In the end Elzbieta and I don't spend the rest of the night out in the woods. She is right, we really should have brought a blanket at the very least. We are in a pretty good mood as we head back to my place, each with an arm wrapped around the other, anyway.

Thankfully no one is around at this late hour. No one I notice anyway. Not because I don't want to be seen with Elzbieta. No, that really isn't an issue as far as I'm concerned. I just don't want anyone else to see me wearing that special dress right now.

I might wear it for the midsummer night dance, but that is a special night, so it would be alright. Right now though I don't want to accidentally give anyone else ideas or worse charm them by accident, due to the nature of the dress.

In the end we make it unnoticed and get some actual and restful sleep in my bed. Being woken up by Elzbieta's light snores, instead of Sour Cream's nuzzling, in the morning is not a bother either.

No, it actually is a rather pleasant change. For me at least. Sour Cream might beg to differ, judging by the look she is giving me, from her perch on the window sill. I pet her to soothe her mind and judging by the way she leans into my hand it works well enough.

Taking great care not to wake Elzbieta, I extract myself from the bed to appease the cat by pouring her some cream.

In the end it turns out, that my feline companion doesn't seem to mind my other guest too much. Not in a bad way at least. After a few quick licks of her namesake treat she even curls up next to the still sleeping Elzbieta.

For a little while I watch the two sleep. I really wish I could do so for a little longer, but I have to wake Elzbieta up eventually. There just is no way around it, much as I wish it wasn't so.

At the same time my gaze wanders to the small stack of coins sitting on my workbench. Another thing I wish that wasn't so. Is this really the way we have to take? Or could we just see each other without following this particular custom? I certainly wouldn't mind, but how does Elzbieta think about it?

I'm ashamed that I'm too afraid to ask. She still is very much attached to her adventuring companions after all. I'm worried that she might turn me down in the end.

Would she quit adventuring for me? Would she even need to quit? Or could I come to terms with her being gone for days on end, possibly to never return one of these days?

I sigh and shake my head. It's no use thinking about it like that. If I really want some certainty I'll have to talk with her. There is no way around it. Either she will turn me down or she won't. And if I don't ask her I'll never know. Not today though.

Before my thoughts can spiral out of control once more I move to wake my guest with a light shake and a quick kiss. Or maybe it is a not so quick kiss. As Elzbieta's eyes flutter open it certainly drags on longer than I initially intended. It isn't an unpleasant surprise, thus I go along with it.

Sadly I have to put an end to things before they can escalate. Sour Cream probably wouldn't appreciate the disturbance and we have to get ready for the day anyway. Thus I gently flick Elzbieta's nose as I break off the lingering kiss to catch my breath.

“Hush you! We probably should head to the bathhouse and get ready for the day.”

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She sighs and gives Sour Cream a few belly rubs, as she notices the cat snuggled up to her, which in turn elicits a happy purr from the feline.

“Fine, fine, I'm coming. I didn't bring a change of clothes though.”

I roll my eyes, as I help her up. She is surprisingly heavy, considering I stand quite a bit taller than her. And it isn't just the baby belly either, I'm sure of that. I decide not to comment though. She probably wouldn't appreciate it. I focus on the other issue she mentioned instead.

“You should be fine with the dress you wore and you can borrow a towel from me.”

She nods and stretches for a moment, while I slip on my usual night dress and grab the mentioned towels as well as a change of clothes for myself.

On the way to the bath we are joined by Agnieszka, as we pass her house. She flashes us a knowing smile. Elzbieta doesn't seem to mind, but it certainly makes me blush.

She isn't the only one we meet either. Most just pass through, washing up quickly, before heading out for the day, while we enjoy our soak. There are exceptions though. One of them is Tamara. She enjoys the long warm soak at least as much as we do.

To be honest, she looks like she needs it too. She looks a little worse for wear. Several bruises adorn her body quite visibly. She notices me glancing her way and is quick to wave me off.

“I know. A potion would fix those right away, but I'd rather save the potion for something worse. These will fade soon enough anyway.”

I simply nod at first, but then curiosity gets the better of me.

“How comes that you are bruised like that anyway?”

The question earns me a sheepish laugh, as she rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment.

“Ah well, you know, we were busy draining the first ghost we captured when all of a sudden a trio of skeletons attacked us and everything got quite chaotic all of a sudden. Odolan slipped with the tap and that disgusting ectoplasm went spraying everywhere. And of course I stepped right into it as I was charging the bone men before they could reach us.”

My eyebrow rises a little, as she stops at this point. I suspect this is where the story would actually get good. She has the undivided attention of the other women by now too, thus she continues in the end, despite the blush of embarrassment now clearly visibly on her cheeks.

“Well, I slipped, and my charge turned into painful tumble. In the end I crashed into the skeletons like a big fat boulder from a rolling boulder trap. It's a good thing they aren't exactly sturdy and the impact was enough to send their bones flying everywhere. I would have been done for if any of them had remained standing.”

The rest of us share a grin, while Elzbieta pats the fellow adventurer on the back, before getting out. She dries off and gets dressed.

“Well, I'll be off to the inn to grab a bite to eat. See you later!”

I wave as she leaves, my eyes glued to her retreating form. I just can't tear my attention away. Is it the little extra sway of her hips? Is she doing that on purpose? Ah, never mind. I have other things I can focus on. With that thought I manage to shift my attention back to the dwarven woman still in the bath with us.

“Did you finish your business at the smithy yesterday? Do you still have any used gear you would like to sell to me?”

That is enough to make her forget about any embarrassment and to reawaken her spirits.

“Sure. A lot of the things we salvaged from the skeletons is only good for melting down, but we still have a few pieces that might be of interest for you. Some of their metal shields are still in pretty decent shape and we'll fix some of the axes or rather hatchets they used too. Odolan and I will fix them up before we drop by your place, if that is alright?”

I nod excitedly, before getting out of the water. The water might be quite pleasant, but I don't want to turn all wrinkly after all.

“Take your time and drop by whenever you are ready. You aren't in a hurry and neither am I. This is your day off, after all. Right?”