Having let Junpei go to the men's side of the bath, Naomi eagerly looked forward to this moment of luxuary off the ship.
After taking care to clean and scrub herself thoroughly, she let out a deep sigh as she submerged herself in the warm pool.

"Finally...I missed this."

After her trip to the outer edges of the city with Fuichi, Hoshi returned to the Embassy to collect her thoughts on her day's exploration. It was good fortune that they had a bath to best do that here. Seeing that there was no incidents with sharks or water breathing cobras, Hoshi dropped her caution enough to venture out to the baths.

Just a few moments after Naomi sank in, Hoshi followed after. First there was a pause to check if there was a second person here before she gave the Shiba a small smile and joined in after shedding her towel. "Good afternoon Shiba-san."

"Oh, good afternoon, Bayushi-san." Naomi perked up a bit and gave a proper nod to her fellow crewmate.
"Isn't it nice to have a real bath after all that time on the ship? I swear, I never thought I'd miss warm soaks this much."

Hoshi giggled when this was brought up and was more than ready to agree with a soft nod. "Mm. It's only been a few weeks but it already feels forever since I've had a good hot bath. I was afraid that this would feel strange to me for some reason..."

She presented a bow after a pause to pin her hair up. "...-Ah this one is Bayushi Hoshi, formerly of Ryoko Owari Toshi."

"Shiba Naomi, from Shiawasena Ningyo no Minato*."
She brushed a lock of hair from her face. "I've heard so many tales about Ryoko Owari Toshi. Did you grow up there, if you don't mind me asking?"


(*=Happy Ningyo Port)

Himiko walked into the baths in a surprisingly quiet fashion, nodding to everyone before she slipped in. She chose the path of resting her head on the side of the pool, staring up with a relaxed smile. "Kami, nothin' like a good bath..."

A place with 'Happy' actually attached to it? Cute. "Please to meet you Shiba-san."

Hoshi smiled sheepishly at the question lifted a hand from the water with a negative wave. "-Ah iie...The city is a marvellous, if congested, place to be in but I've only been there since the city returned to Scorpion hands after the past rulership headed by the Unicorn Clan. I grew up in a far humbler place to know everything there...Mm. Even the natives have trouble."

"Good afternoon Yasuki-san." She greeted her with a polite bow.

"Afternoon, Bayushi-san," came the gruff reply from Himiko. "Don't think we've really gotten a chance te talk. Name's Yasuki Himiko, student a' the Kobo Ichi Kai techniques. Pleasure an all that."

"You've already made a reputation for yourself around the armoury Yasuki-san, from what cousin has said of you. This one is Bayushi Hoshi, formerly of Ryoko Owari Toshi, a pleasure as well." She waded one arm in the water, watching the steam rise from it. "I wonder how of the ship would come running out once they heard there was a hot bath here...Is it better to tempt them or keep this to ourselves?"

"A reputation, eh? Hopefully no one's sayin' I'm loose or anythin' like that. Hate te have te toss someone off the boat." She laughed for a moment, then looked back to the Bayushi. "Meh, let 'em find out on their own."

Naomi nodded to Himiko as she joined them.
"I think the ones still onboard know they're giving up this... I can understand why some of them don't want to leave the ship though. It's a strange land and all."

"Does anyone have a reason to say so Yasuki-san?" Hoshi gave Himiko an amused look and shook her head. "-Ah iie, nothing like that. Quite the opposite really. More to the fact that you actually can toss someone off the boat."

She nodded thoughtfully at Naomi's point. "Ah, a good reason then. There's very little we can trust about this place beyond these walls. Samurai are needed both here and there though. We can appreciate that more than a few are watching the ship while we're watching the city."

Himiko laughed. "I ain't done nothin' like it, no, but some people like te spread rumors and such." There was then a grin. "Good te hear. Who knows, maybe one of these days we'll get lucky and I'll be able te do just that."

Himiko nodded to Naomi. "Fair enough. The people here are frickin' weird."

"It's gaudy, and... the way the poor here stares at one, I don't know if I would dare wear that much jewelry, to be honest. Everyone just looks at you with hunger, I feel..."

Naomi submerged herself further into the water until it nearly reach her chin.

"And I can't even punch anyone in the face when they touch me in the streets!" Himiko blurted out with no small hint of annoyance. "Kami, this place is insane."

"..."

Uneasy cough.

"At least the embassy is a reminder of home..."

Hoshi pressed a soaked cloth on her neck to soothe her aches there, taking a moment to quiet listen to the two other women. "We can't say here all day unfortunately. If I see another one of those animals with the wings on its head, it'll be too soon..But we won't be here too long at least." We may even be gone soon. "It'll be memorable here at least."

"Wings on its head?" Naomi tilted her head, curiosity written all over her face. "What manner of creature is this?"

"Mm." Hoshi pursed a lip as she tried to remember it in her head, it wasn't exactly forgettable. "The large grey skinned animals they seem to have around the city, almost as large as a small house. They had featherless wings on its head, among other things...like large canines and a long nose...thing. I doubt it can do much flying being that big though."