Post by Leedzie on Feb 13, 2008 15:38:46 GMT -5
((One-shot))
The water, which had been roaring down into the deep pool below, abruptly stopped. A soft kss briefly split the air as a match was struck, and then used to light several sweet-smelling candles. A radio off to the far side of the room was switched to CD mode, and began to play a gentle, relaxing tune. Her cell phone had been flung randomly into the bedroom and, for all she cared, could've been sucked up into the Special Zone. The house phone was off the hook. The door was locked. Pausing beside the tub to double-check the water temperature, and finding it satisfyingly hot but without being scalding, Rouge set her towel aside and stepped carefully into the steamy, bubbly, oinment-scented bath.
She immediately let out a loooong sigh, so long it may well have come from her toes. "THAT... is what I'm talking about."
Rouge layed back and rested her head against the rim of the tub. She could practically feel the scum and sweat and dirt just evaporating from her body already. If there was one thing she hated, it was being dirty, or at least being so for an unreasonable amount of time. As a treasure hunter, and furthermore an occasional spy, Rouge realized that it was going to get gritty from time to time... but those "times" should never last more than a day. In this particular instance, the jewel theif had spent a couple of weeks scouring the Labyrinth Zone, and while that area indeed had a lot of water, most of it was cold and murky.
Beyond just the layer of grime from her hunt, Rouge was also eager to just relax. Times had been very stressful since the last time she'd been home, both physically and mentally. But between having found her own sense of resolution with Knuckles and the soothing warmth of the water penetrating her pores, the tension seemed to melt away from the bat's weary muscles. Rejuvenation swept over Rouge's body in a warm wave of relief. She sighed again and sank slightly into the water.
I'm glad things turned out the way they did, she thought to herself. The bat stroked her slender fingers along her fur, massaging the bath oils into her skin, inhaling the water's flowery aroma. Though her thoughts danced about subjects such as work, when she would next meet Knuckles, or chores she needed to, overall Rouge was pleased to nestle herself into a deep feeling of serenity. The theif drew a breath and held her nose before sinking completely into the bubbly pool, allowing the bath salts to cleanse her entire body, and releasing air bubbles in a slow, consistant stream from her lips. Several seconds later she arose from the water and drew in a fresh breath, gently wiping the soap from her eyes. Everything felt so calm and peaceful now... It'd take a freak of nature to disturb her at this point.
Unfortuantely, such a freak of nature happened to arrive at just that moment. With a dazzling display of light and power, Shadow appeared seemingly from nowhere, the red Chaos Emerald in one hand and the damn fourth yellow one in the other. Shadow's facial expression was almost as smouldering as his burnt fur patches. However, his feet were rather... soggy. He had teleported directly over Rouge's bathtub; subsequently, he now stood knee-deep in her bathwater.
And she did not look appreciative, either. Scowling irritably and crossing her arms protectively over her chest, the theif hissed, "What the hell are YOU doing here?! Get out of my bathroom!!"
The hybrid hedgehog remained ever stoic. "I'm seeking out the Chaos Emeralds," he announced directly. "If I've arrived here, then it would appear that you have one. Give it to m--"
"GET. OUT. OF. HERE. NOW!!"
"..." Shadow's left eye twitched slightly. "Surrender your Chaos Emerald, and I'll be on my way. It's as simple as that, Rouge."
The bat growled lowly, unsure which of his list of offenses she was the most angry with. It was insignificant, in any case; she was not going to give up a Chaos Emerald, under these circumstances or any other. "No chance!!" she spat furiously. "If ANYONE here should be surrendering Chaos Emeralds, it should be you!! Do you think you can just waltz in on me anytime you want and take something I busted my ass to steal swindle rip off earn?! You're out of your mind!!"
"Well apparently, I can," Shadow replied flatly. His brow lowered. "I'm not leaving without that jewel. You can make this difficult, or you can save us both a big headache. I don't care which."
Rouge huffed with frustration. She knew it would be useless to use her body against him; Shadow was so disinterested in the feminine form, he may as well have been a eunich blind date for Chocolate monk on a mountain top. The only body she could possibly get to him with would be his own, as it was bare of half its fur -- but she knew that even that probably wouldn't work, given that Shadow never seemed to particularly care what anybody thought of him. Dammit, WHY does he have to be so hard to embarrass?! Rouge's claws scratched at her own arms as she clenched her hands around them. "Listen, emohog, I KNOW you know that I can take care of myself, and I also know you're aware that I don't screw around when it comes to those jewels. So, here's what you're going to do: First of all you're going to GET THE HELL OUT OF MY TUB and let me at least get a TOWEL, and then, if I'm feeling forgiving by that point, we'll talk about who's taking the Chaos Emeralds."
"No deals," the hybridhog murmured, apparently none too pleased with how his old aquaintance had addressed him. "I didn't come here to buy, sell, or trade; I came here to collect the emerald you have -- period." Shadow paused and folded his arms. "And not that it matters, but why are you so upset over my timing? I thought your policy was 'look, don't touch', or something."
The bat's teeth ground together for a moment. "Please. Getting looked at by you is like getting looked at by my brother. Now if you don't get out of here in the next five seconds, I swear to Chaos I'm going to find a way to drown your sorry furless butt in this bathtub, immortal or not!!"
Shadow rolled his eyes. Since Rouge would most likely be uncooperative even if he did comply, the ultimate lifeform instead closed his eyes and focused his power into the two gems he already held. It was clear that another emerald was close; he could just... feel its presence in the energy in the air. But in the time he'd been wading in the bat's bath, he'd not noticed it anywhere in the room. Shadow's brows furrowed as he concentrated on the two Chaos Emeralds in his possession, willing them to aid in locating their sibling, but the only indication he repeatedly received was right below him -- that is, on Rouge's person. The hedgehog's mind blanked for a moment at the seemingly inaccurate information. But... she's naked. How could she have it with her when--
...Unless...
Shadow opened his eyes. There could be no other explanation. Slipping the red and yellow emeralds into his malletspace, the hybrid dropped to his knees and daringly plunged his hands into the water around Rouge's body.
To which the bat reacted with a loud yelp that quickly escalated into kicking, punching, and assorted flailing. "WHATTHEHELLDOYOUTHINKYOU'REDOINGYOUPERVERTEDFREAK?!" Rouge shrieked in the form of a Black Wave.
[dice=6]
[dice=6]
Even though her physical attacks didn't really affect him much, that sonar screech sure rattled his head a bit. Shadow winced and sharply recoiled, but not empty handed; just before he'd been blasted with the piercing wave of sound, he'd managed to grasp firmly onto the purple Chaos Emerald, and extracted it from Rouge's malletspace upon his retreat.
"WHAT THE--?!" Pure, unadulterated rage filled the bat's face. Did... Did she, a master jewel theif, just get an indescribably precious gemstone stolen literally right out from under her?! Now Shadow has THREE Chaos Emeralds, and I'm back to none?! Rouge's wings flared around her dripping body as she lunged after the hedgehog with a gigantic splash. "GIVE THAT BACK!!!"
Shadow remained unmoved. "I got what I came for; I'll be going now." As the familiar shine of Chaos energy began to fill the bathroom once more, he quickly added, "And mind your coverage; they're bubbles, not a cloak of invisibility." With a shout of Chaos Control, the ultimate lifeform had disappeared, and Rouge was again alone.
"SHADOW!!!" she screamed furiously, even after he had gone. "I'M GOING TO GET YOU BACK FOR THIS!!! YOU ARE DEAD!!!"
So much for a soothing, relaxing bath. Poor Rouge.[rand=918981785736435549266358324147785436917092300834868044097148083382]
The water, which had been roaring down into the deep pool below, abruptly stopped. A soft kss briefly split the air as a match was struck, and then used to light several sweet-smelling candles. A radio off to the far side of the room was switched to CD mode, and began to play a gentle, relaxing tune. Her cell phone had been flung randomly into the bedroom and, for all she cared, could've been sucked up into the Special Zone. The house phone was off the hook. The door was locked. Pausing beside the tub to double-check the water temperature, and finding it satisfyingly hot but without being scalding, Rouge set her towel aside and stepped carefully into the steamy, bubbly, oinment-scented bath.She immediately let out a loooong sigh, so long it may well have come from her toes. "THAT... is what I'm talking about."
Rouge layed back and rested her head against the rim of the tub. She could practically feel the scum and sweat and dirt just evaporating from her body already. If there was one thing she hated, it was being dirty, or at least being so for an unreasonable amount of time. As a treasure hunter, and furthermore an occasional spy, Rouge realized that it was going to get gritty from time to time... but those "times" should never last more than a day. In this particular instance, the jewel theif had spent a couple of weeks scouring the Labyrinth Zone, and while that area indeed had a lot of water, most of it was cold and murky.
Beyond just the layer of grime from her hunt, Rouge was also eager to just relax. Times had been very stressful since the last time she'd been home, both physically and mentally. But between having found her own sense of resolution with Knuckles and the soothing warmth of the water penetrating her pores, the tension seemed to melt away from the bat's weary muscles. Rejuvenation swept over Rouge's body in a warm wave of relief. She sighed again and sank slightly into the water.
I'm glad things turned out the way they did, she thought to herself. The bat stroked her slender fingers along her fur, massaging the bath oils into her skin, inhaling the water's flowery aroma. Though her thoughts danced about subjects such as work, when she would next meet Knuckles, or chores she needed to, overall Rouge was pleased to nestle herself into a deep feeling of serenity. The theif drew a breath and held her nose before sinking completely into the bubbly pool, allowing the bath salts to cleanse her entire body, and releasing air bubbles in a slow, consistant stream from her lips. Several seconds later she arose from the water and drew in a fresh breath, gently wiping the soap from her eyes. Everything felt so calm and peaceful now... It'd take a freak of nature to disturb her at this point.
Unfortuantely, such a freak of nature happened to arrive at just that moment. With a dazzling display of light and power, Shadow appeared seemingly from nowhere, the red Chaos Emerald in one hand and the And she did not look appreciative, either. Scowling irritably and crossing her arms protectively over her chest, the theif hissed, "What the hell are YOU doing here?! Get out of my bathroom!!" The hybrid hedgehog remained ever stoic. "I'm seeking out the Chaos Emeralds," he announced directly. "If I've arrived here, then it would appear that you have one. Give it to m--" "GET. OUT. OF. HERE. NOW!!" "..." Shadow's left eye twitched slightly. "Surrender your Chaos Emerald, and I'll be on my way. It's as simple as that, Rouge." The bat growled lowly, unsure which of his list of offenses she was the most angry with. It was insignificant, in any case; she was not going to give up a Chaos Emerald, under these circumstances or any other. "No chance!!" she spat furiously. "If ANYONE here should be surrendering Chaos Emeralds, it should be you!! Do you think you can just waltz in on me anytime you want and take something I busted my ass to "Well apparently, I can," Shadow replied flatly. His brow lowered. "I'm not leaving without that jewel. You can make this difficult, or you can save us both a big headache. I don't care which." Rouge huffed with frustration. She knew it would be useless to use her body against him; Shadow was so disinterested in the feminine form, he may as well have been a "No deals," the hybridhog murmured, apparently none too pleased with how his old aquaintance had addressed him. "I didn't come here to buy, sell, or trade; I came here to collect the emerald you have -- period." Shadow paused and folded his arms. "And not that it matters, but why are you so upset over my timing? I thought your policy was 'look, don't touch', or something." The bat's teeth ground together for a moment. "Please. Getting looked at by you is like getting looked at by my brother. Now if you don't get out of here in the next five seconds, I swear to Chaos I'm going to find a way to drown your sorry furless butt in this bathtub, immortal or not!!" Shadow rolled his eyes. Since Rouge would most likely be uncooperative even if he did comply, the ultimate lifeform instead closed his eyes and focused his power into the two gems he already held. It was clear that another emerald was close; he could just... feel its presence in the energy in the air. But in the time he'd been wading in the bat's bath, he'd not noticed it anywhere in the room. Shadow's brows furrowed as he concentrated on the two Chaos Emeralds in his possession, willing them to aid in locating their sibling, but the only indication he repeatedly received was right below him -- that is, on Rouge's person. The hedgehog's mind blanked for a moment at the seemingly inaccurate information. But... she's naked. How could she have it with her when--...Unless...
Shadow opened his eyes. There could be no other explanation. Slipping the red and yellow emeralds into his malletspace, the hybrid dropped to his knees and daringly plunged his hands into the water around Rouge's body.
To which the bat reacted with a loud yelp that quickly escalated into kicking, punching, and assorted flailing. "WHATTHEHELLDOYOUTHINKYOU'REDOINGYOUPERVERTEDFREAK?!" Rouge shrieked in the form of a Black Wave.[dice=6]
[dice=6]
Even though her physical attacks didn't really affect him much, that sonar screech sure rattled his head a bit. Shadow winced and sharply recoiled, but not empty handed; just before he'd been blasted with the piercing wave of sound, he'd managed to grasp firmly onto the purple Chaos Emerald, and extracted it from Rouge's malletspace upon his retreat. "WHAT THE--?!" Pure, unadulterated rage filled the bat's face. Did... Did she, a master jewel theif, just get an indescribably precious gemstone stolen literally right out from under her?! Now Shadow has THREE Chaos Emeralds, and I'm back to none?! Rouge's wings flared around her dripping body as she lunged after the hedgehog with a gigantic splash. "GIVE THAT BACK!!!" Shadow remained unmoved. "I got what I came for; I'll be going now." As the familiar shine of Chaos energy began to fill the bathroom once more, he quickly added, "And mind your coverage; they're bubbles, not a cloak of invisibility." With a shout of Chaos Control, the ultimate lifeform had disappeared, and Rouge was again alone. "SHADOW!!!" she screamed furiously, even after he had gone. "I'M GOING TO GET YOU BACK FOR THIS!!! YOU ARE DEAD!!!"So much for a soothing, relaxing bath. Poor Rouge.[rand=918981785736435549266358324147785436917092300834868044097148083382]
THE ONLY ROUGE COSPLAYER WITH A MATCHING BALLOON.