Firestone Hot Springs There be many

Rhonen had watched the hunt with wide eyes. Had assisted where he could and with what informstion he could be given. And now here he stood with wide eyes watching all the wolves mill about. There were quite a few pups to meet and greet, but he was unsure if he wanted too. The handicap of his mouth bothered him.

So he explored a little, found himself near one of the springs. A paw dangling in it trying to decide if he wanted to continue into it. The smell was decidely bad. It smelled like all his siblings had chosen one spot to eek their bowels and it was rather disgusting. And yet the wind chill versus the warmth. He made a hmm noise.

@Baldr

Baldr brought a thick and heavy leg bone with him to the hot springs, to the cooler section where the pups had been informed to go while the adults lounged in hotter waters. Baldr had tried to sample the hottest waters before and while he found them comfortable for a bit, they quickly scalded his skin making it just a few degrees hotter than what was best for him.

So he meandered toward the others, delighted to see another youth his age. ”Hey!” He greeted in the common tongue. ”Wanna have a munch on this and melt a bit in the warm water?”

This boy was shadows and light. With bright eyes. Rhonen didn't know him, but he had a friendly face. However, Rho was going to continue on, until he was stopped. He felt shame lick along his insides when the other spoke. His words so clear and concise.

Rhonen smiled though it was pale in comparison to ones he reserved for his family. His breathing grew a bit erratic, but he tried to speak.

Gis stutter worse with his nervousness.

iiiI aaam Rrrhonen.

Ears to his skull and he looked down. Tears pricking at his eyes. iiiI wwwoould llllike ttthat.

Shame colored his cheeks and ears went to his skull. While he tried to make himself smaller than he was.

There was going to be a chance that the other boy might be as cold as Granite was- but Baldr felt it was worth a shot, anyway. He'd looked in the very least, a bit interested at the pack hunt, which was an indication he might be friendly. While he looked a bit owlish and shy, he summoned a smile that caused Baldr's to widen even more. 

His ears lifted to catch his words, which were laboured and his voice had what Baldr thought was a bit of a tremble to it- but the boy didn't mind in the slightest. When his ears flipped back, it wasn't in distaste, but in disdain- he hadn't even introduced himself! Rhonen had better manners. "Oh right! I'm Baldr!" He said, offering a sheepish grin. 

It faded, though, when the boy bowed his head. He waited patiently to hear him speak, and it wasn't the stuttering of the boy's voice that threw him off, but his posture. He said he wanted to, but he'd lowered his head, looked very distraught, and had shrunk a bit. He hesitated for a moment, hoping he hadn't made Rhonen more self-conscious...And figured perhaps that a distraction might help. 

"Good! I saved some meat from the belly; it is my favourite. Let's go pick out a pool to go in, and I'll bring the meat- and then we can make our own pawsmash! I'll teach you what it is when we get there." He suggested, before he trotted over to the riverbank where he had stashed a strip of fatty belly meat, and smiled at Rhonen. With a flick of his muzzle, he gestured toward the hot springs, where steam rose into the air above a series of pools.

Rhonen was not cold or cruel. If amything he was the epitome of a gentle giant. Kind and observant, quiet and shy, perhaps even a little slow in some ways, but he wouldn't ignore another.

Rho smiled and his ears perked a little. Wwwell mmmet Bbbaldr. The youth hadn't made fun of him and he didn't seem off put by his stutter. So this was good.

Rhonen looked and found a small pool just big enough for two boys and he waited with ernest face and wide blue eyes.

The strip of meat dangled from his mouth as he carried it over to the pool Rhonen had chosen, and he set the meat down on the warm stone beside the water, and eased himself in, ruffling the fur along his spine as he relished the warmth. "Hoooooooooo," He crooned, as he slowly lowered his haunches into the water, feeling the warmth of the hot springs against his belly and lower back. "It is perfect," He said, with a happy shudder. 

He leaned on one elbow to grab the strip of meat, chomping at it a few times to bite it into two sections before pushing one toward Rhonen. He leaned his shoulder against the edge of the pool so that he could rest his jaw on the warm stone, and uttered a soft, happy sigh. "This is living like a king."

Rhonen eyed the pool with something akin to mistrust, and the smell rolled his lips back. And he snorted. However, not one to usually shirk from things. He stepped into the pull. Eyes went wide at the warmth from the water.

Rhonen frowned. His father didn't like kings. But he had served a few. As a warrior. Rhonen took his strip and smiled. 

Ttthank yyyou.

He looked around. Iii ssspose.

Rhonen looked a little bit timid when the topic came up. Baldr couldn't understand why, but he was empathetic enough to figure that it might be best to switch topics. He'd picked up on the expression that Rhonen had shown at the mention of the word king.

Of course, his father was King- but he had no misgivings about his father or his role. 

"So what so you wanna be when you grow up?" He asked, happy he would have someone new to talk to about such things. He would chat excitedly with his new friend, happy to have found others his age.

just going to fade this here <3