Talks, ups and downs

Your logical conclusion to figure out the formation to travel in worked. Thanks to that spark of ingenuity you managed to avoid several threats. And you were pretty sure Layla neutralized some of them on the way as well, but when you spotted her blade like legs dripping with suspiciously thick, red substance, she just looked away and chased forward, saying the she needs to keep scouting. Doris didn't explain either, and you figured that you didn't need to know every detail of your beautiful, but deadly forward guard.

Salahea lead you through the near completely dry forests and clearings, and she managed to steer you away from any settlements belonging to this hostile civilization. You were fairly certain that on sight you would have been questioned and ultimately, most likely, fight your way through. And you had enough fighting for quite some time at that point.

Your group moved quite fast, considering you were the slowest one of the bunch, as pointed out by Ishtar. She wasn't insulting you, just stating a fact. And, as usual, she said something with a purpose, because then she gave you an idea to use the bracelet to increase your movement speed, making it shift and envelop your legs and feet. The totally-not-completely-evil being that you were connected to on some strange, mental level, wasn't wrong, and soon you were all moving as fast as you could through the forests, while avoiding bigger monsters, roads and many other threats.

Kelara however was getting increasingly tired. Of course, she kept her head up, and had a stoic face, but the droplets of sweat all over her face and body, heavy breathing, and sometimes even slightly limping made you think that giving her a passenger was not the best idea in her interest. After all, she was a knight, centaur made for battle, not carrying the equipment of most of the party as well the passenger. Before the sun set you found a riverbed, almost dry, with only a small stream of fresh, drinkable water passing through it, so you made a camp nearby.

"We're safe. I think. The nearest road is at least ten miles away." Salahea said after she flew up, using her membranous wings to scout the area.

You thanked her with a grateful smile on your face, and focused on building the campfire. The forest around you was in a dire need of rain, so the last thing you needed was to let the fire get away. You separated the fire place with rocks around it, and then Layla helped you dig a trench around it that was as wide as your two hands brought together. You brought the sand from the riverbed into it and were finally satisfied with your creation.

It was still quite warm without the fire, but you preferred to have your water boiled before drinking. And the girls managed to catch something they called chicken, but it had feathers everywhere, even on it's feet. You didn't question it, just accepted it's fate as your party's dinner. Everyone kept quietly resting until it slowly was getting darker. Doris made sure to set up magical wards around your camp, but far enough so that you didn't accidentally disable them with your ability.

"David, I'd like you to share knowledge about your status of living in your world." Carmen said while sitting on the opposing side of the fireplace. On your right you had Kelara tending, cleaning and keeping the edge of her glaive sharp. On the left Layla's head was often touching your shoulder, making sure to let everyone else know that you are hers in case you want to have sex. Doris sat near Carmen to make sure she was able to feel if her magic wards triggered an alarm, and Salahea was resting with her head against the tree.

"You mean... What it's like out there?"

"Yes. Be precise, please."

She said, waiting for your answer.

You scratched your chin that annoyingly started to have hair again. You really needed a razor. Shaving with a knife was still far too risky in your mind.

I could always shave you with the bracelet. Call it an extra function. Like an additional app on your, what it's called... phone!

"No, I'd rather keep some things... Traditional." You directed your thoughts towards her.

Your loss. But, you know, I can feel that too, and if it gets too itchy, I'm removing that beard!

She threatened and fell silent.

"David?" Kelara tapped you on the shoulder.

"Sorry, I got lost in thought... How was my life? Well, the best way to explain it is to quote the words of Dolly Parton." You said, remembering the famous song.

"Who? Did you say Doris?" Doris asked, suddenly interested in the discussion.

"No, Dolly. Though there are also some artists and famuos people with the name Doris. I can tell you about them later if you want."

The fairies face turned from slightly interested grimace into the full smile.

"I would very much like that."

"Anyway, as I was saying, Dolly Parton.

Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition, and yawn and stretch and try to come to life.
Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumpin, out on the street, the traffic starts jumpin, with folks like me on the job from nine to five."

You sung, butchering the song with your inability to sing, but the girls seemed to like it.

"I have several queries about this song. What's a cup of ambition? Is this a type of artifact?" Carmen asked.

"What's a traffic? Can I eat it?" Layla added.

"And this shower thing, is this like a training device, since you are jumping into it?" Kelara threw in another question.

"Alright, girls, one at a time." You laughed, and began to answer. "I think the cup of ambition is just a metaphor, because it's usually a cup of coffee to wake up in the morning."

"Coffee?"

"Coffee is this black drink humans often have when they need a slight kick in the butt, you know, something that wakes us up. Some people are drinking it for it's unique taste, and some are just used to drinking it out of habit." You explained.

"Sounds highly addictive." You didn't argue with her there. "Thank you."

"What was the next question? Oh, traffic." You turned your head to Layla. "No, it's when... When there are so many cars on the road that their movement slows down to a snails pace."

"I don't understand... How can be there so many carts?"

"Cars." You corrected her. "It's... Our version of carts. And, well, each of them have their own reaction time, each of them are moving at slightly different pace, and a lot of them are turning when the others want to move forward, it's just... Traffic. And it's not edible."

The spider nodded her head, but seemed to have understood nothing. You patted her a few times, stroking her hair, and you could swear she was purring like a cat.

"Jumping into the shower is like saying to step inside of it really fast." You began to answer Kelara. "As for what a shower is... It's like a bath, but not really. Imagine a place, a room, just big enough for you to fit inside."

The centaur nodded, closing her eyes.

"The walls and the floors of this room are smooth, and on the wall you can have a... Valve. You know what a valve is, right?"

"Yes, I've seen those."

"Alright. So if you turn valve one way, a cold water begin to drop from the ceiling. Other way - warm water. And you clean yourself in it."

"Sounds... Nice. But what happens when the water fills the room? Do I drown?"

You laughed.

"No, there is an outflow in the floor for the water to drain, so it keeps draining and the one from above keeps pouring on you."

She gave a deep nod.

"I admire your technological advances. Though it seems that since the water is drained, these showers can be wasteful. Do you have an access to unlimited supplies of water?"

"No." You shook your head. "But as far as I know we are recycling this water and bring it back to use after filtering it, so the loss of it is small."

You cleaned your throat with a growl, and then drank some water.

"Alright, raise your hand if you have any more questions." You spoke to the entire group.

Every single one of them raised their hand. You even got a flash of Ishtar sitting on her throne and raising her clawy arm, waving to you.

"Okay... Salahea, what's your question?"

"Can you... Can you sing some more?"