Firestone Hot Springs saltstone

For @Jace - I assumed Bazi asked him to come along and he consented; I hope that's OK. :D

It was early. Stupidly early. This was the sort of hour that human men and women would call 'ungodly' and claim 'should not exist' - but they were wolves, and ones with shit to do to boot. Jace had graciously agreed to accompany her to the hot springs, and they had journeyed there with rabbit skins in tow for the transport of saltstone.

The sky was a gradient of orange to purple to inky blue-black, and the air was sticky, like hot breath. Bazi stepped gingerly between the steaming pools. They were black rather than milky blue at this time of morning, but each had a frosted rim that made it easy to avoid stumbling head-first into the water. "We should wait until the sun rises," she said quietly over her shoulder, to a companion that was all but invisible in the twilight.

I apologize in advance for typos I'm mobile
though most would object to being out in the throes of night Jace did not. as an early riser anyway the unseemingly early hour did not bother him. HE had followed behind Bazi knowing he was merely hired muscle today and he was entirely ok with that. He was becoming fond fast of his first ever friend and he would lay down his life for hers easily.

As she spoke he looked to her and all that could be seen were his dark blue eyes in the gloom of early dawn. very well now what do we need this rock for? he was merely curious and why not ask questions while there was time to kill

"It's saltstone," Bazi began, patting the ground around to her to make sure it was dry before taking a seat with the furs safely under her fore-paws. The volcanic activity that heated the springs also kept the ground warm, and it felt wonderful to dig her toes into the debris.

"You can use it to preserve fish - my aunt used to do it. It keeps for much longer in the ground, and since we're on a Creek.. I thought it might be a good idea to see if it works, to improve our winter caches." Winter was two seasons away, but it was never too early to be prepared.

Bazi reached a sleek, white leg towards the nearest steaming pool, touching the surface with her paw-pads. "Maybe we could go for a swim?"

Jace followed suit sitting next to her and looking around to make sure the area was clear of any threats. He would not have his friend hurt while he lived and breathed. Not that he really expected a thread, but one should always be careful. Constant Vigilance his father had always said constant vigilance.

He listened with one ear tilted cockily forward. "I did not know that. That would be nice if we could make it work. Unfortunately with fish they rot easily and quickly, though they are abundant waste not want not yes

Jace smiled and nodded "You go ahead i'll keep watch for now. he knew she had invited him along for companionship but also for protection while she wandered the hills and vales of the other territories.

Jace was excessively diligent sometimes, but she appreciated that about him now. Walking in the shadow of Silvertip Mountain made her think of Lecter, and that made her skin crawl.

"Red meat is still best - you can salt that too," she shared, dipping a whole white leg into one of the steaming pools. It felt as though part of her body had jumped into a hot midsummer's day in an instant, and she sighed with pleasure at the sensation. Slowly, carefully, she stepped each leg into the pool, feeling around to make sure the silty bottom didn't suddenly dip down. There seemed to be a ledge around the steaming center of the pool, where the water was deep and black, even in full light.

When she had settled down, forelegs stretched out and hind legs tucked under, the water covered every part of her head and neck. It was deliciously warm, and she made a note to bring Ferdie here, too. Speaking of Ferdie, she thought. "What did Ferdie want, that day after the coyotes attacked?" she asked, squinting to catch his eye in the gloom. There was still a wintry sluggishness to dawn's approach.

Jace had not met the witch/healer that everyone spoke about. He did not know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but he did know that he was glad he hadn't. He was not a fan of blood and gore and crazy.

Jace tilted his head where did she get these ideas salting read meat. It would certainly preserve it longer which would help their pack, but it was still strange to him who had never seen or heard of it before.

Jace bent his head to lick at his shoulder when he froze at her question. He breathed heavily through his nose for a moment trying to think of what to say, other than the truth .He did not want her to run away, yet at the same time he should probably let his pack know, but Bazi was so loyal to Fox he didn't watn her to run and tell her he would do that himself someday, but not today. HE did however not want to ostracize his very first friend so he bit the bullet and spoke. He sighed and squinted at her and said quietly "Some things are better left quiet Bazi. He licked his lips and spoke again "I am much more than I seem. I was born with a condition. Have you ever heard of blood lust Bazi?

He shook his pelt free of debris and stood and began to walk to and fro, burning off his nervous energy. To tell you of me i first need to tell you of my past. My father was part of a very bad bad pack and he was forced to do many bad things. They held his sister over his head and her pups so he did these things I've seen my father take on a fully grown cougar on his own and beat it all because of this blood lust. It is basically just a rage you go into when your adrenaline start's pumping and unfortunately you cannot control yourself and you could hurt someone that you didn't mean to hurt. And since you can't control yourself and you basically blank out you also feel no pain. My father worked at his and he conquered he realized that he needed it to survive but he didn't need to be that way all the time. So he conquered it by focusing on a light/an anchor first it was his sister and then it was my mother. THougths of one or the other would calm him down and make the frenzy stop I am the same way. My eyes get a bloody tinge to them when my adrenaline is high. Ferdie saw it and recognized it. Here he stopped Ferdie's secret was his own so he changed the story a little bit. Ferdie recognized it because he knew someone else that suffered from it. He took me aside to help me calm down and to talk to me about it.

He shrugged looking down sure she would run the other way as fast as she could go away from him .

"Some things are better left quiet, Bazi."

She had been prepared to leave it at that, but Jace surprised her by launching into a long explanation of blood lust. Bazi had never heard those two words put together, but figured it must be a violent and uncontrollable expression of the hot, focused rage that boiled within every wolf when danger was near. She had felt it herself when the coyotes swarmed in - every one of them had, from Bones to Fox. The young girl wriggled her toes against the warm ground, covering them in grey silt.

"I did wonder," she said, breaking eye contact to watch her own feet. "But I wondered about Ferdie, too. He launched at those coyotes like a mad-wolf.. the sight of you both would have been enough to ward them off. And I sometimes say 'somebody I know' when I really mean myself." Here, Bazi looked back up, locking eyes with her pack-mate. "Are you dangerous?" she asked him, frank as ever. Jace's father had developed the trait as a result of repeated trauma, but Jace carried it with him from birth. That made him unpredictable, and that scared her.

Jace shrugged his shoulders adn spoke quietly Ferdie has his own secrets to bear. That was all he left it at that. He would not betray the older man's secrets not ever, they were his for a reason. He kept them hidden for a reason. Much like Jace should have done, but the arrogance of youth was on his side and he figured she would be fine with it and the fact that he never lied.

Are you Dangerous Those words cut him deeper than he thought they would. He knew very well it was just a question but it was a loaded question. Of course he was dangerous but so was she, she was a wolf and wolves are not tame. Instead he blinked and said quietly "Yes Bazi I am, but aren't we all. He tried to control it but as Ferdie had said he did not have something to fixate on, so one day he may not be able too. One of the many reasons he did not go far, nor hang out with many others preferring his own company except when he was within the confines of his packmates and he was in a good mood.

Bazi made a mental note to ask Ferdie herself. The pack's males were not adverse to sharing - she doubted the sweet caretaker would deny her.

She mistakenly interpreted Jace's reply as a failure to understand the question. Of course all wolves were dangerous - but they had full control over when and where that switch happened. The young wolf gathered herself for a second attempt. "I meant.. are you dangerous to me. Or the rest of the pack. You said you lose control," she reminded him, "When does it happen?"

Jace sighed in defeat and sat down again hanging his head for a moment while he gained control of himself and reined in his wayward thoughts. He did not expect her to understand and he really didn't know how to explain it to her. Her question was straight forward as it got, but he couldn't answer it. He did not know if he was dangerous to them completely. He didn't think he was.

He then looked up the tortured soul that he bore looking out of his eyes but he spoke quietly I cannot answer that Bazi. It only happens when I am angry or if those that I care about are in danger. Like the coyotes, I didn't think of myself at the time or anything I just went in for the kill because i saw them hurting my pack. I have always been able to calm myself down with thoughts of my sister, but I do not have her near anymore, so I do not know what will happen. Ferdie is helping me to work on this though. He shrugged hoping that would appease her at least a little bit, he was unsure what else to say. How could he tell her that he hated that he was like this yet at the same time loved it, because he knew that he could protect those he loved without a doubt. Or how about the simple fact that he knew once he hit sexual maturity it would get worse for a little while and what was he to say if she decided to tell Fox and they chased him out of the pack. He was confused and worried and scared and he had no idea what to do about it.

When he's angry, or when his loved ones are in danger. Bazi frowned, puzzled. "That's fine, isn't it? That might even be useful." The white wolf gathered her legs and stood up - water poured noisily back into the spring from her saturated fur, and she only stepped back onto the bank when the majority of it had drained back. Back on dry land, she shook herself into a spiky ball, licked some of it back down (Ferdie would have to do the majority of the work), and re-focused her attentions on Jace.

He looked dejected, to say the least.

"Hey," she soothed, hurrying forward to nuzzle her tortured-looking friend's ruff. "You've got us now. That's a whole pack to act as your anchor, or your light. Help me scrape this salt into the skins, now," she instructed, keen to demonstrate to Jace that his affliction changed nothing.

It was easy to say now, before the storm.

Jace nodded his head It could be a good thing yes unless one of you get's in front of me and I don't see you. he wagged his tail slowly at her kind words. He got to his feet and walked over and looked down "How do I do that? He was curious as to how they rubbed salt in the skins? Did they just grab chunks of it and pack it in the skin? Or did they have to break it up first?

He tilted his head and waited for her to demonstrate before he continued.

Bazi shrugged at that - the same rule applied to a herd of stampeding bison, and was a problem for another day.

The sun was almost risen now. The colours had transitioned from purple to bright red to the cool, sleepy gloom of early morning, and it was time to get to work. Bazi stepped into the water again and pushed against the pool's salty lip with her nose. Chunks of loosely packed salt split away and crumbled onto the ground, ready for Jace to scrape into a waiting skin. "If you drag the skin right up to where I'm crumbling the saltstone, it won't mix too much with rocks and dust."

It was her intention to harvest several skin-fulls for this first batch - a task that would only take them an hour or so if they worked diligently and together. When they were done ,the two largest skins could be knotted together and slung over Jace's wide shoulders like saddle bags.

Jace realized as he was helping Bazi that he was the equivalent of a pack horse for the day and the thought amused him to no end and he had no idea why. He nodded his head at her and bent and pulled one of the skins towards the loose salt stone. As she scraped he pushed it into the bundles taking the time in between scraping to watch the sun finish coming up.

How many of these do you plan on filling? And will you want to get more after we take this batch back? he was merely curious and wanted to have some conversation the silence was overly loud at the moment.

"Just these for now," she assured him, filling the last skin skin with a triumphant swipe of her paw. It had not occurred to Bazi that she was treating Jace like a different sort of pack animal today - she was fast becoming accustomed to bossing her pack-mates around, particularly the boys, who were happy to let themselves be directed by the spirited little girl. Jace did have the muscle and carrying capacity, after all, and he was always on his toes - a perfect guard in every way.

"We'll see how the experiment goes first. I don't think it's sustainable - coming all this way for salt.. but we'll see. Maybe for a treat, every now and then. If it's even nice; my aunt used to do this, but I don't know if I'm even doing it right." She leaped out of the water again, scurrying over to inspect Jace's work. He had filled the skins to the brim, which pleased her, and with deft, practiced movements she knotted the two rabbit pelts together by the long, thin strips that had once covered springy legs. Jace could carry the whole lot over his shoulders, cushioned against the weight by his thick, dark ruff. Bazi would carry the third skin in her mouth - if Jace didn't offer to carry that too, which wouldn't surprise her. He was the gentlemanly sort.

"Do you know about any herbs that give a good taste?" she asked, motioning for him to pick up their load. Her aunt - long gone if not long dead - had mixed the salt with something fragrant, but had never shared the name. The sun was up now, shining in earnest upon the Kintla Flatlands. Wolves with their colouring would be easy to spot from a height, and she was keen to return home.

So i just realized as i was writing this that Ginger can give you diarhea if you are not careful...so maybe you could use that in your thread about the challenge on SC's page. She could have packed the meat in the salt and ginger and they ate it and they all got gastric issues. :D


Jace bent down and pulled the bags over his broad shoulders and motioned to the bag at her feet. I'll carry that one in my mouth. Jace tilted his head and spoke to her quietly Ginger might be a good one to try. It has an okay taste. You could also try different berries, black berries, blue berries stuff the like that. Other than that I don't know Ginger would probably be your best choice though it lasts longer.

Jace picked up the other bag and motioned for her to lead the way his mouth full of fur and pelt.

That's hilarious! :D Good idea. I'll conclude this here.

Bazi accepted his offer with a sweet smile and a nod of her head - Jace rolled the two connected bags over his shoulders and plucked the third, lighter bag from the ground with his mouth. If the bags were heavy or uncomfortable, he didn't show it.

Bazi traipsed ahead of her loaded convoy on light, springy steps, enjoying the strengthening sunshine. "Ginger," she repeated, tasting the word. Any jealousy she had felt over Jace's broad range of knowledge was long gone now; he shared it willingly and never boasted. "You'll have to help me find some when we get home."

They walked in comfortable silence for the majority of the journey home - Bazi in front, Jace on her heels. Any talk of bloodlust and endangering the pack was forgotten.