The Pink Warriors

Dripping wet, I walked over and grabbed the towel on its hook. It was warm and fresh, and I deduced that The Lizard was on the job, making The Heights a more habitable location for man and beast, regardless whether we asked for the service or not.

The Bishop had already started to dry himself, and unexpectedly began to chuckle.

"What are you in such a good mood about?" I asked, thinking The Lizard's little luxury had brightened my friend's usually dour mood.

"I'm remembering the old days in the monastery... religious warrior's training." He replied, a happy, distant look in his eyes.

I grinned, "When you and Justice first met?"

"It was a good time. But I'm not thinking of Justice as much as I am a specific event. The warm cloth reminded me."

The Bishop remained quiet for awhile, smiling slightly. The curiosity getting the better of me, I asked, "Are you going to leave me in the dark?"

The Bishop's grin widened.

"The Instructors would gather our clothing at the end of each day's training to be laundered. Each student had his own sack that would be secured and washed in the hot water."

I nodded and he continued.

"We had received new cuirass covers, colored according to the tactical service of the wearer. Some received purple, others white, some had blue, and some others had red covers. As usual, at the end of that day's training, we put the new covers into our sacks with the rest of our gear to be laundered. When we returned the next afternoon for drills, those in our company who had red covers were surprised to find that the dye had leached out onto the rest of their clothing. Their tunics and stockings were stained a light pink color, and the red covers had faded to a similar, but darker shade!"

I began to smile, and The Bishop finished his story.

"The Instructors proceeded to mortify the victims of the wash by expounding upon how non-threatening the Pink Warriors would be on the battlefield. This was simply an attempt to shed ridicule onto others since the Instructors were the ones to blame for procuring low quality garments. But that didn't make it any less funny to me, especially considering that I would not have minded the color choice in the slightest."

I was now laughing heartily, mostly at the image of holy warriors adorned in pink, but also at my compatriot's predictable sense of style.