Of all the items she brought, Lindsay was glad she packed a bathing suit. After changing, she followed the signs to the hot springs. Descending a flight of steps, she walked in a vast steam-filled cave. A Legoom smiled up at her, giving her a towel.
“Female species to the right side, male species to the left side.” it stated. Lindsay nodded and went into the right direction. Lindsay surveyed the area and found out there were more than hot springs. There were large tubs filled with hot oil, mud, magma and other liquids she refused to speculate what they were! Like the hot springs spa sign, there were others printed in English and alien languages. Lindsay finally came upon a hot spring that wasn’t overly occupied and settled on that one.
Lindsay's heart pounded as the feminine species stopped what they were doing and stared at her. She had only spoken to Legooms and Esperians; Lindsay had hoped that other species understood her language as she cleared her throat.
“Uh… hi. M-May I join you…?” she attempted. The women glanced at each other and turned their gazes back at the human. Great, they don’t understand, she wanted to sigh out loud.
They finally nodded to Lindsay’s delight. She offered them a smile as she slipped into the heated water. Lindsay sat on the polished surface that served as a bench. She never been in water so soothing; after a long day at practice, it was surely what she needed to drift off. But, she wasn’t accustomed with the others… and they still gazed at her. Lindsay decided that it was best to keep her eyes open.
“Relaxing, isn’t it?” a lynx-like alien broke the tense silence, purring. Her burgundy fur was short and matted to her body thanks to the water. Her golden eyes were already in slits; Lindsay didn't know if they truly narrowed at her. The whiskered smile put her at ease and she nodded.
“Y-Yes. Very much…”
“It isn’t too hot for you? Humans enjoy water…?” a scaly alien asked. Lindsay nodded once more as she looked at the alien. She reminded Lindsay of a stereotypical water alien from a B-rated movie. Her gills on the side of her jade neck lifted and twisted as she studied Lindsay.
“Well… some more than others. Quite a few not at all! Our bodies are mostly made of water… and Earth is mostly covered with it… not as hot as this, though…” she tried. She was glad she recalled her school courses vaguely; she didn’t want to tell them any half-truths. The scaly alien’s brilliant blue eyes glittered at her remarks.
“That sounds like a rather nice planet!” she said and Lindsay laughed.
“So, you really are a human. Not much to look at…” the snootiness took the woman by surprise. A blood red alien who sported black horns on top of her head rolled both pairs of eyes at Lindsay. She gawked at the demon-like alien, struggling to think of something to say.
“What are your powers, human?” the cat alien ignored the demon alien and scooted closer to Lindsay.
“Uh… powers…?”
“Yes, powers. Is there something… special you can do? Can you read minds?” the devil alien breathed out in mock indifference.
“Can you breathe underwater?” she was happy that at least two of the women seemed thrilled about her.
“O-Oh… no. We’re just… ordinary.” she realized. There were millions of extraordinary and special humans on Earth; Lindsay didn’t want to bother them with the details. But, with the questions they asked her, she realized that those special earthlings failed compared to what the others regarded as standard. It made her also comprehend that every species in that galaxy had some kind of ability.
She was close to excusing herself; while she wished to hear more about the others, the demon alien made her feel unwelcomed. Lindsay didn’t see the vampiric alien until she moved nearer to Lindsay’s left side. The sight of her made Lindsay uneasy, although she grinned at her. She was ghost white with crimson eyes but she was the closest to being humanoid than the others. Her black lips parted when she grinned, revealing pearly, sharp fangs.
“Let’s be nice! This is their first time here, in this galaxy. There must be something about her that’s extraordinary; the Esperians specifically requesting them should say plenty,” the woman defended. She held a claw hand out towards Lindsay. “I’m Agnab… from the planet Olen.” she introduced. The human stared at the hand and shook it.
“H-Hi. Lindsay but… you can call me Lizzie.”
“Forgive the others, Lizzie. They’re excited about meeting a human in person. I’m certain you have a lot of questions for us.” her soothing voice calmed Lindsay as she nodded.
“As a matter of fact, yes. How do you all know English so well?” it had been on her mind since stepping foot on Buno. Agnab and the others lightly laughed.
“Oh, it wasn’t terribly difficult to learn. Your Earth languages are so, well… simple. There are some species here with telepathic abilities, you would call them. When they communicate, you may think they’re speaking English but they’re not. They make the hearer believe that they’re speaking their primary language. Snil is one of those species.” Agnab nodded towards the demon alien.
“Besides her, the rest of us were taught. The Royal Magistrate has been to your planet numerous times. He prepared the rest of this galaxy for your arrival and made certain that we learned Earth languages.”
“Wait… all of them?” Lindsay asked the scaly alien.
“Yes. He said humans take a long time to understand things like different languages. That it would be much simpler for us to adapt to you rather than the other way around.” Agnab explained.
“Your languages were the easy part. A number of us are working to comprehend your culture…” the cat alien nodded. Lindsay smiled.
“Oh… good luck with that! There are so many cultures on Earth! But, I guess… we’re trying to do the same, here.”
“Just as we’re positive we’ll become used to you, you will do the same. At least that’s what we look forward to. I heard humans are closed-minded? That the very thought of different species terrifies you.” Agnab looked at Lindsay for a response. She shrugged.
“For some: anyone different, period terrifies them! I dunno. I always knew this universe was too large for us to be the only intelligent life. But for many of us, the thought of other species out there? Most theories state they’d likely try to take over our planet and drain our resources... and us!”
“You need not worry about that here! The majority of us are rather peaceful. The only ones you have to avoid are the Qees and Vaskiians. I’m glad the Vaskiians decided not to take part this year; bothersome things! And… I don’t know whether to call you bold or unwise at your effort to stand up to the general at the welcoming feast…” the scaly alien eyed her. Lindsay felt her cheeks color, and she studied the water.
“Oh… you saw that…?”
“The entire room did! I do commend you for that, Lizzie. Olenions are ever willing to stand their ground… but not against a Qees! You have a lot of bravado in a body largely composed of water!” Agnab joked. Lindsay caught on and laughed.
The Olenion warrior introduced the other female species sharing the spa: Naeco the scaly alien and Ona the cat alien. Lindsay was glad Snil finally warmed up to her, and the four aliens took turns answering her questions. They described the other species found in the extensive cave. Lindsay learned that the Ecilavi Galaxy was far greater than her own.
Lindsay tried to go over each unique species when pointed out. As she glanced around, she spotted a group walking in the cave. One in particular she recognized: the Baron. Areiv made eye contact at once, and gave her a polite nod accompanied by a smile. Flustered, she smiled back and looked away.
“Ah… I see that a lucky female has captured the Baron’s eye, already!” Snil’s natural snooty voice sang out. Lindsay jerked her head and eyed the Riantic.
“W-W-What?!”
“Yes! Why, I haven’t seen his highness smile in eons!” Naeco smiled at Lindsay. Her eyes widened even more.
“W-W-Wait, what?! N-N-No! It’s not even… like that; I barely know him!” Lindsay rushed. She didn't understand why it made her feel guilty but her cheeks ached all the same.
“I don’t know how things are done on Earth but on my planet and many others here, that was an expression of desire…” Ona teased.
“Desire?! That’s crazy! I… we hardly said three sentences to each other; I don’t know him well enough to… desire him. Besides, I’m already married…”
“Married…” Snil let the word roll off her blue tongue. The alien pondered on it before blinking her eyes at Lindsay. “I don’t believe I’m familiar with that word.” she confessed. Lindsay thought for a while.
“Ah. A mate. I already have a mate.” she said and showed everyone her rings.
“That represents a mate? Very interesting.” Naeco became confident enough to take the human’s hand. She examined the silver wedding bands with interest as Lindsay smiled and nodded.
“You seem… pleased about it. Was it not arranged from birth?” Snil asked.
“Oh, no. I mean, there’s some Earth cultures that still do that. Not mine. We met, we dated, we fell in love… we mar… mated.”
“You can mate with anyone of your choice…?” Ona looked in amazement at Lindsay.
“You can’t?”
“Not my culture! There are many cultures here where you are assigned a mate from birth or can only choose from a particular class. Maybe humans are extraordinary!” Ona continued. The thought was enough to make Lindsay grateful for her earthling ways in that matter.
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