Shan drifted in and out of sleep, the ebb and flow of his consciousness mirroring the serene silence of the room. Zan, his roommate, was on duty, and it was his absence that allowed the rare tranquility. Today, Shan had the day off, and he had made plans to spend it exploring the local area. But first, he needed more sleep. The seawater bath he’d taken last week soothed his inflamed skin but he still heard every move Zan made. Fortu-nately, with his skin no longer stinging, the bedding now felt sumptuously comfortable, cradling him towards a deep slumber. Suddenly, a disruptive knock at the door interrupted his rest. “Lady Loka said you need to come to the healing rooms,” a youthful voice of a page called through the wooden barrier. Shan groaned internally. Now what? he pondered irritably as he reluctantly peeled back the comforting covers. He quickly dressed, his movements still carrying the lethargy of interrupted sleep, and made his way across the quiet house to where Loka was waiting. Upon arrival, he noted Loka’s expression - a cross mixture of concern and mild annoyance. “I thought I told you to come in on your day off to soak,” Loka admonished, her brow creased in a frown. “I’m fine,” Shan asserted defensively, attempting to brush off what he presumed to be undue worry. However, Loka was having none of it. “No, you’re not,” she retorted firmly. “You should be bathing in seawater every week. What you’re doing is not enough – a mere sponge-off or simply drenching your clothes is not going to keep your skin healthy. By extending the duration between proper soaks, you’re causing damage that could be avoided.” “I’ve never been in seawater weekly,” Shan recalled his upbringing; his foster parents had ensured he bathed in the ocean only once a month, the rest relegated to a simple bathtub at home. “I can tell,” Loka responded, her tone leaving no room for argument. “From now on, you will start your day off with a soak in here, or I will have no choice but to inform Trema of your neglect. Now, get into the tub.” “But I haven’t eaten anything yet—I was planning to sleep in today,” Shan pro-tested weakly. Loka’s expression turned into a frown, but it was not without empathy. “I’ll fetch you something to eat while you’re in there.” She extended a folded piece of fabric to-wards him. “And you can wear these if modesty concerns you.” Shan accepted the item, examining it—a pair of rudimentary shorts fashioned from what seemed to be trousers with the legs trimmed off. He noted that they were simi-lar to sleepwear he had observed others wearing: functional, certainly, but offering only marginally more coverage than a scanty washcloth. With a gesture of respect, Loka turned away to afford him privacy as he changed. It was only once the sound of water splashing reached her ears that she permitted herself to glance back. Water enveloped him as Shan removed his earplugs just before sinking into the tub’s depths. As he settled into the soothing embrace of the water, he wondered why Lo-ka hadn’t seized the opportunity to procure his meal while he was occupied with chang-ing. He kept the query to himself. True to her word, Loka returned with sustenance. As they conversed and ate to-gether, Shan felt a sense of ease that complimented the physical relief of the soak. After the meal was concluded, he reclined, letting the water support his weight as Loka again covered the top of the tub. There, encased in the serene darkness and tranquil waters, Shan resumed the rest that Loka had earlier disrupted. #fantasy, #magic, #dragons, #hiddenlands