Snippet #1161481

Amunet ran the bath with a cool air of assurance, trying to appear in control for Derris, who seemed to be uneasy about the idea of bathing. She wasn't too surprised. He looked and smelled like bathing would be something unfamiliar to him, and her enhanced sense made the stench of him a thousand times worse. She was eager to get him in the water and start scrubbing that filth off. When the bathtub was full, Amunet motioned for Derris to approach her, which he did, hesitantly. The moment he was within arm's reach, she moved in a flash to strip off his cloths and plop him in the tub. In fact, she moved so quickly, the boy didn't even have time to struggle before the warmth of the water enveloped him. Then, when he thought to struggle, the water felt so comfortable that he didn't see the point.

"There," Amunet said, "That's not so bad, is it?" Gently, she began soaping him up, and using a soft rag, she scrubbed of the layers of dirt and grime settled on his skin. By the time she had cleaned his arms enough to see his true skin color, the water was already murky and dark. With a small grimace of disgust, Amunet pulled the plug and allowed the water to drain out, not even bothering to pull Derris out of the tub. Once the water was all drained out, she turned on the tap and left it running, realizing it would be faster and cleaner than filling and refilling the tub many times over. Inch by inch, Amunet scrubbed down every patch of skin until it was spotless and pink from the friction. As she worked, she learned that Derris had very pail skin, he was skinner than she thought, definitely needing some fattening up, there was a strange scar beside his left eye, and all in all, he was a beautiful little boy. Finally, after she cleaned out his natty hair, she observed that his hair was a little closer to gray than black and very fine. Once he was clean, Amunet pulled Derris out of the tub and dried him off. Suddenly, she was at a loss. She definitely was not going to put him back in his nasty clothes. In fact, she planned on burning them if she could. Sighing, Amunet moved to the door to go find Kit and see what she could dig up, but a set of clothes was already waiting just outside her door.

"Kit thinks of everything," Amunet said aloud as she brought the clothes back to the bathroom where Derris stood awkwardly. Without ceremony, Amunet helped him into the clothes, rolling the pant legs and sleeves up, and, once she finished that, glanced over the finished effect. With a frown, she noted that his hair was too long. Rummaging around, she found some scissors and trimmed his hair until it reached just below the tips of his ears. With a triumphant laugh, Amunet lifted Derris onto the counter to face the mirror.

"You're all done!" she exclaimed with delight.

~~~

Derris calmly endured Amunet's ministrations, somewhat enjoying the feeling of being cleaned. He watched her face as she worked, entranced by the kindness and pleasantness he saw there. The entire time she cleaned, no matter how filthy he was, she had a smile on her face, as if she enjoyed his company. Once in a while, though he didn't think she knew she was doing it, Amunet would hum as she scrubbed away, and the sound of her humming caused Derris to feel more safe and secure than he could remember feeling in a long time. Because he felt so comfortable with her, Derris didn't think to object when she decided to cit his hair or even when she picked him up, something he had though he disliked immensely, but when she did it, it made him feel like he had a mother.

Once Derris' own reflection caught his eye, he forgot all else and stared, open-mouthed. Shocked, he reached a tentative hand up and ran it up his face to his hair. He'd seen his scroungy reflection in windows and metal, so he had assumed that he was ugly or malformed, since he couldn't remember what he looked like before being alone, but the boy in the mirror was normal-looking, maybe even handsome. In awe, he traced the crescent shaped scar near his eye and frowned. He wondered how that got there. Suddenly, a pain stabbed in his head, and Derris remembered he wasn't supposed to try and remember. Once he tried thinking of something else, the pain went away. Out of nowhere, Derris yawned, realizing that he was exhausted. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd slept well. Amunet noticed his yawn and carried Derris to her bed. She rubbed his back and sang some lullabies until Derris nodded off to sleep, and then, tired from cleaning him and entranced by her own efforts to lull Derris to sleep, Amunet followed suit, falling asleep with Derris curled up in her arms.