The next day, after breakfast, they went to the doctor. They were both fine, but Liliana was worried about Erica because of all the beatings she had received on her journey through the desert, especially in the fight with Ungrar.

They were attended to by an elderly noni with a white beard and a friendly smile. Liliana was tense to be locked in a room with a noni, but she soon noticed that he was not going to look down on them for being human.

—What do you need?— asked the doctor, his voice trembling with old age.

—I'm a bounty hunter. I went to kill some monsters a few days ago with my group— explained Erica— I hit my chest pretty hard and my friend thinks I might have something broken. But I feel great.

—Well, it's normal when you're so young— commented the noni— let's take the opportunity to examine you anyway, shall we?

The doctor's office was not very big and clearly lacked money, but it was better equipped than some of the best private clinics in Mother. From his desk he took out four cartridges, lit them with a button and released them. The cartridges flew like flies, hovering around Erica and then Liliana. Meanwhile, a holographic monitor displayed various data and even a three-dimensional image of both of them. The doctor pressed a button on his keyboard and with that, the girls' bodies were divided into several of their systems; vascular, pulmonary, renal, muscular and skeletal.

—Wooooh!— exclaimed Erica —How did you do all that?

The doctor smiled at her.

—Have you never seen the inside of your body before? Come closer.

Both girls approached him and looked at their veins and skeletons on the old noni's shoulders. He pointed to several points on Erica's skeleton.

—You have experienced several fractures. I see you've been doing this bounty hunting thing for a while.

—Wow— said Erica.

Liliana knew the doctor's observation was wrong; Erica was from Mother, she hadn't been fighting monsters that long. She wondered why there were so many fractures.

—Both are completely fine— he said, before looking at Liliana— although you could use some more exercise. Even for a human of your age, your body needs more toning.

Liliana pursed her lips, embarrassed.

—W... well...— she mumbled. Then she shook her head, her bad physical condition was not the reason they were there— But are you sure Erica is healthy? She hit herself very hard, she looked bad.

The noni turned to Erica.

—And wasn't she treated in any way? Wasn't there a healing mage in her group or something?

Erica reminisced.

—I took a red potion— she said —Does that help?

—It does. Then there's nothing to worry about— explained the noni.

—Why? What do red potions do?— Erica wanted to know.

The old man combed his beard.

—Well, they're not very common. Red potions instantly heal your wounds. It is an incredible substance, full of nutrients and supplements, which accelerates the growth of cells in damaged areas. Its invention was a medical revolution that shook the entire web, four thousand years ago.

Erica and Liliana looked at each other's faces. They were still not used to people talking about so many thousands of years ago as if it were last week.

—Sounds great, we should buy some— commented the brika.

But the noni laughed as if it were a joke.

—Good luck with that— he said.

—Hey, what's the matter? Are they hard to get?

The noni nodded his head.

—Yes, they are rare and very expensive. That's because the materials from which they are made are very difficult to obtain. Only the big cities have potion stores. Besides, even if you could carry a hundred potions in your backpack, a human like you would probably only manage to take three before dying.

—Dying?!— repeated the girls.

—The potions accelerate the growth of your own cells. They are very potent, but in the same way, they force the body to do the work of months in minutes. Your tissues would not hold up and would eventually fall apart. Your stomach and intestines would melt and open a hole in your abdomen. There are many treatments for serious wounds, but nothing can save them from an overdose of potion. Keep that in mind.

Both girls swallowed in dismay. They made a mental note to be careful with potions, just in case.

After that, the doctor went on to examine them both with other methods, because as he indicated, computers sometimes failed and didn't tell everything. He measured their height, weight, reflexes and breathing. The girls were surprised that he took out a stethoscope to listen to their breathing, and Liliana almost shrieked with shock when Erica took off her blouse in front of the old man, just like that. The doctor didn't notice the girl's nudity either, Liliana soon realized that she was the only one uncomfortable, so she said nothing.

-------------------------------------------

After paying and leaving, they went to the shopping district to buy clothes. Liliana picked up a thick travel skirt, some sturdy blouses and a nice coat. Erica looked around the store a bit, unsure.

—When was the last time you bought clothes?— Liliana asked her.

—I don't know. Last year, I think— she said.

—Last year?— Liliana jumped, puzzled.

Erica sighed.

—I never had the need to buy clothes, my dad always brought me something home when he thought I needed more— she explained —I always liked what he gave me.

—He bought you everything?— Liliana asked.

Erica scratched her head.

—I used to buy underwear for myself... sometimes.

Liliana put a finger to her chin, thoughtfully.

—And have you thought of a style you want?

But Erica shrugged.

—What matters most to me is that it's comfortable. Although I suppose it has to cover a lot of area, too, to protect my skin when I travel. It should also give me room to fight, nothing that makes a lot of bulge or hangs down, because that will bother me when I move.

Liliana smiled. Practical clothes, that was what Erica wanted. It wasn't exactly a style, but it was something she could work with. They quickly went through the entire store, taking clothes, comparing them and choosing them.

—Do you have a color preference?— Liliana asked.

—Violet— she admitted —I've always liked violet.

—That's good, violet suits you wonderfully!

—Really? smiled Erica.

Liliana nodded.

—Blue too, because of your eyes.

Erica looked at Liliana for a second. She had chosen a lot of black clothes, but with some green details like her big, beautiful eyes. Erica was beginning to understand why she liked looking at her so much.

In the end Liliana chose a simple outfit for her, a purple blouse and pants, with a short black jacket. Erica put it on and her face blushed a little.

—It feels like I'm just wearing it to look good— she said.

—And you look great— Liliana assured her.

Erica smiled shyly.

—Well, it's not bad— she said at last. She gave the air a few tentative swipes —and it doesn't bother me, so I'll take it.

—Nice!

They were about to go to the checkout, when Erica stopped. Liliana looked at her, then followed the line of her eyes to some black gloves.

—Didn't you only like comfortable clothes?— she teased.

—No, it's nothing— Erica argued.

But Liliana took the gloves and spread them out for a better look.

—They're very pretty! And they would look spectacular on you! Why did they catch your eye?

Erica took them to see them better and showed Liliana with her finger. They were tough leather gloves, fingerless and with protections on the knuckles.

—It never hurts to have something to protect the most delicate areas. You don't know how many times my hands have bled from hitting too hard... but since I have timitio now, these gloves would be useless.

—No, no— Liliana insisted— What if you need to use your timitio for something else? You would have no protection on your hands. They are still useful.

Erica stepped back, a little intimidated by Liliana's perseverance. She finally took the gloves and agreed.

They both left the clothing store satisfied. Erica adjusted her gloves and tried opening and closing her hands. She felt a little ridiculous to put them on for such a crude reason, but she never knew when a new fight would come up. That cheered her up a bit.

They didn't stop there: besides clothes, they went shopping for useful things for the trip: nutrition bars, water bottles, backpacks, maps and a small grill, because they didn't have many ways to grill meat with simple burners.

After lunch they headed back to the inn. As they walked along the sidewalk, they noticed a group of nonis up ahead walking in the opposite direction. The one ahead was talking on the phone while looking up at the sky, somewhat distracted. From the few leather rags they were dressed in and their hair standing on end, Liliana assumed they were young thugs. Nonis of that age tended to dress that way. Luckily, none gave them more than a glance.

However, when both groups passed each other, the noni with the phone tripped, fell to the ground and broke his cell phone. The other nonis burst out laughing, while Erica and Liliana stopped for a moment to look. Realizing that they had nothing to do with it, they set out to continue on their way, but then the noni with the broken phone caught up with them and cut them off.

—Stop right there! You broke my phone!— he shouted.

—What are you talking about? You tripped on your own— said Erica.

—It's not true! You made me fall!— he bellowed as he pointed at her.

Liliana looked at the noni, then at his friends. She wondered if he had invented that lie because of the embarrassment that the accident had caused him or if he was simply confused.

—You fell alone and it has nothing to do with us— insisted Erica— Now, leave us alone or I'll break your face.

Liliana opened her eyes wide, puzzled.

—She is exaggerating, isn't she?— she wondered.

The noni took her by the arm and lifted her up smoothly.

—You're going to pay for this, you damn huma!— he shouted angrily— Get ready to...

But then, the noni let go of Erica and grabbed his hand in pain. Looking at Erica's wrist, Liliana noticed timitio thorns emerging from her skin. It wouldn't have caused serious injury, but it was going to bleed for a while.

—What did you do?— the noni pleaded.

At that moment, the other boys came up from behind and put their hands on the girls.

—Hey, wimps, we don't like dirty tricks— said the biggest and fattest one.

Liliana tried to step aside, but the noni holding her shoulder wouldn't let her. Erica, in the meantime, grabbed the noni's forearm behind her, leaned it against her shoulder for leverage and broke it in one movement. The noni barely managed to scream before Erica kicked him in the belly and sent him flying across the sidewalk. The other nonis tried to fight back, but Erica beat them up effortlessly: the second one had his leg broken, the third one had his face slammed into the pavement, and the fourth one was sent flying into the street. Liliana watched their fight in horror.

Then, from behind Erica, the noni with the broken telephone approached her to give her one last blow. Liliana saw him coming. Nervous, she stepped between him and the brika, with her arms outstretched to block his punch. The noni raised a fist to strike them both together and exclaimed from the tension in his body. That was enough to alert Erica. She formed a bat with her timitio and turned to intercept the thug with a powerful blow. However, in doing so she also hit Liliana unintentionally.

Both the girl and the noni flew across the street. Erica watched in terror as Liliana crossed the air and hit the hard pavement.

—LILI!— she screamed.