Firestone Hot Springs I wanna see the world when I stop breathing

Gonna be vague about the deets of the ongoing drama but this takes place a few days after I guess?

Mal never lingered long at the springs. It was just a place he passed through on the way to other places -- a buffer zone between his pack and the rest of the world. He'd found a couple of voles for his own consumption while wandering afar, but now he headed home. Really, this wasn't a time to go too far. Just out of the stench, at least. Now he wove his way back, keeping out of the water and the densest-smelling areas.

He expected a rather boring trip back, and he didn't see anything out of the ordinary... Until he saw some woman move forward up to the water's edge. Was she gonna go in? Nobody he met had been brave enough. But he was probably close enough to be noticed at this point, and standing there watching like a creeper wasn't going to get him what he wanted either. Oh well. So Mal strode forward, calling out -- he was trying to be upbeat and kind of amusing but in the end it might not be too convincing, If you're jumping in, you're gonna have to tell me how long it takes before you stop smelling like a pile of duck farts. He tipped his head to one side, smirking with a kind of playful air. It was the best he could manage, but fake it 'til you make it had always worked for him.