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Aurora's Tears, Tigress's Peace. On the southern

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border of Luminara, deep in the lush paradise

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of the Felora capital of Livorian, where beautiful

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vines draped lazily over stone archways and the

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air was fresh with flowing water from elegant

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fountains, lay a quiet sanctuary, the Livorial,

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or the Tigress's Peace. It was a favored retreat

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for the Felora, a place of relaxation where warm

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mineral pools reflected the vibrant hues of the

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sky above. The pools carried a gentle floral

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scent, and the sound of trickling water mixed

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with soft conversation and the occasional playful

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splash. Sheerith hesitated at the entrance, her

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ears flickering and eyes wide as she observed

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the scene before her. Okay, nothing to be nervous

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about. It's just Tigress's piece. A bathhouse.

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A public one. With lots of people that I don't

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know. Who are all very comfortable here. Bathing.

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In the biggest bathhouse on this side of the

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Aurora. nor Biggie. Sheerith had been promising

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her friends she would relax in the city for weeks

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now. So, where better to relax than the most

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lush sanctuary in the royal city? Great, she

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hissed. Just great. I can hunt down ghost wolves,

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sneak attack runaway bandits, or even dominate

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any game of emerald spears on the lunar shores,

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but can't have one casual bath. with strangers.

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She inhaled sharply and stepped inside, practically

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pushing herself forward. The warm air wrapped

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around her instantly. Her glowing stripes pulsed

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with surprise from the humid embrace. Several

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philora lounged in the rainbow -colored pools,

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their bioluminescent markings softly pulsing

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as they chatted, stretched or simply rested in

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peaceful silence. Sheerith quickly scanned for

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an unoccupied spot, trying not to make eye contact

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with anyone. The problem was, the felora had

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naturally striking, glowing eyes, so avoiding

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eye contact was like trying to ignore fireflies

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in the dark. Sheerith! Haven't seen you here before!

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Sharith recognized the voice and face from someone

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she had met at the beach, but never grabbed his

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name. Oh, um, yeah, first time. Just felt like,

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you know, soaking in... Um, staff? Join us if

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you like. The water is perfect. Aye, why, sure.

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Like, um, sure, you know. A small group of Flora

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chuckled, their glowing stripes shining with

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mirth. Sharith could feel her own markings betraying

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her embarrassment, pulsing a bit brighter than

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she'd like. She sighed, giving in, and carefully

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stepped into the water. The warmth immediately

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seeped into her muscles, and despite her awkward

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entrance and overly toothy grin to the other

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patrons, she couldn't help but let out a quiet

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sigh of satisfaction. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Relaxation.

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Boom. Take that. I can relax. Sure. Yeah. The

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other Felora and the pool were all talking amongst

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themselves in soft conversation. She didn't know

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how anyone could hear anyone else with everyone

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shattering at once. But honestly, everyone seemed

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too focused on conversation to notice her. And

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that, oddly enough, helped a lot. Sheerith looked

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down at her bare figure in the water. Am I sitting

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cool? Ach, dumb question, Sharith. Who thinks

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about sitting cool? How can one sit cool anyway?

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What would that even look like? She contorted

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her hips and legs underwater, stealthfully trying

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to sit cool. She suddenly heard a splash and

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some soft cursing. Two Felora men were arm -wrestling

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on the edge of the pool. One was the acquaintance

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that had waved her over in the first place. The

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other was really cute. He had dark obsidian fur,

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soft amethyst glowing stripes, and striking deep

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blue eyes. He had just won an arm wrestling match

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and was lightly laughing at his now soaked opponent.

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As the acquaintance came up for air, he let out

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a loud laugh and noticed Sheerith from the corner

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of his eye. Hey, Sheerith! Sheerith froze in horror.

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Come show us up, you got this! Sheerith bared

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her full awkward grin again. Arm wrestling. Well,

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I can totally do that at least. She slowly glided

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her way over to What's -His -Face and the cutie.

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Oh, Sheerith! This is Zorith! Zorith! Sheerith!

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Zorith closed his eyes and tipped his head down

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towards her. Hi, I'm Sheerith. Her eyes grew wide

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from embarrassment. Zorith cocked an eyebrow

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and they both let out a light -hearted laugh.

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So, the beautiful being named Zorith said, I

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haven't seen you around the city before. He put

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his arm out for an arm wrestle. Are you always

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down by the docks? He asked with a smile. Sheerith

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locked her eyes onto his hand and placed hers

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in his, then shifted her gaze into his eyes.

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Yeah, she said, slowly putting her weight into

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his arm. You can always find me on the lunar

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shores. I'm training. Training, Zorith smiled,

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increasing his pressure. Oh, you're a soldier.

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Scout, she grunted. You? Archivist, he winced.

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I'm always in the observation districts or the

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three moon ring archives. Sheerith's eyes widened.

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A scholar, she thought. This divine, beautiful

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being. Was a nerd? She tightened her grip and

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focus. No way she's losing now. Her pride felt

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somehow challenged in a playful way. Zorith smoothly

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let out. You should join me one day up in the

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Western Observatory. You'd love the view of the

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beaches from there. It's glorious. Sheerith unexpectedly

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became quite flushed. Um, I don't know. The towers

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aren't really for me, you know. Ha! Same with

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me, oddly enough, on the beaches. I much prefer

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the beautiful view from the towers. The view

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from the beach is nice too, though. If you were

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there, I have no doubt. Sheerith flushed and her

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stripes went aglow. Zorith looked off to the

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side, obviously embarrassed. Sheerith noticed

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something, though. His arm was growing weaker.

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She took a breath and slammed his arm into the

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water with an epic splash. They all laughed as

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Zorith came up for air. You let me win. No, no,

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you just distracted me with beach talk. No fair,

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my lady, he laughed. Would you mind showing me

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the beaches sometime? Sharith's jaw almost dropped.

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Um, yep, sure, totally, no big deal, you know,

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um, yeah. She found herself doing the way -too

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-wide -grin thing again. He laughed softly. Well,

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if you ever find yourself in the Western Observatory,

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we can have a rematch in the library. Deal. Totally.

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Zorath climbed up out of the water, every drop

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off his back making Sheerith ever more flustered.

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Zorith fist -bumped Watts' face and looked Sheerith

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in her eyes. I need to take my leave till we

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meet again, Sheerith. He smiled. Sheerith waved

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goodbye to the majestic creature making his way

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out. Whats His Face laughed and followed Zorith

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out waving back to Sheerith. She found herself

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alone in the pool, still grinning and waving

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in the general direction of her two new companions.

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Wow. Wow. Okay. Nice. Sheerith sunk into the lush

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water of the pool. I... I... kinda like this

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place, she thought to herself. This has been

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Aurora's Tears. The story continues.