A Night at a Tea-House (Private)

Night fell over Sunagakure like a lead blanket, heavy and all encompassing. Of course, this included the desert that surrounded the village and, by extension, the guy that braved it. Salzem wandered the desert as he had done back when he was "trapped" In his wolven form. He had been out of the village all day and all night, not quite ready to return to the village he had disgraced. Well... the second village he'd disgraced apparently. The sky was a deep, dark indigo as the full moon rose in the sky above. No longer did Salzem feel to pull to transform, to walk among the night and drink in it's silver light. Koroshi sealed all that away. Salzem found himself still raising his hand to his face, making sure it was still his human hand and not that of the wolf inside. Since all that was sealed away, Salzem had felt more emotionally guarded. Emotions that once ran free with no restraint now chained and locked down in their own little cells, called upon only when they were absolutely needed. Back to his old self... One would assume he would be happy to be human again, to have control over himself and be able to restrain his might better than he had before. They would be wrong. Although Salzem had felt shame for his lack of restraint, he also felt the shame that weighed on him in this form. The leaving of Konoha was what dug at him the most. He hadn't talked about it with anyone other than his current keeper but he always kicked himself for it. At least once a day, he would end up jamming a boot into his own spine. In fact, if that wasn't a metaphor, 'twould be likely Salzem would be paralyzed from the waist down.

He had been walking the night for several hours, changing direction at random, but never forgetting the way back to the sand village. He kept himself functional in the extreme cold of Suna's nights with a thick black cloak and several canteens of water, now down to two, one half empty. His mind remained vacant and his sanguine eyes on the stars above, just... thinking about nothing. His brain worked, it toiled but for no ultimate answer to any question. Walking meditation. Eventually, his eyes would descend from the sky, falling on a long, lit building with a sign on the front. Salzem moved closer to the building, the shadows obscuring the sign making way as he closed the distance.

"Sunagakure's Spa and Tea house....?" Salzem mumbled to himself through his mouth-mask. What would something like this be doing all the way out here...? He rubbed a hand through his black, messy hair and approached the entrance, ducking under the flags that served as a doorway.

(I do believe ya posted the same thing twice, but thats okay. I'll ignore the second copy Xb)

Salzem was greeted by a girl around his age in a black and silver kimono who bowed before him gracefully. She was a little shorter than he with silver/grey hair tied back in a ponytail, most of her bodily features obscured by the large kimono. She smiled at him, but Salzem didn't smile back, his sanguine eyes still peering around the interior of the shop. He found it just a little strange that a building such as this would be out here in the middle of nowhere. After a moment of silence, Salzem turned eyes back to the girl, not wanting to be rude.

"I, uh... sure." He responded, not knowing what else to say. He didn't know if it was rude to simply ask for some tea and be on his way. It was really all he wanted, the tea. The spa part... that was the kind of stuff Salzem steered far away from. Pools, sauna's, any place with a collection of exposed people made the ninja feel... awkward to say the least. At least, as far as he could see, everyone was decently clothed. Speaking of which, Salzem appeared to be the opposite in fashion compared to the girl in front of him. While the girl wore a loose, but comfortable kimono, Salzem wore a heavy black cloak and boots. While the girl seemed relaxed, and calm, Salzem appeared anxious and tight. Half of that may have been the temperature change from outside to in here. The cloak was starting to make him sweat within the heat of the spa. Deciding there was no need to keep it on, Salzem stripped himself of the cloak, revealing a light black jacket and loose black sweatpants. He held his cloak bunched in his arms, waiting quietly but patiently for the girl to lead him to whatever came next.

The place was nice, to say the least. Well kept, interior well designed... It was the kind of place that would attract those who were looking for this kind of place. Salzem guessed this building had seen a lot of business in it's time. If it had been going like this, then many must have come to enjoy it's splendors. Then there were people like Salzem who just happened upon it with not a goal in mind. It was that kind of randomness in life that made it such a joy... Going on a walk at night only to stumble into a place such as this... The spa-half, although as uncomfortable as it made him, actually started to feel like a good idea... Never since his time in Sunagakure had Salzem given himself a moment of rest, a moment of leisure such as this. Even if he spent his time fighting, training and sparing, it wasn't really a moment where he could relax himself. This place... relaxation seemed to be what they specialized in. Maybe he could break himself out of his own shell to enjoy it.

Salzem was lead to a massive hot spring, warm steam flirting with the chilling air of Suna's night air. He stood there for a moment, making note of where the lockers were, along with the towels. All was near by so maybe... maybe Salzem would be able to disrobe, enjoy his dip in the spring, get to the towels, and rerobe before anyone could see him. Maybe. As Salzem contemplated this, the girl noted that she was making tea a little while ago and asked if he wanted any. This time, underneath his mask, Salzem offered her a small grin. Tea was really starting to sound good right about now...

"I would, thank you." Salzem would nod his head in appreciation. She continued smiling at him and Salzem held his grin, at least until she left. The moment she was out of sight, Salzem, smile dropped and he stared at the waters awkwardly, shuffling his feet just a bit hesitantly. Eventually, he began his disrobing at speeds of 125, leaving his clothes folded and piled neatly on a nearby bench before sinking himself in the steaming-hot waters of the spring. For context, at speeds of 125, Salzem would have disrobed and entered the waters nearly instantly. He sunk down until half his neck was absorbed in the waters, his only article of clothing on him being his black face-mask and his one earring. The heat coming off the waters was incredible, almost painful on his pale-white flesh but slowly, his body adapted to the heat. His muscles loosened and his body relaxed under the steam, causing him to sink just a little deeper into the water before letting out a light sigh in ecstasy. It was rare indeed that Salzem ever got to enjoy himself like this. There was no one around for him to feel awkward over, the night sky was above him... he could just sink away into this feeling and forget everything. Salzem closed his eyes and leaned back against one of the walls, letting the warmth cloud his thoughts, let it work on his body. His hair drooped just a bit under the weight of the steam, making it appear even messier than it once was. He didn't care though. For once, he could just drift away without a care in the world.

The moment Salzem noticed the girl was back in the room, his moment of serenity shattered like cheap glass in a tumbler. Salzem's cheeks flooded a dark red with only some hidden beneath his mask. He sunk himself even lower beneath the waters, the waves threatening to drench his mask in searing water. The girl placed some tea down next to him at it was only at this distance did Salzem notice that her eyes were in fact closed to spare him any undue embarrassment. Despite her efforts, the ninja felt uncomfortable with her presence. It made him feel.... exposed. Not a good feeling for any ninja to experience. The silver-haired girl asked if he wanted anything else and silently shook his head. Remembering that her eyes were, in fact, closed, he attempted to regain his wits and speak like he was a normal person.

"Uh.... No.... thanks....." Was about all he could say. Hopefully it would be enough. It may have just been the uncomfortable nature of the whole hotspring-idea, but Salzem's enhanced instincts were telling him to get a move on. These instincts were rarely wrong, but, considering the circumstances, all he really had to go on was just that he was uncomfortable in being un-dressed in a room with another person. Deciding it was probably nothing, Salzem closed his mind to the primal warnings and attempted to let the soothing heat of the hot-spring replace them. Salzem looked at the girl, an unreadable expression accompanying the obvious discomfort. He knew not exactly what he was looking for with that stare. Nevertheless, Salzem broke his gaze rather quickly and silently waited for the girl to go about her business elsewhere. He couldn't stay here much longer. Maybe he'd just sip his tea and go...

(you write pretty good XD)

"Alright.... Mia..." Salzem nearly whispered, watching her as she left once again. Salzem's pale-white cheeks were still blushed a shade of red for several minutes after the girl left. It was a few moments later that Salzem remembered the tea next to him and he prepared himself a cup with only slightly shaky hands. The scent of the herbs revitalized him and did so further as he took a sip. As hot as the spring itself, the tea's taste was nothing short of exquisite. A comforting warmth filled his belly as he drank, allowing him to ease back into his relaxation. He sat in the spring for quite some time, letting the heat both within and without clear his mind, massage his body, and just let him exist quietly. Eventually, a timer went off in the ninja's head, signaling to him that it was time to get out. Salzem, at speeds of 125, eased himself out of the spring and wrapped himself in a towel. Whenever Salzem took a shower or swam, he dried himself just enough so that his clothes wouldn't be soaked through when he put them on. It was as if he was leaving a thin veil of water on his skin, trapping the heat or chill as the water provides.

With his dried, spiky hair swept off to the side, Salzem quickly donned his clothes, including his heavy cloak and boots and made his way to the front where he had first met Mia. When he arrived, however, she was not there. No one was in fact. Salzem had suspected that the place would have little business due to the hours, but it seemed that even the staff seemed to be on patrol. Except for Mia that is. Did one person normally run the graveyard shift? Regardless, Salzem waited at the front of the Tea-house and Spa, his posture marginally more relaxed than it had been when he came in. The place seemed just a bit more haunting now that he saw it with no one else around. It made him wonder if he had been the only customer this late at night. In fact, with him being a customer, how much did they charge for this treatment? A couple thousand Ryo? He knew not how much it cost to keep such a place running or how much Mia would demand. She seemed like a nice girl at least. Maybe it wouldn't be too outrageous. Salzem tapped his upper leg with his finger to a tune he had forgotten the name of long ago. 'twas a slow, emotional tune, almost like a waltz that told a story. He had forgotten where he had picked it up from as well. Salzem had always thought the song came from his mother, one that she'd hum while she held him as a baby. Maybe it came from his dad as he'd labored over his paper work. It was a long time ago and wasn't important enough to remember.