Esteamed Couple (HippoEagle)

[Hippo]

 

Silverstream pulled Gallus out of the campus after the classes were done for the day and convinced him to go to the Ponyville Day Spa in order to attempt a session in their sauna. Silverstream had never been before, but she was told by Professor Rarity that it helped relieve stress. The gang had just finished their midterms and even studious classmates like Silverstream were needing a chance to unwind from all the crunch. In addition, she felt this would also be an opportunity to get some quality time with Gallus. Ever since their holiday together when he visited Seaquestria and Mount Aris, Silverstream had grown closer to Gallus and was always looking for more ways spend more time with him. On the final day of the holiday, the two had close emotional feelings for one another that had been revealed. She always wondered how deep that feeling was from Gallus, but if she was honest with herself, she was still discovering the level of depth she had on her end. Being in a relaxing spa should loosen up those tight emotions. "Let's go, Gallus. The sooner we get there, the more time we'll have to experience the sauna."

[SteelEagle]

 

Gallus walked alongside Silverstream, his wing jutted out semi-protectively. It was a reflexive Griffon move done subconsciously when you were feeling protective of another. Usually protective of a potential mate. It was done to show all the griffons around that the griff next to you was being protected by you, and that you two were mates. That was the biological, perhaps even social cause behind it. That was what Twilight had said, before she started going into the exact causes behind it. She seemed excited. He had seemed excited to sneak out of her lecture. Meanwhile, Yona had just said that griffon liked sea-griffon a lot, and that seemed to be pretty accurate too. And many less words.

 

And very true. He liked Silverstream and to his young griffon heart, feeling ablaze for the first time in his life as he walked next to her, it felt like a lot. It had been some time since their vacation to her home island...home ocean...homeland? That had proven to be quite the trip. Quite the memory. Quite the...experience. And after how it all ended, after what they had said to one another, he knew it was one he would never forget. Just like the cute hippogriff who was alongside him, he was sure it would never be forgot. Of course, the world didn't stop just because teenagers got their first crushes now, did it?

 

School demanded their time and attention, and as they gathered up new experiences their responsibilities their stress grew. With the mid terms finished it was a good time to get some stress relief. He wasn't sure he would necessarily trust Professor Rarity with stress relief as she seemed high-strung, but maybe that made her an expert on how to live with your heart in your throat at all times. And so they were on their way to the spa for a session at the sauna. "Think they call it a 'sesh on the sun', or is that too...Coaltifornia?" He pondered, his half-jutted wing whisping by Silver with every step.  

[Hippo]

"I don't know anything about that," Silverstream giggled as the two walked down the road towards the market back road, where the spa was located. She noticed Gallus' wings grazed her a few times, seemingly inadvertently. Silverstream couldn't tell if it was involuntary movement associated with joy or if he was still alarmed from the last time she jump-greeted him. The most likely reason, she figured, was that he was showing nervous energy about his time with her, and for some reason, that level of vulnerability made him seem super cute to her. "But what I do know is that we have the sauna for the remainder of the afternoon. I booked us a private session. Rarity suggested it because she says it gets too crowded during rush hour." She moved closer to him as if she was telling him a secret. "All to ourselves, isn't that great!?"

 

Before long, the two had reached the spa door and let themselves in. Silverstream walked up to the service counter. "Uh, Silverstream. I have a reservation for sauna."

[SteelEagle]

 

He made Silverstream laugh, points scored. Yes, he needed to think of this like a game. Helped calm the nerves. He was feeling less nervous every day around her, but that only told himself just how nervy he was base. If anycreature knew just how much of a coward he really was, they'd hate him. Or maybe that was just the imposter syndrome talking because how else could he get hippogriff like Silverstream to even give him the time of day? She was just so damn excited all the time about everything. One time, he could swear she nearly exploded when she learned about hydrothermal dynamic generation of Cloudsdale weather factories. That bird loved new things, so maybe burning alive in a Sauna would be a cool new experience that she would remember forever- or however long fried birdbrains like them would last. 

 

"The whole day?" He asked incredulously. "Wow. Well, she'd know. I think Professor Rarity keeps this place afloat. What else is there to do at a spa other than...I dunno, burn to death, drown to death, or get coddled to death?" He asked as they entered the spa.
When Silverstream went to the service counter, the first spa sister responded quickly as she trotted out of an adjacent room.
"Hello! Ah yes, ze Silverstream pahrty of two?" Lotus asked as she trotted up to the counter. She looked at the two students and smiled wide. "Oh! You are students from ze school yes? How exciting! Have you ever been to ze spa before? Experienced such luxury, no?"

[Hippo]

Silverstream had been to several spa-like environments on Mount Aris, and had also gone through the spa-equivalent in Seaquestria as a seapony. Those experiences, however, were much different than what the Ponyville Spa offers. And from all appearances, Rarity's expertise on pony pedis notwithstanding, pony spas were particularly more pampering than the ones even a royal family hippogriff like herself would have knowledge of. She couldn't speak for Gallus. But actually, she could. It was more likely that Gallus was a super secret griffon agent trying to undermine the Friendship School in Ponyville than it was that a spa experience that he could have gone through in Griffinstone compared to five minutes in a Ponyville massage bench. "No, this is the first time for both of us. Professor Rarity has convinced us, well I mean me, that the sauna helps us relieve stress."

[SteelEagle]

Lotus beamed with excitement at the prospect of two new customers! Of course, she could sell them on everything. A couples massage, a couples steam, couples facials, even couples hotstones! Hmm...couples. Oh, and they were so young! It dawned on her that it would probably be best if she didn't start upselling them too hard. She didn't want too ruin the clearly very romantic mood. "Oh, vhat a good mare she is! You two will simply adore the luxury and relaxation, yes. Indeed, I suggest you start with a private steam!" Lotus said as she led the way.

 

Gallus for his part was just happy to know that somecreature knew what to expect here. He had never had another creature give him a massage or a spa facial or whatever it was that happened here. He thought stones might be involved, and that seemed scary. Still, he was confident that Silverstream at least knew they were not doomed to die in the sauna and she was not slowly leading him to his doom. That would be an unfortunate development and very greatly cramp his already cramped style. He followed the two mares to the sauna, looking around and expecting everything to just shoot flames. "Is this the one where we burn to death?"

[Hippo]

"As if." Silverstream rolled her eyes at Gallus' dark humor. He always was the kind to make jokes about his own mortality, but he seemed to do it more around her. Maybe it's because he thinks she likes that. And maybe she does, if for no other reason, but to unleash the explain-y side of her intellect on how silly she thought he was. "You know they don't use open flames, right? Have you ever seen what a sauna looks like? The pictures make it look like a room completely made of wooden walls and wooden benches, with only a metal bin to put hot rocks in to produce water steam. But I think they made an automatic way of doing it now, instead of having someone constantly pouring water on hot rocks." Silverstream rambled on her knowledge of spa practical functions. Though this was her first time here, she remembers all to well the plumbing techniques and architecture needed to keep a place like this operating.

[SteelEagle]

 

Gallus had to be careful. If he wasn't, he would soon learn the entire history of the plumbing of various Equestrian spa outfits. The dates and types of pipes and how the system was run efficiently through a combination of...well, all it meant to him was a pile of tubes, but he was sure there was a dramatically more in depth answer awaiting him if he dared to ask. Of course he made fun, but he knew it was tied to her known attention to detail. She was awfully observant for a griff that so commonly seemed to have pushed her heart in front of her brain, but that was why other creatures were dumb and Gallus was great. He recognized quality.

 

"Really?" He said as he sat down, getting as comfortable as he could allow himself to feel in a sauna. Which, well, it was more comfortable than he thought it would be, if he were being honest. "I just thought they used magic to do it. I know I would. Do they have spa related spells?" He pondered. "But really, how do you think they automate it without it going haywire and drowning the system? Do they wait to hear the clients complain about flooding?" He thought some more. "That would cut the costs a bit..."

[Hippo]

"Pfft! I don't know, Gallus, what do I look like, some kind of expert on spas?" Silverstream brushed passed the assumptions and irony as she sat down. She was comfortable, but she was mostly excited. Although being excited to relax was a strange paradox for her. "Wow, it's already warm in here, but I'm sure it gets warmer, doesn't it?" She saw on the wall inside the spa a panel that had a couple knobs, one labeled time and the other temperature. Silverstream was told by Rarity that they had upgraded their spa control system to be customer controlled. She looked at the spa pony, who looked like she was on her way out to leave them to their session. "Is this how we control the temperature?"

[SteelEagle]

 

"Wait, you're not an expert on spas? And here I thought all those plumbing books were so you could open up a private spa that was school-adjacent," Gallus said with feigned shock, relaxing into the wooden seats that made the spa feel a bit cool to the touch before it would inevitably heat up hotter than the sun. It started to rise pretty quickly, a lot faster than it would naturally. "Yeah, I bet it will. What's the right temperature for you?" Gallus asked. His own comfort level was somewhere along the lines of a soft warmth with a cool breeze and a cool day with a warm breeze.

 

Once she found the knob that controlled it, he realized he would have his answer soon enough. "Yeah, looks like it. I mean I guess its kind of cool they allow it to be customer controlled. Probably makes their lives easier," he said with a quick thought piercing through his mind. "The professor probably drove them mad," he said before straightening out his back with one claw to his chest. "'Oooh, darlings, one up- no, no, one down!- hmm, no, I've changed my mind. One up!'" he said with a smirk, his best Rarity impression to date on full display.

[Hippo]

"I don't know how warm I prefer, I've never used a steam room. All those Seaquestria pampering sessions were more like hot tubs and hippogriffs don't do day spas." As Silverstream rambled, she looked over to see what the helpful spa pony had to say about the knobs. But when she looked, they had already walked out of the room and shut the door behind her, leaving Silverstream and Gallus alone in the sauna.

 

Silverstream agreed with Gallus. "Yeah, I guess. I'll set it to thirty minutes, and temperature setting four, whatever that means." Silverstream turned the knobs accordingly. They had a satisfying click and seemed to work as intended. As she set the temperature, small puffs of steam blew through small grates along the floor. "Hahaha. Yeah, she would sound just like that." Gallus was a funny griffon. This impression wasn't as good as some of his others, but Silverstream showed her appreciation for it for reasons beyond the level of spontaneous laughter it earned.

 

She sat back and exhaled, creating and enjoying a long pause before piping up. "So. What do you think, Gallus?"

[SteelEagle]

 

A hot tub reminded him of rabbit soup. That was a delicacy among the less well to do Griffs of Griffonstone and he could have a rabbit right about now. Fluttershy would go nuts but rabbit soup was...so good. Euuugh. The worst part about Equestria was the lack of good meat dishes. That and thinking of rabbit soup made him feel better than thinking about what a griffon would smell like after too much time in the hot tub. How could anyone stand it? Maybe he would do better in it if he went into his sea form, but that was another discussion for another day on another topic. He leaned back and took a deep breath, allowing the warm air to go through his body. It did feel good in his lungs, and he stretched his wings out to allow the warm air to move through his feathers. It would become uncomfortable later, but he would take the good times when and where they came.

 

"Temperature setting four? Out of how many?" he asked as he stretched out. "I think its pretty good, Silvie," he laughed. "Well, as good as a spa can be at least. Not sure they built this with our kind in mind, but it should be a fun day. I know I often times like to joke around, maybe a little too much perhaps, but I'm really grateful you decided to drag my wings along for this ride with you."

[Hippo]

"Out of ten, it looks like." Silverstream glanced again at the knobs, not paying too close attention to the details. Silverstream was not so secretly enamored with Gallus during times of deeper conversation, so she knew that the following minutes would be very good on her ears and her mind. Gallus was unbearable occasionally in awkward situations, but when there was no pressure to be cool and save face for multiple classmates at the same time, his expressions and demeanor were relaxed and calming. Gallus was never threatening, either, perhaps to his chagrin. Silverstream liked that about him. "Oh, not a problem, Gallus. But um, I wasn't asking what you thought about the spa. I was asking more in general. What do you think about other things?" Silverstream's posture sunk to the natural reclining position the wooden benches in the steamroom would allow. The towel Silverstream had with her was loosely woven around her, she paid it no attention. Her mouth also fell to a relaxed open state as she released the tension in her muscles all over her body.

 

 

Current temperature: 30° C, 85% Humidity.

[SteelEagle]

 

Gallus made himself a bit more comfortable as he laid out long wise on a bench on his back, folding his wings so they acted more or less to latch him into spot. He put the towel over his midsection as he allowed his right hind leg to lay off the bench along with his tail, which seemed to swerve aimlessly. He could feel his normally taut muscles start to soothe. Half under the influence of the humidity which, as much as he was not a fan of how it made his griffonite feathers feel, certainly worked to make his muscles slowly melt into jelly under the influence. The other half was simply comfort with Silverstream. She was a great conversationalist, sometimes almost to her detriment whether it was because she spoke too much or expected you to know what she was thinking. But when she was relaxed and allowed the conversation to flow naturally there was nocreature better. She was pretty good at driving things in conversation with a bright, curious mind. He liked that about her.

"Other things?" He allowed his mind to wander and as it did, it started to move further away from the minor tropics he used to distract himself. Gallus by design didn't think too much about what the future held or what was happening beyond his immediate control, but as often as that could help him handle the day to day events of his life he also had to admit it also led to him appearing to dodge things. Well, not appear. He just did. But his mind also wandered to topics beyond those that seemed to grip him existentially as well. They just didn't come as easily when somecreature just asked you to open yourself up as easily as Silver had a habit of doing.

"I think I'm very lucky to have found all of you."

[Hippo]

Silverstream lifted her head to look at Gallus momentarily. "Aww. I can only speak for myself, but the gang also feels the same." 'Me especially' she wanted to say, but didn't feel the timing was right. Although she expected it to be a little longer of a relaxation period before the experience they were having would have ample effect on their mood and muscle tightness. In fact, Silverstream executively thought it might be too long of a wait and decided to speed it up. "You know, this feels nice, but I think we can turn it up. I don't think setting four is all that intense, pretty mild actually." Without consulting Gallus, she sets the temperature up to seven out of ten. Momentarily, the amount of steam coming from the vents increased. Worrying for somegriff not used to the humidity, but once it hit the feathers, it felt kind of nice. Silverstream let out a large sigh. "I'm also glad to have found you and the others. I can't imagine what I would be doing right now, had the Queen not sent me to the school. Probably swimming around Seaquestria eating gormet seaweed, dancing every night to the bioluminescent fish and falling asleep to the waves crashing in on the Mount Aris beach. It would have been wonderful," Silverstream realizes in jest. "But not as wonderful as my new best friends."

[SteelEagle]

 

He wasn't necessarily prepared for her to raise the temperature. He more or less felt the same about that as he would about somegriff roasting him over a fire, though it helped if the griff turning the spit was cute as tartarus. He loosened his feathers to allow more air to filter through in preparation for Silverstream's latest attempt to murder him with kindness. "Pretty mild? Ha, well if you say so. Should I get you some dragonfire for your birthday?" He asked with a laugh, enjoying her company nonetheless. She was a murderer who took out her feathered marks with overheated saunas while she turned into a flopping fish. Sure this was true and she was a half-bird half-fish sauna temptress murderer, but she was his half-bird half-fish sauna temptress murderer. 

 

As the temptress spoke about her horrible potential future, filled with scenic waves, good food, and relaxation, he could only pity her. The horror of a royal life, the terror of such luxury. He visibly shivered playfully before looking at her. "That sounds horrible. I bet you'd be sleeping in beds with crisp white sheets and watching plays...or whatever else royals do! I'm glad we saved you from that life. Can't imagine abandoning somegriff to that fate..." he looked up at the ceiling as the steam started to overcome him. "Ahhh, there we go. Now this is hot. If I hadn't met any of you, I wouldn't have to worry about being roasted alive. Cold maybe, but not roasted. I should have brought a baster. Don't want to dry out too fast after I sweat all my water out," he said with a smile before closing his eyes and spreading his wings out fully. "Thanks. I needed this. I was stressed after that last test. I hate tests."

[Hippo]

Silverstream thought Gallus was being a little weak in his ability to deal with the steam room's elements. Sure it was warm and humid, but it really wasn't all that bad, or at least she didnt think so. In fact, the tick up in temperature didn't phase her at all, she could barely tell the difference. "Really? It feels the same to me. I kind of feel like it got colder somehow." Silverstream was technically correct. While the humidity increased in the steam room, the temperature had not increased as much as the dial would have implied. She smirked at Gallus and dared him. "Would you be able to handle the idea of me turning it up a little more? I just want to make sure I get it right, Professor Rarity reminded me to make sure the temperature was just beyond comfortable. She said you always feel better after the fact."

 

Current temperature: 34° C, 90% Humidity.

[SteelEagle]

 

Of course Professor Rarity would suggest taking the temperature right past what you would consider comfortable. She was one of the definitions of an artist if you chose the definition of 'suffering needlessly for your art'. That mare was as smart as she was creative and came up with all sorts of wild stuff that he didn't understand. He didn't know why she would want it quite this hot but as he was finding it, mares, chicks, girls of any kind were absolutely weird.

 

He flexed out his feathers and smiled. "Yeah, go ahead. I think I'm being served at the cafe later so best get to the basting, right?" He said with an easy smirk before laying out some more. "But really, whatever you feel is best. I've never been to a place like this. I don't think there is a spa in Griffonstone. Remember when Yona tried to describe a Yak spa?" He laughed. He also started to sweat. "Ahh, anyway. How's home? Been a bit. I hope your family isn't having Gallus withdrawal. It is a serious illness, you know, especially with that awful and terrible royal life that they have been forced to live in our absence!"
 

[Hippo]

Silverstream giggle-snorted. "Gallus stop being so dramatic." Silverstream turned the temperature dial to increase the temperature. It was now set to temperature level 7. She recalled Yona's spa explanation. "Oh yeah, I remember. She was all like, 'Yak have best spa! Yak take giant boulders to make huge steam! After spa, we cool rocks, then SMASH!' Ha haha heh." Gallus asked her about home and the assumption he was missed. "Oh you have no idea, Gallus! My mom asks about you every time I visit back. She keeps asking me how your tailfin is doing. But I have to keep telling her that you were only a seagriffon that one time." Silverstream rolled her eyes and then rested them looking at Gallus. He sure was a cute griffon, and so funny, too! He could say anything next and she would fine it pleasing, despite the fact that the heat was finally starting to make her sweat a little.

 

Current temperature: 37°C, 92% Humidity.

[SteelEagle]

 

He kept his breathing under control but he felt his feathers splay out. In some griffons it was a sign of confidence, baring your chest and feeling it puff out. Or it was a sign you were slowly cooking. He didn't know which one was more accurate. He was hot yeah, but being around Silverstream made him feel a bit lighter. A bit more energetic. A smile found its way easier to his face and he felt like he was more open with her, more like the Gallus he knew on the inside. Which, if this sauna went for too long, he was sure would be cut through with a knife and served. White meat sold well in Hesperia. "Well, I can see why she might be worried about my tailfin. I think I banged it around Seaquestria enough to bruise it. I half-expected my flank to be black and blue by the end of it. That would have been awkward to explain to your parents," he said with a playful waggle of the eyes, looking to steal a glance at her. 

 

This time he found himself staring into her beautiful violet eyes. He wasn't sure there were a better, more soulful pair in the world and if there were he wasn't in the mind of hunting it down. Not when it was hard enough to get lost already. "Anyone tell you recently that your eyes are really beautiful?"

 

[Hippo]

Silverstream daydreamed Gallus' visual of his tailfin becoming bruised and batter, and the idea of having to explain the situation to acquaintances. It would be embarrassing. She took a moment to burst out her laughter spat, as it took a few seconds for her to react to the nutty things Gallus was saying. "Hehee ha ha. Yeah I can't imagine what my mom would say!" Silverstream maintained a super relaxed position. Her wings would normally be folded politely behind her, but because of the humidity and the heat, her feathered appendages lazily fell on either side of her. The griffon was acting extra cute today. She knew how he felt about her thanks to the quality time they had spent with each other in the past. Gallus was sometimes insufferably flirty, but the conditions seemed to amplify his gumption.

 

She looked at him casually. Then, he complimented her eyes. Under normal circumstances, she might roll her eyes or reveal her rarely seen shy side. But instead, the humidity gave her a strange sense of confidence to reflect the mutual respect she had for Gallus. "Oh, yeah? You like my eyes? Have I ever told you how much I love the color blue?" Silverstream got up and moved to sit next to Gallus, instead of across from him. Her equine pelt brushed his feline fur. Silverstream could feel her own heart race the closer she got to him. And even though he was sweating profusely and his feathers were about as unkempt as she had ever seen them, she liked everything about him in this moment. He was so hot. Probably because of the heat.

 

Current temperature: 39°C, 94% Humidity.

[SteelEagle]

 

Gallus' eyes wandered. They did so often. It was common for flying critters to look around, tallying up the flighty word around them. And on the street it was good to keep your head on a damned swivel. But ever since he had been to Equestria, his eyes had wandered for entirely different reasons. Silverstream related reasons. The way her wings had unfurled, the way her feathers managed to keep their sweet sheen even in this heat was something his eyes caught. The way her wings seemed to flow into her- some creatures regardless of make or model looked like they had wings bolted on after the fact. Frankly, that was how pegasi looked to him. But Silverstream? There was an elegance of form, like the rest of her had been molded for those wings. And what a fine mold it was, his eyes wandering across her shapely legs, the ridges of her face, the watery deep of her eyes. She was a chick who it was easy to get lost in. 

 

"Now that you mention it," he said as he stretched out, his feline tail swaying with a greater impulse than before, "maybe not. But I had an inkling you did," he said with a smile as he made room for her. Not too much- he played it as cool as he could as they made contact, but his tail betrayed his excitement. Her pelt had such fine hair that it felt like cool, cool pinpricks of electric energy as they brushed by and into one another. "I think blue is pretty cool, but I'm partial to pink myself. I like it a lot."