do you believe in magic in a shared bath's heart?

[dadsandals]

The bath at the mansion really is extensive -- probably more extensive than a lot of them have seen, considering there are literally multiple pools of varying temperatures, probably statues and indoor plants or something for atmosphere, steam rooms, complimentary bath things (everything in the manor is kind of complimentary but shshhh) and whatnot.

On this particularly fine and nondescript day, though -- there's a bit of a commotion whenever you wander in butt-naked for your soak or whatever you like to do in here (you can hang from the ceiling like a bat or something we ain't the judge of you); there's two enterprising wizards flitting about poking at things.

The thing with 🪄 Cid Kagenou 🪄 is that he is Very Into Baths, and Very Into Magic, and thus the Bath Magic is one of the few areas where even his li'l old self can shine. Or not shine, given that they've all been here for 2.5 days (extremely rough estimate) and the miracle is nobody has blown up the mansion trying magic yet. But there is definitely magic happening! Since there's already steam and everything.

And then there's 👓 Yamato 👓. Yamato is Here and enabling himself by watching Cid experiment with various things in the area. Initially he probably would've tried to stop him, but seeing what Cid's been doing has made him want to try some magic experimentation of his own. Pairing a teenager who kind of knows what he's doing with a man who has no idea what's going on makes it even more of a miracle that the mansion has not been blown up yet.

But if you look even closer, you'll spot various small differences:

🛁 all of the water has bubbles in it; the hot bath in fact looks like it has small duck-shaped bubbles just sort of trundling along, occasionally a duck pops and releases a puff of scented air (scents may vary at your discretion)

🛁 the cold water bath keeps turning different colors, maybe they should stop experimenting with it before somebody ends up blue for the week

🛁 some of the statues and potted plants have been slightly altered; nothing too outrageous, but at least one or two statues have been turned into roomba replicas and there's a potted plant with leaves that look like people in the manor's faces in miniature

🛁 the steam room is letting out an intermittent screaming noise that sounds very human, but there's no one in it

🛁 some of the bath soaps are extremely bright and keep on changing colors, as if they were colored like a disco ball (rave! in the bathhouse!)

............. Enjoy your bath!

(OOC: This is backdated to before the South mission so South Wizards get in on the fun too!)

Comments

[shortleash]

( ...?

This was Mika's only reaction upon entering, but, you know what? Weird, but harmless. He was one of the few people in the bath at the time, and, towel at his waist until he slips into the hot baths, he's willing to put up with the weird disco lights, duck bubbles, roomba statues, and occasional, deceptive sounds of shrieking. If anything, it helps him keep his mind off his hunger, which has begun to distract and gnaw.

However, as more people begin to filter in, he grows agitated. He doesn't really want to be around people when he's hungry (does anyone want to be around a buffet when they can't eat?). He debates getting his grooming done with quickly and just getting out fast. If showers existed in this manor, he probably would've been gone already. Alas...

Anyway, while he stews, the stewing becomes quite literal - though it begins slowly, gradually the hot bath begins to boil and bubble, like a jacuzzi, and seems keen to grow only hotter. Also, he hasn't noticed. He's just been sitting here, unhappier than usual, growing red like a lobster.

Maybe passing out will solve his hunger problem. The bath might be suddenly way too hot for you, though. )

[dyingtohealyou]

[Why is it suddenly so hot.

Clambering out and squinting at the water. Contrary to icons, he doesn't have his shades on, so his weirdly bright cyan eyes are fully visible along with the crest on the right one in particular.]

Is someone boiling the bath?!

[shortleash]

( Distracted from his hungry simmering by his delicious coworker, the bubbles seem to pop and die down... slightly. Not totally. But he's been distracted? )

What are you talking about?

( says the newest oompa-loompa, )

[dyingtohealyou]

The bath's boiling. Look, you're even turning red.

[Buddy?????? You good????????????]

[shortleash]

I'm not.

( Reflexively. But then he actually lifts his arm from the water to look at it...

...

Hm, )

... I'm fine. It's fine.

( The simmering starts to fade... His embarrassment grows, however, )

[dyingtohealyou]

Definitely not you, sure, sure.

[For some reason!!! He doesn't sound convinced.]

Still, casting without realizing it, huh? That's something.

[shortleash]

I didn't even know you could do that.

( He'll have to ask about it... but, ugh, actually going out of his way to talk to people...

The water is probably safe enough to get back into, if a touch warm, at least. He's... calmish. The agitation's still there, but he's aware and controlling his stupid hunger more actively now. For now, anyway. )

Maybe it's because I was that annoyed. Magic responds to emotions, or something.

( "Annoyed" is gonna be his lie for "obscenely hungry." He'd rather seem irritable than starved. )

[dyingtohealyou]

Neither did I, but the method of this magic is a mystery to nearly all of us.

[Dipping a toe in, and then more of his foot, before deeming the water a suitable temperature to cautiously dunk the rest of himself into again.]

What's annoying you?

[In the interest of not getting boiled alive.]

[shortleash]

( Ugh. Mika allows it (as if he could stop it,) looking at Ahito slipping in from the corner of his eye. )

... I can't stand humans, and there's too many of them in this damn manor.

( Good luck fixing that(?) )

this is the real bath attack...........

[shadowkin]

Whoa-hoh-hoh!! That's hot! Thaaaat's hot!!

[Cid was actually out of the bath, mostly, because hot baths are steamy enough you can't always be in them forever and it's nice sometimes just being on the ledge. Until his still-underwater feet start turning into slow-cooked crab legs, anyway, wow. Cue him falling backwards out of the water, legs akimbo and towel going flying.

He's probably mooning half the baths but that's the least of their problems.

After he calms down and stops flapping the towel at his slightly overcooked limbs, he finally sits up and squints at whatever is happening to the water. If it gets too hot the ducks are going to turn into Peking roast duck, too, that would be terrible.]

... Look, I know it's nice to stew sometimes, but I think you're having a bit too much fun in there.

[Mika's face is definitely the face of having a grand old time.]

this is incredible

[shortleash]

( If anything, Cid's whole display is enough to distract Mika from crawling in his skin long enough to try to process. Whatever all that was. The bubbles even start to bubble less, too.

He almost doesn't process when Cid addresses him, and he seems confused even when he does. )

... Do I seem like I'm having fun to you, or are you talking to yourself?

( That sure was a fall there... )

[divineth]

[Urianger's about to join in on the hot bath, but he quickly retracts his initial step in once his foot makes contact with the boiling hot water.]

Ah-

[That can't be right. Something must have gone wrong with the heating element for this bath. He glances around to make sure no one else is potentially getting exposed to this... Oh. Mika's sure boiling alive in there.

Urianger reaches out with some urgency in his tone.]

Sir, I must advise thee to step out of the bath. 'Tis far too dangerous of a temperature to sit in at present. Thou art subject to burn severely.

[shortleash]

( Mika blinks, because first of all, what, second of all, what burn—

Hm. )

... I don't feel pain much, so it's fine.

( That's probably not what point this guy was making, but.

The bubbles and heat start to lessen in intensity, though - possibly because the amount of brain power required to process Urianger's speech is almost enough to distract him from his hunger. Amazing. )

... Are you... a vampire?

( Evidence in favor of Urianger being a vampire from the 1500s:

1) Pointy ears
2) Aged speech
3) Doesn't like the idea of being burned
4) just trust me )

[divineth]

[Okay but not feeling the pain doesn't negate the actual physical damage--

But Urianger's pulled out of his concern by Mika's question.]

A...vampire?

[From the sound of things, he has no idea what that is.]

[shortleash]

( It sure does not negate damage but dw about it,

Huh, that's a first, though - someone who doesn't even know the concept. Kind of refreshing, in a way. )

What are you, then?

[divineth]

An Elezen.

[And since Mikaela didn't elaborate...]

What is a vampire?

[shortleash]

( From Mika's expression, he also doesn't know what that is. Productive convo they're having, )

... A vampire is an immortal, humanoid monster that sucks the blood of other people. They have pointy ears and a lot of them turned immortal a long time ago... so they sometimes talk in a pretty outdated way.

( Not all of them, tbf. But, you know. )

What's an Elezen?

[divineth]

[Ah. Well that sure is a lot to take in!!! Urianger furrows his eyebrows as he searches his knowledge for something he can actually compare vampires to. Voidsent, probably?]

I see... And thou thought I was among their number. Well, I shall confirm that I do not ingest blood in any capacity, nor am I immortal.

Elezen are simply characterized by our pointed ears and height [tall] as well as our keen eyes. We age normally, though we live somewhat longer lives than Hyurs, or...humans, as I have come to compare the term to here.

[leewards]

[If there's one thing Ithaqua is not overly fond of aside from humans, it's heat. He may be a little more tolerant due to his body temperature, but that doesn't mean he likes it.

On the contrary.

Though being more tolerant does mean that he doesn't notice right away that the bath is getting hotter and hotter. Though the little bubbles that look like ducks have his attention, because that's cute and he's intent on catching some of them to study. The problem is that they're bubbles, and of course they pop once he touches them, which is unfortunate because he's not even wearing his claws right now! He's only wearing his mask, he left everything else outside.

Oh well. Ithaqua decides he's sweating a bit too much and he needs to scrub himself clean and fresh-smelling before he can chase more bubbles like a kitten. Only then does he notice that the water is hot, and that he might not be sweating due to his impromptu exercise at all.

He practically leaps out of the bath like a spooked cat, shoulders up to his ears and standing on his toes. Oops, he made a racket. And a mess.]

[shortleash]

( Maybe ur sweating because of your mask, how about that...

The sound startles Mika, who hears it as it happens, as if in slow motion - but he was so lost in his own thoughts he doesn't think about how the water in Ithaqua's wake will make for a splash. And so he's drenched in a way wholly avoidable for someone like him.

wetcat.jpg vs spookedcat.jpg...................... He looks at Ithaqua, unimpressed. )

... Do you mind?

( ... why is he wearing a mask to the baths... )

[leewards]

Aaah? [His hair gets all over his face-- mask, really-- when he turns it to peer, bird-like, at the person still in the bath. Which boggles his mind, really.]

What, you're asking me if I mind, when I should be asking you if you're mindful of what you're sitting in?

[shortleash]

( Mika... pauses, taking notice of the steam and bubbles around him. Hm. As realization settles, the heat seems to lessen some as he reigns himself in... but he's still lobsterish. )

... I don't have a strong sense of pain or temperature. ( He has to really focus to perceive it. ) I'm fine. I'd regenerate even if it did burn me, anyway.

[leewards]

[Ithaqua gives him a stare, and perhaps it would have been more effective if he had his full get-up, not just the mask. Then he shakes his head and decides there's no point in verbally arguing.

He strides forward and slips his hands underneath the man's arms to lift him out of the bath like a cat.]

[shortleash]

( !?!?!?!! IS YANKED HELLO??? )

—What are you doing???

( He's more confused than offended he's. why is this happening )

[leewards]

Saving you from your own ill-advised decisions.

[He still hasn't put the little guy down...]

Healing or not, let's not contaminate the water just in case you start to boil like a bird in a pot.