[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

[topkong]

[ He wears a towel around his waist for modesty's sake, though the rest of him is quite stacked. Wukong, having maintaining some sort of training himself does a pretty good job of hiding it underneath brown fur. A strong knight, one whose antics won't be limited by his stature.

So, naturally, he HAS to come across Adra. Still a little fresh off of the brief but stern talk, the monkey is trying to figure out the best way to evade any further verbal lashings...

... then again, maybe he can hide in the water. Wu carefully tests the water and it's quite hot. Very hot. Definitely a hot spring, not a warm spring. He can't help but let out the smallest of 'erk's, pulling his foot back.

And then, he smiles shakily. No way he's undetected now. ]

[hymnals]

[ Adra's not terribly happy with Wukong right now, it's true. He can forgive just about any slight against his own person, but slights against Belthazar--a boy he's already accepted as his own--those were less forgivable.

But, in the scheme of things, Adra's mood with regard to Wukong is less 'irrevocably enraged' and more 'agitated with subtle flavors of disappointment'; they've spent enough time together that Adra already loves him, and so he felt a bit of actual hurt at the needless haranguing of his son.

Thus, when he hears that erk, his expression immediately sours. ]

Ah. So you survived the dungeon, then. Congratulations.

[ Said dully, with his ears pressed back. ]

[topkong]

[ Ouch. Part of him wants to flee, the shame stinging more than the spring. A sharp blow that makes his skin redden and he inhales sharply--- it does hurt, after all, to be viewed with such displeasure and agitation. Especially, when it's by someone he respects. ]

True. I survived, but so did the rest of my friends. We all played our part, just as it should be.

[ Or did Adra want Wukong to fail? The thought crosses his mind but is quickly removed. No healer would want to see another person struggle or hurt, would they?

At least, not physically. ]

I'm glad to see you made it out safely, too. [ And Wukong means it. He couldn't possibly sound any more earnest, as he sits down and lets his feet dangle into the water. He lets some time pass, mostly to gather the courage to speak. ]

... he's lucky to have you.

[hymnals]

[ No matter his personal feelings, Adra would never want anyone to suffer needlessly. He had felt pain enough in defeating the dragon--a sad soul poisoned by madness and grief. The thought of his allies in such pain is nigh-intolerable. His congratulations are genuine: he is glad that Wukong survived.

But not particularly glad to see him otherwise. ]

Is he? With friends like mine, I'm not so sure.

[ Because that's the real thing: he does think of Wukong as a friend. And it stuck a knife right in his nerves to see what he, in his ever-serious mind, viewed as bullying. However gently intended on Wukong's part. ]

[topkong]

[ That comment earns Adra a wince, but Wukong deserves it. One should never run from their mistakes, because no lessons are learned. It doesn't matter when or where or how it happens.

He will meet it head on. ]

I did destroy all of the drawings. Tore them up, burned them... the least I could do, I guess.

[ Actions speak louder than words. His, though, feel quiet and nearly mute. Not shame, only hesitant to gauge Adra's reaction. ]

... is there anything else I can do? Should do?

[ The last thing he wants to do is SAY 'sorry'. Words never feel enough. ]

[hymnals]

[ It's difficult for Adra to stay angry with anyone, but it's especially hard with someone like Wukong. There's an earnestness to him that Adra's always appreciated, even when otherwise annoyed, and he always has such genuine remorse when he goes a bit too far. ]

You shouldn't have done anything in the first place. He's a child!

[ adra he's seventeen

But after that, he sighs, and the vitriol drains out of him. ]

What's past is past. I would simply prefer that you treat my son kindly. He's not an old man like me.

[ Adra doesn't care if Bel can take it. Adra doesn't want him to. ]

[topkong]

[ Here Wukong is, bracing himself for another slew of guilt but it's... not really that. Adra's genuine concern for his son is touching, even to someone who only recently experienced a friendship beyond passing pleasantries and the occasional, casual physical gesture. ]

Certainly! You can count on me to be kind. At least, an appropriate kind of kindness. Not too much, not too little, but...

[ Ah, he's rambling a bit and catches himself. Wu's simply pleased that Adra has forgiven him--- at least, this is what he feels. ]

... you're not old. Unless you want to be, in which case, I could call you 'Old Man'.

[ Wukong's not entirely sure about ages. He's known some who looked young but were old, and some that were quite young but looked older. ]