Amity and Enmity

Chapter 67

Day: 1612

Days Left: 3868

Lives Saved: 8

With a long breath, Sumit relaxed his head back on the edge of the wooden tub, submerging his body even more in the warm water. How much he had wished he had this sooner, it would have made some blood moons so much easier when he had to turn into an octopus. He could have just stayed in the bathhouse for the whole day, perhaps had people visit him, instead of being alone in the Raining Marshes. Sumit never wanted to go back there ever again, not after spending a year there.

All that time, he had looked forward to returning to his friends... to Oscar, and he endured that loneliness for a year. Yes, people did visit him every day, but they couldn't be there with him forever. But now he was back. He should be out there with everyone, taking any opportunity to talk to someone, to be with someone, and yet, he somehow felt more isolated in this bathhouse than in the Raining Marshes. The person who had been by his side ever since he could remember no longer wanted to be with him.

He shifted in the large tub and reached out his hands to the running water that dripped through a spout, creating endless recycled water. Once his hands were filled, he splashed his face and smoothed his hair back. Sumit could somewhat understand Calixte's hatred of water, though the amphibian was slowly becoming accustomed to it as he occasionally was brave enough to drink water. Their situations were not exactly the same, with Calixte drowning for centuries underwater and Sumit just stuck in the rain for a year, but Sumit did feel like he had an unusual relationship with water now. He was glad to be out of the rain, to feel dry and warm, but at the same time, due to his incomplete transformation, water called to him, begged him, and his throat would close up, unable to breathe until he did so.

Sumit wondered if he could still breathe underwater without his gills. What if he still had some octopi organs inside of him? Is that how octopi worked? Before he could test this theory, the door to the bathhouse opened, and he heard a gasp of disgruntled surprise.

"Occupied!" he yelled.

"You're supposed to turn the sign," said a flat voice.

Recognising it, Sumit turned his head to see Rin at the door, towel in her hand.

"Sorry," said Sumit. "But to be fair, you did not tell me this on the tour."

Rin made another disgruntled groan. "Yes, I suppose I didn't."

"Shit!" Sumit caught another look at the towel in Rin's arms. "I forgot to bring a towel."

"It's fine; you can use mine." Rin approached, glancing away so as not to see anything as she handed him her towel.

"Thanks; you sure?"

"I work at the rec post; I can easily get another one." She paused. "I had made, I guess, a care package for you and forgot to give it to you."

"Aw, that's cute-"

"Don't get too gushy; it's just essentials like a toothbrush and comb."

Sumit began dabbing his wet hair with the towel, then frowned when he saw that Rin wasn't leaving. "So... did you want to join?" he joked.

"Fuck off! Of course not!" Rin snapped as she pulled at her sleeve, pulling it down over her hand. "You should stop that wishful thinking."

Sumit stared at her arm, remembering that parts of the skin were made of paper. "I didn't think you'd risk taking a bath anyway. Won't it turn to mulch?"

"I don't want to smell. I just need to be careful and cover it."

"Well, I don't know when I'll be finished, just to warn you. I tried getting out earlier and still struggled to breathe."