Moments

Moment of Blushing

"Are you coming in or not?!" Sera shouted at me.

The boots were the worst part to come undone. It took me nearly an hour to learn how to tie them, only to be told that I'd have to do it again every time I put a pair on. It seemed a fruitless endeavor, but the advisors insisted. Apparently bare feet was a mockery to the Orlesian people, or so Josephine insisted while trying to not stare at my toes. I kept the white, thumbless mittens wadded up in my pocket, uncertain what they had to do with feet. My fumbling knotted the laces, but I wiggled out using my heel and tossed the pair beside the rest of my clothes. Rolling all the armor together into a giant ball of mud, I secured them beneath a tree's roots.

Rather than run head first into the water, I stepped in slowly. The chill nipped at my ankles, unsurprising this far south yet still bracing, but with each step as I immersed deeper, my body adjusted to the biting cold until I stood shoulder deep. Unprepared to dip my face below the frigid surface, I cupped water in my hands to splatter across the mud. A few fancy dabs wasn't going to be enough, so I scrubbed across my cheeks, trying to work it all off.

Sera paddled further to the middle of the lake, her swimming a mix of bear clawing and smacking at the water like it owed her money. "Do all you elfy elves really do this?"

"Yes," I said. Dipping my head back, I tried to dunk my hair without going under. Fully immersing was going to take more courage than facing down the breach or an angry Seeker. "Why is that surprising?"

"Dunno, just never thought about a bunch of naked women splashing about in the woods. Oh wait, now I have," she chuckled, then drew her face like tasting something bitter. "Ugh!"

"What?" I snapped up, my muscles tensing. Danger could be lurking anywhere, even below the lake. Demon fish seemed as likely as anything else these days.

"Elves are too scrawny, like gripping a leather bag stuffed with matchsticks. You want to feel some meat, not bone."

"Oh..." I muttered, swirling the water below my fingers.

She twisted around to face me, the sparkling light shadowing her form, "Wha'? Do you care? Why?"

"I, it's just..."

"You want to be panting on top of me? Knocking around my nobbies?" she asked point blank.

"No, not particularly..." I glanced away. This felt like a trap I paddled into, and one I wasn't going to find an easy way to free myself from.

But Sera snorted, unsurprised by my answer. "So who gives a shit? Way I see it, you should only care if the one whose fun bits you want to touch wants to do the same. Otherwise, it's just a headache."

"That makes a disturbing amount of sense," I stuttered.

"I know," Sera said, smug from my approval. "For what it's worth you're pretty and your tits are nice. Better?"

I chuckled at her acquiescing, "Yes, it is."

"Still got a scrawny ass though," she said before submerging into the lake. I paddled closer towards her, curious to see what she was up to. Despite a clear top to the lake, murkiness lurked below, obscuring Sera. Mud bloomed a few feet below the surface, as if someone was digging into the lake's bottom. Beside me, the water erupted, launching the naked elf high into the air, her arm extended in triumph. Clutched inside it was a rotted log, which she then twirled around still holding aloft. I was about to ask her why, when she paused and pointed towards the shore.

Flipping around I spotted one of the Inquisition soldiers standing close to the edge. He held his hand above his nose, obscuring us from his sight. "Herald, Ma'am, um..."