The next morning came regardless of whether we wanted it to or not, the sun peeking through the curtains like an unwanted peeper was disgruntling, to say the least considering just how tired I still was from our long journey. Alexis and I had barely had the energy to make it up to our room before passing out on our respective beds.

The inn was kind of dingy, but it suited our immediate needs and it had a room with two beds, so it worked just fine for me. Breaking out of my morning stupor, I took a second to assess myself before recoiling at the stench coming from me. I hadn't really had the chance to bathe while traveling, and I was too tired to bathe before falling asleep.

I looked over to Alexis, who was dead to the world while still in her respective bed. She was sleeping in a loose tank-top and some shorts due to the heat, while I was still just in my boxers since almost all of my other clothes were covered in dirt, dust, and sweat. Deciding to go ahead and remedy the funk that had clung to me for the past few days, I head over to the bathroom on the other side of the room.

Inside the door was a simple and plain but clean tub, toilet, and sink along with all the other hotel type amenities like soap and towels. I turned the faucet on and felt the temperature of the water until I got the heat just right, all that was left was to wait. In that window of time, I went about brushing my teeth quickly and not 2 minutes later there was enough water for me to start bathing.

The water was refreshing after having not been near a source for these past few days, that I felt like I was in a luxurious resort rather than a decent at the best inn for travelers. The soap was nothing special, but it did the job well enough and 30 minutes later I felt like a new man. Deciding that since I had spent enough time in the tub, I got out and dried off quickly before putting on my last pair of clean clothes which was a loose pair of lightweight grey pants and a white t-shirt.

The only thing that was still drying was my hair, which had grown long over these past few weeks since I had been too busy to even bother with it. It now clung to my head and blocked my vision until I swept it all back and let it rest there with a small black band to keep it there. Deciding that this was as good as I was going to get, I entered the room again and woke Alexis up from her deep sleep.

It must have been around 8 by now, but still plenty early for breakfast before exploring the city. I eventually woke her after some prodding and calling her name and told her that she should take a bath while I go wash my clothes. Eventually, she got around to getting out of bed and I went down to the barebones laundromat down on the main floor of the inn. It wasn't anything special with its lack of decoration and white walls and machines, but at least it was clean, beggars couldn't be choosers.

The laundry was luckily covered in the cost for the room since this seemed to be a regular occurrence with travelers coming to the inn. The pile of clothes filled the washing machine and no I was just waiting around till it had finished. With nothing better to do, I brought out one of the novels I had picked up before our journey to pass the time and read until the load was done after 20 minutes. It took another 40 minutes for the load to fully dry, and without much care, I threw them all back into storage and went back up to our room to see whether Alexis was done with her morning routine.

Aside from her still wet hair that was bunched up in a thin white towel, Alexis was all dressed up and ready for the day. She was in a bright blue blouse and tan cargo shorts that would be more than effective in the heat of this new climate. Her eyes really popped out from her face with the blouse she was wearing, so much so, that I was staring up until she started laughing at me.

"See something you like? Take a picture it might last longer." Alexis couldn't help but say in a smug tone.

I couldn't let her have the last word, so I shot back with a, "I was just wondering if you were going to be able to handle all of this *gesturing to myself* and the weather at the same time, after all, I'm already hot enough without having to worry about the temperature." It came out in what I hoped was a confident and teasing tone.

Judging by the guffaw that she let out, I'd say that it came out just as I intended.

"Alright Casanova, let's go out and get some breakfast before exploring the city. Don't let me forget that when we get into the center of the city, we need to turn in our certificate of completion for the guard duty request. Might as well go ahead and get paid for the trip." -Alexis

"Whatever you say, Laura Croft" I ran out of the room before she could punch me for my last remark and continue to taunt her until we got out of the inn.