Firestone Hot Springs Tippity-Toppity-Top

Engelhard headed out from the borders of Morningside, but he did not aim to stray too far. He only wished to explore a bit. In his exploration, he found what looked like hot springs. "Wish I knew these were here" he said to himself. It smelled odd, but he had smeled odder things. 

He sunk down up to his knees into one of them, and slowly lowered himself. In the cold of winter, it felt nice. Engel did not know why the water was warm, nor did he care. It was warm and comforting.

tags for visibility

like a shadow, ingram flitted from the sound out into the wilds. he had howled before his departure, entreating @Lycaon to return home, and informing @Chusi of his quick jaunt north. with wylla's whereabouts unknown, ingram took every opportunity to fan out and find her.

he came upon a hotspring by mid-afternoon, having been attracted by the odd smoke-white plumes that hovered in the landscape. he had only been here once before, and it had been the height of summer -- the condensation that roiled skyward had not been so dramatic.

it appeared he was not alone, and he cast the stranger a wary glance. the agouti was a little larger than him, which caused ingram to keep his distance. "hello." he called, lifting his muzzle slightly to view the wolf that was presently resting in the water.

Engel lifted his head, water dripping from the fur of his muzzle, and he turned his head to see another wolf had arrived to the hot springs. "Yes, hello to you to." He kept his head above the water, looking about in case there were others. Then, he turned his head back to the male. 

"Wanna come in" he said, splashing a paw in the warm water invitningly. "It's warm...despite the smell. Something to get past the winter cold."

ingram watched as the male became aware of his presence: he wrestled with a barely perceptible smirk as the stranger paused and looked about him first. ingram found it wryly amusing -- why he could not say -- perhaps because he, small as he was, was hardly a threat for a bird, let alone an adult wolf.

the red wolf's movement in the water caused small steaming ripples to lap around the stone's edge; ingram found the heat inviting, but did not relish the cold that would seep in his bones once he left the water's touch. "hm, better not." he declined, though he did want to rid himself of the cold that bit his ankles. "i'll be too cold when i get out." he offered in secondary thought, lest the stranger think he had refused on principle of another wolf partaking in the waters. "i'm ingram. who are you?"

Engel raised a brow toward the other wolf, then shrugged before sinking back down a bit. Then the other wolf introduced himself as Ingram. "Name's Engel." He paused for a moment, then dipped his muzzle into the water to warm up his face. It was a nice feeling, but it also tickled. And that made him laugh a bit. 

He pulled back up to get a bit of a breath, then looked back to Ingram. "So if you aren't here to warm up, what are you here for?" he asked, with a hinting grin that he didn't realize was there.

ingram watched as the male moved, an eyebrow (if wolves even had them? do wolves have them?) raised as the red wolf submerged half his muzzle underwater and laughed -- a part of ingram envied that engel could find ways to amuse himself. ingram thought himself much too serious for such antics.

as long as he was here, he might as well take a moment to rest -- while the copper colored wolf basked in the water, ingram found a divot in the surface of stone and granite and slid onto his sides, curling in a soot-colored ball of fluff. he trained his yellow eyes on his unexpected companion, considering how to answer. "i'm here by accident, kind of. well, i've been here before, but i wasn't coming here specifically." ever the succinct, wasn't he? "i'm here looking for wylla. she's my sister. she's silvery, maybe a your size, with a black face and eyes like me. you haven't seen her, have you?"

Engel smiled at that answer. "Well, funny that. I'm here by accident to...quite literally." He didn't mind speaking of how he had been a bastard, as it never really came up. In fact, he laughed at it. Mostly because of how many times he had caused 'accidents'.

He shook his head. "If I had, I may have called you by their name, after almost mistaking you for her...But, I do hope you find her." He looked around at the water, then back to the wolf. "You sure you don't want a dip? It's refreshing after a long journey. Plus, I'm sure you can fnd a way to warm yourself up after."

ingram missed the pun -- he considered himself clever, but that sly quip went straight over his head. perhaps because he was too distracted (read:obsessed) with finding wylla.

he appreciated the wolf's kind words, though he felt a sinking disappointment that he was no closer to his sister than he had been days before. the journey into the wilds had been daunting and it was starting to seem like a sisyphus project -- he was worried he may never discover wylla. what if she wasn't here anymore?

he couldn't entertain the thought, and quickly chased it from his head by shutting his eyes. when he opened them, the warm face of his red-furred comrade swam into view. "i'm sure.. where did you say you were from again, engel?" he couldn't recall if the male had parted with that information.

Engel shifted his head out of the water once more, then turned it toward Morningside. Rather quickly as well, flinging water. "That way, a pack called Morningside. It might not look th best on the outside, but it's the wolves on the inside" he said, with a bit of a smirk. Then back down he went. "What 'bout you?" he asked, with his mouth just above the water.

he stepped back as the male flung water; part of him felt indignant, but he realized he was just being a little siss. all this traveling made him irritable -- perhaps it would have been in everyone's best interest if ingram did relax a little. y'know, take a chill pill. do what his buddy in the water was doing and just ruh-lax... but he couldn't relax, not while wylla was at large.

kinda like how his writer won't relax over the fact that it's REESEYS and y'all are motherflipping heathens.

ingram didn't know what morningside was - it was not a pack he recalled being present before he left the valley. he presumed it to be new. "i'm kind of on my own right now. i was born in ankyra sound, when it was a pack called saltwinter... but everyone's gone now. where is morningside? are there other packs nearby that you think my sister might be in?" he turned his full attention onto the male with wide, imploring eyes. yeesh, he was a little intense today.

Engel had to think on that. "Well...I could talk to our pack's scout, he might know a thing about your sister...as for my own knowledge, haven't been around that much." But boy, did he want to be around a lot. See the sights, both of the scenery and other wolves.

ingram strained to listen, his ears pulled forward and body tense. yeesh, he really needed to step back and was aware he may be coming across as overbearing to the stranger. he pulled back and struggled to place his gaze elsewhere, studying the ferns that rimed the stones for a minute until the male completed his sentence.

"that would be nice.. would you do that for me? and maybe howl for me if your friend knows someone who looks like wylla?" he swished his long tail along his hocks, feeling a little hopeful - the trial ahead of him was long and daunting, and he was but a small wolf in a world that was vast and infinite. wylla could be anywhere, but having more than two wolves looking for her -- perhaps that would help.

Engel nodded, lower his head a bit more into the water. He could remember this wolf's name, and appearance, so it wouldn't be too hard to do so. Only thing left to do was to ask Aditya, and that was something he could do. He remained there in the water, eyes staying on the other wolf.

buoyed with newfound hope that perhaps word would spread they were looking for their sister, ingram offered the male one last thankful smile (though it was thin, and ever so weary) before resuming his search.

he leapt from the rubble that surrounded the hotsprings and struck east, following a rocky footpath carved by the footfall of thousands of generations of mountain goats. he was hungry, but he had miles to go before he would eat.