Firestone Hot Springs Good Sleep, a Bath and a Glass of Wine [M]

Set during a summer rain shower, so the rain is slightly warm.

It was weird being here at this place full of hot springs in the middle of a rain shower. It was probably not the best place to be, since a) there was nowhere to get out of rain and b) the rain was already warm enough, so there was no need to make oneself hot and muggy by hanging around hot-water pools. Of course, Ellie didn't give a shit about that. She was too busy being sleepy and headachy from the constant heat and mist. Her movements were sluggish, as if she were drunk on too much wine -- not that she knew what wine was. She didn't even really remember how the hell she had gotten here.

For the moment, though, she decided to give up and give in to the sleepiness, hoping maybe a nap would clear her head of its pressure-pain. She was too dumb to figure out that sticking around the hot springs and sleeping was not the best idea, like falling asleep in a hot tub by yourself. It was a good way to cook yourself to death. No. Ellie didn't know of such things. She was tired and didn't feel good, and so lay down to sleep. Well, more like fell over.

Come to think of it, she thought, before falling into a stupor, maybe I'm sick...

After spending some time with Lasher this afternoon, Peregrine decided to patrol the borders. He couldn't help but think of Atticus as he made his rounds. Would his brother ever guard again? The Alpha male swallowed thickly. Atticus hadn't even had the chance to fully earn his Warden title yet before the accident had seemingly taken everything away.

While he mentally grappled with his brother's condition, Peregrine paused and gazed vaguely into the neutral territories. In the distance, he saw a wolf across the river, walking in the direction of the hot springs. His gaze followed her absently. The fur along his back prickled uncomfortably when he noticed the wolf's strange, sluggish weave, even from afar. Then he disappeared from his view.

With thoughts of his ill brother still floating in his head—not to mention memories of witnessing his fall from a distance—Peregrine picked his way down to the flat lands, then waded through a shallow bend in the river. He loped into the fragrant hot springs, eyes, nose and ears combing for any sign of the stranger. What if he's sick? What if he's contagious? he thought, his lips pursing.

Then he found the wolf, who turned out to be female. "Are you all right?" he asked, walking slowly toward the prostrate figure, his black ears pinning backward. He sniffed the rainy air, which smelled of sulfur but no scent of illness or infection, at least that he could detect.

I haven't decided what the hell is wrong with Ellie yet. Lol. I'm willing to let it slide that she really is just disoriented from being way too hot and humid, since I get really loopy if I sit for too long in a hot tub. (Not this loopy, though, lol).

Ellie gazed with glazed-over eyes at the male who seemed to appear out of nowhere before her. His concern for her well-being went right over her head -- in one ear and out the other without so much as a flicker of understanding. Instead, she grinned stupidly at him, and said in a thick and drawling voice, "Hey, big fella. Whatcha doin' out here by yourself? Come to see little ol' me? I'm flattered."

Ellie had no idea what she was saying. The words stumbled from her mouth in the same way a drunkard might stumble down a dark alley late at night. She was not really conscious of anything around her, and the male's face seemed to take up the entire world, so that all she could see was inky black and piercing blue-green. She blinked slowly and dumbly at him, the smile still plastered almost frighteningly on her face. Then her head fell back to the ground and she closed her eyes, giving a weird, high-pitched giggle.

Something about her strange speech and behavior made him think of Atticus again. It was the sense that something was horribly amiss. At least the she-wolf could move and speak, even if she didn't make much sense. His brother's handicap was due to a head injury... so what would explain this woman's peculiarities? Maybe there was something in the water here—it might explain the odd smell—and it was messing with her head somehow?

"You should come with me," Peregrine said, ignoring what she'd said. "I think you'd find a dip in the river clean and refreshing. Can you stand up?"

In Ellie's ridiculously over-heated mind, it was like the entire world had just spoken. The male's words vibrated through her skull like a thousand bees had gotten trapped in her brain. She grimaced and it took many belated seconds to piece together what he had actually said, and then she spent another minute and a half stumbling and slipping and finally getting to her paws. She gave a too-wide grin. "Of course I can stand," she drawled, making a scoffing sound. Then she grinned at him again. "So we goin' swimmin' or what, Mister?"

She took quite a few unsteady steps forward, and then stopped and looked at the male sheepishly. "Why don't you get in front? I have no idea where we're goin'." She blinked slowly at him then, waiting for him to take the lead. A thought suddenly crossed her drunken mind. "So... Is this like... A date?"

He was relieved when she was able to stand under her own power, as Peregrine didn't want to have to touch her in case she was afflicted by something contagious after all. Still ignoring her inebriated speech, he motioned for her to follow him and began trotting slowly back in the direction of the riverbank. He would be glad to escape the overpoweringly sulfurous odors there himself.

At her question about a date, he glanced over his shoulder and answered, "I don't think either my mate or my lover would like that." He paused, then mused, "Or perhaps they wouldn't mind, seeing as we're open-minded and all." Brushing the topic aside, he faced forward and finished leading her to the riverside.

He didn't hesitate to walk right into the water, angling for the same shallows he'd waded across moments earlier. The water felt as cool and refreshing as he'd hoped after the steaming, pungent air in the hot springs. "Much better," he opined, swiveling around to face the she-wolf. "Come on, I think you'll feel better if you cool off."

Originally, I had every intention of making this a sort-of-spree and then real life totally got in the way. Also, I don't think I've EVER had so much fun writing a post on here (except maybe that time I was trying to write Majesty off as sexy when he was wooing Erika). So thanks. I am having a total blast over here!

Ellie blinked slowly at the male again as he spoke words that sounded like nothing but garbled noises to her ears. Then she watched as he faced forward again and began walking away. For a significant amount of time (that was only about three seconds or so -- but she was drunk-ish, so it felt much longer) she simply stared at his backside, wondering where he was going and if she'd get in trouble if she followed. She had already forgotten where they were going, you see.

Then, with an odd sort of shrugging motion, which was overly-exaggerated due to her inebriated state, she stumbled after him, with many an "Ow!" and "Shit!" as she tripped over things she wouldn't normally trip over. And then all of a sudden, in seemingly the blink of an eye, she was face-planting loudly into a river and trying to breathe the water like air before spluttering and lifting her head. The water was cold, and sent a shock to her system.

It took a minute or two, in which time Ellie's body cooled down to its normal temperature, and her pressure headache slowly dulled and went away, and then she was back to her normal, non-caring self. She glanced lazily over at the black-furred male who had put up with her weird bullshit for so long, even going so far as to help her, and said, "Thanks. I don't really remember much of what I said, but I know it was probably weird as fuck, so thanks for putting up with it." She looked away from him after that, adding as an afterthought, "I'm Ellie."

Good! :)

Even as the word off left his lips, the nameless female stumbled right into the river. Peregrine blinked, then took a step toward her, wondering if she was about to drown. She righted herself, however, and he withdrew slightly again, watching her. He started to shake his head slightly, bemused at the stranger's antics.

She spoke again, sounding more normal now. "I'm not sure what just happened," he admitted in response, "but... you're welcome? Peregrine," he added in way of an introduction. After a pause, he queried, "You're feeling better now then?" in a sort of rhetorical tone.

Ellie had to laugh at herself at this point, as the full memory of all she had said came back to her along with her senses. This Peregrine's response to her somewhat-apology only made her laugh harder, as he seemed just as confused as she was. She spent a good fifteen seconds full-on laughing, which slowly turned into quite chuckles, and then went away completely. Then she glanced at the male and grinned sheepishly.

"Ellie," she replied, and then backtracked. "I mean -- my name is Ellie." She paused after this, and then added, "That was weird. I think I'll stay the hell away from those hot springs from now on. Dear Gods, that place is awful." She sighed deeply then, and sank farther into the water, so that it covered all but her neck and face. "This is surprisingly relaxing," she murmured, more to herself than her companion. Then she was quiet, letting the water flow over her back and around her sides.

When she repeated her name, Peregrine remarked to himself, Maybe I spoke too soon. Though she clarified the redundancy, she began to laugh and he gave her a quizzical look. Maybe this Ellie was just a strange individual. In any event, her laughter died down rather quickly. She seemed normal enough and proved to be at least capable of conversation.

"Probably a good idea," he concurred. He couldn't imagine many compelling reasons to enter the hot springs, at least at this time of year. The warm water could be a nice respite in the wintertime, if one didn't mind smelling like rotten eggs for three days afterward.

Her comment on the water didn't require a response, so instead Peregrine tried to make conversation as he too enjoyed the refreshing dip. "Where are you from, Ellie? I'm from the plateau." He flicked his black muzzle in its direction, then looked back to her.

I don't know if pack leaders are still accepting members over the 15-member-limit thing or not, but if not, you can just have Peregrine say no to her question and I'll have Ellie go join a different pack. :)

"Where are you from, Ellie?"

That was a weird question for her to answer. It required a great deal of thought revolving around her past, which she didn't like to think or talk about. In the end, she looked around, so as to avoid eye-contact with the male who had brought up an awkward topic, and said, "I'm not really from anywhere. I haven't been part of a pack in... months." She glanced at the plateau, suddenly feeling a pang of loneliness. Though she couldn't say she was a necessarily social wolf, it was in a wolf's nature to want some kind of social interaction -- even if some liked it less than others.

She swallowed, a question suddenly forming in her mind that she was somewhat afraid to ask, because what if the answer was no? "You don't happen to... y'know, have room for another member, do you?" Ellie didn't actually know for a fact that Peregrine was a pack wolf. His mention of being from the plateau did not mean that there was a pack up there. Maybe he was a loner like her. Had she had any common sense, she probably could have used her nose to figure out that he was, in fact, part of a pack -- the author's excuse here being that they were in water, and perhaps the water was washing some of the pack scent away.

She looked at the black-furred male for a moment, and then looked away again, her heart beating a little quicker in anticipation of his answer.

We are. :)

Ellie's answer didn't surprise him, simply because he'd found her alone and it wasn't an unreasonable assumption that she was, therefore, a lone wolf. He didn't answer her question right away, instead eyeballing her a moment. So far, she'd proven to be a little strange and Peregrine was in no way desperate for new recruits. In fact, despite all the drama of late, the plateau was ballin' outta control doing very well for itself. It didn't need any more bodies and those wanting in would be thoroughly vetted accordingly.

"The plateau would be unlikely to turn away a worthy candidate," Peregrine answered at length. "What could you contribute, Ellie?"

No need to match the length. I got carried away.

The pregnant silence that followed Ellie's question was difficult to handle, as it made her automatically think that Peregrine was trying to think of a nice way to say no. When he finally did speak, his response did little to quell the slightly queasy feeling in her stomach. She wasn't stupid, of course. She had known that a test of her skills would be coming, and this is what caused her stomachache. She didn't really have any skills -- none that she could think of, anyway. Sighing, she looked down at her paws, not quite ready to tell the truth about her lack of wolf-like qualities, but knowing he wouldn't wait forever.

"I... I'm not much good at... fighting... or hunting," she began, wincing with every other word, as her confession did not a worthy wolf make. "When it comes to those kinds of things... I have no stomach for them. Which means I probably couldn't be much of a Healer, either. The sight of blood makes me vomit." She paused, trying to think of a way to make herself seem more... presentable. "It's not like I won't fight if it's needed. I'll defend the borders like any wolf would, but I don't think I'd be very good at it."

She plowed on, hoping that enough excuses would give her a pass into the pack. And it wasn't as though she didn't want to learn things that would make her a decent member of society the pack. It was just that, she had never bothered to learn them before, which was one of the reasons she was wandering now. Her birth pack had deemed her unfit to be a member and had thrown her out.

"I'll learn. I promise I'll learn. Maybe you have pups that need looking after? I also like exploring. I could be an Outrider, maybe? Or a Counselor? I may not make the best decisions when it comes to myself, but I do like helping others. I --" She stopped here, realizing that at this point she was probably boring Peregrine, which was not her intent. So she just huffed a sigh and looked away. She was going to be denied, she already knew, so why get her hopes up?

Peregrine wasn't bored, though he was more than a little put off by the abrupt desperation in Ellie's voice. Out of nowhere, she seemed hellbent on gaining entry into the plateau's ranks, yet she didn't sell herself very well at all. When she finished, he wasn't sure how to respond at first. He wasn't the type to take on a charity case and he would make that known.

"The plateau is a large pack already and we only have room left for those who are particularly skilled," he began. "I cannot accept you based on what you've told me so far. But why the sudden interest in the plateau, anyway? You don't know the first thing about it," he pointed out to her. Perhaps he'd given her some sort of open, welcoming impression because he'd helped her, in which case Peregrine had misrepresented both himself and his pack. He couldn't even say why he'd been compelled to come to Ellie's aid, except that watching her from a distance had reminded him of his brother, who he hadn't been able to help.

Although she had been expecting the exact answer that Peregrine gave, it still seemed to exhaust her, as if he were a needle, and she a balloon. On second thought, it was more that she was a tire, and he the one come and poke holes in her, so that, instead of popping, she slowly deflated. She even let out a long sigh, the air expelling from her body like a puncture wound, slowly and painfully. She almost didn't hear his question, the one about why she wanted to join the plateau in the first place.

Slowly, she pulled herself up out of the river water and laid down again at the bank, placing her head on her paws and trying to come up with a reason. In the end, she shrugged. "I'm a wolf, right? Wolves are meant to be part of a pack. I guess to me it doesn't matter what pack I'm in, as long as you guys aren't crazy demon worshipers who sacrifice your members to the Blood God." She gave a tired smile. "I'm guessing you're not. You probably wouldn't have helped me if you were."

She was silent for a bit, and then said quietly, "It's fine that you don't want me. My birth pack didn't want me either, so I'm used to rejection." Knowing that what she had just said made her sound über desperate, she tacked on an ending. "And no. I'm not trying to gain your sympathies by saying that. I'm saying that I literally don't care. I'm used to it. I'll find somewhere else." She laughed, once, shortly. "Maybe I'll make my own pack of wolves without skills and we can all run around and have fun 'til we die of starvation 'cause none of us know how to hunt. That would be hilarious."

She sat up at this point, expecting one or both of them to leave soon. "It was nice meeting you, Peregrine. Sorry for acting like a fool at first. Thanks for saving me."

When she waded out onto the bank, Peregrine followed suit. He paused on the shore and gave himself a hearty shake, sending water flying in all directions. He then reposed on his hindquarters and began licking his crazy fur into place, all the while keeping his damp ears pricked in Ellie's direction.

"First of all," he said when she finished, "it should matter. You should find a pack that suits your needs and vice versa." He paused. "And your apathy is unbecoming. If you don't give a fuck about yourself and what you're doing, I certainly don't, nor will any Alpha in their right mind. Nobody feels sorry for you... including yourself, it looks like," he finished with a shrug.

She seemed ready to go and Peregrine had no reason to ask her to stay, so he replied, "You're welcome." He didn't make a move to leave, though he did turn away from her to look out across the water.

His mind stayed with Atticus. It had been so easy to help Ellie; all he'd had to do was lead her away from the dangers of the hot springs. Why couldn't it have been that way for his brother? Why did this strange, apathetic woman with nothing and not a care in the world get to move on without any ill effects, while his brother—who'd been on the cusp of earning life's every bounty through hard work and dedication—was sitting in a dank den at home, unable to do much more than drool and stare at the wall? Life was cruel and unfair.

Sorry. I'm kind of powerplaying by assuming that Perry's going to sit here and listen to Ellie for an extended period of time. Tell me if you want me to change it. Also, no need to match the length again. I didn't know Ellie talked so much. >.<

Ellie listened with only half a mind to Peregrine's words, as she had heard them all before from her parents. When he was finished speaking, she stared blankly at him and said, "Thanks for the lecture, Dad. I'll be going now." She stood on all fours and took a few steps away from him, then paused and looked over her shoulder, deliberating. Then she gave a heavy sigh, turned, and sat back down.

After an awkward pause, she said, "Sorry. I can be a bitch sometimes. Lemme ask you a question. What do you think I should do? I really can't be a fighter because I am -- freely admitted -- a coward. If it was in self-defense, I'm sure adrenaline would take over. But otherwise, I seem to have been born without a wolf's fighting instincts. And, like I said, I couldn't really be a Healer. I'd be good at collecting herbs and plants, I guess, but never actually using them."

She thought a bit about what skills she might possess. "Like I said, I might make a good Counselor, and I did babysit often for my family back in my birth pack, so I know how to watch over pups and keep 'em entertained. And I would definitely fight to the death if I knew a pup was in danger." She grinned. "Ain't nobody gonna come between me and a pup." She stopped talking for a bit after this, trying to think of anything else to say. In the end, she added, "So, any advice?"

Ellie's puerile remark was met with little more than a backward sweep of Peregrine's ears, though it effectively scattered his thoughts for a moment. He was angrily trying to gather them when he heard a heavy sigh and the telltale sound of Ellie's rump hitting the ground again. He didn't look at her. In fact, he stiffened, his annoyance clearly written into every line of his dark body.

He remained braced and motionless during her soliloquy. Not a second after the word advice left her lips, he turned, his eyes glittering. "I already have four kids and a mentally impaired brother to look after. Meanwhile, you just snapped at me for 'lecturing' you. I'm not going to waste my time trying to give you any more assistance or paternal advice. Just... fuck off." His voice was deep and cool, as was his piercing gaze. Truthfully, some of his frustration didn't lay with her personally—it wasn't her fault he'd been able to save her and not his own brother—but he felt little guilt over his words.

With nothing else left to say, Peregrine stood and began striding purposefully through the shallows. When he reached the other bank, he didn't look back. He simply wiped his wet feet on the grass and loped in the direction of the plateau. He felt a strong need to visit with Atticus. Rescuing a stranger hadn't done a thing to soothe his guilt over his brother's condition.

Thanks for the thread! Sorry Ellie's so damned immature sometimes lol.

The moment the words "Fuck off" left Peregrine's mouth, he had lost her. Ellie's mind shut down and off and blocked off anything he might have said, though he said nothing more. Her face became a chiseled mask of anger and vindictiveness. She watched silently as he bounded away in the direction of the plateau. In a (useless) attempt to make herself feel better, she shouted after his back, "Fuck you too, you son of a bitch!" Then she shook herself vigorously and turned to face the opposite direction of the plateau, trying to decide what to do now. She wanted nothing to do with it or its members.

Not so fast, @Ellie! :)

Edit: I'd preemptively like to add that I'd prefer not to do dice rolls and instead keep this paragraph-based. Regular power playing and god moding rules apply, of course!

When Ellie saw fit to cuss at his back, Peregrine ground to a halt. Turning on a dime, he broke into a gallop back in her direction, lips peeling back from his teeth. He'd helped her and advised her. Now I'll fucking kill you, you goddamn waste of space, he thought violently as he barreled toward her, though he didn't bother verbalizing the threat. His approach was probably indication enough of his violent intent.

And he was entirely confident he could both capture and kill her. She'd said herself she was a coward who couldn't fight worth a damn, after all.

Lol I don't even think that's gonna be an issue cos Ellie's gonna run like hell instead of fighting. You'll have to catch her first! (Which I'm pretty sure'll be easy for Perry cos he has way more stamina than her). Also, I assumed earlier that they had gotten out on different sides of the river, so I don't know how that's gonna work now unless either I edit my post or Perry goes swimming. I also give you permission to PP a little bit as long as you don't kill her, break any limbs, or knock her out. Or y'know, bite her face off and cause blindness, etc. I'm also slapping an M on this because of language and such, just to be safe.

Ellie, whose back was turned at this point, didn't know what Peregrine was doing until she heard the splash of water behind her. She turned quickly, startled at the noise, and saw the look of death in the black wolf's eyes. Her pupils dilated in fear as adrenaline began pumping through her body. With an out-of-breath, "Oh shit!" she turned and ran like a bat out of hell, hoping the swim Peregrine would have to take might slow him down enough for her to make an escape.

She stumbled as she ran, being quite ungraceful in her attempt to escape dying at the hands paws of wolf three times her size. How did she know he wasn't insane and wouldn't rape her first? Oh god, she thought at that, and only ran all the faster, her breathing becoming even more erratic and labored.

They're on different sides, so your post works perfectly. :D

I don't think he'd catch up with her, so you can say she gets away. :)

She didn't even turn until his chest hit the water, causing a loud splash even as the impact seemed to instantaneously bruise his ribs. As he churned across the river, Ellie bolted, getting a significant head start. By the time Peregrine leaped onto the bank, she was several hundred yards ahead of him. His legs felt a little rubbery from the rapid swim and his lungs already hurt but he gave chase anyway. It was a matter of principle. Even if he couldn't catch her after all, he would scare the disrespectful, cowardly bitch straight.

Paws pounding and chest heaving—it was already getting a bit of a stitch, which made him grimace—Peregrine somehow managed a short burst of words, shot like bullets and delivered with a heavy dose of angry savagery. "You'd better run, you stupid cunt! If I catch you, I'll kill you!" He said nothing else, putting all of his remaining energy into the pursuit.

Ellie said nothing in return to his shouts, instead focusing all of her attention on running away. She didn't have much stamina, and was more like a cheetah when it came to running: she could go far in short bursts, but afterwards had zero energy. She could already feel herself slowing. There was only so much adrenaline could do before pure exhaustion caused a cease in motion.

She slowed to a jog, chancing a glance behind her. Peregrine was still chasing her, but he was far away. Still she ran, too much of a true coward to stop just because he was too far away to catch up to her. She ran until she was miles away from the hot springs and the river. Until she was forced to stop out of exhaustion and stumbled and nearly threw up from the running. There she landed in a heap and passed out, only to wake up hours later with a pounding headache and a vindictive attitude. She would get him back somehow. She didn't know how, but she would. Even if it meant learning to fight and then kicking his ass...

I had a lot of fun with this. I hope you did too. :D

I saw in the gossip thread that you're threading with Fox? How hilarious would it be if Fox accepted her into BDP and then Perry found out? :P

He could run for miles, yet that wasn't to say he was very fast. He wasn't. Ellie pulled further and further ahead until she was no more than a tawny speck in the distance. Finally, Peregrine relented, slowing down and standing still as he waited to catch his breath. All the while, he glared after the tawny bitch, who should have her life taken from her if she didn't care to do anything useful with it. Peregrine spat violently.

He eventually turned and loped his way home, sighing softly when his weary feet touched familiar soil. "I'm sorry life's wasted on such a piece of shit, Atti," he murmured to himself, making his way to the Healer's den to sit with his brother.