Beneath Quiet Skies

The winding trail to the hot springs was more scenic than any of them expected. After days of tension, blood, and silence, the calm rhythm of travel-boots crunching on gravel, wind threading through leaves-felt like a gift. Birds called lazily through trees, and the forest floor was dotted with tiny wildflowers blooming in the filtered sunlight.They left their armor and gear behind, traveling light. Shin wore only a simple tunic and trousers, the kind he hadn’t worn since joining the party. Kael had packed a novel under one arm, while Rurik carried a basket of snacks like it weighed more than any axe.

The hot spring came into view in the early afternoon. Nestled in a natural basin surrounded by pine and cedar trees, steam drifted lazily above the water, catching the golden light. The stones lining the pool were worn smooth with age, and the scent of minerals mixed with the crisp mountain air.

“Now this is what healings supposed to look like,” Rurik said with a sigh, dropping his pack with a loud thud. “Nature’s bathhouse. Gods bless it.”
They had split off to settle into their respective spaces-thankfully, the springs were divided into two separate pools with a large stone wall in between.
Reina rolled her eyes, already making her way toward the women’s side of the spring, hidden behind a small thicket of trees and a wooden privacy screen.
“Enjoy yourselves,” she said over her shoulder, flashing a grin. “Try not to drown.”
Kaen stretched his arms overhead with a groan. “No promises. If I go under, tell the water it was an honourable death.”

The men’s side of the spring was simple and open to the sky. Steam curled upward in lazy tendrils, and the water shimmered with faint hues of blue and green from the minerals beneath.
Kael sat first, easing himself into the warmth with a hiss. Shin followed, feeling the heat wrap around his limbs like a comforting weight. Rurik let out a blissful groan loud enough to startle a bird from a nearby tree.
“I think my bones just forgave me,” he said, eyes half-lidded.
“I think mine are melting,” Kaen murmured, slumping deeper into the water until only his nose and eyes remained above the surface.

The warm water was nothing short of magic. It soaked deep into their sore muscles and bruised limbs, loosening tension that had sat in their bodies for far too long.
Shin leaned back against a smooth stone, letting his eyes drift closed. Muscles he didn’t even know were sore began to loosen. The ache in his ribs dulled, and the strange chill he’d been carrying in his chest since the battle seemed to fade for the first time.
They stayed like that for a long while. No one rushed. No one spoke unless they felt like it.

At some point, Kael began talking about his favourite swordsmiths, the cadence of his voice low and rhythmic. Rurik countered with tales of dwarven forge that allegedly used dragon breath to heat metal. Kaen contributed nonsense about enchanted spoons.
Shin let the conversation flow around him. He watched as the sunlight shifted through the leaves overhead, casting patterns that danced across water. His chest rose and fell in steady rhythm; the throb of anxiety he hadn’t even realized he was holding beginning to ease.

“You’ve got half a garden in that thing,” Kaen said, laughing. “No wonder it takes half a bar of soap to clean.”
From the other side of the stone wall came the soft splash of water, Reina’s voice singing something faint and tuneless. Shin smiled faintly. He hadn’t heard her sing before.

The warmth of the water blurred the edges of thought. For a moment, it felt like nothing else existed. Just friends. Just peace.
They scrubbed the grime and blood from their hair and skin with rough soap and soft cloths. Shin chuckling as Rurik grumbled about getting soap in his beard.
They lingered until the sun dipped lower in the sky and the shadows stretched long across the clearing. After dressing in clean clothes, the group gathered by the small fire Reina had made near the hut. The scent of herbs, dried meat, and warm bread filled the air as they passed around a simple meal.
They ate slowly, comfortably, seated on folded blankets and stones warmed by the day’s sun.
“Kaen,” Reina said, “If you fall asleep with food in your mouth again, I’m throwing your boots into the spring.”

As dusk settled in, fireflies began to appear between tall grasses and the soft buzzing of insects filled the air. Someone passed around a bottle of sweet berry juice, and Shin took a small sip. The taste lingered-sweet, but not overwhelming. A reminder of the moment.
Eventually, Reina leaned back, arms behind her head. “Tomorrow, we’ll go back to the guild. Probably get told we’re due for a rank test.”
“Let ‘em test us,” Rurik said. “I’ve got hot spring energy now.”
Kael smirked. “You’ll need it. They don’t make B-rank easy.”

“Who said anything about working hard?” Kaen murmured, already half-asleep.
Reina chuckled. “He’ll pass out before they hand him the paperwork.”
After that, they wandered to a patch of grass overlooking a nearby cliffside, where the wind whispered gently through tall reeds.

Someone had brought a light blanket. Shin lay back on it, hands folded behind his head. Kaen was already asleep again, curled beside a bush like a cat. Rurik gnawed on dried fruit and hummed to himself.
Kael sat cross-legged beside them, book open but unread in his lap.
“Feels different now,” Shin said quietly.
“The quiet?”
Shin nodded. “After everything. It’s like… I’m waiting for something to go wrong.”
“It’s natural,” Kael said. “After what he faced, peace feels suspicious.”

Reina joined them shortly after, fresh from her side of the springs, hair unbraided and damp from the steam. She lay down beside Shin and looked up at the sky.

Stars began to appear, faint at first-like smudges on dark velvet. One by one, they multiplied until the entire sky shimmered with them.
None of them spoke for a while.
Shin stared upward, feeling the grass beneath him, the heat still lingering in his skin from the water, the cool breeze brushing against his damp hair. His heart was quiet. For once.
Kaen snored gently. Rurik began whistling a tune Shin didn’t recognize. Reina pointed up at a bright cluster of stars.

“That one looks like Kaen when he’s dodging chores. See the legs?”
Shin smiled. “I see it.”
“That one’s definitely Rurik’s beard. It’s the shape of an angry squirrel.”
Rurik grunted. “My beard is glorious, thank you. Glorious and symmetrical.”
Laughter floated into the trees.
They lay like that for a while, watching the stars.
Eventually, Kael closed his book and looked over at them all. “We should do this more often.” We forget that this is also a part of us that we lose by time without even realising it.
“Only if there’s more food next time,” Kaen mumbled without opening his eyes.

“I’ll bring the cider,” Rurik said.
Reina smiled, her gaze still skyward.
Shin didn’t say anything.
He didn’t need to.
For the first time in a long while, he felt present.
The world stretched wide and endless above him, and his friends were here. Breathing. Laughing.
And for one perfect evening, that was enough.