Dry Land

Elodie was told by Zokkik that the place they were stopping at would have somewhere for her to bathe, so she packed a small bag of the extra clothes she had scrounged up and DIYed to her liking. She had only one true bath since being on the ship. That had been when she had first woken up from her coma, and it wasn't very pleasant. It was a hassle to fill up the tub, the water was not the cleanest, and it was difficult to find privacy. So, to get clean she had just been wiping herself down with a wet rag, which was also unpleasant. The men on the ship were used to it, but she was used to warm showers every day. So, to say she was excited for a real bath, was an understatement. She also wanted to shave her legs because she hated the feeling of hair on her legs. And, right now her leg hair was caveman length (might be a bit of an exaggeration) because she hadn't been able to shave for two months. Zokkik was afraid to let her handle razors when she was healing since her hand-eye coordination had been off and the ship wasn't always the steadiest.

Since things were still a little awkward between her and Zokkik, Elodie decided to ask Konoye or Petak if she could borrow their shaving stuff. However, she ran into a small problem. Konoye and Petak had already headed to shore, so she couldn't ask them. Hakoda saw her looking around and walked behind Elodie, "Looking for something?" She jumped slightly and then turned to face him, a small smile on her face, "You love to sneak up on me, don't you? And, I was looking for Konoye or Petak. I was going to ask them if I could borrow one of their shaving kits, but they already headed towards the shore."

Hakoda looked a bit confused, "You are going to shave?" Elodie raised her eyebrows softly, "I am going to shave my legs." The tall man's face changed from confusion to realization, "Oh. I heard that some women from the other nations and kingdoms do that. Women in the Water Tribe usually don't because it's very cold where we live." Elodie nodded, "That's interesting." He scratched the back of his head and almost looked flustered. He cleared his throat a bit, "Uh you can use my shaving stuff. I'll bring it to shore." She smiled at him, "Thanks." He replied, "You're welcome. I have to go get some stuff ready, so um... I'll see you later." She waved at him before heading back to Zokkik's room, smiling softly at Hakoda's odd behavior.

In an hour, the ship had finally reached the shore; however, it felt much longer to Elodie. She was so eager to get off of the boat and onto dry land. She honestly didn't really mind being on the ship because she liked the water. The main issue she had was having little to nothing to do on the ship. She had been so bored on the vessel and was hoping that there was more she could do on land.

Elodie practically jumped onto the ramp that lead from the ship to the sandy ground, only wobbling a bit when the ramp slightly moved from the force of her landing. She tried to act like nothing happened and hoped that no one saw that, but a soft chuckle and a full-on laugh told her otherwise. She playfully glared at the culprits, "Don't y'all have anything better to do than watch me like weirdos." Konoye grinned and gently helped her down and off the ramp, "Well, you're just so beautiful that we can't help it." Elodie rolled her eyes and said cheekily, "You're getting pretty brave there, buddy boy." The three laughed and chatted for a bit more before a familiar authoritative voice called out, "Konoye. Petak. Why don't y'all help restock some of the supplies." Konoye sighed, "Busted. We'll talk afterwards." The two rushed off the help and Hakoda walked up to Elodie. He said while hiding a grin, "You like to distract my men, don't you?" Elodie shot back, "It's just too easy. All I have to do is smile and bat my eyelashes and they're hooked." Hakoda broke into a tiny smile, "You always surprise me with your answers." Elodie giggled softly, "I like to see your reactions."

Hakoda motioned to a small path that was almost hidden by some overgrown bushes, "I'll show you the way to the sanctuary." Elodie started walking with him and she asked, "Sanctuary? Why did we have to stop at a sanctuary? Are you getting rid of me?" Hakoda shook his head softly and chuckled, "No. I am not getting rid of you. My friend, who is also my second in command, is here. He was badly injured, so he has been healing here." Elodie grimaced slightly, feeling bad that she was joking while they were going to get Hakoda's friend who had been severely injured. Hakoda seemed to notice Elodie's emotions, so he nudged her and tried to lighten the mood, "Bedsides, I cannot get rid of you just yet. I still do not know if you are a spy." Elodie looked up at him with slanted, unamused eyes. He laughed and tried not to think about how adorable Elodie looked at the moment. He cleared his throat, "Ok. Maybe you are not a spy, but I do believe you're hiding something from me- us. Like where you are from. You are not from here, are you?"

Elodie opened up her mouth slightly, thinking of what to say. She was saved by the sight of the sanctuary. She quickly changed the topic, "Look! There it is! Let's hurry!" She quickened up her pace and Hakoda called out a bit, "Elodie!" He shook his head softly and jogged slowly to catch up to Elodie. Once he reached her, he said sarcastically, "You are very good at avoiding questions you don't want to answer." She replied just as sarcastically, "Thanks. It comes from years of practice." Hakoda placed his large hand on her shoulder, "You are going to have to tell me where you are from at some point if you do want me—us—to trust you." Elodie looked at his hand, then at him, "I will tell you. Soon. I just have to finish gathering my thoughts." He nodded and removed his hand before continuing to walk into the sanctuary.

They were greeted by the women who lived and worked at the haven. Before Elodie was shown the bathing chambers, Hakoda and his friend were reunited. The moment was so sweet that it could have been on one of those Instagram pages that post soldiers coming home. Elodie smiled at Hakoda when his eyes met hers before following one of the workers to a nice, warm bath.

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