She could feel their presence without having to turn. Something about the way the air shifted, the way her awareness shifted ever so slightly. It was a behaviour her body had adapted into, spending one too many nights in barns or under the stars meant she was attuned to even the slightest triggers of movement.
There was no reason to turn, and she felt no inclination to. Instead she stood, eyes shut, feeling the heat enter her every pore, sweat beginning to bead at her temple.
You fucking stink.
When it came to introductions, this was something she could get behind.
She turned slowly to face the newcomer, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.
The voice matched the girl it belonged to. She was a tiny thing, hair hanging limp and damp around her shoulders. But it was only when Seraphina got closer that she saw the still forming bruises, the cuts and blood that had dried and congealed on her face.
The smirk widened into a grin.
Seraphina took another step towards the girl and lowered herself until the two of them were at eye level. She held out her hands, waggling her fingers to show their blooded state.
"We're matching."
The smile never left her lips.
The heat of the sauna was a welcome reprieve, a much needed distraction from the outburst of music and fire that had taken her captive mere moments prior. Her eyes darted around the small room, walls of cedar and air thick like a hot day after a heavy rain. She hadn't any real experience with steam, save for the pressing of heavy fabrics and delicate seams at the factory job that she once held. How far away District 8 already seemed to be -- how hopelessly irretrievable and permanent it all felt.
Minerva's body tensed slightly as the other girl rose, her fingers removing themselves from the grip on her nose in case she had to spring into action. Her gaze ran all over the other woman, sizing up the slow tempo of her step before garnet-stained hands were held before her eyes.
How curious they were -- each finger bloodied and battleborn, forged in the crucible of a mind whose own enemy was itself. Minerva could relate. She could also smell the ferity wafting off the girl, like a perfume painstakingly crafted from both the crude and the divine. How exciting this individual already was.
She chuckled, light yet incredulous.
"Maybe so." A pause, before Minerva tilted her head slightly.
"I'll clean yours," she challenged, the slightest of smirks tugging at her lips. "If you clean mine."














