Alice and her friends, along with Carmen and Teigen, walked into the café they met Jali in, who noticed their surprise but smiled good-naturedly, her hands poised over her notepad.

  "Oh, hey! Returning customers, I see?" She teased, amused by their reactions to seeing her again.

  The girls composed themselves, their curiosity piqued.

  "Yep," Alice admitted, her gaze flicking to the waitress's horns. "We're back for more, and excited to talk to you again. What brings you here to Amaranthine, by the way?”

  Jali smiled again. "You see, we Volxies love to travel across the universe. I found myself here, enjoying the unique charm this town has to offer, and the café is such a lovely hangout spot."

  Rachel leaned forward, intrigued by the waitress. "What's your name again, if you don't mind me asking?”

  "Not at all," she replied. "It's Jali, remember? I still remember your name by the way, Rachel.”

  "Gotcha, Jali!" Rachel said, surprised that the waitress knew her name.

  Alice tilted her head, her curiosity growing. "That's quite impressive, Jali. How'd you remember our names so quickly?”

  Jali chuckled, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Working in the café, I memorize many faces and names. Yours are definitely ones worth remembering. So, what can I get for you today?”

  The girls exchanged glances, then Rachel grinned, her eyes fixed on the menu.

  "Well, I'm definitely getting the mocha latte. It sounds too good to pass up," Rachel said.

  "I'm getting one too," Alice added. "And..." She paused, her eyes scanning the menu for something sweet to accompany her coffee. " I think I'll have a slice of chocolate cake as well. Why not indulge a bit?”

  "Oh? The chocolate cake is a good choice," Jali chimed in, nodding in approval. "The mocha latte goes well with the chocolate cake."

  Zalgo leaned back in her seat, her thoughts on her order. "I'll just stick with the mocha latte. I don't want to crash from too much sugar."

  Teigen, however, was grinning widely, her energy levels off the charts. "I'm getting one of everything on the menu! I'm going all out today.”

  Jali chuckled at Teigen's enthusiasm. "Quite the sweet tooth there, eh?"

  "You know it," Teigen retorted, her grin growing even wider.

  Rachel chuckled, the energy in the booth was electric with their excitement. "Girl, you're gonna go hyper with all that damn sugar.”

  "That's a risk I'm willing to take," Teigen replied, her excitement uncontainable.

  Jali shook her head, amused by Teigen's enthusiasm. "All right then, one of everything it is. But don't say I didn't warn you about the potential sugar crash.”

  "I'm ready for it," Teigen proclaimed. The other girls shared amused glances at her energy.

  Carmen, who had remained silent throughout their selection process, spoke up. "Hey Jali, while our order's getting prepared back there, let's chat! My friends here just came from Frigid and they'd love to tell you about it.”

  Jali's eyes widened in curiosity. "Frigid? That's quite the trip."

  Rachel chimed in, her voice filled with excitement. "Yeah, we faced a few challenges there."

  Carmen nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "You can say we did. The girls actually had to calm the fire-breathing dragon sleeping in the biggest volcano.”

  Jali's eyes widened in surprise. "You girls tackled the sleeping dragon, huh? That's no small feat."

  Alice added, her tone more serious than the others. "It did take a bit of effort, but we managed to control the situation.”

  Jali raised an eyebrow, curious. "Controlled the situation, huh? That's certainly an interesting way to put it. Care to give me some more details?”

  "Oh yeah!" Rachel exclaimed, all too happy to tell the story. "There was this dragon, right? And it was the source of all the volcanic activity…”

  Jali intently listened, her interest piqued. The girls began telling her of the events in Frigid from the moment they entered the region to the climax with the dragon. Each girl took turns telling the tale.

  Alice spoke of the initial shock of the region, the strange weather patterns, the boiling lakes, and the unique wildlife.

  Zalgo described the volcanic energy present in the air, the intense heat generated by the volcanoes, and the various challenges they faced along the way.

  Rachel spoke of the initial encounters with the dark elves of Frigid, the dark magic wielded by some of them, and the unique structures made of black lava they found.

  Teigen described the dragon itself, how it was larger than anything they had ever seen, of its glowing eyes and the heat it generated around it.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Jali listened enraptured by the detailed yet succinct storytelling of the girls, her eyes wide with interest.

  "This Frigid place sounds like no ordinary destination," she said, a tinge of admiration in her voice. "You girls are quite fearless. So how did you handle the heat? I hear Frigid is no stranger to having temperatures above 140 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the year.”

  "Yeah, the heat there was no joke," Rachel responded, grimacing at the memory. "It was definitely a struggle to endure it."

  Alice nodded, adding her part to the narrative. "It was scorching hot, but we had each other's back to keep us going. Plus, the dark elves of Frigid gave us some ice to counteract the heat. But the second we got in our hotel room, we came out of all our clothes. Everything.”

  Jali chuckled at that last bit. "I can only imagine. Blue Volxies aren't too fond of heat unlike the red ones."

  "Wait," Alice interjected. "There are red Volxies?"

  Jali gave a nod in response. "Indeed. Red Volxies evolved in hot conditions, like a planet that's very hot due to its proximity to its parent star, so they have good heat resistance. Blue Volxies like me are well-suited for bitter cold. Most of us live in the vacuum of space, after all.”

  "Oh, huh, so the two are basically opposites in temperature thresholds," Carmen said, a hint of bemusement on her face.

  Jali giggled. "Pretty much. Although, I don't mind high temperatures from time to time. A nice, warm day can be quite pleasant.”

  "Huh, yeah I guess that's true," Rachel conceded.

  Teigen, her energy still buzzing, leaned in. "Hey, I'm curious, are there many red Volxies? How rare are they?”

  Jali gave a thoughtful hum. "Oh, I'd say red Volxies are a bit less than twenty percent of the overall Volxie population. Most of us are blue like myself, and there's even a small fraction who are purple. But a red Volxie is definitely not an everyday sighting.”

  "That's pretty interesting," Alice chimed in, intrigued. "And the purple ones? Are those rare too?"

  Jali nodded, her expression solemn. "Oh, indeed. Purple Volxies, the offspring of a red and blue Volxie, are the rarest of the three, making up less than ten percent.”

  "Geez, that's really rare," Teigen exclaimed, her eyes widening. The other girls nodded in agreement.

  Jali shrugged nonchalantly. "Yes, they are. But that's just part of being part of a diverse galaxy.”

  Just then, a waiter from the café came towards them, each one had a mocha latte in hand.

  "It seems your order is here, girls.”

  "Perfect," Rachel exclaimed, her excitement returning full force.

  Alice chuckled, amused by Rachel's anticipation. "Calm down, Rachel. You're gonna have a sugar rush for sure.”

  Teigen rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face. "That's the point."

  Carmen, her gaze shifting to Jali, smiled. "Hey Jali, thanks for the chit-chat. We really needed that.”

  Jali smiled warmly. "No problem. It was my pleasure. Enjoy your mocha latte, girls." As she spoke the last word, her gaze lingered on them for a moment before she headed back to the bar.

  "Damn, that Jali really is nice person," Carmen said, taking a sip from her mocha.

  Teigen nodded in agreement, her eyes gleaming. "And she knows how to listen to our stories, too. I like her."

  "Mhmm," Alice murmured, sipping from her own mocha. "She's a great listener.”

  "Yeah, she seemed genuinely interested in what we told her," Rachel said, relishing the taste of mocha on her tongue.

  A comfortable silence fell between the girls as they took a moment to relish the sweet, steaming mocha, the warm coffee and rich chocolate perfectly complementing one another.

  After a few moments of silence, Teigen broke the silence, giggling softly. "You know what's funny?"

  "What?" Alice inquired with a smile.

  Teigen continued, her grin widening. "All this talk about Volxies and their colors, and we're sitting here drinking mocha lattes, a human drink.”

  The other girls chuckled at Teigen's observation.

  Carmen smirked into her cup. "You're right. Maybe next time we should order something more 'alien' for the occasion.”

  "Oh yeah?" Rachel joined in, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "You got something in mind, Carmen?"

  Carmen shrugged playfully. "Maybe. Ever tried a Volxie's version of 'mocha latte'?"

  "No way, what's that like?" Teigen asked, her curiosity piqued.

  Carmen chuckled, mischief in her eyes. "Trust me, it's not as sweet as a human mocha, but it does pack quite a punch.”

  "Sounds interesting," Alice responded, her intrigued evident.

  Carmen gave a sly smile. "Definitely. It's a unique taste. It has a bit of an energy kick to it, though."

  Rachel tilted her head, intrigued. "Energy as in... caffeine?”

  Carmen laughed, shaking her head. "No, no. More like...a magical kind of energy."

  The girls exchanged glances, their interest piqued even further.

  "Wait really?" Teigen asked wide-eyed.

  Carmen nodded. "Yeah, really. It's like a magical energy drink, you know, that gives you a quick energy boost. It's a popular drink in Volxland.”

  "Wow," Alice murmured in wonder, her eyes reflecting curiosity.

  Zalgo leaned forward. "You've been to Volxland before, Carmen?"

  Carmen nodded again, taking another sip from her mocha. "Yes, I've been there a few times. It's a sci-fi nerd's dream there, so much neon trim on the buildings, roads, vehicles, even the clothes Volxies wear. And their technology overall? Oh, they're way ahead of us in that department.”

  The girls were enthralled, completely drawn into Carmen's conversation.

  "Damn," Teigen exclaimed, her mouth agape. "That sounds absolutely amazing."

  Carmen chuckled, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "It is. It's a whole other world over there. And you should see their nightlife. It's simply out of this world."

  "Sheesh," Rachel chimed. "How many other humans are in Volxland though? I imagine not many.”

  "Oh definitely not many," Carmen agreed. "Though, it's not hard to understand why."

  Carmen took another slow sip of her mocha, the foam clinging to her upper lip. "It's like thousands and thousands of galaxies away, after all. Quite a journey from home. It's so bad that I even started noticing fellow humans among the endless sea of blue from Volxies.”

  "I'd probably find it a little lonely too," Alice added, taking a pause to lick some foam off the tip of her finger that had clung after her sip.

  Teigen leaned back in her seat, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Sounds like Volxies are all over the universe, huh? Like, they’re everywhere?”

  Carmen nodded. "Yep. I'm kinda jealous that Alice and her li'l crew get to explore the universe the way they can. I wish I had more time to but…eh.”

  "Yeah, I can't imagine being stuck to one planet myself," Rachel said, a touch of longing in her voice. "Especially a place like Volxland.”

  "Mmm," Carmen murmured thoughtfully. "Yeah. There're so many different galaxies, species, and even humans out there. But, to tell you all the truth, most humans stick to places they can call home.”

  "So what about the humans in the Ruins of Enigma, our next destination?”

  Carmen's smirk widened. "They're a tribal bunch of very dark-skinned people that place heavy emphasis in tradition, exploration, and above all else, astronomy. That's the way it's been there for centuries."

  Rachel leaned forward, her curiosity piqued. "Centuries? Are the Ruins of Enigma that old and large?”

  Carmen nodded once, picking up her own mocha and taking a sip. "Oh, yeah, they're ancient. Nobody quite knows who founded them, though. The dark elves came over, and it's become a place of knowledge for them over the years. The natives, though? They've pretty much taken it upon themselves to be the wardens of those ruins. You'll see when you get there.”

  The girls seemed to be mulling over the information for a moment, Alice especially, as her mind ran wild with what the civilization looks like.