Unclean

You make your way back across the deck, sheathing your blade as you do. Bella smiles as you approach, looking quite satisfied with herself. A sailor is dragging away the dismembered monster and tossing it overboard, a scene repeated across the ship as the crew cleans up the aftermath of the battle. Fortunately, it appears that no one died, and Cassie is going around and healing those who were injured. Your own injuries are superficial, though your clothes are likely ruined.

You smile at Bella. “So, you’re a woman of many talents, it seems.”

She laughs. “I am! I’m a conjuror, I can summon magical constructs, as long as they have no moving parts. And I was once a caravan guard, a long time ago.”

She glances at Captain Ben, who raises an eyebrow at her. She chuckles. “Oops, I mean, yarr, I be quite talented, lad!”

You roll your eyes, and both of them laugh. Melora walks up to you, looking you up and down. “Well fought, as usual Nicholas. I would hug you, but…”

You look down at yourself. You’re covered in blood, mostly not your own, and your clothes are ragged from the slashing claws of the creatures. “Yeah, I’m a mess. I can’t self clean in the way Ferra and Alex can.”

You glance over at Ferra, who is subtly shifting her body to slough the gore away, leaving her pristine and untouched. None of the monsters could harm her, and she is calm and unbothered as she helps with the clean up. You turn to look for Alex, your other example, and are surprised by a bucketful of water splashing into your face!

You splutter and wipe your eyes, hearing both Melora and Bella laughing. Once you can see again, you find Alex grinning at you, holding an empty bucket. “I’m helping!”

You can’t help but laugh, and a giggling Alex bounces over and kisses your cheek. “Sorry, Nicholas. I’ll make it up to you later!”

She winks at you, and you can’t be mad at the silliness of the beautiful efreet. Meanwhile, a tired looking Cassie comes over. “Oh! You’re hurt too! I’m sorry, I should have checked you first…”

You shake your head. “It’s fine, Cassie. I’m not badly hurt, just a few small cuts. I should get cleaned up anyway.”

Ferra arrives, and speaks up. “I can get a bath ready for you if you want, Nicholas. There’s is a tub in the storage we can use.”

Alex bounces excitedly. “Ooh, I can help! I’ll get it nice and warm for you!”

You chuckle, looking at Captain Ben. “Well, Captain, can you handle things here for a little while? I feel like getting cleaned up.”

Ben looks at the various girls around you, then winks at you. “Aye, lad. Go have your bath, we be fine here. Don’t be worried about us.”

You see Melora whispering to Cassie, and both of them are grinning. Cassie has shifted to various shades of pink, making you curious as to what they’re plotting. You shrug, turning to Ferra and Alex. “Sounds like a plan, then. A bath it is!”