Tisis

Decency (N)

Log Entry 25

The nerve of that Garkla forsaken fool! Does he know nothing of boundaries?
Or privacy? Or decency?
But I am getting ahead of myself.

We recently managed to establish a crude bathroom by building a small scale aqueduct rerouting some of the local water into a hot cavern, which is likely heated by a subterranean magma chamber or possibly a hot spring...I am most certainly not going to drill into the rock to find out though.

To be perfectly honest, I do worry that we are now potentially living above a noticeably close chamber full with molten rocks, however the vegetation and the structure of the walls tell me, that the last eruption seems to have been many years ago, even though it is impossible to really tell without any advanced equipment.

However we haven't had any sign of Earthquakes since landing, there is no steam or whatever emerging anywhere within the cone, at least not as far as we can tell, so I think we should be safe.
As safe as we'll ever be, at least.

But I stray...after establishing that the water temperature is okay for bathing and will not scald us when we enter the water we lead into the room, we managed to find a few herbs with soap like qualities.
Well, more like Zero found them.
Just popped up in the room with the herbs in his mouth.

I swear, that beast is far more intelligent than it lets on.
Or maybe just more than I give it credit for, I don't know...I would do well to stay wary of it though, because, as I stated in a previous log, an underestimated intelligent beast may well be more dangerous than a dumb one.
What happened with the v...humans is testament to this truth.

The herbs have made cleaning far easier and actually a lot more enjoyable, so we've decided to cultivate them in a separate section of the garden we have been building.

But to get back to my initial statement, and the reason why I am composing this log in the first place, because I really need to get this off my mind and the only person I could potentially talk with is the very person causing the misery in the first place!

So I am sitting in the tub, letting the fragrance and the hot water sink in and melt away the stress of the past day, when Sirus suddenly comes walking in.

Naturally, I immediately submerged myself beneath the surface so only my head would show, as the rules of decency demand.
And I actually might have forgiven him for walking in on me, because we failed to install a proper door to tell that the bath is occupied.

However instead of taking notice, apologizing and leaving, he says 'Oh, you're here? Please move over a little, I need to wash off this blood. The last hunt's been a bit messy.' and starts undressing!

What happened after that is a little lost to the heat of the moment, but I believe I made use of quite a few choice words...at the very least, I clearly remember the shocked expression of Sirus, when I essentially screamed him out.

And to top it all off, the same evening he actually asks, whatever my problem was.

The nerve!

"Are you okay?" Sirus asks after knocking against the rock wall of the small cavern I fled to to vent my frustration.

"Sort of, yeah...sorry to run out on you like that...I...I just need a moment to collect myself. I...I'll come back to the fire in a moment."

Sirus nods and heads back, leaving me to the silence of the dusk.

I leave the cavern and look up to the burning red skies over Tisis and let out a long and big sigh.

'Okay, think Nym...he did not do it to piss me off, otherwise he'd have put up that smug face of his...no, he seemed genuinely surprised by my reaction.'

I mull over the question and eventually come back to the way he grew up.

That's right. He's a human. He didn't grow up like I did, with private bathrooms or bedrooms...he might actually have no idea about decency.

I decide to confront him about it.
After all, it's the only way to be sure.

I head back over to the fire, where Sirus is poking around in the embers at the edge of the flame, while Zero had curled himself up next to him, sleeping soundly.

I sit down, look him straight into the face and ask, "Sirus, do you know why I blew up at you earlier?"
Sirus looks at me with a serious expression and replies, "Yeah, about that...I've been doing some thinking. You people don't usually bathe together, do you?"

"...no. No, we do not. While bathing, we...it is a very important time of peace, quiet and reflection for us. We become one with the waters of Asmodeus in spirit and..."
"A simple 'No' is enough, Nym. And in that case, I am sorry. I am just so used to cleaning myself together with everyone else, I...kinda fell back into the habit. I hope you can forgive me."
"You...cleaned yourself together with the females?"
"If you only have about 10 minutes of water to get yourself cleaned up with, you make do, so yeah. We did. I mean sure, there was that separating wall your people installed, but if there was an imbalance in the number on a shift...let's say, it wasn't exactly rare for us to have female company during cleaning period. Sometimes voluntarily instead of by necessity."

"Is that so...so...the female physique is no stranger to you, is it?"
"If you're asking whether I've seen girls naked before, then yes, I did. If you're asking me whether it arouses me, then no, it does not...it just became a too common sight."

He then puts on that smug face of his and replies, "Besides, speaking of your 'physique'...in that regard, you might as well be a guy for me, flat as you are."

I don't know how to react to that.
I'm pretty sure that was supposed to an insult, though not one I can relate to.
After all, I'm not a mammal like he is. As such it is perfectly natural for me and my people to not have nursing sacks like the human females have.

He knows that...doesn't he?
Was that really supposed to insult me? Or make me laugh? Comfort me? Ease my worries about what he might do to me?

Seriously, sometimes I really don't know how to handle that guy.