Firestone Hot Springs please sign on the dotted line

all welcome!

There was something about this place. 
She knew she had never been here before, she thought she would have remembered, yet something felt oddly comforting. The type of comforting that you'd only find somewhere you felt safe in. But this place was probably anything but safe.

Without much foliage to take cover in, and nothing to hide behind she was definitely exposed to any curious onlookers, plus it wasn't as if her bright reddish coat helped her blend in with the scenery. Still, the soft gurgle of the water inside the craters was lulling enough to make the Sveijarn put her little scouting feat on hold and lay down.Between her front paws a small crater bubbled as if greeting the girl.

 Finally, there was an eruption. Behind her, not to dangerously close but not as far as she would've liked, one of the craters announced it had been woken. Maera watched as the water, forming a perfectly straight column, rose from the earth and after minute recoiled back into the hole it had crawled from, leaving behind only a faint trace of fog. Maera turned back to the hole that laid between her feet, althought it gurgled and bubbled now and then it didn't show any indication of erupting any time soon.

 Then, as a sudden heaviness weighted down her eyelids Maera laid her head down on her paws, with the crater right beneath her - hopefully it would remain dormant as she too rested.
 

on terance's timeline, he left about the 25th. (:

the trip back up to the teekon wilds had been rough. little by little the intense traveling and lack of food had worn him down, and by the time he'd reached moonspear the only threatening thing about him was his build-- which deceived his true size. of course by now, terance had filled back out entirely. he was again a handsome breed with shining fur and rippling muscles and a healthy stomach... but, maybe too healthy. he wasn't fat, but he'd decided after an extremely tiring chase after an intruder that he should probably be better at running. hydra was practically unphased by the physical activity, and she was hardly younger than he was.

the yearling made a decision to take a hike-- or a run, and made like forrest gump. he started at the base of the mountain and took off. he made sure he'd let the whole family know before he took off, taking extra care to drop by lyra and remind her of the moon that night and the next. in it's cycle, it'd would have completely disappeared those two nights! he wasn't sure if she cared all that much, but he thought she ought to start tracking the moon if she wanted to be a true astronomer, and terance did not mind helping.

most of his travels were spent walking, but he did his best to run as much as he could. when he returned (he decided) he'd be able to kick hydra's ass in a race! she'd see.

but, when he finally slowed, deciding that maybe he should turn back, terance had found himself god knows where. it was hot, sort of steamy too. at first, he hadn't even noticed the redhead to the right of him-- not until he spotted a... what? an explosion? it was in his peripherals so he was pretty caught off guard, but his head turned in that direction in a quick, yanking motion. it was then that he noticed a pretty, amber coated girl, older than he was, and hesitated. he stepped forward, ears pressed to his skull, and let out a low chuff. did she know what was going on? because terance sure as hell didn't.

Aside from the crater's constant gurgling, all that could be heard was a soft hum coming from Maera's lips. She wasn't asleep, she was in that space between conciousness and dreams.
She was content. 

Then, she wasn't. 
As if a glass had shattered next to her Maera jumped up as she heard the crater beneath her gurgle in warning and in the background the other's soft chuff. She pulled herself up inmidiately onto her feet and looked at the wolf in front of her, a younger coal colored male, with a slight glimmer of alarm in her hazel eyes.

"run!!" she managed to bark as she propelled herself forward with all the strenght her hind legs could muster. If he were to follow her cautioning command they'd soon begin a high speed escapade, if not, well he'd probably find himself trampled because Maera had only one thing in mind: running.

It didn't matter over who or where to. 

she looked so peaceful, and she probably didn't even hear him over the sounds of whatever was beneath these craters. he was about to leave her be, his dark body turning to leave this strange place, when her voice grabbed every ounce of his attention. suddenly, she was full speed sprinting towards him. he was not an easy wolf to run over, his size and weight being on the bulkier side, but terance was in no mood to be crashed into. he took heed to her warning and turned tail himself, his timing just perfect enough to run just before the cinnamon beauty.

behind them, the crater erupted from the ground and all over-- terance turned to see it whenever he heard the noise. he stumbled a little over the uneven terrain but remained upright otherwise. not afraid but definitely ruffled up, terance turned to find the femme again, her company and perhaps knowledge much appreciated in this time of extreme confusion.

Thankfully (for both!) the man had quick reflexes.
A collision would have not only left them at worst bruised up and at best disoriented, but it would probably wouldn't have let them escape unburned. With him by her side, Maera ran as fast as she could. As the explosion echoed behind them she simply sped up, noting however how the male, slowed to look over his shoulder.  

Maera didn't look back, she just ran, and then she ran some more. Then, when she finally decided she was at a safe distance from the craters and with her tongue hanging out of the corner of her mouth as she recovered her breath, Maera came to a stop. She sought his eyes and found him searching for her as well.

"you ok?" she asked softly, her ears swiveling over her head to face him. 

he ran as fast as he could beside the girl, finding her not too far. he was filled with questions and concerns, possibly ready to discard his usual 'no-nonsense' conversation style and dive right into a full on Q&A, but he composed himself. he skidded to a halt beside her, letting out another handsome hack and panted heavily. it probably wouldn't have been that bad had he not casually jogged all the way here-- but that was another story.

her question dragged his attention away from his confusion. "yeah," he breathed, sniffing, "you?" he straightened himself up, trying to make himself look a bit tidier-- dante had taught him that a while back, posture really helped with image. he only gave a few moments of silence for her to speak before he shook his head, "hades," he muttered under his breath, assuming that only the god of the underworld himself could've conjured up such a hot spout, "what was that?"

The male's affirmative response provoked a small smile to climb upon Maera's lips.This was the second encounter she had since she had re-entered the Teekon Wilds, and despite the circumstances (and increased degrees of danger) it was better than the first. If there was something Maera Sveijarn would not tolerate was being treated as weak.  
No.

 "yeah" she answered with a nod, then after giving the male a quick up and down look she decided to crack a joke. Yes they had almost died but do you know how long had it been since Maera had joked around? If she was going to die soon might as well keep her sense of humor.  "that was me saving you " she barked bluntly, as a wider smile crept onto her face.
It was technically true... she had told him to run hadn't she?

caught off gaurd-- more than before, however possible that was-- terance scrunched up his nose. "no?  you--" he began to say, rather offended that the scarlet female had claimed the explosion as her own, and then claimed that it'd somehow saved him? but, oh, he'd realized right away, letting his features fall into a smirk rather than a sulky glare. it was a joke. "well, maybe," he snorted with a good-hearted wag of his tail. slowly, his green gaze fell behind him and back onto the craters, though they were all silent. it then returned to the soft sunset that had painted itself onto the girl in front of him, feeling that that was a much prettier sight than potential underworld rockets.

"what are those?" he reiterated, this time giving a light jerk of his head towards the craters, "the explosions." though the last part wasn't super necessary, he needed to know the answer, and if she knew it he didn't want her to have anymore opportunities to purposefully mis-answer his question-- a trait that reminded him of both sarah and hydra.

At first her joke did no effect - or at least not the expected one. As the young man furrowed his eyebrows and denied having been saved, Maera rolled her own hazel eyes in an overly dramatic gesture. "if i hadn't told you to run you'd now be a puddle of goo probably" she explained, not knowing that the thing was her joke had been, from the beginning, misunderstood. She wasn't claiming having caused the eruption. 
That was simply insane. 

It was also a little insane that he had believed that she did, but whatever.
"you're welcome" she barked simply, a grin on her face, as he kinda accepted he had been the 'damsel in distress' here. Quickly Maera mimicked the male's wagging tail. 
Again, she was content. "im not sure what they are or what makes them go off but i know i won't be getting my beauty nap there again." she barked with a simple shrug.
She had no answers for him.

Maera certainly had a fascination with nature, her selective collecting habits being a perfect proof, but she knew little of the weather and things of that sort. She knew where to find certain things, she knew about birds, their usual feeding places and the color each of their feathers was supposed to be according to species. 
Now, she knew she was not giving good answers to her questions, so she decided to give him the questions instead.

"who are you?"

terance made no answer, because he wasn't entire sure he agreed. goo? there was no way... was there? logic told him otherwise, but ignorance kept him silent. he opted instead for a chuff of faux amusement and a smile-- that was best he could offer under the circumstances.

despite her good looks and good nature (though terance wasn't sure how he felt about her humor), this girl proved to be rather useless in the knowledge department... oh well, not everyone was good for everything. "damn," was all he managed to mutter, pursing his lips as he pondered the situation a few heartbeats more. if this woman had no knowledge, surely it was an act of the gods and, just as he had suspected, they probably came from hades underworld-- especially if they could melt you into goo. terance also decided that she probably didn't need a beauty nap-- or, if that's truly how it worked, that perhaps he should invest some of his time into a handful. but he kept that to himself.

"terance," he said, bluntly but not at all avoiding her question. he eyed her, giving her another look-down, finally giving her a look that really said nothing about how he was feeling-- it was merely a look. "who're you?"

slowly, and secretly of course, Maera questioned the younger male's capacity to catch on to her jokes and appreciate her witty remarks. She never thought that maybe, her jokes were lacking said wit. No, that wasn't it. Maybe the near-death experience had scared off the male's humor.
Maybe, if she had known he thought her answers as useless, she would've just exploded on him.

Before she could decide whether or not to pull one of her always trustworthy excuses to leave, Maera found his green eyes looking expectantly at her again. "maera sveijarn" she barked, not leaving out her last name despite he had chosen to do so. For Maera being who she was, coming from where she'd come from,  had always been something to be proud of. Plus, her last name was perhaps the only thing her parents had left her. 

she answered, with a surname too. it wasn't until now that he'd realized he'd left it out, and his ears flicked in surprise. "terance redleaf-disarrino," he tacked on with a good-hearted smile. he had been away from home for a while, but this was the first time he'd said his name without his parents name attached-- it held meaning to a good number of wolves, and terance always felt like something more with it on there. it was weird, he thought, that he'd suddenly just not added it.

"sveijarn, you said?" he repeated, slowly so he didn't butcher it. he kind of liked it. if it meant anything, he didn't know, but he liked the way it felt in his mouth. "maera is a pretty name," he then said with a wag of his tail, "i've never heard it before." not that that was a surprise, it was typically pretty weird around these parts to meet a wolf with the same name.

Quickly Terence, added too his last name. It wasn't one she'd ever heard before but she wouldn't tell him. They'd be stuck there all day telling each other how they've never heard of one another. And of course they hadn't! They were perfect strangers. "yes" she affirmed as the male echoed her last name. Then, deciding she was no longer in a hurry, nor she wanted to go back to her den just yet she let herself fall onto her bottom.

"thanks" she woofed with a quick swish of her tail. Maera wasn't usually as monosyllabic but she had momentarily (and to Terence's luck) ran out of jokes. "where's your pack?" she barked with her hazel eyes narrowing slightly, he didn't look like a loner in the sense he looked well fed. 

his pack-- was sharing that private information? terance didn't know. he gave a quick "uhm..." and eyed their surroundings. in front of them, a long distance off, you could just make out the foggy peaks of moonspear. terance held his gaze that way nose twitching curiously to see if he could pick up their scents-- though all he smelled was the sulfuric scents of whatever these water explosions were.

"that big peak in the middle," he said, glancing back to maera, "it's called moonspear." and it's fuckin' rad. he held his opinions back. he eyed her, nose twitching again as he went over her scent. it was warm, dusty, and a little bit like pines. she didn't smell of other wolves, only of the wild. he gave her a small smile. "it's pretty rad," he said, almost teasingly, but no longer worried about offending a pack-- as she clearly wasn't part of one.

It wasn't hard for Maera to notice his hesitation. Unless he was disoriented and genuinely didn't know which way his pack was - which was really problematic - Maera could see through his muttering. He didn't trust her. And well why should he? She was a perfect stranger. Yeah, she had sorta, kinda, definitely saved his life but still, she was a stranger.

His initial indecision on whether or not to reveal his pack's location was understandable. Maera wouldn'y trust him either. But not exactly because he was a stranger, no. But because trust was something that the Sveijarn had little of. She had lost it little by little with every disappointment that like her beloved feather and rocks, she had collected over time. 

When he finally spoke, Maera followed with her eyes over to the mountains he referred to. It was far but not too far. "what makes it so?" she asked turning back to lock her hazel eyes to his. 

terance smiled when she asked. he didn't really like bragging to strangers, it felt sort of douchebaggy, but something about this interaction felt more than just a boring-old conversation. it hadn't originally felt like that, but her sudden curiosity made terrance feel a shift in the system. maybe it wasn't a recruitment mission, that wasn't his purpose, but he didn't mind maera's company, and she was most certainly ranked among the top 10 most beautiful wolves he'd ever seen. maybe he could gain her friendship and drag her to the cliffs.

"the wolves," he told her with a proud grin, "i don't think i've ever met a pack with so many awesome wolves." and though this was perhaps bias, considering he'd only ever really been a part of moonspear, she didn't need to know that. "everyone's just so helpful and nice... we're all kinda like a family, ya'know?" he added with a soft tilt of his head. the stone eyed her reaction curiously, wondering if he could gauge her pack history based off of her reaction to the world family. someone could certainly guess his own history, but his was rather pleasant.

almost as an afterthought, but certainly not less of a reason, terance added, "and, i'm a naturalist, and the mountains are great for stargazing."

She waited for his answer and watched his lips curl into a smile which she mirrored without really knowing why. She not only didn't mind his company, but actually was growing to like it. After having literally ran out on her last pack, the Solstice, Maera had spent some months entirely on her own. It was nice to hear another's voice, another's stories and maybe, just maybe, share her own.

Maera's ears tipped when she heard his reply. She hadn't expected it. Of course the type wolves you shared your home influenced the way you felt towards it. Getting along with packmates was crucial not only to mantain your place within the pack but to make the pack as a whole function. Still, if anyone were to ask her what had made Duskfire Glacier so wonderful she would have thought of the fact that it was her parents' and of the scenery first rather than the wolves.
From the Solstice she had grown to love the sea and the nomadic lifestyle the pack held. 

It had been long since Maera had thought of a pack as family. Perhaps only when her actual famiy had been in the Glacier, and that didn't actually last very long. To Maera the word family, though hard to pronounce without bitterness and nostalgia, was sacred. 
Her family were the Sveijarn and the Sveijarn alone.
Maera had made her peace with being (and sentencing herself as) an orphan

"is your real family there too?" she asked, her voice slightly distant now. He then spoke of his interest and again, Maera's eyes blinked in curiosity. "i too wish to be a naturalist" she barked, remembering also how she had begun training to become a warrior before leaving the Glacier for good.

terance frowned, clearly looking like a sensitive nerve had been struck. he fidgeted, adjusting his shoulders and cocking his ears back. "no," he said, somewhat bluntly. to explain would be annoying-- she didn't ask, but his demeanor begged an explanation. he hesitated a moment more before tacking on, "i needed to make a new life for me." he had wanted to make it with sarah, but that was no longer an option. deep down, he knew he needed to let that go.

her comment about naturalism set his ears back upright, and though his family situation was not forgotten, he opted to focus on something that made him happy. "really?" he asked, head tilting, hopefully prompting something else from her. was she too into the sky? or was she into botany or something? terance thought all of the natural world was pretty cool, osprey had done a damn good job making sure he did-- but he'd always taken an interest in the night sky specifically.

suddenly, terance's lips parted, hanging slightly ajar for a moment before his head tilted. "you don't smell like a pack-- you could come, if you wanted," he said, as an afterthought.

Her question stirred something in him, and Maera reacted inmidiately as well. Her ears, that had been facing him, flattened to the side apologetically for a second or two before returning to their original position. She did not intend to ask more on the subject, she in fact bit the tip of her tongue when he opened his mouth once more, hoping the question wouldn't be thrown back and hit her like a boomerang. 

"me too" she barked simply, accepting Terance's choice to bury the subjet for good. Then, the conversation returned to its previous ease - or so Maera hoped. "yeah, really!" she barked, maybe a bit too enthusiastically considering how tense things had been just seconds ago, "I know some stuff about plants and birds, oooh birds" she went on while her tail began to wag slightly. She had learnt during her travels, from her various companions, one which happened to be a botanist and from the Solstice that had also taught her about tides. Still, birds was what she liked most. Birds and flowers.
She knew about the birds because of the feathers she so passionately collected during her scavenging and used to decorate her den with. Maera was really excited about the turn their talk had taken, and she was actually was about to confess her peculiar collecting habit when he spoke again.

Maera's feet felt suddenly cold.
"i'm a loner" she confirmed while letting her hazel eyes meet his before lowering to the ground and then to the side nervously. Terence was a really nice wolf, Maera liked him, but she wasn't so sure she'd like the idea of joining a pack just yet. This was the very first one she heard of, and honestly, she was hesitant about trusting the first option without at least getting a peek of the others. She didn't know what to say to his, what, invitation? So she hoped she wouldn't annoy Terence and said nothing at all.

terance didn't expect anything from the question. maybe she would get along with lyra, since she too wanted to be a naturalist. terance certainly didn't mind her, though he wasn't sure her sense of humor was all that great. no matter. his lips pursed for a moment, thoughtfully, before he nodded. he wasn't disappointed, he didn't know this wolf, though he did think that maybe it would've been cool if he could've brought back a new recruit for charon-- maybe get him a few brownie points and a new friend.

not particularly bothered, and having possibly made the situation awkward, terance did his best to attempt recovery-- as she had. unlike her, he kept his enthusiasm to a healthy level. "so you're a botanist, then?" he offered with a tilt of his head and a good natured smile, "i don't know much about birds... 'cept they taste good if you can catch 'em." 

This encounter, as Maera soon learned, was as unpredictable as the springs they had run from. One minute they were getting along really, really well and Maera could feel her guard lowering and her smile getting broader, then she felt as if she was suddenly talking to a rock - because like a rock, Terence was completely unresponsive to Maera's humor. There was just no way of knowing.

And despite, Terence made no further comments about her coming along and actually seemed pretty chill about her lack of response, Maera couldn't help but feel a little awkward bubbling in her stomach. There were no more words for her to speak, or none that came to mind, until he again talked about nature.

Should she ask what he thought of the weather to make the conversation less awkward?
No, Maera, no.

"yeah" she answered simply, adding in her head ...self proclaimed one. Then as he joked about the birds, Maera cracked a smile that bordered being geniune and being fake. Of course she liked the taste of birds also, but she often tried to avoid eating them for she enjoyed much more to watch them. 

For a second, Maera thought again about mentioning the habit that had fed her interest on birds, but again she hesitated. Surely he wouldn't care. And surely, because of her decision to remain silent, she'd never know.

"so what do you like most?" she then barked, half just to keep the conversation alive, and the other half because she wondered if he too was a botanist and perhaps they could share some tips.

the air was tense and uncomfortable for longer than terance liked, but he tried to ignore it. he liked silence, appreciated it, but maybe not so much in this moment. the awkwardness hung around them for a few moments longer before maera asked him about his hobbies as a naturalist-- and terance's mind settled again.

"the stars... and the moon and the sky and all the stuff up there," he said, gesturing up with a tilt of his crown. his nose pointed upwards for a moment, twitching, before he looked back down to the girl. "i wanna be an astronomer, like, a real one, a helpful one," he added as a side note. he always felt like stargazing was a useless talent to most wolves, but he knew that there was use for it. like the moon and the tides, they had a connection. and everyone acted a little weirder when the moon was full. he would learn the most important parts of the sky, and how he could apply it to pack life. maybe, one day, he'd ask charon, since the man himself was an astronomer. but, of course, terance mentioned none of that to maera. the basics was all she probably cared to hear.

babyyyyy shall we wrap this? - I definitely plan to have mae check out moonspire later on 

This was her cue.
Cue to leave, she thought as again tension settled above their heads. Still, not wanting to be rude, she stayed put and listened to what Terence had to say. He spoke of the sky, the moon, the stars and Maera, inevitably lifted her chin to take a glance at what made the younger wolf speak with such passion.

In the middle of the sky, a gloomy grey cloud gave Maera yet another 'cue' to get back to her den in Neverwinter. She brought her eyes back to her companion, a small smile forming on her face as she then barked, "i've never met an astronomer", (not yet anyways) "i think its awesome" she added.

Then, before another uncomfortable silence could fall upon them, the flame spoke once more. "well....Terence, it was very nice to meet you, but i best get going." she wanted to add that she'd keep the Moonspire in mind or that maybe she'd check it out soon, but she didn't. Something told her it wasn't necessary. 

yes yes sounds fantastic <3

sort of abruptly-- though maybe not really, since terance (especially lately) had a knack for being all over the place in conversation and making others feel awkward. that's just what he deserved, too! he talked too much and was way too open, no one cared to hear all that, he must've just gotten to comfortable around lyra and hydra... made him too open about everything. he'd do the same thing to poor ivy a few days later, too. oh well. 

"oh yeah, me too," he replied in a sort of mutter, his ears cupping forward. he stood and turned his head to look at the mountains in the distance before turning to see the red beauty that stood before him. she sure was pretty, he was sad he didn't get to look at her every day. he'd never seen a wolf so red and covered in sweet. oh well once again. "i'll see you when i see you, maera," he said as a vague and almost distant goodbye, and then took off. gotta run fast if he wanted to make it home soon.