The two of them finished dinner in a tacit mutual understanding; neither spoke another word, but the atmosphere was extremely harmonious and warm, with the gentle sounds of chewing, swallowing, and chopsticks clinking together.
The large snake followed Omegina's request, finishing cleaning up the pile of bowls and chopsticks before taking Rowan down to the waterfall to wash up.
Rowan took off the animal skin layer, revealing a toned body under the hazy moonlight, and soaked himself in the cool water of the lake, taking out the dried soapberry he had picked earlier to wash his hair. This time he washed very thoroughly, scrubbing every nook and cranny of his body extremely clean, as carefully as if he was preparing for an important, sacred ritual.
A while later, confirming that he had washed clean, completely rinsing off all the dirt and sweat, he finally went ashore, dried his body, and put the animal skin coat on, his wet hair hanging down over his forehead.
