After a day of shopping, the girls had come back to Ohmeas house where
they had unpacked and arranged everything they had gotten for Amaya.
Stepping back, they admired their work.
For their meager budget, they had found a mattress that Amaya liked,
as well as a few more books on history and at Ohmeas urging, a book on
elementology, which had been arranged on her desk. Next to it hung a
mirror, several smaller mirrors now plated the windowsill to allow as
much light into the room as possible. Sitting in a corner was
something Ohmea had adamantly insisted on, a beauty kit. Amaya wasn't
one to care about appearances, but Ohmea professed that this could
change at any time, so Amaya had humored her.
A few minutes later Ka'pass and Transe called them down for dinner.
Amaya mainly sat and ate quietly while listening to the adults talk.
Ohmeas parents respected Amayas privacy and allowed her to speak only
when she wanted to.
After dinner, they went to Ohmeas room, which was much more exciting
than anything Amaya would want. On every corner there was some bright
bauble, and on every surface hung or lay some abstract, shiny, and
strangely entrancing piece of metal. When asked what they were for,
Ohmea smiled. Her mane began arcing with electricity, and an arc shot
out and hit a bit of metal, arcing in an expanding web to all the
metal in the room, which seemed to glow with the power coursing
through them and dousing Amaya in a kaleidoscope of light.
"Wow." Amaya said, watching the lights play across the walls. After a
moment Ohmea cut the flow of energy and the glow faded, leaving them
in relative darkness.
"I like to keep myself entertained." Ohmea explained as she got out a
small pot that had some sort of cream in it, and proceeded to rub it
on herself. When Amaya asked, she replied that it was scale polish,
and asked if Amaya wanted to try it. Shrugging, Amaya walked over and
scooped a clawfull of the gritty cream up and began rubbing it in.
Ohmea asked Amaya what she thought of the news Pritsua had brought.
Amaya shook her head. "I dunno. After our fight she couldn't fly. You
don't suppose she fell?" Amaya tried not to picture that.
"Or maybe she jumped." Ohmea said in a distant voice.
Amaya shrugged. "Maybe. She didn't seem in her right mind back then."
"I'd just hate to think of anyone killing themselves though." Ohmea
mumbled. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, rubbing the scale
polish into the others hard to reach places, like their backs. As they
were doing this, Ohmea broke the silence again. "So what do you think
of Frost?"
Confused, Amaya looked back to her. "What do you mean?"
"Well, everywhere he goes, he's surrounded by females."
Amaya shrugged. "So?"
"Wait, you're not bothered by that?" Ohmea said with a hint of surprise.
"No. Should I be?"
Ohmea blushed. "Er… well, I just thought that you… liked him."
Amaya sighed. "As a friend, sheesh. Do you pair up everyone you meet?"
Ohmea blushed harder "…. Yes." Amaya chuckled and went back to the scale polish.
As they finished up, they talked to each other about little things.
Ohmea seemed to know a little bit about everything, but not much about
anything. Amaya on the other hand had spent her entire childhood in
books about faraway places and times, and while she knew little about
her own environment, she could tell Ohmea stories of the jungle in the
middle of a desert with phantom lights, and the strange obelisks that
were scattered throughout the world. When they had fiished, they had a
white residue on their scales, and Ohmea led the way to the shower
room.
It was much like every other shower room in the city. A large, shallow
depression took up most of the floor, with a grate at the lowest end. Copper pipes ran from a wall and split, one going to a control pad on the floor; the other ran down into the floor where a larger pipe formed a large arch. Holes were drilled into the pipe and when activated, water would flow forming an artificial waterfall. The water would flow through the depression and into the grate, where it would flow to the ocean.
Ohmea turned on the water and the two stepped under the flow, allowing the polish to wash away before beginning to clean themselves more thoroughly, washing away the blood and grime of the fight earlier that day.
As they stood under the warn flow of water Amaya turned to Ohmea. "I've got a question. You asked me how I felt about Frost. What about you? You don't seem obsessed with him either."
Ohmea grinned. "Let's just say Frost isn't my type."
"Well then what is?" Amaya asked askance.
"Let's just say that I think guys are crude and think only about mating." She replied.
Amaya looked at Ohmea apprehensively. "Er... Does that mean... I mean... Is that why you let me stay here?"
Ohmea smiled at her. "Is that what you want to think?" Amaya blushed, unable to speak from embarrassment. Ohmea laughed. "Look who's pairing people up now!"
"Heh heh, yeah sorry." Amaya said.
The two finished bathing and turned the water off, going back to Ohmeas room Where they used a file to sharpen their claws, Ohmea also sharpened her tail sting and filed her horns down. When Amaya asked why she kept her horns and mane short, Ohmea simply replied that she preferred them short. Amaya also sharpened her wing and tail blades, honing them to a razor edge. She tested the sharpness on the tuft of fur that covered Ohmeas tail sting. She had wanted the fur shortened anyways, and Amaya was please when her tail ran through the thick fur like butter, leaving the sting half exposed.
After this the girls decided that was enough for one day. Amaya bade her friend goodnight and went to her own room. Looking around she finally allowed the truth to sink in, that her life had changed completely. Not a shred of her old life remained. She had a sense of worth, a home she could look forward to returning to at the end if the day, and most importantly she had people that cared for her and who she could honestly say she cared for back. Most importantly she had friends.
