Running a bath

Quinara gives a languid stretch, lifting her arms above her head; as she does this her nose wrinkles. She cranes her neck to give a quick sniff of her pit, "yeah I definitely need a wash" she admits, "you too runt when was the last time you had a bath?" Quinara asks, I think back sure during my recovery my wound was cleaned and Quinara and I had sponged ourselves down with buckets of soapy water that Sylvie had provided as we couldn't fit in their bathtubs. But an actual bath, it had been a while, "you're right, do you want to go first or should I?" I ask Quinara as I stand up from the armchair, "oh we're not taking turns, you're joining me runt. Now strip" I comply of course pulling my shirt over my head, "ok sure but why?" I ask now I wasn't about to turn down the offer but I was curious as to why we weren't taking turns. "You're injured runt, what if you slip in the tub and tear your stitches?" She explains "it's just safer and more practical for us to bathe together" her reasoning was solid but I could see in her eyes that this wasn't about my safety.

I strip down bare, while Quinara begins to heat the water for our bath, I enter our bathroom where Quinara had the brazier below the drum heating our bathwater. The room was plain with walls painted white a large brass tub dominated the room. It dispelled any thoughts I had of the physical difficulty of sharing a bath with someone who is nearly seven foot tall, as the huge metal bowl looked like we could both fit inside it comfortably. We would certainly be touching as it wasn't excessively huge but at least I wouldn't have Quinara's feet pressed into my head as we would have if we tried to squeeze into a regular sized tub.

The water begins to whistle signalling that it was done and Quinara turns the spigot to allow the boiling water into the tub. "Ooh look runt they left us some bath oils" Quinara says as she looks to a hamper in the corner of the room, she eagerly begins looking through the bottles. This was a surprise, Quinara rarely ever expressed any desire for anything like that, "you never struck me as someone who would be this excited over bath oils" I remark, she turns to me "why because I'm an orc?" She asks studying me, "no actually just it seemed very, you know girly and you're all fights not flowers" I say honestly. Quinara smiles down at me clearly pleased that this was a personality assessment rather than stereotyping, "you're not wrong runt but can a girl not like some pampering every now and then?" She winks at me and resumes looking through the bath oils, "I suppose you're right... So what are you thinking?" I ask as I walk to her side to have a look myself, "hmm I'm torn, we got pine woods or lemon scented that I'm stuck between. Which would you pick runt?" She asks wanting my opinion, "I'm probably a bad judge I don't actually know what lemon smells like" I admit, lemons were a fruit of the south as the harsh northern climate didn't allow for the trees to grow. "Actually I've never even tried a lemon... or seen one outside of paintings" I continue.

Quinara grabs the bottle filled with a vibrant yellow oil "Lemon it is" she announces, "w-wait what?" I stammer, "if you've never smelt it then it's a new experience for you and that's good enough for me... We also will have to get you to try a lemon at some point too, you'll love them Runt they're so sweet and delicious" Quinara explains, I smile back "I'd like that". Quinara pours the oil into the filling bathtub and gives it a swirl with her hand to disperse it, the citrus notes almost instantly hit my nose and I experience lemon for the first time. "Oh wow that smells good" I say approvingly, it honestly made me all the more excited to actually try a lemon.

With the bath filled with foamy bubbles and hot water and the room filled with an exotic fruity scent Quinara strips down too peeling off her clothes. I try to look away giving her some modesty but I can't help but sneak peaks at her athletic and statuesque body, Quinara notices my eyes wandering and her lips curl into a soft smile but she says nothing. Once naked she carefully steps into the tub and settles down in the soapy water, "ahh that's good" she sighs in relief at submerging her lower body. "You gonna join me runt or what?" She teases, I walk to the tub "o-of course" I stammer. I go to climb in but Quinara just puts her hands under my arms and lifts me effortlessly into the tub "gods she's so strong" I think to myself as she gently lowers me into the water. "Didn't want you straining yourself climbing in, especially with a sore leg" she purrs and she places me opposite her, I am sat on her knees facing her. Quinara unties her braid and allows her long hair to be free, "your hairs getting long too runt" she says noticing my fiery ginger hair was now down to cheeks, "yeah it is..." I run a hand through my hair "this is the longest it's ever been" I say, "it suits you runt, you have nice hair" she says to me. I blush at her compliment "though I'll probably have to teach you to braid it if it gets any longer" she states, "you'd teach me?" Quinara laughs "of course, it's practical as you don't want hair flying in your face in a fight, and well you aren't cutting your hair anytime soon" she says knowingly. She was reading me like a book, she told me I suited long hair so I had now fully committed to the idea of having long hair.