Always the Gross Jobs

Log Info

• Title: Always the Gross Jobs
• Emitter: Slixvah
• Characters: Slixvah, Patch, Stjepan
• Place: TarRaCe Bathhouse
• Time: September 29th, 2022
• Summary: Slixvah splashes into the bathhouse after a nasty job, her joined by Patch. They run into Stjepan there, the egalrin learning that he was there fighting the wight worms. Story tabled for later, Slix considers showing Patch an Aerie to see what's its like up there, as they also contemplate what they'd be doing when their journey is over. But that's not for a long, long while.

The TarRaCe Bathhouse, Early evening.

Why is the gross jobs usually end up here? Probably because it was the only temple that could cure such taint. Ugh. The thought of getting a freebie token to the baths was nice and all, but when one kind of works here, the baths were basically free already.

Whatev's, Slixvah thinks to herself, her having tossed it to a street urchin on the way here. How long did she spend in the pre wash? Rinse cycle? Does the water get any hotter?

Slixvah, a usually outrageously dressed egalrin woman, is seemingly simple in her sky blue swim trunks as she has a big bundle of robes and a rainbow of ribbons held in a ball, her placing them in one of the cubby holes for laundry. "Please clean them really good..." she whispers like a prayer before padding over to the pools. She preens a bit, grimaces, then complains, ".. ugh... its in my feathers still..."

Patch laughs as she comes out of the changing area, having followed Slixvah to the pools. She wears her orange and white striped two-piece, carrying a small assortment of oils and soaps. "Most the work we do would make anyone crave a bath, Slix." she chimes, having seen a bit of the mess the Egalrin had presented when first entering.

"So, what got you this time?" she has to asks, a smile flashed as she heads towards the mixed pools. "What.. sewers, fey tooth-eaters, and..." a wrinkle of nose, daring to take a whiff of what remains. "Nope, can't identify that." having sniffed the other woman as she passes close, and then wafting playfully after.

Stjepan waits in the mixed pools. He doesn't know that he does, though -- he's just there, raising the water levels in one of the pools, submerged to his neck. Eyes half-closed, he watches people go by lazily, clearly enjoying heat and lightness.

Slixvah rubs her face, still smelling slightly... rancid. "Aberrations. The gross ones that spit stuff on your and explode when ya kill 'em," she elucidates, brows pinched. "Did a bang up job! Was great and smooth. But maaan that aftermath was naaasty."

The bird woman enters the waters in a manner like every other time: with enthusiasm and with a big >flop<.

>Splash!<

Patch snorts a laugh, setting the small basket aside as she sits on the pool's edge. "Well, you deserve it then. I... gross." she admits, a glance roaming the things she brought. "How are your feathers to...." pausing as she realizes the underwater Egalrin is not likely to hear her question. Stjepan is noticed, a grin flashed as she looks up to see him resting in a corner of the pools. "Oh, hit. Almost missed you, being all still like River Rock."

Stjepan's eyes snap open at the splash, and he grins, shifting upwards to he's not swamped. The grin gets turned on Patch, "And hi to you, too." He allows, in a generous tone, "Well, I /am/ small and insignificant, I can see how it would happen." As he shifts up, some of the tattoos he usually hides -- arcane designs across his left chest and shoulder, show.

Slix pops her head back up after a moment, her shaking her head to slough off water as she looks back up at Patch. "Hmm? What 'bout my feathers?"

She's talking to someone else, her drawing a line back to the large- "Oh." Blink. "Sorry! Didn' see ya there!" the rust red and white feathered egalrin chirps. "I just couldn' wait ta get in!"

"Oh yes, let us talk of opposites." Patch says to Stjepan with a smirk. "Glad you're at least comfortable." she notes with a nod.

"Slix, do you want soaps or oils? I don't know what is good for mussed feathers." she says kicking her legs lightly in the waters before her. "Would some cleaning magics might work better?"

Stjepan grins at them both, "It's good -- I don't blame you for wanting in -- it's extra nice today." He points his chin at Slixvah, "What happened to you? Work?"

"Girrrl, please, cleaning magics is why I ain't a walkin' stink bomb," Slix drones, rolling a hand with a slight smile to her eyes. "Soap. Oil makes it weird. Thankieee!"

She turns to Stjepan, her tilting her head upwards slightly. "Yeah. Work. I helped some sun ladies stab some bad things that was hurtin' folks. I helped their stabbin's! But alas, I was around for the things that got stabbin's, and the things exploded. Feh."

Patch nods, digging in her basket after Slixvah's words. "I have rosetips, and some like..." having to sniff one of the soaps herself. "Some citrus." she decides, looking up to Slixvah with a grin. "Glad I caught you on this side of the muck, that's... gross."

The selection of soap offered to Slix, Patch turning her glance to Stjepan. "A nice day? That's good to hear. What makes the day so nice?" a glance cast back to the Egalrin. "The company is nice."

"Exploded -- sounds unpleasant." Stjepan offers his commiseration, then gestures to the pool, hand gliding just under the surface. "They got the temperature almost perfect. And agreed."

Slixvah coos. "Ooh, citrus!" she grins, reaching out to take one of the soaps. One hand pats Patch's arm. "Thanks hon! And yeah! It was terrible! I lost my lunch!"

Her eyes are smiling. But behind them is a clear sign of: 'it-was-incredibly-gross-and-I-don't-want-to-repeat-that.'

A shared glance with Patch. "The company is nice," she hums before splaying out with arms and wings. "Ey, yeah, they do! Rish Rish makes a mighty fine place!"

"Rish?" Patch muses. "Irshya does do a fine job seeing it all done right." a glance to Slixvah and her touch causing the elf to smile, and give the other woman a warm glance. "I know it was terrible, but I'm glad you're okay. If only stinky." laughing as she lowers herself into the pool, coming off it's edge.

"I like the bath, it's almost always perfect." Patch agrees to Stjepan, offering a nod as she situates herself in the waters, letting her hair down. "It's easy to grow indifferent to wonderful things, isn't it? One shouldn't become too used to luxury, that's a lesson to learn."

"Mmm." Stjepan rumbles agreement deep in his chest. "It makes going back to work that much harder, if it gets habituated." A little sigh. "One day, when it's all over, I'll get /very/ used to luxury." A pause, "Just not sure when that is."

Slixvah bobs her head. "I'll take stinky over dead!" she jokes in a macabre manner as she gets that citrus lather. She snickers. "Yeah, makes it hard ta leave. I've fallen asleep here many, many times before. But maybe one day it can be like that! I uh, I don't reall' know how long ya big boi's live. But hopefully soon!"

"I'd protest that comment, but I have seen the truth of it." Patch says of the Egalrin's words, shifting towards the woman as she lathers, offering a hand to help. "Here, I'll get your back." she offers.

"When I was done crawling around in corrupted earth, I found her here sleeping with little Fidah." Patch muses to Stjepan. "Can't blame anyone really. It's a cozy place. Far better than the Ox."

Stjepan nods to Patch, "Fidah?" He blinks the question. "No, I would make that choice too."

Slixvah hums warmly, handing the citrusy scented soap over. "Thanks!" she chirps warmly, back turning towards Patch. "Ya so sweet!"

"Fiadh!" she echoes warmly! "Tha's my bestest birdy friend!"

"I am trying to sleep, Unmesi, that magic comes from somewhere," a tinny voice calls from the laundry pile. They flutter out- a white plumed thrush with golden eyes perching on the edge of a bench before closing their eyes and flopping over.

"Psh, tell me about it. The Ox is lame."

Patch washes the other woman's back, lathering feathers as she laughs at Slixvah's explanation of her 'familiar'. "Fidah's the sweety here." she muses. "I just speak what's on my mind. Good or bad. Sometimes it's wise. Sometimes it's... not." a smirk. "Been known to burn a few cheeks."

"So, Stjepan. You never did tell me how it was to fight a worm." Patch notes, and flashes a glance to Slixvah. "I've seen the holes they leave, that's scary stuff. Bigger than anything I've handled."

Slixvha hums warmly in delight as the elf gets her back. "Yeah, they's a sweetie. Though they sometimes got a thick skull like me!" She cranes her head back. "Oh I do that lots. Just gotta learn from it is all!"

The question makes her brows raise, her looking over at the Jotun in a different light. He was one of the folks that went out and dealt with those damn things? "Jeez. You took one of those on? Remind me not ta get in ya way!" she chirps with a snicker.

"I don't know if you mean literal or metaphorical there." Patch says with a quick quip. "Do Egalrin's have thick skulls, or are you trying to say you're a hard study?" she muses, leaning forward to hug the woman, being careful of her wings. She seems to care not of suds. "Well, at least we learn, yes?"

For Stjepan, she raises a brow and nods as he seems to have had his fill of the bath. "Honestly, he's a good guy. Hard to pin down, but nice."

Slix snorts. "Metaphorical. Poor Egalrin bones ain't the densest things. With flying and all." She quietly laughs as she gets a hug from behind, the wings stretching back to return it.

She hums. "He seems like a neat guy. Specially if he took on those worms. Because wooweeh, thems some crazy folks!"

Patch nods slowly. "Yeah, I have met a few of them. A different breed, or one would think." she muses, that sopping embrace ended as she slinks back into the pools waters, fluttering about treading water. "Gods, the realm is a mess... and it won't be getting any better soon." she admits, sighing.

"You think we'll ever carry that much sway? Often I still feel like a student, just one with a few lumps, and bruises." Patch jokes.

Slixvah sighs quietly. "Yeah, it's a right mess sometimes. And we gotta know what fights we can pick, and what fights we gotta pass off ta people like that." She turns to face Patch in the waters, her leaning back to float around as she coasts closer to the elf.

The question makes her ponder, and chuckle. "I... dunno, hon. Really depends on what sorsts of things we get tangled up in. Now I'll admit, I've been quite a lot of new shtuff since I got here. There may be a point where you and I go from pedestrian stuff ta like. Ya know. Big, with a capital B, stuff. I already get the inklin' tha' we skirt the edge of that stuff already.

"

Patch bobs her head, standing for a moment as she regards the Egalrin from the water. "I get that feeling at times myself." agreeing with Slixvah with a sigh. "The more we are around it, the more we learn to deal with it... and better too." she muses, shrugging her small shoulders, a hand rising to fuss at her top. "I am not in a hurry to be on center stage, but neither shall I shrink when the spotlight calls. Yeah?"

"The more we are around it, the more we learn ta deal wit' it. Yeah," Slixvah echoes, her ending her float next to Patch. She adjusts a bit, sitting next to her as a smile breaks across her beak and an arm wraps around the sun elf. "But!"

"What makes us stand out is that when that spotlight is on us, that we dance, girl. We dance like our heart and soul is in it and on the line. And when we get off that stage, whoo boy. We'd have learnt a thing for five afterwards. Heavens know I have."

"Fitting you use that, as I do like the dance." Patch muses, her smile breaking wide as she washes herself free of the citrusy suds. "Honestly, I think shining when the time is right won't be too hard. You already have a bit of shimmer, and charm."

"I imagine there is still much in the city that needs your touch and luck." Patch says in a softer tone. "Do you think you'll ever get tired of the gross and grime?"

Slixvah snickers, her squeezing Patch in her side hug before dipping under mostly to get rid of the suds as well. "Thanks hon, you too. Ya do it wit' a lot mo' flair than me. I'm just strutting 'bout like I know what I'm doin' is all."

The question makes her ponder, her beak grinding. "... Momma always told me that just a little pebble can make a landslide," she intones. "I wanna be that pebble for people. So... I don't think I'll get tired of it. If my actions make me gross and grime, but ends up savin' a soul that saves a hundred mo', I'd prefer ta be a big stinky all the time."

"At least, for a few hundred years. Then prolly shack up some place hiiiiiiiigh up in the mountains with all my knick-knacks I've gathered over the centuries. And then like, dunno, fuck around."

"Well, time is something we share." Patch says with a warmth, thinking on it. "I'd prefer you not to be stinky, but in those situations I guess we'd have to be stinky together. I don't much see myself doing it different." she muses, watching the rust and white feathered woman with a curious raise of brow. "High up in the mountains, eh?"

"I have no idea where I will end up myself, but I am sure I will have a few good tales, and find a spot that's right." Patch ponders along with the other woman. "We both like trinkets it seems. Mementos of adventure."

Slixvah grins. "Here's ta bein' stinky!" she giggles, raising a pretend mug to the sky, pantomiming drinking it then 'tossing' it over a shoulder. "Oh, yeah, way up there. It's freakin' beautiful. One thing I miss from home is the view. Wake up. See the sky and the land all before ya. Then jump out a window!" she laughs.

She pats Patch on the back. "No one knows where they'll end up. But that's part of the fun! It's not about where ya end up, its about the journey."

Her spare hand scratches the side of her cheek. "Yeah. We both do. Heck, almost all my pockets in my robes are full of baubles. It's an egalrin thing somewhat. But also I just like it."

"You'll have to show me sometime. I haven't been high in the mountains, but I bet the air is crisp, and the weather is nippy." Patch muses, shifting as she reaches the edge of the pool, tugging her basket closer to her as she checks its contents at the pool's edge. "Forgive me if I don't go jumping out though. I'm not built for flying."

"As for the journey? It's been fun thus far, and I doubt it will cease to be any time soon." Patch notes, pausing as she thinks over baubles and trinkets. "I like to have reminders of my deeds. Something to look at and recall, didn't know that was an Egalrin thing, but it isn't always about shiny. It's also about meaning."

Slixvah waves a dismissive hand. "I feel like by that point, I'd gots some mojo that'd let ya fly 'round. No worries 'bout that. But yeah! I can show ya! It'll be fun! It is nippy, so you'll have ta bundle up and stay close!"

She leans back, gaze on the ceiling for a beat before her eyes slide shut. "Yeah. Been heckin' fun. Got ta meet you, lots of otha cool people. And many, many, many more ta come." She nods slowly in the waters. "Yeah. It's about meaning. And the more meaning something has, well, the more powerful of a connection one can have wit' it. Maybe, someday, ya can get up into an Aerie and I can show ya what I'm talkin' 'bout wit' baubles."

A long sigh leaves her as she starts to relax for the long haul. "So... Rish Rish and I are a thing, sorta. Seein' how that pans out. She's cute, ya right," she giggles, easily ready to fade into gossip like so many times before.

"You act like such a thing would bother me. Irshya and I have had our fun too, she's a sweety... a sister of the bad-mother club." Patch muses with a laugh, a sly smile taking up her lips with a subtle shrug. "Love... is not just to be given to one other alone. Yeah?"

"I think love should flourish where it wants, and well, who am I to hold you back." Patch says with a shrug, pulling herself back onto the pool's edge, sitting.

"I'd like to see it, a tour of an aerie. See how your kin live, and what it's like." Patch muses, her smile softer. "I'm sure Irshya would too, now the I think on it."

Slixvah snorts. "I figured as much, seein' tha way ya two act," she mentions, elbowing Patch. "Naw, it ain't. Least, that's how I see it."

She looks up at the elf pulling herself to a sit. "Never said ya were. Ya real kind ta me, and I likes that lots."

She tilts her head to the side, a finger hooking over the down sloop of her beak. "... I... hrm. Maybe... we can go to the Aerie in the mounts here to the east of the city one day. Integerity told me about them. Plans for the future."

A beat to think. Then. "... so... I saw this magic robe that I kind of want..." she trails off.

-End Scene-