It was a familiar walk to the onsen, one Lydia had taken a number of times since she arrived in the village. Though she could move at a quick pace, she slowed down for Kat's sake, the small Aron scuttling along on her short legs. Se could see the festival preparations, though she didn;t take a long look at it. They had been working for days and though she had offered help they had politely declined.<br/><br/>The shrine, however, was something she had stopped by numerous times. It was an ancient thing, far older than anything she had seen in the town or any other town for that matter. Combined with the soft dirt path under her feet, the earthen smell of bamboo and moss and the gentle spotted sunlight gave an omnipresent feeling of nature's presence, a place shared by man and earth. Today, however, she moved on, the warm water of the onsen on her thoughts rather than the lines of philosophy written on the shrine. So she moved on.<br/><br/>Though Lydia enjoyed the bath, Kat did not, the copious steam from the hot water less than conducive to a shiny iron skin. So it was as they approached that Kat was pulled back into her pokeball and Lydia entered the building alone. She entered the woman's changing room and the first thing she noticed was the chatter of others talking. It wasn;t the usual sound of the older ladies from around time, but that of young women her own age. She knew there was at least one woman her age in town, but this sounded like more than one. Swiftly she stripped down, folding her clothes loosely into her pack before stowing it and stepping in.<br/><br/>Sure enough, she didn't recognize any of the other young women sitting on stools, but she wasn't shy as she entered, striding confidently to one of the remaining stools.<br/><br/><span style="color: Gray">"New trainers to town, I take it?"</span>She asked, turning to face them rather than starting to wash, she might as well be polite and introduce herself.<span style="color: Gray">"I was wondering when more would arrive from Saisho, it's been quiet for a few days. My name is Lydia, Lydia Kazkov."</span><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>