As you stroll through the dark streets of the motor city, the evening was starting to get colder each night. The long nights of making collections, and parties were starting to take a toll. The booze, the food, was really starting to get old. You saw a sign through the mists that read Russian Banya. You weren't sure what the place was but you walked towards it anyways. As you got closer, the building started to fill out; it was an old massive, single story white building. There was a single stair case that lead to the entrance. As you walked up the stairs a beautiful women exited and a large man kept the door open for you as you entered.

"Velcome to the Bathe Houze. My name is Svetlana and I vill be taking care of you. Have you ever been to a banya before?"

You shook your head. You continue to look around and see people in robes, towels, and sandals. There were segregated sides; one for men and one for women. And then behind the counter there were windows which showed a community bath. You could tell the baths had different temperatures as some had stream coming off of them while others didn't.

"Ve offer three different saunas, each with a different temperature and humidity level. After you lounge in our saunas, your pores should be open and they should releaze any toxinz and you can take a plunge in our ice-cold bath to close your pores and invigorate your spirit."

You can tell Svetlana has rehearsed a few times. Her accent still had the Russian in it, but it felt like she was trying to hide it. 

"We also offer an extremely relaxing massage therapy and scrubbing services. To include facial, feet and back. And for something unexpected, try the Venik treatment during which birch, oak or eucalyptus branches are brushed over your body to dilate capillaries and increase the metabolism."

You imagined being struck with tree branches and as weird as it sounded, Svetlana did make it sound appealing... 

Svetlana turned to greet someone. He kissed her on the cheek and formally said hello to hear in their native language. The man looked at you and said his name.

"I'm Mikhail, I own the place. I recommend getting some steam on you and a massage comrade. Maybe even the Venik treatment. Svetlana here is known for her good beatings."

The man grinned and stepped away into what appeared to be an office.

"So vhat can I do you?"

HighPitchEric enters the spa.  He is wearing his own oversize bathrobe open, his giant stomach and tiny genitals exposed.  He has brought his own pizza with him, extra cheese, extra meat.  Svetlana has greeted him as the proprietor MikhailKomarov introduces himself to Eric.

"I'm Mikhail, I own the place. I recommend getting some steam on you and a massage comrade. Maybe even the Venik treatment. Svetlana here is known for her good beatings.  So what can I do for you?"

HighPitchEric, confused by the proposition, decides what the heck and takes his robe off.  Stark naked and unashamed, he scratches his hairy buttocks and grumbles to Mikhail in his high, bizarre voice.

I WOULD LIKE TO GET HIT WITH THE BRANCH.  GROWING UP I USED TO GET BEAT WITH STICKS A LOT.  DOES IT FEEL BETTER THAN THAT? ALSO. WHO IS GIVING THE MASSAGE?  YOU OR SVETLANA?

HighPitchEric smells his hand and takes a look around the establishment, impressed by the decor.

Cassafrass was walking down the streets of Detroit after a long day. She reached across her chest, trying to work out the knot that had developed in her back, but she couldn't quite reach it. She sighed as she dropped her arm, continuing on her path. She happened to look up and notice a sign hanging outside of the building. It read Russian Banya. As tired as she was, she couldn't help but be intrigued. She turned, opening up the door and stepping in. There was a slight twinge of humidity in the air, but nothing overwhelming. When she approached the main area, she could hear a man speaking in a very high-pitched voice. When she found the source of the voice, she was quite shocked to find the man standing there by the front desk completely nude. She wasn't sure she should call any attention to herself. Finally she cleared her throat.

"I uh... I'm umm.. Hi. I was just walking by and uhh... I could definitely use a steam and a massage. If you... If you have the time to fit me in. I'm sorry I don't mean to interrupt. But I would love to get off my feet. Nudity isn't a requirement here is it? Was I supposed to bring my own robe...?

Mercedes steps through the doorway and is rewarded by the sound of HighPitchEric standing in the front of a small line of patrons. She catches the tail end of his request to be beaten with tree branches and takes note that he's not only naked, but holding a pizza. 

Confused, but not necessarily deterred, she decides to go have a quick drink down the block before coming back for a steam and massage.

Mikhail witnessed Erik lose his white, satin robe. As it laid by his feet, Mikhail's eyes couldn't help but creep up the poor man's body. His eyes passed over Erik's crouch area and Mikhail couldn't help himself as he stared at the man's large, untrimmed bush. He had to break contact for this was very unprofessional of him to stare. His eyes met with Erik's again...

"I don't handle any of those services. I simply run the joint. And you know I think this calls for Dasha."

Mikhail snapped his fingers and an door opened. Walked out was a women who stood over 6 feet tall. She had short hair that made her look masculine. She had the traps of a bodybuilder even.

"Dasha, please take our new naked client to the back and show him how you beat your clients. Make sure to use the oak poshahloostah."

As Dasha led Erik to the back to get his beating, Mikhail overheard him asking Dasha if he could still enjoy his pizza.

"Ahhh Cassafrass. Glad to see you here at the bathhouse! Please allow Svetlana to book you a massage. While nudity is definitely preferred, it isn't necessary. Our masseuses will adapt to either one. Don't let that discourage you from having a relaxing time. And what Erik did, no one else in the history of our establishment has ever done before."

Mikhail has Svetlana pick up Erik's robe. As she picked it up, she felt the soft satin and grinned. 

"Whats to grin at Svetlana?"

Mikhail grabbed a fistful of the robe.

"Oh my god. That is some of the finest satin material I have ever felt in my life. Erik really has some great taste."

While Erik's robe stole the show, Mikhail did notice that he lost a customer due to his newest client's nudity. 

Billie had heard whispers in the streets all day, all praising the new bath parlour downtown. Normally Billie wasn't the kind to spend money on such fleeting indulgences. As a rule she found them quite frivolous. But given her day at Kate's Office and Paragon Tower, she thought that today of all days she could use the diversion. She probably could have gotten a free massage at the tower, if she played her cards right. But a proper massage required getting nude, and being nude anywhere near John Noto was.... 'heh'... Billing snerked to herself. She wasn't going to think about it. Hoisting herself up the single white staircase she gave a tired groan. Though it wasn't physical, nearly so much as mental exhaustion. 

She smiled as she entered the building. The baths looked wonderful, and with her work history the excessive nudity didn't phase her a bit... so long as there were no well-off mafiosos around looking to kiss her hands and such.  She listened to Svetlana's sales pitch with avid curiosity. All of it sounded wonderful. The branches sounded strange, but she was down to try anything at this point. Laying a gentle hand on Svetlana's arm, Billie smiled at her sweetly, "I'm sure you hear this all the time, and you're probably sick of it, but you have a beautiful accent." She watched as the woman rolled her eyes, but noted the slightest twitch around the corners of her pale lips as her cheeks twinged pink.

Billie smiled wider. She loved the way white women blush. There was something so fetching about that rosy pink colour, and the thought of their blood rushing just below the surface. Shaking her ebony curls with a soft chuckle, Billie apologized, "I know, I know. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help but mention it." Peeking over the desk and through the windows to the community bath, Billie bit her bottom lip, lost for a moment in thought.

"You know what, I'll take the works. Scrubbing and... Vet...nik... Vetnik? Venik. Yes. Scrubbing and Venik included. And I'd like the hottest sauna available, if you please."   

Returning to the Banya a couple of hours later, Mercedes enters through the front door once again. No sign of Eric remained, and she didn't know if she was happy or disappointed with that fact.

Taking her place in line behind Billie, she listens to which services she's chosen. Having not been to a bathhouse herself, Mercedes quickly decides that she'd ask for the same. Feeling liked she'd aged ten years in the last ten days, any treatment at this point would be a blessing she'd happily pay good money for.

Stealing a backward glance Billie noted the knockout standing behind her, looking about as lost as she felt. With an impish smile Billie turned to the new comer. "I've never done this either," she offered softly, seeing Mercedes' slightly overwhelmed expression, "We could... have our first time together, if you want? ... I'm Wilhemina," she said offering her hand, "But you can call me Billie."

Mikhail was in his office but he had the door open. He could hear as customers came in and out of the banya. He preferred this so he could make sure everything went smoothly. And you just never know when a man in a white satin robe walks in with a pizza and drops trout. He heard Svetlana's sale pitch to Billie_Faegan. As good as Svetlana was with the pitch, Mikhail knew her true charm was her accent. Her beauty and her accent were really something that was not common.

"Natasha, bring me a cup of coffee please."

Mikhail asked for his assistant to bring him a cup of coffee. As she got up to get it, she made sure to bring the bottle of vodka from her bottom desk draw. He enjoyed a kick in his coffee. 

He continued to work as he heard Mercedes_Kompressor enter the joint. He was happy she came back after the controversial naked man in the lobby from the other day. Business was good. Seeing friends come in was a true pleasure.

Mercedes returns the handshake with a warm smile. The lovely young woman looked familiar...if she wasn't mistaken, she'd seen her in the company of KateLogan.

"Very nice to meet you, Billie. I'm Mercedes," she says. "And I'd love the company, because I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here," she adds with a laugh.

Kate walks softly through the open door of the business, with the bell on the door clinging behind her. She grins as she sees Billie_Faegan and Mercedes_Kompressor. Kate winks at Mercedes as she takes her place behind her in line. 

Billie notes the wink and blinks a moment before flashing a nervous oh-shit kind of smile. Shuffling backwards -- slightly away -- the tucked a stray curl before waving at Kate shyly. "Ms. Logan. Ms. Mercedes." She turned back to Svetlana, still awaiting instructions, "So, is this a group thing or... y'know... Cuz I can certainly wait if you'd like to service Ms. Logan first." Billie glanced behind her before placing a hand on Svetlana's shoulder and tip-toeing as faaaaaaaar as she could, whispering to the towering russian woman, "She's my boss. Make it memorable." With a smile and a wink she tucked a folded bill in the woman's breast pocket. 

Not sure what to do in this situation, but finding it funny nonetheless, Mercedes turns to the side and attempts to muffle a snort behind her raised hand, which may or may not sound like a believable cough. She then feigns intense interest in the decor of the lobby area, hands stuffed in her pockets while awaiting Kate's reaction.

 Kate raises an eyebrow.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure what goes on here. Could one of you explain this to me?"

She chuckles.

"We uh... I never really went to any of these in Texas. Do we sit in some kind of steam room? Go for a swim? Do we get a massage? What's the deal here?"

Billie ran a hand though her curly black hair, trying not to look like the cat that just ate the canary, or the kid with their hand in the cookie jar. She turned, smiling as innocently as possible, to Kate, "My understanding is all of the above... and then some." she gestured back to the community area, visible through the back glass windows. "I... um... I suggested that Ms. Mercedes and I could go together, since neither of us have ever done this either... it might.... make it... less awkward." There was NOTHING about this that was less awkward as Billie floundered a little. Kate was pretty. Kate was her boss. Mercedes was fucking stunning... and getting winked at by her boss. 

Billie visibly blushed. It was a rare moment, seeing her utterly flustered. "If... you'd like... we could...." Billie gestured, indicating all three as a group. That sounded dirty... and steamy. "But of course I understand if you'd rather... you know... whatever." Why was this bothering her so much? This was completely out character. Giving up on any sense of self-salvage, Billie took a step back from the line. "You can go ahead." She said, covering her face with her hand. "Just ignore me and pretend I'm drunk... or something." 

 Kate grinned wickedly. 

"How could we possibly ignore you, Billie, drunk or not? And I'm not sure what you mean by then some, exactly..."

She stuck her hands in her back pockets and arched her back, popping the muscles.

"I'll tell you what. I just had a pretty intense fight out in Vegas. Why don't we all grab some of those robes and sit in one of those nice, relaxing steam rooms. Then we can decide how awkward we want to get later. Maybe we'll jump into one of those baths or get a massage or split into groups or whatever. But for now, we go sit with those steam...rock... things.... not an expert. But we'll keep it simple to start.

But yea. Sound like a plan?"

"Well I'm in," Mercedes says, grinning. She had no idea what went on in a bathhouse, but how bad could it possibly be when you were accompanied by two beautiful women? And a Svetlana...!

Billie flashed Kate a sweet smile with a sigh of relief, "Yeah, okay." She tried not to smile too much as she eyed the two gorgeous gals who'd be accompanying her. Giving a nod to Svetlana, she followed along as they were lead down a short hallway to the women's side of things and into a large room with marble floors, hardwood changing stalls with thick raw cotton curtains and a wall of locking cupboards. 

Svetlana gestured to an open stall for each of the women, and assure them that fresh robes and slippers awaited them inside, also indicating that all their belonging could be stored in the cupboards and that she could lock anything of significant value in the office if need be. "Make yourselves comfortable, and I vill vait outzide. When you are ready, I vill ezcort you to the sauna. ...together." A tinge of a smirk twitched across her lips before she returned to her strictly-business demeanor. With a curt nod she exited the locker room, and waited outside for the women to all change. 

Billie shrugged at the other two women, slipping into one of the stalls, but not bothering to pull the heavy curtain closed. They were all women after all, and she was used to changing backstage with no privacy.  She kicked off her mary janes and set them neatly to one side. Slipping out of her floral print tea dress, she folded it crisply and laid it atop her shoes. There were more clothes under her clothes. So she carefully unbuckled the under-bust holster she wore everywhere, hanging it on a nearby hook, and proceeded to carefully extricate herself from the array of undergarments she wore -- bustier, waist cincher, garter belt, garter (fitted with a small bootknife), and finally her back seam stockings -- folding and stacking each as neatly as the last before slipping into the luxuriously plush bath robe and slippers. 

Piling her belongings - weapons on bottom - into one of the small locker/cupboards, she locked it securely and slipped the key, which was conveniently fitted with a lanyard- around her neck. Quietly she waited by the door for the others to finish before letting Svetlana know they were ready to move on... 

Kate and the other women followed Svetlana down the hall toward the changing stalls, evaluating the place as she went. It certainly looked impressive. Kate smirked as Billie didn't bother sliding the curtain closed, but when she stepped into her own stall she firmly closed it off, first unbuckling her gunbelt and leaving it on the shelf. Kate unbuckled her jacket, folding it and laying it neatly in the cupboard. After unbuttoning her shirt and sliding off her trousers, Kate added all her remaining clothing to the pile.

She felt naked. Which made sense, because she was. But she felt less naked due to the lack of clothing and more naked due to the absence of her gun. Sighing, she tried to buckle her gunbelt around her naked waist, simultaneously wondering how ridiculous she looked and how many men (and women) had probably imagined this. But even though the robe went down to her knees, the giant gun shape bump under the robe wouldn't fool anyone. Unbuckling the holster, she stowed it in the cupboard. It was Mikhail's place after all. She'd probably be safe.

But she heard the voice of her father, and she pulled the revolver from her holster and slid it into the rightmost of the two large pockets on either side of the robe. There was a slight protrusion, but it wasn't too noticeable. Kate grabbed an extra towel to carry on her right side, which completely concealed the weapon. She wouldn't bring any extra ammuntion... she had no intention of having rounds spill out and roll around the floor. And any steam might make some of her shots misfire. But goddamn it, she felt better having it, so that was that. Kate locked the cupboard, slipped her key in the other pocket, firmly tied the robe around her waist.

Kate smiled at Billie, who was already ready to go, before calling to Mercedes_Kompressor.

"Ready, Merc?"

Inside her stall, which she's only halfway pulled the curtain on, Mercedes unceremoniously dumps her shirt, jeans, and boots in an untidy pile on the floor. R

As she's removing her undergarments, she fixates on her gun. It was going with her, she just didn't know how. Slipping into the robe, she finds deep pockets, and just like that, her little problem is solved. 

Stepping out and shoving her belongings into a locker, she drops the key into the other pocket and smiles at the two women waiting. 

"Ready!" she chirps, looking forward to the evening ahead.