Take me to the water's edge [open]

[provenforce]

WHO: Rey and YOU
WHAT: Stuff Rey is doing for the month of Harvestmere
WHEN: ~whenever~
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: if you'd like a closed starter hit me up on plurk, or pm!

i. riverside

Rey can be found often standing on the river bank, a little ways away from the camp, where she thinks no one will see her. Even after her lessons have concluded for the day with Obi-Wan she'll come here to keep practising, picking rocks up from the riverbank using nothing but the Force, then throwing them out into the water.

Sometimes she sees if she can find the same rock and pull it back, other times she'll try to angle a smooth stone, perfect for skipping, just to see if she can skip it with her will alone. And sometimes she'll get frustrated with that and just actually physically skip stones, something she learned to do in the water troughs at the edge of Niima outpost when she was young.


ii. tower

Sleeping in the barracks was something that Rey wasn't quite comfortable with, too many bodies, too many people she doesn't know well enough to trust letting her guard down around. So for a while she'd taken to sleeping in nooks and crannies around the castle, wherever she could tuck herself to avoid getting trampled on or spotted. Finally she found herself a room that looked unoccupied, possibly due to the massive hole in the wall facing the valley. Rey is however something of an expert in patching up sad hovels into something liveable. She hung a heavy wool blanket across the hole, and added some nails she acquired to pin it into place when night fell and the wind blew.

Anyone who happens into the tower her room is located in, whether looking for her or not, may find her with tools spread out on the floor as she attempts to install a locking mechanism into the door. She doesn't own much, certainly nothing anyone would want to steal, but a lock will make her feel more at ease at night.


iii. hot springs

Rey can count on one hand the number of times she's used a bath with actual water. On Jakku every drop was precious and needed more for hydration than the luxury of cleaning oneself. Sonic showers were the norm, and even those had been fairly infrequent. She'd had a real shower before leaving to try and track Luke Skywalker down, it had felt bizarre to waste water in such a way.

Standing looking at the hot springs now, she still feels that way. All the same she needs to get clean, and she knows this is the best option, the other being the freezing river. She's getting better at tolerating the cold, but she does still have her limits. This isn't her first time here, but she's still unaccustomed to the concept, so it's late at night when she's less likely to run into someone else. With a little puttering she puts her things aside, before making her way into the water, letting out a sigh as the heat seeps into her skin. It's the closest she's gotten to the Jakku heat since arriving in Thedas, and strange as it is, it's not unwelcome.

After soaking it in for a few moments she sets to the task of letting her hair down, wanting to be in and out in as short amount of time as absolutely possible.

Comments

[provenforce]

Rey looks for a moment like she's considering taking her up on that offer, before she shakes her head.

"No, you're already in the water and it's late. I don't mind." She does mind a little, but she knows it's something she should just get used to. Sooner or later she'll run into someone who won't be kind about coming back another time.

[stabsbooks]

"If you are certain," Cassandra says, but it's more a formality than anything. She doesn't really expect the young woman to change her mind now.

She relaxes deeper into the water, content to let the silent stretch out for a moment as she reaches up to begin undoing the braid wrapped around her head.

[provenforce]

Rey is comfortable with letting the conversation drop and returns to picking at the knots that have formed in her hair, working them loose in the water. After a minute the silence starts feeling a little weird to her, so she speaks up.

"Do you come down here late often?"

[stabsbooks]

"Occasionally," Cassandra answers, combing her long hair into the water. Her eyes flick over to Rey's face. "More often, I prefer to bathe early in the morning. But I was...otherwise occupied today."

[provenforce]

"Are there usually less people here early?" Rey's curious, she's leaned towards evening baths because if she gets dirty during the day then she doesn't need to bathe twice, but if she's trying to avoid people, this is valuable information.

"I'm not used to group bathing facilities. There were sonic showers where I'm from, but the stalls were individual. Not that I'm trying to avoid people, it's just... adapting to it."

[stabsbooks]

"Only very early," Cassandra warns her. "When the sun rises, the people rise with it, and then there is no privacy to be had. You must choose between the warmth and comfort of your bed and the luxury of near-solitude as you bathe." Most people are unable to make that choice...or at least, are unable to release the concrete temptation of bed for the hypothetical benefit of a hot, unhurried bath in the darkness before dawn.

She tilts her head, curiously. "What is a...sonic shower? I have never heard of it."