Hellacious Hospitality Ch. 03

As she continued to exposit, Benson could only find his admiration for her grow. From a purely physical standpoint, her attractiveness was second-to-none. But the way she engaged him intellectually was what made her truly irresistible. There was something amusing about listening to her approach her problems so practically, scientifically, when throughout basically all of fiction, magical beings such as herself seemed to resign themselves to purely magical means. He supposed that was a gap where fiction did not equal reality, and he was keen to learn more about her, and life as a "demi" in general.

Something about her last statement stuck out in his mind. He thought back to all the other times she had described this locale's varied properties, or abilities. "So, by your accounts, you say this place is like a large mass, impossibly large for the space it seems to occupy, twisting and folding over on itself to accommodate. And that it displays some form of 'intuition' or 'intent'? That sounds familiar. Something like a brain, no?"

Her eyes lit up at his observation, and her bright smile beamed even brighter still. "Right? I came to a similar conclusion myself after all my otherwise useless efforts. Not that I knew what to do with that theory afterward. At any rate, the architect was surely a genius."

Benson grinned, utterly amazed at the implications. "I'll say. Even with modern science, we've only begun to scrape the surface as to how the human brain truly functions, and you're telling me that some person or persons, hundreds or maybe even thousands of years ago, managed to magically replicate its functions via magic to create an endlessly adapting, growing, and maybe even learning, monster hostel? Neat."

She winced, withdrawing sharply from his side. "Please don't use that word, 'monster'."

"Oh, shit! Sorry. Err, 'demi', right? Why that term, specifically?"

Her posture relaxed, but she continued walking separately. "Demi-human is a rather more modern term to describe our type. It does much of the work to distance ourselves from our -- regrettable -- history, in which we were called many other, hurtful things: 'monsters', 'beasts', 'freaks'. However, the term's anthropic nature is still somewhat inaccurate. Although we may share some physical characteristics, we are not "human", no more than you, yourself, were ever a chimpanzee. So we took to the shortened 'demi', instead, which we have come to self-define as 'those who live in the twilight, the halfway between the magical and physical'."

He nodded appreciatively. There was sense to her words, and he committed the sentiment to memory. That was something else that he would have to work at to reconcile in his mind. Fairy tales always seemed to highlight the "other"-ness of the magical races. But with Caeli, he never felt like he was talking with anything but just another person. In fact, he felt more comfortable opening up to her than he had with anybody else in his life, as kind and attentive as she was. He wondered if it would always be like that. While she was patient with him, he might not be so fortunate with the other residents, should he encounter any.

As if she had predicted the natural end of their conversation, she came to a dead stop seemingly to punctuate it. But then, of course she had. As the only one of the two who knew where she wanted to go, she could control when they arrived through "intent". The logic of this place was indeed going to take some getting used to. She turned to his side, and gestured. "We're here. Just give me a sec".

Benson wondered where "here" exactly was, as there was nothing particularly distinguishing about the door she had stopped them outside of. Another plain white door, identical to any of the others that lined the hall, and like the one he had seen outside Syl's room. "221" was embossed on the otherwise smooth surface, just below the tiny peep-hole.

He wondered if the room assignments followed any sort of logical scheme. If the numbering system adhered to a typical hotel layout, then the second floor was probably the first habitable one. And if the rooms were filled in chronological order, then this room likely belonged to a very early resident. And further to that, just how long ago was that vacancy filled? For that matter, just how old was Caeli? He'd been regarding her as young based solely on her appearance, and to a degree her mannerisms, but he couldn't be sure that was the case. Certain things she had said were most suspect. Basic manners nixed that particular question from his list of things to follow up on, but as much as he had already been told, he was still overcome by curiosity.

Caeli knocked politely at the door, and pressed her forehead against it. "It's me," she stated plainly, before he heard the door lock click open from the inside. "Wait here for just a moment," she instructed, before she opened the door barely a crack, just enough so that she herself could slip through, before she closed it shut without letting him see anything. She barely left him any time to start ruminating again, before cutely poking her head out the door. "Alright, you've been cleared to enter! Please, come in!"

Accepting her invitation, he opened the door wide and strode forward.

*****

Caeli hadn't given him any indication of what to expect, but even then, what met Benson's eyes certainly wasn't this.

Warm, humid air rushed at him, fogging as it met with the cool air from the hall. His vision quickly cleared, though, when he shut the door, revealing to him a space that looked very much like he had stepped into a Japanese sentō bathhouse. The room immediately opened into a wood-lined foyer space, where shelves and cubbyholes -- currently empty -- for visitors' belongings lined the walls. At either end of the room were a set of low stairs, and curtained doors leading to another room beyond.

"Please, remove your clothes, and proceed to the next room."

He did as he was told, and began to fold up his clothing to place in one of the cubbies, but she stopped him.

"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of those." She snatched his bundled things from his arms before he had a chance to protest.

"Aren't you coming in as well?"

She smiled, but shook her head. "No, I'd love to join you, but this works better alone, for your first time. Do you know how to do this?"

"This looks like a Japanese bath, yes? I've never been in one, personally, but I think I've got the gist of it."

"Then please, go ahead, and make sure to enjoy the full extent of the facilities! You won't find me here when you finish up. Please go on ahead to the dining hall without me. I'll catch up." She turned to leave.

"Caeli, wait!"

"Is there something else you need?"

"Err, not so much 'need'. Just, which side is the men's?" He pointed towards the two curtained entryways at opposite ends of the room, perfectly mirrored. "Normally, I think these would be labeled somehow, but I'm not seeing it."

She giggled lightly. "Oh, that? That's never been an issue. Just go on in, you'll figure it out." It was a strange response, but it seemed like the best he was going to get.

"Alright then, I guess. Catch you later?"

"Count on it!" She turned to leave again, this time a devilish mood striking her. Unfastening the buttons, she let his shirt teasingly slide off her shoulders and down past the exquisite contours of her shoulder blades, before whipping it off completely with a flourish, leaving Benson with one last parting image of her delightfully rounded backside as she confidently sauntered towards the exit.

At the current rate, the sight of every last square inch of her immaculate naked body would be indelibly seared into his memory by the end of the day.

With a click of the door latch behind her, she was gone. It was the first time since his return that she was not by his side, and already Benson started to feel just a bit lonely.

*****

Crossing into the next room, the reason for Caeli's earlier cryptic response became eminently clear. Despite the two distinct doorways, they both lead into the exact same space. There was no wall that would have typically divided such a space. Mixed bathing? Otherwise, as he had suspected, it was a fairly ordinary-looking Japanese sentō. Neutral-colored tiles lined the floor and halfway up the walls, lined with waist-height faucets, with low wooden benches adjacent, to either side of him. Where the central dividing wall would have been, instead stood several banks of open shelves, fully stocked with pristine, plush, white towels. The large room could have accommodated thirty bathers simultaneously, but currently, he was the only soul present.

The eerie emptiness of the room only served to underscore how lost and lonely Benson was feeling without Caeli's presence to brighten his spirits. He wondered if she had in fact cast some enrapturing spell upon his mind, but he shook loose that distrustful thought. That he had the wherewithal to even think that in the first place should be proof enough of her innocence. He was merely still in a state of disbelief as to his sexual fortunes.

Benson took seat at the first available station, and immediately got to work at scrubbing the previous night's filth from his body. There was a pump dispenser full of body wash ready at the station, so he made no delay at lathering himself up, brushing free the sticky, salty mixture of sweat, cum, and love nectar from every inch of his skin and hair. The warm water and airy soap bubbles already began to work their magic, relieving much of the stress from his weary muscles. He found a small woven bamboo basin at his feet, and filled it with hot water from the faucet. He raised it above his head, and poured, the heavy torrent not only cleansing him fully, but also shocking the last remnants of sleepiness from his system.

Now feeling much more comfortable in his own skin again, he stood up, and went to fetch a towel. He quickly dried himself, and then wrapped the cloth about his waist. Already feeling much more refreshed and certainly much more hygienic, he would have been content to leave the bathing routine there. He was more accustomed to quick showers, and the full Japanese bath experience seemed like needless pampering. And quite frankly, his hunger pangs were becoming more incessant. But Caeli had urged him to enjoy the full course, and he didn't want to betray her efforts in whatever it was she had set up.

Plus, there was a nagging feeling that something was still unaccounted for.

Making sure the terry cloth garment was securely affixed at his waist, he ventured further into the room, and through another curtained door at its far end.

*****

Crossing the threshold felt like stepping into another world entirely. Thick white mist shrouded the entirety of his vision. It was so impossibly dense that his entire arm became but a hazy silhouette if he held it more than a foot ahead of him. The floor below him was entirely invisible. It was almost like stepping out onto a cloud. That impression was so intense that he gingerly toed at the ground to ensure there was a solid floor beneath him, lest he rush out only to begin tumbling out of the sky.

Benson relaxed when the ground before him felt firm, and in fact just seemed a continuation of the tiled surface from the room behind him. The tempering humidity of the mist did the job in eliminating any remainder of his anxiety, its refreshing breathiness reminding him of the air after a tropical rain. A fragrant sweetness carried on the air caught his attention. Barely noticeable at first, it seemed to grow in strength as he sought it out, coaxing him onward.

Following the inviting scent deeper into the new space, the mist seemed to thin and part, until he could see his own feet again. And then maybe a couple of feet worth of tiled floor ahead. Wider and wider the break in the fog opened, until he found himself at the edge of a pool, its clear waters shimmering from an unknown light source. Gossamer vapor trails wafted from its surface, signifying its heat.

Stairs lead from the edge of the pool down to the watery depths, and there was no hesitation to follow them down. He removed the towel from his waist and bundled it around his neck, to keep it dry. The heated water felt heavenly, alleviating the soreness of his muscles and stiffness in his joints on contact.

Now standing waist-deep in the water, the mist cleared even further, extending his field of vision in a twenty-yard radius before him. Then thirty yards. Forty. Fifty. Just when Benson had started to believe he was becoming accustomed to the strange and exciting ways of this "hotel", it constantly found new ways to impress and amaze him. That self-assuredness immediately left his mind, because it was now instantly clear that he still didn't know anything.

He had entered this room anticipating a quick, relaxing soak in a hot tub, as per the norm in any Japanese sentō he had ever seen in pictures and travel guides. The grandiosity that his eyes were still struggling to accept was so far and beyond that prediction that he had no words to describe the gap between imagination and reality.

What seemed like an endless ocean of sparkling, crystal-clear water stretched out as far as he could see, as much as the room would let him, until the impenetrable white fog swallowed everything again. But that distance was so far that there was almost a horizon line. And somewhere between him and that distance, impossibly huge marble pillars, maybe twenty yards in diameter reached skywards, to interminable heights. Bright red, fresh rose petals from some unknown source scattered the water's surface, explaining the sweet fragrance in the air.

The Japanese bath of his mind had been replaced with a Roman one. But that still sold it short. His mind making a minor geographical skip trying to make sense of it all, it was more like he had stepped into the Gods' bath on Mount Olympus.

"What the f--?", he began to voice, while he felt his legs wobble and start to give out, so humbled was he by the sheer scale of what he was seeing. He glanced around to find that the wall around the perimeter of the pool was stepped out, forming a bench. He collapsed into it, submerging himself up to his neck in the warm caress of the sparkling water.

Staring into the sky, attempting to see where the monolithic pillars were reaching up to was starting to make him dizzy. So he closed his eyes, blocking out the utter ridiculousness of what he had witnessed, and just focused on the familiar: the hard bench below him; the pleasant warmness of the water that enveloped his body; the sweet, floral perfume of the rose petals that, while different, still reminded him of Caeli nonetheless.

That last thought brought a new shot of arousal to his loins. He then began to notice how the warmth of the water seemed to probe at his wearied muscles. Kneading them. Massaging them. Around his thighs. The knots in his back. The stitches and cramps in his shoulders and arms. The aches in his groin.

The sound of joyous, feminine laughter reverberated in his ears.

Benson slowly opened his eyes, to find a pair of deep red, saucer-wide irises gently, but curiously gazing into his own. The corners of his lips curled into an expectant, welcoming smile.

"Why, hello there. I was wondering when you were going to introduce yourself."

Large eyes widened even further in a look of surprise, but quickly crinkled at the corners in a smile.

"Many blessed greetings, young human. It is with great pleasure that One welcomes you to One's abode. The Keeper spoke highly of this one's mental acuity, and One is pleased that this one does not disappoint."

The words sent a shudder down his spine. Not because of any sense of fear or intimidation. Contrarily, the feminine voice that conveyed them was rather warm and nurturing. It was the fact that he didn't so much as "hear" the voice, as "feel" it. It seemed to enter him from the water, through his body, resonating in his head. He blinked several times, trying to parse her slightly odd and formal pattern of speech.

"Keeper? Oh, you mean Caeli? I don't know what she told you, but I don't think I'm that special. I just knew because she talked to someone to let her in, but I hadn't met anybody yet. And please, call me Benson. Benson Lachlann. 'This one', 'that one', sorry, it feels too stiff and impersonal. If Caeli wanted to introduce us, that must mean she trusts you. So don't treat me as some esteemed guest. Just treat me as a friend."

The eyes closed thoughtfully for a moment, before opening again. Still pinched at the corners, shimmering. "Very well, Son of Benedict, He Who Hails from the Lakes. An auspicious title, that One feels much affinity for." He realized what had been unnerving him about this conversation. The female that currently had her eyes locked on his, boring straight into his soul, never blinked. This was the first time since appearing that her gaze had averted. They were pretty eyes, though. The blood red color might have been regarded as frightening, but the shimmer and sparkle behind them belied a certain innocent intelligence.

His mind blanked for a moment, caught off guard by the complete gibberish-sounding nonsense that the woman spouted at him, only to realize that the complicated epithet was her simply repeating back his name, albeit in an unbelievably archaic sort of way. He sensed a timeless sort of knowledge and wisdom hidden behind those words, given her ability to draw on such arcane knowledge so effortlessly.

"Whoa, there. Benson's just a name. Don't make it out to be some flowery-sounding title. As I said, I'm nothing special, or important. Names don't tend to carry that much meaning. At least, not any more. Not to the average person."

"One has never fully understood the importance that humans place on something as insignificant as a 'name'. The totality of one's essence sings out far stronger, and with greater meaning, than but a single word can hope to describe, does it not?"

He was suddenly thankful that his first demi experiences had been with the personable Caeli and the mute but expressive Syl, because the abstract way of thinking that was being presented to him was messing with his head. He was uncertain he'd have been able to take his supernatural encounters in such stride if his initial impressions had been so overwhelming. The ease at which he had gotten along with Caeli had given him a false sense of security. He was treading new ground, here.

"While that may be the case for you, 'the totality of one's essence' isn't something that humans are capable of communicating so readily. Well, for those of us that aren't carnival fortune-tellers, anyways. And while you can count me among the firm believers of the supernatural, now, I'm still pretty sure those are complete BS. Nope, sorry to break it to you, but names are all we've got to identify each other."

A profound sense of sadness filtered through the deep crimson orbs. "Then it is true, that humanity has forsaken the grand river of Mother Origin. With One's teachings, One had hoped the mortals would have achieved greater enlightenment after the passage of such time. But alas, that appears not to be so. A great loss that this one is unawares. The senses of the eyes and ears must suffice."

Soulful eyes withdrew, no longer filling his field of vision. A face to match them to came into view. Pale, iridescent, slightly translucent blue skin. A round face with softly pointed chin. Over-large eyes, in an inhumanly attractive sort of way. Spritely, doll-like, when matched with small mouth and delicate, cherubic nose. A wild mane of wavy, long, kelp-like green hair partially obscured broad, fin-like ears.