A Mirage Of Milk And Honey

Chapter 21 - Taking To The Skies

Honey had been exhausted when she awoke the next day.

Though Honey hadn't taken notice of the absence of the other half of their group, upon waking up she remembered that Zemira had taken up space in a different room with a proper bed. Chip, for all she knew, was still in the study, hunched over the table, mixing and concocting whatever potions and draughts would be of use.

The second thing Honey had failed to pay attention to was her current state. Delirious with exhaustion, she hadn't taken the time to change into some fresh clothes. She still wore the ipaio fastened around her hips and the thin square secured around her chest—though she'd removed the beaded top and placed it besides the bed.

Most notable was the smear and smattering of paint. During the night, it had smudged and flaked off her skin, leaving her bedding a messy rainbow of yellow, blue, white and more. Not to mention the many pieces of jewellery that clung to her, fastened around her waist, her thighs, her forearms and hands.

Rubbing her forehead, Honey let out a tired groan at the sight of paint flecks peeling from her skin.

She lumbered her way to the bathing room, washcloth in hand, and spent the lesser part of half an hour unfastening and unclipping the metal that decorated her body. Eventually, she slipped into the water, scrubbing at her arms with the exfoliating cloth.

Personally, Honey thoroughly believed that she could get used to Upios. Unlike in The Edepth—which was dark and damp—Upios was full of light and warmth. There was an entire palace available to the four of them and though its cobweb like walls were a little more than intimidating, she couldn't help but enjoy what Aliothra had to offer.

Notably, the hot spring.

By the time Honey had finished cleaning herself off and returned to the lounge, she entered the room to see the three others sitting around the campfire.

"Honey!" Zemira hollered, dragging out the name, "Rumour has it you managed to earn the respect of a Brisk-Beak."

She was lounging on one of the settee, a smug smirk plastered on her face.

"Did you expect any less?" Honey bragged with mock arrogance.

"Never." Her friend replied, a stern expression falling onto her face as she pulled in her chin and lowered her brows.

"How are you feeling today? Better?" Honey asked, patting her hair dry with one hand. The other was filled with the jewellery from the night before. It'd been coated in streaks of paint, and Honey had taken the time to give it a quick wash.

"Currently? I feel like a sack of ground flesh and bones." She replied, Honey shot her a disturbed look as she placed the jewellery on a nearby table.

"I'll take that as 'not well'" Honey said, her lips pulling into a downturned smile.

"Everything aches." Zemira whined out, throwing her head back.

"Then go back to sleep?" Chip said, as though the answer was obvious.

"That's boring." Zemira replied flatly, focusing her attention on the tips of her hair and muttering about needing a haircut.

Honey shook her head, her eyebrows raised as she turned to Aedis.

"I assume we've got a schedule today?" She asked.

Aedis nodded. He too had cleaned up and changed clothes—but this was different.

He didn't wear the simple convenient attire he usually sported, but instead a thick one piece body suit that climbed up his neck and down to his wrists. The bottom half of the suit disappeared into a pair of dark, sleek leather boots.