//------------------------------// // 52~The Bathhouse // Story: Youngblood // by Centurion Pike-Wall //------------------------------// June 6th, 3096 Imperial Calendar (1523 AD) Vestilius Bathhouse "Oh, I'm so excited!", Cherry said, bouncing alongside her friends as they made their way down the bustling street. Apple Fritter asked, "Ain't ya excited fer everything?" "Yeah, but I'm more excited than usual!", Cherry replied. "Because we're seeing Catalia, and meeting some of her friends! I get to see one of my friends and make four more friends, all at once!" "Plus, I've read good things about Pryhan Bathhouses", Styx said. "It's a really interesting subject." "Oh?", Grace said. "How so?" "Primarily the history of the subject, and-" Styx was cut off by their chaperone, Blueblood, saying, "Alright. We're here." The group of foals looked up, eyes falling on the large building that lay before them. It was a relatively small building, at least compared to the apartments that surrounded them. Columns surrounded the entrance, snaking around the building at various intervals. There were only a few windows, all of which were narrow with misted glass. A small collection of plants sat in pots around the entrance, growing small trees of collections of flowers. Standing by the entrance was Catalia, along with two ponies. One was a tall unicorn with a silvery mane and pale blue fur that they recognized from stories as Trixie. The other was a younger unicorn colt, about their age. He had a darker blue coat, as well as a pinkish-silver mane tied back in a style similar to Depressi. He wore appeared to be talking to someone, rolling his eyes and saying something in Pryhan; though when they followed his gaze, they only saw a bench. "Salve!", Catalia said, smiling and waving to them. "You must be this Trixie Lulamoon I was told about in the plan", Blueblood said, shaking hooves with her when they closed the distance. Trixie replied, "And you must be Blueblood. A pleasure." "Likewise", Blueblood said. "Anyway, I'm sure Catalia told you about the CMC?" "Indeed", Trixie said. "I hope you're all having a great time in Creui so far." "Yeah!", Cherry exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "Salve", the colt said, offering a hoof. "My name is Glorium Vexillum. It's a pleasure to meet you." "Likewise", Grace said. As he shook hooves with her, he whispered, "One of my brothers is currently behind you with an airhorn." As if on cue, a loud note rang out, startling almost all of them. Silver whirled, around, her horns slamming into something. As the invisibility spell wore off, a pale orange earth pony colt with a white mane lay slumped on the ground, a wide grin on his face despite the impact. "Worth it", the colt said. "You couldn't even wait two minutes?", Glorium said. "Dolum!", Trixie said, pulling the colt to his hooves. "That was hardly appropriate. Apologize." "Apologies", Dolum replied, giving an exaggerated bow. "I merely couldn't resist." "This is Dolum, one of my brothers", Glorium said. "Fire Show and Vivatani both had prior commitments, so you're stuck with him." "Rude", Dolum said. Glorium replied, "Merely giving them a bit of-" "Would both of you knock it off?", Catalia asked, getting a nod from the brothers. "Just be civil for my friends. I know you can do it." Blueblood, nodding slowly, said, "Right. Well, no reason to wait; should we head in?" "Alright. This way", Catalia said. Trixie led the way inside, the others following closely behind her. They entered into a large foyer, decorated with mosaics displaying trees and mountains. Rows of cubbies and lockers lined the walls, with a small stand by the door housing a bunch of keys. "Good morning, Miss Trixie", the attendant said. "How many cubbies do you need?" Before Trixie could even look back, Catalia said, "Five, sir." Trixie exchanged a small wad of Pryhan script for five sets of locks, heading over to a small section of open lockers on one of the walls. "Alright. Anything you don't want to get wet or care about losing, put in this one", Trixie said, indicating one of the cubbies. "You two. Behave. I'm going to the Caldarium for a bit." "Yes, mother", Glorium said as he started to remove his tunic. As the Pryhans removed their clothes, the others quickly removed any small items they had on them and placed them into the cubby they had been given. As they waited for the others to finish, the CMC looked at the doors that lined one end of the room, branching off into different areas. Labels in Pryhan hung over the entrance, with steam filtering out of a few of them. "What are these?", Silver asked. Styx replied, "They lead to other areas of the Bathhouse." She walked up to one of them, which lead down a narrow corridor to a larger room on the far end. "This one leads to the Fridgidarium; it's a pool of cold water used for cooling off." "Right", Catalia said, joining them along with Glorium and Dolum. "There's also the Tepidarium, the Caldarium, the Palaestra, and the Main Pool." "Pool!?", Cherry said, running through the door Catalia had indicated. The three Pryhans watched her disappear through the doorway, before the two colts looked amongst themselves. "Is she always like that?", Dolum asked. "From what I've seen, yes", Catalia said, before turning to the others. "Probably best if we follow her in." "Agreed", Blueblood said. As they walked down the hallway that Cherry had, he turned to Styx and Catalia. "Is there anything I can do? Besides swimming, I mean." "There's a small food stand in here", Catalia said. "You could just get something to eat and relax. You can also usually get a massage or oil bath out on the deck." "Thank you", Blueblood said. "Anyway, if any of you need me, I'll be nearby." They made their way through another door, stepping aside to allow a Demigryph heading out of the pool, finally entering the pool. The structure was open to the air, the roof stopping just above the lip of the pool. The pool itself was a wide rectangle, full of children and adults alike splashing, racing, and otherwise relaxing within. Various stools, reclined chairs, and cots were arranged around the edge of the pool, while several creatures in staff uniforms moved through them, handing out drinks, small plates of food, or administering massages. As they watched, Cherry lept over the stairs on the pool's edge, diving fully into the pool and disappearing under the surface. She surfaced a few seconds later, calling, "Water's fine! Come on in!" "I am personally interested in one of those massag-Hey!", Grace said, shrieking as she was suddenly grabbed by Fritter. He yelled, "Oh no ya ain't!", swinging her around and practically throwing her into the pool. She came up, sputtering, before shielding herself with a wing as Fritter hopped in after her. "Why, you little-!", Grace scowled, swimming after the giggling colt with a furious glare on her face. As the others entered into the pool, only Glorium and Catalia were left on the poolside. The two of them watched the group flail around in the water, laughing and splashing one another. Glorium turned to Catalia, asking, "They certainly are a unique bunch, eh?" "I suppose so, yeah", Catalia said. "But, hey, everyone has their own quirks. You have Miss Trixie as a mom; of course you know that. They are a bit out there in certain regards that fall out from the average, but-" Glorium used his magic to shut her mouth, giving her a small smile. "I like them. Come on", he said, hopping into the pool. Catalia looked at him join his brother and her friends, before shrugging and hopping in after him.