Camila replies immediately, offering her own updates on the new recruits, Father Vincent, and Mother Superion. Since the Halo essentially healed her, Mother Superion has been able to take a more hands-on approach to training, filling a void Beatrice has left alongside Dora.
Speaking of, she and Ava really need to find some time and space to do some training. It wouldn't do to enter the upcoming Holy War unprepared.
Do you know when you'll be back? Camila asks, as she usually does.
Beatrice tells only the truth when she responds with, Only when Ava is.
Ava, who emerges from the bathroom in only a white, fluffy towel, knowing full well she's giving Beatrice a heart attack. She's quick to disappear into the bathroom herself, needing the time and space to clear her head and get her body to calm.
Nothing is going to happen.
It doesn't mean it's not torture to step out of the bathroom ten minutes later and find that Ava is still in said towel. She's lying on Beatrice's bed, her journal in her lap, and she looks up when Beatrice emerges.
"There's exposure," Beatrice says, "But this seems like you're taking it too far."
"Is it working?"
"Are you going to sleep like that?"
"Nope."
Beatrice watches her carefully. "You're going to sleep naked, aren't you?"
Ava grins. "I've thought about it," she admits. "Will you still hold me if I do?"
Beatrice instantly flushes, trying not to run from the idea of such a thing.
"Thought so," Ava says, rolling off the bed and hopping towards her selection of clothes. They're going to need to get some warmer clothing for when they drop to the Southern Hemisphere, which will be colder temperatures this time of year.
"We still have things to talk about," Beatrice says, moving behind Ava and pulling back the covers on the bed. Without much thought, she slips in, leaving room for Ava. "I want to know what happened on the other side."
In the end, Ava doesn't actually tell her anything about it until they're in Bali a few days later. They've splurged, quietly thanking Jillian, and pick a lovely, five-star resort called Melia Bali. Their room is on the ground floor, decently far from the reception and right in the midst of what they learn is a wedding party.
On their first day, Ava actually manages to get them both invited to said wedding, the bride and groom so quickly charmed by Ava that Beatrice wonders if personable skills is just another gift from the Halo.
They spend eleven days in Bali, immersing themselves in the cuisine and culture. They swim in the wonderful, amazing pool, tour the contoured rice fields, visit temples and watch traditional shows, spend money on caps and sunscreen, and take dozens of pictures.
It's one night when they're strolling on the beach after they've had dinner that Ava says, "You said Lilith mentioned the Holy War?"
"She did," Beatrice confirms, holding the straps of both their pairs of shoes in her left hand, her right swinging along with Ava's left. The beach, itself, is empty of people, the weather humid, and the moon high up in the sky.
"Did she tell you anything else?"
"No."
Ava lets go of her hand, moving further ahead and turning to walk backwards. "It was a strange place," she says. "Like, one of those places you know isn't known. Everything was foreign, but I didn't - you don't eat there, and you don't have to use the bathroom. You don't even actually need to sleep."
