---
He nodded. He pulled off his cloak and shirt, set them aside, and climbed down the steps into the pool. Warmth closed over him. Tension ran off his shoulders. He did not show it, but the long run and the fight and the hard anaconda penetration had stacked stones on his back. The water took a few away.
Luna came in after him. She moved to his right side and pressed her hip against him under the water. It was not bold. It was an anchor. He put his arm along the pool's ledge. She leaned back against it. The others spread out. Azhara floated on her back and hummed a song that had no words. Vel ducked under and popped up with a gasp and a laugh. Sha scooped water and poured it over her hair. Naaro sat where the water met the stone and let the flow run over her four legs. Akayoroi wrung her long veil, set it aside, and smoothed her hair with her palms. Lirien held the soap stone like a holy thing and looked at Kai's shoulders.
"May I," she asked. She was bold there.
