"No wonder we don't have enough. It's because our bathtub is too fucking big. It's spreading the water thin! WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS!?" Bella shouted but nobody responded, causing her to click her tongue. "Fine, I'm going first."
"I'm gonna have no water then."
"Then let's just bathe together," Bella snarled as Orion disappeared beyond the tree line separating the bathtub and our camp for the week. "Or what, you're too good to bathe with somebody as noble as me?"
Her smirk was annoying, but I was still as unamused as usual. I had no qualms with this, especially if I could avoid bathing in that crystal clear stream of piss. Once I drank it out of desperation as we had run out of fresh water and well… let's just say I didn't have the best time on the toilet for the next few days.
"Whatever," I sighed, too exhausted to argue, and as we both stripped, I became a bit nervous. But, it wasn't because I was going to be bathing with a girl naked… instead, I was scared I would end up feeling something for her.
We both dipped in the bath, its refreshing icy properties chilling our heated souls to the core. We both relaxed. We both sunk into the water, filling it up to about above our chest line. We both then looked at each other.
"You know, I've never been so comfortable around somebody before. Bathing with another guy who I wasn't dating was something I never even thought would be possible… but it's strange… I still feel calm. In fact, I feel safe."
I didn't want to say it, but I felt the same. There was no tension between us. We were almost a bit too comfortable around each other… like we were siblings. If I had a sister, I would have possibly been this comfortable around her. Although, no siblings would bathe together like this…
"*sigh*... Hey."
"What?"
"Are you happy? I mean, being down here and all is pretty-"
"Yeah, I am," I lightly grinned, my eyes flush against the metal basin holding all of the bath water. "Are you?"
Her eyes roamed the metal basin as well before she let out a long sigh and turned around. Her back was scarred. Heavily scarred, unlike the front of her torso. I wanted to comment on it, but due to the current mood, I didn't say much.
She leaned back, pressing her back against my chest while looking up at my face. Her expression was fully exhausted like she had just ripped her mask off. It revealed what she was truly feeling in this hellish environment and I understood. I understood completely why she was like this, but as I wanted to be strong, this environment was perfect for me.
Sure it was miserable at times and there were points where the environment around me was so red and dark that it felt like I was in my own living nightmare. Trees were burnt to the ground with no sign of life, grass was charred to the very base, and rivers were full of fish that had multiple eyes and multiple mouths like they were the products of extreme radiation exposure. I think you should take a look at
Bella went to open her mouth to explain everything, but I spoke up first, cruelly interrupting her just as she gathered up the courage to speak her mind.
"I understand. There's no need to fake it around us though. If you ever need more of a break we can stay at the camp longer. We got practically an infinite amount of time for our mission here… so just relax."
As her long bright green hair with streaks of black pooled at the surface of the water, it wrapped around me. My hands stayed locked onto the basin of water, lightly strained as I attempted to stay up.
"Ugh… you're too fucking heavy."
She deadpanned instantly and sat up. I diverted my eyes calmly as she stood up and got out of the bath, drying herself with a nearby towel. Seeing as how she wasn't going to get back in, I decided to soak a bit longer before returning to camp.
When I stepped foot onto where we were currently staying in between an open ring of trees, I noticed Findir was sharpening his daggers, Aisa was just lazing around, flipping her dagger over her face while masterfully catching it and tossing it again… and then there was Orion who looked at me while he continued to prepare a basic meal for all of us.
"What?" I asked as he gestured for me to come closer.
"What did you talk about?"
"I don't think I need to report to you with whatever my own business is… just know it isn't anything special."
He understandably nodded, before I sat down next to him, my hair still soaking from the bath. I helped him chop up some of the vegetables while we sat in silence, our teamwork when preparing this meal was almost flawless.
"Where's Bella?" I finally asked, breaking the silence as soon as we finished up. The stew was ready and the fragrant smell had already permeated throughout the entire camp and forest. Some of the smaller critters had even come to us, but I shooed them away before Aisa could catch them and cook them for an extra snack.
"She's hunting with Luna. I assume they won't be back for a while so just chill out and eat something," Orion muttered, handing me a bowl of soup. I was a bit taken aback by his sudden act of kindness since he had never done something like this before, but in the end, I took it, not wanting to waste this chance to see him so differently.
"Thanks."
For what seemed to be an eternity, we all sat in silence, just eating our food. There was no real conversation between all of us as the exhaustion had crept up. We were all tired of these dull surroundings… trees burnt to the ground, charred grass, and seemingly radioactive fish, just like me.
