The Onsen, Thursday Afternoon

[merciful_parable]

The onsen was something Carter had meant to check out much, much sooner as he had missed the one in Mineral Town rather terribly--something he hadn't thought he'd miss until it was no longer within easy access--but his duties finally smiled upon him enough to have the time to leave the church for a few hours to go and indulge, just a little.

As it was his first time, he listened solemnly to the attendant's rundown of all the rules and regulations of the onsen, before thanking them graciously for their time.

Carter sank into the hot water blissfully. It was a cold day out, but in the hot water, it was impossible to mind such a thing.

It was the small things, really, that made life so very worth living.

[Open, naturally!]

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[merciful_parable]

"Good afternoon," Carter greeted, his voice quiet so as not to disturb the peace of the onsen.

[1000yearstoolate]

"Good afternoon." Seivarden shifted to let her elbows rest on the edge of the pool while keeping her hands in the water. After considering for a moment whether she could be bothered to do introductions, she eventually said:

"Seivarden Vendaai. I don't believe we've met."

[merciful_parable]

"Not officially," Carter said, smiling. "Though I do believe I've seen you in passing, here and there. It's a pleasure to meet you; I am Pastor Carter."

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden had no reason not to assume Pastor wasn't a name.

"It's a small place. What do you do around here?"

She made it sound friendly enough, but it was more that conversation felt like a nice distraction right now.

[merciful_parable]

And Carter had been on the island long enough to recognize that not everyone knew what a pastor was.

"Ah, 'Pastor' is my job title," he explained. "I am a churchman."

[1000yearstoolate]

"Churchman?" It took Seivarden a few moments to figure that out. "Oh, you're a priest. There's a temple on the island, isn't there?"

She wasn't particularly religious, and had never taken any interest in non-Radchaai sects, so she hadn't paid much attention.