Firestone Hot Springs communication is key

Anyone welcome! Most likely using this for healer.

 It had been a couple of days since Inari ha traveled out to look for herbs. It was quite a successful trip actually. He had found plenty of chervile and chervile root. It would come in handy if someone had an upset stomach or an infection. He had collected lots of the two herbs, so he was now planning to head back home. He wanted to see his sister again.

 Right now however, he wouldn't mind waiting. Especially since there were hotsprings right in front of him. He placed the herbs by the side and slunk into the bubbling pool of water. Sweet relief. He could stay here for hours, but he didn't want to linger for so long. He didn't know how to fight and who knows what wolves are lurking in the shadows.

the hot springs intrigued Casmir. he padded in their direction, checking behind himself to see that he was not followed. the boy was a little too young to be wandering, but that had not stopped him before; perhaps he would set himself to exploration, as the eventual leadership of the pack did not interest him. he arrived with a frisky air besetting his lanky frame; a sudden spurt of steam startled the boy, and he leapt aside, guard hairs bristling, before he calmed himself.

there was a wolf there, the Mayfair boy noticed quickly, a creature of mint and moonlight -- and he was lying in the water! surprised, Casmir padded closer, eyes widening. why didn't the wolf burn? "Doesn't that hurt?" he called, cocking his head to one side.

Charon hadn't often come to the hot springs, but he had very recently found out that they were actually good for laying in, and so he decided to pay them a visit today. It made Charon happy to see that the springs had not been touched by the storm overly much. The tornado must've circled around it, judging by the territories he had passed on his way here that had not been so lucky to survive.

When he approached his favourite hot spring, the eleven month old noticed that another was laying in it. Damn it, just his luck. Then he sharply turned his head when a pup some months younger than himself spoke up, asking in wonder why the wolf didn't burn.

With a haughty snort, Charon turned on wise-ass Naturalist mode and said: "Because it's not hot like fire or lightning, dummy! It's just warm." Charon grinned in an "oh, kids and their silly dumb-ass questions" manner, ignoring the fact that he had been in the adult ranks for only a couple of months himself. Then he looked back to his favourite hot spring and wondered if there'd be enough space for all of them; or at least, for him. Hopefully the other adult wouldn't mind him joining.

just wanted to keep this moving, @Inari! <3 

as he waited for the wolf with apparent shamanic powers to speak, the pair was joined by a pale older boy with an arrogant air. Casmir was friendly by nature; he swayed his tail a couple of times, but his ears cupped back against his skull at the newcomer's haughty tone. "I'm not a dummy," he snapped defensively, insulted and hurt. 

"And i was asking him, anyway," the Mayfair child added scornfully, indicating the man lying in the spring with a wave of his forepaw. drawing himself up to his full height, which was considerable given his parentage, Casmir glared daggers at the spotted butthole, willing him to crawl back up into the stank ass of whatever swamp from which he had dropped.

Charon rolled his eyes when the youth reacted defensively. He was only trying to help and educate others, of course. "Chillax, dude," Charon said as he lifted an eyebrow. He kept his body language neutral, although he found the urge creeping upon him to teach the boy a lesson. However, someone else was present, and Charon figured he'd make a better impression on the third party if he decided to stay relaxed.

"I only wanted to educate you, didn't mean to step on any toes." However giant they may be. "So uh... truce?" Charon didn't really want to make any new enemies for life, and even though he was irritated by the boy's behaviour, he decided to stay cool as long as he could manage.

same, feel free to pop back in at any time @Inari :)

PPing out inari since they went inactive

Cas sniffed at the other one rudely, but the face of his mother swam into his awareness, and so his eyes softened somewhat toward the spotted boy. "yeah. truce," he murmured. "what's your name? i'm Casmir Mayfair, from Blacktail Deer Plateau." 


As he spoke, the man lying in the hot springs got up, looked at the boyish pair, and then moved past then, slipping into a swift lope that quickly carried him away from the young interlopers. "wonder why he left," Casmir queried aloud, before stepping toward the warm water tentatively.

Luckily the snobby kid decided to accept the offered truce, and Charon relaxed a little. He didn't want to get into another big fight, as he'd rather spare his energy towards more honourable goals than beating up a little kid. Charon smiled and said: "I'm Charon, Beta of Stavanger Bay." He loved to flaunt how young a Beta he was at any time; this was no exception.

The adult that'd been in the pools left without a word -- rude! -- possibly because he was irritated by the bickering adolescents, and Charon watched him leave. He didn't reply with more than a shrugful expression on his face to Casmir's question before suggesting: "Hey, wanna try it out?" Truth was, Charon thought the water a bit daunting himself, for while he knew it wasn't (the other adult had been laying in it, after all) it still looked scalding hot... He carefully dipped in a paw, hoping it wasn't as hot as it looked.

"my dad is a beta, too," Casmir replied off-handedly, more focused on the warm water. there's no way it would burn ... right? the older boy had said it wouldn't, and that other wolf had laid there, no big deal. "sure," he answered, feigning a nonchalance he certainly didn't feel. stepping toward the hot spring, he swallowed hard, but bravely dipped in an entire paw.

to his shock and relief, the fire of a thousand lava pits didn't engulf him. the water was several degrees warmer than his own internal temperature, but not too hot, not at all. "sweet!" he exulted, clambering into the spring before shooting Charon an expectant look.

"Cool," said Charon in regards to Casmir's dad being a Beta too. That someone else's dad was Beta made him feel extra special in his position, but he didn't say so, instead focussing on the hot water pools.

In truth, Charon was anxious too. Sure, he'd seen the other wolf in there, and he knew that it wasn't going to burn him... But what if it did? However, his paw met only comfortable warmth and not the scalding heat that he had feared, and so Charon soon followed after Casmir fully.

"It feels funny," Charon said with a grin as he looked at Casmir and the water engulfed him. It was comfortable and warm, and Charon felt like staying here forever. His earlier irritation towards Casmir was soon forgotten, though he'd remembered one thing about his introduction. "Did you know Osprey? She's from Blacktail Deer Plateau too. She was one of my best friends, but then one day she disappeared..." Charon still missed Osprey. He wasn't really sure why he shared it with Casmir; perhaps because he hoped that he had known and missed Osprey, too, and they could share in their misfortune over her loss.

"Osprey is my aunt," Casmir revealed, with an odd look tipped toward the boy. how did he even know the silver woman? of course, he hadn't seen her in quite some time, which was worrisome. opting to keep this information quiet, and thus preserve the growing friendliness of their meeting, he sighed with pleasure at the warm touch of the water. "s'nice," he muttered, touching the gently frothing surface with a broad forepaw.

"so, what's it like being a beta? what sorts of things do you do?" the words came out in a tumble and Cas watched the older boy, a little starstruck now that he had gotten over his initial annoyance.

Charon didn't notice the look that Casmir shot him, and elaborated: "Woah, it must've been cool to have Osprey for an aunt! I just got to see her every now and then when she visited. She got hurt once when I was little and my Alphas helped her get better. Then she would visit every now and then and we'd have all sorts of adventures." Oh, how he missed Osprey. Of course, he was all old and responsible now and no longer needed Osprey's elaborate fantasy stories as much as he used to (he'd gotten a bit old for some of them), but still, Osprey had been such a great friend growing up that he missed her dearly. He wondered if she'd ever return. Probably not as of yet; otherwise surely uncle Mordecai would've come over to the Bay to tell Charon.

The water was nice and warm, even though funny-feeling, and Charon closed his eyes briefly as he enjoyed the feeling. Casmir's question brought a smile to his lips, because Charon loved notihng more than to impress others, and so he was eager to tell the boy about his experience as a Beta. He proudly began to explain: "I patrol the borders lots and I've chased away a few trespassers." Well, okay, one, but still. "And I make important decisions, like when the storm hit Stavanger Bay, I took my younger siblings and everyone else from the pack to a safe place. And of course I make sure that everyone's got enough food and everyone's taken care of in the pack. There's lots of responsibilities involved." Charon was proud to have so many responsibilties and liked to think he was pretty darn good at being a leader. He wasn't sure when and if Thistle'd ever promote him to Alpha, but he knew inside that he damn well deserved to be.

Casmir was definitely impressed. he listened in an interested silence, but his worry for Osprey was mounting. Charon really seemed to care about the silver woman, and so the Mayfair boy sighed loudly. "i haven't seen Osprey in a long time," he muttered. "there was a fire ... that was the last time i saw her. the last time anyone saw her, i think."

hoping that Charon would still want to be friends after this, Cas stretched out in the water, yawning at the warmth. "i do patrols with my dad sometimes," he revealed, "but mostly i like to explore." the boy ranged farther and longer than his siblings; he had his eye on the role of outrider.

Charon looked sad when Casmir shared what he knew about Osprey. Charon had known Osprey to be gone — he'd even searched for her with his uncle Mordecai on the outskirts of the territory — but he still grew sad when he thought of her. He hated that he didn't know if she was dead or if she was out there somewhere. Maybe she'd ran away in confusion and panic, like Atreyu did, and she was out there somewhere, lost, right this instant.

Charon lowered his head half underwater, with his nose still sticking out, as he thought about this. Casmir luckily continued onto the subject of patrols and exploring, much more light-hearted subjects. While Charon usually didn't mind speaking about the tragedy of his life to garner sympathy, such as his parents' tragic deaths, Osprey was somehow different. Maybe because he had known her so much better than his parents, or any of the other wolves he'd lost.

"Cool," Charon said, lifting his head from the warm water slightly to talk. "What sorta places have you seen? Anything particularly cool I should see some day?" While Charon wasn't an outirder, he loved to explore, so he was always looking for new places to check out.

"wellll," the Mayfair child intoned, shooting a glance at his friend, "once my sister and i were exploring a big dark rock tunnel and there were two humongous wolves in there fighting! also i found a meadow that was wrecked by that big storm, and a big huge lake." he stretched. the warmth of the water was becoming cloying, and his tongue lolled in a pant.


gathering himself up, Casmir leapt from the water to the much cooler ground, sighing in relief. "i wanna travel farther but i don't want to be out after dark, you know? my parents wouldn't much like it if i got ate," he added with a chuckle.

Fighting wolves sounded pretty cool, in theory, were it not for Charon's own up close and personal experiences with aggressive wolves. "That's pretty cool," he said, deciding to skip over his own misfortunate events for a change and offer the spotlight to someone else — perhaps for the first time ever. He watched as the youth drew himself from the hot water, and found himself with the urge to do the same, considering how hot he was starting to feel.

When Casmir said that he didn't want to be out after dark because it might be dangerous, Charon opened his mouth to say that danger wasn't around more just because it was dark (in his experience, it was around equally much, if not more, in the daytime). However, he kept his mouth shut. Also for likely the first time ever, Charon decided to hold his tongue; there was no need to scare this random kid. "Probably a good idea 'til you're a bit older. I bet your parents are proud of you," he ended up saying, though Charon had no clue why he was saying these things. He didn't even really care for Casmir, but somehow still found himself saying things just to make him feel good. Who knew if his parents were really proud or what.

Casmir cleared his throat, embarrassed by the older wolf's praise. "thanks, dude," he muttered, shaking out his ruff. a question came to mind, but he hesitated; he really didn't know Charon all that well, but the older boy had proven to be a good source of information. "do you have a girlfriend?" he blurted. he couldn't remember where he had heard the term before, or what it meant, really -- Eilidh was his friend, and she was a girl, so he supposed he did have a girlfriend. 

maybe he and Charon could compare notes. "it's hot in there," he pointed out. "i saw some berries on the way in. i'm gonna go check 'em out. you in?"

The question came as a complete surprise to Charon. He looked a little startled as the question was posed — Charon had never considered girls that much. Perhaps because he had been so busy with dealing with the grief his short life had provided thus far, and perhaps because he focussed on other things, such as fantasy stories and rank. "Uh..." he said, looking unsure what to say; it was quite a feat to get Charon to search for words, as he always had something to say, normally.

"Yeah, sure," Charon said when Casmir asked him to check out the berries. He considered the previous question while he got out of the heat, feeling a comfortable coolness flood over him as he shook his fur. "I never really thought about girlfriend kinda stuff yet, I guess," Charon said. "Why do you ask, do you have a girlfriend?" He didn't mean to put Casmir on the spot, and he didn't need to tell if he didn't want, but Charon was just curious what had spurred the question, really.

phew. Charon didn't. "oh, i was just wondering," he answered hurriedly, not really wanting to explain, but the relief he felt was quite real. tail swaying behind him, he led the way to the aforementioned berry patch, breathing in the scent of the ripe fruit deeply. his mouth watered for it, and, as his eyes alit on a particularly  vibrant clutch of late blackberries, the boy trotted over to them and stuck his tongue out to taste.

"mm," he breathed, licking the bluish stain from his lips. "these are bad-ass. try 'em," he motioned to the older boy, stepping aside to allow the beta access if he so wished.

Obviously Casmir wasn't 'just wondering'. Charon lifted an eyebrow in silent question, feeling the itching urge to get to the bottom of the question to sate his own curiosity and prove he was right. However, it was probably something unimportant and silly such as a crush Casmir had on someone Charon didn't even know. Not really worth getting someone's feathers ruffled, and so Charon eventually decided against pressing the matter while they set off towards the berries.

Berries that tasted good were a new thing to Charon. He'd sniffed some before, but had not usually had anyone with him to tell him whether or not they were good. When he was little he'd once eaten berries that had made him vomit, so Charon had been wary since. Casmir chomped these down and called them 'bad-ass', though, so maybe they were good. When Casmir made space for him to draw near Charon sniffed them first, a little wary, then carefully picked a berry off the plant.

The taste was surprisingly good, and Charon nodded in confirmation of their bad-ass-ness. "These're pretty good," he agreed with a cheery smile, and he studiously looked at the way they looked, smelled, and the way the plant they dangled from looked for future purposes.

he just didn't want to look stupid in front of Charon, was all. not only was the boy older, he was also a leader. those were shoes in which Casmir desperately wanted to be, but he wasn't sure if he would ever make it there. he grinned as the other wolf tasted the berries in agreement, and bobbed his head. "yeah, these are cool." not sure what to talk about now, he raised a paw and slapped down several little fruits. smushing them against the dirt, Cas made a sticky paste.

he ducked his head and rubbed his cheeks in it, before turning with a crow of delight to his friend. "look! i'm a zombie!" he laughed, shaking his muzzle to make the 'blood' splatter to and fro.

While eating the berries, the earlier questions were easily forgotten. Charon watched as Casmir stomped berries with his feet and rolled his head around in it. It was unclear what he was doing and new questions arose, but they were swiftly answered when Casmir lifted his head, shaking his head and sending berry goo everywhere while he proclaimed being a zombie.

Charon laughed, eager to delve into innocent play (it'd been a while, and he had always been an imaginative boy growing up). "Oh shit no, I don't want to be eaten and turned into a zombie!" he shouted dramatically. Without any further warning Charon threw himself at Casmir with an amused laugh, pouncing at his new friend ready to battle this 'zombie' to the death or be zombified trying.

"BRAAAAINS!" Cas moaned loudly, staggering toward his buddy on stiff legs, but was toppled with a surprised oof! as his prey ran at him, not away. "you shouldn't attack zombies!" he shouted laughingly at rick grimes charon, slipping into zombified growls as he tried to get his teeth around one of the beta's ears, and thereby pass on the curse. then they could go look for more wolves to turn! he heaved beneath his friend and writhed, smacking charon's shoulders with his oversized forepaws as a steady stream of raspy growls and hisses poured from his throat.


Cas was a very loud zombie.

Charon's attack caught Casmir by surprise, and he laughed victoriously as they toppled to the ground. Casmir told him not to attack zombies, but Charon grinned and said: "Well, I'm winning, aren't I? Better fight than flee like a coward!" Soon however, the adventurer Charon was forced to eat those words when his ear was grabbed and tugged at, spreading zombie curse everywhere in the process.

"Ahhhrrrgh!" Charon gurgled while he was being swatted in the face by his buddy. "Noooo, starting... to feel a lot like eating... brains!" Charon twisted and squirmed, now no longer trying to get Casmir off him but falling prey to the wrath of the zombie curse!

"ha!" Casmir shouted, having successfully 'infected' Charon with the zombie curse. of course, it wasn't like he himself wasn't still a zombie, and so he too rolled on the ground, moaning loudly. out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a fat beaver watching the pair quizzically, and so he scrambled to his paws. "uh, uh, since the virus mutated because i gave it to you, i'm a fast zombie now!" he explained.

shooting off after the hefty prey, the 'zombie' inspired by i am legend lunged and struck at its haunches, narrowly missing. hopefully Charon would decide to be a fast zombie, too.

The boys lay gurgling and twitching on the ground, before their curse was fully culminated. It was Casmir the zombie who then saw a beaver not far off, before Charon even noticed it. Charonzombie didn't see it until Casmirzombie rushed on after it, now that his zombie genes had been mutated. Without another thought Charon jumped to his feet and rushed at the beaver, adrenaline suddenly pumping in his body and the zombie jig momentarily forgotten.

Casmir's teeth missed, but in order to avoid him the beaver made an unfortunate dash in Charon's direction. Charon wasted no time and locked his teeth around the beaver's neck. It squirmed for a couple of seconds before its neck was eventually broken and its body went limp.