With the day well in the afternoon, but not quite in the evening. The pair of adventurers made their way back to the Guild, intent on collecting their well deserved dues, “Hello dearies!” As soon as they approached the counter, Momodi noticed them and waved them over to her, “You look like you’ve had quite the day!”
“Yeah, the nest was a mess that just kept on going.” Muur groaned, surreptitiously omitting a hell of a lot of classified details.
Pulling open a ledger, Momodi flagged one of her workers who quickly disappeared into the back of the shop. “From the sound of it, we ought to be glad you managed to return.” Picking up a quill, she scratched down a few words next to an entry in the large book and closed it, “Considerin’ everythin’ goin’ on. I'll waive the usual confirmation requirements— there's been trouble in the streets if you've not heard.”
“Aye, got told about it on our way back.” Muur said like she wasn’t a good chunk of the reason there were panicked Alacran and Lambs scurrying through the streets.
“It's put folks on edge. You didn’t hear it from me, but plenty of people livin’ in Ul’dah thought that sort of things could only happen outside the walls.” As she told them this, the worker returned with their reward, “Don't let it bother you much though. A friend told me the troublemakers poked a nest they ought not to have. Anyhow, sign here and I'll leave you to your well deserved rest.”
A bit of quills scratching on parchment and it was all done.
“And with that, the money is all yours.” The inn mistress said with a laugh as Kofle took the sack of Gil. “Don't spend it all in one place– unless that place is here~.”
If Muur had a thought to fire back at the older woman for that little bit of teasing, it was immediately cut short by her girlfriend nearly slamming a fistful of coins on the counter, “Private bath for two.”
Then, without so much as a by your leave, she used that same hand to grab Muur's hand and pulled her into the depths of the Quicksands. Muur would swear to her grave that she didn’t let out a squeak as her girlfriend dragged her away from a blushing and chuckling Momodi that happily waved them off.
___________________________________________________________
The pair reached their private bath in record time. Not for any closeness they had to the eatery section of the Quicksands, but rather because Kofle had made it her duty to get there as quickly as physically as possible. Pushing open a door, the cat sighed in relief and entered the room along with her horned lizard. One that was far hornier than her broken horn might suggest, for the sole reason that at some point during this little jaunt, she'd found herself carried in the gladiator’s strong arms.
Lowering Muur on a bench, Kofle took a step back and— “Take your clothes off. Put them in the hamper next to the door.” stripped herself bare while telling (demanding, more like) that Muur do the same.
Muur conjured some ice cubes inside her mouth and chewed to ground herself as she did as ordered, wincing at the state of her poor robe after that fight and looking at the chainmail underneath it critically.
The fact that her robes were the same as she'd seen all of the other Thaumaturges at the Ossuary wear told her that she ought to be happy. Her set may be sliced, torn, pierced and singed by both fire and acid, but her Guild probably had them in bulk. Meaning that nothing of actual value had been lost there… Hopefully.
Her chainmail on the other hand– was fine? The only time it had been tested had been during that final duel and even then, her cape of feathers had taken the most abuse. That left the second most expensive piece of kit she owned surprisingly pristine. No missing links, no gaps or anything of the sort.
“That can wait later.” Her observation was cut short by a now very naked Kofle standing right in front of her and yanked her clothes out of her hands.
Well, who was she to say no to her girlfriend saying to get naked and get to business?
___________________________________________________________
The business in question ended up being quite relaxing, if a bit overbearing. Once again using her superior strength, and Muur’s weakness to being manhandled by a strong woman that murdered many-a-things only hours ago, her cat led her into the private bath and took it upon herself to wash her girlfriend.
The bath in question was quite nice and mimicked the one under the Ossuary in miniature. There was a large, almost jacuzzi-sized, pool of steaming water in the middle of the room, with two smaller washing ponds off to the side. In a repeat of her first day in Ul’dah, Muur found herself being scrubbed and cleaned up by someone.
But where the elezen matron’s touch had been kind and motherly, Kofle’s carried an intensity as she washed dust, sand and gore off of her girlfriend.
She needed a few pointers on how to handle the scales, nevermind the horns, but Kofle proved herself an enthusiastic and attentive student indeed. Also entirely undaunted by the sheer volume of tail that needed to have its every ridge, spur and scale cleaned out of grit. As for the horns, specifically the snapped off one, well…
“I’m sorry.” Kofle mumbled as she carefully cleaned the base of the damaged horn, “I shouldn’t have let that happen… Is your hearing–?”
“A bit muffled on that side, but the forehead horns pick up the slack well enough.” Muur sighed softly, “Don’t worry, these things grow back. They curve around the head like that ‘cause they are meant to take hits that’d otherwise smash the skull.”
“Oh! I didn’t realise they grew back.” With her girlfriend at her back like this, Muur felt how immediate the relief that flooded the woman was. Tension fled her wary body like the Lamb had fled from them, “That’s reassuring. Still, the one that should have been injured is me. Not you.”
Now, if it had gotten to her skull, it may’ve messed up some of the internal bones that helped read the vibrations. As it was, though, the horn proper was just something between a hoof and a set of antlers. It was why carving them into shapes and even punching holes for stringing decorations was so popular. So really, all she needed to do was soak it in warm water to help soften it a bit, then gently slice off the sharp edges so it wouldn’t poke a hole in her pillow.
Unfortunately, with her horn care kit having stayed in her room in the Ossuary, the most that could be done here was cleaning it and not much else. “Am I doing this right?” which, to her credit, Kofle was extremely good at.
“If it wasn’t for how fancy this bath is, I could close my eyes and think I was back in the steppes. You pick up on this stuff quick.” Muur praised, her tail idly washing Kofle’s back as it found a chunk of luffa sponge to work with.
“Yeah, I’ve always been good at learni–eeek!” The sudden feeling of scratching her back caused Kofle to spring forward. Which was cute– but also caused her large plots of lands to squish against Muur’s shoulders.
A total victory, in other words.
“Muur! Give me some warning next time!” Her girlfriend complained, before pushing her off of her lap… and plopping herself in hers, “There, now you can start cleaning me up.”
“Aye aye, ma’am.” Muur replied with a small chuckle, getting to work with both her tail and hands. She even threw in a quick massage because good god Kofle’s back was a pile of muscle knots, for every one she’d found, she would unearth a dozen more. Just how long had her girlfriend run around without so much as a break?
She could almost hear her muscles pop back into place for goodness sake!
Putting aside how badly her girlfriend had neglected herself, the other thing that Muur noticed as soon as she put hand on her back were all of the little wounds and scars that covered the miqo’te’s body. No doubt that each of them told a story of their own, but none so much as the intricate tattoo etched on the nap of Kofle’s neck.
“First time seeing this symbol. One of those ‘we don’t pry into each other’s past’ things or just a neat story?” Muur asked mildly, lacking both the energy and inclination to do any verbal maneuvering. Blunt question it was.
Kofle’s hand shot behind her in an attempt to hide the mark in question, “It’s–” But just as she was on the verge of covering it, she paused, “It’s complicated.” She finally admitted, reluctantly, “There’s some… unpleasant memories connected to it. Honestly, I don’t think I want to talk about it.”
Shifting in her girlfriend’s lap, the gladiator allowed herself to float away before turning around and taking Muur’s hands in her own. She stayed quiet for a moment, staring down at them as their fingers became entwined. A soft sigh of happiness and relief left her ample chest when she felt the Thaumaturge reciprocate. Alas, their new position made it impossible for them to wrap their tails together as they’d come to do, but that did not stop the two limbs from reaching out.
“If it’s you though… I think I can talk about it. At least a little.” Looking back up, Kofle stared deep in Muur’s eyes. There was a sadness there. A painful, weeping wound that had barely even begun to scab over. “Especially after today. I don’t— don’t take it the wrong way, but I thought this relationship wasn’t… Not fake, but— I don’t know. Not real either? Not–” She fell silent again, and this time slowly creeped closer to Muur. Her hands leaving hers to slide along her arms until she grabbed her elbows, “But the way I felt when I saw them hurt you today…”
The kiss was as passionate as it was telegraphed. The miqo’te plush lips pushed against Muur’s own thin lips. Kofle went no further than this, but her hands shifted once more, pulling her scaled lover deep into her soft embrace. Muur wasn’t idle either, leaning into the kiss and wrapping her arms around the small of her lover’s back to bring her even closer, enough so their tails could intertwine.
Kofle’s tail gladly welcomed Muur's, wrapping around the ridges of the wizard's draconic tail with a passion that rivaled that of their kiss. The pair sat there, basking in the simple comfort of each other's presence for some time. With no other companions than the soft whisper of the running water, their own breath and the warmth of the other, it was difficult to determine how long they remained like this. But in the end, it was Kofle that pulled away.
Just as she had initiated, she was the one to end the kiss by pulling away just as slowly as she'd approached. Her lips parted, ready to utter something. But instead she thought better of it and laid her head on Muur’s shoulder, letting her silence speak louder than any word could.
Old stories and scars could wait, for now they both needed this.