CHAPTER 153 : REST

As it turned out, the little party and celebration lasted well into the night. They had prepared so much food that there was enough leftovers to easily handle the following day’s lunch - and that was after who knew how much late night snacking would occur.

Everyone ended up sleeping scattered around the main section of the Basin’s grounds. Bedrolls and tents were set up on the playground and in the pavilions that weren’t set aside for cooking or eating, and there was plenty of space for everyone.

Emery was relieved when they had made it into the night without anyone drunk. It kept the clamor to a minimum, and let the whole group enjoy a campfire and telling stories back and forth. After the commotion at dinner, the relaxed atmosphere was perfect - even when the Elders riled everyone up with their stories of dramatic heroism and tragedy.

Similarly to Vale’s stories, Emery wasn’t sure if the Elders had all seen such fantastic things in their lives, or if they were just incredibly gifted liars and storytellers. In the end, she supposed it didn’t matter all that much, as long as her kids enjoyed the stories. And she did too, to be fair. They were all very well told.

When Ray decided to take centerstage and began to tell a scary story, Emery decided that was a good place to send the little ones to bed. They had made sure the campfire was set up far enough away from the tents that the younger kids could sleep while the older ones got to listen to the scary stories.

Emery did warn them, though, that if they chose to listen that they would also be on their own when it came to crying about it later.

Emery and Avuri both regretted their choice to stay and listen by the time Ray was finished. He had woven a tale that Emery could only pray was fake, because it left her skin crawling, her stomach unsettled, and her heart racing.

She wasn’t afraid of the dark. Neither was Avuri. But things in the dark? Emery shivered, trying to put it out of mind.

Unfortunately for them both, being able to so easily share thoughts made it difficult for Emery and Avuri to really put it all out of mind. And their fears fed off of one another, leaving them both in a rough headspace.

This sort of situation put a whole new meaning to ‘intrusive thoughts’ for them, and it wasn’t the first time either.

There were two more scary stories told before the rest of the kids decided it was time for bed, too. And finally, a funny love story was told by Eiry - shockingly - to help settle everyone’s mood. And it did indeed help as the kids shuffled off to bed.

Emery and Avuri decided to not bother, because they weren’t sure they’d be able to rest with their minds feeding into each other’s panic and every little movement in the shadow. Instead, they opted to take a walk under the stars and try to enjoy themselves.

It had been a while since they had taken a nighttime stroll, and Emery found herself enjoying it very much. They had made it well beyond earshot of the little makeshift camp just by wandering around the various paths that wound around the Basin. Maybe the Elders could hear them this far out, but Emery wasn’t quite sure exactly what they could and couldn’t do.

“So, what was your favorite dish that we had out there today?” Avuri asked, breaking the silence. She spoke quietly though, trying to respect the stillness of the night as much as possible.

Emery thought back to the various foods that she had eaten over the course of the long day of food. “I think I really just like meat.” She said, then chuckled at her non-answer. “There was a slice of ribeye that I had cut thin and grilled that just came out perfectly. Does that count?”

“I suppose so.” Avuri said, reaching to take Emery’s hand in hers as they walked. “I don’t know if I would consider just a piece of grilled meat to be ‘a dish’, but I think I can let that answer stand.”

“I’m sorry my tastes are so boring.” Emery said flatly, but she swung their hands back and forth playfully. “I just enjoy getting the most flavor out of simple things.”

“Well, at least you didn’t drown the poor piece of meat in sauces.”

“Of course not. That’s a travesty.” Emery responded immediately. “Salt and pepper is usually enough for some high quality beef. Maybe a little chili oil or garlic on occasion too.” She said, her mouth watering just at the thought.

“Did you see Kord’s plate?” Avuri asked.

“Of course I did.” Emery said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe that kid sometimes. He eats like me in most ways, but then just puts sauces on everything. Ugh. I feel bad for that lovely piece of steak he ate that was drowned in that vile tomato sauce.”

“Ketchup.”

“I stand by what I said. That stuff is vile.” Emery scrunched up her nose in protest.

“Well, to each their own I suppose.” Avuri said. “I don’t love it either; it’s too sweet for me. But it does go well on certain foods.”

“You can’t seriously tell me you’d rather use that than some other sauces.”

Avuri shook her hand back and forth uncertainly. “Probably not. It’s fine, but I think there’s certainly better options.”

“Well, whatever. I don’t mind it so much as long as I don’t have to eat it myself.”

“That’s a healthy way to look at it.” Avuri said, and they lapsed back into a comfortable silence.

As they strolled about, they each slowly inched closer together. At one point, Emery shifted her hand to intertwine her fingers with Avuri’s. In response, Avuri pulled her closer so they were walking with basically their entire sides touching. Thanks to their Cultivator bodies, it wasn’t too difficult for them to walk smashed together like that - the extraordinary sense of balance and body control helped them stay steady despite the contact.

They walked like that for a while, joking with each other and keeping the conversation light. It helped to box up the jitters from the scary story earlier, which was fading quickly with their walk. They made their way back toward the main grounds in a much better mood, albeit slowly.

Almost everyone was asleep when they returned. There were a few smaller groups still awake and entertaining themselves; the Elders were up and playing mahjong, a small group of the older kids were playing some kind of card game, and Fia, Lia, Elise, Elena, and Kaili were chatting and giggling amongst themselves.

When Emery and Avuri made it closer to where they had laid their own bed rolls out, they saw Astra dancing away from their beds uncomfortably and looking around urgently.

“Astra? What’s wrong?” Emery asked as they got closer.

Astra jumped, startled. Emery flinched, realizing the girl probably couldn’t see them in the dark as well as she could see her. “Mom? I need to pee…”

Emery looked her daughter up and down, and sure enough, the awkwardness in her steps was immediately recognizable as a potty dance as she wobbled her way toward them. Avuri reached out and pulled Astra closer.

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“Okay, let’s get you inside then. No reason to go out here.” Avuri said quickly as she ushered the girl forward toward the house. “How badly do you need to go?”

“Bad,” Astra whimpered.

Avuri nodded and swept Astra up into her arms. “Okay, hold on tight.”

As soon as Astra had a good hold on her shoulders, Avuri took off. Emery was right behind her as they bolted toward the house at high speeds, and ended their run with a leap up to the balcony that led to their room - they always left their balcony door unlocked for this sort of entrance.

Avuri shuffled inside and gently pushed Astra toward their attached bathroom. Astra muttered a quick thank you and dashed toward the bathroom. Once she was inside with the door closed, Emery and Avuri glanced at each other and chuckled softly. Avuri stepped over toward their bed to sit down, and patted the spot next to her. Emery got the hint and moved to join her wife on the bed.

When she sat, Avuri leaned over to whisper in her ear, “I know we had said we wouldn’t bathe tonight but…what do you think about taking a bath with Astra? Just in our bathroom instead of the bathhouse.”

Emery couldn’t help but smile. “I’m amenable to the idea. And I’m sure Star would be just as happy to join us.”

“I thought so too.” Avuri responded.

When Astra emerged from the bathroom seconds later, looking much less bothered, she hopped over to the bed and sat with her mothers. She still was just slightly too short for her feet to touch the ground, kicking them back and forth instead.

Emery ran her fingers through Astra’s hair; it was dirty from playing on the playground earlier, but not so much that she couldn’t have waited until the following day to wash it. Especially if they were all sleeping outside anyway. Not that it would hurt to have it cleaned and combed.

“What do you think about a bath, Star?” Emery asked, her fingers still lightly detangling her daughter’s hair. “I know we all said we wouldn’t bother tonight, but -”

“I’ll take a bath!” She said, grinning from ear to ear. She followed up her statement quickly with “Here or in the bathhouse?”, her eyes bouncing between the window and the bathroom door.

“In here. People are already sleeping outside, so we don’t want to make noise outside and wake them up.”

“Or cause a riot when suddenly forty other people want to use the bathhouse.” Avuri chuckled.

“That too.” Emery agreed with a smile. They had opted to not bathe originally because while their bathhouse was big, it could certainly not accommodate forty people. And they had learned from experience that while they could obviously break into smaller groups to bathe, things would get a little chaotic courtesy of the kids who were waiting for their turn.

The smaller bathroom attached to their master bedroom was smaller, but still not exactly small. The three of them fit with plenty of room to maneuver, and the process of washing was as pleasant as ever. Emery and Avuri scrubbed Astra down first, and washed the girl’s hair until it was a sleek sheet over her head. And only after that did she hop into the waiting warm water of the bath.

Emery and Avuri washed each other’s hair while Astra played around in the bath. Emery’s short hair never took very long, but she still loved the attention that Avuri gave her, scrubbing and scratching her scalp throughout the process. She closed her eyes and simply melted against Avuri as she enjoyed the mini-massage that was always over too soon.

It was her biggest complaint with keeping her hair shorter.

On the other hand, washing Avuri’s properly was a production. Sure, Emery would always reciprocate the scalp massage and took her time doing so - she loved having Avuri leaning against her as she went to work - but they didn’t often take the time to properly lather up the rest of her hair. And to be fair, Cultivator hair didn’t really need to be washed thoroughly all that often.

Tonight though, Emery took her time. She wanted to squeak out every extra minute she could while they were bathing and just enjoying their time together. More than once, she took a break from the suds to hug her wife from behind, or give her a sweet, chaste kiss. Astra was still in the bath, afterall

Even working through Avuri’s hair slowly wasn’t enough to keep them there forever though. Eventually Emery’s fingers reached the ends of Avuri’s locks and she had to transition to rinsing out the soapy suds. And after that, they squeezed into the bathtub with Astra. It wasn’t exactly sized for three, but they could all fit if they squeezed together a little, thankfully not to the point it was uncomfortable.

As they soaked, they talked about the day. What Astra’s favorite foods at the cookout were. If she had fun playing throughout the day. Together, Avuri and Astra teased Emery about getting knocked out in the dodgeball game.

That resulted in Astra getting dunked in the bath water, and Emery lamenting about how the shallow tub wasn’t big enough to really dunk Avuri.

As the bath finally grew cold, they decided it was time to give it up. They got up and out of the bath to towel dry off a bit before Avuri simply de-watered them all. Or at least for the most part, because it was good to leave a little water in their hair for combing.

And that was exactly what they did. Astra sat nicely on the bed as Avuri took up the spot behind Astra, while Emery sat behind Avuri. With a beautiful bamboo comb in hand, Avuri set to work on Astra’s hair. Emery followed suit behind her, beginning to comb through Avuri’s locks.

There were a few scattered quick intakes of breath from Astra as Avuri kept getting the comb caught in knots.

“Momri, swap,” Astra said eventually, after a final yank. “Mom is better at this. Let her do it.”

Emery laughed as Avuri stopped, looking dejected. “You don’t like it when I comb your hair?” She asked, adding a little sadness to her voice.

It had no effect on Astra’s savage response. “No, I don’t. You pull my hair too much! Mom is better.”

Emery tried her best to stop laughing, only really managing to reduce it to a chuckle. She placed a hand consolingly on Avuri’s shoulder. “It’s okay, you just need more practice.”

Avuri threw her hands up in mild frustration. “More practice? I comb your hair out all the time! And I’ve always done the other girls’ hair, too.”

“And my hair is shorter and less prone to knots than Astra’s.” Emery said defensively. “Combing longer hair is a different skill.”

Avuri, unfortunately for Emery, noticed what she didn’t say. “And what about the other girls? They have long hair.” She asked, narrowing her eyes.

Emery could only look away. She didn’t want to lie. And unfortunately, Astra was still at an age where she really didn’t hold back. “They love you, and deal with the hair pulling when you do the combing…” Emery said quietly.

Avuri looked stricken, her eyes bouncing between Emery and Astra. “...am I really that bad at it?”

Emery took a deep breath. “Ri, you’ve literally pulled out a chunk of my hair with a knot before. Yes, you’re pretty bad at it.”

Emery gave her wife a hug as she hung her head. “Go ahead and swap with me.” She murmured. “You can do my hair after you finish Star’s.”

“Yeah, okay.” Emery said, and did exactly that.

Astra looked pleased as punch while Emery gently worked out the knots in her hair with the last tooth of her comb, and teased out all the snags and tangles. Avuri watched intently, trying to commit the process to memory. She was determined to get better at the whole process, and watched in fascination at how quickly and deftly Emery’s hands did the job. Within minutes, Astra’s hair was fully detangled and combed, neatly falling down her back.

Emery leaned forward around Astra’s shoulder to give her a quick peck on her cheek. “All done, Star. Did you want me to put it up for you?”

Astra nodded. “Can you just do a simple tail though? Otherwise it’s hard to sleep.”

“I can do that.” Emery said. She gathered up her daughter’s hair and tied a bow with some ribbon to fashion it into a simple ponytail. She added a smaller bow at the bottom, hoping to keep the hair bound when the girl went to sleep.

Astra swung her head back and forth testing the ponytail when she was finished, then gave her mother a huge grin. “Thanks, Mom!” She hopped off the bed, then pointed to the spot she had vacated. “Now it’s Momri’s turn.”

Avuri smiled and slid into the spot. “Did you want to go back out now, or wait for us?”

“I’ll wait.” Astra said, then clambered up onto the bed behind Emery. The girl leaned back against her mother lazily. “Just like this.”

Emery smiled at the girl’s silliness, but her hands were already at work on Avuri’s hair, teasing out knots and tangles. As was normal for them, the process took time. Emery always took extra time when she did her wife’s hair, simply because she enjoyed the process. Running the comb through the silver strands was relaxing and meditative - and Avuri seemed to love it just as much.

Emery was as at peace in that room as she ever had been. She could hear and feel the even breathing of Astra leaning against her back; the girl must have dozed off. And the quiet, serene atmosphere that settled around her and her wife was the perfect way to end an already amazing day.

She wasn’t sure exactly how long they had been at it when she finally decided she probably should stop before she accidentally damaged Avuri’s air from combing it too much. If such a thing was possible. With Astra still dozing against her back, she couldn’t move much, but she did place the comb down on the bed and give Avuri a solid squeeze from behind.

Avuri leaned into the embrace and knocked her head against Emery’s. “Love you.”

“I love you too, Ri.” She said happily.

They stayed like that for a bit before Emery took a deep breath, steeling herself to get up. “Should we go back outside?”

“I suppose.” Avuri said. “I feel bad waking Astra up though.”

“Me too. But I don’t know if she’d like us leaving her to sleep inside while literally everyone else is outside.”

“That’s a good point.” Avuri said, and reached around to gently jostle Astra. “Astra? Wake up, hun, we’re going to go back outside.”

“Hm? I’m awake. I didn’t fall asleep.” Astra said, clearly in reflex. She definitely fell asleep. “Let’s go.” She said quickly, and leapt to her feet, trying to prove that she didn’t doze off.

Emery chuckled as she extricated herself from her tangled position with Avuri and stood. Her wife followed suit as the three of them worked their way down the stairs inside the house, rather than jump from the balcony again.

When they finally stepped back out into the brisk night air, Emery took a deep breath. It was chilly, but the good kind of chilly that felt wonderful rather than just cold. She took her wife’s hand and ruffled her daughter’s hair with the other as they walked back out the door toward the rest of their camping family.