Work Text:
1.
Out of the still lake
a naked Xena rises,
ready to kill men.
2.
"I have many skills,"
she tells the village skeptic,
then wields her sword well.
3.
Xena strikes and stabs;
she fits her fist in faces.
Bodies feed the earth.
4.
Gabrielle looks on,
admires her friend's reflexes.
Those strong arms, she thinks.
5.
After the battle,
the warrior's sly friend hints:
"Oh, Xena, you reek...."
6.
Xena is noble;
she draws a bath and offers
to wash her friend's back.
7.
"I have many skills,"
thinks Gabrielle, reaching for
the scented bath oil.