“Here are your rooms; I hope you enjoy them!” Winny handed each of them a key with a room number on it.
Astra was handed one for Room 3, Thalia got Room 2, and Rubio received Room 1.
“Thank you very much.” Rubio thanked the man with a pleasant smile.
Astra subtly rolled his eyes, and Thalia huffed under her breath.
He couldn’t believe Rubio had agreed to go to the wedding.
Whatever.
He would pretend he was going, then skip town before it happened.
“Oh!
One thing of note,” Winny suddenly exclaimed.
“The formula for the plumbing system has worn away a bit.
Nobody in the village is good enough to fix it, and we haven’t had time to call an expert out.
It just means only one person can take a shower at a time.
I hope that doesn’t inconvenience you too much?” He asked.
“No, we’ll be fine, thank you.” Rubio waves goodbye as the proprietor walks away.
There’s a moment of silence before Astra and Thalia round on Rubio.
“What was that?” Astra questions.
“I just agreed to get him off my back; we don’t actually have to go!” He defends.
“We better not.
I don’t want to stay in this creepy love-cult town any longer than I have to.
Figures we’d get unlucky enough that when we finally find an island we get a place like this.” Thalia spits.
Astra shifts in place uncomfortably.
“So, who’s taking a shower first?” He asks, changing the subject.
“Me.
I smell and feel awful.” She groans.
“And we don’t?” Astra taunts, just for the fun of it at this point.
“Did you forget that my barrel had fish in it?” She says incredulously.
“My nose certainly didn’t.” He smirks, taking a step away from her as she grits her teeth in annoyance.
“Do you want to go next?” Rubio offers.
“Nah, you can go.
I need to clean my feathers outside of the shower first.” Astra shrugs.
His wings felt itchy; he hadn’t preened them in days, and he’d rather take the extra time to preen them before getting them wet so that they’d be easier to dry afterward.
“Right, be seeing you.” Thalia waved and went into her room.
“Bye.” Rubio nodded at him and left Astra alone in the hallway.
He sighed in exhaustion and opened his room door.
The inside was pretty standard: a bed, a window, a nightstand, and the connecting bathroom.
He checked the bathroom to see what he was working with and frowned in distaste at the size of the shower.
It wasn’t very Harpy-friendly, which figures for some of the smaller towns.
It’s not like he was asking for a full bath, but it would be difficult to maneuver his wings in a shower that tiny.
Plopping onto the bed with a huff, he was almost tempted to sleep right then and there.
He truly was exhausted.
Nobody slept well on that boat.
It was cramped, and they were constantly getting sprayed by seawater.
But the irritating feeling of his feathers being out of place was more pressing.
So he gets to preening.
He doesn’t know how long it takes, but it’s enough that the sun, which was hanging just above the horizon line, was now nowhere to be seen as stars littered the night sky.
Heading into the bathroom, he turned the shower handle.
A few creaks and groans were heard, but nothing came out of the spout.
He figured Rubio wasn’t done yet, and waited probably another thirty minutes, then tried again.
It still didn’t turn on.
He almost kicked the thing in rage, but remembered he didn’t have the money to pay for it, even if that never stopped him before.
He needed a boat, though, so it was best not to antagonize anyone in town, else they potentially refuse to give him one.
Groaning, he ran his hands over his face and into his hair.
He waited this long; he wasn’t going to head to bed without getting at least semi-clean.
That’s when he spotted the bottles from earlier.
There were about four of them; if he was careful, he could use about three of them to wash himself and save the fourth one for drinking tomorrow.
With that plan in mind, he got to work.
He wasn’t able to clean everything, but he definitely felt more refreshed.
He could have a proper shower tomorrow; maybe Rubio would let him use his shower.
He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
When Astra awoke the next morning, the first thing he noticed was the way his stomach felt like it was caving in on itself.
In their exhaustion, they had forgotten to eat anything at all, and he was certainly paying for it now.
Maybe Winny would give them something to eat for free as well?
Astra could only hope.
Grabbing the last water bottle, he untied his bandana, pulled his hair into a messy ponytail, and tied it in place with the bandana.
Checking out the window revealed it was a little bit before midday, which meant he had slept in for quite a while.
Nobody was in the hall when he left the room, nor was anybody in the tavern.
But when he stepped outside, it appeared that the entire town was bustling about.
Couples were everywhere; it was to the point where finding someone wandering around by themselves was rarer.
That’s why it was easy to spot Rubio, fiddling with his hands in a corner, a worried expression smattered across his face.
“Hey, did you manage to get breakfast?” Astra asks once he’s close enough.
Rubio jumps, his eyes moving to Astra.
“What?
Oh…uhm, not yet.
Winny was gone when I woke up, probably planning his wedding and all that.” He mutters.
“Right…” Astra fixes him with a look.
Something is clearly bothering the guy, but he finds he doesn’t care enough to ask.
“Well, I’m going to look for something to eat; I might have to go into the forest and forage or something.” He jokes, but as he stalks off, Rubio grabs onto his sleeve.
“Wait!” He calls out urgently.
Astra pauses, waiting for him to say something.
“It’s…I think something weird is going on.”
“…Can you elaborate?” Astra goads.
“Right, well, it’s about Thalia.
She’s…well, look for yourself.” Rubio points in a direction, and Astra finds himself looking at Thalia, her arm around an Elf girl’s waist, laughing at something she said.
“Oh please, you can’t be worried about that.
She seems like the type of person to do something like that; maybe she’s just flirting for supplies or breakfast.” Astra waves him off.
“…Maybe.
I think we should check in though.” Rubio insists.
“Fine.” Astra agrees.
Mostly because he wants to be proven right in real time, and also because if he is right, maybe Thalia will share some of her food.
“Hey!
Thalia!
What’s going on?” Astra shouts, walking up to the Siren.
“Hm?
Oh, not much.
I went out early this morning and met the most beautiful girl while looking for breakfast.
I had to talk to her immediately; I think I’ve found the love of my life.” She gushes.
“Oh, don’t be silly, though I think I feel the same.” The girl next to her giggles.
“Oh…okay,” Astra replies dumbly.
Alright…maybe Rubio had a bit of a point.
“And what about what you said last night?” Rubio prods.
“That’s all in the past; this love thing is actually pretty great.” She grins.
“Okay, right then, I’m leaving.
This place is cursed; it’s awful, I’m gone, goodbye.” Astra panics, attempting to leave, but Rubio’s hand snakes out and latches onto his wrist.
“Let go, man!
I’m not staying here a moment longer!
Something weird is happening.” He hisses, trying to pull away.
“You can’t leave.
I need your help.” Rubio states, tightening his grip.
“With what?
You should leave too; nothing good can come from staying here.” Astra spits.
“Look, I’m having…feelings…for someone.” He stutters out.
“Great, good for you,” Astra replies heatedly, still struggling.
“You don’t get it.
I’ve been in a relationship for eight years.
I love my partner more than anything in this World.
So why am I having feelings for someone else?” His words make Astra freeze in place.
He said it so desperately, like he’s in actual pain at the thought.
It causes his heart to clench.
“Uggggh, fine!
What should I do?” He turns around, ripping his arm away from Rubio to cross them.
“We need to figure out why this is happening.
I don’t know how long I’ll last until I end up like…” Rubio glances over at Thalia.
“But we need to find someone who isn’t affected.
Maybe they’ll know something.”
“Okay, should we try and grab Thalia?” Rubio nods in answer to his question and approaches her.
“Heeeey, Thalia.
We were going to look around for a bit; did you want to join us?” Rubio questions, a nervous smile plastered on his face.
“Oh, sure, only if Tiffany can come though.” She replies, squeezing the Elf girl.
“Uhm, never mind then, I’ll leave you two to it.
Congratulations.” He doesn’t wait for her to answer; instead, he grabs Astra’s wrist again and drags him away.
“We’re on a deadline, so let’s do this fast.” He says, more serious than Astra’s ever heard him before.
“Alright.” He agrees.