Firestone Hot Springs boom shalaka, my heart skips

Invested in exploring the mystery that was the springs, Lotus almost missed the quiet foot falls of the other, though the boy’s scent was what truly alerted her to his presence.

She skimmed forward a pace, trying to hide the surprise of his sudden appearance from her youthful features as honeyed eyed whisked over the other—finding her gaze captured by the strangeness of his own two-toned eyes.

The wisp of a smile threatened her features at his greeting—unsure yet if she found the ridiculously formal greeting to be absurd or absolutely charming.

“Does he?” A quiet murmur from her lips—the setting of the sun casting a warm glow upon the lands, and giving the youth before her an aura that screamed ‘mature,’ and ‘has his shit together,’ which was a far cry from how she felt she presented herself to the world.

Any other time, she might have jutted a hip forward—offering a smart quip in return to see if she could throw him off-kilter from his seemingly well-balanced presence.

Instead, she found herself quieted in this moment, a paw lifting to trace a claw near one of the hot springs she stood by. “I’m not trespassing, am I?”