"Hurry, Kaida! It's this way! The women's bathhouse is the best way to start a new day!" Alima called over her shoulder, practically skipping down the sandy lane.
The blue-horned deva trailed behind, looking lost. The men's bathhouse stood on the opposite side of the bay, and for the first time since they had met, Firion was out of reach. Kaida was not used to being apart from him. Being separated from the people she loved had always filled her with a quiet, gnawing dread.
Alima noticed at once. She slowed down and took Kaida's hand in hers.
"I know you're not used to being away from him, but it's only for a couple of hours! You'll love this place. There are all kinds of baths to clean and refresh ourselves in!" She flashed the bright, confident smile that Kaida had already come to trust.
Fresh water was scarce in Taraji, and turning seawater into something drinkable took long, back-breaking labor. So the community had long ago agreed to share public bathhouses to conserve it, especially during the dry winter months.
At last they arrived at a massive clay building perched on a small pier above the sea. Its walls were carved with swirling patterns of waves and lions, and plumes of steam billowed from iron chimneys along its roof, drifting lazily out over the water.
But Kaida's attention slipped right past the building. She wandered to the railing and gazed out at the sea, at the endless blue stretching all the way to the edge of the world. Apart from yesterday's sunset, this was her first real chance to look at it.
Her fascination had begun back at her old home, when Firion first told her about the ocean: a body of water so vast you could not see the other side, with water so salty you could not drink it. She had tried to picture it countless times. Not once had she imagined anything this big.
She was leaning over the railing, longing to go down for a closer look, when Alima caught her around the waist in a sudden hug.
"Come on, Kaida! I know looking at the sea makes you want to jump right in, but that water is freezing right now! Later I'll take you to the shallow beach so you can dip your feet. Too bad it isn't summer. That's the best time for swimming!"
Kaida smiled warmly at her new friend's affectionate nature. "You said there are different kinds of baths here? Are they fun, like swimming?"
"You'll see once we're inside! We can try all of them if you like!"
The moment they stepped through the doors, Kaida's mouth fell open. The bathhouse was enormous. Sunlight streamed through high windows and glittered on pools of every shape and size. Some steamed gently, others shimmered cool and still. Yumbo and deva women moved between them, some wrapped in modesty towels, others completely at ease in their own skin. In one corner, mothers bathed alongside their families, their laughter echoing off the tiled walls.
Kaida had never seen so many women in one place. She found herself glancing at their bodies, so confident and full and mature, and then down at her own. She had always thought of herself as fairly well-endowed, yet beside some of these women she suddenly felt small.
I wonder if I will grow more when I have a child… she thought, flushing.
Once again, Alima caught her blushing at her own chest and laughed. "I don't know why you're embarrassed! You're younger than me, and you're already much bigger than I am. Besides, age brings its own beauty, and mothers have a special kind of glow. Now let's jump in!"
She led Kaida to the cold showers first. "It's good for your circulation to start and finish with a refreshing rinse!"
She twisted the valve, and icy water rained down on them both. Goosebumps raced across their skin.
"KYAAAAH! ALIMA, IT'S TOO COLD!" Kaida yelped and threw her arms around her friend for warmth.
Alima's teeth chattered. "N-now let's g-go warm up in the hot mineral pools!"
The mineral pools sat in a hall thick with steam. The water was shallow, and most of the bathers lounged in the shallow end or leaned against the smooth stone walls, soaking up the heat with their eyes half-closed.
Slowly, the two of them eased in, letting the heat seep into their chilled bodies.
"Aaahhh… Alima, this feels so nice," Kaida sighed. She breathed in deeply. "And it smells like fresh grass and flowers."
"You noticed! This bath is steeped with orchids and crushed aloe. People who are feeling unwell come here for its healing properties." Alima pointed to a small tub in the far corner. "That one over there is a warm salt bath, for people with breathing troubles. The salty steam helps clear the lungs."
The red-haired deva was enchanted. She had never imagined that a bath could be medicine, that different soaks could ease different ailments.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted another pool, perfectly round and filled with thick, grey mud.
"What kind of bath is that, Alima?"
"Oh! That's a sea mud bath! It's full of nutrients for your skin. You cover yourself in it, let it soak in, and rinse it off with cool water afterward. Come on, let's try it! It'll make your skin glow!" She held out her hand.
Kaida dipped a toe in and gasped. The mud was warm and thick and silky, swallowing her foot with a soft squelch. Around the pool, women had smeared it across their faces and arms. When Alima began rubbing it onto her cheeks, Kaida scooped up a small handful and did the same.
"Take your time, dear. Let the minerals soak in," said an elderly deva woman lounging beside them, submerged up to her shoulders. "At my age, it helps with the wrinkles."
Despite her words, her skin was smooth and radiant, and her long hair was white as fresh snow. Every so often, a pair of round lion ears twitched atop her head. Kaida could not stop staring at them. They were so fluffy, and so cute.
"Hmm… I notice you keep staring at my ears. Do you want to touch them?" The old lioness chuckled. "It's alright. I don't mind when strangers are curious. And I don't care if a little mud gets on them. I'll be rinsing off later anyway."
Gently, Kaida reached out and touched one. It was soft and downy, blending perfectly into her snowy hair. It reminded her of Misha's ears, and a small pang of homesickness tugged at her heart.
"May I touch your horns?" the woman asked. "I have only met a handful of the dragon tribe in my lifetime. Their horns always looked like beautiful sapphires."
Kaida tilted her head toward her. The woman studied them closely and traced a finger along their curve.
"Beautiful indeed… Oh? There's a faint white film forming on them. You need to keep them properly oiled, or they might start to splinter."
"My horns can splinter?" Kaida squeaked, suddenly picturing her horns peeling apart like the bark of a dry birch tree.
The woman laughed. "Just cover them with some of this mud, and when you rinse off, rub them with oil. That locks in the moisture and nutrients, so they won't dry out."
After a while, Alima stood and stretched. "Alright, Kaida, let's rinse off! We've been in here a long time, and the men should almost be finished. While we wait for them, we'll go down to the beach!"
Kaida climbed out and gave the elderly deva a cheerful wave goodbye.
The old lioness watched them go.
"Hmm… so that is the girl Emani told me about."
Then she rose from the mud with surprising ease, and the women around the pool fell silent.
She was well over seven feet tall. Her body was strong and powerful, her stomach corded with muscle, her shoulders broad as a warrior's. Mud slid from her dark skin like water off stone. She did not look old at all. She looked like a queen.
One of the yumbo women gasped in recognition. "B-B-BIBI?! We didn't recognize you!"
Nkiri gave a low, amused chuckle. "I do try to be discreet here. Though I am always surprised how few realize it is me until I stand up. Then again, if everyone recognized me, they would all be asking me to read their fortunes. I prefer to enjoy my baths in peace."
Exhale.
"Aaahhh… I feel incredible after soaking in that mineral tub," Firion sighed, rolling his loosened shoulders. "Thank you for helping us get cleaned up, Jaheim. You and Alima both. And are you truly alright with giving me your father's old clothes?"
Jaheim was toweling off his white hair. "It's no trouble at all! Like I said, I owe you after you saved me, Alima, and Emani yesterday. Besides, I know what kind of man my father was. He'd have been more than happy to share. I'll tell you more about him another time."
Freshly scrubbed, Firion pulled on what the yumboes called a dashiki: a black tunic with matching trousers, printed in rich wax patterns of golden lions that shimmered whenever the light caught them.
He had never worn anything so fine in his life. Standing before the polished bronze mirror, he barely recognized himself. He looked almost regal.
His thoughts drifted to Kaida. Was she enjoying herself? When he had told her they would have to bathe separately, she had looked ready to cry. The memory of that pitiful face still pricked at him with guilt.
Jaheim studied him for a moment, rubbing his chin, then grinned as if struck by an idea. He held up a gleaming razor.
"Hey… how about a quick shave?"
Outside the women's bathhouse, Alima twirled into the morning sunlight. She loved the feel of the crisp air on freshly scrubbed skin.
She wore a vibrant yellow tube top with matching bloomers, and over them a long skirt that flowed out behind her like a banner. Its wax print was covered in bold sunburst motifs, as bright and cheerful as she was.
"The baths here are the best! I feel so refreshed after five straight days on patrol!" She stretched her arms high over her head, then cupped her hands around her mouth. "KAIDA! ARE YOU ALMOST DONE?!"
"Uuuummm… I'm done, Alima… but this dress… it's so… nice. Are you really sure I can have it?" Kaida's voice echoed from behind a privacy wall.
Alima pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's fine! For the last time, that dress is too blue for me. Blue is NOT my color. I look good in yellows and pinks. Besides, don't you want to show Firion before we go to the beach?"
Very slowly, Kaida stepped out from behind the wall.
She looked absolutely stunning.
Her red hair had been combed until it shone like polished copper, cascading down her back in soft waves. She wore a teal top, partly covered by a flowing sash of pale blue silk that draped over her left shoulder and wrapped around her hips, falling into a graceful skirt. The blues and teals made her sapphire horns gleam, and her skin, still glowing from the mud bath, seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.
Heads turned all along the lane. People stopped mid-step to stare at the striking foreign beauty.
But Kaida did not want any of it. All those eyes, and all those emotions flooding through her horns at once, curiosity, admiration, envy, wonder, crashed over her like a wave. Her chest tightened. Her hands began to tremble. It was starting to frighten her.
Alima saw her friend shrinking in on herself and remembered, too late, that Kaida had grown up almost entirely alone. The attention was not malicious, but it was clearly overwhelming her.
She opened her mouth to say something, but someone else stepped in first. A tall figure moved behind Kaida and shielded her from the curious stares.
"She is my wife, and she is not used to strangers," said a clean-shaven Firion, his voice polite but firm. "Please give her some space."
Now every eye turned to him.
More than a few women blushed. Freshly shaven, dressed in black and gold, Firion cut a striking figure: a strong, chiseled jaw, high cheekbones, and long black hair falling past his shoulders. A handsome man and his lovely wife, both so finely dressed. Some of the onlookers began to whisper that they must be nobility.
Kaida was awestruck herself. She knew him instantly, his hands, his touch, his warmth. But she had never once seen him without his beard. He almost looked like a different man.
He bent over her and smiled, cupping her face in his large hand as she stared up at him in wonder.
"Do I look that different to you, Kaida? Or do you prefer me with my beard?" he asked warmly.
She reached up and touched his cheek. She had never imagined it could feel so smooth. And yet she found herself missing the scratch of his bristles against her skin. Which did she prefer? She wasn't sure.
Then she realized it did not matter at all.
"Firion will always be the Firion I know and love," she said, her smile as warm as the morning sun. "However you change, you'll always be the man I love!"
She threw her arms around him in a full embrace, overjoyed just to be with him again.
Her answer made Firion's heart flutter. No matter what he asked, she always showed him, plainly and completely, that she loved him and only him. To Firion, that was more than enough.
He swept her off her feet and cradled her in his strong arms. Kaida blushed at the chivalrous gesture and buried her face in his chest.
Alima stood watching them with a dreamy sigh, until she, too, was suddenly lifted off the ground.
Jaheim held her in his arms, grinning down at her as her face turned bright red. He had let his hair loose, and it flowed over his shoulders in a thick, majestic white mane.
"What? You looked a little jealous, so I figured I should do something romantic too!" he said with a radiant smile.
Alima pouted, but her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes had gone warm and sultry.
"I wouldn't mind if you wore your hair down more often," she admitted, running her fingers through his white locks. "Your mane always looks so manly."
Firion was right about the hair! Jaheim thought triumphantly. Rinsing it with cold water makes it so much easier to manage! And now Alima has her sultry face on!
Kaida and Firion watched the two of them, and could not help but smile. They admired the love the couple shared.
At last, they reached the beach.
The sand was pale and fine, warm on top from the climbing sun but cool beneath. Though a chill still hung in the air, a few brave souls waded in the shallows, and children shrieked with laughter as they chased the incoming tide and fled from it again.
Kaida stood at the water's edge and stared out at the horizon, her lips parted in wonder. The ocean went on and on, an endless expanse of shifting blues and greens, until it melted into the sky. Gulls wheeled and cried overhead, and the air tasted of salt.
Then the water crept up the sand and washed over her toes. Cold and foaming, it tickled her feet, then slid back out to sea, tugging gently at the sand beneath her heels. Kaida gasped and laughed. Then it came back again. Such a simple thing, yet she had never seen anything like it.
Firion watched the water too, until something small and quick scuttled past his foot. He crouched and carefully scooped it up.
"Look, Kaida! A saltwater crab. It is similar to the ones you used to find in the brook by your home." He held out his palm, where the little crustacean scurried in anxious circles, its tiny claws raised in defiance.
Kaida had grown up playing with crayfish and crabs, and she did not hesitate for a second, pincers or not. She let it crawl onto her fingers and giggled as it marched across her hand. Firion smiled, remembering how small creatures never seemed to bother her. She could even pick up spiders without ever being bitten.
Alima and Jaheim slipped off to fetch something to warm them up, insisting it was a surprise.
Left alone, Firion and Kaida sat together in the sand and watched the waves roll in. Kaida settled into his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her, sheltering her from the cool sea breeze.
"This place is really nice," she said softly, gazing up at him. "I know it isn't our forever home. But meeting new people and learning new things… it can be just as scary as it is fun."
Firion smiled down at her. "You know, for someone who has lived over four hundred years, this truly feels like I am seeing the world for the first time too. I think we both still have much to learn."
He leaned down toward her. Kaida reached up and traced the smooth line of his freshly shaven jaw, savoring the new feel of it beneath her fingertips. Then, slowly, she guided him down to her lips.
They shared a long, deep kiss as the waves whispered against the shore.