The heavy hide flap fell back into place, giving relief from the slicing winter wind that raced through the pathways between the huts. The village's streets had been long packed with dirty ice that had once been the first snows of the season. This particular hut was sunken into the ground near the edge of the village and up against the sheer wall of the valley and gorges the tribe wintered in. Saplings that had been bent and tied years before had now grown into modest trees permanently arched to provide this one particular hut a year-round shape even when the tribe had moved on for the summer.
Basura could feel the heat bite at her numbed cheeks, even this far up the long stairway, as she reached heavily gloved hands up to unwind the furs she wore over her face. In the honey glow of the oil lamps her green-brown skin shone as she unwrapped the furs and began to slide from her heavy garments. Layers slipped off as she puffed in the humid air and she stomped her boots to free the caked on snow before she finally stood mostly naked, her heavy clothes stuck onto a shelf beside others. The winter had been long and the snow had constricted their world down to this one deep valley whose tall walls shielded the tribe from the majority of the winds. Still, it was cold and Basura was relieved to finally be done with her patrol. She reached for one of the broad strips of linen, a luxury that had to be packed in from the southlands, and wrapped it carefully around her waist and between her legs and then stepped into a pair of the wooden sandals lining the wall. She stood, modest breasts bare, dark olive colored nipples thick and standing out, wrapped in linen, and her skin shone in the amber glow of the lamps. As she turned to descend the steps, the light played along the contours of her well defined physique.
The stone stairs were slick with condensation as she trod with care down into the dim depths, the wood of the sandals clunking on the stone and echoing along the descending staircase. Simple oil lamps stood in niches cut into the stone beneath the hut and the snow, the warmth and humidity increasing as she descended those stairs worn smooth.
Below the stairway opened into a round room. The walls smooth with decades of use and the benches polished by backsides over generations. Basura could hear voices through the hanging leather curtain that separated this small sitting room, humid and warm, from the one beyond. A few others of the tribe must be here tonight enjoying the break from the biting cold above. Stepping from the sandals she crossed the small room and pushed the curtain side, steam rolling around her as she entered the larger chamber. This room was considerably larger than the one before, and the hut above. Roughly round it had three large basins cut into the floor of it, all three of which were full of hot water, steam hanging from them. A complicated system of wooden sluices could empty the tubs and let more water from the hot springs further up the mountain side into the pools, but emptying and refilling a tub would take all day and, for now, the water was clear and fresh and still very hot.
In the center of the room one basin, which could be filled if needed, was larger than the other three. For the time being it was occupied by several other members of the tribe sitting on its low bench watching two men wrestle. Naked save their linen wraps their own bodies, in hues of green and brown, glistened with sweat and steam as they wrestled, their muscles showing in tight curves as they slipped against one another's slick skin. Basura, not quite ready for that but definitely enjoying the sight of the raw physicality of it, chose to join the few tribe members soaking in the hot water this time of night.
All told about a dozen people were in this large room and enjoying the warmth before having to brave the cold to return to their own homes or to spend the night on the palisade. Basura was glad she was done with her shift for the night. As she glanced around the chamber, trying to decide which of the pools would be the hottest, she spied Kada, one of the two blacksmiths the tribe boasted, and smiled a tusky smile to herself. She approached the tub where the stockier orc woman soaked with water up to her neck, her more solidly built frame hidden under the water and the rising steam.
"Bas, it's about time you got here. My toes are getting wrinkled waiting for you to show up. Get in here and get the chill off your bones."
Needing no invitation, Basura had already reached down and unwrapped the linen from round her waist, folding it and setting it beside Kada's own, then she sat on the edge of the pool, knees up to her breasts and began a slow process of entering the almost scalding water.
"Not all of us get to put down the hammer, or the spear, when the sun sets, Kada. How long have you been lazing around here soaking up the heat?"
Kada laughed, watching the whipcord woman enter the tub with more than just a friendly stare. She delighted in the tight curves and rigid lines of muscle that defined the younger woman and it made her feel warm in ways the marvelous tub couldn't.
"Long enough to get bored watching the men wrestle."
As she said that the sound of a few people cheering let Basura know that one of the two orcs had successfully pinned the other in place. She curiously glanced around as she continued talking, wondering how far this bout would go. Clearly the victor had decided he had more in mind from the loser than just to lord over him that he was the better wrestler tonight. Basura could see him unwinding part of his linen wrap and freeing his dark green, uncut prick. Uninterested in watching the men play, at the moment, she turned back to Kada, "Have they been at it long?"
"Long enough, though I think those two are going to be late to the palisade if he takes too long." Kada replied, glancing briefly around Basura before returning her gaze back to the slender woman working her way down into the hot water, finally standing on the submerged seat and letting the water cover her thighs just below that wiry thatch of hair between her legs. Kada's mouth grew a little dry at that and glanced up at the guard while Basura sank into the water further.
"Ah... ah... they just filled this didn't they?" She asked as she finally let the water lap up over her taut abdomen. Her green hide flushed at the heat and she felt sweat break out on her face as she started to sink further, pausing as her nipples suddenly sank beneath the water and she could feel them burn.
Once she settled in Kada shifted her seat and drew closer, sitting close to Basura and sliding one calloused hand around the guard woman's waist under the water. Without hesitation Basura smiled and gazed down into her friend's eyes and leaned to kiss her thick lips, their tusks bumping faintly as Basura returned that embrace in the heat. She could smell the smoke of the forge on the shorter orc woman, the softer, thicker shape of Kada was extremely pleasant to the taut Basura, almost as pleasant as the older woman's comfortable company.
