Finally.
I leaned over the railing of the ship, looking directly towards the horizon. Scuttle Town was within my view now. After months of traveling and spending all of my money, I finally made it to Sequin Land. I came here to start a new life. Probably as a fisherman or something. I wasn't sure yet, but I was sure that a change in settings would help me get back on my feet.
After we arrived at the dock, I stepped off the ship and thanked the Captain. He was already headed here and offered to give me a ride if I simply gave him some hat I found elsewhere. Sequin Land was definitely a stranger place than where I was from. Far nicer, that's for sure. From where I'm from, you would have to pay a lot of money to even be able to step on somebody's ship. Then again, there aren't nearly as many dangerous creatures there than here.
Still, that wasn't about to stop me. I gave up everything to get here. And nothing is going to stop me from finding whoever's in charge and getting settled in Scuttle Town.
That was, until I spotted the bath house. Just hearing the sound of clean, rushing water suddenly made me much more tired than I even realized. Probably because the entirety of my trip just caught up to me just then. Regardless, I made my way in and took a look around. I spotted the large bathing pool located at the center of the floor. There were a few people relaxing along the side benches. I was amazed at how serene the place was, with no noise other than the sound of the waterfall.
Before I had a chance to take it all in, I was quickly greeted by a woman.
"Hello, and welcome to the bath house!" She greeted enthusiastically. I figured her to be working there.
"Oh, hello.." I answered short handedly. I was a little caught off guard, to be fair to myself.
"Hmm...I haven't seen you around. Are you visiting?" She asked curiously. I rubbed the back of my neck and answered, "Well, I'm hoping to permanently reside here..just arrived ten minutes ago, in fact."
"Oh, that's wonderful! But you must be so tired! Feel free to take your time to relax! The water will rejuvenate your vigor and fill you with energy. And if you want to know any tips about Scuttle Town, just ask." She said, quickly handing me a towel before I could even answer.
I was a little surprised. "Wait, so I don't have to pay you or anything?" I asked. I wasn't used to anything being free at all.
"Well, yeah. Why would you?" She asked, tilting her head as though I just asked a ridiculous question.
Man. I love Sequin Land.
I thanked the friendly woman and approached the water. I then started to undress. Admittedly, I was a little timid about it. Everyone else seemed so comfortable being naked, but I wasn't used to that. Still, the water was practically calling my name, so not even a little shyness was going to stop me.
I wrapped the towel around my waist for the time being and folded my clothes neatly, setting them on a bench right beside my knapsack. I looked down at them, and I realized just how outlandish they must have seemed to everyone else. Although Scuttle Town did seem to have a variety of fashion choices, from ornate belly dancer outfits to thick ponchos, my simple leather clothing probably did seem odd. So I made a mental note to eventually go shopping for clothes. It's not like I brought any extra clothes with me anyhow. When I say I left everything behind, I meant it.
As I approached the water, I took the towel off so it wouldn't get wet, and slowly submerged myself in the water partially.
"Holy shit..." I mumbled to myself in awe. She wasn't kidding about the whole rejuvenating thing. Not only did I not feel tired anymore, I felt great, as if I could go on a million more around-the-world trips. I leaned against the waterside, heaving in blissful relief as I soaked in the water's energy. I had my eyes closed in contemptment. However, I overheard a conversation going on behind me and started to eavesdrop.
I couldn't help it. I'm a curious person.
"Back so soon? How was your adventure?"
"Pretty rough. Had to deal with Ammo Barron's men while I was out. Luckily I managed to come back with what Bolo lost."
"Oh, that's good news! What did he lose?"
"He asked me to keep that private. He's embarrassed about it."
"I see. Well, go ahead and relax in the water. You earned it."
Curiously, I turned my head as I heard the footsteps pass by me. I saw a new character pass by, and my jaw nearly dropped right into the water.
She was absolutely stunning. I didn't see her front side, since she was now headed the opposite way towards the other side of the bath, but her backside gave me plenty to look at. The first thing I noticed was her beautifully long purple hair, put into a ponytail. I'm not really a ponytail kind of guy, but damn. My attention began to shift to her outfit, which exposed most of her upper body. She also had golden jewelry on, such as her bracers, circlet, and earrings, which dangled from her pointed ears.
Wait, what?
I had to do a double take. At first, I thought that they might have been fake. But as she started to strip, I started to realize that they were very real. However, the shock of realizing she had pointed ears was quickly overpowered by whatever feeling I was having from watching her strip.
I immediately looked away, as to not get a nosebleed and taint the beautifully serene water I was in. I came to regret looking away, however, because once I looked back to her, she was already naked and submerged in the water. Not that I minded her being naked. She heaved in contemptment as she relaxed. Must have been a universal reaction to the water.
Now that she was across from me, I was able to get a look at her front side. She had very pretty blue eyes that made her cute, relaxed expression glow. She had a light tan that made her seemingly delicate skin that much more sexier and alluring. And her hair was now straightened out from the pony tail, which only made my reaction to her presence even more noticeable. Luckily, she hadn't seen me yet. However, I didn't want to be caught staring at her with an oncoming boner, so I quickly got out of the water.
I approached the bench I left my stuff at and quickly dried off. As I started to dress, I glanced back at the girl, and noticed that she was watching me. She quickly looked away as I noticed. My face began to burn red with embarrassment. Did she notice I was watching her? Deciding to hurry up, I grabbed my knapsack and started to head to the woman who originally greeted me.
"Done so soon? Did you enjoy the bath?" She asked politely as she took the now damp towel I had.
"Yeah, I can't waste too much time. I have a home to claim." I said. "Speaking of which, where can I find the person in charge?"
"Oh, you mean Mayor Scuttlebutt?" She inquired. "He's all over, but he spends a lot of his time at the art gallery. You can probably find him there." She said.
I tried my best to ignore the fact that his name was Mayor Scuttlebutt, and nodded. "Thank you so much for your help. I will definitely be coming here more often, so I hope I'll see you here again." I said, before heading out.
"You definitely will see me here! Good luck!" I heard her call from inside as I looked around.
I was surrounded by buildings, big and small, with lots of unfamiliar faces swarming around me. I realized that finding the art gallery was going to be a lot harder than I thought. I took a deep breath. Things are only going to get better from here. I thought to myself. This is your new life. And so, with my head held high and filled with dirty thoughts of the girl with purple hair, I headed into the unfamiliar town.
