And so their paths cross.
———————-Alt Text———————-
Val stands at the hot springs in town, wearing a black one-piece bathing suit and an earthy organge wrap around her waist and carrying an army-green shoulder bag. She sees all the pools are being used and says, “well, Jo couldn’t come, but it’ll be nice to have a spring pool all to myself.” She sits down and starts reading a book while she waits. Audri appears beside her wearing a high-waisted polka dot suit and tiny orange bag. Audri asks Val, “are all the hot spring pools full?” A little put off, Val replies, “unless you see any empty ones.” Audri fiddles with her hands and nervously asks Val, “when one opens up, will you share?” Val resignedly shrugs and says, “uh. Well… Sigh. Sure.” Audri said, “My name’s Audri,” and reassured her, “I promise I didn’t bring any pool floats.” Val said, “I’m Val. Is that a joke, Audri?” Earnestly, Audio replied, “No. I honestly didn’t bring any.” Amused by this not being a joke, Val says, “with any luck the raging sea will spare us.”
———————-/Alt Text—–—————–
Okay, que the aliens, the actors are in their places.
Everyone has their towel. That’s what will matter.
All we need, then, is a bathrobe.
Choosing to share is definitely the wisest choice here.
Because being alone in a pool will incur a risk of someone deciding to join, and the people who decide to join someone alone in a pool are quite possibly the WORST.
Audri’s line from the last panel is missing in the transcript
And she is called Audio in the Alt Text.
Trying to pick out who is going to get body-switched with whom
And then a Strib ship lands and crushes the hot springs…