Hot Springs!

“Okay, so firstly…You completely disregarded the steps I taught you.” He waves his hand like slapping someone with his backhand while staring at me.

Now set up like a classroom, the old man starts his teaching with a thorough explanation of our mistakes and how the actual brewing works.

“Secondly, when it came to the steps, you both did them on a whim.”

The ‘class’ falls silent.

“Well, yeah...How were we supposed to know when-”

“Don’t interrupt me!” A vial flies besides me, shattering as it hits the wall.

After a moment, he continues, “Alright, I think I need to dive deeper into why we follow the steps we do, especially for you.” The geezer points towards me.

“In the first step, you put the L-shape pipe directly on the flask. That’s really fucking stupid, because what we’re doing is to wait for the moment in which the concentration of the gas is close to or fully pure. And I’m pretty sure I already told you that, which is why I’m even more confused you put it on directly. Next, you didn’t use your hands to cool the gas inside. Warmth flows everywhere, so it can flow to the much colder objects that are your hands. The third was almost right, though the timing was off yet again, for you both.”

“Then how do we know-” 

A murderous side glare silences me.

After a short rasp, the old alchemist chuckles but starts speaking with a frown, “Now we get to your question. But first, a counter question: How many senses does a human…”, he looks towards Alyssa, “...or a neko have?”

Alyssa starts counting them with her fingers while I stare in bewilderment.

“Five!” Alyssa announces, sticking up the hand she used for counting.

“Wrong!” Another vial flies through the room.

“I thought maybe you’d know this at least but I guess not. No, humans and nekos actually possess a sixth sense. Granted, almost only alchemists know about them, but that is no excuse for you to not know them, alright?!”

“Well, which is it?” The stoned neko asks with heightened interest that rivals even mine.

Just what sense is out there that he means? Rhythm? Pattern recognition?

“It’s resonance.”

“Whoa..” Alyssa’s eyes sparkle up, though I can’t decipher if it’s meant ironically or not.

“Uh..huh. Resonance?”

“Yes, resonance. Do you have a problem with that?” He cracks his knuckles warningly.

“No no! Go on please.”

“That’s what I thought…Now stand up you two.”

Alyssa and I gaze at each other before following him to the catalyst. He proceeds with the usual setup of starting a fire, putting leaves and water into a flask which slowly but surely forms a gas.

“Now, I want you wankers to concentrate on the rising vapor. Try to feel something that isn’t one of the other five senses. Search for a feeling in your gut.”

As the smoke brightens in color, my feline partner and I try our best to focus on it. Time flies by once we form a tunnel vision on the vapor. However, despite searching for that so-called ‘resonance’, I am unable to find it. Once again I would have gone on with the steps like last time. Looking over to Alyssa, I can’t make out if she can find anything. Though, her closed eyes and usual wide smile make her seem confidently in tune with the brewing.

“I can’t sense anything,” she says anticlimactically. 

“Me neither…” I answer, focusing on what little gas is left.

Once that is gone, we turn around to the alchemist.

“What? Stop gazing at me and focus! You know what to do, new leaves and water, hop hop!”

We frantically prepare the flask again, replacing the old leaves with new ones and adding water again.

That’s when I’m starting to question, “What if it takes us a really long time? Won’t we burn through all your leaves? What if they run out?”

“We’ll get to that when it happens, now continue!” The geezer swings his cane onto my head, focusing me on the task ahead.

This ordeal of concentrating on the vapor while nervously fiddling with the tube in our hands continues for several days. In that time, neither of us was able to find that resonance, which would enable us to brew our very own potions. Sometimes, I was actually able to sense a gut feeling but I’m unsure if it’s resonance, feeling like an idiot for trying to open a third eye of sorts, or plain hunger.

Not even two days later, my prediction realized as we had run out of leaves, well, besides the ones the old man needs for his brother’s potion shop.

“And not even a spark of resonance. You two cunts are utterly useless!” The old alchemist points at us aggressively.

He composed himself again before explaining our next task, “So, because of your incompetence, you two will have to gather more leaves, all right? Follow me.”

Stepping outside, we go around the tree, now standing in front of the big mountain-like hill.

“The ones you’ll need are at the very top of that hill,” he directs us, pointing towards the peak after which he leaves.

“Huh? W-wait you want us to make a pilgrimage up to the highest point?!” I ask, understandably worried.

“Yes, if I can do it, then you can too. So stop whining.”

“You can’t be serious…”

“C’mon Friedrich, it’ll be fun!” Alyssa exclaims cheerfully, seemingly enjoying the upcoming adventure.

She grabs my arm with haste, already pulling me along for the climb.

“W-wait-”

I get dragged off of my feet with no chance of protesting. Once I get on my feet again, we are already on our way.

While the hill is still as uncomfortable to traverse as it looks, it’s not so bad that Alyssa has to leave me behind. I was never really fond of climbing. However, there certainly is something to it. Listening to all the wild life flying up here, as well as the feeling of comradeship from overcoming a challenge together is surely enjoyable, even to me.

This hill, or mountain, is a bit strange in itself. It looks rocky and grey, exactly like a mountain but it’s still comparatively small. It’s also not a ‘climb’ that the neko and I are pursuing. Like I said, it resembles a hill which makes the march way easier, though it’s still steep.

About halfway we even spotted a dark cave entrance and I’ll be honest, I was actually kinda excited to explore it. However our task lies in getting to the very peak of this mountain-thingy.

“Hey Friedrich…Is it just me or are you more exhausted too?” Alyssa asks, wiping sweat from her forehead.

“No, I definitely feel it too. Is it getting warmer?” I take off my lab coat.

“Aye, I think so.”

Usually, it would be the opposite. As one approaches the top of a mountain, hill, whatever, one would actually feel colder due to the atmosphere. Though, this shouldn’t even matter as we didn’t really climb high enough for one tovstart to shivering, so something isn’t right.

“Just keep going, we’re almost there.” I call out to Alyssa.

After a total of around thirty minutes, we finally arrive at the peak.

“Whoa…” Alyssa stares in amazement, taking in the sight.

“Huh, well that explains it.”

Before us are small craters, filled with water. The origin of the sudden warmth comes from nature’s sauna: hot springs.

“Wow! Look how clear the water is. And so comfortably warm..” Alyssa shouts in awe, getting closer to the water and letting her hand float in it.

Rather curious myself, I also approach the spring, feeling around.

“Yep, it’s a hot spring alright.”

I never went to a hot spring before in my home country. Well, because I detest getting sweaty, even in water. Though these remind me more of the one’s way over in the east.

“Do you know about them?” Alyssa, asks with curiosity.

“Yes, I also had similar ones back home, though they are human made. You can swim in them actually. I heard they feel really relaxing, though I never tried it.”

“Then this is the perfect opportunity, no?”

“I mean…sure, go ahead. Though, I’m gonna look for the plants first.”

“Alrighty! Hold this for me, okay?” Alyssa hands me her cig before jumping in directly without warning.

“Did you just-” Water splatters onto my face.

“Yikes, this is hot! But aye, the rumors are true. This is heaven..” Slowly, she leans back.

After wiping the water from my face, I continue the previous question, “Did you really go for a swim with all your clothes on? Shoes and everything?”

“Uhh…was I not supposed to?”

“Well…not really…But it’s fine. You’re gonna be wet though on the way back.”

“Aye, that’s a price I’m willing to pay for this…Do you mind?”

I pass her the blunt again, which, while still lit, also got wet.

“Alright, see you in a bit.”

Heading off, I continue exploring the vast expense of the peak. It actually stretches pretty far. However, not too long after leaving Alyssa behind, I arrive at pretty much the center of the top, marked by our reason to climb up here in the first place. Blooming around the hot springs, which have now at least tripled in size, are the same plants that the geezer had provided for us. Of course, since we used them up thoroughly, it’s our turn to gather them. Or I guess only my turn…

The ‘blood-red monsoon’, as it is called. It is identified by the blossom resembling a candlelight with a neon, blood-red taint. Oddly enough, the leaves have the same color as the blossom, which, while also common back home, is not the norm. The shade of red is presumably where the plant gets its name from and is also an important distinguishing factor for this type of plant. The alchemist made it clear that this plant’s uniqueness stems from how the fire trait is expressed. Apparently, ‘normal’ red monsoons burn on the outside, making them hard to pick up without the proper gear. Though, this one burns on the inside of organisms, making them ideal for picking up, but less fit for a spicy meal.

“Where is Alyssa?” I ask myself after spending quite some time with our ordered task of picking up nature’s oddities.

“Maybe she’s on her way, or she found the monsoons somewhere else.”

Even after filling up three whole bags of these plants, Alyssa is still nowhere to be found. Since I have no room left, I make my way back to where I think I left Alyssa.

And, while I should be unsurprised, I notice that the feline is still in probably the same hot spring I left her in.

“Ye should really give it a try, ye know?” Alyssa stretchesclazily in the steaming water.

“Did you really spend the whole time in there?” I ask with concern, “I don’t think it’s healthy…”

“No no, of course not! Look, I even found the plants we came here for!” Alyssa points towards the bags she brought, also filled to the brim with the blood-red monsoon.

Surprised, I ask, “Oh! Where did you find them?”

“They were on the edges of the top, growing around the hot springs with water that actively flows down the mountain. Ye really have a beautiful sight there!”

Her excitement and fascination about these water-filled craters really is contagious as I can perfectly imagine the scenery. However, more importantly, it actually revealed the origin of the river.

“We’ll probably come here many more times. So I don’t need to see it right now. Though, I’m looking forward to it.”

I gaze in the direction Alyssa is looking, the sun which is setting in a beautiful orange glimmer. There really is something about being here at the top, the breeze flowing at you while you look down at the landscape below. I think…I might understand Alyssa’s previous eagerness to wander up here.

“I think we should head back before we’ll have to go down the mountain in darkness.”

“Aye, you’re right…just give me a little longer…”