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 Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:36 am
Cadassi wiped a tear off of his face and watched as it feel down into his cup of ale. He had come to big city to try and forget. Try to erase his mind of the purple finned vixen who had most thoroughly seduced him and tossed him to the curve.
He looked around at the squalor surroundings of the first pub he had entered. The dirt and filth seemed reminiscent of his wounded heart. The stale and somewhat soured ale seemed to reflect his feelings. The large barmaid who kept rubbing his fin and murmuring sweet nothings whilst trying to pick pocket him was a bit of a downer. So he decided to leave.
Tossing a coin at the bartender, he unwound the fair ladies arms from his body and slipped out tbe door. He wasn't even decently drunk. That place had been a s**t hole to be quite honest. And his mood had only taken a sour edge and added it to his already bourgeoning depression.
So he wandered the streets. He stopped at a few shops. Stared in a few windows. Contemplated the meaning of the life. The usual things a depressed man did after a break up.
The streets were busy in the afternoon glow of the day. Venders and buyers calling out. The neighborhood children playing. The usual sight for a city of it's size. They weren't real friendly with him, but then neither was he.
He mosied along. He minded his own business. That was just what he was used to doing. He didnt even recognize the shop front he had stopped in front of but it certainly looked better than where he had been. The shop front was even clean and ordely, for which he let a small hum of thanks for. Surely this was a better place to waste coin then that awful pub had been.
He pushed open the door and entered.
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 12:11 am
 Inside the City spa, the host straightened up the front desk, re-lit one of the scented candles that had gone out, then checked the appointment book for what had to be the third time that hour. A glance towards the front door's window confirmed the time of day by the warm hued glow of the setting sun. Unlikely they would see many more walk-ins this late in the day. Most residents would be finishing their shopping and errands and heading home for dinner. The spa may see a few more clients today, but it would likely only be those with appointments. It looked to be a slow evening then, if that was any indication.
The soft tinkling of a bell interrupted Naveed's thoughts as the door was pushed open. 'Perhaps not too quiet,' the demon thought, immediately putting on a welcoming smile. He didn't recognize the stranger at the door, but he had to admit he didn't know every Pae who came to the spa. Okay, maybe most of them.
"Hello and good evening, sir! How may I help you? Did you have an appointment?" A quick look at the open ledger on the desk showed no one scheduled for this time. Hmm. Hurriedly, Naveed continued without much hesitation. "If not, that's perfectly alright, sir. We still have some openings left for today. I'll be your host today. My name is Naveed. Just let me know how the City Bathing Houses and Spa can be of service to you."
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:45 am
Cadassi paused midstep at the bright and cheerful voice assaulting him. He also paused cause he was trying to figure out how in the hell he had wound up at a bath house. Dear lord, how drunk was he? He didn't feel that drunk but one never knew with ale.... 'Get it together....' he thought and plastered a grin on his face. He wasn't even real sure what kind of grin, just that he was trying to be friendly back.
Eyes darting around the place, he apologized. "No. i'm sorry. I didn't know appointments were required. I wasn't real sure what kind of store this was. Umm... You have a nice store front?" He offered ith a gesture out front. He hoped he didn't look as lost as he felt. He had absolutely no clue what a bath house was.
His eyes glanced over at the demon running the shop and he mentally shrugged. He seemed nice enough. He was purple. Just like her....though in different shades. He was warmer. Brighter. But he didn't have any fins. Which meant he was safe.
Maybe he might stay awhile and find out what a spa was. It couldnt hurt...Nothing could hurt worse than he already did. Besides, lord knew he needed some kind of friendly interaction that didn't wind up with him being robbed or stabbed or molested.
"You mentioned walk -ins being welcome?" he asked, shuffling toward the desk.
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:26 pm
Naveed chuckled softly at the hesitant response from the new arrival. "Why, thank you, sir. I'm quite fond of our little shop myself." He gave only a warm smile, though he had noted the reaction spoke to surprise and confusion. Perhaps he hadn't meant to come here. Had he come in really not knowing what sort of shop he was stepping into? Well, not unheard of, of course. They'd get a curious type once in a while just peeking in to see what this particular store front led to. Either way, the poor fellow seemed a bit at a loss, if not somewhat jumpy, so Naveed adjusted his greeting to match. Didn't want to scare the poor fellow off.
"Appointments are not required, no. Some of our clients just have very tight schedules, so an appointment ensures that they will be able to get in, be taken care of, and on their way again to another engagement. Walk-ins are always welcome and we'll do our best to fit them in and provide service as promptly as possible." As the other entered the shop fully and stepped forward, the door closed to block out the late afternoon sun filtering inside. Only thanks to years of practiced control of his expression was Naveed able to keep the sudden shock from showing. What sort of Pae'il...?!?
No wings.
That was the immediate thought and only after a moment where his heart may have possibly skipped a beat, Naveed managed to force his observatory skills to move on. He relaxed somewhat seeing the demon's tail...a demon then...but no wings? Instead, he noticed as the stranger moved closer, he had only a single fin-like appendage on his back. Had something happened to his wings? And what was that? Keep it together, Naveed. Your spa isn't being invaded by Isle heretics. Calm down.
All through this mental journey, the demon had kept a warm smile and a relaxed stance leaning slightly on the counter. "I hope it would not be presumptuous of me to assume, but if you're not familiar with our shop or practices, would it be safe to guess that you're a visitor to the City?" Keeping a congenial tone, Naveed wondered if the answer might provide him any further clues about his strange guest. Still, if he was just a demon and something had happened to his wings...if he was from the Isle, there was no telling what kinds of awful things could have happened to the poor dear down there. Naveed. Back to the job, Naveed.
"I'd be happy to tell you more about our services, if you would like. I have no appointments at the moment, so I have plenty of time for questions." Naveed rested one arm on the counter, propping himself up on the other elbow. Once he pushed aside his initial shock, Naveed's normal instincts kicked in, reading the tiny details of the stranger's movement, his expressions, little nuances many would ignore. Though he had just met him and didn't even know his name yet, Naveed could tell that something...something other than blundering blindly into a bath house unaware...was bothering the poor fellow. It was simply in his nature to try to help.
"We have all the normal services of a bath house, including steam rooms and showers. For something a bit more luxurious, we can draw you a hot bath with any variety of scented oils or moisturizers." Just in time, Naveed's glance towards the blue Pae's bald head stopped him from offering a shampoo. Perhaps not. Heh. "In addition to these basic services, however, our spa allows us to add a few more luxuries to the mix, including but not limited to massage, skin moisturizing, manicures, pedicures, the works."
Naveed paused in rambling off the lists of services to take a cursory glance once more at his new guest. Perhaps he should slow down. Wouldn't do to overwhelm the poor darling. With a disarming smile, he raised a hand. "Of course, if that's all too much to take in at once, you could always just tell me a bit about yourself, how you're feeling, and I could make a suggestion instead?" Though it sometimes took a bit more time to get to know a guest, Naveed prided himself on being able to deliver what services a customer needed, not just what they asked for.
It was one of many reasons he continued to be one of the most requested hosts in the spa.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 12:09 pm
Cadassi browsed while Naveed chattered. He read the labels on the oils. Eyed the plush furniture. Noticed the serene surroundings. Yes. This is where he needed to be. The calm and quiet would help him clear his mind. Might even help him forget.
He turned toward the cashier dude and shrugged at his question. "Actually I live outside of town. Don't come here very often." He turned and sat briefly on the edge of an overstuffed chair and listened to Naveed rattle off the lists of services. He managed pretty good until he came to mani/pedi options. Frowning a bit, he looked at the candles and shifted in his seat.
He had wandered into a pansy palace. That was the only explanation. Who else in their roght mind would pay to be fussed over. Then again, it seemed to be a thriving business. And if word got out, he could quite happily say he was drunk. And it would be believable. Or would it...?
His eyes narrowed in on the juniper oil as he continued hia inner battle a for a few minutes before realizing the purple fellow was still waiting for an answer. Crap. What was the question? Oh yeah.
Cadassi took a deep breath and let it all loose. "Well. I am.... I guess you say i'm going through a midlife crisis....My girlfriend left me. Which may or may not be a good thing. At least now i don't have to worry about wether she wants to kill me or kiss me." He paused to rub his stubble before continuing. " My son wears dresses and chases Gods instead of men. Or women. Which I don't mind, but my word..... the way other people treat him is ridiculous. I guess he got it honestly, after watching me fend for my life for years with that purple temptress but still. He should be a little more normal, no?" He paused, turning slightly wet eyes toward Naveed as he waited 2.8 seconds for an answer before continuing.
"But then again. I'm not all whole myself. I mean, i let that silver tongued snake into my life and kept her there and you just have to wonder why I would tolerate such....insanity. But the rush of surviving our encounters was exhilarating, i guess. I don't know. I just want it to stop hurting, man." He trailed off with a slight sniffle.
Crossing his arms over his aching his chest he asked "You got a treatment for that?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 4:36 pm
Naveed was quiet for a few moments following the odd Pae's flood of personal information. Well, he'd been expecting something more like 'oh my skin's been a bit dry with the change in weather' or 'I've had an ache in my shoulders' when he asked how the other was feeling. He hadn't quite expected the other to open up with such personal information with so little prompting. And how much of that was literal and how much was figurative?
Surely he didn't really have a woman out to kill him; though he was sure it felt like that in the figurative sense right now. Matters of the heart could be quite heavy and emotional pain could feel almost physical. Poor fellow. It sounded like he had a lot weighing on his shoulders right now and Naveed's heart went out to him. Allowing himself a sympathetic frown, Naveed shook his head and moved around the counter towards the other demon. "I can suggest treatments, yes, but I'm afraid there is no easy cure for such ailments. Still, we can give it a try, see if something helps, hmm?" Realizing he had yet to catch the other's name, he started towards a drawn curtain, then turned back and paused. "If you'd like to follow me, Mr...?" He drew out the question, waiting for a name before leading the way into the hallway beyond.
The halls were lined with soft lanterns and sprigs of lavender placed strategically to leave a lingering, faint relaxing scent to calm incoming guests. The pair would pass by several other rooms, some doors closed, some open revealing areas for massage, salons, even full showers. Naveed lead the way to one of the closed doors, opening it and gesturing for the other to follow him inside. Inside, Naveed moved immediately to the large marble bath with gleaming coppery fixtures to begin running water. Candles lit the room, warmly but dimly, and there were clean towels and fluffy robes folded up on a nearby set of shelves. As Naveed started to fill the tub, he commented conversationally, "I always find a hot bath a good way to start relaxing at the end of the day."
Lavender and rose oil were added to the rising hot water before Naveed shut off the tap. He wasn't a psychologist, though he prided himself on his ability to read people. He wasn't sure he had much experience either in the areas troubling his poor guest either. However, he was a pretty good listener and sometimes an outside viewpoint did wonders. Gesturing to the bath, he stepped back to clear the way. "All of that you said out front...did you want to talk about any of that? Not necessary, of course, if you don't want to. No pressure. A quiet bath could do wonders on its own. Just...offering a willing ear."
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:19 am
Cadassi nodded his head, his misfortunes slipping a bit to trail down his face. "I was afraid you'd say that... he muttered, wiping the salty expressions of woe off his face.
Good God, he was bawling. Like a little girl. Stupid ale. He needed to keep it together. Or maybe he just needed to follow the purple dude and let him see if he could help.
Getting up from his seat, he made to follow Naveed. Only to stop and give Naveen a shy smile. It had been a while since anyone had cared for his name. "Cadassi. Means 'to have something of the sea'." He offered, a small gesture toward his back and the gills on his face. "It's fitting, no? " He chuckled only to remember his manners. "It's nice to meet you." He stuck his hand out for a shake. Then he continued on. Cadassi breathed in the lavender and other scents and promptly sneezed. It was nice though, in a slightly girly way.
Looking this way and that, he watched as the doors passed by, taking note of how many he passed and the combination of them out of mere habit. He actually paid little attention to what was in the rooms. Just planned his escape route out, should anything go wrong. When he realized what he was doing he chastised himself and focused on the mauve demon in front of him.
When he entered the room, he looked around, taking note of the candles and the large tub. Huh. Duh. Bathhouse. So basically a fancy place to bathe?'He internally shrugged. Didn't matter to him. He was here. Enough said.
He snorted at his own drunken stupidity and watched Naveed start the water, shifting from foot to foot with nerves. He wasn't real used to some one being so nice. Then again, he supposed he was paying for this niceness. But it didn't mean he didn't enjoy it all the same.
"Yes. I imagine the steam and warmth comfort even the coldest of hearts." He joked. He was a bit unused to dealing with friendly people. It was probably obvious with the way the demon shrunk away when Naveed talked sometimes. Maybe he really was broken.
The offer to talk was one that Cadassi surprisingly needed. It amazed him that someone would even offer, really. Most people seemed uneasy when they learned that he had been dating a naiad. Nevermind, a psychotic one.
He nodded and looked around again. Mainly to try and calm his nerves and his tear ducts. "That would be amazing. Most people just write me off as emotionally distressed. And having no friends outside of your own son can be a bit of downing realization..."
Cadassi slowly stepped forward and placed his hands on the side of the tub to peer into the water. Whatever that young man had put in the water made it smell like heaven. He slowly entered and gave a huge sigh of relief as the hot water instantly lulled him into a state of ecstasy. Screwing telling people he was drunk. This was the best experience of his life.
Turning toward Naveed, he smiled again, this one real. "Thank you. " He said, tears coming to his eyes yet again. "It's been so long since someone was actually nice to me...." He sighed again and sunk a little deeper in the water.
Shaking the morose off, he turned back toward Naveed and gave another sad smile. "What would you like to know about my forbidden love with Leitha? How it was wrong and i knew that it was always going to end, just not when? Or how I stupidly held on to the one thing that had me happy in years? Even though I couldn't go out into the depths of the water with her, I still swam with her and I still visited the shore every spare moment I had in the utmost optimistic hopes that she would realize how much i loved her?" Cadassi paused and bit his lip, his eyes glazing over a bit so that he wasn't really looking at Naveed, even though his eyes were there.
"That despite every sign from the universe and even Leitha herself ,that what we had was wrong? I still struggled to defy it? I still fought for it?" Caddassi took a shaking breath and turned to stare at his hands as they moved under the water. He ignored the drip drop noises of a few straggling tears as they fell into that same water.
"Or maybe how, despite even when I saw everything that I knew was wrong, I only chose to see the good. Even when she broke me, time and time again with her scaley hands, she always made it better by loving me right again. With those exact same yet still brutal hands. That's what caused me to hold on so long. You know? The good moments exceeded the bad. Always. " He paused to wipe a wet hand across the melancholy trailing down his cheeks but didn't really register them. It was as though he was used to some of his sorrow leaking. In fact, he was. He had had many nights with which to ponder his own hearts demise.
He turned back to Naveed and gave a him an anguished smile. "Everyone told me dating a fish would only send me away in pain. I just didn't know it would ever be this much pain. I figured it would be like the rest, and be a subtle thorn to my heart. Easily removed. And easily remedied by the next love. " Cadassi gave an ironic sort of chuckle and turned back to his bathwater and his hands.
"If only I had known that when she left, she would take my heart with her. And now I'm left with nothing beating inside my chest. " the last part of his sentence whispered out amongst the gentle waves he made with his fisted hands under the water.
He finally gave in and cried. Weeped, would be a more accurate term. Either way, his body wracked with the fullest form of his own despair. Shoulders shaking, breath hissing out between his parted lips in silent wail, he mourned a strange homicidal naiad and his own, now unrequited, love. His wet hands came up to cover his face and his arms brought in to cover his aching chest as he rocked forward and back a bit. His knees found their way against his arms until he was simply a ball curled around the source of his pain; his heart. It was as though he had done this many times before.
He had, in truth. This was just another night. Just like all the other times he had broken down or been completely overwhelmed by how much his feelings weren't changing. Each time, he had been destroyed by how much of a hole this particular purple fish had left him with. The thoughts of how she had broken him; to the point that he didn't think he would ever recover. After each shattering of his very soul, he had always forced himself back together. Glued his pieces in whatever way he could, and carried on until the next time he broke.
"How do you recover from having your heart stolen?" He asked, his voice shaking with wretchedness and woe.
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