Harper's Pathos

Chapter Nine: Dinner Among the Holy

The steaming water kissed Morgan's porcelain skin as she slowly lowered herself into the bath. Relief quickly washed over her as she began to soak her sore muscles. Her eyelids drifted closed after a moment, and she was finally able to relax, for the first time in... When was the last time she relaxed?

She never relaxed. She was always tense. Never getting a moment of respite as a broke, starving orphan, she never had the opportunity. After starting her revenge quest, things became even more constantly dire. But now... Now she could finally sit, soak, and enjoy herself.

Splash!

The woman didn't open her eyes. She wasn't willing to give up her chance at relaxation. In all likelihood, she didn't really need to. "You alright?" she asked through the divider.

More splashing, then, "Mhm!" Harper's voice was slightly panicked... or maybe embarrassed?

Morgan sighed, but did nothing. Dolt, she thought, Probably fell in. Back to... What was I thinking about?

Harper had a way of doing that. A way of distracting her. A way of stealing her thoughts. It wasn't unpleasant, just... strange. No one else did that...

Well, surely it wasn't that odd. After all, Harper was Morgan's only friend. Yes, that must have been it. She was quite fond of the little vermin. Her best friend. Yes, that's what they were to Morgan: her very best friend!

Could they be anything less to her, given all that had happened? The sorceress reflected on all of it, if not fondly, then at least with appreciation that Harper had been there. The assistance with the trials and tribulations in the library, the emotional support during her breakdown over Ellie and Albin... They had practically carried her out of the desert as well! Morgan surely could not have gotten this far without them... There they went again, stealing her thoughts away from her.

Morgan took a deep breath in before dunking her head under the bath, letting her raven hair float and spread in all directions like oil atop the water's surface. As she began to wash this mess of black, she decided something. No, I'm not gonna stop myself. This is my time to relax. I'll think about whatever I damn well please. If that's Harper, then weird, but so be it.

It wasn't just the things the nephilim had done that allowed them to so easily intrude upon her thoughts. They were just...Very good, Morgan thought, Harper is very good. She had never really had a way with words.

It was true, though, if something of a nondescript way to say it. Morgan found Harper to be the most pleasant person she had ever met. When most people were crass, rude, idiotic, Harper was sweet, kind, thoughtful. They were amicable and nice all the time, especially to Morgan, for reasons that remained unclear to her.

Without even realizing, the tall one smiled as she thought of the next reason she liked them: Harper's voice. She could listen to that voice all day. Even if what came out of it was utter faff or nonsense, the sound of the voice itself was like music.

High pitched and soft, cracking at the perfect moments, lilted in just the right way. Harper had the voice of... An angel, she snickered, of course. She went over her memories of some of her favorite examples of the nephilim's voice. Some were things they'd said, others merely noises they had made. The girl sighed, I really should ask them to sing for me... 

She blinked several times, going over that thought several times in her head. Is that weird? she asked herself, Do 'friends'  normally think about how beautiful each other's voices are...? 

She realized that she actually didn't know. She had only ever had one other friend, and she had fallen in love with her. Morgan had no idea what friendship was supposed to be like. Wow, that's just sad... she reflected. But no, no, of course that's normal. What am I even saying? A beautiful voice should be appreciated! Why else would we have singers? she told herself.