The Non-Human Society

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty One - Renn - Spoils

      Slowly walking down the stairs, I sighed as I rubbed my throbbing left arm.

Brom hadn't broken it, I don't think... but it definitely hurt. I shouldn't have tried to block his kick with it. I should have ducked instead.

Reaching the hallway, I studied the colorful lamps I walked past.

Why was this so disheartening? Being beaten by Brom wasn't... that surprising. He was a seasoned warrior, who had also been trained by Vim... yet...

"Yet I wanted to win," I whispered the truth.

Forget winning, I hadn't a chance. The pain in my left arm told me that even if I had been willing to sacrifice something... like an entire arm, or leg, it still wouldn't be enough.

Brom was just too skilled. Too apt. Too aware. And I was...

Well... I wasn't sure what was wrong with me.

I was stronger. Faster. My reflexes, now after sparing enough times with him, I've realized were superior too. Brom sometimes panicked because of how fast I reacted. When he did, I got hurt... but that wasn't his fault. He simply defended himself from a worse mistake.

My arm had been one of those moments. He hadn't been able to stop his kick in time. It hadn't really been his fault.

The worst part was it hadn't gotten me any closer. I had planned to take his kick and reach him with my sword. All it had done was send me flying across the roof.

Reaching my room, I slowly opened the door and stepped into it.

Unlike the first two times, I didn't immediately fall to the ground and start crying. Though I did let my eyes become watery as I closed the door behind me and put my sword up against my desk.

Walking around the easel that had the almost finished painting, I groaned at myself. I was tired. I hurt. I wanted to sleep.

But I couldn't. I was dirty. I had rolled around on the roof, and had worked in the storage depot today. My pants were covered in weird gunk thanks to one of the boxes I had moved being so filthy.

I needed a bath. Not just to clean myself, but the idea of sitting for a while in hot water sounded good.

Even if taking a bath, alone, after losing a spar against Brom was so insulting.

Sluggishly walking to the bathroom, I pushed aside the sliding door that hid it and walked over to the large hole in the floor.

In the center of the bathroom was a circular recess. The bathtub. It was big enough, and deep enough, that I could lay down in it flat and still have room to spare. There were two little pipes that water poured in from, one poured hot water and the other had cold.

Turning the little knob that let the tub fill with hot water, I realized I had forgotten to put the plug bag.

Stepping into the tub, I flinched. My hip had hurt. Had I bruised it too? Maybe during the fall from the kick.

As the tub filled with hot water, I went to both undress and ready the nightgown I was going to wear to sleep. I knew there was a dinner being made, and that soon it would be available... but I wasn't in the mood to eat. Nor to eat with everyone else.

Stupid as it was... I wanted to mope.

"Foolish," I chastised myself as I undressed.

Tossing my dirty clothes into a hamper, I went back into the bathroom. The hot water was... actually hot. The room was already steamy. The large full sized mirror in one of the corners had already fogged over.