Bai Yue stood in the center of the camp clearing, her hands on her hips, looking at a large, dented iron cauldron with the intensity of a general surveying a battlefield.
"Listen up!" she announced. "We are going to solve the 'swamp-mud' problem once and for all. Today, we invent soap!"
The reaction from her audience was mixed.
Ruì Xuě and Yòu Lín, who were currently trying to braid each other's tails, looked up with wide, curious eyes. "Soap?" Ruì Xuě tilted his head. "Is it edible? Does it taste like berries?"
"No, little snowflake," Bai Yue cooed, patting his head. "It makes you smell like flowers instead of dirt. And it gets rid of the itchiness."
"I am not itchy!" Hóng Yè protested from where he was sharpening a stick, though he secretly scratched his arm. "But.….I suppose cleanliness is important for a warrior."
