As soon as they got to the showers, Esthrielle put on a face so sour it could have played substitute for lemon juice. She pulled her women aside in the changing area, even though no one was nearby - the showers were sparsely populated at the moment, and no one would be near to listen in on a spoken conversation. In theory.

"What the fuck do you mean we need to leave? Huh? What do you fucking mean, 'we aren't made for this place'? We get three meals a day! A soft bed to sleep on! Clothes washed and showers provided! Hell, they let us charge our phones! The convent may as well be a hotel stay, given where we've been living!" Esthrielle's scowl was the edge of a woodcutter's axe, brutal and made for hewing protest like timber. Esper James was, admittedly, cowed - she'd already pissed off Est and Purity not too long ago, and so seeing the Easterner upset...

Well, it made her feel inclined to back down, despite whatever she may have been feeling. Purity, however, was not so easily bowed; she was a lone oak with bark of steel before Est's lumberjack indignance, dulling her blade and the potency of her rhetoric. "Well, Est, think about it this way. Luca's gone back to Italy. The mother abbess is... well, a lot of things, but I'd say she's 'tolerant at best' when it comes to us."

Purity gained momentum as she spoke, dialogue pouring forth with a confidence that she hadn't really shown in a while - the confidence of a woman who knew how to use her words as a weapon, and how to get what she wanted. What she wanted, apparently, wasn't to be found within the walls of the convent. Esper James clung to the pinkette as she continued her argument, the blonde finding comfort in her tallest girlfriend's support.

"And more than that, testing is done, pretty much. All they do nowadays is run normal diagnostics, make sure EJ's body is doing what's expected of it. Eventually? I wouldn't be surprised if the abbess found a reason to kick us out, say they didn't need us anymore. Luca's not here to stop her. So? We leave of our own volition, while we still have the chance."

Esthrielle's indignance became outright disbelief at what she was hearing - but she didn't immediately offer a rebuttal. Purity, for her part, put on a smug, cocksure expression that could only be described as a look of superiority. This did nothing to quell Esthrielle's anger, of course - and the longer she considered it, the more riled up she became, until finally an outburst poured forth.

"So we go back out on the streets, hide away in some abandoned building, and get Kell to fucking ferry us food every now and then?! Huh?! Is that really gonna be better for us than staying here? Even if she does kick us out, we can...We can use the additional time to think of a plan! A better one than going back to the fucking factory district and eating fast food until we die!" Esthrielle's voice nearly hit levels enough to be audible to the women showering; she had to stop and take a breath, reminding herself that they were trying to be subtle.

Purity closed her eyes and shook her head, her smile growing ever so slightly more smug. When she re-opened them, the LED display had gone from standard blue to the hearts she so adored. "No. See, I've been thinking about this for a while - ever since EJ got put in the infirmary. I've... got some, uh, contacts, we'll say. One of them will definitely house us. I just know it."

Puri's chest puffed up and her back straightened as she kept her train of thought rolling, emboldened by her own supposed cleverness. "See, when Kell initially took us to the industrial district, it was out of desperation. And once we were there? Our escape was still really fresh in corpsec's minds, so Product Reclamation would have had so many eyes on suspicious activity in town they'd have noticed us trying to go somewhere else. But if we go there straight away... we'll be fine!"

Almost stereotypically for a person putting the coup de gras on an argument, Purity put her fists on her hips and inclined her chin a touch towards the sky. For all the bluster and bravado she was exuding in that moment, her plan may as well have been foolproof. To her, at the very least.

Esthrielle's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. It did this a few times, Purity smugging down her nose at the Italian all the while. Esper James, by contrast to the two women having their face off, simply clutched at Purity's habit like a wayward child. Esthrielle was hitting a boiling point, though - EJ could tell just by looking at her that she was starting to get fed up with this whole little back-and-forth. The ghoulette interjected before either of the others could break the silence.

"Er, ahh... Hey, l-let's... Let's talk about this back in the room, yeah? Just... get some time to think. I... I won't lie, being cooped up down here is starting to drain me a little - it's nice, Est, you're right, but also..." Also EJ missed the sky? She missed not being underground? She missed the sound of traffic, and the smell of anything other than frankincense and myrrh, and not feeling like she was being watched every moment of the day?

Guh. She couldn't just say those things - not now, at least. They'd push Est over the top. Esper James was... was willing to tell Esthrielle she could stay here, honestly. She knew Est had only really known two lives: Venice, and the convent. To be back in this place of security, stability, and comfort... and be told that it was coming time to leave again?

The ghoulette couldn't blame Esthrielle at all for wanting to stay.

And yeah, EJ continued to herself, thoughts ricocheting off the walls of her brainpan. Yeah, it was dumb to leave. Objectively, it wasn't the safest thing for them... but, Purity made a good point, too. The mother abbess was... well? She had her moments of being oddly, uncharacteristically nice... but those sat more poorly with EJ every time they showed their face. Why was the mother abbess being kind to her at all? She had been so against the trio staying there at first... but then, she had suddenly, and without warning, turned a new leaf. What was that all about?

Not that EJ would ever get a chance to ask her. Even if the two women were locked in a room together, EJ knew she would never have had the strength or confidence to ask; to broach such a topic to a woman like the abbess was akin to putting one's hand in the mouth of a lion. Foolish, to say the least.

Purity lowered her figurative weapons, and her head, at EJ's prompting - Est, too, took another deep breath and rubbed at her eyes. The Knight nodded and began to undress, still visibly bitter but now trying to suppress it; Purity, too, began to doff her habit. She helped Est with hers, even, and the other woman didn't try and shy away or lash out at the help. Once Esper James's two lovers were finished stripping down, they both assisted the blonde in tandem. Soon, the trio was ready for a shower.

By the time they had crossed the threshold into the tiled washroom area, they were practically the only occupants. Their only company was a single nun, with short black hair and intense makeup, who had just arrived from the dressing room on the other side of the shower - she was scrubbing hard at her skin, doing her best to be freed of the ebon mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow which her flesh bore.

The washing began, then, without delay - but with plenty of meandering. None of the three of them were particularly keen to clean off and be freed of the showers' warmth and wetness and humidity... and they certainly weren't itching to go back to the room and finish their earlier discussion. Purity, for all her confidence in her own plan, seemed plenty happy to linger in the shower booth's aqueous downpour for as long as she could bargain with herself for.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

The pinkette fell into her role, once again, of helping her loves tend to their own washing - lathering her hands with body wash and layering them in it, Esthrielle first and then EJ. She helped them apply it, and then let them wash it free on their own; in the meantime, she gave her own physique a once-over with the scented, cleansing goop. Was it right to call it goop, EJ thought? Surely, whatever company made it wouldn't want it to be referred to as 'goop'...

The former secretary's mind wandered as the trio all washed themselves, each lady going one at a time so that they might linger there that much longer. It wandered to the surface - to Vitus, and its people, and what lay in store for them on the outside. First things first, there was Kell. It had been some time since they'd spoken with Kell... and Esper James hoped she was okay.

They had sort of left her with only a 'thanks for risking your neck for us' note and nothing more. EJ had been longing to apologize to Kell ever since they'd arrived, really... though it was one of those things she only thought about around dawn. Being tired made most people sentimental and sad, and Esper James Price-Wynnfield was absolutely no different. But then, there was more to think about when it came to Kell than just a potential apology.

Zofia said Kell sometimes came here - to the convent, to speak with the mother abbess. That was fucked up, right? 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' and all that, sure, but... working with the Knights, as a member of the second-living herself? Shit, how'd she ever manage to get an in with the Easterners, much less stomach cooperation?

Tsang was how, of course. In the face of an overwhelming evil, sometimes two opposing forces must band together to fight as one. At least, that was how EJ justified it to herself - and in her mind, she figured it sounded pretty profound. So why not? It made about as much sense as any other explanation the ghoulette could conjure up. So, Kell and the Knights joined forces now and then to stick it to Tsang with their combined efforts. That... made sense.

But then, Kell being in a position of influence - a position of power - was new, too. Was that why Kell had been so damn ready to go when Puri and EJ had needed an escape, that day with the Product Reclamation officer? If she was really some kind of rebel leader, then of course she'd have all the outs and escapes she'd ever need set up in advance... but still. It was quite the coincidence, that she and her group (the Revenants, Zofia had called them) had bunked up in Kehler Complex. Hell, Esper James had never even met them until that day she literally ran into Kell. She'd never seen them around the place, either.

Why?

Eugh. It was a lot, and certainly more than she wanted to think about in the world's most tense shower session. EJ looked up to Esthrielle and Purity, trying to gauge how they were feeling - it had been long enough since their little dressing room confrontation that they'd had time to cool off, she thought. A glance at either of them revealed that, yes, they had calmed down a fair bit; Est was still a bit stiff, EJ could tell, and Purity was less... whatever the fuck Purity had been, back there.

What was her deal, anyways? Sure, every relationship had its little spats here and there, a little bit of biting back and forth with verbal teeth to nip at one another's hearts and minds... but Purity had been standoffish, and way more confrontational than usual. She had almost seemed like she wanted to argue with Esthrielle. What the hell had that been about, EJ wondered.

Purity noticed Esper James's attention, then, and turned her head down to face EJ head on. "What's up, babe? Water too hot? You want help washing your hair? Haha, you're short enough that it's pretty easy for me to get at... I can help, if you'd want." Pearly whites flashed in a dazzling display, then, framed by soft and full lips of rosebud pink. EJ felt, not for the first time, a flicker in her heart at the pinkette's expression - she got flustered immediately, and could sense the rising heat of a blush form upon her cheeks.

She nodded. Of course she nodded - how could she not? How could she deny this lovely, sweet, gentle, tender woman's offered touch and kindness? EJ leaned her head down a slight degree, crown of her scalp now aimed up at the seductress. "Yeah, please... thanks, Puri. I... I don't have trouble with it, you know, but like... I mean, aha... I'm never gonna turn down an offer for help, haha..."

Purity chuckled, rolling her eyes even as her torso turned to grab the shampoo bottle from atop the nearest divider's product rack. The bottle was opened with a soft pop, the shampoo was deposited into one of Purity's palms, and then that same shampoo found itself being gently worked into EJ's crown and cornsilk-hued locks.

"Nah, nah, don't worry about it, cutie! I like doing this. I... like feeling helpful, and like I'm taking good care of you two. I took a test online one time - acts of service are one of my love languages. So, y'know, getting to help you two get dressed or undressed, clean yourselves in the shower, get comfy in bed... Hehe, it makes me feel good about us. I love you two." The sincerity with which she said those things, especially the last sentence, made Esper James's knees weak. She held back a gentle whimper from the sensation, taking time to put herself back together before responding.

"I love you too, Purity...! I- I really, really love you. I love both of you. You two... god, if neither of you had come into my life... Haha, wow, I can't even imagine where I'd be. Still at Tsang, probably, busting my ass and getting pushed around by-" She nearly said Judas, but the flesh eater stopped herself. Judas was correct, of course; Judas was who would have been pushing her around. But here and now, professing her love for Purity and Esthrielle? Judas had no place here. EJ didn't want to think of the vampire at all, much less in such an otherwise lovely moment.

EJ instead opted to trail off, allowing Judas to remain as implication, not stated truth. Purity nodded but didn't press the issue or continue the statement, simply basking in the glow of Esper James's sugary response. Suddenly, an arm put itself around EJ's back - and another, nearly identical arm found its way about Purity's lower back. The synthetic flesh of it still gave EJ a gentle thrill whenever it was applied to her bare skin.

"I love you two goobers too, you know? I'm... Sorry for getting heated with you back in the dressing room. I just... It's been so nice to just be here, be safe, get good food regularly... augh. Fuck, I'm... Guh. Sorry. I'm sorry, I'll leave it till we're back in the room, just... I want you two to be safe." Est's voice broke towards the end of her monologue, fracturing in the same way a sidewalk cracks from cycles of heat and chill. She bowed her head in self-imposed shame at bringing the topic of their departure back up.

Her self-disparagement was dispersed by a return of the one-armed hug from both parties, with Purity leaning down a tad to kiss her gently upon the cheek. Following the kiss, Purity put her face to the side of Est's, nuzzling at her and making a sing-song hum to accompany the action. "Hmm-hmm-hmm~ Don't worry about it, Est. I get it, I really do. I promise, I know someone who can keep us safe and secure, okay? We'll be fine. We can get Kell to come nearby and get us, and then... then she can take us to my friend's place, and we'll go from there. We can do work around her house to pay off room and board, or something. I'll work it out. I promise."

Purity pulled away a few inches, then offering her tan-toned sweetheart a playful wink. Est returned a smile, though it was heavily dyed with bashfulness - she, too, blushed to match EJ. Purity seemed to have that effect on people, EJ thought to herself... and hell if the pink-haired princess didn't often put that sort of reaction into the ghoulette, too.

The shower finished up after a bit longer, the three's individual moods restored and their spirits invigorated by shared love and closeness. Walking through the halls felt much more like drifting, riding out that cloud of confidence which their union provided - and when they threw open the door to their dorm, EJ rushed over to the bed they had been sharing to leap up and flop onto it. She began, immediately, to shimmy out of her habit.

Purity laughed aloud at her smallest lover's antics, walking over to join her in a much more performative flopping action. Finally came Est, who stayed a moment more near the door to ensure it shut completely before scurrying over to join the other two ladies. Up onto the bed she went, laughing all the while, and the three then fell into a group giggle session. It was lovely, Esper James mused to herself, how quickly their moods had shifted... and, perhaps, a period of snuggling would make the hard decision to come that much easier.

Hopefully it would.