Firestone Hot Springs sitting on a secret beach

backdated to jun 2, midday. dont worry about reading if u dont want she just chilling in the hot tub LOL 
wc: 1039

After meeting the sweet Sugar, she had wandered just inland... past places of nostalgia. The plateau where she'd once lived with her sisters was empty now. It held many memories. She had not known of who had passed there, but she felt her sister's presence there like a spirit, despite the way she'd not lived there in many moons... god, how things had been different then.

Here was the the spot she had argued with a boy called Tuvak. Here was where she'd met Clementine; and ah- there was the spot that the sisters had been confronted by the ruthless women, who hated them for reasons the siren still could not understand. Huā could only wonder how things might've been different if they had flown under the radar. Huā never would've met Hydra or Mal, certainly wouldn't have become pregnant. She probably would've kept hating men and foreigners to the end of her days.

And what of Ying? Would she have still found a way to inevitably injure herself, lose her memories and wander away? Or would she still be here? Would that make things better? A sister, returned to her like a miracle- but her four bastard children snatched away by the universe. Would she trade them in for that life? To be young, with Mei and Ying as her only friends once more?

When she learned she was pregnant, it was enough to make her sick, and not just physically. But now she could not imagine a reality without them. A world without Haoming's rumbling, Xiaoqing's batting white paws, Nüwu's blue eyes or Luli's little coos of joy. It wouldn't be worth it, she decided.

But leaving here had spurred on other things- not all so positive. The period of bad blood with her sister, fearing Ying might snatch leadership for herself... oh, how Huā had learned. She had learned to lead over time, it was not something that had come naturally, and even she still learned on the job. But she had taken that time for granted. Petty arguments and catfights, foolish debates over this and that... if only she had embraced her sooner. Made up sooner. Ended the fighting before it began; savored every moment with Ying. If she had known what was to come, she would've. Now there was no bringing back the nuvujak, no matter how Huā begged the universe or begged Mei's gods.

This place... it filled her with a bitter nostalgia. 

And so she moved onward, unable to remain in a place with such bittersweet feelings.

After strolling through the place wherein she'd met Lumiya- a reminder that she ought to hunt down the faeries, for their stinging beauty- she arrived at the hot springs. It was an odd phenomenon of nature, these waters heated by... she was not sure, but was intrigued anyway. She was a naturalist, after all. It was practically her job to wonder over how nature functioned the way it did, why things were like this or that. And so as she entered this strange place, the sound of fizzling water held her attention tightly.

Huā strode towards one lonely looking pool, from which warmth eminated like a sauna. Was it safe? She sniffed the air delicately, as if that would somehow assist in her decision of whether to hop in. To risk burning her fur off for a little bit of jacuzzi relaxation... it was a tough decision. But she was a new mother, and a young one, and she needed every damn break she could get. The kids? They'd be okay for a few hours under the watch of a babysitter. Right now, it was mom's turn to be pampered and coddled, even if only by the womb of nature. Huā dipped in one black paw with a sucking in of her breath, fearing the worst, scalding sun-fire- but instead there was a gentle warmth. A wetness that felt just as the ocean did, and so one other paw joined the first, and another, and another. She sunk into the hot tub like melting jello, immediately losing all bone structure and becoming one with the liquid. Muscles went loose and eyes rolled from her head as she sunk into a nearly comatose state of relaxation. Anytime now would be perfect to light the candles, pour a glass of wine and put on a bit of Stevie Wonder- but unfortunately, Huā was a wolf. It was just her and the hot tub, nothing more, nothing less. This was the best relaxation a canine mother could get, but she would damn sure take it. 

Settling down into a seat, chin at the water line, nose just above it, she was content. Blinking became more frequent as her lashes fell to her cheeks, and soon she was slipping away into the world of dreams, far from her reality. It was a wonder she did not drown in her rest. Her mind was filled with dreams of Mal, of Lumiya and Aoibh and Nukilik, among others. Of Atausiq. But her dreams were happy, for her at least- some fantasy in which she had as many lovers as she desired and she was stop the world, leading with lifting a paw, things flowing harmoniously without her constant interference. Adorable children that never cried in her ears or shat in the den- just daughters that sat still and quiet and looked pretty, a son that worked hard and respected his parents. And her harem of men and women all around her, providing all the love she could ever ask for. This is what inhabited her dreams- but as soon as her head began to fall, and her nose slipped into the warm waters, she sputtered awake suddenly, splashing the water about for a moment as she awoke with that start. She blinked seaglass eyes suddenly, feeling very warm in the cheeks and tight in the abdomen after her thoughts of Mal. She shook her own head as if denying her own thoughts, feeling very shy even in the presence of no one. A sly smile sat below her hot cheeks after her thoughts, but she tried to wipe it away, feeling very ashamed- and unaware that the boy @Valour lurked nearby.