Summer: Within Dark Clouds Lies Rays Of; Light PT. 4/4
"Ah, it's been too long since I've taken a bath!"
It was late now, and the girls had just finished up bathing together in the communal bath, leaving us guys next. The bathhouse was an extension from the living room, near the right of the entrance. Hiro was the last to enter the bath, practically jumping in next to me, splashing water everywhere.
The other guys rolled their eyes, and Eros scooted next to me, wrapping his arm around me. "So, my dear Deppy~, I say it's time for some male bonding." He flicked his hair back, causing sparkles to erupt around him.
"Oi, incubus, stop trying to seduce us while we're naked. I don't need any awkward moments in here," Erebus warned, and Eros pouted but otherwise relented.
"But I have to agree, stripping and bathing together reveals truths that otherwise wouldn't be revealed," Aether said wisely, and we all looked at him confused, except for Eros, who gave him a hug.
"Ah, my dear Tae~Tae, I knew you would agree with me~!"
"Ugh, get off me Eros!" He pushed Eros away, but still let him be up next to him.
"So King, my fellow brother in arms, how fare thee on this adventure in witch's territory?"
"I don't think we're in witch's territory, but as me…" I trailed off, and everybody looked at me as they awaited my answer.
"Yeah, that's it." I nodded to myself before looking at the rest of them. "I really am having a blast here. Thank you, I mean it."
"Ah, the smile of one who has finally found a brief moment of reprieve is always nice to see! Yes, truly such a smile could conquer any foe, and, dare I say is, ladies as well?"
"Speaking of ladies, who do you fancy out of this group of ours, hmm? I've noticed you've spent a lot of time with Necessitas and Nyx on this trip. What do you think about them dear Deppy~?"
"No, nothing of the sort," I said, waving my hands in surrender. "They're good people. I can see why Erebus likes Necessitas though."
"Ah, you see it as well? Her bold nature, tactless words, brutish strength, there are an innumerable amount of reasons why she is fit to be the Dark Empress!" Erebus clutched his fist. "And that is why we have fated to meet once more in our second life!"
"I don't think she would appreciate you saying any of those things about her," Hiro said, chuckling to himself.
"And what about you Mr. Hiro?" Again, odd this may sound, but I couldn't tell if Eros said his name or "Hero" in this case. "What girl, or boy, are you interested in, hmm?"
"I only need one girl in my life, and that's my Luna."
"Stepsister huh?" Aether said, musing to himself. "She is cute, with her auburn hair and bluish eyes. I can see her being a viable option for those less than myself."
Hiro tossed water towards Aether's face. "Gross bro! That's my sister you're talking about! It's a completely wholesome relationship, nothing more, nothing less."
"Uh huh. What about those other girls, hmm? You know exactly who I mean." Eros was still pressing the issue, although now Hiro's face went slack.
"How do you know about that?"
"I'm not just a sexual deviant you know. I'm the love master as well~!" He winked at Hiro, who just sighed as he slowly sunk into the hot water.
"Anyway, enough about that. My dear Deppy, you avoided my question quite skillfully. You've learned well from Hiro." I tensed up as he grew closer to me. "But, at the very least, you don't seem so hung-up about her anymore. I wonder, is there another girl we don't know about?"
"Oh yeah, you know Pandora, don't you?" Damn it Hiro, why must you instigate so much!?
Eros however, frowned when he heard that name. "You know Pandora?"
"Ah, that devilish woman? The one who brings naught but destruction, so much that even the darkest denizens in the deepest pits of hell want naught to do with her? How did you acquaint yourself with such an infamous woman as her?"
Huh? I looked around the bath, and everyone seemed to be in agreeance, including Hera, who had been quiet this entire time. Seriously, that kind girl has that bad of a reputation? I shook my head in disbelief. "She's so nice though. She helped me out quite a bit last semester. Honestly, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her…"
Hiro sighed before scratching his hair. "I wouldn't worry too much. It's mostly just rumors I've heard, and I try hard to make judgements about people only when I've met them. Don't worry too much. Still, I could see her being a viable option. She's quite peppy, and cute to boot."
"Oho, is that true~?"
"I can attest to that," Hera rumbled, nodding in agreeance with Hiro. "She is quite attractive."
"But that is how she ensnares the hearts of-!" Erebus had his head forcefully put into the water by Eros.
"My dear Eru, much as I love you to death, please keep such biased lies to yourself." He released Erebus' head from the water, and he gasped, coughing water.
"You too Eros? I thought you of all people would know I speak the truth…"
Hera stretched, unintentionally showing off his muscles, which caused Hiro to roll his eyes.
"Showoff. Speaking of Hera, what girls are you interested in?"
"No one. Don't got time for it."
"Okay, if you did have time?"
"…" Hera was thinking, and we were all waiting for his answer.
"Hmm, I guess it would be someone outside our friend group to be honest."
"Oh, I thought you would've chosen Pinkie Hera~."
Hera scowled and started to laugh. "Yeah right, as if I could deal with that as my girlfriend. I already see her too much as is."
"Actually, why do you live out here?" I asked, not realizing I never knew where Hera and Pinkie stayed.
"Ah, that's…" He trailed off before scratching his hair. "Long story short, I'm basically a servant around here; more specifically, Pinkie's servant, although she doesn't treat me like one."
"I see, so Hera is into servant play~?"
"You know, I think it's about time to get out before Eros makes in any more awkward," Hiro exclaimed, and I couldn't agree more.
"Oh, so soon? I was hoping to play more~!"
"Didn't I warn yah yah damn incubus!?" It was Eros' turn to have his head dunked in the water, and when he was released, his face was red.
"Oh my, it's been a while since someone was that rough me~!"
"Yep, time to leave," Hera said.
And the bath time with the boys ended as such.
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After getting dressed, I went back to my room to find Nyx putting on the last of her clothes. I scowled as I turned away slightly. "Um, shouldn't you have already been dressed?"
"I took a shower after the bath. Still, I wasn't expecting you guys to get done so fast. What happened?" She motioned for me to look, and I turned towards her. She was wearing a black t-shirt that was slightly too big for her, with hot pants underneath.
"Oh, Eros happened." She nodded before opening up the curtains, staring at the stormy sky above.
"I quite like the nighttime, even during weather such as this," she murmured, tracing her finger along the glass. "While I may hate nature-" I chuckled at that part, and she did the same before continuing. "While I may indeed hate nature, I don't hate the night, with it's many wondrous mysterious just waiting to be discovered."
"Is this the part where you somehow equate me to the night?"
"No, I'm not like Hemera and her stupid metaphors." She turned around, yawning loudly. "But, I will say that even though the night is dark, you shouldn't consider it scary, no matter how bad it may seem."
"That sounded like a metaphor to me." I got a pillow thrown at me in response.
"Come on you joker, let's sleep already, since they'll just wake us denizens of the night early anyway." She practically jumped into her bed, snuggling up under her black sheets and covers.
I hesitated, looking at my bed for looking back at the sliding door. I walked over to it and placed my hand on it, looking at the view of the storm laid out in front of me.
Don't be afraid of the night, huh? I thought as I gazed up at the mountain. If only the thing I was afraid of was as simple as that…
I sighed before shaking my head. That was a rabbit hole I did not want to go down. I tossed Nyx's pillow back on her bed before laying down in my own, the long second day of our camping trip finally completed.
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The third day of our trip, the final day before we headed back, was pretty uneventful. Woke up late, ate breakfast, played some card games with Pinkie, Nyx, Erebus, and Hera (Pinkie won them all), ate lunch, chatted for a bit with Hiro and Luna, ate dinner, had another bath time with the boys that didn't end awkwardly, and chatted with Nyx until we inevitably fell asleep, all the while the storm outside still raging on.
The fourth day, shortly after Nyx and I ate breakfast, I found Lachesis and Pinkie both staring at the storm worriedly.
"What's wrong?" I asked, standing next to Pinkie.
"Oh, Lachesis is worried about when the storm will stop, since, you know, food and all."
"Oh, yeah, I guess we were meant to head back today," I murmured to myself, staring at the almost black sky above, lightning crackling in the heavens above. "Still, this is pretty bad for a storm, and it's lasting so long too. It's kinda weird, don't you think?"
"Eh? You really think so? Hahaha…" Pinkie trailed off, suddenly lost deep in thought.
"If only I had known about it," Lachesis said, her hair once again in a ponytail, which she was twirling around her fingers. "Then we wouldn't be in this mess."
"Well, it's not as if you could've known. I mean, you did say the weather was going to be clear. It's not your fault the weather decided to pull a fast one on yah."
Lachesis seemed surprised by my words; her fingers having stopped twirling her hair. She looked at me, as if confused by what I had just said to her.
"What's wrong? Why do you seem so shocked?" She blinked before rubbing her eyes.
"Sorry, it's nothing. In any case, it's all Hiro's fault for putting us in this situation in the first place."
"Yep, he owes me big time for this."
"Hey, I told you I was paying you back yah know." It was Hiro, and he walked up to my right and waved at the two girls before looking at the storm. "Still, if I had known the storm was going to last this long, I would've bought more food before I came up this mountain." He sighed before changing position, leaning his back against the glass.
"If only the storm would just go away just as quickly as it came," I murmured, and Pinkie started to laugh nervously.
"Well, you know how these things go my son," Pinkie said, patting me on the back.
"Yeah, if only it would…" I trailed off, finishing the sentence in my head before another surge of emotions came out from beneath the surface, unable to affect me all the same.
I gritted my teeth as I clenched my hands into fists, my nails starting to dig into my skin, a crack of lightning lighted up the sky with another thunderous roar, the loudest it's been so far.
Lachesis noticed my sudden change in behavior and quickly looked up at the sky once more. "Hey, is it just me, or is it going away?"
I looked up to see the dark clouds start to lighten up, the loud cracks of lightning fading away.
"Whoa ho! Kind of like magic, huh Pinkie?"
"Whatever Hiro," Pinkie said, rolling her eyes before sighing. "Ah well, you know how the saying goes: all's well that ends well."
I finally relaxed, my hands uncurling to reveal crescent marks all over my palms, not deep enough to pierce my skin. "Yeah, lucky us, huh?"
Hiro nodded, smiling to himself. "Yep! I'll tell everyone to start packing up. Oh, and Pinkie, text me what you want later, got it?" And then he was gone, already halfway up the stairs to tell everybody who was still in their rooms.
"Hey Pinkie, make sure he suffers, okay?"
"Hmph, dare you even need to ask that? I was already planning on it."
I honestly couldn't tell if they were serious or not.
And after that, we were packed up and ready to go, although not without some warnings.
"Alright, here's a map of how to get down the mountain safely. Don't take the trail you took to get here unless you wanna die, since the trail is probably muddy as hell. Take this one," Pinkie pointed to a color trail on her map, "and you should be fine. Hiro knows how to get there, so just follow him if you forget. Also, please don't stray off the trail by any means necessary."
"Wow, sounds pretty drastic just to get down this mountain," the ass muttered, and while I was loathe to agree with anything he said, this was a rare case.
"Ah, don't worry about it too much. Just follow me and you'll all be okay!" Hiro said, giving us his signature grin and thumbs up.
"That just worried me more," Lachesis grumbled, and everyone started to laugh.
"Well, I'll see you guys during the new semester!" Pinkie yelled out, waving us goodbye. "And Hiro, prepare to suffer later!" Hiro rolled his eyes before leading the way.
"Bye mom, it was a nice surprise seeing you again!" I said, waving her goodbye.
"Bye son, hope the rest of your break goes better than last year!" Heracles elbowed Pinkie for that statement, but I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't worry, I will!" And then I left, the last one to leave out of our odd group of 12.
Nyx was waiting for me, looking at me with her stormy grey eyes, and I immediately knew what she was about to say.
"It's time, huh?" I asked sadly, and she nodded as we started to walk together.
"Indeed it is. I wish I could hold onto it longer, but…" I could see her lower lip quiver, and I looked up at the light-grey sky above.
"It's fine. I'll be fine," I said, nodding to myself. "So cheer up, alright?"
"I really do hate nature, you know that?" she muttered, and I laughed.
"I think we'll both hate it for a long time coming."
She took a few steps in front of me, her grey eyes locked with my own. "It'll be alright Depra."
And the first ray of sunshine to appear from the dark clouds overhead fell upon her figure, and I fell back into the dark pit, left with a single ray of light.