Civitas

7th Capital

CHAPTER 9

The next morning, the three of them who actually slept arose from their slumber happily.

Each of them opened their eyes so see the "sleeping" face of Laya, which pleased them greatly. Hearing that everyone was awake, Laya opened her eyes also.

"Good Morning." Laya says to them, and Sibyl and Cade retract their arms from around her so she can sit up. Laya stretches her stiff arms over her head.

" 'morning Laya." Leo says to her, having turned back into a human, he runs his fingers through his hair.

"Thank you for your warmth Leo." Laya says to him, causing him to blush.

Leo immediately turns his face away from Laya so she will not see his face.

"Laya, I think we are all in need of a shower." Sibyl says.

Laya's information provides her with the meaning of a ‘shower’.

Leo and Cade both nod their heads at the idea. Laya looks towards the lake, not too far from them, then to her companions with a smile.

They make their way towards the lake, And as soon as it is close enough, Laya runs towards it.

Once she is within a few feet of the lake, she strips herself of her clothing also, and runs into the water. It is just the right temperature, and Laya submerges herself after swimming farther into the lake.

When she returns to the surface, she sees her companions at the water's edge. She waves towards them, inviting them into the water.

A few seconds later, Leo is in the water, having stripped himself of his clothing in seconds and followed Laya into the water. Sibyl and Cade do same.

Leo gets to Laya first, and also submerges himself under water to soak his hair. He then swims closer to Laya and twirls a finger in Laya's long locks of hair that floats near him. "You hair is such a beautiful colour."

"Thank you." Laya says to him with a smile. "I quite like your’s also."

Sibyl and Cade swim over to them, and after some discussion, Sibyl takes Laya to another part of the lake so that they can bathe separately from the men.

“Laya, are you really sure you would like to go to the 7th Capital?” Sibyl asks Laya as she tries not to look at Laya’s body, so close to her own.

Laya makes eye-contact with Sibyl then, which causes Sibyl to blush at the unwavering gaze.

“Why would I not want to venture to the 7th Capital?” Laya asks Sibyl, curious as to what lies behind the reasoning for the question.

“Well..” Sibyl says, composing herself, “the 7th Capital is also called the capital of magic, because most of the witches live there."

Laya nods her head at this and awaits Sibyl to continue.

"Since it is the Capital where witches live..." Sibyl says, "there are many...vulgar and unclean things that happen there."

"And?" Laya asks, wondering where this is going.

"I don't want something to happen to you!" Sibyl says, full of emotion. "You're my first and only friend! I don't want to lose you!"

Laya smiles and remembers something that one if the children in the 10th Capital did. She swims closer to Sibyl and 'hugs' her.

Sibyl's face turns bright red. The feeling of Laya's skin pressing against her own is too much for Sibyl to handle, so after a set amount of time, she pushes Laya back slightly, so their skin is not touching at directly as before, but cannot bring herself to push Laya away entirely.