Hot springs, heck yeah

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Who: York and Delta (encryptedlock) and OPEN!
What: Recovery at the hot springs, with bonus autumn leaves in the water.
When: Afternoon to evening of today (October 1)
Where: Paradisa Onsen! Bet you didn't even know we had one. It's at the border of the forest.
Rating: PG-13 for nudity Kat's bathing suit


Okay, so he didn't really need to go to the hot springs after his fight with Tex last night, but with the air finally starting to get a bit of a chill, it was as good a day as any to watch the leaves fall and try to cut down on the stress. Sure, York had it pretty easy here, all thigns considered, but he had a hunch some of his friends could use the hot springs, too--so he'd sent out a quick location ping to the others with the same tracking system in their armor and, hopefully, at least a few of them would show up. Of course, he'd be fine with anyone else as well, but he knew for a fact they could use the relaxing.

Wrapping a towel around his waist securely, York slipped into the mens' side of the hot spring before making his way over to the mixed area.

Comments

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Tell her she is welcome. "Says you're welcome." York could have brought the Tamagotchi down, he supposed, but it was just as easy to keep Delta's chip in his head where it belonged.

"What was holding you back?" He didn't sound accusatory, just genuinely curious. Surely it wasn't his usual excuse (i.e. laziness) from a Spartan.

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"Nothing, I guess. I never really thought about it at the appropriate times." Such as, in the middle of awkward parently times with Wash and little Carter, or trying to regain some sanity in the Zero Room. Never when she was in a position to sit down and buzz it off, until now.

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He nodded, wondering if that was in fact the reason she knew she was overdue for a psych eval but hadn't gone in for one yet. But this wasn't the right time, either--D, remind me about this later, will you?--so he let it slide for the moment.

"Hard to get used to life when it's not strictly regimented and scheduled every minute of the day, isn't it?"

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"It's a nightmare, is what it is. I try to keep to a schedule, runs in the morning, meals at exact times, but ... it's not the same."

"How long did it take you to settle in?" She sinks a little lower into the water, obviously not used to such luxury and trying to take as much advantage of it as she could.

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York just grinned, stretching out a little himself. "I have Delta, Kat. What makes you think I can't be on a schedule if I need it?"

He laughed a little, though, because that wasn't the real story. "Truth is, I was on my own long enough before I got here I was already off a schedule. Now? Sometimes I sleep in until seven. Eight, maybe."

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She smiles back, but when she replies it's soft. "You're lucky, you know." She envied him, and not even really the fact that he had someone to keep him on track, but someone who understood him. Understood his time and his view on the world.

"Eight? I don't feel so bad about my regiment anymore." She considers giving him a light punch on the arm, but then again, he already looks like he's had his fair share of punches.

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"I know." He knew it every damn day, and he never let Delta forget York knew how lucky he was. "Lucky to have you guys here, too, though."

His grin was a little shameless now. "Well, only once in a while. Like Saturdays."

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"I'm lucky to have you two." She had to admit, they were a calming influence on her, and if it weren't for them she probably would have been half-mad three months into her stay here.

Talking to Washington never seemed to help, but talking to York and Delta? She had to appreciate that.

"Damn those Saturdays." She smirks, though. Maybe, maybe she'd try it once. Hell, maybe she'd go for broke and try to sleep until noon.

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"Thanks, Kat. We appreciate it. Really." Wow, being complimented by a Spartan (a Spartan with dem abs, no less. York wouldn't have believed it--but then, he wouldn't have believed a lot of things before he came to Paradisa.

His smirk only grew at that. "Habits are hard to break, though. You know that. It's easier when the days grow shorter, though." Damn circadian rhythms. Of course, a single, perfectly red maple leaf chooses that moment to fall into the water between them.

"Guess Paradisa thinks it's fall now."

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Kat reaches over to poke at the leaf and prod it across the surface of the hotspring, frowning just a tad. "I need to get the control tower started soon, if it's going to be up before winter. You'd suggested hiring from the town, can they be trusted with our level of technology?"

Yes, leave it to Kat to work during relax times.

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Yeah no, none of that. York gave her a very serious look.

"Nuh-uh. Not while you're on a hot springs. Focus on nature or music or some shit or math, if you're crazy like Delta, not logistics. Relax."

...She wasn't very good at relaxing.

[inmylight-comdr.livejournal.com]

She wasn't very good at relaxing at all, by the slightly stunned look she was giving York. But, she eventually settles back and sighs, somewhat annoyed, but not pursuing her earlier line of thought.

"Fine. No logistics. So, what do you focus on?"

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Right now? Right now he was focusing on a half-naked Spartan sitting in front of him. But (as Delta reminded him internally), that wouldn't work very well for Kat.

"Close your eyes. Listen to the water coming into the pool, wind in the trees. Hell, you can probably hear the leaves falling, at this rate. Feel the steam from the pool, feel how it's different from silky water or sun or shade. Feel the currents and see if you can figure out where the drain is without looking. Smell the water. Try to separate it from the smell of the forest and see if you can tell what's in it. Breathe in slowly, until your lungs are at full capacity, then let it out slowly as well. Feel the tension draining from your muscles.

Then open your eyes and tell me three things you didn't notice before."

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Kat does as he asks, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

York made two mistakes, however. The first was not dictating how long she should close her eyes (it wasn't that long, probably three good long, deep breaths), the second was assuming she'd have any trouble noticing only three things.

"There's a squirrel three feet behind you. The drain is to the southeast. Four other leaves have fallen in our pool. The dirt here is rich in iron. There's definitely calcium in the pool."

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He just laughed. "You're supposed to close your eyes for at least a minute, Kat. At least. Maybe even five."

He wondered how she knew that about the dirt, though. Is that something you can smell?

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A Spartan certainly can. Kat chuckles at him, but then settles back and tries again. This time, she lets it go longer, enough time that she finally gets past the frenzied tactician in her trying to read the entire situation in a moment.

The squirrel had moved a little closer. She could hear it chewing on a nut. The wind wasn't strong, but she could hear it had more force up in the treetops, the way the branches creaked and moaned up above them. Leaves fell. She guessed about a hundred and fifty in their near vicinity.

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Damn, she looked good in that swimsuit.

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She finally eventually relaxes, letting out a long deep sigh and sinking further into the water. She figured she could have fallen asleep right there fairly easily.

She finally drags here eyes back open. "Point taken."

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"See? Much better."

And he was grinning, at least in part because he finally got her to relax--and because she did need that sleep.

"That's what you're supposed to do with hot springs, Kat."

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"Wish they would have included this in my training." Yeah, York, that grin is infectious, too. Kat's looking quite pleased with herself.

"So how often do you come around here? Only when you've got wounds to nurse?"

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"They never cover all the bases in training," he said, also sounding a little amused. As much as he would have liked to see all the Freelancer girls in bathing suits, well, sometimes things had to be left to the imagination.

"Then, and if I'm having any trouble winding down. Any time we have to fight off an attack, I try to make it here about a week after. Otherwise I get stuck in a combat mentality, which is damn hard to maintain when there's nothing to fight."

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Let's just say Kat's not the only one with an impressive set of abs.

She watches him, going quiet and giving a little nod, before looking down and tapping her fingers on the surface of the water. "You can say that again. I'm not so sure I've quite got the knack of it, yet."

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Bow chicka bow wow.

He leaned toward her a little, resting his chin on his hands. "All you gotta do is find something that helps. Me, I find this helps, at least a little."

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She gives a little shrug. "So far? Well, you've seen my armory. The Falcon certainly helped, too. It's not quite enough, thought. It's just distractions. Nothing's getting to the root of the problem."

York was witness to the root, with the room headspaces. Her team being such an intetral part of her, constant firefights ... there it was enough to keep her from dwelling too much on her guilt, but here, everything just compounded with stagnancy. She may be alright for the moment, but she wasn't earlier, and she doubts she will be fore long.

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He nodded, because he did think he could see at least part of the root of the problem.

"You're out of your element. Me, I can adjust to something like this, because even if it wasn't in a magical bullshit castle, at least I had a civilian life once that I could go back to, mentally. Have you ever gone more than twenty-four hours without a commanding officer, since you were a kid?"