Normally being referred to as part of a herd would be kind of freaky. When Derek said it, it was the highest compliment. It made Allegra feel like she was part of a family.

She sighed as the handsome masseuse introduced himself and then started his work. Now this was the stuff!

"Mmmmmm," Allegra answered Xavia and Derek when they asked her how she was doing. "I need to do this every day. Seriously!"

"I was fine, I was safe," she murmured sleepily as she relaxed in the mud. Ahhhh yeah. She felt like one of her potted plants, all happy and sassy, languishing in dirt. Soon, she was dozing off until she heard the younger one answer.

"You are right... T'is is everyt'ing." She relaxed against the towel they used to support her neck, feeling ever so spoiled. "T'ank Derek, was his idea for t'is..." she purred and lifted a muddy hand, only to flop it down happily.

He let the quiet sink into the room. Derek smiled and opened his eyes to look at Xavia.

"You're welcome. Anytime. This is my first time comin' to a spa. It's very relaxin'." Derek yawned a bit. "There needs to be a room where we could just take a thirty minute nap. I'd pay extra for that." Derek grinned and scratched the side of his head.

"What's next? I might get in the mud bath next to Xavia so I can swallow in somethin' other than my sweat." He teased with a grin.

Allegra echoed Xavia's feelings about the day. "Yes, thank you Derek. I think I've found my new spa. Ohhhh!" She smiled and moaned happily as her masseuse rubbed her back.

"Well, I'm getting a full treatment mani-pedi next if you want to join me," she offered.

Her tense body loosened up and she gave in to the experience. All those many tensions from the last two stressful weeks were melting away.

"Mmm, maybe. If I am awake." She lifted a foot up and wiggled her muddy toes and lifted her head off the towel. The cucumbers dropped off of her eyes and she grinned sleepily at the two. "You should do a mud bat'. So nice." And then she wiggled free of the muck, the person attending her hiding her behind a big towel and escorting her to rinse off.

This was the life.

She gave a big yawn as she shuffled back in and sat down to do her next round of pampering.

After Derek got his pedicure, he got up from the chair and made his way over to the fresh mud bath next to Xavia's. He slipped off his bathtub and climbed into the mud.

"Oh!" Derek started laughing, "this feels weirder than when i first kissed a girl," he shivered a bit and closed his eyes to enjoy the muddiness that was the mude bath. "Hey, Xavia, I wonder what kind of plant you'll turn into if you stay in there." He teased, sticking his tongue out at her.

Derek sniffed and closed his eyes. "...So, Allegra, have you heard of Ms. Shinbo? She's a fashion designer that I think you should meet."

Xavia and Derek both were trying the mud bath so Allegra figured she'd give it a whirl. She had never done it before. It looked weird and it kind of smelled. Still, when in Rome.....

Allegra always felt uncomfortable stripping down but she was with friends. The attendant helped her into the pool of warm mud. "Oooh," Allegra said as she floated. "This actually feels really nice, Xavia. Great idea."

"Ms. Shinbo?" Allegra asked Derek. "Any relation to the math teacher?"

"His wife." she murmured as she got pampered. She needed a foot massage, and was getting one, her dainty feet in the hands of a professional. Okay, so they were not that dainty right then and there, swollen as they were from pregnancy stuff. Yeah, with as fast as the belly was growing, her feet just couldn't keep up with it, and her boobs were just... God, she kinda hated it, not because they looked bad but they were so freakin tender. She couldn't very well have the professional help her with that, now could she?

Soon, she dozed off for a moment, her head falling back against the pillow.

Derek yawned a bit and made sure to keep his eyes closed as he allowed his entire body to be submerged into the mud. He came back up a minute later. "So," Derek started as if everything was normal, "have you thought about doing either a natural birth or one with a lot of pain reliever?" He asked with a grin. If Derek was a girl, he would always go for a natural birth...that is until he would actually have the baby. Derek shivered a bit and flopped back down into the mud.

It seemed like the instructors were even more fashionable than the students.  First Xavia and now the math teacher's wife. Allegra wanted to ask Xavia if she could introduce her, but the instructor was slowly dozing off. There would be plenty of time to talk about this stuff after the spa. Allegra shut her eyes and just floated.

She heard Derek asking about Xavia's pregnancy. Allegra wanted kids but the idea of delivering them? That scared her a bit. She wondered if she was alone in thinking that. It was supposed to be such a beautiful, natural process but there was a lot of pain involved. Allegra didn't care much for pain.

Well, that should be the furthest thing from her mind. Right now she didn't want to think about the things that she did have to deal with like being a mutant and adjusting to a new school. She just wanted to close her eyes and mentally drift away.

"Natural," she murmured, "I do not like drugs, and half time, t'ey don't work for me anyways... More plant based ones." But that was a given. She wiggled the toes of the foot not being touched at the moment. "Oh, hey... photo shoot soon. I am still under contract for a few more years and have to do enough to sell a few records and pretend to make effort. You want to come?" She was talking to both of them. Derek, so he could have a chance to meet her fabulous make up artist, and Allegra, so she could have an opportunity to see high fashion in action.

"VIP treatment like t'is. Free food... Limo... Can't beat t'at."

"You had me at 'free food'." Derek sighed peacefully, "I would love to go to a photo shoot with you. We can listen to your city on the way there!" This week was just getting better and better. Derek continued to soak in the mud when a question came to mind.

"...What does mud do for you anyway?" He asked with raised eyebrows. "Like does it sooth the skin or somethin' like that?" The question was open for anyone to answer. He honestly didn't know.

A fashion shoot. VIP treatment. Free food. Limo. Plus a chance to hang out with her friends.

"Yes! I would love to!" Allegra exclaimed. She was supposed to be relaxing but she was excited about the idea. "Thank you for inviting me. That sounds so awesome!"

Allegra was looking forward to hearing Xavia's music as well. This was shaping up to be a really great day.

"The mud is supposed to soften your skin and detox your body," Allegra answered Derek. "I had looked into it but I never tried it until now. It's so relaxing."

"S'posed to do a music video soon, too. Will have to ask if you can come." She was doing this to give opportunity to a budding fashion designer... Also, because generosity was her nature and she simply couldn't help it. She sighed deeply, relaxing again as her eyes started to drift again.

Soon, she was breathing heavy, and clearly sleeping... At least... for several minutes... Until that growl came from her stomach and alerted everyone around that she was hungry.

"Of course! Anythin' you want, honey." Derek beamed happily.

While he was relaxing, he heard Xavia's stomach growl and smirked, "someone's hungry." Derek looked over at her and laughed a bit. "Are you hungry, too, Allegra?"