boom.." He picks it up, and shakes it. There's a chunk... "Strix Regrets Nothing". There's a loud BOOM!!, and Strix is flung bodily into the Alleyway, bouncing off a wall, and unto the ground, smoking gently.
Strix: "Strix Fine...." The smoking heap groans gently.
Froge begins to let his guard down upon hearing the kobold pick up the device, letting out a shout of surprise when the charred kobold comes flying into his hiding place. "You sure?" Froge asks, pulling the bag on his back to his front and retrieving a flask of clean water. Kneeling beside the smoky tinkerer, and unceremoniously pouring half the water from above him.
Narrator: There's a soft hiss of steam as the water evaporates on his scales "Strix sure, Strix explode many times. Strix has built up a resistance" He rolls to his back, pointing at Froge "Strix thanks the frog. Strix will remember this" He stands up, shakily "Strix's new shiny was top success!"
Froge considers the kobold carefully, looking almost crosseyed as he focuses entirely on the interesting, possibly a little insane, person. He suddenly lets out a rapid burst of short croaks as he chuckles in amusement. "You're not wrong! Your fire is great, for sure!" He stands back up, putting the rest of his water away. "So you are called Strix, then? My name is Froge. I will remember you, and your fire, too." The 'ro' of his name only comes out as a longer, deep croak.
Strix: "Strix is Strix! Yes!" He declares, brushing ash off of himself "Strix needs to plan next shiny! Flamering was good! But exploded at wrong time! Need better explodering. Maybe if Strix uses shinier metals..."
Froge: "What are you using to make the fire?" Even with all the excitement, Froge remembers that his main reason for coming to this town is to find people interested in buying his firegas, and who else will he run into as eager for fire than Strix?
Strix: "Strix uses ShinyFire! Strix can't say! It is propetterry Seeeecret!"
Froge: "Oh, I see, so not fuel..." A little disappointed, but still curious, Froge is already doubting Strix even needs a fuel, assuming the kobold means he's got some magic solution to all his immholation needs.
Strix: "Strix could try fuel! To make even Fireyier Fire!" He cackles "Strix will burn his enemies to ash!...Strix has no enemies! But Once he has, they best watch out!" He nods to himself "Strix needs to find enemies. Burning friends are mean!"
Froge Froge chuckles another chorus of croaks, "Well then I'll bring you something next time I come to town, I've only got a couple small bottles with me right now." Froge rummages in the satchel, pulling a long, slender glass tube out of a bundle of protective cloth, as well as a flint striker. He holds the vial upside down and pops the cork, and watching Strix with one eye, turns the vial sideways and strikes a spark at the open end. What looked and smelled like nothing more than air suddenly ignites, with a short jet of flame filling the flask and bursting out of the open end by nearly a meter.
Strix: "Ooooooh" Strix is suitably impressed "That's good fiiiire! Strix likes this!"
Froge smiles as he replaces the cork and puts the flask back away safely. "I'll make sure to bring your gift soon, then! Fare well, Strix!" Froge gives a customary bow before turning and leaving the alley, feeling much less anxious about the strange setting than before he met such an interesting fellow.
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RESPITE FALLS - OUTSIDE THE BATH HOUSE - EVENING
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Narrator: The bath house is a somewhat large building closer to the edge of town, looming over the smaller neighboring buildings like a protective older sibling. The faint scent of steam and mineral water becomes stronger the closer one gets.
Vix hums as she walks up to the entrance of the bath house and waits for her companions. "Here we are~! Cmon, cmon~!"
Nesseth steps up alongside Vix, his gaze angled up towards the building before them. "Huh... It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be. It's in a pretty nice location, too."
Damina yawns a bit, walking along inside
Vix follows Damina inside and quickly goes up to the counter, putting down a coin for "the usual". The otter receptionist nods and hands her a folded towel and a bar of soap.
Nesseth follows after Vix and Damina, then takes a cue from the former and pays for the standard supplies. The second receptionist deposits a towel, a bar of soap and a scale scrubber in his arms.
Damina takes notes, and dispenses the proper payment and receives her towel and soap too.
Vix moves on to the ladies' changing room with an excited sort of grace. In one swift movement, she slips off her clothes and deposits them in a locker.
Nesseth ducks into the mens' changing room and takes a little while longer to disrobe, owing to the extra gear he usually carries around. Before too long, however, he deposits his clothing into a locker and wraps the towel around his waist.
Damina also takes quite a long time to fully remove her clothing, but that's mostly due to the abnormally large amount of stuff she happens to be carrying at the time. Soon enough she comes out of the changing room with all of the fluff but none of the cloth- well, some; gotta have that towel after all.
Vix drapes her towel over her shoulders and takes a second to admire Damina. "Oh! You look great, Damina~!"
Damina: Notably, now that none of her clothes are in the way, it's possible to see the strange gold patterns Damina has. They're most apparent on the left side of her face, and left arm.
Nesseth steps out of the mens' locker room and into the bathing area. The first thing he notices is the pleasing warmth that pervades the air as steam rises up off of the water's surface. The second thing he notices is Damina and Vix both standing nearby. He blinks, surprised and a little embarrassed as he directs his eyes away a bit. "Oh, uh... did I... take a wrong turn somewhere...?"
Vix is curiously examining Damina's gold patterns as Nesseth steps in. She smirks at him. "Oh, did I forget to mention~? It's a mixed bath only~"
Damina: "Well, I hope that doesn't bother anyone too much?"
Nesseth shakes his head a bit. "Well, no, it doesn't bother me. I just, uh... wasn't expecting it to be mixed."
Vix makes no attempt to hide her features as she gestures widely to the bath area. It doesn't seem to be very busy, aside from a couple folks at the far side of the bath. "Apparently they had to pick between two small split baths or one big combined one! To be honest, I like it this way~"
Nesseth rubs his neck and does his best to not catch too much of an eyeful as he looks at Damina and Vix. "I guess I can see the appeal of having one big bath like this."
Vix cannonballs into the bath, though she still barely makes a splash. She surfaces with a giggle a moment later. "Phew...cmon, the water's great!"
Narrator: There appears to be another guest in the bath, past the motion blur of cat rushing herself into the water - one guest that, notably, is finding himself covered in water. And unexpectedly exposed, dripping as he is now. "H-Hey, c-caref- I- ohgoshwhoareyou?!"
Nesseth can't help but chuckle a bit as Vix dives into the water. After a moment, he sighs and steps up to the water's edge, takes his towel off, and slides into the water's welcoming warmth. He hums warmly in appreciation as he sinks down up to around his chest. "Mmh, you're right, this is nice..."
Damina slips right on into the water. She does her best to not make any noise, knowing full well someone is just gonna splash on her later.
Damina seems fairly casual about this whole "not having clothes" business.
Damina: "So what do we do here? Just sit here and slowly become mildewed?"
Vix stares at the third cat in the bath, with just her eyes and mouth above water. "Oh, whoops! Did I splash you?"
Narrator: He's dripping wet - no, not even dripping, some of his fur is downright sogging downwards. He pouts for a second - then giggles and splashes right back as revenge, with a wink and his tongue flopping out - and his tail covering his shame rather quickly as well, with quite a deep blush as he can't help but glance over the lady curiously. "Oh whoops, did -I- splash -you-~?"
Vix eeps as the hot water splashes over her, and quickly retaliates. "Oh, it's on!"
Damina sighs. "So it begins..."
Nesseth shifts a little away from the current splash fight and towards Damina. "Well, those two are definitely having fun, aren't they?"
Damina groans somewhat loudly. "How unprofessional."
Nesseth shrugs a little as he reaches for the scale scrubber, then starts working on his arms, using some soap and the bath water to lather the brush up. "Not much to be professional about while taking a bath, but... I could see it being an issue if the bath was more crowded."
Narrator: One of the receptionists pokes her head into the bath area from the lobby and scolds the two cats. "Hey! No roughhousing!"
The receptionist: looks directly at Vix. "Especially from you, Miss Vix."
Narrator: The boy glances over and bites his lip - from the quivering of his tail, the temptation to splash the receptionist, too, is strong. But his will holds. For now. "Kiiiiiilljooooy..."
Vix stops mid-splash. Even the water seems to just drop back into the bath before reaching the other cat. "O-okay..."
Damina "So anyway, who are you? Don't think I saw you at the bar... or any other place really..."
Nesseth casts an eye back towards the receptionist as they reprimand Vix and Mercury, but simply sighs and shakes his head as he goes back to scrubbing the scales on his arms, shoulders and neck.
Vix makes her way over to Nesseth and idly starts scrubbing his scales as well.
Damina sits in the water, idly washing her hair while waiting for the other cat to answer. Unfortunately said hair keeps getting in her eyes.
Nesseth jumps a bit as a second set of hands start to scrub him, causing him to drop the brush into the water. "A-ah!"
Mercury: "Me? Um... y-you can call me Mercury." The third cat - he glances over at Vix, is she a cat? Looks like it, so yes, third - was equally exposed like the rest of the little troupe, only driving a brighter blush onto his cheeks, clearly not used to this level of openness. He's just sitting on the sidelines, dangling his legs into the water as opposed to being fully submerged.
Damina: "You seem a little... unnerved, as it were."
Vix blinks as Nesseth moves away. "Aw, no good? You missed a spot over here...""
Nesseth leans over to grab the brush again and smiles awkwardly at Vix. "W-well, no, you just surprised me, is all. Uh... I mean, if you want to help, you can...?"
Vix nods and resumes scrubbing. "I hope you'll return the favor, too~"
Narrator: The boy glances over at the two, remaining quiet. "That's... well, I didn't expect others here."
Nesseth hums a bit and winds up blushing just a touch, though it's hard to see through his brown scales. "If you want, I could return the favor, sure. Shouldn't take me too long to scrub down..."
Vix hums happily while she scrubs Nesseth's back. "It's nice to have a helping hand~"
Nesseth focuses on his front, scrubbing as much as he can. "That it is, but I guess I never thought to apply it to... you know, taking a bath."
Vix smirks. "What's so weird about taking a bath~?"
Mercury meanwhile, just kind of... sits there, dangling his legs into the water, bored. Now that Vix has moved over, he's a little ways away from the group.
Damina seems to be done with her hair, so she watches to see what others are doing. Maybe they need help, who knows? That's what she signed up for anyway.
Nesseth shrugs a bit, finding it easier to talk while he focuses on cleaning his scales. "Well, for one, we only just met earlier this evening, and yet here we are with you scrubbing my back while we're both stark naked."
Damina shrugs. "Maybe that's just how it's destined to be around here. I've seen stranger situations before."
Vix sticks out her tongue. "Nothin' wrong with that. It's just an innocent little bath~"
Damina: "Then why don't you come over here and wash me?"
Narrator: He's quietly hugging his legs now, staring at his reflection in the water. No reason to intrude - he doesn't have the right to, not even knowing any of these people. Instead, he just flicks his tail at the water here and there, watching the ripples distort the reflection of his face, or something. Still, he can't help but throw cursory glances at Vix every now and then.
Vix takes a moment to think. "Well...I've got two hands. I could probably manage it if you sit right here."
Damina scoots on along.
Nesseth sighs a bit and nods once he finishes scrubbing down. "Well, since we're already in the middle of it, we might as well just help one another. Normally, I just bathe at home, but a communal bathhouse obviously has different rules and whatnot."
Vix takes a brush in her other hand and starts to scrub Damina's back at the same time as Nesseth's. "How's this?"
Damina twiches her ears a slight bit. "Yeah, seems about right- could you get a bit lower, to the left? I can't ever reach that spot-"
Vix follows Damina's instructions, focusing her attention there. "Like this?"
Damina: "Ahh yeah, that's about it-"
Nesseth leans a little as Vix scrubs around a bit, though his eyes fall upon the markings on Damina's arm as she sidles past. "Huh... Damina, what are those markings?"
Damina looks at her arm. "Oh, you mean these ones? Well, that's a long story." They aren't just located on her arm and face either, they seem to extend down her spine and tail, and even her right leg.
Nesseth tilts his head a bit as he turns to get a better look at Damina's markings. "Pretty intricate details... Are you a mage, or something?"
Vix naturally works her way down Nesseth's back as well, going all the way to the base of his tail.
Damina laughs out loud. "Hah, you wish. I'm no magic user, at least not a traditional one."
Nesseth 's tail swishes a little under the water at the touch of the brush, and a ripple rolls up his spine at the subtle, ticklish sensation. He does his best to ignore it for the moment, though. "Hmm... well, admittedly, I was just curious, because I've never seen markings like that before. Certainly a bit eye-catching..."
Damina ponders for a moment. "I suppose I could tell you later, but ah, not right now."
Nesseth nods. "Fair enough."
Damina: "Hopefully once this is done all my stuff is still where I left it..."
Vix grumbles a bit. "Is it my turn yet, guys?"
Damina lets out the tiniest of smirks. "You think we can handle you now?"
Nesseth chuckles as he looks towards Vix. "I mean, if you're ready for a scrubbing."
Vix turns around, showing her back to the other two. "I mean, there's not much here, but I make up for it in other ways~"
Damina muses, "I suppose it must be under the water, huh?" Is it worth it to get a little cheeky? She's gonna give it a shot.
Nesseth reaches for one of the fur brushes and swaps it for the scale brush he's been using. "Other ways, hm? Sounds like Damina's got the read on you, Vix."
Vix tilts her head. "Oh? What do you mean?"
Damina thinks "to hell with it" and pinches Vix's rear.
Vix eeps and jumps halfway out of the water, splashing all three of them.
Nesseth laughs a bit, having a pretty good idea of what just happened. "I think that answers that."
Damina laughs out loud quite a bit, which might attract some attention...
Vix rubs her butt as she cautiously checks the water. "The heck was that? A crab??"
Nesseth shakes his head. "I don't think there are any crabs in a bathhouse, Vix. The water would probably cook them."
Damina mimics a crab pincer motion with her hands, having brought them out of the water. What is wrong with her?
Vix turns to Damina. "Careful, Missy. I've got buns of steel!"
Damina: "Well, I'll be the judge of that! Even steel shall crumple before my mighty palms!"
Nesseth taps the brush thoughtfully against his free arm for a moment, then decides to get a little payback for Vix having made him jump a little while earlier. With a tiny smirk, he swings the brush around and smacks Vix right on the butt with it, then waits for her reaction.
Vix eeps again and falls into the water with a splash.
Damina dives right in after her. Feeling feisty today, eh?
Nesseth laughs a bit and shields his face from the splash as Damina dives in. As the water settles back down, he reaches an arm beneath the water and tries to fish for one of Vix's arms, to help her back up to the surface.
Vix resurfaces with Nesseth's help, though Damina is now clinging to her. "Ack...this...crab!"
Damina: "Haaa, gotcha~"
Nesseth smirks a bit as he helps Vix up. "That was payback for earlier, but now it seems you've got an extra attachment."
Vix squirms a bit. "Can't shake her!"
Damina finally relents, and goes back to slouching against the side of the pool. She's never gonna be the same again, though
Nesseth grins. "There. It seems the 'crab' had mercy on you."
Vix giggles and drops back down into the water, getting back into scrubbing position. "Is my butt really all that impressive?"
Damina thinks a little bit. "I dunno, lemme squeeze it one more time so I can really give my verdict on it-"
Vix blushes a bit. "Well I won't say no..."
Damina honks Vix's rear end one more time.
Nesseth thinks for a moment as well, a smirk on his face. "I could always offer a second opinion, if you like."
Vix meows a bit at the grope. "I-if you want, Ness~"
Nesseth sneaks a hand underwater and gives Vix's rear a squeeze as well. "Hmm... I dunno, what do you think, Damina? Buns of steel, or satisfyingly squishy?"
Damina: "Have ya flexed 'em yet?"
Nesseth perks up. "Ah, good point! We don't have anything to compare it with yet."
Vix thinks for a second, then flexes her glutes. "Oh, oh yeah! Try it again~"
Damina: "Oh, that puts up much more resistance."
Nesseth hums as he gives Vix's rear a second squeeze. "Wow, yeah. Then again, you do get a lot of exercise hunting down your shop's wares, right?"
Vix giggles. "There's a lot of climbing and stuff to get to the places nobody looks~"
Nesseth gives Vix's rear one last 'test' squeeze, then spends a few seconds thinking. "That would definitely build up your legs a lot, yeah."
Damina: "Well, I think I've seen enough of that. Suppose we should get wrappd up then?"
Vix swishes her tail through the water. "Aww...can we finish scrubbing first?"
Damina nods. "Of course."
Nesseth holds his brush up with a smile. "Sure. I don't think we've quite completely cleaned up your fur yet."