Not too much later we had a heap of dried, brittle tea leaves. Cellestra carefully collected them and put most of them in her pouch. She kept a few at the ready while she emptied the last bit of water from her canteen in the grass. At the same time, I created a slim stream of water from my index finger at my side, trying to see just how hot I could make this water.

I found out that I couldn’t get it too hot. It was quite warm, but it wasn’t in the range where it could actually harm someone. This experiment, once more, proved my hypothesis that I could not use this minor magic casting as a weapon.

It wasn’t a real issue for us, though. Cellestra put a few of the leaves in her canteen and handed it to me. Because it was made of metal, I could simply summon a flame spell beneath it to heat it until it reached near-boiling temperature. I held the canteen with my pedipalps as they were pretty much unaffected by that much heat.

“Tea from a canteen,” Cellestra mused. “Rose would have killed me if I’d ever done that.”

“Well, I won’t judge.”

“I know. You’re pretty easy to get along with. How is it that you never had friends?” Cellestra’s eyes were wide open, honest confusion visible in them.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I never cared for any of that.”

“But why?” Cellestra continued.

I let out a deep sigh. “I don’t know, or at least, I didn’t at the time. Looking back at it… maybe I knew I would end up dead eventually? I mean, I had more or less accepted that as a very real possibility. I guess I didn’t want to have any attachments for when that day arrived.”

“That’s… that sounds like a sad way to live,” Cellestra said softly.

“My life, my old life, after my parents were brutally killed in front of my eyes, when I was going to be killed at first before those scoundrels decided to sell me as a slave instead,” I paused for a second to catch my breath. “When I thought I was rescued from that, only to end up in that damned orphanage, it felt like there would never be light in my life again. When I did ultimately die, I felt relieved, almost excited to finally leave that world and see my parents again.”

Cellestra shook her head while observing the canteen that I still held with my pedipalps. I had canceled the flame spell and waited for the tea and its container to cool down a bit.

“You know,” I continued, “I don’t think it was so bad in the end. Strangely enough, everything did turn out well, didn’t it?”

That sentence managed to put at least a small smile back on the elf’s face. “I suppose you’re right. Because of what you did, you have a new life full of opportunity.”

I nodded. “While it’s… well, quite a bit different from what I was promised, I’m okay with it.”

I extended an arm to feel the canteen and noted it was still scalding hot. “I’d be careful with that. I don’t want you to burn yourself.”

I placed it down in the grass and turned my attention to Cellestra once more.

“It’s fine. I usually allow my tea to steep a while anyway.”

“Don’t quite know how you’ll get the leaves out, though,” I said with a chuckle.

“It’s okay. Gives us time to talk.”

“True, though you know I’m pretty bad at it.”

“So am I,” Cellestra replied. “But I think we’ve done fine so far.”

“I guess so.”

“So,” Cellestra asked with a smile. “What’s your favorite color?”

“What?” I asked, surprised by her question.

Cellestra’s gaze made me realize she was serious about the question. I realized I had never given this any thought, “Uhhh,” was all I managed to produce.

“Let me guess,” Cellestra said, a sly smile on her lips. “You don’t have one, do you?”

I nodded.

“Not surprised,” The elf said suppressing a grin. “Mine is green if you were curious. Plants and trees are what I consider to be the base for life.”

“That’s… a lovely way to think about it. If I had to pick a color, I guess...” I paused for a few seconds. “Please don’t laugh.”

“White?” Cellestra suggested with a smile.

I nodded. “Because of my and my mother’s hair. I’ve always loved it and held my own dear, as the last reminder of her.”

Cellestra’s smile disappeared. “That’s a sad, yet beautiful reason. I hope you’ll see her soon.”

“So do I.”

I turned my head and looked in the direction of the village much further downhill and wondered how much they would be able, or even willing to tell me about Len Asari. I was preparing myself mentally for a journey that could take weeks, but I hoped it wouldn’t take anywhere close to that long.

I then turned my head back to her.

“Are you still having a hard time getting to know your body or are you just asking for me to ask why you even bother to turn your head?”

“It’s the last one, definitely. I’ll admit I have definitely done it more often for that reason,” I said.

“At least you’re honest about it.”

I smiled as Cellestra reached out for the canteen to check its temperature. She was quick to withdraw her hand, but she then used the discarded leaves from the package as a pair of mittens to hold on to the canteen without burning her hands.

“So eager for tea,” I commented at the situation.

“Tea is great,” The elf replied. “Do you want some as well?”

“No thanks, I’ll be fine.”

Cellestra had a hard time with the first sip. It would seem she’d been a bit too optimistic about the brew’s temperature. I couldn’t help but grin at the sight of her struggling with tea that was obviously still far too hot.

“Cellestra?” I asked softly, causing the elf to turn her head and look at me with a serious expression on her face. I then shook my head. “Nevermind.”

“What is it? Don’t be afraid to tell me.”

I closed my eyes for a second. “I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in fixing my hair again. When we talked about it earlier, it made me realize it’s gotten quite messy.”

The elf smiled. “Yea, that’s okay, on the condition that you also do mine. I want to know if washing and drying it with your warm air feels as good as I expect it to.”

I nodded. “Sure.”

“When were you planning on washing your hair, anyway?” Cellestra asked.

“I was thinking sometime after leaving that village behind us. I really want to get my hands on some information first. The only issue is that I don’t think I’ll be able to help you with your hair on the way as easily.”

“I can wait if that’s an issue.”

I shook my head. “I’ll find time for it. It’s only fair.”

“Alright.”

Silence fell and Cellestra focused on her tea. When she finally managed to slowly sip, she did seem to enjoy it. I watched her with delight until she’d fully finished it. She then took one of the pelts and sat down at my side, her head resting against my spider hair as she laid one of the wolf pelts over her frame to prepare for the night.

“You know, you really are the best pillow.”

I chuckled and cast the healing light spell on the elf as she closed her eyes.

“Thanks.”

I put myself in my sleeping position as well before I replied. “No problem. And yes, I am the best pillow. It’s astounding, even for myself just how comfortable this is.”

“How do you even manage to lay down like that anyway?” Cellestra asked, her eyes open and her head turned to my elven half.

“That’s… a good question. I’ve not thought about that before, but it does seem a bit odd doesn’t it? It feels like I shouldn’t be able to bend this far back, yet I don’t have issues with it. It causes me no discomfort whatsoever.”

“If I tried to bend that far back, I’d break every bone in my body,” Cellestra said before giggling and turning her head back.

“Fortunately for you, there’s no reason for you to even try it.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Cellestra said quietly.

With my elven eyes closed, I allowed my hand to wander off to touch the elf’s light brown hair. I petted her slowly but carefully.

“Do you mind that?” I asked, knowing that she might not.

“I don’t.”

Her words gave me some more confidence. I slowly ran my hand down through her hair as far as I could from this position. While it wasn't quite at my spider hair’s level, it was still soft to the touch. I felt my heartbeat rise in my chest and I quickly gave her one last pat before retracting my arm.

“It feels nice,” I admitted.

“Thank you,” Cellestra replied. “Just don’t mess around with it too much while I’m asleep, okay?” I could feel her chuckle softly after those words, putting a large smile on my face.

“I wouldn’t dare. Besides, I won’t be able to use this body while I’m half-asleep, remember?”

“True.”

Things went quiet again before I concluded this day.

“Good night,” I said.

“Good night.”