31: Just us girls

"Uh… Ishi… I'm sorry!" I said, with arms raised, backing away from a very dangerous and unpredictable Ishi.

She advanced on me, looking down her nose at me with hellfire in her eyes.

"No one has ever tainted my outfit." She said in a low, dangerous voice.

I've never seen her look disheveled before, and I now know why. She is just as vain as she is strong. I panicked as she backed me up against the edge of the arena with no escape.

"I-I.. It wasn't my intention to dirty your clothes! I promise!"

She slammed one hand against the tree, very close to my head and made me yelp in surprise and duck my head. She was very close, towering over me.

"I'm sorry… I'll make it up to you?" I still didn't dare to look up.

"How do you intend to take responsibility for this?" She asked, sounding half angry and half amused.

I looked up and immediately regretted it. She was so tall, and since she was leaning on the tree her body was very close. Due to the height difference when I looked up I couldn't meet her eyes because her large chest was in the way. And it was covered in mud. I was flustered, embarrassed, and nervous.

I blushed and looked away again. "I'll wash your clothes for you. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure they don't stain!"

I heard a low sarcastic snort before she stood upright. I looked up to meet her eyes this time and they had a dangerous gleam to them. Like she was plotting some elaborate and evil scheme.

Then she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the arena.

*. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *

I stumbled along behind her though the walkways and between the buildings which have started to become familiar. We go this way every day so I can wash up before going home.

She dragged me all the way into the showers. They were completely empty, again. I'm surprised it's not more chaotic in here, I mean, the felines are pretty particular about their appearances.

I looked over at Ishi who finally released her grip on me. She looked down at me in turn and started removing her clothes. I was getting weird vibes from her and I wasn't sure what to say. So I stood there, frozen on the spot. She stared at me while removing her top, then raised an eyebrow at me.

"Are you just going to stare or are you going to wash up?" Ishi said with amusement.

The weird tension broke and I felt relieved. I realized that I was holding my breath this whole time. I exhaled, nodded in agreement, and started to disrobe as well. I was never completely comfortable being naked, let alone around other people. I used my tail to cover my lower body and held my clothes to my chest since I intended to wash them anyways.

Once Ishi had removed all her clothes she threw them at me, "Don't forget about these. You said you were going to wash them." She said, smugly.

They flew towards my face and I caught them, I bundled them together with mine and walked towards the showers while saying back, "Uh, right. I did. No worries, I'll take care of them."

Once again, Ishi seemed so comfortable exposing her body. She strutted around the showers, stark naked, and chose the one next to mine.

I looked at her incredulously and she simply replied, "I want to make sure you don't ruin my clothes. Don't mind me." She turned on the shower and went back to ignoring me.

It's a little awkward, but I guess it's normal here to see each other in the nude. I turned on the shower and hesitantly removed the bundle of clothes that I was clutching to my chest.

I decided to wash the clothes first. I gently scrubbed Ishi's clothes under the hot water until not a trace of dirt was left on them. I draped them aside and haphazardly washed mine. Once they were all clean and wrung out, I took them over to another area to hang dry.

Ishi was still showering when I went back around the corner. She must like really long showers. I inwardly shrugged and went back to where I was. I scrubbed the mud off me and washed my hair. I felt like someone was watching me, so I peeked out of the corner of my eye. Ishi was still ignoring me. I'm probably just being paranoid.

I felt weird having finished showering before Ishi, even though I started after her. I worried that she was going to mock me for not taking a long time like her. I turned off the water and went around the corner to get changed, grabbing a towel along the way.

In the mornings I swing by here first to drop off my bag so I have a change of clothes after training. I looked under the bench where I usually hide it and it wasn't there. I was a little confused, but I checked under the other benches just in case. My bag was nowhere to be found. I groaned inwardly. The only clothes I have are the ones I just washed and they will need at least an hour to dry enough for me to wiggle back into them. I was standing by the wet clothes, wearing nothing but a small towel, while mentally running though the options here. Someone must have thought I forgot my bag and went to return it. So I have no choice but to wait for my clothes to dry. I started to wonder if Ishi brought extra clothes or if she intended to wait here while hers dried.

Then, Ishi came strutting around the corner, drying her hair with a towel and not bothering to hide her well toned body in the least. Fine water droplets clung to her abs and raced downwards towards her thighs as she moved. The steam from the showers floated around her, making her look like a sculpted goddess.

Her blonde hair and blue eyes stood out against the bronze-tan color of her skin. She looked at me curiously, as if she was wondering what I was thinking.

"It's probably going to take at least an hour for our clothes to dry enough for us to wear them." I said to her.

"Figured as much. Guess we ought to get comfortable." She replied.

I agreed and went to sit on a bench that was against the wall. I could keep an eye on the clothes from here and watch for anyone else who might enter. I wrapped the towel around me as best I could and sat on the bench. Ishi wasn't far behind and sat right next to me; the bench was long and there was plenty of room but she sat shoulder to shoulder. I was taken aback at her closeness and my eyes must have shown the surprise i felt, since Ishi looked down at me and explained.

"The steam won't linger for long, and this stone building gets cold quickly. If we share body heat we can stay warm until the clothes dry." She seemed so calm, like this was completely normal.

"Oh.. um I should be fine though, I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable.." I said as I gingerly tried to scoot away.

She looked irritated as she reached around behind me and pulled me tight up against her side. She looked down at me with her typical menacing aura as she said, "I will be more uncomfortable if I get cold. Since you are responsible for this situation you will have to keep me warm."

I found it impossible to pull my gaze away from her dark blue eyes. It was like a deep dark pool that was drawing me in. I realized that this would look very ambiguous to anyone who walked by; us clad in nothing but towels, on a bench with her arm around me, bodies pressed together, and staring into each other's eyes. I managed to pull my gaze away with a deep blush coloring my cheeks. That was when I noticed that Ishi's towel wasn't even wrapped around her. It was draped loosely across the front of her, barely covering her private areas. My blush deepened as I looked away.

Ishi snorted, "No need to be embarrassed."

I felt even more embarrassed now, but I didn't want her to know. She might think I'm some sort of pervert! "I'm not embarrassed! Why would I be? It's just us girls here."

I heard Ishi make an irritated snort again as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, her arm still wrapped around my shoulders.

We sat there in silence, in the warm shower room. Her body heat was soothing and I found myself fighting sleep. I've been oddly cold at night since sleeping alone. Perhaps since I was used to sleeping with Marshall next to me. I found the warmth and presence of another body so soothing that I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and I drifted off to sleep.