On a Late-Autumn Afternoon

[abileunaspada]

Who: Adela Milani (abileunaspada) & OPEN
When: November 15th
Where: Konoha -- On the lake early afternoon, in the hot springs late afternoon
Notes: Adela has decided to do more water combat training as her missions recently have had her being surrounded by it. Unfortunately, one cold plunge happens and later she decides to remedy that with a well-deserved trip to the hot springs.

Sliding across the cold water was nothing when one had chakra control on their side. Adela was running and jumping across the lake like it was nothing as she practised her ninjutsu, fire hitting the cold water causing dense steamy fog and earth splashing the water about. Her water techniques were next, and it was with elegant grace that she created the aggressive water techniques that sent waves lapping at the shore. Her sword cut through the techniques and she was doing what she could to dispell and see through the fog...

But, her control on her feet slipped an in that moment she let out a rather loud yelp, falling completely into the icy water. Within seconds she was back up and had raced to the shoreline, shivering hard as she tried to shake some of the water out of her hair, "C-Cold...!"

Gods it was a good thing she was practising alone for that one...

--------------------

"Aaah..." A long and loud sigh left her when she sank into the hot water, her towel set aside as she felt the chilled air nipping at what little exposed skin there was left. There was nothing like a hot shower and then relaxing in the outdoor spring in this cold weather. It wasn't even winter properly yet but it was still pretty cold, and that just made Adela appreciate the hot springs in Konoha that much more. It was fairly empty today, in fact through the steam it seemed like she was the only one on the womens' side. Maybe that'd change, but right then Adela didn't care. She just wanted to relax and soak for a while.

... Granted, she probably wouldn't get left alone for long, but what relaxation time she was getting was nice while it lasted.

Comments

Hot springs! :3

[ninjaindianajones]

She didn't often go to the hot springs, Mika knew that other people got a little skeeved when someone with tattoos came in. There'd been plenty of times where she'd been turned away from hot springs in other villages.

Today didn't seem busy and she was in the mood for a long soak. Having been indoors all day with a sick Itachi had made her want to cleanse. Why not sweat out the ick then? It wasn't a difficult choice to head over.

She strutted into the hot springs, clad in her towel. After glancing around she tossed the towel and slid right into the water. This was perfect! Mika sighed and sank down to her neck. Oh, someone else was here!

"Nice day isn't it?" She couldn't quite make out who else was in the springs, at least they were female.

[abileunaspada]

Ah -- she blinked at the dark-haired figure through the steam, squinting a little to try and identify who it was before shrugging and leaning back. What did she care if there was someone else in the spring? It didn't matter to her, she was there to relax for herself -- not bother the other people.

That and the warm water was welcoming after having taken that icy dip earlier. It still felt really really nice, "Too cold, but guess that's expected around now. Least the hot springs're still going."

[ninjaindianajones]

"Mm, yeah. It's surprisingly quiet considering." With the temperature going down the spring would likely get a swell of customers before it closed for the rest of the year.

She cupped her hands and squirted water up. Having some actual silence was pretty nice actually. So Mika leaned back and stretched out, might was well take up space.

[abileunaspada]

"I'm not that surprised, hot spring baths with cold open air aren't everyone's cup of tea. They're great after a good work-out though," Sinking a bit more until only her head and hair were above water, Adela sighed and leaned back to look up towards the sky a bit more. This really was nice... The hot water soothed the ache and cold out of all of her muscles, and she felt like she was starting to work up a good sweat too. She'd have to be careful not to stay in too long, though...

[ninjaindianajones]

"True, it's good for the health I hear." Yes, all those nasty cold germs were just oozing from her pores. Mika wouldn't have to worry about getting the flu or anything. If she wasn't careful though she'd probably get sick anyways. Being in the hot springs for too long wouldn't be any better than being stuck in a badly ventilated room with sick Uchihas.

[abileunaspada]

"I can feel it relaxing my muscles and keeping them from getting too stiff at least, so it's gotta be doing something right," Happily she talked about the water, absently rubbing her limbs underneath the water as she tried determindly to keep her shoulders under the surface. It felt so nice, and warm, like she could fall asleep there.

Not that falling asleep was a good idea, but feeling the water just soothing all of her weakness away felt too wonderful for words.

[ninjaindianajones]

"Mm." Mika was sure she knew who was in the hot spring with her. It was a little weird talking to someone without seeing their face. So she waded over to get a better look. "Hey, you're Adela right?" That ginger hair was definitely a marker.

[abileunaspada]

Huh? Adela blinked at the other figure, a little confused as she gave a shrug, "Yeah. Who's asking?"

[ninjaindianajones]

Really? Hope she hadn't forgotten Mika! Though this time she wasn't hiding behind sunglasses. "Duh, it's me! Mika, that girl who ordered a staff from ya?" She came to Adela's side and smiled widely, her teeth were oddly dazzling in the steam of the hot spring.

[abileunaspada]

"Oh yeah, Mika-san," For a few seconds she seemed nervous, smiling apologetically to the older woman before she nodded, "Sorry, it's hard to tell without the billion layers of clothes and stuff. How's the staff been treating you, by the way? If you need some scratches buffed out or something, just let us know anytime we're open."

[ninjaindianajones]

Hah, Mika could tell Adela seemed a bit nervous so she was mindful of her distance. She settled an arms length away and casually looked around. "Yeah, I don't normally dress like that." Hopefully Adela wouldn't ask why she'd been looking so shady. Her eyes settled on Adela and she peered into the other's eyes rather intently. It just might be unnerving. "It's great, I really was impressed. There's a number of established forges in the village and you're certainly on par."

[abileunaspada]

"Just on par? We pride ourselves on being the best," Adela, in spite of the words, just laughed as she shook her head, not meeting Mika's eye. It was just easier to focus on the water soaking her soreness away rather than the conversation at the moment.

[ninjaindianajones]

"Well--" Eep, she didn't want to make things awkward. "You certainly give the local business something to sweat over." Mika laughed it off, hoping to now change the conversation. Though Adela seemed content on silence. For once Mika didn't speak, the water was too relaxing and her mind could wander in peace. So the two women sat quietly for the time being. Some hot sake did sound nice... "Mm, how old are you again?" Hope that didn't seem weird to ask.

[abileunaspada]

"I'm fifteen, why d'you ask?"

[ninjaindianajones]

"Just curious. You traveled quite a ways to be in Konoha." Mika wouldn't ask why, figuring that whatever the reason was being kept private. So she didn't comment further. In fact she might have to get out soon as her skin was starting to prune. Hmm.

[abileunaspada]

"I wasn't travelling alone... But why ask that?" She raised a brow at Mika, tilting her head a little in confusion. Was it really so easy to spot her and her family as foreign, she wondered... Damned if she was, then. Not that she was going to explain where she came from - that was reserved for a select few privileged with that level of trust.

[ninjaindianajones]

"Ah-- Sorry, I'm just being nosy." Of course Mika managed to nearly give herself away there. The only reason she knew anything was because of her own family's snooping. Time for topic change? She pulled her hands out of the water and wiggled her fingers. "Maybe it's time to get out..."

[abileunaspada]

"Yeah, maybe," In agreement she spoke as she moved to get out of the spring, shivering slightly from the cold air with a sigh. Great, she'd been in so long that her skin started to prune... It'd go away after a bit, but the bath did help soak out some of the soreness so she was still more satisfied with life in general than before.

Didn't stop Mika from being a strange individual though, at least to Adela. Nice, but still a little strange.

[ninjaindianajones]

"Mm." Yeah, definitely time to leave. Pruny skin just wasn't sexy. So they slowly got out, the heat sometimes made Mika a little dizzy after soaking this long. "I usually don't stay this long but I don't normally share the hot springs either. It was nice though." Adela didn't know Mika was gay did she? In fact they were quite open about it and unfortunately that had consequences. Most women had made a point of avoiding Mika in the bathhouse and it'd gotten so uncomfortable that Mika purposely came at times when few people were around. Having someone not try to leave because of them was nice.

Mika wasn't modest and didn't bother putting on a towel after getting out of the water. Instead they slung it over their shoulder while walking into the changing area. The cool air felt rather pleasant after the heat.

Mika was pretty strange, yet some people found it charming.