A Mist Bath

As I finish undressing, I reluctantly take off my pendant. Letting it lay on top of my clothes, I put a towel around my waist.

“Aren’t you ready yet?” A voice wonders, leaning in closer.

    Once again, I did not hear her approach me.

“Mira.”

“Yes?”

“Do you do this on purpose?”

“What do I do?” She tilts her head to the side.

    Frowning, I reach out my hands only to pinch her cheeks, kneading them.

“Appearing out of nowhere as an evil entity trying to give me a heart attack.”

“Wha- wha- what?! Nyahh what are you talking about?” She grabs my wrists, her cat ears twitching. “I swear I don’t!”

“Hmpf, I wish I had such an ability, I would make great use of it to bully Tyffeon.”

“Bully?!” She exclaims, but at the same moment her towel unwraps as we squirm.

    I free her cheeks as she barely catches hold of her towel. Letting appear a glimpse of her toned flat chest.

    Averting my gaze, I scratch my cheek, slightly embarrassed.

“Now, let’s go to the bath!” Mira takes hold of my hand, bringing me along with her into a half-opened room, somewhere at the highest level of the truncated black pyramid.

    In a large basin we approach, a thick layer of mist, kept down there as if by magic. Mira helps me to come down there safely before we take off our towels, letting them on the edge of the basin.

    Seated comfortably, the mist engulfs our waists.

    I take a look beyond the arches defining the exterior, at the last remaining stars. The night slowly begins to fade, letting us in an odd in-between.

“Not only did I not sleep the previous night but it’s almost dawn…” I sigh. “At this rate I’m not gonna wake up before the end of the day.”

    Mira lets out a laugh.

“That is our regular schedule. You’ll get used to it!”

“If you say so.” I show her a mildly convinced expression.

    Not surprising that most of the women here have a paler complexion since they barely see the light of the Sun.

“I do, I do!” She cheerfully ensures. “For me neither, it hasn’t always been natural. But this is the way of my kind. The night fits better our habits.”

“Habits?”

    She nods.

“The Beastwomen always used to be seductive. It’s how we are. And, you know, back in time we didn’t really tend to live in community. Our ancestors spent time here and there, in line with their own wishes.” She leans her back against the edge of the basin, glancing outside. “At night, they wandered through the lands until finding a lover with whom they spent their night. The Beastmen never really suffered from any conflict even at what some call the golden age, and this is thanks to what we are.” Mira glances back at me. “No man can resist us, so our charms always quickly defused their aggression.”

“How though…” I frown and cross my arms, pressing against my bare chest. “Whenever I make use of my charms on Tyffeon, he becomes more aggressive. Something’s not working there…”

    Mira blinks. Several times.

    Vexingly so, I get the feeling that she is lost between the urge to giggle and the one to pity me.

    I cough.

“Ahem. Then, you were telling me about your folk’s past.” I try to reorient not-so-subtly – I couldn’t care less – the conversation. “What happened after that? Despite that, you all ended up together. In the end, Ard Ramalia was born.”

“Hoo, yes! Hum, well this was all thanks to the one who became our first chief. This would be too long to tell, but she managed to bring us together. The most beautiful and powerful among us, a foxwoman. Thanks to her magic she even managed to create the bell which compelling sound resonates to the ears of any of the rulers, whatever the distance. The one which is now at the Holy Garden.” She pauses before continuing. The spark in her eyes makes clear that she is amazed by the deeds of their first chief. “The Beastmen built this kingdom under her direction, and they adapted their ways so that Ard Ramalia could have a chance to become what it is nowadays. One of the five major kingdoms.” She tilts her head to the side, becoming thoughtful. “People from all places come there, but I heard that some despise us. I wonder why… No Saintess has ever chosen our Kingdom to stay either. Ahh! But one of them granted once a name to a young foxgirl chosen among our people to be our next chief. Kitsune.”

“Mmm…” I muse, showing that I listen to her even though I avert my gaze.

    I prefer to remain silent though, beginning to appreciate the effects of this mist bath. I wasn’t expecting much, but it becomes surprisingly appeasing. While the Sun points at the horizon, the heat threatening to return, being wrapped in that mist gives my body a welcomed freshness.

“Mira, do you think you can help me retrieve my belongings? Miss Somnuma took them away from me and I’m not reassured.”

“Hooh?” She glances at me. “Did you bring many things with you?”

“Just a satchel, a bow and my arrows.”

“A bow?!”

    I nod.

“Amako… I don’t think I can help you retrieve your bow. Weapons are not allowed here. For your satchel, there should be no problem.”

“But…” I pout. “It’s Tyffeon who crafted it for me.”

“This Tyffeon seems to be someone important to you. That’s the second time you mention him.” She notes with a spark of interest.

“Well…” I play with one of my locks, wrapping it around my finger. “I guess.”

    Nothing can really change this, whatever happens. Even…

    Shinji’s face passes briefly through my mind before I can help it.

    Even if they leave me behind.

“That’s great!”

“Is it?” I smile genuinely at Mira.

“It is! You’d be hollow if you had no one like that. I used to have someone important as well, but…” She trails off, averting her gaze. “…now she’s gone.”

    Seeing her like this, aware of the truth behind her words, I can’t help but feel a pang in my heart for her.

“I know this pain…”

    So, not saying a word, I take her hand in mine, hoping to give her some sort of comfort.

    Surprised, she quickly turns a smile at me though.

    We remain silent for a while before I feel Mira’s fingers holding me slightly tighter. I don’t know how, we only know each other for a night – even if, well, it’s been longer for me – but I already feel we’re close to each other.

“I know it was four years ago, but sometimes I feel like it was yesterday.” Mira begins. “For my whole life, I lived in Makhtubi. I grew up here with my older sister. She was really… a beautiful woman. An admired lady of the night. She earned a fair amount of customers in so little time! And… she was also a caring sister. Despite the hours at which she worked, she stayed up late so we could see each other and cuddle. It wasn’t always easy since she belonged to the night, and I did to the day.” She pauses. “I wish I could have done more for her… But then, she fell ill. She who was always bright and fresh like a flower… It was… it was hard to bear. To see her decline like this. By the end, she was so weakened she started losing her mind. More than once she asked, she begged me to let her see mum. Even though she died long ago.”

    Mira hesitates to continue, then she raises her eyes to meet my gaze. Slowly, she lets go of my hand to take hold of my wrist instead. I merely follow her moves as she takes it closer to her, guiding it to her chest.

“I couldn’t take seeing her so desperate any longer, so I decided to offer her the last gift I could. The last day of her life, I spent the day by her side, dressed as our mother.”

    What my eyes couldn’t see because of the mist, my fingers felt as Mira placed my hand against her bare chest.

    Frail and delicate, but definitely breastless.

“Luckily I had taken after her. I have her eyes, this is what sister always said. So with the fake long hair and the dress, I resembled her quite enough. Big sister seemed happy, she had a lighter mood this day. I even thought that maybe…” Her voice becomes quieter. “…just maybe, she would recover. But… As dawn came, she whispered these words to me…” It takes her a while to steady her voice, trying to offer me a smile as she resumes. “You’re truly pretty with this dress. You should wear such things more often, Mirarin…”