City of Sweat and Sand

As the moon rose in the sky, Camellia, Lynn, and Damos slowly prepared to leave. They gently closed Phoebe’s eyelids, and folded her arms across her chest, holding the scraps of bloodied cloth Lynn had so desperately used to try and save her.

Damos couldn’t speak. His eyes remained glued to the ground, never turning upwards to look at his friends. The red sand mocked the three of them.

Camellia used her dagger to tear off a large chunk of her skirt. She closed her eyes and turned her head the other way as she handed it to Lynn. “Here. Cover up again,” she said, her voice faltering halfway through.

Lynn took it, and tied it around her torso. “Thanks.”

“I can carry her,” Camella offered. “We can wrap her in my wings.” She choked back a sob. “It’ll give her some privacy.” She widened her wings, and brought them around in front of her, beneath her arms, making a wide, feathered bed.

Damos and Lynn lifted Phoebe up off the sand, and gently laid her in Camellia’s outstretched wings. Camellia turned up the edges as best she could, leaving Phoebe in a golden feathered cocoon.

As they were about to leave, Damos stopped them. Reaching down, he scooped a big handful of bloodstained sand and tucked it into one of his pockets. “To remember her sacrifice,” he solemnly claimed.

And so, the three began the journey to the city. As the moon shimmered off the water to their left, the gentle rhythm of the tide filling their ears, they trudged along the sandy beach, sullen and somber.

Camellia found it necessary to focus on that sensation, the comforting in and out of the water splashing against the sand. If she didn’t, the weight of the day would crush her. Carrying Phoebe’s body in the very aspect she had helped Camellia earn, she sobbed silently as they walked.

The moon reached its apex in the sky as they stumbled into the city. It was just as Camellia remembered, beige sandstone brick lining the houses, with volcanic rock forming a cobbled street beneath their feet.

Lynn went to find someone to ask for help. She returned with a kindly looking old man who hobbled across the stone road with a cane.

“This young lady here explained you were in need of help,” he said, a gentle concerned smile on his face. It fell as soon as he saw Camellia, holding something in her wings. “What happened?” He stared intently at the wings for a moment before looking up. “That’s quite a bit of blood.”

Camellia cleared her throat. “We come from The Bed. We just passed the Trials of Ascension today, but our friend..” she stopped as she choked back a sob, “didn’t make it.”

“Oh, dear…” the man’s face fell. “The Bed, hm? Well, my husband was once a champion from there. Passed the Trials just like you. Perhaps he might know what to do.” He straightened his back. “Besides, I imagine you’ll need a place to sleep tonight, anyways. Come with me.”

Gratefully, the three obliged, following the old man to his home, close to where the cobbled streets turned to sand and the tide came in.

“Dear, we’ve got guests,” the man said, opening the door.

Another old man, larger and stouter, though just as weathered, sat in a wooden rocking chair inside the home.

So there are people like me here.

What do you mean, Camellia? Like you how? You’re still quite young.

He stood up to greet them, his eyebrows arching in shock when he saw the blood staining their arms, legs, and clothes. “Goodness, what happened?”

Lynn told him their story as Camellia gently sat on the floor, still carefully keeping Phoebe wrapped in her feathers.

“Fellow sea-dwellers, I see. You must be exhausted, not to mention confused and scared. We can talk more in the morning, but for now… Erasmus, draw a bath for them. I’ll fetch them some spare tunics.”

For the first time since the events of the afternoon, Damos spoke, his voice raspy and hoarse. “What’s a bath?”

Erasmus’ husband smiled, a twinkle in his eye. “You’ll see. It might help you feel a little more at home. My name is Theiodoros, by the way. You can call me Theio.” As Erasmus went to fill the bathtub, Theio looked down at Camellia. “And I presume this is…”

Camellia nodded.

Theio softly hummed, “I see. Shall I get a spare bedsheet? Give that aspect of yours a break.” He eyed her wings with suspicion, a look of distrust reflected in his tightened brow, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

Camellia nodded again.

He shuffled over to a wooden closet and pulled out a huge sheet. With utmost care, the four wrapped Phoebe in it. Theio made no comment about her injury.

As soon as they were finished, Camellia collapsed. She had held on for as long as possible, but her whole body ached terribly. She felt a phantom pain on her wings from overexertion. Erasmus returned and guided the three to a modest bathroom. It had a stone basin sink, a deep stone bath carved into the ground, and a wooden one next to it. A hole in the wall poured steaming water through a stone groove spout into both baths.

“There’s fresh clothing here,” Erasmus patted a wooden stool with neatly folded cloth on top. “It might not be a perfect fit, but you should sleep in something clean.” He then went back to Theio.

Damos and Lynn stared at the tubs. “What are we supposed to do?” Damos asked.

As he asked, Camellia realized that she hadn’t taken a bath in the entire time she’d been here. Right, they wouldn’t know. When you’re underwater, I guess you don’t really need it.

“It’s a bath,” Camellia explained. “You strip down and soak in it. It’s what people on land do to get clean.”

Damos was too tired to even question it. “Oh. Okay.” A moment of silence overtook them, before Damos awkwardly stepped towards the door. “I’ll let you two go first, then.” He walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving Lynn and Camellia alone inside.

Normally, being alone like this would be amazing, Camellia thought.

Wait, it would?

But I just… I can’t. She looked at Lynn. “Which one do you want?”

Without a word, Lynn pointed to the stone basin embedded in the floor. The two began to undress.

I think it’d be best to give the two a little privacy while they bathe. We don’t need every detail of what happens, do we?

After the three had all gotten a chance to clean up and let the weight of the day melt off their shoulders in the hot water, Erasmus led them to a room with a large bed.

“I’m sorry there’s not more,” he said quietly. But before he could even continue, the three all collapsed onto the mattress, too tired to worry about sleeping together, and knocked out.