A Looker

Confused, Ava looked at Lily with a questioning eye. How exactly was Lily going to do that? Was she going to fight for her? Eying Lily's slender arms that showed no sign of muscle development, Ava couldn't help but feel doubtful.

But in the end, Lily didn't say anything more, only taking the brush back from Ava's hand and continuing to help clean Ava, while Ava didn't ask.

After a brief bout of silence, Lily helped Ava clean up most of the grime covering her body, sadly tracing Ava's scars with her fingers every time she revealed one. In the process, the water had turned a slightly muddy brown. Standing up, Lily held Ava's hand and stepped out of the pool, leaving Ava just enough time to grab the pouch and the knife before dragging her over to the second pool and sitting her down.

Once again, in the warm water, Ava couldn't help but feel a little speechless. Wasn't this too wasteful? Although the previous water wasn't exactly clear anymore, it was still plenty enough to do a little bit of cleaning.

Grabbing the brush, Lily held Ava and lightly led her to tilt her head back before gently holding onto the hair that was floating in the water and brushing it, bringing off clumps of dirt each time she did so. After working through Ava's entire head of hair and getting rid of the worst of the mess, Lily stood up and moved over to the side of the room before grabbing a small pail that was placed on a ledge and coming back with it.

Dipping a hand into the pail, Lily lifted out a faint green substance that smelled lightly of wood and fruit and brought it over to Ava's hair, slowly rubbing it into Ava's scalp and slowly working her way down Ava's hair, creating slight bubbles in the process.

Wrinkling her nose, Ava couldn't help but resist the urge to sneeze. Although the smell was quite pleasant, she wasn't used to it and couldn't help but feel a slight tickle in her nose, but seeing Lily's serious face above her, Ava didn't want to interrupt her, much less accidentally sneeze on her, and could only stifle the feeling.

After working her way through Ava's hair, Lily let out a light tap on Ava's shoulder and then pressed lightly on her forehead. Understanding what Lily wanted, Ava let Lily push her head lightly under the water as she rinsed out the soapy suds. A moment later, Lily released her hand, and Ava resurfaced from the water, taking a deep breath. Although she trusted Lily and had taken a breath before submerging, it still wasn't a very comfortable experience.

Once again, taking up the brush, Lily worked through Ava's hair once more before finally letting out a satisfied smile. "Feel it."

Curious, Ava lifted a hand and brushed it through her hair to find that it was soft like wool and couldn't help but be amazed. Alright, letting Lily tinker around had been quite worth it. It was almost like magic how different her hair was!

Before, it had been a scraggly mess that was hard to cut off even with a knife, and locks of hair had found themselves tangled together and glued with mud.

Seeing Ava rubbing her fingers over her hair, Lily couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Alright, let's move over to the main pool to let you rinse off."

Pausing her actions, Ava let out a small nod and stepped out of the pool, revealing a rather pale body with flesh that stuck close to the bone, crisscrossed with various small scars that almost seemed to form a pattern on her body. Looking at Ava step out, Lily couldn't help but let out a small laugh as she said, "With a little meat on your bones, you'll be quite a looker, Ava."

Turning around, Ava couldn't help but blink at Lily. She had never thought about how she would look. With the way she had lived, it was probably for the best if she stayed an ugly duckling her entire life. And besides, it was still far too early. She would only be turning ten in the winter. Even if she were to marry early, it would still be a long time before she would have to consider it.

Of course, having seen the worst of human nature, especially from men, Ava doubted she would ever be interested in marriage. What sort of man would be worth spending a life with?

Shaking her head, Ava walked over to the main pool and sank in, once again ducking her head under the water as she quickly washed off.

Behind her, Lily saw Ava's look and couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Getting up, she went to put away the brush and sponge as well as the small pail, placing them back by the wall, before walking over to the main pool herself and taking a dip to rinse off.

Not too long later, a slight knock came from the double doors, and Ava couldn't help but freeze up and quickly step out of the pool, going to grab her knife and pouch, as well as keeping her eyes trained on the door, with the clothing rack in her peripheral vision.

Lily, on the other hand, stepped out much more leisurely, walking over to the side of the room and grabbing two towels, tossing one at Ava before wrapping one around herself and walking to the front.

Over by the side, Ava saw the towel flying at her and couldn't help but want to curse, but in the end, she passed the knife over to the hand that was holding the pouch before catching the towel and roughly wrapping it around herself with her free hand.

From by the door, Lily heard Ahri's voice echo in. "I asked around and found some clothes that seemed roughly her size from Sienna. See if they fit. If not, I can keep asking around, but most of the girls don't keep their old clothing. If she's staying a few more days, can we go shopping the day after? Or I can ask Alice to sew her a new set."

"This should be enough for now. Thanks, Ahri! Thank Sienna for me too."

"Haha, of course."

Then, peeking slightly through the open doorway, Ahri sent Ava a sly grin before turning around and leaving.