SHE DOES REALISE THERE'S SOMETHING OF A WAR GOING ON, DOESN'T SHE?
❝
"THERE'S ANOTHER TUB!" she exclaimed. Surprised by how loud her voice was, the angel sulked and sank into the water, letting it reach just below her nose. "S- Sorry." she murmured, half-submerged. Prior to her arrival at the bathhouse, she'd had a little too much to drink. The stack of papers had yet to shrink, due in no small part to the lack of assistance she received from both above and below. A few more drinks than usual had made the work pile fuzzy, fuzzy enough to ignore for a moment.
The steamy air refreshed her senses, senses very much dulled by alcohol but at least a little refreshed nevertheless. Her flushed face could have originated from either the consumed spirits or the hot water. Assuming she'd even go to the bathhouse sober, Sherman certainly would have indulged in a cigarette but in her haste to reach the bath, she'd forgotten her matchbox, leaving her 'high' and not-quite-dry. She wasn't sure if she'd ever felt this embarrassed before. The council adviser had believed her timing to be optimal, yet here someone else was.
A mild regret for having consumed as much alcohol as she had crept into the back of her mind. In her embarrassment, Sherman actually hadn't looked up to see who had joined her. S- She'd sort of looked away immediately and attempted to obscure herself.
[attr=class,herkiss]The young devil hides her true face.
[attr=class,arabella]Amy Faye
[attr=class,passengerside]"Boo." Amy was unimpressed by Sherman's lack of attention. "Fly, what are you doing here? I figured you'd still be at your office right now." Amy was, of course, lying. She had followed her here, careful to avoid notice. It wasn't too hard given her current state. "Am I intruding?"
Amy sunk her body deep into the water, blowing bubbles on the surface. She actually had never taken the time out to come here. She was never a big fan of water or swimming or any of that, but even she could admit the feeling of steamy water on the skin was one of the most relaxing sensations in the world. What a great way to relieve stress.
A shiver ran down her spine as she recognised the voice without a second of hesitation. "A- Ah, Amy. Hi." Sherman let go of her own knees and slowly began to sit up proper. "Sorry, no, you're fine, it's fine. I didn't realise it was you. You're of course just as welcome to use this tub as, um, I am."
"I finished next week's work earlier than expected, and my consultations were postponed. Again. So I thought I'd make my way to the b- bathhouse." she said, neglecting to mention her visit to her office's liquor cabinet on the way to the bathhouse. Sherman's eyes studied the tile edge of the tub as her fingers walked on it idly.
"How are you, Amy? I hope your day has treated you more charitably than mine has." The angel's eyes now darted to her right, focusing intently on twirling a lock of hair.
[attr=class,herkiss]The young devil hides her true face.
[attr=class,arabella]Amy Faye
[attr=class,passengerside]"I feel as if none of your days have been charitable since you've joined the Council," Amy worried, "I know it's a lot of work for one person. Especially considering your supervisor." She tilted her head as she idly examined the water around her. "We aren't allowed to talk about work any longer. Let's talk about something more exciting!" Amy was glad to have Sherman join in as part of the Council; she finally got to see her friend more often after so many years. However, she feared that their relationship was slowly becoming more and more professional. Maybe if she teased her a bit...
Amy scooted a bit closer and then examined Sherman's face closely. "Fly, have you been drinking?" She gasped acting surprised. "It's not safe to go to the bathhouse alone in this state you know. Don't worry, I can guide you home when it's over if that's okay with you," she wasn't really going to take no for an answer either way. "Have you been doing alright otherwise? Still no boy? I guess you'd rather be here with him if you did, huh? Come to think of it - what do you do these days after work?" She quickly bombarded Sherman with questions.
Sherman lifted fingers to her mouth as if she had a cigarette to partake in. She didn't, and quickly realised her error, plunging her hand in the water. The angel hugged her own shoulders, effectively shrinking herself as her friend had moved closer. "Drinking?! Nothing out of the, out of the ordinary, of course, Amy. Comes with the j--Right, no work talk, hm." Sherman caught herself giggling and quickly instituted a stop. "I, you don't have to do that for me, unless you want to but I, I can make it home myself. That much I can still do myself, even at my old age." she joked sheepishly.
Sherman crossed her legs and looked up at the ceiling fresco. "I've been faring well for myself, I think. And, yes, er, you're correct. No 'boy' still. See, I," Sherman paused, trying to think better of continuing her sentence. Alcohol with no mitigating cigarette made this an insurmountable challenge.
"I, I don't know, who'd want to court a Council Adviser, let alone go to a bathhouse with one?" she said with a loud laugh. The angel did not realise how loud she was being. "You know, I still am rather cross with them going ahead and using me for the poster. I can't say being liked was ever on my radar, but, but being disliked wasn't either, I guess... Sorry, that's overly personal. S- Scratch that from your record, if you'd, um, be so kind. You were, you were asking about what I do, after, after work?" Sherman sank into the water--one could have sworn to have seen steam emanating from her very flushed face. "Well, drink, smoke. Eat. Sleep when able. I read the paper a lot. Keep up with current events. Draft up propos--Ah, work talk again. Harder to avoid than I thought..." she bubbled, partially underwater.
[attr=class,herkiss]The young devil hides her true face.
[attr=class,arabella]Amy Faye
[attr=class,passengerside] As she had thought, it would certainly be difficult to get Sherman to refrain from thinking about work even at a time like this. Slightly frustrated, Amy tried to cheer up Sherman: "Well, I decided to go to the bathhouse with that very Council Advisor. Am I no one to you? Stop selling yourself short! There are plenty of people who can see behind your bullshit and see the cute little Fly beneath," she booped her nose. "I guess this is the part where I court you then?" She raised an eyebrow at Sherman and leaned in close.
After a moment, she broke into a burst of laughter of her own. She scooted back to her original spot and cleared her throat. "I think you give up on yourself too easily, Fly. You should be a little less uptight and listen to your heart every once and awhile, you know?"
After a bout of nervous hysterical laughter, the angel strung together some sentences between panting, "Y- You're making me blush. You're too kind, Amy. Especially too kind if you'd go as far to inflict yourself with me!" chirped Sherman, who had been blushing since long before Amy had said that. She touched her nose right where Amy had booped her and blinked, resetting her expression from that of wistful puppy dog eyes to that of soaked and melancholic. "You're not no one, Amy, not to me. Not to anyone in the city, actually, but, but that's not the point. I haven't, I haven't changed much, you know. In years and years. I've not strayed from doing the exact same things I used to, it's--I don't even know if at this point I should be frightened or shocke--Ah, never mind that." The warmth of having consumed large quantities of alcohol began draining from the angel, and her realisation of this disconcerted her. On one hand, she could return to her senses, leave the bath, apologise to Amy for letting her friend see her like this, and flee before she embarrassed herself further. The other hand held much more indulgence in embracing whatever alcohol remained in her mind still, staying in the bath and speaking freely to and about Amy. Maybe too freely? "Sorry, that was unbecoming of me. A good deal less of uptightness would serve me wondrously, yes," Sherman pointed at where her heart would be, "The bit about heart-listening as well, I quite like the idea of that too." said the angel, half-consumed by the decision ahead of her. In truth, despite being able to parse her present waterborne situation, the angel was much more inebriated than she believed herself to be and, as such, believed said decision to be much more momentous or concerning than it was, probably.
Sherman exhaled sharply and sat up in a hurry, subsequently splashing water about herself. "W- Well, what about you, Amy? Will I be walking you down the aisle in the near futu--Ack, no, no, no, I meant to ask is there, no if there is someone in your life, um, such that your involvement with them would result in my walking you down the aisle, um, to bring you to them at the altar? I don't think that was very clear? Was I clear? I don't know, is that even something people do at weddings still? It's been so long since I've last been invited to one. Maybe it's an elven thing, the aisle bit. Um." Sherman buried her face in her hands.
Somehow, she worried, she'd made her decision without making her decision.
[attr=class,herkiss]The young devil hides her true face.
[attr=class,arabella]Amy Faye
[attr=class,passengerside] For this moment of serenity with Sherman, Amy was glad to see it was still easy to fluster the poor angel. How innocent. "I know you haven't changed much, but circumstances have. We've talked about it before but..." she sighed. She wondered how much the angel noticed about her and all she had done to Pavane. It was strange, but very relieving, that their friendship had been unaffected by the events taking place at the Council. Maybe it was all just an illusion the two were creating to avoid harsh realities.
Amy was shocked when Sherman turned the question towards her. Somehow, the obvious question caught her off-guard. She again sunk deep into the water in response, furrowing her brow intensely. She closed one eye and reached her hand up to the ceiling, squishing the portraits of the goddesses with her fingers. "...It's the same guy. I know it's been some time, but I don't think my heart will ever be able to love again," she spoke unusually frankly in an uncharacteristically flat tone. "It's just part of fate. They take away as much as they give. Almost makes you wish they never gave in the first place."
Sherman quickly remembered why she only asked Amy such things when heavily, heavily inebriated. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry--I haven't been this sloshed in a while." she hiccuped. "Look at me, saying 'sloshed', even." As her friend had, she too sank into the water. "You're right, though. You are. Almost makes you wish, indeed. Almost. We should sometime, like when you've got free time, we should see if Fitzgerald's still does their battered fish takeout. I quite miss it. Used to be our go-to munch on weekends. Then the Council work set in." she giggled, half because she felt a warm fuzziness about her that somehow didn't stem from alcohol and half because it made fighting back tears easier than just smiling.
Sherman splashed her face a few times, taking a deep breath afterwards. "I, um, best get started on my way home. I need at least try to wake early in the morning tomorrow. Ah. Today, that is." she said, examining her watch laid out along the pool edge. In her head, she tried to calculate the fastest route to reach a towel from the bath. Sherman sniffed and swept some hair from her eyes.
"Thank you for keeping me company again, I've never not appreciated it. Oh dear, double negatives. I really must get going." joked the angel as she slowly climbed out of the tub.
[attr=class,herkiss]The young devil hides her true face.
[attr=class,arabella]Amy Faye
[attr=class,passengerside] "Don't worry, Fly. I am just happy to see you able to relax," her voice quickly returned to normal. Amy recalled the fish she used to eat with Sherman. At this point, the memory seemed so distant she could not tell if it was real or just a dream. "That sounds nice. We ought to go back there soon," she closed her eyes imagining a carefree day with Sherman. It seemed nice, but she knew that a day like that was unlikely to come for some time.
She open her eyes at the sound of Sherman's movement quickly reaching to grab the angel's wrist. She held tightly, her hands shook subtly. "Fly, can you...can you stay for just a little bit longer? I don't want you to leave yet," her intense gaze drifted off to the water below her.
The angel trembled at the touch. Sherman's gaze met Amy's as if pulled by gravity. Her heart started to race again as she lowered herself back into the water. "I can stay, Amy. I can stay." said the angel, smiling, still with tears welling up. Keeping them back, she sniffed. Amy still held her wrist and Sherman was content with leaving it to her as long as she liked. In truth, even if Sherman had left an hour ago, she'd have been off-schedule in terms of going to bed in time to wake up early. Any more time spent here now was well-worth unbalancing a routine, she thought.
"I'm really just happy to see you." The angel managed to look away at last. Even as inebriated as she was, Sherman worried she'd made Amy uncomfortable by keeping her gaze on her for so long.
Sherman leaned back against the bath wall and couldn't help but look at Amy again.
[attr=class,herkiss]The young girl shows her true face.
[attr=class,arabella]Amy Faye
[attr=class,passengerside]
[attr=class,passengerside]It was in this liminal space, the time and place between those worlds, where she existed most. Where she had existed alone. The darkness of the never-ending dream. The place where the only sight to see was her own soul. How long had it been since she had entered here? And how long would it take for her to inevitably return? The thought of it, the gravest consequence of her severed soul, was enough to put her in tears. The infinity of isolation became harder with each passing moment, yet no rest could be afforded to the one who was already asleep. After a bout of tears, she sat, limp, staring at nothing in particular. She was floating towards nothing and so she sought nothing. Nothing, except...
A memory would snatch her attention so often, reigniting her dream once again. She stood up and stared below. As though seeing something, she wiped her tears and adopted a somber smile. After a small moment of hesitation, she dipped her foot into the below, creating a ripple in the Aether.
So it was still here after all.
She removed her towel, placing it to the side before submerging herself in the below, slowly plunging her body into the void of silence. It consumed her to the neck. Giddy with excitement, she reached an arm out from the bath, an arc of crystals freezing in the air behind her fingertips. She began to trace her visage with her fingertips.
Her image was vague and impressionistic, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud at her lack of artistic skill. The silence was punctuated with that. Her simple joy. Even though it wasn't Fly, she could feel it in her heart still as though it really were her there in the bathhouse next to her. The precious memory that would keep her soul alive to this very day. She ran her hand gently down the crystal cheeks in a deep longing for the glow that was never again to return. And yet, her heart, it remembered… and she sang a song in her memory. Softly, her voice was to comfort her dearest friend for the rest of that brief moment.
She would savor it before the dream ended and silence overtook once again. She mouthed the her final words, voiceless:
Living in a dystopian society, seven mystic races are trapped due to their own selfishness. Tensions rise between the races and the different social classes, leading up to the constant struggle for power, with no end in sight.
News
4/11 - With the Ghoul Purge complete, Pavane's fear shifts from the goddesses towards the Council. Check out the aftermath here to get an understanding of the current situation in the plot.
MYSTICAL SOULS belongs to YUMEKUI, DYLZOE AND LUNARIS. This is an original plot created by staff members.. The skin "Midnight Madness" was created by Dorothia. This includes Board Mod, Mini-Profile Mod and such. Thread list was made by Kagney. User Profile mod was made by Pharaoh Leap. Graphics belong to their rightful owner. Plagiarism is not appreciated and will not be tolerated.
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[attr=class,modernlover]
