aerialassault | Appointments

Alright. I'll heat it in the springs while we relax.

[He set the bottle down and then turned to the side, undoing his obi.]

The washrooms are just through there. It shouldn't take long to clean up.

[Echoing Souji's actions, Cliff turned his back and unzipped his coat.]

That ain't so bad. Are there showers back there or something?

The water from the walls? I think so, but I've never really used them too much. It was quite a shock trying to learn how when I came to Luceti.

[He slipped his obi off, folding it up and putting it in the changing basket. Next went his haori, kimono and underthings, and then he wrapped his lower half in a towel, taking a small shallow round wooden bucket filled with soap, shampoo and his hair pin from his things.]

I'm ready when you are.

[Cliff laughed, sympathizing with that particular plight.]

They are tough to figure after you haven't touched one in awhile, that's for sure!

['Awhile' could have been months travelling the dirt roads of a world that was 'underdeveloped' by Cliff's standards, or an entire lifetime of never even dreaming that it was possible. Technological leaps in either direction were their own special form of culture shock.

Cliff toed off his boots and shed the rest of his clothes, following Souji's lead with the respect that people share in the locker room.]

Let's just say it took me quite awhile to find that it could do more than just cold water.

[He laughed at the memory and then entered the bath area, choosing a random seat at one of the showers. The place was steamy and he already felt relaxed at the sight of something even slightly familiar. Setting his wooden bucket down, he turned on the water and sat on the stool provided, waiting while it warmed.]

Did you often go without these things? I would have thought the future would have them everywhere.

See? There's the funny story, [Cliff sat down adjacent to Souji, facing the wall, and let himself relax while he told his tale,] for several months before Fayt and I arrived in this place, we were stuck on a planet with more basic standards of technology. Electricity was barely a thing, and it was harnessed using that world's Runology and some clever engineering. Suffice to say, it wasn't common enough for the inns to have hot showers.

You would have hated my country in my time then. [He laughed a little, remembering how little they had in comparison to this advanced place. He filled his bucket with warm water and began washing, methodically shampooing and cleaning his hair first.]

Although warm water and hot springs were a given, at least. There is that - but not this electricity. It was a simpler time. In some respects.

Nah, I wouldn't have hated it. There'd be these springs, for one. Probably a lot of hot chicks around too.

[It was his old joke. The only places that he truly hated were the cold, dank dungeons that he had visited. It was hard to be much worse than the bite of those unrelenting leather restraints and whips that always accompanied those visits...

Cliff began washing as well, with bit more hesitation in his movements, and it was clear that he was very astutely avoiding looking at Souji while he worked. After always seeing him in those loose layers, he was rather curious about what Souji looked like without them.]

I like travelling anyway. There's always something to interesting to learn. It's pretty amazing how complicated things really can be once you get to the nitty gritty of it.

Hijikata-san knew more about that than I did - but some of the women the men visited were said to be quite pretty.

[With his hair cleaned, he began rinsing it out, not at all bothered with bathing in front of someone. He'd done it with the men often enough that another man's gaze never even registered.

What did register was how Cliff was pointedly not looking at him. Souji smiled and flicked water at the Klausian as he finished his hair, squeezing it out before wrapping it up around the jewelled hair pin to keep it out of the way. For a fighter, he was remarkably without scars - nothing but a few pale marks here and there.]

Travelling has always been a large part of our society, too. Travel journals were best-sellers for those unable to go on their own.

[...hot.

Cliff retaliated by making a face, but refrained from indulging in returning fire. There would be plenty of chances for that in the future.

Instead he poured water over his head to rinse out the suds before he moved onward.]

Hah. Looks like they're big sellers no matter where you go then.

[Travel journals, travel blogs, travel photography...it was refreshing to hear that the industry was older than the Industrial Revolution.]

In older times, the peasants, farmers and most artisans were restricted from moving along the roads without permission. Even samurai like me had to have permission from our lords to travel and paperwork. It was how our government kept a close eye on the people.

[With his hair out of the way, the act of cleaning himself was simple and quick. He bathed every morning and every night, so he was technically already clean here. Still, if he was to show Cliff how the baths worked, he had to be thorough.

He scrubbed lightly at his skin, a thin layer of soap bubbled up and he smiled over at Cliff.]

So did you often read the travel journals of the worlds you went to? Or were you the one to write them?

I'm not really one to do much of the writing-- too many other things going on [Battle lines to keep track of, people and places to monitor, face-to-face meetings set up between people from completely different star systems...] But, if we're not thinking literally, then I did a lot of talking to people and researching myself if there was any information to be had.

[He took the soap himself, and scrubbed the suds over his skin with more attention than he usually gave it. He was the sort who showered in the morning when he was able to, but it was fairly habitual task anymore. He didn't know how long it had been since he had actually taken the time to enjoy his own rituals.

Besides, this was a new experience. He wanted to learn from it.]

How about you-- did you do much reading or writing?

I was too busy with the war and keeping the capital safe. [A task he didn't regret in the slightest, although his expression briefly turned melancholy as he waited for the water to refill in his bucket. He never travelled beyond Hino, Edo and Kyoto. His friend, however, had a long journey to Ezo awaiting them, one which he would never make. He wondered if he read travel books when sitting in the back room, waiting to die, or if he spent his days trying only to hear news of his friends. The moment passed quickly enough and he began rinsing himself off, mindful of his wings.]

But I hope to in the future. I always wanted to travel like the other captains sometimes did to Osaka, but never had the chance. It must have been wonderful to be able to talk to so many people and learn of their worlds.

[Cliff didn't know Souji's future-- That era was considered ancient history in his time line, and he only had a basic understanding of pre-star date history on Earth-- but he glanced over when he caught that brief pause. There were times when he wondered about what went on in those silences...but, he had his secrets too.

He began to rinse off the rest of the bubbles while he pondered the question.]

It's been interesting...but also sorta frustrating. My people have only been active on an intergalactic scale for about a century or so, so there's still a lot of pressure to either conform to Federation standards or go home. There's a lot we've gotta learn still, but that pressure kinda takes the fun out of it sometimes.

Ugh, pressure always takes the fun out of everything. [Souji rolled his eyes and dumped the rest of the water over himself, making sure the soap was cleared.]

We had to host guests of our Lord Matsudaira sometimes and it was soooo boring. Everyone had to be all proper, I wasn't allowed to spy on them, Hijikata-san got all grumpy-- well, grumpier, sometimes we had to shove Tetsu-kun into a closet and have Yamazaki-san impersonate him to keep up good appearances. And trying to keep Tetsu-kun quiet when he was tied and gagged in a closet is not easy. He's such a feisty thing for someone so young and short.

I can only imagine how much more boring it must have been to have some larger standard to hold up to.

[He leaned forward a bit, smiling as he looked over at Cliff.]

Although you say it's only been a century and my people are hundreds of centuries from that still. Your world is very interesting, Cliff-san. I'm sure you and your people will make it.

[Holy crap, Souji. The short, feisty thing sounded like a bratty half-pint he sometimes pretended not to know-- Cliff laughed.]

Ya think so? I'm thinking it'll work too, even if the negotiations are a pain in the ass sometimes. There's still plenty of ways to divvy things up-- and I'm no stranger to trying different things.

[Souji laughed in turn.]

Yes, I can see that. You are trying a public bath for the first time, after all. If you can do that, I'm sure you can negotiate peace, yes?

[He grinned and gathered his things up, wrapping his towel around his waist.]

Ready for the best part?

[Cliff chuckled, wistfully dreaming of the day when negotiations would be as simple as taking a bath, and once more followed Souji's example in proper hot springs protocol.]

Ready? I've been ready for this since the first snow.

[translation: since he had returned from his abduction, since he had missed the first snowfall.]

[He smiled and opened the door, shivering a little at the blast of cold air that rushed in. He made sure to pick up the bottle of sake and the drinking set before he headed toward the hot springs themselves, more than ready to soak in what was his first time here. The steam from the water rose up and reminded him of home and he stopped at the edge of the rocks, setting his wooden bucket down and removing his towel before stepping into the water and sinking in up to his neck. The warmth was instantaneous and he turned back, smiling at Cliff.]

Saizou is going to be so mad at me for not bringing him. Hurry in, the temperature is perfect.

You're just gonna have to avoid telling him 'bout it then. No biggie.

[Said with a grin as he removed his towel and sank into the spring, savoring the blissfull warmth of the water that was like a miracle in the middle of a frigid winter. He settled into a place near Souji and leaned up against the wall, stretching and relaxing as he admired the steam swirling into the air.]

It really is perfect. It's almost like something out of a storybook.

[After he'd let the heat sink into his bones, he turned and prepared the sake. Pouring it into the serving bottle, he dunked the wooden bucket into the water and then set it inside to heat. It wouldn't take long to reach the right temperature and he spoke as he worked.]

I'll try to keep it secret from him - and while I'm not sure about storybook, they were a very popular destination for the travel journals my people read.

[He smiled faintly, looking over at Cliff.]

But what really makes it nice is the company.

[Cliff glanced down at Souji, smiling himself.]

The company's the best best thing about this place. This place just get more...special. Maybe that's why it seemed like something from a book.

[He laughed as he settled back into the water, bringing the wooden bucket and its sake bottle with it. With the water up to his shoulders, he relaxes back and balances the bucket so it doesn't go under.]

Something from a book, hm? And what sort of books were you thinking of then?

Fairy tales.

[He chuckled, and winked at Souji in his teasing.]

It seems almost like the perfect set up for one. In this weather it's almost unreal.

And what sort of fairy tale would you write with us being the stars?

I'm not sure either of us qualifies to be the 'damsel in distress.' [he laughed a little and then tested the sake bottle, noting how warm it was getting.] That's a thing in those stories, yes? At least, western ones?

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

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Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

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Re: Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs

Jan. 10th | 3pm | Hot Springs