[Open] It's getting hot in here

[showsnopiety]

Who: Caren and anyone visiting the hot springs!
When: Post dungeon, could be right after fail/success, could be days after
Where: Hot Springs of course
What: There's a hot springs, so now there's a hot springs episode.
Rating: Could be a p-13 and beyond because some people are only wearing towels in this place.





[Win or fail, everyone needed a reason and a way to relax. With the fall of the towers, there was all sorts of good things to come from it. Some would say it was the birds; and others would say it was the hot springs.

The large, large pools of heated water. Sure, they could be used as a way to get all steamed up (or even steam punk) but after all that hard work, everyone deserves a break!

Bring your swimsuits, your towels, your drinks and snacks-who knows, you should be able to find them in the bazaars, or even on Airy. It's time to soak in the heat!]

Comments

[long_live_the_queen]

For the most part.

[She did kill everyone in the room! And on the tower. And a few jets. And knocked over some buildings. Except for four very specific people, but details.

She didn't have anything else in particular to add at the moment, and fell silent again.]

[showsnopiety]

The most part? You do not sound very proud of your end.

[Jets, towers, building knocking over-it's pretty remarkable and all. Mind, there's a whole slew of bodies, but who cares? People die all the time.

Her eyes open, and she peers at Kaede. Curious, mostly. She had watched her when it came to taking down Nora in the courtyard.]

Or did I misunderstand?

[long_live_the_queen]

I died. What else is there to say?

[Kaede shrugs again, finishing the bun. It seemed as tasteless as ash now, but an obligation was an obligation.

Especially since she had a habit of breaking those to undo.]

There were things I should have done, but didn't. Too late now.

[Her voice had changed from calm neutrality to something colored with bitterness.]

[showsnopiety]

Ah.

[There it is. She thought there might be something there and...Kaede did not disappoint her in the least.]

You have regrets then. What could to have done differently, even if you died?

[long_live_the_queen]

[The diclonius studied her empty hand, not meeting the other woman's gaze.]

There were some people I should have apologized to.

[Some of the bitterness faded, replaced not quite by anger, but a smoldering irritation; an unforgotten grudge.]

And there was one I still needed to kill.

[showsnopiety]

[What a combination...she has to wonder how that would go. Apology, kill, then death.

Caren considers this quietly, her bun nearly forgotten.]

It occurs to me that some meetings that should not be possible are in this place. The dead, people of same worlds but of different times. The hope is faint but...

[She shrugged. It's a crumb, and a pitiful one at that. But still.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[A complicated mess, to be sure.

But what else was new for Kaede's life.]

A crossing point?

[She inclined her head a little as she listened, considering the words. Her response wasn't incredulous; of all the strange and fantastic things she had known here, the idea that an afterlife was littered with lost, not-yet-dead souls was one of the least outlandish things she'd heard.

Or perhaps the dead were the intruders here, and their resting place was elsewhere.

...maybe she would see Kouta again. Maybe her brother. Maybe...even Aiko. Would they remember her?]

[showsnopiety]

It seems so. I would not believe it myself but...

[She offers an elegant little shrug, finishing off her food. She's never been one to waste what she has.]

What would not be possible for me to meet, and know for myself- it is certainly probable for others to be...selected by the gods.

We have all sorts here, do we not?

[long_live_the_queen]

[About the gods of this place, Kaede was less certain about.

But she was certain about other things. The solidness of her own hands, the pain of repeated burns, the unfamiliar energy coursing under her skin like it was poorly contained by her form.

And about the other people crammed into white jackets.]

From the useless to the less so. Fairies, to giant dogs with bad manners.

[Kaede allows herself an amused-sounding hmph.]

Or a set of lungs attached to an airhorn that loudly proclaims it's a fairy.

[showsnopiety]

Ah, Cirno.

[She doesn't know anything about the gods here. They're truly a mystery. Sure, there are books, but it doesn't tell her much. Not really; they're stories, not histories. Supposed, maybes, not research.

But all of that came to a halt with the talk of that person.]

Nora, at least, can be directed with some shoving. He's amusing in doses. Cirno...

[She rolls her eyes slightly.]

I'm going to kick her off the roof. Next time she tries to challenge me to a fight, I'm going to.

[long_live_the_queen]

[Occasionally threatening to set him on fire also works! As does actually setting him on fire.

But more importantly, Kaede's almost laughing. It's more of a chuckle, a gravelly noise, but it was there.]

Let me know if you do. I'll watch.

[The fairy was occasionally helpful and useful.

She was also obnoxious or oblivious and loud the rest of the time.]

[showsnopiety]

[Oh, she hasn't tried the actual setting on fire thing. Thanks for the tip Kaede.]

I will. Don't worry. If you're not there, I'll have my carrier film it, just for you.

[Fairy was sometimes useful, but most of the time...best when screaming far, far away.]

[long_live_the_queen]

I look forward to it.

[Let it never be said that Kaede's cruel streak didn't stretch forever. Or hold tenaciously to grudges, even for upsetting arguments.]

[showsnopiety]

Heh.

[Her smile widens. Kaede is not the only one who has a malicious streak.]

I'm Caren by the way.

[She wouldn't be surprised if they got along very well. God help those who rouse their ire.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Results may be bloody! Mind your step.]

Kaede.

[Now she meets the other woman's gaze, though only halfway. Opening up to others was exceptionally difficult for her, even to carry on a conversation, and she had only met this person very recently. But her wariness had relaxed a very tiny bit.]

[showsnopiety]

[You mean it's not already gushing everywhere?]

Pleasure, then.

[She meets her halfway, offering a nod. She doesn't mind. She's not about to open herself up that much either. Not unless it was to deceive with honesty.]