Sigrun sighed as she eased herself down into the warmth, content.

It was strange, a bath in warm water...Sigrun had never had one before and groaned as she arched her back, feeling something in her lower back pop into place. Back when she had been living in Dust Town she'd never had a bath at all, usually you just towelled yourself off with a rag as dirty as you were, and in the legion they bathed at times, sure, but the underground lakes of water they found were nearly always cold to the point of freezing.

But here...Sigrun took in the luxury of a bathroom nearly the size of an armoury and shook her head in wonder. The large pool she was relaxing in was in the corner of the bathroom and nearly covered a quarter of the room. It was made in large grey boulders, but the inside was covered in smooth green stones, so smooth Sigrun nearly slipped forward whenever she let go of the edge of the pool. At the opposite end a set of four sinks stood, made of dark wood with steel tubes sticking out of the top. Only nobles must live in such extravagance...

Sigrun was dimly aware that the Vigil's Keep had been a castle of a noble, at least once, heck, she had heard that human that had been there when she awoke after her joining was the son of the noble that had lost the castle! Yet at the moment such fascinating tales were far away...a distant wonder as steam rose from water white with whatever oils and soaps the elven servants had poured into it. Whatever it is I like it...makes my skin all tingly. A small giggle escaped Sigrun as she eased back a little, watching the toes of her feet suddenly push up through the water, ten tiny islands bobbing in the milky water. Maybe being on the outside won't be so bad...if one can ignore the ceiling.

She barely shuddered when she glanced up, finding solid wooden beams across a stone ceiling. It wasn't dwarven engineering that was for sure...but it looked solid...which was a comfort, making the blue sky somewhere above seem more distant.

Still, the hot water served its purpose, washing away the grime of her work in the Deep Roads and turning aside all her worries of the future and present. There was a sky, but Sigrun couldn't care She had lost her legionary friends...and though gone they had all died well...and Sigrun couldn't grieve any longer. She had had a nightmare, caused by the taint if Nathaniel was to be believed, and though dreaming at all was terrifying for a dwarf...Sigrun couldn't worry too much about it now, it was just another distant worry.

If only there was some company.

When Sigrun had entered the bathroom that other woman had been there, Mha...something. Sigrun had of course tried to start a conversation, trying to get to know her fellow warden and all that, not to mention that she felt the need to express sympathy for the death of the mage that had saved them from being overwhelmed. She had after all heard that the Mha...something...had been in some sort of relationship, again information that Nathaniel had volunteered...and Sigrun knew even veterans of war needed comfort from such losses.

The human woman had left when Sigrun entered though, simply gotten out of her bath, wrapped a towel around herself and with a lowered face brushed past Sigrun, her face distant and clearly wishing to be alone. Being alone with your grief never works in the end girl... Sigrun sighed again, this time without contentment, as she straightened a bit in the pool. At least there seems to be ample opportunities to join him...there are far too many darkspawn in the fields then I thought existed... She shrugged at the thought, her time would come when it felt like it, at the moment she felt no need to rush into it...she eased further into the pool.

Then the door opened.

Keeping her hands resting on the ledge of the pool Sigrun watched with amusement as the elf Sigrun so far hadn't exchanged a single word with entered the room, her head bowed in thoughts and not noticing Sigrun where she sat. The woman had struck Sigrun as a bit stuck up, but at least it was someone...and Sigrun wasn't about to complain about the quality of the company. Damn, might as well have some fun while I'm at it...Sigrun grinned at the thought.

With a click the door swung shut.

"So..." The elf jumped at Sigrun's voice, wide eyes searching the room for the source of the, then narrowed her eyes as she found Sigrun relaxing against the furthest edge of the pool. "...Velanna was it? Feeling better now?"

The elf looked better. Sigrun didn't know anything of magic, but whatever magic-induced exhaustion Nathaniel had mentioned as he sat with the newly awakened Sigrun, all the while wringing his hands, seemed gone from the elf, as if a veil had been lifted from her eyes. Not to mention she stood straighter now then she had done back on the road, straighter and prouder...nearly arrogantly.

The other woman's narrowing of eyes eased a little even as she glanced at the door, obviously considering leaving. "Yes I am...thank you." Her tone was guarded, as if expecting some sort of danger from the naked dwarf so obviously enjoying her bath. Suspicious aren't we...?

Sigrun smiled, genuinely amused with the elf's discomfort. "Just asking, we're allies after all, have to look after one another." For some reason the elf flinched at that, but Sigrun ignored it as she gestured for the milky water. "Come, I'm sure you're here for a bath..." She eyed the dust and grime still clinging to the mage, the woman obviously having rested before thinking of freshening up. "...and I could use some company."

Velanna arched an eyebrow at Sigrun and raised her chin, searching for mockery even as a hand ghosted towards the handle to the door.

Wow, got chip on your shoulder or what? What does Nathaniel see in this one? "Hey, I always bathed together with my legion, being alone like this is a bit odd for me..." Sigrun shrugged, it was the truth after all. "...not to mention that I'm pretty sure this place was meant for several to bathe as one." She then smirked, watching the still hesitant elf with amusement. "Unless you're...afraid?"

Instantly Velanna scoffed, the elf shrugging as she searched for a peg on the wall...which she quickly found nearly touching her right shoulder. Her voice remained perfectly neutral as she spoke: "I bathed with others in my clan..."

"Good!" Sigrun chuckled, seeing that the woman was still clearly uncomfortable, yet hiding it as best she could as she moved her hands back to find whatever clasp held the flimsy robe of hers together. This could be fun... "Heck, I've never seen a naked elf before, could be interesting."

Velanna stopped mid-move, eyes darting to the door again, considering her escape. But her pride was too great for her to leave now and Sigrun watched with amusement as the elf squared her shoulders and, completely ignoring Sigrun, snapped something at the back of her neck open. An instant later her robe fell and became a crumpled pile of cloth around her feet.

Sigrun found herself blinking even as the elf picked up the flimsy garment and hung it on the peg on the wall before moving to peel off the tight boots reaching her knees. Sigrun had heard that elves and humans considered dwarven women somewhat plump and 'sturdy'...though no self-respecting dwarven woman would ever agree to such a description...it was hard not to understand such an opinion at the sight of the elf before her.

Watching the elf with feigned confidence stride towards the pool, still stoically ignoring her, Sigrun couldn't help but wonder at her scrawniness. Besides those abnormally large breasts of the elf the woman was all skin and bones to Sigrun's eyes, tanned flesh pulled taunt against thin bones, giving her a frail impression to the dwarf, as if she would break from the slightest pressure. Are all elves like that? How do they even survive tripping?

Then there was the elf's hair, or rather, lack of hair. Sigrun wouldn't call herself hairy after all, but at least there was some besides the pigtailed hairdo atop her skull...but apparently elves didn't need to shave their legs, nor anything... Sigrun grimaced, finding the sight disturbing for some reason. It's as if she is a child...

All in all the elf's hairlessness and scrawniness, combined with those extremely long ears she sported, made her look like a half-starved nug to Sigrun's eyes, alien and strange.

A small sigh escaped the elf as she stepped over the edged and into the water, slipping into the milky liquid and thankfully hiding her alien body to Sigrun's eyes. Though I think I'll keep the image of her as a nug. Sigrun forced her smirk into a smile as she met Velanna's slightly narrowed eyes: "See? Haven't bitten you yet."

"Very amusing." The elf snorted as she scooted deeper into the pool, her narrowed eyes becoming relaxed as the still steaming water did its thing. "This is...good." A small sigh, the elf's eyes closing as she leant her head back against the ledge of the pool, shoulders dropping as an unnamed tension disappeared.

Sigrun nodded and eased back against her own ledge, happy that the water took the edge of the elf. "Oh yes, far better then the ice-cold water back in the Deep Roads..."

"Or the lakes in the forest..." Velanna muttered, hands coming up to pull the pins in her hair free as she kept her eyes closed in relaxation. "..they were nice of course, but this...it...makes your skin tingle." The pins dropped to the floor behind the elf as her blonde hair spilled free, tresses of it dropping into the water. With her hair down the elf looked remarkably softer...almost kind.

"I noticed that too." Sigrun remarked, then smirked as she decided to have some sport. "Guess it's almost as good as watching that Nathaniel move eh?"

Velanna's eyes opened with a snap, her back straightening, what illusion of kindness her loose hair had created instantly gone as she glared at Sigrun. Her voice was but a hiss: "What are you talking about dwarf?"

Sigrun kept smirking as she shrugged. "Oh nothing, he's nice and all...but not to worry, won't try to move into your territory."

She bit her tongue at that, holding her laugh back as she watched Velanna's angular face darken in a blush that she, admittedly, did a good job at ignoring as she rolled her eyes. "Bah, what do I care of the she...human? You go ahead, it would be amusing to watch." The elf closed her eyes, trying to look relaxed again, though the way her shoulders bunched was a clear indication of her tension.

"I suppose..." Sigrun held back a chuckle as she shrugged. "...though it's pretty hard for any girl to get a man when he's so intent on staring at another...it's bad for your self-esteem."

Velanna's cheek twitched, her body shifting slightly to the right as she struggled with herself, struggled and lost... "A-another?"

"Oh yes." Sigrun nodded, despite the fact that Velanna couldn't see it, enjoying herself immensely. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed, considering he keeps glancing at you like a lovestruck puppy."

Somehow Velanna's blush actually got darker as she shifted to the left, head turning sideways even as she kept her eyes closed, her mouth a thin line: "Bah, what do I care?"

This time the chuckle escaped her. "A lot?"

Silence.

Sigrun watched the elf, still keeping her eyes firmly shut as she tried to ignore Sigrun's words. Smirking the dwarf eased back, watching the elf's struggle through nearly closed eyes as she soaked in the warmth of the bath. Relaxation and a show...this is great.

Finally Velanna spoke, when she did it was with a snort: "I fail to see how this is any of your business."

Ah, admission? Sigrun opened her mouth to speak-

Only to slam it shut as the door opened once more.

As far as Sigrun understood the others found Lynn frightening. She herself had found people similar to the elf in the legion, though never so severe...and as such didn't feel the same worry when she found the elf in a brown tunic, trousers and a the weapons she never seemed to walk without close the door behind her. "Ah, Lynn, welcome, come to bathe with us?" Velanna flinched at Sigrun's question and scooted to the elf and closer to Sigrun, apparently not daring to be in the way if their leader would enter.

"That's Commander to you." The new arrival coldly replied, meeting Sigrun's eyes, making a shiver run down her spine, but not managing to force the dwarf to look away. Sigrun got the distinct impression the elf appreciated that as she shrugged and moved to unbuckle her belt "And yes,."

"Good! The more the merrier!" Sigrun cheerfully exclaimed, enjoying the way Velanna grimaced at the words. Lynn didn't seem to have heard it though as she quickly hung her belt on another peg in the wall before moving to nearly throw her tunic and trousers off. "We were just talking abo..." Sigrun's cheerfulness died along with her words.

The Commander was scarred.

Sure, Sigrun sported her own set of scars. A small pale mark at her lower back when a man in Dust Town had stabbed her over a piece of nug-meat, a jagged one along her right arm from a darkspawn axe, a third along her hip from a long fall from a bridge in the Deep Roads...but nothing near what the elf before her sported.

Like Velanna Lynn was oddly hairless and scrawny. Yet she was different, paler, and the scrawniness only made the corded muscles of the woman stand out all the more. Somehow she was even more skin and bones than Velanna, at the point of starvation, making her pale skin look like thin paper as it was pulled tight around the muscled frame of the elf.

Yet it was the scars that stood out. Despite the woman being so pale they were clearly visible...and everywhere. A jagged one, wide and wicked-looking, nearly covered the entirety of her right shoulder. Whatever did that...the arm shouldn't be attached any more. An uneven and slightly puckered one was drawn horizontally over her left breast, three wide ones were drawn diagonally across her stomach, a curved one over her entire left forearm. And along with those there dozens more, ghostly white and covering the woman's body. Legs, feet, hands, arms, torso, even her neck...nothing had avoided the scars that ranged from tiny little pricks to long curved ones, each one marking a potentially lethal cut or thrust.

A map of pain and death... This time Sigrun looked away, feeling humbled.

A sloshing sound and Lynn entered the pool, in contrast to the others she didn't sigh, she merely dropped into the water and begun to rub her arms, rubbing the filth off them, clearly not intent on enjoying the warmth of the water. Even as Sigrun watched the elf spoke, not sounding the least curious: "Talking about what?"

"Erm..." Sigrun shook her head, forcing herself to recover. To her right and between her and Lynn Velanna sat, the other elf clearly looking uncomfortable, yet staring at the Commander, obviously having been equally shocked by the many scars across their leader. "...Velanna's crush on Nathaniel."

The mage's glare was withering, nearly making Sigrun shirk away before she remembered who she was. Dammit, she reminds me of my mother. As such Sigrun was almost relieved when she found Lynn's scrubbing of her arms ceasing as she raised her head, looking at Velanna with cold eyes. "Really?"

"I do not have a crush on the human!" Velanna growled, shooting Sigrun a final glare before looking over to Lynn with a frustrated look on her face. "The dwarf here is just being a fool!"

Chuckling at the horrible insult Sigrun watched as Lynn shrugged and returned her attention to scrubbing her arms. "Good, it's forbidden."

"Exactly!" Velanna nodded furiously before looking over to Sigrun with a glare and gesturing for the Commander. "See! It's..." Then she blinked and turned back to Lynn: "...what?"

"It's forbidden." Lynn repeated, not looking up at her fellow elf as she raised a leg out of the water and begun to scrub it clean as well.

"I didn't know of that." Sigrun remarked, surprised, she after all had a bit of a love of books and had already read most of the rules of the wardens, despite the short time she had had on her.

"It's..." Velanna shook her head, looking confused as she kept looking at Lynn, a frown on her face. "...it's not...is it? I've never heard of that..." Then she glanced over at Sigrun with a small look of panic in her eyes. "...not that I care or anything..."

Of course not... Sigrun couldn't summon her amusement though as she felt a strange dread creep up her spine at the way Lynn kept ignoring Velanna while now scrubbing her other leg. "Not by warden rules, by me, no relationships within the wardens."

"You can't do that!" Velanna spluttered, a look of horror crossing her face before she remembered herself. "I mean...we have rules and such for a reason...you can't just add-"

"My command, my rules." Lynn replied, her voice cold as she looked over at Velanna, meeting the other elf's large eyes.

Then there was silence.

Velanna's wide eyes narrowed, not looking away, yet they weren't hostile, they were something else, something that Sigrun couldn't quite place.

Silence.

Something passed between the two women, a silent communication Sigrun wasn't privy to.

Then they both looked away.

"I am done here." Lynn didn't look up at either of the women as she stepped out of the pool, nor when she moved to towel herself, nor when she dressed, not even when she went out the door, quietly closing it behind herself.

"So..." Sigrun tried, but found herself unable to continue as she watched Velanna.

The elf had sunk low into the pool, her face lowered, her chin touching the water as she with distant eyes looked down into the pool. She looked...tired...confused...and Sigrun wasn't sure why.

"I...think I'm done as well." The elf didn't even glance at Sigrun as she too moved to leave.

And then she was alone.

Slipping deeper into the water Sigrun shook her head, her cheerful mood ruined as she realised new tensions had appeared, despite the warmth of the water.

"Bloody surfacers..."

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Thanks to Abydos Jackson for sticking around.