Firestone Hot Springs This ain't no relaxing spa date.

Set before Meldresi's Return. @Ayana @Cyn (Hope you don't mind implying that they are already there! I just thought it would be easier. :D) Man, look at Burke getting in a hot spring with two ladies. >D 

Burke had gathered his two promising ladies at the Black Feather Woods' border before heading out to this place. He was going to give them a lesson in scent marking and hiding the fact that they were originally from Black Feather Woods when doing a mission. Burke usually made sure to rub himself against the ground and made sure to mask his scent well. But this also made him look dirty, too dirty, in a way it might look suspicious. Then he stumbled upon these hot springs and realized they were perfect. He only briefed the ladies they would be traveling to the hot springs and they ought to follow. 

Burke kept the pace quite high as they traveled, this way he could see if the two promising spy apprentices needed any stamina training too. When traveling needed to happen it was something that needed to be done quickly to not have any time spillage. Some missions needed to be done in a certain time limit after all. Burke hoped to groom them well into the Spy Branch. Burke followed the river knowing it would get him to the hot springs. The air was thick with sulfur and other strong smells, the steam was making the air hotter. "Okay, lets go into the pools, we discuss while soaking," he spoke and stepped carefully in one of the bigger pools, he knew that this one wasn't boiling hot.

You are NOT going in there. Do not even think about it. Okay, you want to be a spy, but does that freaking mean getting into a dirty pool with boiling hot water? You're going to boil off your coat, are you willing to risk beauty for that silly thing? After all you're just doing this to please Burke, you could very well just leave the pack and... what? Be alone agai? Without family, without anyone to talk to? To let my mind kill me again? No, girl friend, that's not how this works. I'm doing this for myself, because I know that I can. I'm made for this, I am meant to be a spy. And if that means jumping into a pool of water, I will do that.

Ayana looked over to Cyn. She didn't really care about the female, but for now they had a lesson together so they should get along well. She rolled her eyes before smiling at her. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, right? It wasn't like she disliked Cyn, the female was cute and seemed friendly after all, but Ayana knew that she wanted to be a spy, just as bad as her. But maybe Burke would allow them both to be one, anyway. It was simply that Ayana preferred friendships with males as they were usually a lot easier to handle. Lusa was different, Ayana had liked her from the beginning.
Then the golden wolf looked at Burke, standing in the pool, soking wet, steaming and looking at her like a puppy on Christmas. Ayana laughed a little, he was too cute. She could definitely see why Meldresi liked him. He had something about him that made Ayana want to please Burke as much as possible and she definitely wanted to please him with her mission of becoming a spy.

Ayana put one foot in the water, making sure it wasn't too hot for her. "Well, what if you just want to trick us to get into boiling water? I'm just being critical!", she said jokingly. But didn't spies have to be critical? It was never a good thing to just blindly trust someone. Especially not a stranger.
Ayana eventually jumped into the pool. The warm water made her feel tingly inside and she got a little excited. She hated water, but the warmth was nice. "So, Burke. What have you planned for us today?", Ayana said, she was curious to find out why they were here.

Cyn put a paw in not noticing Ayana looking at her. It was hot, but not hot enough to burn her too much. She slid in to the boiling water. The water felt nice since Cyn felt cold before. She didn't know why she was like that. She just woke up like that. She followed behind both of the other wolves that had gone into the water. When she was finally in the pool of steaming water her muscles relaxed. Her mind was clearer than it had been in awhile. She didn't mind the smell of the air, but it's heat bothered her a little bit. Cold crisp air felt much better to breathe in than air that was so humid you could feel it on you. She closed her eyes trying to relax more than she already was.

This pool wasn't too hot, the bubbles in the water were just gas coming from... somewhere. Burke was not a Naturalist but other than that he knew it was gas by the smell of it. It was almost the same type of gas that was in their swamps, maybe even the same, though this one didn't smell that foul as the swam could, probably because here there aren't dead things hidden in the ground rotting away. "Yes, you are being critical," he pointed out. "But that can be good, or your downfall. It can come over as distrustful and uncertainty." Burke was temped to close his eyes too because the warm water was soothing his muscles and getting all the dried mud out of his fur. 

He watched how Cyn was also enjoying the warm water. "Cyn, don't fall asleep," he stated with a certain fondness. Burke then turned to the both of them and nodded. "Yes, the lesson. Well I took you two to these hot springs because it will rinse off all of Black Feather's scent after this will smell like the air and this water," he explained. "It is easier to explain why you scent of this instead of Black Feather. This will also boil away your Dark Brotherhood paw print if you stay in long enough or rub your fur to the sides of this pond. You know some information when you two have the mark." Burke didn't want that to happen to his mark so he was keeping his shoulder just above the water. He even relocated to the ledge close to the edge. If he laid down the warm water didn't reach his mark. 

Burke didn't really need to fully have his scent swiped, but the two girls would. "If you are going to infiltrate in a pack..." He looked at Ayana for a moment. "I would go here on the first day after leaving Black Feather. After that I suggest to be a lone wolf for at least 5 days so you smell of the surrounds and maybe are hungry so one can play the role even better," he explained. "If you go spying on a pack.." he looked at Cyn now. "Then a good bathing her might be a good thing to do, just so all Black Feather Evidence is scrubbed away."

Ha. Forget it. It is over. He hated your criticism, you need to stop and leave. This was the proof: You should not do this. Ever. This simply is not the right thing for you. But what if this was exactly for her? Ayana needed some time off, that was true, but when Burke mentioned that the females would probably have to be a lone wolf for a long time, she felt relieved.

So the hot springs should be the first place to go when she starts her mission. Ayana made a little note in her head and hoped that she would not forget about this in her excitement.
Ayana could not resist to ask another question. It was like her head filled up with hundreds of questions every second, most of them were just silly talk but some actually interested her. "So what if we don't get the chance to bathe here? Is there any other way we can hide out Blackfeather scent?", Ayana asked Burke, glancing over to Cyn. The female seemed to enjoy the water, Burke even told her not to fall asleep. Ayana on the other hand hated the water, the two females seemed to be the exact opposite of each other. Ayana smiled and then looked back to Burke, waiting for him to answer.

infiltrate a pack, Burke said. So was that her mission? Probably, she thought. Ayana was a bit nervous about that. She was really bad at conversations and felt like nobody liked her at a first glance, which is why it was hard for her to convince wolves to let her be a part of their pack.

Cyn chuckled and opened her eyes. She listening to Burke. Five days was a long time to stay away, but if it was sure to get her to smell like a loner she would do it. Her mind wandered thinking about what her first mission would be. She snapped back to reality quickly. Cyn looked over at Ayana wondering why she didn't go into the water. Did she not like it? Probably. You better pay attention or Burke won't train you because you were being stupid and not listening. The voice in her head snapped at her.

Cyn ignored it and started to take notes of what the alpha had said. She nodded when he told the information while looking at her. Did he perfer her over Ayana? No, an alpha liked everyone equally except for their mate which they loved more than the pack. You aren't listening again. She focused again. This could be harder than she had first thought.

How could she get through training without getting off track? Maybe she could see if she could practice focusing more later. How could she do that though? Meditate? You aren't listening again.

Not sure if Ayana is in the water, she is right?

Burke liked Ayana's question. Cyn seemed more silent this time. "That isn't ideal. I would usually like a good preparation for each mission, no matter what. If you prepare well, you don't have that many gaps you have to fill up with lies, the more lies the more confusing." Burke disliked the idea of too many lies. It would be too difficult to keep up. "But if there is an emergency like that you can always rub yourself against the ground, but then you will be dirty," he pointed out. 


Burke would rather run from the target to not blow his cover instead of scenting of something that was suspicious. Scent was taken in high regard with wolves. The large male let his muscles relax into the waters. "Cyn do you have any questions?," he asked. Because they were here now, still soaking. Soon their fur would be mostly cleansed and they could start changing their scent.

Yes, she actually is in the water, sorry x

Ayana nodded and thought about his words. She did love sceming, it was her personality and manipulating people was definitely one of her strenghts. But lying? She wasn't that much of a player and her social skills were horrible, so she had to think of a technique t convince others of her innocence without lying too much. Maybe she could simply tell the truth, but with a twist? "I want to join your pack because you seem like good company. And by the way, I used to be part of Blackfeather Woods but they kicked me out because I was too much of a bit*h. Can I join?" Yes, she did need some practice. But Ayana was rather positive that she would be accepted. If it came to the worst case she would sinmply let her female charme play the game. She smiled. Being a female had it's positive sides sometimes.

The water was soaking her whole fur, she was getting a deep cleanse and it felt rather frelaxing than frightening after all. She didn't regret getting in the pool. Maybe the water wasn't as dirty as she expected, but she still hated being wet and cold after leaving a pool like this. And it looked ugly aswell. Burke asked Cyn if she had any questions and Ayana was interested to hear what the female was thinking about. Ayana closed her eyes for a second and imagined meeting the Alpha of another pack. If they were as kind as Burke, it would be easy. Although Burke probably wasn't nice to loners. Especially ones that came close to the borders. The female opened her eyes again and concentrated herself on the situation she was in right now. She wanted this mission so much she forgot about her dark side for a second. For now, the presence was a lot more important and she appreciated the small break from worrying about her past.

Then forget what Cyn had thought before. I thought Ayana was still not in the water. XD

"What happens if they find out one of us is from Blackfeather?" The question randomly popped into her head and without thinking about it she had already said it. Was it a good question? Cyn hoped it was. Her eyes went to Burke for an answer. Good, you have a nice question. The one time today you are not being a dumb***. That was the first time Cyn had heard the voice swear. It shocked her. Why did it choose now to swear? Would it continue? Stop it.

Burke looked up when Cyn asked a question. "You hope they don't kill you for it," Burke responded. Some packs didn't take intruders lightly and some especially didn't take it well. Burke spoke it all very casually but there was a high price to pay if you didn't do your mission right. Which was why they had such extensive training to make sure they wouldn't lose any more members. 

The tank of a wolf then got up and out of the pool. "You two soaked long enough, time to get dirty," he spoke. He always liked to get dirty, Burke was usually covered in mud since he felt like he was the only one that patrolled the swamps. He kinda liked it there from time to time. He didn't mind water or dirty really. He shook himself out, making water fly everywhere and then waited for the others to be ready before taking off again. 

"It is important to do research into the pack you will spy on," he explained. "If your pack is by the sea then you can take a sip in the sea or make sure you have a good roll on the beach. But always try to smell like a pack close by. And Ayana, to get back to your question. Blood also helps to distract wolves from other scents."

Blood, huh? Bloody blood. Haha.Why did it seem like a lot of things had to do with that slimey, thick liquid? It was all about blood, death and violence. Darkness. She liked it, but it had it's downsides. Would she become one of those wolves that simply assassinated others without batting an eyelid? She breathed in the warm air from the pool.
Burke got out of the water and waited for the females to do so aswell. So bathing in a hot pool of water wasn't the only thing they'd do today, but they also had to roll around in dirt and mud? Ayana smiled. This was worse than she expected, but it still excited her more than anything. Being sent on a secret mission, alone, without any contact to her pack for days and nights on end. Yes, she liked the idea.

She stepped out of the hot, bubbling water and the cold air surrounded her like a cold hug. Tha's why she hated water. It was wet, stinky and made her feel cold on days when it's actually rather warm. She shook her body to press out the water of her coat and looked over to Cyn. The female seemed quiet, she was probably taking in all the information and Ayana also did not talk much.
She was simply waiting for Burke to tell them where to go next. She loved being taught things, especially when they were actually relevant for her.

Cyn nodded. She had been doing this a lot at the moment. She got out of the warm water and looked like what she had guessed she would look like. A wet rat. Thank goodness she wasn't actually that or else the smell would be disgusting. She liked being a wolf, and that was what she was. She was lucky not to be something else and want to be one of the most ferocious creatures on land.

When Cyn was relaxing her head would be full of thoughts. She didn't want to do that, but it would happen on its own. As strange as it was to say it was like her mind had a mind of its own. Just the thought of the saying she made up in her head made her chuckle under her breath. Hopefully nobody noticed the laugh.

Whaaaaaa sorry guys. I looked over this thread! Last round

Burke looked at the two wet females. "Now you are scrubbed mostly clean of the Black Feather scent," he explained, which was probably clear to them too. Burke was half drenched since he wanted to keep his dark brother mark intact as much as possible now meldresi wasn't there to do the ritual. The heavy male trotted away from the chemical air of the hot springs. The male looked at the two, waiting for them. "That is how you get rid of your scent the quick way," he explained. "After a few hours the chemical smell will be gone and the nature you lived in back imprinted in your fur."

Burke then looked in the direction of Black Feather. "Lets end this lesson. You both did well. It was more informative, now quests can be started soon," he spoke with a short nod. And then lead them back home.

Ayana's fur was soaking wet and she was sweating, while cold air made her shiver. She felt miserable, while the other two wolves seemed to have enjoyed their bath time. Something about those tubs disturbed her, reminded her of something she buried deep inside her memories. Her mind was about to wander off again, when Burke ended the lesson. He told the two females that their quests would start soon and Ayana's heart started beating faster. One day you are going to get a freaking seizure, for goodness' sake. She loved being excited, but was way too mature and cold to show this on the outside. Ayana nodded and smiled at Burke.
"Thank you, Burke. We are learning from the best." [i]....seriously? Why don't you tell him how lovely he looks and that you... [i] Sometimes she felt awful for her thoughts. "If you will excuse me, I have a meal to attend to.", she said, smiling at the other two. Ayana remembered the rabbit she had hunted before, which she had not eaten just yet. Her stomach was making some awful sounds.
The golden wolf left the setting, wishing the two wolves a good day. She was excited to see them all again after her mission was done. She could not wait for it to start. The female knew how ready she was now.

"Thank you." Cyn bowed her head to the alpha and smiled. She watched Ayana leave and heard the wolf's stomach growl. She could feel the same hunger scratching inside her too. Nothing notified her of the lack of food, so she hoped Burke wouldn't notice how skinny she had gotten."I shall take my leave too." She turned and headed to look for some rabbits that would satisfy the pain inside of her. Out of nowhere a growl surfaced telling her that she should eat, and soon. Cyn hoped Burke hadn't heard it.