Spa Chat

After the racist maids leave, Tess settles into the bath with a super fucking uncomfortable look. (Not that the bath is uncomfortable.) She waits for the spa maids to leave the room and, once they do, blows out a deep breath and gives Ran a pained smile. "Sorry about that."

Ran's eyes are kinda like wide in disbelief and she just shakes her head. "No, no. It's not your fault. I just hope you're not too upset..." She gets in the bath too. (her hair is like down btw, down to her waist and wavy... like ocean waves...)

"I mean, honestly, I'm never really sure what to say in those situations." Tess shrugs and sinks a little deeper into the bath. "Didn't want you to feel put on the spot or anything. By the way, your hair is super pretty when it's down!" (This is a pretty clear attempt on her part to Make It Be A New Conversation.)

"I wouldn't really know what to say either... and thanks! I usually like to keep my hair up since it gets in the way when I'm fighting." Ran is kinda running her hands through her hair, and she's trying to get herself as deep into the water as possible. Her head is just bobbing above the surface. "You're very beautiful yourself, Tess! And don't let them get to you. There will always be people who have a hard time with new things. Some are ignorant. Some are jerks. I think those girls were more on the ignorant side..."

"Ugh, yeah. It's..." She also starts combing through her hair. (Things. Fall out. Sticks and things.) "I mean, I'm not the only centaur in the kingdom. Probably," she amends. "But... I mean, every now and then I kinda wish I could just be a biped, and then I think about how much I'd miss that feeling of just running. " Tess pauses and makes a complicated motion with her hands. "It's hard to say — there's just this moment of total suspension where it really feels like you're flying. I don't think you have that with two legs."

Ran shakes her head a bit after dunking it in water briefly. When she gets back up she flicks a stick back at Tess. "The sticks are fine, Tess. And I mean, being a biped isn't all that. Sure you won't be a centaur so maybe there will be less discrimination, but you could be any kind of biped at that point. There will always be discrimination even between humans and other humans. It's kind of pointless to wish to be another. Instead you should simply love yourself for who you are. I think you're pretty neat so I wouldn't want you to change!"

Tess grins. "Easy for you to say. You've, like, got it all. Totally human, hot badass bitch. Who's gonna stop you?" She scoops up as much of the detritus as she can and dumps it on the floor in a small pile of wet leaves and small twigs. "There. That's what they get for calling me a... yeah." She shakes out her hair and starts braiding it. "It's been forever since I've gotten the chance to take, like, a hot bath. We had a spring... somewhere... where we used to stop..." She gets a little misty, like she can't quite remember.

Ran kind of side eyes her, looking away from Tess. She mumbles a bit under her breath, "I wouldn't say that..." As she watches Tess get her little bit of revenge she laughs, "It's totally called for." Tess's next words kind of cause her to tilt her head. "Do you want to... talk about it? I'll listen to whatever you want to share. No judgement here."

Tess gives her a look, but keeps going. "It's..." She scrunches up her face. "Okay, so... with centaurs, there's like... We don't really have a homeland. We have a migration path, one that the herd's followed since basically the beginning of time. It's just — it's not a bad thing, it's just the only thing we've ever done?" Tess frowns. "Now that I talk about it it sounds kind of weird, I guess. Anyway though, it's this path you walk with your herd, and I guess... if... you lose your herd, you kind of lose... the path." She pauses. "I don't know... where they went. I can't remember. So yeah. I know we went to hot springs once, or maybe a couple of times, but without that... sense of path, I can't really say where or when?"

Ran waits for Tess to finish before she speaks. "You're nomads, that's understandable, not weird. Humans have taken to staying in place simply because they have farmlands and it wouldn't make sense for them to move around, but if you're more of a hunter gatherer group than you could definitely be nomads. But this makes sense now, why you're looking for the god of the Lost. I can't say I know what it's like to lose my family. I've always had my family and friends by my side, sometimes even when I didn't want them to be there. But you aren't alone right now at least, right?" She smiles a bit, "I'll help you get back your family. My 'mission'", she makes air quotes, "is less important than finding a friend's family. It's also one we can do along the way so don't worry about it."

"I... Ha!" Tess laughs a little bit. "Farms. I get it in theory, but gods, they sound so boring. But I'm not looking for her to find my herd." She grins. "That's not really what Perdita's about. She doesn't always take you to what you lost. She takes you to what you need to find. She's really... She's touched my life in really important ways, and I really believe that she led me to you. And Phawn, and Ceol," she adds. "My herd and I had some... differences. They were strong Diona followers, I... didn't... want to be about that all the time. So I decided to go on a personal quest, I guess. To find Perdita." She holds up her medallion. "That's what I believe in."

Ran kind of goes :O "Ooooooh... Now I kind of feel a bit dumb. But I'm glad you're here with us too! In that case, we can definitely help you find Perdita. Though that's gonna.... take a bit. She seems to be hard to find."

"Yeah. Yeah, she doesn't... she's..." Tess sighs. "I've only kind of met her once. It was... a little like a dream. But I see her influence a lot, and I feel... more loved than I did when I worshipped Diona?" She grins sheepishly. "No offense. I don't want to convert you or anything."

"Nah I get you. I'm already worshipping 3 gods, and I'm satisfied with them. I respect that you wouldn't feel the same way about Diona though. Not everyone feels the sa-"

[Phawn and Ceol stomp around outside. There is discussion, and they eventually fuck off to Perdita knows where.]

"are our bastards outside. are those our dumb bastards. I love them so much but sometimes. Sometimes." Tess grumbles.

"Chaotic.... They remind me of one of my lovers. No, wait... two of them... gremlins, the lot."

"Damn, two! Get some!" Tess punches the air. "I haven't done the relationship thing yet. Haven't found, like, the right perrrson? Girl. Probably. Honestly, it'll probably be a girl."

"Actually five... and I think I'm gonna keep Pernum too. He's sweet. Never been with a guy before though so that's kinda new. Don't feel rushed to get into any relationships though! You take your time and find the right person for you. I'll make sure to beat them up if they aren't good to you too. Assuming you don't get to them first."

"I will absolutely beat up Pernum if he does anything you do not like."

"So what about you, though?" Tess leans against the wall of the tub. (It creaks.) "I mean, where are you from? Based on how nervous you were when we first met I'm gonna go out on thin ice and say you aren't from around here."

Her head is dunked slowly back into the water and as soon as her mouth is below she blows bubbles. She only comes back up briefly. "No... I'm not from here. It's kind of... mmmm...." She goes back to blowing bubbles in the water...

Tess raises her eyebrows. "Alright, then, I guess I won't press. But I have to be upfront with you, this is making me curious." She goes to swish her tail, then remembers that it's... totally submerged. "Aw shit. That's going to take forever to dry," she mutters. A thoughtful expression crosses her face.

"I'll probably tell you guys one day but... It's kind of not something I can tell someone randomly, even if I trust you."  She watches Tess try and move her tail with a tilt of her head when she starts to get... a look. A suspicious look.

"I'm really sorry, then. I can understand that," Tess says, trying to diffuse what she perceives as a tense situation. "We don't have to talk about anything you're uncomfortable about." Her tail flicks again unsuccessfully. (It's reflexive.) "What about... Sebastien? How long have you two known each other?"

"Oh! He was actually a gift to me. I've known I was going on a journey for a while and he was given to me by Ju, she's one of my lovers."

"That's so sweet!" Tess grins. "One of these days I'm gonna get a pet. Maybe like a b — wait..." An uncomfortable expression crosses her face as she hears Ceol outside. "Okay. Maybe not a bird. But something." Her tail flicks again, splashing her in the face.  "Okay, actually, fuck this." Tess makes an attempt to grab her tail. "This, this situation needs to be not — fuck." It slips out of her hands. "Okay. Alright. Okay. Ran, can I ask you for a favor?"

"yeah?"

"Are you any good at braiding hair?"

"Yeah. You need some help there?"

Tess sighs. "Ugh, I feel super awkward asking, but yes. We used to do this all the time — it's like, nobody wants a huge wet mess of hair picking up dirt and shit while they're walking, but I also feel bad for like... making you, a non-centaur, do it? In a way??" She makes a face. "But yes I will die if I get out of the water with my tail like this."

She laughs and shakes her head. "I understand. I'll help you out, but only if you braid my hair too."

Tess grins. "I'm amazing at braiding hair. I can totally do that!"