Kre walked further downriver than Kitalia had suggested. He didn’t do it merely because he wanted to put a little more distance between the two of them, for modesty’s sake, though she had already walked on him in the bathtub, and he had already worn her… well, he didn’t want to think any more about that.
In truth, he simply walked and thought about these past several days. He tried to nail down exactly which day things had started, but quickly realized that he had no actual concept of time anymore. He wasn’t sure what day it was, or how long they had been traveling for. He didn’t know the last time he was in Mintas, or when he last saw his friends. Though it happened several weeks before the trial, he couldn’t even remember when his parents had left for their long-term assignment.
The only thought he clearly held was that this was about the time he and Cooter would be shearing the wool from the Nevynar farm’s less than three dozen sheep. It was a fun time in Kre’s memory, as shearing gave the two time to talk… or rather, it gave Cooter time to tell stories.
Kre used to believe that Cooter was just retelling stories he had heard about distant cities and their people, of bravery and comradery, and of sealing ruins when the dangers posed too much for the adventurers and the military to handle.
Now, the boy wondered if those were real stories, every moment experienced by Ser Terync Sandiscoot, Dragon Knight. Kre was certain that, even if the stories were true, Cooter would have changed some of the details like names and dates, so as to better protect his own identify. That was exactly something that Cooter would have thought about in advance.
Looking around and shaking his head a bit to clear it of his random thoughts, Kre figured that he was at a good enough spot for a bath. A narrow bank of small, smooth river stones led into a calm pool that seemed just the right depth. Kre disrobed, after glancing back one more time to make sure he was truly alone, undressed, and set his clothes on a nearby rock, within arm’s reach of the water, along with the sliver of soap and a long blanket Kitalia had given him to serve as his towel.
He dipped his toe in and a chill went through his body. The Red River was fed by snowmelt, from high up in the mountains, and the icy temperature of the water was proof of that. Still, Kre felt that washing the remnants of the mud and… the other stuff off of him was worth the chill.
As cold as it was, the water was also crisp and refreshing. Kre submerged up to his shoulders and immediately started to feel some of the aches and pains melt away. As good as it felt, his priority right now was to use the soap before it dissolved away. He grabbed his shirt from the rock and dunked it under the water.
After wringing it out, he put the about half of the sliver of soap in the middle of it and rubbed it against itself to get it sudsy. He scrubbed himself clean with the tunic as best as he could, making sure to triple wash everywhere he had applied the mud. It was impressive how well the soap seemed to shuff off the dirt as indicated by the fact that, even though it was near midnight, he could see the oily, dirty residue on the surface of the river reflecting the moonlight.
He worked furiously on his bath, which kept him from feeling most of the chill from the water and the cool night air, and then started on the rest of his clothes with the remainder of the soap. By the time he was satisfied, he figured that about twenty minutes had gone by. His cold, wet, but very clean clothes were piled up back on the rock and he figured he could stand a few more minutes in the water now that his body had adjusted.
He leaned back and let the water cover most of his head, leaving only his face above the water. A peaceful feeling overcame him as the world was suddenly muted and the only sounds he could hear was the soft churn of the river’s water underneath the beating of his own heart. He felt the cool air dance atop his wet nose and even with his eyes open, he could really only see the clear, starry sky above. All in all, it was a peaceful, relaxing moment where he could focus on absolutely nothing at all.