The bathhouse was a smaller building and consisted mostly of the bath itself which was a small pool made out of cut, red stone. The modest construction was about the right size to fit three people at a pinch. It was fitted with two small heating stones on either end the pool, fitted in the seams between the large blocks of stone, giving the pool a even, pleasant heat. There was bench against either long-side of the pool to sit in. There was little area just as you got inside where you could disrobe and grab a towel if you so wished. Saga felt just a tiny bit too bashful to run around in the nude just yet, so they put one on and slipped down into the water first. To their ever growing delight someone had also put two tankards down at the edge of the, with both of them being mead. Sasha drank hers with little protest, but did seem to relish it a little bit less than Saga. Saga for their absolutely swept most of it.

"You might wanna go a little less hard on those" Sasha mused as Saga put the tankard down and sank further into the water. Sagas face had a look of satisfied bliss on it. To Saga this was heaven. They could feel the grime slip off them and the mead helped wash away the memories of the dried fish they had been eating for the last leg of their trip.

"Where I come from, we call it prep-drinking. You know, like a warmup?" Saga shot back with a grin. Sasha raised both eyebrows at that. Saga hadn't been drinking or going out that much in their later years back home. As they lived somewhere with limited choices in terms of bars and locals who always treated them in a standoffish and rude way for most of the time.

"What exactly is the point of prep-drinking?" Sasha asked as they drank from their own tankard at a much more measured pace.

"You never know how good the booze will be, or how much it will cost. So if you get a bit buzzed before, you dont have to waste as much money getting drunk." Saga explained as they waved with their free hand, their body language becoming noticeably more loose and animated the more relaxed they got. Sasha kept thinking back on some of the days where they went to university in Uppsala, where they had picked up most of their drinking habits and 'etiquette' as it were. They had intended to stay there, possibly move to the capital. But when their mother got sick, they had to go back to Trollhålan and then they just never got away from there.

"I see." Sasha took a big swig as they saw the subtle shift in Sagas manners. "To pre-drinking!" She raised her tankard wich immidiety pulled Saga back into the present as they raised their own.

"To mead!" They exclaimed. "Sweet Tooth or not, its the best!"

***

Once they felt clean enough, Saga quickly slipped out the pool while Sasha elected to stay a little longer. They had not been to the bathhouse in Hemgård with Saga and the others when the party first arrived and it had been a while since she could enjoy such a luxury. Saga told her to not fall asleep and turn into a raisin before checking on what outfit Yrsa had scrunched up. They found that there was a fresh set of clothes put out for either of them and that their old clothes taken away to be cleaned. They were ever thankful to the cleanliness of these people. When they first landed in this strange fantasy realm, they had been a bit worried the hygiene would be that of the mediaeval portrayals they saw on tv back in their own world. They could do with being knee deep in grime and lice.

Sagas new outfit consisted of a heavy tunic in deep, marine blue with red accents that matched their hair as well as a few pieces of copper jewelry in the form of a thick bracelet with a ornate dragon head design and a copper pendant with a small piece of amber that glowed with a light sheen. A blue skirt that reached slightly past their knees was complimented with thin woolen pants in black. The pants had a subtle golden seam, where the skirt had the same red details as the tunic that along the skirt's waist and edges. As they moved around it it made them appreciate Yrsa all the more. The woman had taken one look at them and picked a outfit that not only was exceedingly comfortable but also appeased every bit of Sagas tastes.

They were happy to see they got to keep the comfortable black boots for the evening at least. As they put it all on they were amazed at the quality and comfort of it. Stepping out of the small bathhouse they found it was more than warm enough for the brisk, winter air. Their eyes found Yrsa walking towards them with basket of what looked to be some kinds of sheers or scissors. She gave them a bright grin and motioned towards the still wet hair of Saga.

“Let's get that mop of yours under control shall we?”

***

It turned out that Yrsa was a magician with those simple looking, metal shears as she set to work and got Saga into something that rapidly approached presentable. She cut, braided and tended to Sagas hair with the skill and industrious professionalism of an expensive barber back in the Berserkers old world. Saga would be lying if they said they didn't appreciate the pampering the were getting. They had never been bad with people per say, but they never been a extroverted sort either. Here, they had really lucked out. All the ways that these people had been bending over backwards to help them out of the kindness of their heart, it was something Saga could never fully repay. These people owed Saga nothing, but they kept inviting them into their home, and kept helping them find their feet in these strange lands.

Saga barely had to instruct Yrsa when it came to how they wanted their hair. IT was as if the woman could tell what Saga had always wanted to express with their looks. They wove large braids to one side, while cutting and sheering the hair short on the other. It created a kind of undercut style that looked like it belonged to a barbarian protagonist from some fantasy video game. Saga absolutely loved it. It was who they were, in every way that mattered. A little rough, balancing somewhere between feminine and masculine. They grinned up at Yrsa who had a very pleased expression as she surveyed her handywork.

As the Bersker got up they took a look into a full length, copper mirror they realized just how much they had changed in only a few weeks time. While they were clearly leaner in some places as some of the softer, excess fat had seemingly vanished, they were more noticable in that they had gotten quite a bit bulkier. Their arms were bit thicker around then they had ever been and it was seemingly all muscle. They noticed that their upper body had gotten overall wider but so had their legs. It was all balanced and evenly spread growth. They didn't look like those people who only worked out their upper body. They looked athletic if a bit more towards the bulkier side then someone like Sasha with her high Grace stat. With the new haircut, the clothes and the jewelry, they could barely recognize themselves.

“Damn, you do some good work.”

“Don’t I know it. Now I need to see that my brats have gotten clean and presentable, so I’ll excuse myself. See you a the feast, yes?” Yrsa said with a smile, as she was putting her tools back into some oiled leathers before slipping it all into the woven basket. Saga nodded and gave the woman a quick hug which Yrsa returned before the woman slipped out of the door of the little room they had accommodated for Sags haircut. Saga spent some more time in the mirror, just taking it all in. It was one of the increasingly frequent moment where they just had to stop and let it sink in. They had been running from one thing to another and just tried to keep their head above water when they first arrived. It had now been nearly a month, with half of that time spent in a caravan with only their new friends for company. But soon, it would be mostly them and Sasha. A prospect that made them nervous for many different reasons. There was so much of this world that was vastly different from their own. But bit by bit, they found things slide into place, they just needed it to reach some sort of stable state before life threw another brutal curveball. They futzed a little bit more with the outfit, then headed out the door themselves. They almost immediately ran into Sasha and found that all their previous thoughts just evaporated at the sight of her.

Sasha was stunning. They obviously thought so when they first met. But now? Sasha was glowing both figuratively and literally. She was dressed in a Norse styled apron dress that had been cut as to be entirely sleeveless, showing off the intricate rune works down both her athletic, strong arms. She wore large silver bracelets on either forearm, simple and clean in their design. The dress itself was a masterfully woven thing in dark green wools that fell all the way to ground. layered on top of it, hung by the shoulders and affixed by a braided leather belt with silver threads woven into it, was a light red apron with simple but very pleasing symmetrical motif of a tree. Two ornate and polished silver buckles with a chain running between the two, held it up at her shoulders. Sasha herself was as radiant as ever, with that shimmering purple hair let out over her shoulders and back, with a single, bigger, loose braid running down her back over the otherwise loose hair.

Saga tried to say something, found that they were back to staring and looking like an a idiot and stopped. Sasha gave them a soft smile as she broke the spell, saving Saga from themselves if only for a moment.

“You look good Sweettooth.” Her voice was a soft, very deliberate purr. Saga felt as if they should be suave and respond in a equally cool and graceful manner. That was not Saga however, so their words came out more as a blunt, if affectionate exclamation.

“As do you. I mean. Wow.” Saga motioned to Sasha as words once more became a foreign and most mysterious artform. They really needed to work on that.

“I do like to dress up, when the occasion calls for it.” Sasha gave a twirl for Sagas benefit and the berserker found that in that moment nothing had every been so worth it as dying. It was strange and blessed thing, the way your brain could latch on to the good things in your life.

“I can tell.” They said, not moving from where they seemed to have gotten rooted to the ground. As if moving would ruin everything.

“You keep looking at me like that and I am gonna start thinking you wanna fight me again.” Sasha said as they came to a stop, a grin on their face.

“Huh?” Saga blinked, suddenly pulled out of their enraptured state.

“You had the same look when we first met.” Sasha mused as she stepped closer, fixing some imaginary speck of drit from Sagas shoulder. Saga chuckled, back in their element.

“Ah. Yes. You know how it is. See pretty lady, fight pretty lady.” They said with a embarrassed grin.

“IT is a good thing I am a Vladistock, I am not sure that is how you usually court people.” Sasha laughed as they looked into Sagas eyes. Thei deep, purple eyes locked on the dark blue of Sagas. Saga grinned wider, confidence surging and their feet firmly on solid ground as they leaned in a bit closer.

“People are usually boring” Saga winked.

“Isn’t that the truth.” She offered Saga her arm but Saga decided to instead loop her arm around Sashas back and pull her for quick kiss. Sasha battered her eyelashes in a way that was clearly not her and Saga chuckled.

“So forward.” Sasha said as they made for the longhouse. “I like it.”

“Well you know, berserker and all that. I never been good at subtle.”

“Subtle is for other people. Not you and I.”

“That’s true.”