"Hurry Kaida! Its this way! The woman's bathhouse is the best way to start a new day!" Alima shouted at her friend in excitement.
The blue horned deva trailed behind her, but she looked lost without Firion, as the men's bathhouse was on the opposite side of the bay. She was not used to being away from him, and she has always been someone who suffers from separation anxiety.
Alima notices her discomfort and holds her hand to reassure her.
"I know your not used to being away from him, but its just for a couple of hours! You will love this place as it has different kinds of baths to clean and refresh ourselves with!" She said with a confident smile that her new friend came to trust.
Since freshwater is scarce, and that filtering saltwater is a time consuming task that requires much labor, Taraji's community agreed to regulate baths for public use to help with conservation. Especially in the dry season of the winter months.
The pair then finally arrived at a massive, ornate clay building with steam coming out of iron bellows over the top of the structure while it stood on a small port overlooking the pristine ocean.
But Kaida quickly became more interest in the sea and walked over to the barriers to look out over the endless, blue horizon! Not counting yesterday evening, this is the first time that she has had the opportunity to really gaze out at it.
Her fascination with the ocean started when Firion was teaching her about it when they were still at her old home. He would describe it as a massive body of water that had a salty taste and was not suitable for drinking.
However Kaida still had much curiosity, and really wanted to go down to get a closer look, then Alima suddenly caught her off guard with a small hug around the waste!
"Come on Kaida! I know looking at the sea makes you just wanna jump in sometimes! But that water is freezing right now! But later I will take you by the shallow beach to dip your feet in! Too bad its not the summer...that is the best time to go swimming!" Alima explained.
She smiled warmly at her new friend's overly affectionate nature. "You said that there are different kinds of baths in this place? Is it still fun like swimming? Kaida softly asked.
"You will see when we get in! We can try all of them if you like!" She replied
As they walked in, Kaida looked in awe over how big the place was on the inside, and there were different kinds of bath pools everywhere! There were numerous yumboes and devas with some walking around in full nudity, while others had modesty towels. Kaida also noticed an area where women and their daughters were bathing together as little girls splashed around.
She also gazed at the large bosoms of the many different women, while she thought her own was fairly large, she couldn't help but marvel how mature looking their bodies are with their large, firm, dark-skinned breasts and ruby nipples.
("I feel so small compared to some of them...I wonder if mine will grow some more when I have a child...") Kaida nervously thought.
Once again Alima noticed her embarrassment from the way she was blushing at her own chest and cheerfully reassured her. "I don't know why your embarrassed, your younger than me and your bust is already much bigger than mine. Remember with comes age and responsibility, mother's will glow a special kind of beauty! Now lets go jump in!"
She brought Kaida over to the cold showers first. "When we enter and leave its good for the circulation to begin and end with a refreshing rinse!"
As she opened the valves, cold water sprinkled over her and Kaida as the chill gave both of the girl's goosebumps and caused their areolas to harden from the sensation.
Kaida yelped a bit! "KYAAAAAAAA!!! ALIMA ITS TOO COLD!!!!" She quickly hugged her friend for warmth.
While shivering, Alima chattered through her teeth, "Now lets go into the hot mineral pools to go warm up!"
This area was full of steam, the water was not that deep as most of its occupants waded in the shallow end, while others sat against the walls to enjoy the heat.
Slowly the two carefully adjusted to the temperature as they relaxed their bodies.
"Aaaahhhh....Alima this water feels so nice! And it smells kinda like fresh grass and flowers." Kaida realized as she inhaled the pleasant aroma.
"You noticed! This type of warm bath uses orchids and crushed aloe in the water. Many people who are sometimes unwell use this one for its healing properties! There is also a warm salt bath over there for people with respiratory issues since the saline fumes help with the lungs." She replied as she pointed to a small tub in the opposite corner.
The red hair vixen is indeed marveled by this place! She came to realize that different bath soaks can have medicinal properties to help treat certain ailments.
In the corner of her eye, Kaida also noticed in another pool that was round and filled with gray looking mud.
She pointed at it and asked. "What kind of bath is that Alima?"
"Oh! That is a sea mud bath! Its rich in nutrients for the skin when you cover yourself with it and let it soak in! Then you rinse yourself off with cool water." Come on we'll go try it! It'll make your skin glow." She offered as she extended her hand.
Kaida carefully dipped her foot in the mud and was surprised at how warm and thick it was! She also noticed some women had it on their faces, then she saw Alima rubbing some on, so she took a small handful of mud and began applying it as well.
"Take your time to allow for the absorption of the minerals." Said an elderly deva woman sitting next to them as she laid submerged. "At my age it helps with the wrinkles."
Despite what she said, her skin and hair were still very beautiful and she occasionally wiggled the lion ears on her head. Kaida couldn't help but stare at how cute the white fang devas ears looked.
"Hmmm...I notice you keep staring at my ears, do you wish to touch them? Hahaha...its okay I don't mind it when strangers are curious, and I don't care if mud gets on them, I'm gonna shower off later anyways." The elderly lioness chuckled.
Carefully, she lightly touched her white, fluffy ears that easily blended in with her snow white hair. They easily reminded her of how Misha's ears felt.
The woman then asked, "Can I touch your blue horns? I have only seen a handful of the dragon tribe members in my lifetime, and their horns always looked like beautiful sapphires."
Kaida lightly tilted her head as the elderly women observed them. Carefully her finger traced over them.
"Beautiful indeed they are... oh? You have a slight white film forming over them...you need to keep them properly oiled or it might start to splinter." She warned.
"My horns can splinter?" Kaida asked nervously as she imagined her horns pealing in an humorous way.
The deva woman offered a quick solution. "Just cover your horns with some mud and then remember to cover them in oil when you rinse them. That way you lock in the moisture and nutrients to prevent them from drying out too much."
After a while Alima stood up and offered her next suggestion. "Alright Kaida lets go shower off! We have been in here for a while now, and the men should be almost finished. While we're waiting we will go down to the beach!"
She cheerfully got up and kindly waved goodbye to the elderly deva.
"Hmmm...so this is the girl Emani told me about." After they walked away, she suddenly stood up with ease as the other women looked surprised!
For an old woman, she was well over 7 feet tall and had large, healthy looking breasts with dark red nipples, and her abdomen was pure muscle. Then one of the yumboes quickly realized who she was.
"B..B...BIBI?!?! We didn't recognize you there!" The surprised women stated.
Nkiri lightly chuckled, "I do try to be discreet in this place, but I am surprised how many don't realize its me until I stand up. But then again everyone would be asking me to read their fortunes if they recognized me, and I prefer to enjoy my baths in peace."