[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

[herplaceinthesun]

Aisha wasn't at those places, but I don't doubt that you're right about that. When you're reacting to what your enemy does instead of acting, you're limited in the actions that you can take.

[If she knew what he was really making this fuss about, she would respect it. Protecting your people above all others is something she gets, in fact it's second nature to her. If the Ctarl-Ctarl were facing a conflict, where else would she want to be but with them?

Her eyes open, and she takes a good long drink of her cup. The whole topic was hard, it was war. There were no simple answers in something like that.]

So either we accept it's that way and live with the consequences, or take other actions. [A beat, then-] You have experience with this, don't you? It's why you're so mad at the thought of me being a luxury gouger.

[That's pretty obvious, everything about him screamed it.]

[powerdriven]

[ Experience beyond this, she means. Well, it's not a secret. So many of them are from backgrounds of fighting. Even she seems to be able to understand it—the importance in retaining their fallback. Levi exhales a wry huff of air from his nose at the revelation. ]

It'd be a disaster if most everyone didn't learn that lesson eventually. [ It's analogous to more, after all, than just fighting in this war. But if it helps his case, ] Protecting the innocent and living in luxury... they don't mix. Try to do both, and you're always going to be screwing one up.

[ He won't fight her if she wants to be all about herself, not more than in asking why she doesn't feel sorry... but this half-assed heroes reputation they seem to be gathering is something else. Why's no one managing them better? Is doing the bare minimum all that's needed? And if so, couldn't they be doing more to speed the process along, at least? It really burns his biscuits when nobody seems to mean what they say. ]

[herplaceinthesun]

Visiting a hot spring you helped open isn't "living in luxury." It's just a break, and I really love hot springs! But that's not what all I meant when I said this Hero work isn't so bad.

[He seems more disgruntled with the situation in general than with her specifically. That isn't something she can help, and she isn't trying to justify herself... it's more that he's made Aisha want to open up about something, so he can very well sit and listen to it. ]

Back home, Aisha had just finished a pretty big assignment. I decided to take a bit of a break from working, because some jerk owed me and I wasn't gonna let him cheap out. But I've spent my whole life in service to the Empire, so... [Who knows how to take a break?] Here, I have something to do, something that actually matters again. Meeting new people, seeing new places, fighting for a cause, I enjoy all of that. Literally, the work isn't so bad.

[Meaningful work is what she enjoys the most. Having said her piece, she grabs another bite to eat.]

[powerdriven]

[ She's right, of course. He just thinks there's more to it than that. The hot spring they "helped open" hasn't been properly nailed down. For all they know, there could be complications of getting into this water—it'd formed in place of a mana distortion, after all.

That said, seeing as she's being reasonable, he's willing to admit he's being a little... over intense. And by admitting it, for now that means he just won't make any further arguments. Instead, he'll take the rest of his glass of sake while she explains herself, and listen. When she's done, it's on the subject of serving her Empire that he mulls over. ]

That stuff you did didn't matter? Why's that?

[ To him, it almost seems like it's this stuff that doesn't matter by comparison. Not to them personally. It's just a stepping stone towards making their way home, if they're going to. ]

[herplaceinthesun]

Well, I didn't actually get to do anything yet, we'd just left the spaceport. But traveling the universe would have been just for Aisha, and I'm not used to that idea.

[Workaholic that she is. Her loyalty to her people is absolute even though she seems selfish. Once her duty was done, what then? There hasn't been an answer yet that satisfied besides joining the crew of the Outlaw Star, being with people that would be lost without her.

And just like she's not the type to worry about what might be wrong with the water, she isn't philosophical enough to think about what another goal might be. Aisha just lived, and fiercely. Everything else tended to fall into place.

She bets Levi doesn't have that luxury.]

So I might as well be doing this. 's why I didn't try to kick someone's ass for being brought here.

[powerdriven]

[ So from what she's said, his basic understanding of the situation is that she left her job with the Empire not necessarily because she wanted to. And traveling the... "universe"? That was the alternative. So being in Enprise gives her some kind of purpose beyond herself. He guesses he can relate to that, if his assumptions are right. Then again, it's only now that some feeing of purposelessness might really nag. Back when he used to live that way... he's not sure he ever thought twice about it.

Maybe that makes her worldly... or maybe it just makes him simple. He won't question it, aside from seeing her point of view a bit differently now. It does, at least, seem to imply one thing: ]

Guess you could say you're fortunate. I don't think most of us could be so nonchalant about up and leaving our homes.

[ Who knows if she's just downplaying that though. Now that he's not bothered by it, he's not going to press her. He's just going to raise the sake cup in her direction. ]

You got any more of this?