A Proper Soak

JP with Lorem and Omni

It had been too long since Voah had a proper soak, not since she flung herself into the Sea of Storms. The well in the fort had served well enough to get clean but it was tedious, time consuming, and left one unsatisfied. But she could wait a while longer.

“You first.” She gestured in Vauxian. “I insist.”

Gonyaul kissed her on the cheek in thanks and didn’t hesitate moving towards the water. He picked up the staff on his way to the edge and used it as a measuring stick to see just how deep it was, as well as to scare off any unwelcome guests beneath the surface.

It seemed all clear, as well as a suitable depth. He waded into the river, staying near enough to the edge so that his feet were still touching the bottom. The water was almost up to his chest and he could only imagine not too far from the edge there possibly could be a drop off. And it was freezing, the temperature difference from outside to the running water was significant.

As his body was acclimating to the cool water, he removed his desert attire. One quick submerge and back up had him gasping in surprise to the jolt of rejuvenation.

Gonyaul didn’t waste time because the day would soon be getting warmer and brighter. He washed out his garments and thoroughly cleaned off his entire body and hair. He submerged again, swam under water closer to the edge and then resurfaced. He left behind a film of blood, sweat, dust and struggle that was quickly carried off down the river with the moving current.

While Gonyaul had taken to the gentle part of the river to bathe, Voah kept watch on the bank, scanning for various things including signs of danger in the form of animals or travelers. When she was sure they were safe, she searched the reeds to find anything worth harvesting. No luck.

She was ready and pacing with her blade before he was finished, and she could barely help herself from spying at his masculine form through the reeds as he returned from the water.

Gonyaul climbed carefully out of the river and hung his clothes up to dry. In the arid heat it would not take long at all before his clothes would be ready.

“River is cold but feels amazing.” He signaled everything was fine and that she could take her turn now while he stood watch. He was naked, and covering himself bashfully as best he could with his hands; the cold water having aided him a little in that endeavor. It made it comical, since he liked to talk with his hands moving and without being able to made him stutter a little to get the words out. As Voah prepared herself he wrapped his head scarf around his waist so he could move about more freely as he air dried.

She smiled and met him at the water’s edge where she began removing some of the outer layers of her own desert clothes.

Stepping into the water, Voah knew it would be torture to do it slowly due to chill of the water and so she forced herself to dunk under. Hoi, it felt like every hair on her body had instantly grown an inch.

Wasting no time, she removed her bandages and the rest of her garments and got to work scrubbing away dirt, sweat and sand, especially from her hair which she had to detangle. By this point the roots had grown out a little and the dark dye had faded to a grayish purple blonde hue.

Gonyaul stood watch, paying more attention to the possibility of what may come from the water than from the desert. This put the bathing beauty, Voah, in his scanning field of vision. While he was indeed trying to be gentlemanly, he felt a constant temptation anchoring him to her location and pulling his peripheral vision into focus.

He glimpsed her in the act of bathing and would look away, only to come back to peek again. His mind teasing him with romantic excuses that it was the marvelous way that water fell over her arousing form that was the true intent of his attention. And just as he concentrated on how the natural wonders interacted with her beauty, Gonyaul would find his eyes ensnared into touring her feminine curves and inventing all sorts of pleasing thoughts and desires. He blushed realizing the incredible effect it had on him and looked down to see that he had pitched another tent all the while, the scarf around his waist doing very little now to live up to the duty it was enlisted to perform.

Gonyaul needed a distraction from his current yearnings. Something that got him active and tunnel visioned. The idea hit him suddenly like an insect blasted by the precision of a chameleon’s tongue; it came out of nowhere and stuck in his mind.

Gonyaul used Voah’s sword to cut some reeds around the bank. He was mindful not to do damage that would kill the hard working plants, just a little charity was all he was after. He used the plant pieces to decorate their campsite. He was attempting to camouflage it to look like a natural part of the river’s edge. He figured the small mimicry, especially from a distance, could actually conceal their presence and improve their safety. It was necessary he conjectured because the water source would attract more than they had experienced during their entire travel in the dunes of endless sand.

Feeling refreshed, Voah rose and removed herself from the river, her naked form covered in goosebumps. She didn’t bother trying to hide herself. They had been through so much together already, it didn’t matter to her, besides, she was sure he would be a gentleman, even though… she wished he would take her here and now.

She let the clothes hang loosely from her shoulder as she clasped her hair up into a high knot.

By the time Voah was exiting Gonyaul was finishing up the last touches to his stratagem.

He deduced that the cover, which broke the camp like silhouette a little, would last just one day. The reeds no longer connected to their roots would quickly shrivel and dry in the heat of the sun’s stare. The main reason for doing it though was to occupy his thoughts before they ran away with him anyways.

Seeing that Voah was done, he retrieved his desert clothes and true enough, they were practically almost dry. He went ahead and started to dress, lest Voah would see that his lower half was portraying great boldness while his upper half was trying to remain meek.

As much as he wanted to, which it would be obvious to Voah that he was hot and bothered but not from the morning sun, now was not the time for multiple reasons. There was still the threat of peril, actually more now that they were near such a vital resource. They were still recovering, especially Voah with her arm. They still had a weeks travel ahead of them with limited resources, so preserving energy was still a priority. And she was not yet his to become one with, this last fact the most important reason of them all in his opinion.

Gonyaul smiled and opened up the entrance to their tent covered in river reeds. “Hope feel better.” Time say goodbye to sun and wait for the moon.”

“Very much.” She said as she found a temporary place to lay or hang her clothes. The sun would have them dry in no time. Then she disappeared into the tent to put on what she could spare to be decent, knowing that now really wasn’t the time.