After a long day of shopping, Crossroads had been looking forward to
some peace and quiet. The events today had given her a lot to think
over, and the hot springs seemed like the perfect place to do it. She
slowly sank down into the warm water, closing her eyes.

Tyrranis cracks his eyes open in the dark room. "Mhn." The giant of a
man gets slowly to his feet, shrugging off the comforter that had been
placed on him before re-adjusting his towel and heading towards the
living quarters he shared. It was about time for a bath he thought.

Tyrranis pushes into the guest room with a wide and silent yawn. Not
bothering to check on the girls for fear of waking them, he enters the
hot springs quietly, shedding his towel and giving a short stretch.

Rubbing at his eyes to work the sleep out of them, Tyrranis descends
the steps to the water proper and yawns again before entering the
soothing springs.

Crossroads opens her eyes and sits up when she hears the sound of the
water splashing. She turned around towards the sounds source half
expecting to see Lora there. "Did you forget..." Her voice trails off
as she realizes that who she was seeing was certainly not Lora but in
fact, a naked Tyrranis and entering the water. "...Some...thing."
Crossroads finishes slowly, having trouble looking away. Warmth
creeping into her cheeks at what she was seeing, only to go quickly to
burning with when she realizes her entire upper body is exposed out of
the water. She quickly covers herself up the best she can with her
arms and turns her back to him.

Crossroads stares down into the water, hugging herself tightly. "H-hi
Tyrranis." She said, stumbling on her own words a little, "Um...I
guess you are awake now?"

Tyrranis stumbles slightly as he hears someone else in the water, and
enters it fully to help cover his revealed state. He locks eyes with
Crossroads for a moment before looking away, a blush evident on his
face. "Hi Cross."

Crossroads doesn't look up, not sure what the proper thing to do was
in this situation. Should she ask him to leave and wait till she was
done or should she get out of the water herself? Then again, Tyr
didn't seem like the type of person who would be bothered by nudity
and leaving just because he was there could potentially offend him,
couldn't it? Realizing she had to say something while she turned these
thoughts over in her head, she cleared her throat and asked "Did
you... uh, sleep well?"

Tyrranis rubs the top of his head, unsure of exactly what to do here.
He had, at one point, learned that other people disliked being seen
nude, so this was a situation that Crossroads was probably embarrassed
in. His thoughts are ran through by Crossroads' question however, and
he clears his throat. "It seems a bit too well, I missed you
returning."

"You must have been tired. I hope you and Kyrk weren't too bored while
we were gone." Crossroads tilted her head down lower, brushing her
hair back behind her ear.

Tyrranis sighs, and figures to just roll with the situation as it
goes. "I and Kyrk were not bored, no. I think, however, I will mention
the creation of an occupied sign for these springs."

Crossroads laughs nervously, and looked about the water for a place
that might be at most deep enough for her to at least stand in while
also keeping her more comfortably out of view. "Yeah, at least for
when they have guests here. I don't think Mollianne is really bothered
by co-ed baths, and I don't think Kyrk would really care either."

Tyrranis does a good job of not staring at Crossroads, and elects to
sit down in the shallow portion of the springs. "I am sorry
Crossroads, I did not expect anyone to be in here. If you are
embarrassed, I apologize."

"I-its alright. I mean we'll... um..." Crossroads then spied a place
and quickly slid off the shelf making her way towards a rock partially
exposed in the water. Despite the covering she now had, she still
sinks down into the water when she turns to look at Tyrranis, lips
just above the water. Her blush hadn't faded in the slightest. "I-I
mean, you didn't see much... did you?

Tyrranis hums, thinking about how much to divulge. "I caught a glimpse
of your top, but not much of it. I- I can leave, if you want me to. I
am not the best at these situations, but I know people have more
problems than I with being seen."

"You can stay!" Crossroads said, though perhaps a bit more hastily
than she had initially intended to. She fought hard to keep her hand
from covering her mouth. She was more careful with her next words,
speaking more slowly, "I mean, you don't see anything now, do you? It
should be alright."

Tyrranis wrings his hand, a new sensation for him given his usual
disposition. He decided quickly that he'd try and clear the waters
though. "C-can I ask you something? Embarrassment is the correct
emotion to be feeling right now, right?"

Crossroads stares at him for a moment, watching him wring his hands
and feeling mildly confused by the question. Had she been wrong about
Tyrranis's perception on the matter of nudity? "Well, I guess it
depends on your culture and how you were raised. Though to be quite
honest, I didn't think you would be the type to be embarrassed by
nudity."

Tyrranis says “It is odd. Normally I am perfectly fine witht the body.
It is not something that is a huge problem to me, especially given my
background. But, oddly enough, when I am around you, I feel like I
should be sometimes.”

"When it’s me?" Crossroads stares at him for a long time then directs
her gaze down at the water again. Her thoughts return to her vision
from just a couple nights ago and her recent conversation with
Mollianne. If this was something he was only feeling concerned with
around her then there was a question she had to ask. Crossroads
swallows, but doesn't look up at him for fear that her face might
betray something, "Tyr, I've been wondering... How do you feel about
me? In general I mean."

Tyrranis lets out a deep sigh and gazes into the water. After a long
while of gathering his thoughts, he begins speaking. "There are too
many things that I have not experienced in my life. It is almost as if
humanity is something that I am completely separate from, except when
I am around you. You, you are a storm of new feelings and emotions to
me. It is so frustrating, almost enough to make me want to quit this
place."

"But, at the same time..." Tyrranis massages his temples, trying to
head off the myriad of emotions inside himself. "My inner self screams
to me that, to do that would be one of the gravest mistakes I could
possibly make. The gathering of our group, the sharing of your home,
it feels close to me. It keeps me from wanting to be anywhere but
close to you. Does that tell you how I feel?"

Crossroads nods, slowly looking up at him. She could feel her heart
racing in her chest as she opened her mouth taking a deep breath. If
she was going to confess how she felt to him now seemed the time to do
it. "It does, yes. Tyr, do you remember when you asked a couple nights
ago about..." She stopped herself before she could go any further,
feeling too awkward to continue. Crossroads shakes her head and turns
her back to him, not wanting Tyrranis to see her face, "N-never mind
Tyr."

Tyrranis looks to Crossroads' turned back, and his shoulders sag. "I
apologize, Crossroads." Tyrranis squares his shoulders. "I am causing
you stress. Forgive me, as I know how dangerous this can be. I will
forget these emotions, do not worry about this."

"No!" There is a splash of water as Crossroads quickly turns around,
her expression a mixture of surprise and horror. She steps out from
behind the rock and takes a few steps towards him into shallower
water, completely forgetting about what he might see. "They aren't bad
emotions! They just... its..."

Tyrranis looks at Crossroads with his head cocked to the side.
Regardless of his previous resignations, a glimmer of hope plays in
his eyes. "What do you mean Crossroads?"

Crossroads stands there for a moment, looking in any direction she
could to avoid making eye contact with him. "I mean... Tyr. Its..."
She clenched her fists tightly. If she didn't say what she wanted to
say Crossroads didn't know if she would get another chance, but the
words were having trouble leaving her mouth. All she could do for a
long time was stand there while he waited for an answer. At last
Crossroads decided to approach the matter in a different way. She
proceeded towards Tyrranis, coming to a stop when she stood over him,
water dripping from her naked body as she looked down at him with a
bright, blushing face.

Crossroads reached down, placing shaking hands on either side of
Tyrranis's face. She looked into his eyes for a moment, terrified by
what his reaction will be to what she was doing and what she was about
to do. She looks like she is about to say something again, to try to
express things verbally but no words or sounds come from her mouth.
Instead she simply leans down and closes her eyes as presses her lips
against Tyrranis's. Then lets them linger there, waiting for his
response.

Tyrranis sits stunned for a while, allowing Cross to do whatever she
wants. When she kisses him though, his emotions twist unpredictably.
Almost unable to control himself, Tyrranis wraps his arms around
Crossroads, pulling her closer to him.

Crossroads smiled and let out a happy sigh of relief. All of her
stress and worry washing away as she felt Tyrranis' arms fall around
her rather than push her away. As he pulled her closer her arms slid
down to his shoulders, wrapping them around him as she continued
lightly kissing his lips.

Tyrranis is awash in a sea of that which he doesn't understand, and he
responds by simply mimicking Crossroad's kiss, doing the best he can
to parrot her and try and make her feel how he feels.

When Tyrranis starts returning the kiss Crossroads arms tighten around
him, pulling her body against his. She slowly begins to deepen the
kiss, mouth parting slightly as she works her lips against his. After
a while Crossroads has to break the kiss, and she pulls away a little,
breathing heavily.

Tyrranis stares at Crossroads for several moments, his mouth still
open from the kiss. After gathering himself for several seconds, he
speaks. "I understand absolutely nothing about this, but I like it. A
lot."

"I like it too." Crossroads smiles at him then laughs a little. The
fear she felt earlier seeming a little silly, "Perhaps it will be
easier for me to get my confession out now; Tyrannis, I think I have
feelings for you."

Tyrranis smiles on his own, and squeezes Crossroads. "I can imagine as
such from the kiss just now. I am glad though, that I was not the only
one with these feelings. Are these feelings new?"

Crossroads shakes her head, "I've had them for a while. The more time
I spent with you and the more I learned about you, my affection for
you grew." Her eyes briefly looked away from him, feeling slightly
embarrassed, "But it wasn't until a couple nights ago with that
reading I did for you that I started to really think about what my
feelings for you were."

Tyrranis hums lightly, and then smiles anyways. "Well, suffice to say,
I am rather glad we share this emotion. Obviously our timing on
revealing it is the best."

Crossroads begins to laugh, but that smile soon fades as things
suddenly start to sink in again and she remembers that just a few
moments ago, she and Tyrranis were both naked in the hotsprings
seeking to take a bath. Only now they were both naked and in each
others arms. And while she found this sensation kind of nice...
Feeling embarrassed, Crossroads looked away from Tyrranis, breaking
her embrace with him, "Though maybe I should find my clothes."

Tyrranis' smile fades a little when Crossroads breaks the hug, but
most of it still remains. He starts to say something, but stops short,
instead spending a moment to articulate his thoughts before starting
again. "Cross, we can do this again at some point, right?"

Crossroads smiles again, and then turns back to him, leaning in to
give Tyrranis a soft slow kiss. Within a moment, she pulls herself
away and nods, "Yes, of course." She says softly.

Tyrranis smiles, and nods in return to Crossroads. Afterwards, he
turns his attention back to his original goal, cleansing himself and
letting the hot springs soothe him.

Crossroads walked up the steps, grabbing the clean towel she had set
aside for when she was done and wrapped it about herself. She looked
back at Tyr briefly, smiling happily before grabbing her clothes and
exiting through the door.