Private - Naked Friendship

Snow gently drifted downwards, melting into pools of mineral rich water. Steam rose upwards to shroud the baths in mist, dispersing to the homogenously shaded clouds above. Winter in Pormont was oft not a pleasant experience, but in the Chrysanthemum Springs, the combination of contrasts, of cold snow and warm water, was a luxury dictated by the weather alone. The elderly Faerin had told the midnight haired muse that he had come to the place at a good time and, as Cain surveyed the quiet outdoors bath, he decided that the owner was right.

This was a good time. Not a single soul was present, and considering how well kept this particular secret of Terrasphere was, Cain doubted that anyone would come. A good time to go drinking and relaxing, hm? Naked except for a bath towel around his nether regions for modesty, the midnight haired muse enjoyed the frigid, yet gentle cold, embracing it fully as he stretched backwards. Taking the hair tie that had been provided, he quickly bundled his voluminous hair into a towering bun, before impulsively stepping into the shallow end of the hot water spring.

He instantly stepped out, steaming droplets splattering everywhere as he hissed in pain, skin red where the water had contacted. Gods above, that was HOT. Stomping about and flexing his toes, Cain took deep breathes as he flapped about like a chicken. Okay, there went his plan of cannon balling into the water. He’d probably die from shock at the sudden temperature change.

Grimacing still, the muse settled to the edge of the pool, this time cautiously dipping in his toes. It was still as unpleasantly hot as he first imagined, but as he slowly eased himself in, one toe at a time, then a foot, one leg, another, the warmth became comfortable, welcoming. Minutes turned into seconds, tranquility descending upon him gently as troublesome thoughts cleared out of his mind. Soon, he was immersed in the gentle water all the way up to his neck, and, propping his arms against the outer rim, Cain smiled.

Ah, he could get used to this. The quiet hiss of steam. The strong mineral smell. The snow that fell all around him. Even adventurers needed moments of peace like these, after all, and as a small reward for dealing with the Deva of Frozen Lightning, this hot bath served him very well.

“Ahhhhh…”

Everything was so warm.

When was the last time he felt this way?

 

Chelsea was again in Terrasphere. It was such a dumb, ridiculous, boring, silly waste of time... but here she was like a idiot. Was she really just that stressed? Was it the possible connections between the game and what she sought in her life? Answers? Solutions? She was still technically richer than she'd ever need to be just from her family inheritance. Of course, no amount of money brought back the dead or brought the unjust to proper judgment. Sometimes.. it was just impossible.

"...Brr. Why make the game in the winter be cold? Isn't it partly to escape such things that this game exists?"

Chelsea muttered to herself as she wandered. She had no idea where she was going earlier. Until she found a very reclusive area that felt almost like a bonus level or whatever they were called. If this was a game... this is where they'd have the stupid fanservice hot spring.

And wouldn't you know it?

The old man who ran the place seemed respectable enough. Even if he was a dwarf or Faerin as they were called here with silly made up fairy tale names. Yeesh, Chelsea was in a bad mood. Her mood was pretty much always sour lately. She had good reason though!

"At least this place is empty. I must be losing my mind."

She whispered softly. Her voice was never very carrying to begin with and even she was not sure why she whispered. Maybe the place was that beautiful? Natural locations never really did much for her before. Chelsea thrived on the ultra modern. Although... she had to admit this place made her feel a bit less tense.

"...."

Well, if she was going to relax in hot bath why not? It was cold enough since it was out doors but the steam was already helping. Removing her traveling gear and making precautions to eye her surroundings for others. Chelsea wrapped the pink towel the strangely grinning old Faren had offered her. Chelsea was not sure what that old digital man found funny but maybe he just smiled a lot. It would be nice if Chelsea had a reason too...

"And I will.. once I..."

She undid her twin tails quickly. Her black hair fell down her back as and stepped into the hot water. It was really hot indeed... but Chelsea was a Nexon and had her experiences with luxurious springs of very high temps before. So even though her pale complexion began to flush very quickly, she went deeper into the outdoor spring.

Yeesh, it certainly was hard to see here...

"Sigh... at least there isn't a witch to bother me here."

Yep, not a single sign of that obnoxious stalker she had somehow attracted. That fact put a small smile on her face even if only for a moment.

@Cain Darlite

 

The splash of water behind him alerted him of the presence of another, a small form still shrouded in mineral rich steam. A mountain monkey, like those that he saw in nature documentaries? That’d be cute, wouldn’t it? Turning around gently so his back was pressed against the round stones instead, the midnight haired muse waited for his unexpected companion to unveil themselves. A monkey or a man. With most of Terrasphere’s players being North American, Cain doubted that any fe-

Oh. Well, never fucking mind.

Turned out they were either more shameless than he thought or actually a male in a female avatar or the old Faerin bathhouse owner simply neglected to tell them anything at all. As the petite form of a raven haired child came into view, Cain casually readjusted the modesty towel he had been given. Quality spring water was transparent, after all, and if this young lady was here looking for eye candy, well, Cain’s got it in spades. In any other gaming platform, a support mage like himself would be a skinny little wet noodle, but here? His rippling pecs and perfectly sculpted abs, glistening in the white light of snow reflected sunlight, spoke for themselves. Truly, as opposed to reality, Cain had a body of a demi god and the hair of a romance novel protagonist. Combined with his master level Muse charms, his propensity for being well dressed, and his ability to understand the hearts of the fairer sex (due to being one himself), and it was almost a surprise that he wasn’t universally worshipped as a male idol of the frontlines.

No, that made perfect sense in a world where perfectly crafted beauty was commonplace amongst immortal adventurers. And the person before him was probably a thirty year old pedophile in real life, anyways, judging by that particularly…flat build.

Well, no judgment here!

“Good afternoon,” he said with a wave and a smile, “Thought I’d be the only one here, with the weather as it is. Bit of a shame, for so many others to not be aware of such beautiful scenery, but I suppose that’s the case with many pleasures in this world.”

They were too far away for a handshake, so he offered a slight bow instead.

“My name’s Cain Darlite, a man of many titles currently irrelevant to this resort. Looks like we have this place to ourselves today, hm?”

 

No words could describe...

Really....

Why...........

What kind of......

YEESH!!!!!!!

Chelsea's face could not become more red. Her pupils tiny and her mouth twitching. She wrapped the towel tightly around and hugged herself but she was in such shock that she could not move any more than that. Normally remaining calm or well... giving the impression of being calm was something Chelsea could do. Lately it's been so hard to do! Why was everything she did leading to something troublesome, bothersome, or worse, just plain deadly? This fell into the first two... she hoped not the third! Although she could indeed die from embarrassment! Oooooh was that why that old dwarf was smiling!? He knew! That... that... boo!

"....Tch.... urgh... a-a-a-a-ahhh....."

Her mouth moved but only stuttering came out. Then it came to her! Chelsea dropped down under the water and left only her head with her eyes closed to not accidentally see the man's junk if it just so happened (and knowing Chelsea's fortune these past 2 years) to reveal itself to her.

"....W-w-w-what are you doing here? No... n-n-n-never mind!"

Chelsea shook her head as her black hair swayed in the water. Thankfully there was fog and she could only hope it would thicken in here.

'Do you just... walk up to people without considering their privacy!? I would call you a pervert but I feel I have someone else more deserving of the title."

A eyebrow twitched at the thought but she was actually calming down now that she was mostly underwater and the shock was subsiding. Raising out of the water just enough for her shoulders to show. Chelsea sighed and got a better look at the man, being sure to not eye below the belt. Because she had manners, hmph!

"Ahem... w-well yes. It is a very nice place. Minus the surprises."

It was warm and nice.Good for some relief. So much stress lately, but Chelsea was stronger than anyone inside. She held firmly to the pride of the Nexon after all. What would breaking down in front of anyone do? Nothing! The man's name was Cain Darlite it looked like. Fine she would talk to him a little... yeesh.

"...N. Lady N. That's all you need to know. I'm mysterious!"

She made a snobby look with her nose in the air to drive home a character trait for him. Lady N was her cover as a very unlikeable and mysterious heroine... or maybe anti hero, She had to keep people out of her business after all! Now another person in this stupid game can get annoyed with her and go away! Maybe then she could have the spring to herself. Like she had originally assumed to be the case.

"I suppose we do for now. ... "

She stared at him and found her eyes slowly traveling lower... wait no! Boo!

"C-could you please turn away? I do not bathe with guys and you're uh.... never mind!"

Distracting would have given him too much credit! Hopefully he won't pee in the water or something disgusting. Sigh...

@Cain Darlite

 

“Privacy?” Cain laughed, both at the statement and how hilariously flustered she was. Maybe he’ll have to retract his earlier hypothesis about a creeper inhabiting that virtual body after all. There WERE some people who decided their fantasy self was just an extension of their real selves, after all. A small minority, blessed to be hella attractive that there were few differences between fantasy and reality for them. “That’s a funny thing to consider, consider how…”

He waved his hand outwards, towards their surroundings: all nature without a single wall in sight.

“…open everything is. Glad you won’t call me a pervert though. After all, you’re the one that walked in on me, Mysterious Lady N.”

Yup, definitely not a guy in real life. Maybe not even thirty years old. Deciding at this point to stop trying to predict the real life identity of the lady before him, Cain flashed her one last grin before turning around, exposing his riveting back muscles that looked as if they were carved out of stone by a master artisan. “I’d say that the surprise is very nice too, but what do I know?”

A cool droplet of snow kissed the tip of his nose as he stared out to the blinding scenery before him. In the far distance, a lone wolf bounded for greener pastures, as if it could outrace the grasp of winter. His eyes trailed the lupine creature’s path until it disappeared in the snowy veil. He sunk a bit lower into the hot water, until he was neck deep.

“What brings you out to these parts anyways, Lady N? Pretty far off from civilization and all.”

 

As Cain turned around. Chelsea could see his back was um.... sigh. That was the problem with these games. People made themselves so perfect and over the top that it became silly! Even the NPC were more often than not attractive. Certainly the ones that mattered anyway. Fairy tale fantasy nonsense! Boo... and now she had to gaze upon it. Well no she would not!

'...Thank you for the courtesy."

Chelsea also turned around and began to run her hands over her shoulders letting the hot water run over them. The man was thankfully not a total pain like that witch girl but he was still nosy. Did not take him long at all to question why she was here. Was her being here to take a bath in a hot spring not the obvious answer? Chelsea said nothing for almost a whole minute. The sound of the water only thing to entertain their ears. After a moment, she spoke quietly focusing on relaxing for once in her life.

"...I don't know. I just chose to wander here and found a spring. Why not use it? Such experiences are rare I would think."

That was actually too truthful. Although it was not like it hurt to tell him the truth as long as he stayed out of her personal life. Also while something like this was not super rare to her. Experiencing it in VR certainly was. VR was not something her father chased after. Like her, he focused on what could be done in their world, not jumping into another. Chelsea had to admit this was amazing though. It was literally like the real thing. If she had fallen asleep and awoke in this same water... she would at first think she was actually here in the middle of nowhere with this Cain person. Yeesh... that was actually kind of terrifying. All the love Chelsea had for technology but she did not want to give up humanity or actual nature entirely for virtual ones. Bring on the urban landscapes but a completely computerized illusion would be dystopian in nature to her. The black haired girl was not THAT obsessed with tech.

"...Tch."

She could not help but make a noise at the thought. For a bit more she quietly soaked. Trying not to turn and look at him. Her thoughts went to father and mother., her aunt, her fate of being just a doll to sing and dance for her aunt's publicity. Nexus Academy too was a horrible reminder she had to attend every day. Reminding her of what she lost. What those who were lost made and was taken from them. Then came Raina and the fact she had not lost anything. That girl acted like a idiot and what ill fate befell her compared to Chelsea? It wasn't fair. Not that Chelsea wanted anything to befall another...unless they deserved it.

"Mom, dad... why am I here doing this instead of with you... or finding who did this to you...."

Sinking deeper into the water she mumbled to herself while in her thoughts. It was not intentional and honestly she did notice herself do it. Possibly the relaxing water and general quiet had made her feel alone. The muscular man not too far away vanishing from her mind at the moment.

Then her thought's shifted to her own abilities... or the lack thereof. For a Nexon who was always supposed to be at the forefront, Chelsea sure was not keeping up with the expectation. She learned nothing other than something's being covered up and there are crazy goth girls wondering the hills outside New York city. Woooo...

"I can't even kill a goblin... What the heck.... am I doing?"

She said barely audible right before her head fell under the water. It did not rise back up.

@Cain Darlite

 

“Mm…” Cain nodded, closing his eyes. A reasonable enough answer, perhaps. ‘Just because’ was a perfectly frivolous response to any action one may take in this world, after all. Climbing a summit because it was there. Switching between saint and sinner for no reason other than entertainment. In this world that had already ended eons ago, where murderers drink alongside doctors, it was rather…reasonable, wasn’t it?

To be a fully rounded individual whose interests were infinite, who lacked the consistency of opinion and drive that made them ‘genuine’.

And, beneath the clack of bamboo, beneath the hiss of steam and the whistling of the wind, the almost inaudible sound of snow melting into rain, the midnight haired muse caught something else. The mumblings of a girl who wandered not for the sake of the experience, but because she was lost. Aimless. Disconnected.

It tugged at him.

It was none of his fucking business. They were just strangers whose paths intersected at a single point in their lives. It wasn’t like he had anything new to say about it either. There were counselors who had better words than him. He could even fuck up and just drive her away, if he wasn’t careful enough. Even with power over life and death, he couldn’t prevent the second death of a deaf friend. And it was hilarious that someone as addicted to the livelihoods of this false sanctuary’s denizens would even be capable of solving someone’s real life problems.

Who knew? Maybe this was just an elaborate prank set up too. As much of a Thespian as he was, figuring out lies wasn’t his jurisdiction, his specialty. So he should just…

There was a shallow splash, hot water displaced and then replaced.

He turned and moved.

It wasn’t a deep hot spring, not enough that one had stand in order to stay afloat. But it was hot, enough that a whole bunch of other complications would arise by sinking into it. The burning noose, the brand that seared his throat, could not burn fast enough, not painfully enough. There was no decision to be made, after all.

Let her sink or let her breathe. Even a child could make a snap decision like this.

With all the grace of someone who didn’t have time for bullshit theatrics, Cain hooked his arms beneath her legs and her back, before hauling her upwards. Water streamed out from their bodies, a cascade of ripples around, but the Flagbearer didn’t care much at all for eloquent descriptions as he splashed his way to the rim of the hot spring.

Hot. Against his body, her body was certainly hot.

But that warmth too, was the last thing on his mind as he plopped her onto the cool stone ringing the springs. The steam was enough to cover up the mystery of what happened to her bathtowel.

“Oi,” Cain said, neutrality masking concern, “You’ll just cause trouble for everyone else if you pass out underwater, yah know?”

He considered slapping her awake, but instead pulled a flask of snow-chilled water from his inventory.

“Drink up and cool down, Lady N. Never a good thing to bring your body up to fever-level temperatures.”
@Lady N

 

Before she knew it. Chelsea was trying to end it. End her depression, end her self made mission, end her failures, end the unwanted future that was set before her.

In a video game. Silly wasn't it?

And just like that she was lifted back up. Up out of the hot water that she had, for a fleeting moment, hoped would smother her and take the easy way out. It was never that easy though, was it? Her eyes still closed as a sigh escaped her. She had not even been under long enough to have to cough up any water. Even though the heat was excessive.

"E-Everyone? ...Tch."

There was no 'everyone' for Chelsea, nor Lady N. she was on her own. Not that it was not preferred.

Her bare body only covered by very coincidentally place steam. She sat up from the stone that she was placed on as the man thrust a bottle of something at her. What was this, liquor? It looked clear... probably water... probably. Her face red for so many reasons right now.

She did it to herself but... yeesh!

"....T-Thank you. I was fine. I was just... testing how long I could hold my breath... I... have to practice breath exercises for one of my hobbies. I will take the water anyway...*cough* because it's rude to reject it. I don't need it, really."

That was partly true but she did it was more of a enforced chore than a hobby, and certainly did not entail drowning oneself. Her hand reached for the drink and she sipped it, only to find herself drinking all of it, tilting her head back. It seemed she was needing it actually.

Then her eyes fell downwards as she saw her body only partly covered by steam and no... towel... at all.

The water quickly spewed back out of her mouth as she leaped back in horror. Only to push herself that much more out of the steam and make it worse!

"W-What are doing? When did i-i-it c-c-c-ome off?! Turn around! Turn around! Around! Right now!"

This was quiet enough of hotspirngs in VR games. Boo!

@Cain Darlite

 

“Wow, don’t ‘tch’ me,” Cain chided, flicking her on the forehead, “I’d be plenty troubled if I had to explain to the bathhouse owner why you’re floating dead in the water.”

A joke being what it was though, the midnight haired muse was quick to laugh it off. Breath exercises and lung expansion in a virtual world, huh? Well, it wasn’t really in his place to tell people off about their hobbies, especially if they were only slightly self destructive and definitely not jeopardizing the wellbeing of others around them. As she pretty much drained that one flask in record time, he pulled out another from his flask, passing it over and taking the empty one from her…only for her backwash to spray all over him.

Somewhere out there, some middle aged deviant was probably wishing he could be graced with the watery spit of Lady N, but Cain was only mildly disgusted by all this. With a half smile, he placed the flask beside her. “Don’t worry about it too much, Lady N,” the muse said, “Not my first time seeing something like that, after all. And drinking water doesn’t count if you just swish it around in your mouth and then spit it out, so finish this one, properly.”

With that, he turned around, splashing through the shallow springs once more. Though the steam got only thicker the closer he was to the center, he had gifted himself with perfect vision, and the water was still clear enough to spot the pink towel floating in the bottom. Picking it up, Cain shook it out, squeezed it as dry as he could, and then…

…folded it into a ball.

Hefting it in his hand, he grinned to himself, before turning around.

“Hey, N, catch!”

It was a lukewarm baseball pitch, not nearly the full strength of this superhuman body, but it still whistled through the steam, a pink fluff ball of spiralled death.

And then, the towel skirt he had fashioned around his hips fell off.

 

"Keep your water to yourself! I'm not so helpless! It's just a game anyway!"

Awww, she gave any chance of her being a NPC away. Oh well, this whole situation was just boo. He turned around again at least. Not his first time seeing something like this? What?! Stupid dumb JRPG playing anime dork! Was he some creep who spemt his days on perv channels or something? Wait, did that mean she was that much like a anime character!? Or... or he liked girls like her????? Urgh... just nevermind!!!!!!!

"Well, go back to your image boards or whatever you use!"

He tossed her the towel. Oh... that was nice of him. Finally this ridiculous situation can be remedied! Did she have a serious couple of things to say to that bath owner!

"...Eeeh!"

She squealed nervously as she caught the towel and quickly wrapped it around herself. Not even noticing... the now floating 'other' towel in the water.... Her face became red again. It might as well just stay that way. Closing her eyes and not even DARING to look up from the lonely drifting towel beforehand. Chelsea slowly got up and stiffened with her arms straight at her sides, wrists bent outwards and fists clenched. Her face was clenched almost as tightly.

"Please ...Pick up your towel. ...And cover yourself. ...In front of a girl. ...You stupid! ...Overly sculpted! ....Jock!"

She spun around and continued.

"Just... So much... BOO!"

Chelsea moved so fast out of the bath and into the cold beyond, one would think there was a Skull Goblin Boss chasing her.

@Cain Darlite

 

Oops. That was a bit of a mistake. But still, wasn’t she a little too shy about this?

“Ah, my bad,” Cain laughed, picking the towel up and making himself decent once more, “Guess I forgot myself a bit thhhh- and off she runs.”

Turning tail and booking it, the girl with silky, black hair raced off in her little pink towel, her form disappearing in the soft snow and steam while Cain sighed. Well, that was a bit disastrous, but…at least he had the place to himself now. Stretching out, the muse leaned against stone, comfortable in the silence once more. It didn’t look like she drank that extra water after all, and with a shrug, he took a sip instead. Cool liquids staved off the humid heat, as a more relaxed sigh left his body. Now that he was alone, it was nothing but himself, the hot springs, and the glorious snowstorm outside.

…

Geh.

A prickle of conscience had Cain reconfirm, with building dread, which direction she had run away at. Was it the direction back to the interior of the bathhouse, where one could collect their clothing? Nope. Was it the direction fenced off by a bamboo wall? Nope. Was it the direction where one could technically run free, down a slope of soft snow? Yup. The midnight haired muse narrowed his eyes. She was a player. There was no way that freezing to death was going to be a problem when she could just log out.

Geh.

Another prickle of conscience, as he considered the fact that he technically DID drive her out of the place with his antics and misdemeanors. He had been trying to blow off steam himself with this, but…the image of a girl with nothing more than a towel on, struggling through blizzard-like conditions, flashed through his eyes. Yeah, he didn’t need that sort of burden and uncertainty clinging onto his shoulders. Had enough bullshit with the weight of the world chokeslamming him twenty four seven anyways.

Rising out of the blessed warmth of the water, Cain dried himself off as effectively as possible, before donning his winter outfit of his suit and a fur-lined cloak. Around, the wind howled louder, snow picking up as that familiar ‘curse’ of his bore its fangs once more. Dark eyes traced the foot shaped imprints in the snow, noted how already, the tracks were disappearing, before the Muse ran down the slope of the mountain.


“Oi! Where you at, N? You’ll catch your death like this!”

No response. Was he going to have to tap into some magic here? He grimaced, feeling the rush of mana through his imaginary veins once more, before Cain unleashed his most powerful technique.


“You left your undergarments back in the bathhouse!”

 

"I..... brrrrrr.... I-I don't even...."

In the middle of freezing cold wilderness with no clothes except for a towel! This was beyond boo. It did not even register as reality! Since when did her life suddenly become some romantic comedy slice of life anime?! With her as the Tsundere?!

Oh right, this was a fantasy world so why not. Yeesh!

"I...I have more i-important things to do than hang a-a-around and goof off in this g-game."

Chelsea shivered as her teeth chattered. Luckily it was just her avatar that was cold but woah, it really did feel like her own bones were being chilled back at the estate. This tech was actually creepy in a way. When she had been killed. Was that how it actually felt to be sliced in half then? The thought was more chilling than the cold itself.

If she wanted her clothes back, she'd have to either log out or.... dare she do it, go back to that bath of perversion. She did not have anything against that Cain fellow, but he needed to be a lot more aware of other's disinterest in seeing his... stuff! The decision she would make was obvious.

Log the heck out before she froze to death!

[Exit Thread]

 

And what then, of the poor, midnight haired muse, striding through the blizzard in search for someone who had already left for another plane?

"Oiiiiiii!"

The wind howled.

"Yooooooooooooo!"

The wind howled louder.

"Heeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

The wind howled the loudest.

"Ladyyyyyyy Nnnnnnnnnnn, where you attttttt?"

But the avalanche, with its furious roar, buried both muse and wind with a tidal wave of brilliantly white snow.

The cruelty of nature knew no bounds, and the hearts of the fairer gender was a puzzle incomprehensible to even their own kind.

[THE END]