Aloe smiled at Xochipilli's delighted expression. Yet another person converted to the greatness of the durum. Poor are the souls that spend their lives without trying one.

  The child eagerly devoured his, but as she had to be careful not to stain her dress, she was way slower to take on her meal. The durum didn't fill her stomach, for in a way, it was always full but paradoxically empty at the same time. Her passive recovery made it so she had enough energy to go the whole day with sunlight alone, but as her enhanced stomach could handle limitless quantities, she could also eat to her heart's desire. But her desire right now wasn't to eat.

  "Here," she handed the rest of her durum to Xochipilli.

  "Are you sure?" He responded as his hands hovered over the roll. "You said you spend centuries without one…"

  She could see the internal conundrum of the child. On the one hand, he wanted to respect her goddess and allow her to finish her meal; on the other hand, it was a free durum.

  "My desire has already been satisfied," Aloe explained softly. "Hunger is beyond me, and I've already experienced the taste that has been so fleeting for so long. The one who needs the food now is you, child. You are growing, but I have long ago reached my apex."

  That was justification enough for the child to snatch the roll out of her hands and began gnawing on it like some sort of rodent. The endearing image brought a smile to her visage. As Xochipilli took his – rather short – time with his meal, Aloe cleaned her hands.

  Never before had she been this attentive with her looks as she really didn't want to stain her dress. Sure, they had brought spare clothing with some cheap day dresses they had bought, but washing the dress would be a nightmare. That or going to a dedicated business for washing that she had seen in the newspapers, but no matter the age or the contents of her purse, Aloe would rather not spend money if it wasn't of utmost importance.

  And as much as she loved her green dress, it couldn't be classified as vital.

  Once they were done with their impromptu meal, Aloe continued guiding Xochipilli through the old town of Sadina.

  Much had changed these two centuries. The pavement was fancier, patterned cobblestone instead of sandstone; the shallow canals that carried flowing water across the city were no longer, or at least no longer visible; there were no more palm trees providing shade on the streets, instead, they were substituted with the Evergreen's trees; the houses were taller and of different materials; and a myriad of other things.

  By all accounts, it wasn't a bad change. Except for the canals, it made her sad seeing them drained and devoid of water. It was change, simple as that. This Sadina, even if it was supposed to be the old city, was no longer the one she had been raised in. This city no longer remembered her, which she supposed was for the better.

  The tale of Aloe Ayad, scribe of commoners, hadn't been a pleasant one.

  As they entered the city from the east, the first location they arrived at was the public baths. Aloe had thought that the people of this age wouldn't have liked the concept of communal bathing as they covered themselves with many more fabrics than in her time but surprisingly enough, they seemed to still be working, if just way fancier than before. They were the tallest edification of Sadina once upon a time – the palace notwithstanding – and it showed with its great flow of people as it still held its height in the old district of the city.

  "Hmm…" The vegetable woman hummed deep in thought as she twirled her parasol around.

  "What's on your mind, Aloe?" Xochipilli asked her.

  "Well, this place is a public bath, but I don't think we should enter," she explained. "A bath would do you good, but I fear what would happen if people were to lay their eyes on my naked self."

  "Perhaps there are private bathing locations?" The child reasoned.

  "Perhaps…" Aloe admitted with a hint of tiredness.

  She really wanted to explore the site, if just to see how much it had changed, but above all else, Xochipilli frankly needed that bath. They had been going all through the country this past week and the boy had never washed himself once. Perhaps the smell wasn't much of a problem as she herself acted as a living air refresher because she constantly smelt like the forest, but she didn't want more problems and odd looks directed to him and his looks.

  "Let's have a look, shall we?" She finally gave in.

  The interior of the baths looked even more luxurious than the exterior, but it was also infinitely damper. Of course, they had always been this way, but for some reason now it felt more oppressive than it had been centuries ago. Her body couldn't be harmed by the humidity and the heat, but that didn't mean she didn't experience its oppressiveness.

  "Excuse me," Aloe asked a clerk at the entrance. "Are there private baths?"

  "Private baths?" The mature woman expressed her confusion.

  "Yes, the child here is a bit shy, and he rather not be gazed at by others." A sweet lie, she hoped it didn't bother Xochipilli.

  "There are no… private baths, but there are private hammam booths and showers…" The woman responded with still glaring confusion. She didn't blame her, who in the nine hells went to a public bath and asked for a private enclosure?

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  "Thank you so much," Aloe gifted her a smile, which made the woman blush.

  "It's only my duty…" The clerk said with a lack of breath. Her visage was reddened and her skin was moist, but so were most people here. "I can guide you there if you please."

  "We would be grateful, yes."

  The public baths' worker guided them through the labyrinth corridors of the building. All the doors that had previously been curtains separating rooms had now been substituted mostly by glass doors, which made everything feel more… exposed. The steam clouded the panels, of course, but the dark and occasional beige silhouettes were very much visible.

  They passed through a long panel that showed where the main shared bathing pool had been once upon a time, but Aloe was confounded to see people, not only with taut clothes but also swimming in it. Everyone knew you couldn't swim in the bath!

  "What's that place?" Aloe pointed at what was supposed to be the shared bathing pool.

  "That's the swimming pool, ma'am," the clerk explained.

  "Swimming… pool?" The novel concept paralyzed her. Why waste such precious water on… swimming? I guess water is not as precious as before considering the Qiraji is no more…

  "Indeed," the woman nodded. "It's a hotspot for families and children. You may want to bring your little companion here. Oh, and if you don't have any swimwear with you, we do rent the swimsuits."

  Aloe's eyes were led to a woman the clerk pointed at.

  "We'll pass…" She almost blushed at the sight of the white fabric covering the woman's body.

  It certainly hid everything important, from nether regions to breasts with even the midriff included, but it exposed too much skin. And even if it covered the glutes, the fabric was too tight. She feared what cataclysmic psychic attack she may unleash upon the gathered families if she were to wear one of the swimsuits.

  But she couldn't deny that it was an excellent choice to have both white and black swimwear for people of different skin tones. The contrast was… delicious.

  "Here's the entrance to the hammam," the clerk gestured with her open palms. "Please use the shower before entering." And with that, she left.

  Showers? Those are quite rare, the vegetable woman mused. Or I guess they were. Hard to get flowing water in my time, but I guess that when you can make a whole building move hundreds of kilometers in a handful of days such things become trivial.

  Now that they were alone, Aloe realized that all the steam may be damaging the fabric of her dress. For a moment, she pondered if she should stuff it into the Slowtide, but not only was the opening to her slimy pocket not big enough, the dress would become a wrinkled mess.

  "Let's take a shower and experience the hammam," Aloe told Xochipilli as she started undressing.

  "What's a hammam?" He asked whilst undoing the buttons of his shirt.

  "It's complicated to describe, but in a very summarized way, it's a steam bath. A room where you sit and enjoy being cooked alive."

  "That doesn't sound very pleasant…" The child expressed his aversion.

  "Oh, it's not that bad. You will like it, I'm sure of it." Aloe revealed. "Also, how is it that you are always embarrassed about seeing me naked, but now you are not."

  "We are going to take a bath, right?"

  "Yes?"

  "Then why I should be embarrassed? We cannot bath with our clothes on." He stated as a matter of fact.

  "Your culture and common sense never ceases to amaze me, Xochipilli."

  The child tilted his head in confusion but reddened a bit as she looked at her directly.

  "So you are embarrassed!" Aloe teased him.

  "I don't know what you are speaking of!" Xochipilli left his clothes in a basket and rushed to the showers. "Ah, cold!" She heard him shout.

  "I forgot to mention that hammam showers tend to be cold!" She shouted back.

  Once she had disrobed herself of her many pieces of underwear – as cute as they were, they were a nuisance to remove – Aloe followed Xochipilli into the showers, but by then he had already gone into the hammam. Hmm, how does this work? Aloe was surprised to find a lot of levers where the showers were supposed to be. How did Xochipilli manage to get this working? But as soon as she thought that, she activated a lever that made cold water sprout from a faucet on the ceiling.

  "Yup, that's indeed cold," Aloe nonchalantly commented. She felt the frigidness of the water on her dark vegetable skin, but not a single shiver went down her spine. Her innate toughness was too elevated for that.

  She brushed her skin and hair with the water, but as her vegetable body didn't produce any sweat or body oils, the only thing she washed off was dust at best. Yet another advantage, she convinced herself that her madness hadn't been a mistake. That she hadn't been that far gone.

  As she opened the door to the hammam, a cloud of boiling steam assaulted her. It didn't affect her at all, but she was still surprised by how thick the air felt here. It had been too long since she had been in a hammam, even years prior to her 'exile' she hadn't had time to enjoy one.

  "How are you feeling, Xochipilli?" She asked the boy sitting on the stone bench as he had been inside for a few minutes now.

  "Well?" He expressed uncertainty. "It's more pleasurable than I thought, but…"

  "But?" Aloe pressed him for answers.

  "I don't like this wet feeling. I don't know if I'm sweating or if it's the steam."

  "It's both," she revealed as she sat next to him. "The heat is making you sweat, but the water in the air is also clinging to your skin. I cannot sweat but I also feel the wetness."

  Aloe slithered across the stone, the heat making her body more malleable than normal, even if she hadn't switched to dexterity. She felt like melting. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Her body kept its cohesion, though that made her think if she wielded the agility stance she would be able to turn into a liquid. It was very tempting to do so if just to toy with Xochipilli. And speaking of toying…

  Her body but a shifting mess now, Aloe snaked behind the boy before he noticed, and she pushed him into her lap.

  "You are quite small, Xochipilli," she teased. "I can hold you on a single thigh!"

  "And you Aloe are…" he tried looking upwards, but the gesture was blocked by the breasts born out of the perverse charm stance. "…Big."

  "I wasn't always this colossal," the old druid mused. "Once upon a time, I was just your size."

  "Really?" Xochipilli struggled to get out of her grasp; but the more he moved, the more he sank into her flesh. "When you were little?"

  "Little?" Aloe chuckled. "No, not really. Even already an adult I was barely bigger than you. However, I have noticed that people under the effects of vitality seem to grow taller. I did gain a bit of height with my first Haya if only a handful of centimeters, and the cultivator women I knew were always taller than most men."

  "Does that mean I can be a giant like you if I obtain a lot of vitality?" The young druid asked with bolstering might. He had switched to potency to break free, even if he maintained a casual tone.

  "Maybe," It wouldn't be the first time a woman with vitality beyond the four digits is two meters tall… the vegetable woman explained the child as she touched his hair. "Did you really shower?" She questioned with a frown.

  "The water was cold," the boy shrugged.

  Aloe sighed. "We are showering you thoroughly once we go outside."