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+--- Thread: Firestone Hot Springs life will be all like what. (/showthread.php?tid=33401)
life will be all like what. - Mariposa - March 23, 2019
After escaping the muddy grossness that was the Glen, Poe was incredibly pleased to find herself standing before a pool of warm, steaming water. She beamed down at the water, her mind reeling and her emotions hammering in her chest. Harlyn had told her of this place. The hot springs. She was in the Kintla Flatlands. She was on the right track.
Poe couldn't help herself. With a happy yip, she bounced in a circle around the pool, then just about faceplanted before rolling over and over on the ground. She wriggled with glee on the ground for another moment before rolling onto her stomach, giving a happy sneeze, and then looking back at the pool with a panting grin. Her gaze lifted to peer beyond the steam at the horizon where she could see the mountain range looming. She was going to find them. She was not going to fail her parents. This was SO AWESOME.
She should really be on her way. Especially with this boost of adrenaline her elation had given her. But her gaze drifted back down to the pool and Poe reasoned that she had time. She'd told the Redhawks she'd be gone for a few days this time. So... Maybe a bath first? She smiled deviously, then army crawled closer to the pool's edge, intending to slip into it.
RE: life will be all like what. - Brisbane - March 23, 2019
the hot springs smelled like ass. well, brisbane corrects his mental assessment of the sulfuric smell that lingers in the air, heavy with moisture, specifically it smelled like decaying seaweed. which was a massively unpleasant smell and one that he'd grown, to his dismay, intimately familiar with while growing up in blackshark bay. it was a chore that the pups were sent on with the pack's naturalists: to rid the beach of leftover seaweed that wasn't taken by birds for nests, healers for wraps or those that enjoyed eating it as a treat. brisbane'd never had a taste for the stuff himself personally.
his nose wrinkles in unbridled disgust as he weaves around the foaming and steaming pools. the steam curls the tendrils of hair at the nape of his neck as they collect moisture and he worries that the saltwater residue in his fur will be removed by the steam. it was a dumb, vain thing to worry about — shouldn't he be concerned if the air was toxic? it certainly smelled like it could be toxic. he peers into a pool as he passes absently around it, pondering if the water itself was toxic when he heard the yip. his ears cup forth, alert, and he quickens his pace as he sees another army crawling closer to one of the pools.
oi! whaddya doin'?he barks after her.
that water could be toxic.brisbane isn't sure why he cares aside from the fact that he really isn't in the mood to see someone's face be melted off by potentially acidic, decaying seaweed smelling water.
RE: life will be all like what. - Mariposa - March 23, 2019
Before Poe could even get her toes wet, she was interrupted with a loud oi!. Her ears pricked high as she turned to clap her eyes on the stranger. She frowned thoughtfully at his warnings, even though she knew from her mother that the water was perfectly fine. Sure, it didn't smell all that great, but it wasn't going to hurt her. Quite the opposite!
Still. "You think?" she questioned, looking back at the water and doing her best to look uncertain, "What makes you say that?"
RE: life will be all like what. - Brisbane - March 23, 2019
she appears to have stopped when he calls out to her and he draws nearer, stopping more than a comfortable distance from her as she looks over her shoulder at him. brisbane lets out a low huff as he draws in another deep lungful of the putrid smelling air around them as she questions him.
well, first off, it's steamin'. i mean, where i'm from water doesn't steam. is that normal 'round here?the stretch of ocean that blackshark bay touches is often cold all year around. brisbane isn't sure what he'd have done if he ever went to the shore one day and found the water with steam wafting off of it.
second, don't you smell that? it smells like decaying seaweed.he draws in a breath, cringing against the smell once more.
RE: life will be all like what. - Mariposa - March 23, 2019
Poe had to stop herself from smiling at her own joke as the man went on to explain his reasoning. He did have some pretty sound logic backing his assertion. If she didn't know any better already, she might've actually begun to doubt herself. And actually, she kind of did. How did she really know these were the hot springs her mother had told her about? Ah, no, no. Don't start that now, Poe. Believe in yourself, kiddo!
"Oh, I actually don't have a sense of smell," she told him with a happy smile, "Was born without it. I guess I should be thankful for that right now though, huh?" This one was probably a joke too far. What sort of wolf wandering alone didn't have a sense of smell? What sort of wolf without a sense of smell survived past their first few months? Then again, Towhee was into her second year and she'd been born deaf. So maybe a bad ass wolf could manage it. Poe didn't really consider herself a bad ass though. But she wasn't nose blind either. Just feeling feisty.
RE: life will be all like what. - Brisbane - March 23, 2019
there's a moment, shortly after she announces that she didn't have a sense of smell, in which brisbane contemplates it seriously. was that even possible, he wonders? to be born without a sense of smell? probably. how high were the chances of being able to survive without a sense of smell? likely not high. his eyes narrow and his ears flutter back to rest at half mast atop his skull as he gives her a skeptical look. she says it with such straightforwardness that it does give him pause. momentarily. the seed of doubt's been planted and along with it a rise of irritation — he doesn't enjoy being the butt of someone's jokes.
scarred muzzle lifts slightly as he regards her down the length of it.
oh yeah?he inquires with coy and theatrical fascination.
very lucky. smells a lot like ass.he replies nonchalantly deciding that it wouldn't hurt to play along, almost 99.9 percent sure she's trying to pull one over on him.
but guess you wouldn't know what that smells like either.spoken with a cheeky grin tugging at the edges of his ruined lips.
so ...how d'you hunt? how d'you keep from just ...walkin' into a claimed pack's land?he inquires, wondering how clever she was and how far she was willing to take it.
RE: life will be all like what. - Mariposa - March 23, 2019
Poe did her best to keep her composure - she really did. But when he commented on the air smelling like ass, she felt her resolve begin to crumble. By the time he finished questioning her (and successfully poking holes in her ruse), she had given up and went ahead and let the laugh escape its prison in her throat. She dipped her head for a moment, then looked back up at him with an apologetic smile. The jig was up.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to tap out," she said, chuckling still, "I don't have the first clue how to come up with a reasonable answer to that. Hunting maybe, but good point on walking into claimed territory. I don't know how a nose blind wolf would manage not to do that. Probably why I don't actually know any." She gave her companion a shrewed look and a smirk as she added, "You are a worthy opponent, good sir. I'm Poe."
RE: life will be all like what. - Brisbane - March 23, 2019
she laughs and he knows for sure that she'd been trying to pull one over on him. he'd suspected as much but the reaffirming of it brings with it a small rise of relief. it wasn't like it wouldn't have been the first time he incidentally insulted someone but it didn't seem overly plausible that a nose blind wolf ( as she put it ) would have survived to be her age. he thinks she might be around the same age as him if he had to guess. perhaps there's a shred of good nature left in him because his lips twist into a smirk and he gives a low chuckle of his own.
so are you,he returns the compliment.
you almost had me fooled there for a second.but in the end, his kind ( coywolves ) were supposedly know for their cunning and brisbane liked to think he'd done his fellow coywolves a service today.
brisbane.he gives his own name after she offers her's. poe. it's simple, sweet and to the point. it fits her. he isn't sure what about her just seems like a 'poe' to him ...she just does.
so, is it safe?he indicates the hot spring with a gesture of his muzzle.
RE: life will be all like what. - Mariposa - March 23, 2019
Poe was quite pleased with herself when her companion admitted that she'd had him going, and it showed in the little smile on her face. She had never been very good at the practical joking - she was too kind-hearted for anything that even resembled cruelty. But she could tease with the best of them, so long as it didn't go too far and no one got hurt. Her brother had made fun of her for it quite often.
"Nice to meet ya," she chirped when he introduced himself, then directed her attention back to the pool as the conversation shifted. "I'm pretty sure it's safe," she answered, "My mother used to live in these parts and she told me about a hot springs located to the South of the ocean, West of the mountains. I'd forgotten all about it until I happened across it. Location seems to hold up, though I definitely could be wrong. It's happened before, though usually not when the stakes are so high and lives are on the line."
Poe grinned again and looked up at him. "Feeling daring, Brisbane?" she asked, slowly sliding her arm out again towards the steaming surface.
RE: life will be all like what. - Brisbane - March 24, 2019
brisbane can't help but feel a bit skeptical about the 'pretty sure it's safe' bit and he lets out a low, near inaudible snort. he can't help but retain his uncertainty about the pool of steaming water even as she explains that her mother used to live around here.
that's real reassurin'.he states wryly, gaze of fiery twin suns studying the pool with heavy reluctance. staring at it doesn't confirm nor does it deny that it's safe but he takes into consideration that she's been pretty damn close to it for the entirety of their conversation and she appears fine. would the water have been toxic didn't that mean the fumes would be toxic too? and if the fumes were toxic surely they'd both have felt some sort of ill side effect by now. then again, he's no naturalist. he really has no idea either way, he's just grasping at straws by power of what strikes him as logical deduction.
he regards poe studiously for a moment, taking stock of her grin and the challenge she's presented him with. damnit. a sickening feeling twinges on the ruined half of his muzzle, as if his scars aim to demand when he'd ever turned away from a challenge? thus far? never. he built his reputation on cunning and his fearlessness in blackshark bay. beneath that, there's a raising desire to show off, to impress her. the slow smirk he gives her is devious to it's core as he watches her extend her arm to the water.
if brisbane was going to have his flesh melted off by possibly acidic water that smelled like ass he had no intentions of it being a slow process. without warning he launches himself into the pool and surfaces with a gasp of air. the water was pleasantly warm and he sinks down so his shoulders are submerged finding that it's not real deep. he didn't feel like his flesh was melting off of his bones which was definitely a good thing.
how's that for darin'?he asks, shamelessly showboating.
RE: life will be all like what. - Mariposa - March 27, 2019
Turned out, he was! Poe grinned, her tail wagging with excitement as he moved forward to dip himself into the pool. For a very brief moment, she felt a spike in her nerves as the thought occured to her that she really could be wrong, and he really could be about to die by going in there. But she settled back down in the next half second. She wasn't wrong. She couldn't be. It would be too much of a bummer.
Her fears were relieved a moment later when Brisbane dunked himself into the water and turned to look at her, perfectly healthy and whole. She giggled over his antics and started to wriggle forward herself. "You're an inspiration, Bris," she said as she slid into the pool along with him, shutting her eyes to enjoy the feel of the warm water permeating her fur and snaking along her skin.
"Oh goodness..." she murmured as she sighed, "Can you imagine this in the dead of winter with the snow falling and a bitterly cold wind blowing?" A smile curled across her lips at the thought. That would be heavenly.
RE: life will be all like what. - Brisbane - March 28, 2019
brisbane watches with an ear-to-ear grin as poe wiggles forward and slides into the steam water beside him. he gives his head a soft shake to dispel a small droplet of water that makes a slow progression down the back of his left ear, tickling him and causing his ear to flick several times in succession.
i try.he retorts, light-hearted and pompous. he studies her for a moment as she paints a different scenery of when she thought relaxing in the hot springs would be nice: dead of winter, snowfall, frigid breeze.
he supposes it would be nice, he thinks before the cynical side of his brain takes over and ruins the shared daydream by pointing out that it'd be all fine and good until the time came to leave the naturally heated pool and the potential of hypothermia. he refrains from pointing that out — he doesn't want to rain on her parade any more than he already has today — and says instead in hushed agreement,
yeah, that sounds like it'd be pretty nice.
RE: life will be all like what. - Mariposa - March 28, 2019
Lol yeah Poe didn't think of that part. Her mind was trained to focus on the positives, which meant she sometimes overlooked the downside. Fortunately it hadn't gotten her into any trouble yet, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time. Then again, who knows - maybe her mother's gods truly are real and she sacrificed the lives of enough BFFs to keep them smiling on her cheerful little butterfly.
"So what's your story?" Poe asked after a moment of silence fell between them. She opened her eyes to peer at him with interest. With scars like that, he likely had a story to tell, if he was willing to tell it.
RE: life will be all like what. - Brisbane - March 29, 2019
brisbane shouldn't be surprised when poe inquires about his ❛story❜ — not because he knows her well enough to predict it from her but because everyone was always curious ...even if they never mustered the courage to ask him. the scars were pink, raised flesh that distorted the left half of his mouth where they spliced down his muzzle. grog had been aiming for a much more sensitive spot and would brisbane not have been swift of foot ( thanks coyote genes! ) the full blooded wolf might've hit his mark. grog had been out to kill him for challenging his leadership and salty about the fact that brisbane let him live the rest of his life in humiliation, as he frequently complained ( it really wasn't that big of a deal but grog was a cranky old bastard that was prejudiced against the coylings ). brisbane was used to the looks, blatant or when they thought he couldn't see them staring out the corner of his eye. it wasn't anyone's fault they drew the eye; it was a fact of life and he was far from ashamed of them.
i grew up in a pack called blackshark bay in the stormvale coast south of here,he doesn't know if she'd know it but gives the details just in case. stormvale is often frequented by wayfarers that pass through.
my mum was their healer, i don't remember much of my dad he walked out on us when my siblings and i were still pretty young. he called himself the witchdoctor. talked to himself a lot. or maybe he had an imaginary friend he called arturo or whatever —,the disdain is clear in brisbane's tone that he thought their family was better off for his father's sudden and unexpected dispersal from their lives.
he was fuckin' weird anyway. so, i helped my mum take care of my siblings. rose through the ranks of the bay rapidly and when i was old enough to be considered for leadership i challenged the current beta at the time. i won but at the price of earnin' these ugly bastards.he grins giving a small cant of his head to indicate his scars.
i had my eye on the alpha position but decided to venture here. witchdoctor talked about it a lot too.like it was supposed to mean something to them.
gotta admit i'm a bit surprised it's actually real.he doesn't say that he's still got his eye for an 'alpha' position because as a lone wolf it doesn't really mean shit and he's more worried about more ❛the big three❜: food, shelter and water.
RE: life will be all like what. - Mariposa - March 29, 2019
Poe rarely regretted being so nosy as to ask complete strangers for their life stories. Every once in a while, she'd get a tearful, incredulous rejection that would make her feel bad about unwittingly intruding on what was obviously a sensitive topic, but usually, strangers were fine with sharing. Part of her had anticipated that Brisbane would clam up on her, not for any teary-eyed reasons, but for the sake of his own privacy. She was very pleased when that wasn't the case, and thoroughly not regretful by the time he finished.
"Wow," she commented in an almost politely impressed way, "That's quite the story. Sorry you had to go through that stuff, but seems like you're doing okay for yourself still? And it's funny, your story is actually kind of similar to mine!" Poe grinned, then thought, then backtracked, "Well, I mean. Sort of. If you drop the abandonment and the ambition and the violence." She grinned sheepishly. Oh gosh, she was so good at putting her foot right up her mouth.
"I just mean my parents are originally from this area too," she explained, "That's why I'm here too. I have a couple of older brothers that stayed behind when they left the Wilds and I'm here to try and find them for my mother. I don't think she's ever forgiven herself for leaving them, so I came here to find out what happened to them and hopefully to be able to go back home and let her know that they're okay."
"...so basically, it's really not like your story at all. Just for the one little detail," the chatterbox ended with a smile.
RE: life will be all like what. - Brisbane - March 30, 2019
i'm not sorry for it,brisbane admits with a casual roll of his shoulders.
thinkin' about who i'd been if the witchdoctor hadn't been what he was and left us is ...well i feel like that version of me would be a complete stranger.a kid helping to raise his kid siblings? well, that hadn't particularly been easy, sure; but someone had to be the man of the house and if it wasn't going to be the witchdoctor then it might've well been him — though he wonders how odd it was that the second born harbors that first born syndrome.
as poe tells her story in return, brisbane can't help but notice that it sounds calm and for a moment the blackshark wonders what it was like: growing up and being a kid. not having to deal with a struggling mother and raising his siblings and having to deal with the prejudices of some of the older, purebred wolves in the pack ( i'm looking at you grog, you salty old bastard ); but he can't imagine it and even if brisbane could go back and change things the truth was he knew he wouldn't. he's grateful for all of it. he was put through the fires of the forges as iron and emerged from the flames as steel.
close enough,he assures her with a grin.
so, you find your older brothers yet?he inquires, shifting slightly in the pool despite that the water makes him feel buoyant.
RE: life will be all like what. - Mariposa - March 31, 2019
Yami smiled at his response. She always felt a comforting sense of hope when she met others who were able to look at tragedy and misfortune with some positivity. Poe was a bit naive when it came to this, of course. She had never really experienced the terrible things that Brisbane had, so it was easy for her to feel confident that she would walk away from something like that with just as good of an attitude. She knew she would be tested one day, but hearing stories like his was what gave her that hope that she too would be okay when it came.
But enough of that crap. "Not yet," Poe admitted, "But I picked up a really good lead a few weeks back and I finally found the opportunity now to follow up on it. My parents left one of my brothers with their former pack that claimed a forest of willows on the North Eastern edge of a long mountain range that I'm hoping is the one that-a-way." she gestured with her muzzle towards the mountains that lined the Eastern horizon. "I'm hoping he and the pack are still there and will maybe have gotten some word of my other brother, who ran away just before my parents left. But if I can at least find the willows, I'll count that as a win. I've been searching for a long time. It'd be nice to finally find something."
RE: life will be all like what. - Brisbane - April 11, 2019
brisbane had never considered his life a tragedy per say...it was just life. wolves left. sometimes parents weren't equipped to actually be parents. pups were cute and all but there was a true gravity to the responsibility they brought with them. it was what it was. he couldn't help the witchdoctor leaving them and he couldn't help that taleigha leaned on him to help with his siblings then she should've leaned on a child; he didn't hold it against her either and he'd long since been over the witchdoctor. he told his story because he wasn't ashamed of it, because part of it was certainly his own choosing ...but he didn't want pity for it.
brisbane listens in contemplative silence as poe replies with a 'not yet' to his question about her brothers but excitedly launches into a lead she found a few weeks back. she's optimistic and he hopes for the sake of her optimism that her leads are good and not old information. after a few more minutes, he moves towards the edge of the hotspring pool and pulls himself out, giving his coat a hearty shake to dispel the water that clung to him.
i hate to cut this short but i should probably keep movin',brisbane concludes, grinning down at her.
good luck, poe; and hopefully next time our paths cross you can tell me you've found your brothers.with that he disappears, letting the steam shroud him as he continues on his own path without much sense of what direction he wants to head.
RE: life will be all like what. - Mariposa - April 12, 2019
With that, it seemed their conversation had been drawn to a close, as had their entire encounter. Brisbane stood and excused himself, leaving Poe to float in the warm pool of water on her own.
"You too, Bris," she called after him with a smile, "It was nice meeting you!" She watched as he disappeared into the swirling mists, thinking she probably ought to be headed out herself. But the water was so warm and she was so comfy. Maybe a few minutes longer. Her brothers had waited how many years now? They could hold on a little longer.