Page 20 of Scales of Time

He looked again. “Yes.”

“Can you hand it to me?”

He handed it over, and there seemed to be a golden glow to the water. Kris was suspicious, and she scanned it. Her ring flashed red.

She handed it back. “Thanks for getting it out.”

Mori blinked. “The water, too?”

Havess frowned. “I asked for it to be fruit water. I hate normal water.”

Kris said, “It’s fine. I can find water.”

She stood up and used heat waves as a sensor. When she found a cool section a few metres away, she walked into the woods, and when she got to the cool spot, she found a tiny stream with icy water from the mountains. She scanned it, and it was good. Scooping mouthfuls while lying with her belly flat on the ground, she got enough water to fill her belly and then looked at Mori’s feet a short distance away.

“How did you find that spring?”

“Practice.” She pushed herself to her feet and smiled. “There we go. Ready to continue to travel.”

He was frowning. “Why do you need so much water?”

“I don’t have scales to regulate my temperature and humidity. My skin allows evaporation to cool me. It is warm here, so I need water.”

He blinked. “I see. Well, we are in a dry season. The wet season has just ended.” He paused. “Though there are still small storms in the mountains that result in mud floods at lower elevations.”

Kris nodded. “Yeah, that used to happen on my world as well. A tiny bit of water on soil or stone that can’t absorb it and the entire world turns to death.”

He nodded. “We are ready to continue.”

“Excellent.” She brushed leaves and ground cover off her and headed back to the animals. Time to continue their magical adventure.

Another hour passed, and they walked through a creek bed that was dry except for a trickle running through it. Kris looked warily to the higher mountains, and when they stopped for lunch and she got her proper meal, she asked, “Does the flooding happen a lot?”

“The mud flats fill during the rainy season.” Havess shrugged. “Right now, there are school trips there with kids soaking. It boosts the immune system. Neelis and I were supposed to be on that trip, but this is far more fun.”

“Far more fun than coating yourself in mud?”

Mori laughed. “It is used to keep the amounts of scale parasites down in the population.”

“Oh. Wow. Okay.” She blinked. “I had no idea that was a thing.”

Havess said, “Not everyone can afford the solar groomers that grandmother has armed her household with. We are all sparkling clean, and if anything ever itches, it is dealt with in moments.”

“Yorness is good that way. She takes care of her people.” Kris lifted her hand and tapped the ring with her thumbnail.

Neelis smiled. “Why did she get it for you?”

“Because she tried one of my ration bars. They are perfectly safe for me, but she was appalled that I travelled the stars and had to eat a bland and extruded bar to live. So, she had me tested, and the ring was programmed to detect what I was allergic to.” She smiled. “I only use the rations when I have to.”

They grinned and chatted about food across the stars. Another hour went by while they talked, and then, it was time to head home.

The birds had been foraging while the others ate, and Kris let out a low croon that brought her ride toward her with a cheerful prance.

She hauled herself back into the saddle and strapped in. She was ready for the run, but when they crossed tiny creek after tiny creek, the problem that Kris observed was that the creeks were no longer tiny. The beds were filling with water. She felt ill and urged her bird up next to Mori.

“How fast can you get them down the mountain?”

“Fast. Why?”