Waiting in the baths

Layla wandered around the pyramid for a few minutes, marvelling at everything. There was something special about seeing all these statues, all these sculptures and paintings and pieces of art, by the firelight. No torches, no electric lights of any kinds, just the natural, flickering flames.

She walked back as far as the throne room, and then walked back down along the length of the wall-paintings, taking in each god she could identify and staring at the pristine condition of each bit of paint, each heiroglyph. It never looked like this.

She didn't want to walk too far; it was disconcertingly easy to get lost in this place, and she knew there was at least one room full of evil gods sealed away in stone, so it was probably better to stay in the places she knew. She walked by the pools again, taking a deep breath of the perfumed air.

There were huge, chiselled pillars in the middle of the baths, two rows stretching off into the distance away from her, with still vast areas of steaming water between. She could feel the condensation on her face, and still smell the scent of spices.

A playful thought crossed her mind. Layla paused, then looked over her shoulder; she was alone here, she knew. There were no other avatars, certainly none that visited this place, and Taweret would be a while, so...

"Are you back yet?" Layla called.

No answer; her voice echoed in the hollows of the chamber. Layla bit her lip, then slipped off her shoe, dipping her bare toes in the water - they were warm, just on the cusp of too-hot but not quite crossing, a bone-deep kind of comfort. It was the strange thing about this place; it was warm, hot even, but never uncomfortably so. Maybe she was just used to Egypt's climate, or maybe it was just yet more weird divine magic.

Well, the baths were meant for avatars, apparently. Part of her was legitimately tempted; it looked and felt comfortable, and there was a strange kind of decadence that she wouldn't mind experiencing for once.

Even if this was technically an Ancient Egyptian site; it was more the sort of place she'd unearth on a dig, than a spa, and she'd practically be skinny dipping there.

Well, not like it wasn't on her bucket list. Layla bit her lip, then crouched, slipping off her other shoe and dipping her hand into the soft water; she could almost feel her skin grow softer just from touching it. Whatever kind of luxury treatment avatars got, she didn't mind it. It figured there had to be some upsides to loyalty to the gods, in ancient times anyway.

She looked behind her again, made sure the cavernous room was empty, and pulled off her shirt. She undid her jeans, slipped them down her legs along with her panties, and left them by the side of the pools.

Then she stepped inside; there were sloping steps along this edge, the first submerging her feet, the next halfway up her skins, the next almost to her knees...

Layla closed her eyes, and let herself fall forwards, the warm, scented water sinking into her as she sank into it, unravelling the worries and tensions and stresses of the day. She could feel muscles unknotting, just feeling better.

She drifted a little way into the baths; they really were the perfect temperature, hot enough that she could feel it, but not so much that it was uncomfortable. She floated easily in it, each drop of the liquid soothing her skin, some all-natural, ancient equivalent to the kind of bath she'd pour if she wanted to pamper herself.

There were no bubbles, nothing but a huge pool of clear water, lit by glass domes below the surface. She floated forwards, then shifted ankle; this bit was just deep enough that her foot barely touched the ground if she stood with her neck breaking the surface. A smile bubbled to her lips, the tips of her hair getting wet as she just stood there.

She rolled over onto her back, legs automatically buoyant enough to come to the surface. Sinking barely felt possible; the baths carried her, massaging the bare skin of her back, her thighs, the back of her head. Her breasts broke the surface, shiny with moisture, a few rivulets trickling off of them, and the thin strip of black hair between her legs was sodden, and she let herself drift. An involuntary laugh escaped her lips.

It was just soothing. She closed her eyes, halfway to drifting off and forgetting where she was, before she remembered her patron would probably be back at some point.

Still, the thought just made her shift angle, leaning forwards until she was standing again, arms outstretched for balance, feet dragging over the smooth stone bottom of the pool. She looked around - she'd made it in so far as to be level with the vast, wide pillars of the chamber. Captivated, Layla looked from side to side.

Okay, maybe this was a silly thing to do, but it hadn't gone wrong yet and something in her was just glad of the luxury. She ran her hands up her own fore-arms, somehow feeling like the baths had helped them already. She could half-imagine the spam ads, 'Dermatologists hate her! Become the avatar of an ancient god!'

Shaking her head, Layla started to drift closer to a pillar. She reached the stone, and pulled herself around it, using the handholds to move a little easier than her half-floating walk. Eventually, she turned to face the entrance-side of the baths and kicked off, floating closer and closer.

When she was a few steps away, she took a breath and closed her eyes, ducking down below the surface of the water for a few seconds, before re-emerging and taking another, deep breath of wonderfully-scented air, beaming to herself. If the water felt that good around her as it was, it just felt right to get some on her face.

She brushed her hair out of her eyes, and reached the side of the pool, shifting and turning until she could sit on a higher step. The stone still felt shockingly smooth, as comfortable as stone could be against her butt; her rather physical lifestyle had left her toned enough that there wasn't much natural cushioning, so to speak.

Still, Layla smiled. Well, it was an experience anyway. If she wasn't going to be an avatar forever, she was glad to have at least some good memories from it.