GRAND OPENING OF INCANDESCENCE

Arcadia shoulder her knapsack, and held her stomach with her free hand. It still churned a little after the long train ride from Magnolia. Not for the last time, she wondered to herself why she kept taking these long rides by herself.  Thankfully the nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach was slowly fading away. She needed to concentrate on finding this spa. The voucher she had been handed by a runner as she entered Fairy Tail's guild hall the morning before had a very specific appointment time stamped on it.

Getting lost this time might mean she'd have to reschedule. That might mean two more train rides before she got to the spa.  Despite being one of those who not only hate crowds, but can be terribly phobic of them, she also didn't want to waste her situational boldness. Sometimes curiosity was just stronger than fear, as far as this pale blonde mage was concerned.

A whole new town and getting a better understanding how this new three guild alliance worked in practice was enough to draw the green-eyed Fairy this far.  Now she also hoped time at the spa might settle her stomach too.

Looking at the address on the voucher, she looked ahead, and saw Incandescence ahead. She laughed and sped on ahead, her bare feet carrying her up to front door. The young mage smiled  to the attendant and held out her voucher. She didn't quite meet the attendant's gaze, and her voice was on the less audible side ”Hey. I'm Arcadia.”

The attendant smiled and checked the voucher she was handed, ”Just on time. Go right in.”

Arcadia lifted her deep green gaze at the attendant's friendly tone, and  smiled brighter. Laughing softly, she headed further inside. In teh changing room, she left her clothes and knapsack behind, exiting out into the spa area wearing her towel. At the spaw's edge, she dipped a toe into the water to tes the temperature. She smiled spotting a face she was sure she saw at the alliance beach party, ”Hey there! Good to see you again.” She paused and bowed to give a more formal introduction, ”I'm Arcadia Fairchilde of Fairy Tail.”

Haraka wasn't what one could exactly call young, that ship had sailed long before the end of the bronze age. This didn't stop her from looking youthful enough to be mistaken for an innocent maiden. Such an event happened at a spas grand opening she had been invited to. The mixed blood had gotten a better with their wings and tail being seen in public, thus had decided to venture to the location by flying. The half demon folded her large deep sapphire blue wings before going in, her tail curling a bit behind her. It was just easier to move around with a tail that big when some of its size was curled up. When it was her turn at the desk, Omaras brought out the voucher and her ID. "Haraka Omaras." The woman had given her a bit of a blank look before apologizing. Apparently due to her age they had assumed the woman was going to look a lot... older. The doctor wasn't sure if she felt flattered or upset. Whatever plans they had made for her there seemed to have changed a little, but the ice blue skinned woman was allowed in after a minute. The half dragon couldn't find it in herself to get frustrated though, who could blame such a mistake? And those with more aged and frail bodies would need different sorts of attention to have a relaxing day at the spa. While she hoped it didn't put anyone out, she wasn't going to apologize.

The woman walked into the changing room, stretching her back a bit as she did. One of these days she wished that there would be some sort of popping sound, even if it was an unrealistic thought. Her body just wasn't made that way in the back area. The woman stared at the spot where she was to change, thinking it over a bit before finally stripping off her clothing piece by piece within the changing room. This would be the first time being outside of her home without having her chest strapped down in some way. It felt a bit scandalous to do so but... this wasn't wrong. He wasn't his grandmother, there was no reason to feel weird about it. With one deep breath down, the mixed quickly finished the stripping before using the towel left for her. It was only after the towel was on firmly enough that she was positive it would never loosen that Haraka finally left the changing room. What she didn't expect to see there was two of the people that had been in the chaos that was the beach party. Well, at least the water was also there. Maybe if it was some other time, she would politely wait to get in. Right now? The most relaxing thing just felt like being in as much water as possible. Maybe that was a sea creature thing? He waved at the other two, "I didn't expect to see either of you again this soon."

Not that it would make sense to expect them to know her. "Hello, I'm Haraka Omaras from west fiore trading company." Were they expecting less people? Maybe, but maybe not. "There was a small mix up concerning my age, so I hope me being here doesn't make things too crowded." Small? Well, she wasn't going to exactly say that the staff had been expecting a shriveled up granny. Either way the woman dipped her draconian feet into the water, the long shrimp tail following suit. Ohhhh yes, water, water! Her chest wasn't flat, but it wasn't big either. The only large curves on her body seemed to be her strong hips and legs, the muscles giving things a bit more curve in the calf area than having only fat would do.

Masha laughed as she darted through the streets of Hosenka. Eyes followed her progress but for once, she didn't want to flaunt for them. A spa day! A spa day! She hadn't had one in ages. Oh, to feel the warm water softening her skin. To feel strong or dainty hands kneading her flesh. Her teeth flashed at that thought. Maybe her massages could have happy endings. And she would be getting multiple massages. Her body was too sore for anything else. The only bothersome part was that she'd have to share today with a few strangers. According to the voucher she'd received, there would be a mystery group sharing the day. Anywhere from three to five others --maybe even more-- would be in the spa with her. Hopefully they wouldn't bring her down. Masha really wanted a day to simply relax. Spotting Incandescence put an extra burst of speed into Masha's step.

The floor squeaked as Masha skidded to a halt in front of the reception desk. The attendant eyed her attire. It was nothing but a pink towel that barely held her chest and offered scandalous hints of her butt every time she took a step. Probably not the wisest thing to run in, now that she thought about it, but Masha had been too excited for this day. Why bother with modesty or propriety? "Hi!" She said cheerily holding out her voucher. The attendant checked the voucher three times. Masha looked down to make sure her guild tattoo was showing. Yup. So the attendant was being a bitch for no reason. She glared until the attendant waved her through. Masha walked haughtily through the doors into the changing room. This place better give great service after such a terrible reception.

Her welcome was quickly banished from her mind. Her towel hadn't even hit the floor before she burst into the spa. Maybe she should have read the rules first. Was she allowed to be naked here? She didn't really care. "Yeeeessssss" She crooned ignoring the others there, for the time being. Masha slipped under the water, letting the feeling of it wash over her. This was heaven. It felt like magic was bubbling against her skin, soothing away her aches. Just what she needed. She burst from the water only when she couldn't hold her breath any longer. Her chest heaved as she studied the others in the room.

There were three of them. One appeared to be a young girl, maybe twelve in age. She wasn't sure though since she was bad with ages. The girl had yet to fill out in all the places that mattered but that didn't say anything about what she could do. Magic surrounded her and it was ill conceived to assume she wasn't powerful. Masha glided closer to the group, checking out the other women. Both were attractive. In the old days, Masha would have unleashed her full succubus abilities on them. A threesome was always fun. Now however, Masha was trying to have a little more class. There was no need to sleep with every attractive man and woman anymore. The succubus leaned against the side. "Hello, ladies." Damn, was that a purr in her voice? She would have to try harder to control her natural tendencies. "My name is Masha. Who are all of you?"

Arcadia laid her towel over a nearby bench, before finally joining sliding into the water. The pale blonde slayer mildly blushed when the crimson haired woman came in and slipped straight into the water. The young Fairy slouched down until her lips were at water level. Partly a way for the shy girl to hide, partly because blowing her own air bubbles across the water's surface was amusing. When she Hime settled in nearby after Masha surfaced, Arcadia smiled to them both. Sitting up straight again, she smiled to Haraka too.

Glancing back to Masha, the pale blonde slayer didn't quite meet the woman's gaze and her voice was just above audible. "I-I'm Arcadia."

She waited a beat before speaking again to answer Hime. This time she met each of their gazes, if only briefly. "In Fairy Tail has dorms for female guild members, Fairy Hills. I have a room there, and we have a spa on the first floor. On my third day staying there we caught a perv using magic parfume to peep at me and the other girls living there while we were changing or in the spa. We got 'im good so.. I still use it."

The tub's heated water were slowly working their wonders on the young blonde slayer. She slouched back again, her accent shifting slightly (if surfer girl were an accent) as she grew more relaxed, "Yeah. Spas can be totes hella boss."

Haraka looked over at Masha, face flushing at how boldly she just ran into a spa full of women completely naked. Who were all of them? "I'm Haraka, we've met Masha." Seeing how much she had to battle her own towel just to keep her important bits covered, there was no reason to get serious and bring up last names. Why couldn't her thighs be a bit smaller? Because she was build for swimming, and swimming favored thick thighs. For now she kept the water to her legs, not really feeling up to getting fully stripped just yet. What's when Hime asked about each girls experiences with spas before. Did she? The mixed blood shook her head. "I was born in an age and culture were getting undressed anywhere outside of a bath for a woman was unseemly.

Demon blood was common, but people still looked for any reasons to call us violent or wild... So those sort of things have stuck. I know that was thousands of years ago..." But fears tended to have odd ways of sticking. Even if she didn't need to know it anymore, nor fear it, even if times had changed. There had also been no reason to push at it before. Honestly she could go through her entire life and not have to face it once. But what would she be missing out on due to that easily ignoble thing? The feeling of all this amazingly nice feeling water over herself, not just the legs and tail. This was... very nice water. Two of the girls were already stripped and sunk inside of the warm liquid comforts. Finally, the young looking woman took off the towel. It laid near the water as Omaras quickly slid the remainder of her naked flesh quickly into the water.

At least water would help make things look more obscure? Though the half demon had still slid in with one arm over her chest. But the water certainly felt very welcoming to slip inside. "Nomeno pab kiwiegic trekisclaxir." A slip of the tongue, one she didn't immediate catch. It probably wouldn't have come out in the first place if her thinking hadn't been loosened a bit by the warm water. Her long tail remained a little curled in the water, but it was slowly starting to uncurl itself. "Sorry, I meant to say... the water feels breathtaking." Technically she had said it before, just in the wrong language.

Her being naked in water with other women who were also naked hadn't left her mind though, which was one of the reasons one arm was still over her chest. It wasn't like this totally covered the ice skinned womans chest, it wasn't small or flat. At the least they weren't huge, just around a medium size. At the least a fair amount could be covered by the one arm and that was enough for now. Well, as long as she didn't over think things.

Masha offered each of the girls a broad smile. She didn't remember Haraka but then she met many people. It was hard to remember every single one. The girl, Arcadia's reaction rather bothered Masha. They were all here to relax. She didn't want to take that from anyone with her natural tendencies. "I hope I'm not making anyone uncomfortable. I feel more secure when I'm completely naked. I can cover up if yall wish me to." She sank down into the water, a satisfied smile crossing her face. This water felt amazing. Masha was starting to drift asleep with strangers nearby. That almost never happened. Shaking herself, the succubus tried to focus back into the conversation. The one who had introduced herself as Hime had asked a question.

"I've been in an.... unofficial spa. It wasn't nearly as nice as this place and there were some extra rules." A bit of pink colored Masha's cheeks. She hadn't thought about that place in a while. She used to visit it quite a bit. Now that she was in Sabertooth, now that she was walking a different path, Masha tried not to slip back into places she'd once known well. "I'm sure I'll like this place much better." The succubus turned toward Haraka, feeling as if she should address the woman. "I'm sorry but I don't remember you, Haraka. I meet many people and trying to remember every face plus every name is an ordeal my mind simply isn't up to. I hope you'll forgive me for forgetting. Where do I know you from?" That seemed sufficient. Masha felt an unfamiliar nervousness spreading through her gut. When had been the last time she felt truly nervous? She couldn't remember.

The little blonde wizard settled low in the water again. She listened intently as they traded spa experiences. She bobbed once or twice under the surface The warm water really was quite relaxing, she had to agree with Haraka and the others on that no matter how it was said. She sprayed excess water from her lips and wiped drenched blonde bangs out of her eyes.

She continued to listen as Masha answered next. Arcadia tilted her face toward the ceiling, though it made her own voice sound so far away with her ears dipping under the water, ”S'all good. I wouldn'na come alltha way from Magnolia if tha' bothered me. Trains hate my stomach too much. I'm never gonna get braver 'bout meetin' new peoples if I never try.” Not hearing her own voice so well seemed to help her speak more audibly.

Arcadia bobbed on under the water again, coming back up she smiled over to Hime ”Oh it's more fun than you'd think. Bubble Dragon Roar!” There was no magic, just more air bubbles powered by her mundane breath. She relaxed deep in the warm soothing waters, listening to the others quietly.

The blonde slayer tilted her head back toward Hime, considering the peach haired wizard's inquiry of where they were all from. Arcadia's answer could complicated, long, and even she wasn't sure she understood it completely. She didn't want t to lie either, if she didn't have to. Simple was the way to go, ”I'm wasn'na born in Fiore, but I'm from Magnolia now.”

She would quietly listen to the others too, wondering out loud somewhere along the way, ”What all does this spa hav-in store? Does it have those hot stones? Massage?” It was Arcadia's way of feeling out what other treatments might be next.

The half blood wasn't exactly surprised. They had only met once, not even for a full day. There was no reason for them to remember each other. "We only met once, and briefly so it makes sense to forget. Thank you for caring." She shrugged a bit, her tail moving under the water a bit. There was no tone in her voice nor body language that showed a hint of feeling bothered. Still, there was no harm in saying enough to hint that's it's probably better that she doesn't remember. "Almost half of my soul was missing when we first met."
That actually connected to the question Hime asked everyone. Relaxed deep sapphire eyes that seemed to lack pupils stared lazily over at the girl briefly. Was Acadia a slayer? Motion sickness seemed like a common trait for slayers of all sorts. She didn't say where she was originally from, was there a reason? "What do you think of your home in Magnolia?" There was no reason to poke about her actual place of origin. The water felt like heaven. Even in this form, she couldn't find a single want to be aggressive.

At this point the woman had even relaxed enough to move her arm from over her chest. The half dragon begun to lazily stretch out her body, bending her back far enough to where the back of her head gently touched against the area around the water. This left their chest out of water, at least until the stretch finished. Harakas body sunk back down in a sluggish way after the brief stretch was finished, surrendering herself to the relaxing water. "My birth country sunk to the bottom of the ocean, my current home is in Tolgalen."
It was a good country. The young looking woman was happy with where she was in life, even if she had no intent of standing still. The half demon also wanted to know about the other things that the spa offered, but had nothing to add to things on that topic. This was not a bothersome thing though. Listening to each other, enjoying the water, these were all very relaxing.

Masha smiled at Arcadia. She tried to make sure it was a normal, soft smile but she wasn't sure if she succeeded. Those false seductive smiles were easier to use than a real smile. "Thank you. I tend to freak people out since I'm a bit outrageous at times." Masha pulled herself out of the water. As water streamed down her body, thin white scars flashed. They were spaced out every inch or so upon her body and every part of her was covered in them. The succubus perched on the edge of the pool. While the water was relaxing, she didn't want to get too relaxed yet. There were other bits of her personality that weren't exactly friendly. Or rather that was to say they were too friendly. They'd begin to peak their head out if she let all the stress drain from her body.

It was hard not to ogle Haraka as the woman presented her chest to the world. While Haraka wasn't her preferred body type, the succubus could still appreciate it. She almost wished the scientists had given her a tail. Then it could wave back and forth in appreciation. Masha refused to admit that she was trying to distract her mind from thoughts of 'home'. Sabertooth was the first real home she'd ever had. Could she admit that to a group of strangers? Probably. What she didn't know was how they'd react to the information. Would they make fun of her? Would they look at her like a freak? The uncertainty made Masha want to bite her lip. At the same time, the succubus felt like she should risk it. What was life without risk?

"I don't know where I'm from." Masha admitted softly. "My parents gave me away when I was young. I never really had a home until I came to Sabertooth." Her fingers brushed against the tattoo on her chest. Her eyes faded a bit, her memories stealing away her happiness. Her childhood had sucked. Her early adulthood hadn't been much better. She could only dream that this part of her life would outshine the others, drown them in light. "Anyways, as Arcadia asked, what else does this spa provide?" Masha brought her leg up outta the water. "I think we've had enough water. Too much longer and we'll all wrinkle up."

Arcadia bit her lower lip, taking a thoughtful moment. ”It's no Dragnof...that's..that's where I was born. It's long gone..but...anyway. Magnolia has some real nice people, and it's real pretty around there.” The pale blonde slayer young green faerie gaze and face filled with mix of concern and genuine sympathy, even a little teary to hear Haraka's original homeland was gone too. ”I wonder if you can ever really get over that kinda thing... I doubt it.” She regained a warm smile that she directed to Haraka, ”I hope your new home is as good to you as mine is to me.”

She settled back down lower int the water again, as Masha's turn to answer came around. The buxom red head's background tugged at Arcadia's young heart strings too. While she had life experience to directly relate to it, she imagined it feel a lot like she did losing her family. Both the human one she was born into and the dragon one she was adopted into. It did her heart good, knowing was something of a happy ending to the story though. Arcadia offered a rather cheery smile, the pale blonde's voice not so soft now that had gotten to know those around her a little, ”Sounds like Sabertooth has down a lot the same for you that Fairy Tail has done for me. Stuffs like that is important. It's good ta have a place you really can call home between adventures.”

Arcadia laughed warmly, and playfully splashed the others. The look she got from the boss lady calmed the young blonde slayer back down. She flushed lightly, giving one last defiant splash before she hauled herself out to water to sit on the edge of the tub. Her drenched, rather long hair of giving her almost as much modesty as one of those little towels.

She sat swishing her feet innocently in the water, while she listened to options for further spa treatments. Rising back to her feet, she thought about which ones she would want. She went to switch her towel for one of those big fluffy robes, while she was deciding. Those robes looked so comfy she had to switch.

Pulling on one that looked closest to her size, she relayed the treatment that sounded best, ”I think I'd like one of those salt glows too! Uh can I have mine with peppermint and lavender. I hear those can have cooling and calming effects. And umm, could I have a bucket of shaved ice on the side. I could use a light snack.”

"Sometimes people need a little jump added to their step." Even she herself was guilty of that at times. Of course this was the same person who had found herself so relaxed in the water that she hadn't noticed eyes ogle her. While she had noticed the scars, the mixed blood didn't ask about them. Sometimes scars were personal and she didn't want to ruin this wondrous mood. The only thing negative she felt was some slight jealousy. Her own chest wasn't exactly the largest, even if it wasn't flat either. At the least such feelings didn't last long. The bliss of the steam didn't stop her from hearing things though. "At least you have a home now. Maybe one day you will find where you're from." Wrinkle up? That probably wouldn't happen to a sea creature, but she still sluggishly started to leave the water. The towel coated her as soon as the woman had left the water enough to do so. The deep sapphire blue dragon wings hung loosely at her sides, her abnormally long deep sea mantis shrimp tail slightly curled. Omaras would deeply miss soaking in the water, but of course there would be many more things here to experience. Her chest wasn't hard to cover with the towel, again. Of course the sizable hips would forever cause trouble when it came to anything remotely short, even towels.

The entrance of the staff member was almost alarming. Haraka was suddenly very glad that Masha had spoke up, otherwise the woman would still be naked in the water. Tables? Ahh, the spas schedule. The first option didn't sound like it was for the half demon. Her talons were always in a polished state that had no scratches or chips. A pedicure.. just seemed like it was for women with more malleable nails that had the possibility of making their fingers look cute. A body treatment. She feelt a bit lost, until what that was ended up getting explained. A salt glow? The half demon glanced briefly at her dimly glowing arm. Add glow to the glow? A salt treatment on a saltwater creature? "May I ask for the body wrap and mask treatment?" That might be more up her alley. As her backs sea of scars would attest to, the rest of her body was not exactly without flaws. Gender preference? A massage also sounded good, she didn't care what gender the masseuse was. Ahh, hime seemed very excited. Coconut peppermint salt glow sounded more like a drink to her than a treatment. Was that done on purpose? Her eyes moved to the younger looking dragon, hearing the name of the youths homeland.

Ahh, it's been awhile since she had heard of the name of that country. "Dragnof... I think that country was mixed up in the dragon slayer war around four hundred years ago? I'm sorry for your loss. I can see how you might think I would still have attachments to my home country, but I haven't missed mine in a very long time." It was better than saying that the rulers of his home country had hurt her heart, or that part of the woman felt like the fall of the ice land had been a long time coming. It wouldn't do any good to say that she wasn't sure if she ever missed that land so much as the family members she would never see again. There were parts of the culture he missed, family she missed, but not the laws, not all of the culture, and certainly not that place. It was where the mixed blood had learned that bigots could smile at you while looking for any excuse to end your life. No, those memories were why she had marred her own flesh for so many years, why the woman left scars to remind herself to never do it again.

Masha felt a little awkward with the well wishes of her companions. It felt weird. A warmth spread within her chest, spreading outward like the unfurling wings of a phoenix. It wasn't unpleasant but Masha wasn't sure she liked the feeling. She looked down at her toes, her hair falling in front of her face. The entrance of the manager helped bring Masha back up. Her head was a nasty place to get lost in. "I'll take a salt glow with black pepper, peppermint and coconut oil with magic invigoration. Also, I would loooove a massage." She sucked on her bottom lip as she debated the gender of the masseuse. "I don't care about the gender but send someone in that likes to add a little.... spice to their massage." The succubus smiled suggestively at the end of her sentence. The succubus didn't bother grabbing a towel like the others. She liked strutting her stuff. Plus the more she showed the less issues there would be later. Maybe. The scientists never had been clear on that point.