Northstar Vale I'll Follow the Sun

@Reiko

The pack was finally coming together, Vespera was starting to get to know packmates better, which was a huge step up, and she was finding trust in Reiko. But there was more to Reiko then what Vespera could ever guess but she didn't think about it, instead, she journeyed on her own to get familiar with her new home just like how she and the Empress discovered that mossy place. The dark woman carefully guided her paws to what seemed like nowhere since she was in unfamiliar territory, with the birds chirping and squawking overhead and the looming trees made the exile feel a bit skittish. However, she flared her nose and raised her head in pride, she won't be intimidated by the unknown and so she sped up her pace to a confident trot. She bounded over rocks as gracefully as she could but ended up hitting her pads just a little but she didn't mind, what would ultimately drive her forward was a new scent.

The woman briefly stopped in a barren spot with her ears slightly flicking and her nose twitching, for a moment, she thought she heard steam, but she scowled at the idea that there would be steam in a place like this. But, her nose was telling her otherwise, hesitant, she stalked forward with her nose leading her through the mysterious woods and the hidden rocks. Vespera squinted for a moment as her eyes glared to what seemed to be a cave opening, and as she would start to stalk closer, the sound of running water beat against her ears. Drawing closer upon further inspection, she got to the entrance and peered inside with her ears up like sonar and looking like an antelope in headlights, she couldn't believe what she had stumbled upon.

It was some sort of hot springs.

Vespera's jaws parted slightly to express her awe as she stepped inside with caution and wonder. She made note of the various colors of the rock and the sapphire blue water as she loomed over the edge. The sound of the waterfall was peaceful and she felt more at ease, she just had to tell Reiko.

She remained in the soon to be blossoming forest, the buds were still green but the tip were slowly gaining colours by the day. She looked forward to the day that they would open and show their beauty to the world. The empress spent a lot of time here, picturing what the trees would look like, when they would blossom, she painted a vivid picture in her imagination. 

Vespera's trail caught her attention as she wandered by the creek, taking a few laps of the frosty spring water, the cloaked woman's scent was on the rock that was just out of her nose's reach. What was Vespera doing around here? With a wag of her tail, she followed Vespera's scent toward a little cave... At first she had reservations about entering, the dark cave looking spooky from the outside...

Stepping in, she found Vespera soon enough after the light began to filter in from a hole in the ceiling. Frosty ears perking up at the sight. What did you find here? The answer was pretty obvious, but Reiko had a hard time wrapping her head around it. The place was breathtaking.

The woman's ears swiveled to the sound of someone approaching, for once, she wasn't caught off guard, and instead of snapping to whoever it was that approached her, she used her nose to determine that Reiko had followed her in. The cloaked woman acknowledged her presence by slightly turning her muzzle and getting a small glimpse of Reiko and to see that her frosted ears were up and her tail was wagging. She too was clearly excited about the new discovery, beats it over having to actually go out and find her, a small smile formed on her lips for she was relieved of the thought that she might have had to go up to Reiko and try to hold in her excitement. Vespera wagged her tail slightly in greeting as the Empress asked what she had found here, the woman drifted her head up and swayed it around a bit to get a better look at the glittering cave. Her face was expressing that she was in thought with a cocked eyebrow and she was slightly biting her lip, "some sort of pool? or uh, hot spring?" Her voice was unsure.

The girl tilted her head up and looked at Reiko and gave her a big old' shrug, "that's my best guess," she said with a bit more confidence, but she was still unable to determine since she was no expert.

The greeting offered by Vespera was uplifting, Reiko smiled and waged her own tail in return, seating herself next to the darker woman while eyeing the pool carefully. It looked like plain water, smelled like plain water, and the air around it felt warmer too... A hot spring sounds like a safe bet if you ask me. Lowering her nose to the water, she took a closer sniff.

Still, it just smelled like water. 

Cautiously she placed a paw into the water, feeling it out softly before dipping it completely into the warm liquid. It felt nice, really nice. She let out a soft sigh of pleasure, feeling her muscles relaxing at the sensation. It feels nice.~ She sang gleefully. They could really use someplace like this.

There was a place like this near Whitefish River, but it was stinky. The stench was horrid and it was enough to keep Reiko away unless absolutely necessary when she lived there - and so, to find one that smelled of nothing but water, in such a beautiful place, well, she was beside herself.

Vespera shrugged, her senses were all out of wack, she was feeling a bit strange lately, like she wasn't herself and the woman couldn't understand why. But the Empress seemed to enjoy herself by stating with a smooth hum that the cave that they found felt nice. The cloaked woman drifted her purple gaze up to the walls, the shining light, and back down to the crystal water, this place could be something.

The exile looked to Reiko with one ear higher than the other, "its on our territory, what do we call it?" She blinked, though Vespera wasn't one in partaking in this activity of naming places, but she figured Reiko would take interest in her suggestion.

Fully emerging her paw into the water, once it was deemed safe, she slowly waded further into the warm water step by step until the liquid lapped over her shoulders. Strands of alabaster flowed in the water like tendrils, slowly dancing in the slow-moving current as the waters flowed out of the mouth of the cave and into the gardens. 

How about the spring of gardens? The water feeds into a garden of sorts after all. Never really good at names, she tried her best to come up with something of logical use. Such a place could be of great use to heal a weary traveler, even her own paws felt as light as the water itself as they soaked up the heat, healing the weary tendons and muscles within.

Reiko seemed to be getting comfortable with the place by slightly submerging herself in the pool of warm water, the woman was relaxed at was at peace with herself. Vespera tilted her head a bit at the sight, if she found this place so relaxing, then why doesn't she go further into the water? Oh well, the cloaked woman began to plot behind the wisp's back. Reiko stated that the springs was connected to an outside garden so she named it after that. Vespera saying nothing, back up a little bit to gain some ground with a cheeky smirk on her face.

Once at a good distance, she rocketed herself forward with a powerful running start and with a swift crouch on the ground, the launched herself into the air with a powerful bounce and came crashing into the water. Vespera's weight caused a tsunami-like wave once she made contact with the water, her goal was to get Reiko wet in good fun. The water was warm and wrapped around her limbs like a soft blanket as her fur beautifully flowed in the water as she swam up to the surface muzzle first. Once she emerged with her face absolutely soaked, she gave Reiko a playful smirk, "I think it suits it," she gave a sly giggle.

Vespera's actions hid none of her intentions. With a slow wave of her tail snaking through the water, she grew excited at the thought of what was to come next! With a leap, the dark woman was off, into the water with a slash! At first the Empress was impressed and full of childlike wonder - but as the wave came and overcame her small frame, she struggled to keep her toes on the hard rocky ground instead of being swept away to the deeper waters. 

A moment of panic overtook her expression, claws racking and digging into the stone and only relaxed as soon as the pull was no longer felt and she remained safety tucked onto the shallower end of the pool. Turning to Vespera with a coy grin, she splashed back with a kick of her paws and a giggle that echoed in the cavern easily. It shall be dubbed that if you agree! By the powers invested in me, this pool is now named! Her tone was light and jokingly, clearly not taking any of this seriously.

Thankfully for Vespera, the lady took it as a joke and playfully splashed the water back at her to which the dark woman took to the face with a small giggle. Dripping with water, the woman wandered back to the shallow end where Reiko was standing, and spreading out her legs just a bit to get a firm stance, she wildly shook her fur to get the steaming water off. But once that warm blanket was off, the whisping air from the outside was lightly prickling on her fur which made Vespera feel a little cold but the steam of the cave soon took care of that problem. The woman turned to Reiko with blinking eyes and a lolling tongue with the snowy lady cheerfully declaring that the pool has now been named. Vespera gave a small smile and a small chuckle, "I suppose now we need to scourer the land and name everything on site now huh?" she gave the small woman a taunting smile.

It was nice to see Vespera enjoying herself. The dark woman always seemed so serious or down in the dumps that it was quite the sight to see the opposite! Vespera was certainly a very beautiful woman when she was happy, well... even at her worst she was beautiful but the woman efflorescent with a smile on her face. That might be a good idea. She chirped in reply, thinking what else could they find in the vale? The place was so big and full of hidden gems. Let's just relax in the spa for a little longer, hm? Resting her head on the stone ledge, she smiled as the warm waters relaxed every muscle in her small body. Maybe later she and Vespera could go run around the vale and see what else they could find.

we can end this thread here if you'd like!! have a newer one later :P