Melissa finished washing as quickly as she could and then hurried ahead to sink up to her neck in the hot water. She was working on her shyness, certainly, but it was a process. Nava was impressed really. The redhead was nervous, but she had managed to get naked in front of a woman she had known for less than a day. Not that Melissa had anything to be ashamed of. Her body was not exactly toned, but it was shapely, and her breasts were magnificent. Round and firm, they sat there on her chest as though gravity had not been invented. They were proud, even if their owner was now hiding them.
Part of the issue might have been signalled by Melissa’s comment as Nava joined her in the bath. ‘Your body is amazing. I wish I looked like that.’
Nava was not really sure what to say in reply. She was not really sure why someone would think that way, though she knew that she was attractive by the standards of the Clan Worlds. She was fit and her body carried a lot of obvious, lean, lithe muscle. Her stomach was tight and ridged, and her thighs and biceps were clearly developed. She was not especially tall, but she had fairly long legs for her height. Her breasts were nowhere near the size of Melissa’s, but they were a nice shape: pert and slightly pointed. She had no complaints about them. Her skin was light brown and contrasted with her hair, which was stark white and very straight. It fell to the upper slopes of her breasts at the front and almost to her waist at the back, like a white curtain framing her face. Currently she had it tied back to keep it out of the water. Her fringe was cut straight across her dark eyebrows, as though her hairdresser had used a ruler to judge the cutting. She had a moderately small nose which curved to a perky point, full lips, and eyes the colour of a cold, winter sky, more grey than blue. She had been told that she was beautiful, but she had little experience to judge how accurate that assessment was.
‘Thank you,’ Nava said after some consideration. ‘I think you’re underselling yourself, however. You’re very attractive, Mel. What size bra do you wear anyway?’
Despite the fact that her breasts were entirely submerged, Melissa covered them with an arm and went scarlet. ‘D-double-D-D. They’re as much a nuisance as a b-benefit.’
‘I’d imagine they attract male attention. That can’t–’ Nava made a silent ‘ah’ face. ‘But attention like that would make you uncomfortable.’
‘Y-yes. A-and some of the girls back home got very catty when I was g-growing and they w-weren’t. I’m not good with confrontation.’
‘Mm. I take it that means you don’t duel?’
‘I would. If I had to. I learned Concussive Force so I could duel. If I had to. I’ve n-never had to.’
One of Nava’s eyebrows rose fractionally. ‘Concussive Force? Not Slice?’
Duels did come in three varieties: first strike, blood, and death. Blood duels were by far the most common because they had an obvious, non-lethal ending. When blood was drawn, the wounded participant had lost. First strike duels needed a referee to determine victory. Some unscrupulous duellists fought blood duels with Concussive Force because it did not draw blood until there was significant internal injury. Such duellists were trying to kill their opponents in what were supposed to be non-lethal duels.
Melissa’s blush deepened. ‘I, um, well, I can’t stand the sight of blood. If I had to fight a blood duel, I’d just lose it. I’m not really sure I could ever fight a death duel.’
So, Melissa was not an unscrupulous duellist. It had seemed out of character. ‘I’ve never fought a duel either.’
‘I bet you’d win if you fought one. You look like someone who would win duels.’
Nava considered that for a second. She nodded. ‘Yes. If I fought a duel, I would win. However, I have no intention of fighting one.’ She paused, considering again. Melissa was now a friend, or perhaps a potential one. How would she react to Nava’s true feelings on the matter? Perhaps it was better to find out now rather than later. ‘To be quite honest, I find the idea distasteful.’
‘Oh!’ Not a good start. ‘Well… I suppose… I suppose I do too. It’s just not the kind of thing you hear someone say in the Clan Worlds.’
‘I am an orphan. Clanless. To much of society, I have no honour.’
‘That’s just stupid. Just because you never knew your parents, doesn’t mean you have to act in a dishonourable manner. Just because you belong to some powerful clan, doesn’t mean your honour is unquestionable.’
Nava’s lips curled slightly; it was about as close as she got to a smile. ‘I do believe we aregoing to be friends, Mel.’
Melissa started to smile back – with a much broader smile – but then the door to the changing rooms slid back, announcing the arrival of someone else in the baths, and instead she sank down until her chin was resting on the surface of the water. Becoming less shy was definitely a process.
‘Do you want to leave?’ Nava asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Melissa shook her head. ‘Good. I’m rather enjoying this.’
‘S-so am I. The water part anyway. It’s hot and the weather’s not.’
This was true. Outside the bathhouse, Shinden was in the middle of winter. The planet had a six-degree axial tilt which would have meant little in the way of seasons, but it also had an eccentric orbit. When it was close to its star, it was a sauna, averaging over three hundred kelvin. When it was furthest out, like now, it dropped to a cool two hundred and seventy-eight kelvin. It was
