Chapter 3
Rahne entered the massage room. The first thing she noticed was it was dimly lit, and soft, instrumental music was playing. After a moment, she remembered what it was called - "New Age" or something. She'd never thought much of it, but it seemed appropriate. There was a slight floral scent in the air. There was a shelf with various bottles on it - lotions and oils, she presumed. And in the center of the room was a table draped in what looked like cotton sheeting. As she approached, she could see there was a padded ring sticking out from one end - to support her head, she realized. She wouldn't want to sleep on such an arrangement, but she did see how it would make the massage more effective.
On a wall near the table were a series of hooks. Below them was a sign with a button, and instructions:
1) REMOVE CLOTHING
2) PRESS BUTTON TO SUMMON ATTENDANT
3) LIE ON TABLE
4) DRAPE WITH TOWEL AS DESIRED
5) ATTENDANT WILL ARRIVE ONE MINUTE AFTER BUTTON IS PRESSED
That seemed simple enough. Rahne briefly considered skipping the towel, but there was no "PRIVACY ASSURED" sign present. She hung her (still barely worn) swimsuit on a hook, then reached for the button.
And she hesitated.
The absence of that sign gave her pause. Why wouldn't the same sign she'd seen at the hot tub and the sauna be here?
Then she blushed. The answer was right there in front of her. Of course her privacy wouldn't be assured here; she was summoning an attendant! She was inviting her privacy to be broken! Giggling at her silliness, she pressed the button, then stepped up to the table. she undid her towel, then folded it over itself until it was only about a foot tall. She then lay on the table, face resting in the padded ring, and carefully draped the towel so it covered her bottom and hung down the sides of the table. Her modesty thus assured, she waited patiently.
She didn't have long to wait. She heard the door open, then softly click shut. She smiled. A moment later, she felt a pair of small, strong hands caress her shoulders, then begin to work a subtly-scented oil into her skin. Unsurprisingly, the hands seemed quite skilled.
Then the hands moved to her calves, rubbing in more oil.
No, they didn't.
The hands had not left her shoulder. Instead, this was a second set of hands. Did Haven's massage attendants have four hands? That would be a remarkable thing, and quite an advantage. But still, she suddenly felt terribly vulnerable. Illyana's promises aside, this was still Limbo, the home of demons. She was being touched by a four-armed denizen of Limbo, and she was lying face-down, naked but for a towel. She couldn't help but to tense up.
The hands on her shoulders noticed, and moved reassuringly. Oddly enough, the hands on her legs seemed oblivous. At that point, Rahne realized that the newer hands were a bit larger and rougher, and didn't seem as confident as the other hands.
Silly girl! It was no four-armed demon, it was two different attendants! As she let herself relax again, she let out another giggle that slid into a contented sigh.
"You know, Sam, I don't think I've ever heard a wolf purr before."
Rahne felt herself panic, and she started to rise from the table. She suddenly felt a pressure on her shoulders, as Dani threw her own body atop Rahne's.
"Sam, grab her towel!" Dani commanded sharply, then started speaking soothingly in Rahne's ear. Rahne felt Sam's strong hands grab the tiny bit of terrycloth that protected what little modesty she had, and... hold it tightly in place.
"Rahney, calm down. The last thing you want to do is stand up right now. Remember, you're buck naked under that towel that Sam's barely holding in place right now."
Rahne stopped struggling, and felt tears of shame and anger sting at her eyes. Dani could feel almost every muscle in the Scots' girl's body tense. She continued speaking in a soft, calm voice directly into her ear.
"Rahney, how many times did Illyana tell us we'd be totally alone here? That we'd have absolute privacy? When you pressed the button for a massage, Haven had no choice but to ask us to come. And we did, gladly. We not only didn't mind, we were glad to come here and tend to you. Like we said, we both love you, and were glad to show you that we love you."
Rahne slowly forced herself to relax again, blinking the tears away. What Dani said made sense. And as vulnerable as she felt, her friends had acted to protect her modesty when she panicked. "I'm sorry... I dinna think..."
Dani planted a kiss on Rahne's shoulder as she eased back up. "That's fine. It's all right now, isn't it?"
Rahne swallowed hard. "Aye."
"Then just lie back down and let us take care of you, Carrot-top. And remember what else Illyana said - this place isn't really real, anyway. It's more of a shared dream. Even if you did stand up, we wouldn't actually see the real you naked." Dani planted another kiss on the opposite shoulder, then placed her hands on Rahne's shoulders. The muscles were still thoroughly knotted. "Sam, it looks like we're going to have to start from scratch here."
Sam's hands let go of the once-again-secure towel and lifted up Rahne's foot. "That's just fine with me, Chief. I'm having a fine old time anyway."
"Me, too." With that, Dani pressed a third kiss, this one to the back of Rahne's neck. Rahne felt a delicious tingle under the Cheyenne girl's lips. She finally closed her eyes again, determined to trust in her dearest friends and enjoy whatever they had to offer.