Baths
Steam enshrouds, a misty curtain that veils the room. Pools abound, water constantly swirling, warm and inviting; soapsand waits on nearby ledges for easy access. Racks of clothes stand by the door, freshly washed clothing hang from some, and bundles of yet to be washed clothes fill mutliple baskets beneath. Large cupboard doors open to reveal multitude of fresh, soft towels, and plenty of bathing items -- sponges, pumice stones, and back scrubbers.
Ducking steamclouds are Parekis, Oceanus, Sethe, Twanda, Amobarbital, and Wolfwood.
You notice Trellix asleep here.
Khory is here.

Khory is neck deep in steaming waters, his hair damp from a recent dunking. "Ahhh.." he mutters. This is /much/ better.

Reiko bustles in carrying a stack of clean towels so tall she can barely see over them. Well, as long as she was folding.. The voice startles her, and she nearly drops her burden, just managing to reach a low bench before the entire stack hits the bathing pool. Squinting a bit, she peers through the steam, looking vaguely surprised to see Khory in the bath. "Oh. Hello again." Oblivious? Oh, yeah.

Khory looks around and spies the woman. "Oh.. Hello," he repeats, almost for word. "Those are clean towels?" Gee, isn't he observant. The messenger ducks even lower in the water, bringing the baths up to his chin now. He's just shy...

Reiko rolls her eyes. "Naturally," she retorts, picking irritably at her woolen tunic. Shards and shells, these baths are hot. Then, a bit grudgingly, she adds, "We had some extras in the Infirmary."

"Oh.. ah.. well, would you be so kind as to pass me one?" The messenger is wearing shorts, but still.. Sometimes, a towel is just better.. um.. protection. Khory's face is still blush red, though that hue may be blamed on the steam rising around him.

Reiko turns without comment, snatching the topmost towel and holding it out to him, eyeing him closely. Is he getting out? Or does he somehow want to bring the towel into the water with him? A twisted halfsmile curls her lips and she nearly forgets her own discomfort as she waits to see. "Here you go."

With the infirmary assistant standing just out of reach, Khor has to actually get up and /out/ of the baths in order to grab the towel. Quick as a wink the messenger is on the edge of the baths, and his hand comes out, searching for the drying cloth. "Thanks," he replies, and then, shaking, the blond man topples back into the wather, towel and all. *SPLASH!*

Reiko shrinks back as a splash of steaming water flies out of the bath as Khory hits it, but not quickly enough to avoid soaking her clothing. Great. Hot /and/ wet. Muttering to herself, she tugs her tunic off over her head and throws it onto a bench, then kicks off her wet boots, and finally the leggings as well. Grumblemuttersulk. Might as well wash, she's wet anyhow. Worry about dry clothes later. Slipping into the hot bath, she can't help sighing. It /does/ feel good. "Thanks," she mutters, not quite as sarcastically as she meant to.

Khory comes up sputtering. Seems the poor man can't stop getting drenched today. First at the lake with Sasha and Branwydth, and now here. Rubbing the water from his eyes, the messenger mumbles a sorry. "I didn't mean for that to happen.." he states. And look, now his towel's soaked too. Great.

Reiko eyes him sidelong, emerald eyes half lidded. "There's plenty of towels," she murmurs, attitude slipping away as the hot soak begins to relax her muscles. Apology accepted. She reaches a lazy hand for the sweetsand and begins scrubbing, as casually as if she were alone in the baths.

Khory politely turns around, so that back is turned to the washing woman. "Uh.. Yeah.. that there are.." he says conversationally, trying to keep the gulping out of his tone. Trying to hide his nervousness, the messenger floats over to the other side of the bath, and reaches for some of the sweetsand that's piled there. Maybe if he scrubs his hair, it'll magically make his uncomfortableness go away?

Reiko finishes scrubbing and ducks underwater to rinse, coming up with her hair slicked back from her face, little rivulets of water dripping down her forehead and cheeks. "Clean. Freshly folded." She continues in a casual tone as she takes another handful of sweetsand and begins scrubbing her hair. She smirks. "Not that it's particularly hard work, folding," she adds, although she does enough of it. Splash, she ducks under again, then pops to the surface and lounges back against the lip of the pool. Mmm. Almost better than klah.

The blond man just scrubs at his hair, making noncommitical noises under his breath. The sweetsand just piles bubbles and suds higher and higher, until Khory looks as though he's got a big puff for a head. "I suppose not," he replies in response to the folding, though he wouldn't truly know about drying cloths. The only stuff he's really folded would be parchments and the like... Finally, with a sigh, he dunks under water and rinses too.

"In point of fact," Reiko continues, just as if they were in the cavern sipping klah and not soaking in various stages of undress, "not much at all about being an Infirmary assistant is hard work." And to think she'd considered nannying. "Unless, of course," - one hand comes up, index finger raised in a making-a-point kind of gesture - "there's an actual /emergency/." Yeah, right.

Khory comes up, water running down his ears and face, and he only hears a bit of her comments. "Oh, well life as a messenger can be pretty tough.." Since Reiko's going on about jobs, he may's well to. "You do a lot of running and riding, and ugh.. delivering messages." No kidding. "And there's not much of a chance to stop and wash either.." Which is why this blond man enjoys his soaks so much.

Reiko half opens her eyes to regard him sidelong, taking a good long look. "Sounds... unpleasant," she remarks at length. Wouldn't suit lazy Reiko to 'run' anywhere. She stretches languorously, shutting her eyes again. "Too bad I can't sleep right here." Oh, and wasn't she working? Ahem.

While the woman's eyes are closed, Khory decides to take the chance to jump out and grab a towel. Quickly, he wraps it around his midsection. Pheeew...

Reiko blinks her eyes open at the sound of splashing, just missing Khory wrapping himself up in a towel, and she smirks a little. "Don't worry, I don't bite." Snap, perhaps. Then she sighs a little. "I ought to get back myself." Get something dry to wear. At least the infirmary is close, and tends not to be as chilly as the rest of the caverns. Wouldn't do, to have patients be too cold, now. She wades diffidently to the stairs and climbs out of the bathing pool and reaches for a towel, leaning forward to scrub her hair dry with it before wrapping it around herself.

Khory turns quickly, exposing his back to the assistant once again. Gulping, he then says, "Ah.. well.. I should be heading back to the dorms now too.. Seems my head is much better now.." Why is it that people are intent on teasing him? What did he ever do to them?

Reiko gathers up her clothing, her expression a lot less sour, and moves toward the exit.. then stops to eye Khory narrowly. "What was wrong with your head?" Sweet oblivion, thy name is Reiko.

"I was all stuffed up," he explains, still holding his towel close. "Comes from swimming with dragons.." Don't ask, and Khory won't tell. In fact, guess all you want. "Thanks for the .. ah.. drying cloth, by the way.." He's about to turn around again, and then he stops. Wait a minute.. He never even asked her name. "Oh.. and my name's Khory.. In case, you .. ah.. ever need a messenger."

Reiko smiles at that. A real smile. One that almost reaches her eyes. "Reiko," she says simply. "And you're welcome." She doesn't ask about the swimming with dragons... she's swum with dragons, after all, and therefore needs no explanation. Without another word, she slips out to the hallway.