Irregular - Chapter 19

Three walked up to the gate, Lem’s eyes widened slightly upon his return. Three looked down at his clothes and saw he was covered in blood, most of it dried.

“Good fight?” The guard asked.

Three grinned and nodded “Good fight.”

Lem gave him a small smile and opened the gate, “Might want to wash up a bit before heading back to the house, there is a public bathouse not too far from here, you know where to find it?”

“Yea Emmi told me about it before, it would be impolite to show up in this state, thank you for the advice.”

“No problem, ya have a nice night!”

“You too.” Three answered.

He made his way to bathhouse, wondering if he could wash his clothes there as well. He entered the wooden building, it was a good deal larger than most other buildings in the village, the entire complex was based on the ground floor however. He entered the bathouse to be greeted by an elderly lady, she eyed him up and down. “Eight coppers for the bath.”

Three blinked, scratching his chin. He checked his pockets for money and frowned. “Its fine if you don’t have any on ya, just pay double next time.” The elderly woman told him, waving him through the door.

He entered the room, another woman had just finished taking off her clothes and was heading for the bath. She spotted him entering and her eyes widened when she noticed his clothes, Three nodded to her politely and took his clothes off. He put them into a device Emmi had called a MagiPress, It heated up both the cloth and the water, evaporiting it, the steam created soaked into the cloth, which after a few seconds the magic would reassorb, releasing heat and drying the clothes. An extremely convenient invention.

He turned around to see the other woman had already entered the bath, he followed her, pulling aside the curtains to enter the steam room. The woman stood there, wiping off her body, his gaze lingered on her form. Her black hair matted, clinging to her body. A drop of water ran down from her hair, over her side, down a curve, then over her leg. He watched it flow, the woman turned around to look at him. Her sharp icy blue eyes sending a shock through his body. She was beautiful he realized. His body was reacting to it, he had never felt anything like this before, he rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.

Trying to shake the feelings, he entered the bath, he felt the womans gaze linger on his back. He heard footsteps approaching him from, he tightened his muscles, trying to control his breathing.

“There is a lot of blood in your hair, its awfully caked.” Her silky voice split through the air sending a shiver down his spine. He tried to hold still, breathing in deeply.

“Let me clean it for you.” She whispered.

Three tried to speak, to refuse her offer, but the words refused to come out. The woman pushed him forward a bit, deeper into the water. She took a seat on the bench behind him, he felt her warm flesh pressing against his hips, then his back. He was paralyzed, unable to move. She backed off slightly and ran her fingers through his hair. She took pluks of hair into her hands and meticously washed them clean. She ran a gentle hand over his shoulder, taking another pluck of hairs into her hands. The process continued for a while in complete silence. Three paralyzed by indecision, this was different from how he felt around the other girls. It confused him, these feelings, his… bodily reaction. He would have to ask Emmi about them.

The silence stretched, the woman finally finished her work, cupping her hands and letting the water she gathered fall over his now matted hair. She moved back a little, tapping his shoulder. “If you would be so kind as to help me with my own hair?”

“U-uh yes, of course.” He muttered, feeling an unfamiliar heat rising to his cheeks. He turned around, the woman facing the wall, her hands folded resting on the ledge, she placed her chin on her hands, her back facing him. His breath caught as he saw the dim light reflect on her pale, moist skin. He saw the little curves from her spinal cord, the lines of muscle from her shoulders, the silky black hair clinging to her back. He saw the way her body thinned from the chest down, to widen slightly at the waist. Another jolt through his body, he waited a brief moment to calm himself.

He took a deep breath and tried his best to copy what she had done to him, he scolded himself inwardly for his shaking hands. He took her hair in his hands and gently, carefully, set about cleaning them. A gentle sense of ease washed over him as he worked, it felt familiar, right. Different from fighting, it was… peacefull. Soon unbeknownst to him he was sporting a smile.

Sooner than he would have liked he finished. He told her so, he watched her slowly get out of the bath, his eyes glued to her figure. She turned to face him, his eyes captivated by her gaze. “I have a farm of sorts in the northern area, ask Lem to point you you to it, I could use the help of a reliable young man like you, if you have the time drop by tomorrow.” She smiled, the curves of her lips, the small gesture somehow sensual. Three quickly nodded his agreement, as she left the house. He couldn’t help watching her departing figure, he sank into the bathtub, struggling to comprehend what just happened.

— Vyria POV—

Vyria left the bath behind, walking back to her clothes, she was panting now, her cheeks almost unnoticably flushed.

‘What is wrong with me!’ She tried to still her heavy breathing.

She thought back about the tall, muscular young man, his ivory palor, the crimson of dried blood clinging stubbornly to his skin. His confident, calm stature. The way he exuded strength, she remembered the way she wanted to flinch, the way she got goosebumps when he walked past her. Fear briefly slipped into her mind, replaced by an… unknown emotion.

Then she had asked if she could wash his hair! She hadn’t even waited for him to respond, she had pressed her body against his and! She still struggled with the memory, she was a scientist! She spent her time figuring out problems, learning about monsters. She struggled with people she found it hard to talk to them, then what in the name of the seven fallen gods was that?! People called her cold, she didn’t feel any of that so called cold now, she felt her body heating up.

She wondered if he would come to visit tomorrow.