Heartbreak (TodoDeku)

Chapter 22: Soothing Melodies

Shoto and I walk hand in hand away from my friend's resting spot. It was a quick visit, no tears, just a quick hello and me updating him on what has happened. Shoto stayed by me quietly as I did my thing.
He has never judged me for how I mourn, and I am grateful for his patience and understanding. Some would find my talking to a tree weird, but he doesn't say anything. He says goodbye to Kacchan and bows his head in respect as we leave.
We are walking into the pack house, and I can't help my nerves as they start gittering through me. I feel Shoto circle his thumb on the back of my hand as he guides us up the stairs and down a hallway. I have only been in this part of the pack house once, the morning I left. The hall familiar but foreign at the same time as we walk. We reach the very end to a set of double doors. He unlocks the door and opens it for me, I walk in and awkwardly stand. I'm not sure what to do.
"Would you like to borrow some clothes for tonight?" He wraps his arms around my waist and sways his hips. I nod my head. I have had the same set since I got back and the thought of another pair of clean ones soothes me.
Shoto makes his way over to a door and comes back out with clothes. He hands them to me with a small smile.
"You can change in there if you want privacy, but I was thinking we could go to the pack bath house." I hum in response, nodding happily as he takes my hand and leads me back out of the room.
He leads me to a building that is a few yards from the pack house. It isn't as big as the pack house, but the smells of oil and soap hits the air. We walk in and I'm in awe. The entry room is large with cushions and lounge beds, rugs of fur laying around with small plants in bowls on little tables and in the corners of the room. The wood floors and walls shine with a oil sheen, and the room is warm from the hot spring that is in the other room. This is much nicer than what we had at my old home. The cozy and welcoming vibe is so different for what I would have expected.
We wipe our feet with a small towel that was placed by the door before walking through. Lanterns glow in the darkness, the orange light flickering off of the walls and giving enough light to see but not too much to were our eyes will have to adjust when we walk back outside. We walk down a hallway to were there are a few doors.
"We have three springs, family, adult and then omega. The Omega spring is the smallest since we don't have many within our pack to accommodate, but the spring is just as nice as the other two. I personally like the adult spring, it's set away from the family spring so the echo doesn't carry to it from the family spring." He explains. I giggle as I understand how rowdy pups can be during bath time. There was always games and pups jumping in, there dams scolding them to be quieter for the sake of everyone else, but that rarely happened.
"I would take us to the pond, but with what has happened I will feel better for us not to be in such an open space." I nod in understanding. I am nervous as well. I have never witnessed anyone abandoning their pack of their own accord.
"Umm, I-I don't want to be alone." I stutter. I haven't been left alone physically for a few days, and the idea is a little scary. I don't want to be left with just my mind yet, I don't trust how sound I am now that I can feel how low I had fallen the past few weeks.
Shoto nods, squeezing my hand as he guides me through one of the doors. The room is full of cubbies and shelves with different bottles and sprays. we walk to one of the benches that are placed in front of the cubbies. We quickly strip and walk to the wash area. I look at the different oils and and sprays, there are so many and all of them have a different scent.
"I personally like this one." Shoto says next to me, grabbing a bottle with purple liquid. He holds it to my nose for me to smell. Wild berry fills my nose and I smile at it. "The soap and oil fragrances don't last long, but it is nice to have when bathing."
"I understand. At my old home, we had a soap that smelled of eucalyptus. It was my mother's favorite and she would smother me in it in hopes that the scent to last longer on me." I explain with a small laugh. The memory of me and my mother in the spring as she massages the soap into my hair and adding more as I wash my body. Her humming echoing off of the walls and stone as her nails scraped my scalp. It was always one of my favorite times when I was a pup, the warm water, the heavenly scents and my mother.
Shoto takes a small bottle off of one of the upper shelves and hands it to me. The green liquid looking familiar as I pop open the top, the smell of eucalyptus filling my nose and instinctually I purr. "Thank you Sho." I whisper as I keep the bottle close.
He hums in reply, his hand finding the small of my back and guiding me to the wash area. We sit on different stools and begin to wash off. The sound of water is calming as the room fills with the soap scents we use.
It doesn't take me long to wash myself, the urge to relax in the spring driving me to finish quickly. I return the bottle of soap and walk to the oils. I see a small bottle of Aragon oil and grab it, knowing that my hair always shines after using it.
"I'm going in the spring." I say, turning to Shoto who is still washing.
"Okay, I'll join you in a few minutes." He says not turning to me. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. His cheeks are slightly pink which is strange since the wash water is lukewarm. The spring water will probably be a lot warmer, so why would he be rosy? I shrug off my thoughts, grabbing a comb before making my way through an archway.
The spring is large, rocks surrounding around the water. There is a lot of vegetation with part of the spring being being outside but surrounded by a tall privacy fence. I make my way through the room and walk out to the outdoor part of the spring. The night air is a little chilly, but alot warmer than it was up in the mountains. I slide my way into the water, the warmth caressing my skin and sending goosebumps all over me. I can't help the satisfied hum that leaves me as I relax back against the smooth rock.
I grab the oil, pouring a small amount into my hand. I start combing it through my hair with my fingers. My hair has grown our a lot, it's almost to my shoulders now, my waves long enough to now form some loose curls. I will have to cut it soon, I have never like my hair being long, it is a hassle to keep up with and always mats easily. I groan as I find a clump of hair, rolling my eyes as I try to gently try to pull it apart.
I hear foot steps approach, the alpha walking up to me and climbing into the spring a few feet away from me. I turn toward him and give him a smile as he relaxes with his arms resting on out on the ledge. I let my eyes wander over his chest and arms, his muscles lightening and bulging in different areas. I meet Sho's eyes for a second and he has an eyebrow raised with an amused smile on his face. I blush lightly as I look away.
"Fine, I like to stare." I blurt abruptly. A laugh leaves the alpha, a smile crossing my face.
"Trust me, I know. It is hard to not look at an attractive body." He says, his tone suggestive. I look up and see his eyes roaming my body, my blush darkening as I realize he was talking about me.
"Umm.." I hesitate. "Are you not going to oil your hair?"
He shakes his head, sliding his fingers through his long hair and bring it in front of his face to examine it. "My father said using oils is a feminine thing and that I am above that."
I scrunch my face in discuss. "Well your father was incredibly wrong. Pampering ones self isn't feminine it is self care." I can't help my tone being sharp as I get out of the spring, oil in hand, as I walk to him.
"Ya, I'm still trying to relearn a lot of thing that my father taught me." The alpha agrees, watching me curiously. I sit down behind him, slipping my legs under his elbows and let my feet enter the water as I scoot up right behind his head.
"Well, if I am to be your mate, then I will show you how to properly care for yourself. You deserve to be pampered with how much you do for others. Oil isn't going to make you less masculine, in fact it will probably enhance those features." I ramble, pulling his hair back and laying it across my lap. His hair is longer as well, falling closer to the middle of his back. It is tangled and dry as I run my fingers through it. I sigh sadly at the idea of him not having someone care for him like my mother had cared for me.
I poor the oil in my hand, rubbing it as to warm it before starting at his root and massaging it into his scalp. I hear a satisfied hum come from the alpha. I smile as I feel a small rumble from his rib cage. We stay quiet for a while, my hands working through the strands and unknotting as much as I can with my fingers. I finally move to the comb as I start betting to the ends of his hair.
I hum the tune my mother always sang when I was little. I cringe as my voice echos off the rocks, but ignore it as the melody soothes me like it did when I was a pup. I finish my work and begin to play with the whit and red hair, braiding and pulling it back into a small but and the back of the alphas head. I use the technique my mother used so her hair wouldn't fall out without a ribbon. I smile, happy with the finished product. It may not be as perfect as my mother's hair always was, but it is still beautiful.
I tap Sho's shoulder as I get up and slide into the spring next to him. He wraps an arm around my neck and pulls me in close to him. His nose nuzzles into my hair as I start to smell his happy pheromones surround us.
"Thank you." He whispers into my ear before kissing my temple. I hum in reply as I settle against him.