Firestone Hot Springs Child at heart

[size=x-small]ooc: I'm basing this a few days after his other threads, just for reference of who he knows, etc @finley [/size]

Fang once again found himself travelling to new worlds, learning to fish, meeting half-breeds and chimeras, it had been an exciting time. His attention was now being taken up by a mysterious series of hot ponds.
Having never seen anything like hot-springs before he had cautiously taken a few steps in, and used the warm water to help remove the muck and grime that had built up over the last few weeks, especially the still lingering feeling of the wetlands he had first come through.

The halfbreed could be found at the edge of one such pool. Having recently fed, he was taking the time to clean his paws. His attention clearly focused on chewing out stubborn pieces of dirt from the fur in his fore-paws. Basking in the warm, humid atmosphere finding himself totally oblivious to the world around him.
You'd think he'd learn to keep his guard up in these parts by now.

Works for me! Thanks for starting :)

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As Finley soaked her worn body, aching from a night of travel, in the hot springs, she couldn't help but feel like this place was f@%$ing awesome. She could almost feel the pain seeping out from her joints and evaporating into the steam of the springs. It wasn't often she happened across a place like this, but when she did it brought the wayward wolf so much relief, she couldn't imagine ever leaving. Thank goodness she had landed in a pack not so far from here. She could do this any time she wanted! And she totally would too.

A noise brought her out from her thoughts, and she turned to peer with squinted eyes through the rising steam to spot the hazy silhouette of another wolf. She took a deep breath, but the scent was muffled by the vapors. It was definitely a wolf, though. And she was pretty sure it was a male. And what was more fun, she was certain that he hadn't spotted her yet.

FUN FUN FUN FUN YAY!

Finley crept slowly out of her little tub, keeping herself close to the ground. She prowled around to place herself behind the other wolf, making a wide circle so as not to alert him to her presence. Once behind him, the silver lady paused to make sure he hadn't yet spotted her, for that would surely ruin her fun. If all went according to plan, she was going to make a brand new friend today! By running up behind him and screaming... hmm... what would she scream. Something hilarious, for sure.

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He continued the meticulous cleaning of his paws, his preoccupation with removing the odour and remnants of his trip through the otatso wetlands was keeping him from noticing anything outside the sounds of the nearby water.

A stray noise was heard and dismissed as nothing important as he lounged near the edge of the water. Had the half-breed been paying a little more attention, or even using common sense, he might have made a note that this place wasn't unoccupied. Of course he didn't seem to care, too busy trying to groom himself by the warm waters.

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Success! Fin's smile widened. The other wolf still had no idea he was being stalked. How delightfully delightful! The silver woman crept forward a few more paces before stopping again. The tip of her tail twitched back and forth like a cat's, her eyes narrowed while anticipation trembled along her spine. Now to wait for the perfect moment and then........ ACT!

"What are you doing!?" Fin suddenly cried out as she sprinted towards him. She stopped just short of him, a look of mock panic on her face, "You need to get out of there, right now! Quickly, quickly!!"

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What are you doing!? Fang was up in a heartbeat, which was quite a feat considering his heart was about to burst out of his chest at the sudden cry.
Rapidly looking this way and that as the female came sprinting toward him, the evident fear etched on her face.
You need to get out of there, right now! Quickly, quickly!!
All grace went by the wayside, the sudden eruption of this female in her frantic shouting. "What!? Why!?" Was all he managed as in a rather cowardly act he leapt forward into the steaming, shallow water. Leaping his way across the pond before he stopped to look back at the female trying to see what it was she was running from or where she was headed.
Dripping wet, panting, wide-eyed and panicked he looked on.

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Fin stared at him as she came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the water. She watched him leap forward, running towards the opposite edge of the pool. Her head tilted to the side in confusion. Where was he going? Then it occurred to her that it probably looked like she was running from something. Whoops! Well, she could fix this.

After a moment's hesitation, she changed her direction to run along the side of the pool parallel to him. "No, no! It's the water! It's dangerous, you need to get out of the water!" she shouted before coming to another stop and turning to him, "This way! Quickly!"

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The water? What's wrong with the water?! Fang stood frozen for a moment as this female demanded he get away from the water. Confused, dazed and shocked he leapt towards her in an attempt to get as far away from it as he could.

The water dripped off him as he shouted back "What's wrong with it, it's all over me, is it poisonous?" It didn't smell or taste poisonous.
His golden eyes fixed on the female waiting for some idea what to so, or what even was happening.

"I drank some of it." he admitted with a rather pathetic whimper.

What a day this was turning out to be.

I didn't realize Fin was so mean until now lol :x

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Now she had him. Fin stifled a grin as the male cried back and leapt out onto land. She continued the facade well, however, determined to keep it going till the dramatic ending she had planned.

At his confession that he had drank/drunk/drinkeded/Inevergetitright some, she sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment. Shaking her head lightly, she surged on as though trying to brush off something that was more terrible than she was willing to admit.

"I need to look at your eyes, just stand still, everything will be alright," Fin replied urgently, lifting her gaze to meet eyes that sang of confusion and dread. Those were the Blackthorn's favorite kind! After a second, she put on a look of mock dread and bit her bottom lip.

"Okay, okay don't worry, they're rather red, but that's just one sign, it's fine," Fin said quickly, craning her neck to take a look at the rest of his body. "There are worse symptoms I can check for, don't worry, I doubt you have anything else. You were only in there for like what, two minutes? Three?" she gazed at him hopefully.

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hah, it's pretty amusing, fang isn't usually this much of a pansy.

The situation was quickly spiralling out of control for the poor half-breed, totally confused and an increasing amount of fear built up at the females actions he stood shocked, dripping, and looking downright pathetic as she inspected him.

Red eyes? What? His heart still pounded in his chest as she questioned him.
"2 Minutes? Yeah, maybe, I think I-I don't know, what's going on?!" his words run together as he spoke quickly and in a rather high-pitched tone, worry Panic etched his tone as he tried to wrap his brain around what was actually going on.

Had he stopped and thought about the situation he might have realised he'd seen more than a few animals, birds, frogs, and the like hanging around the water. The lush grass, and nearby tree growth would have also given a hint to the fact that other than being warm the water was harmless.
But when someone comes running out of nowhere, screaming about dangers of the water, thinking straight wasn't about to be his best forte.

XD

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It was pretty fortunate for Finley that the male hadn't actually stopped to really think the situation through. Her bluff was fairly obvious after all. But that was the key to these types of shenanigans--keep their minds occupied so they wouldn't start realizing the obvious. And never, EVER answer their most important questions.

Ignoring yet another plea from the male to find out what was happening, Fin nodded and moved swiftly to his side. "Okay good, see? You're fine, I just need to check.. one more..." she stopped as though her voice got lost in her throat. She stared at the back of his neck, eyes widening in faux terror at what she "saw". "Your hair... It... You must be highly susceptible to it, otherwise you wouldn't..."

Fin leaped back to his front, lifting her head and perking her ears forward in almost alarming seriousness. "I need you to tell me what you're feeling right now, leave nothing out. There isn't much time," she added. Which was true for her. She was running out of places she could find symptoms on him that he wasn't able to see himself. That was another key; never let them see the problem. If they did that, then they would realize the real problem was actually that they had run into Finley Blackthorn.

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Language warning on this post guys :3

It was still happening too quickly for Fang to understand. She seemed incapable of answering him, jumping around in panic Fang continued to stand awkwardly waiting for some explanation or at least I'd he was going to be okay.
Even in his rather panic stricken state, he was never one to be impressed with people not answering the most basic of question, and in this situation "what's wrong" is about as basic as it gets.

Almost immediately his panic was swapped for aggression, of course induced by the panic. A low guttural growl began to work its way up as the female came back to ask him what he was feeling. Feeling? Wet, shocked, and scared, what the hell would I be feeling. "Feeling? How the fuck do you think I'm feeling!" he erupted at the female, his "apparently" red eyes would lock with hers, a mixture of fear, aggression and frustration etched into his features, but mostly fear.
A low growl accompanied his next words as he almost hissed them.
"You will tell me what is wrong, or I will drag you into that water by your ears. no hackles were raised, no teeth were bared, even trying it be intimidating, he would have still looked pretty pathetic. Of course, it was only a fool who toyed with a terrified animal.

Sorry for the wait. Weekends are always really busy for me--one of the hazards of living next to a lake in the Summer is people are always trying to spend their days off with you x]

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So it seemed like the jig was up here. She cursed herself wordlessly for pushing him too far. She should have known better, but what would Fin be without her flair for the dramatic? Really boring, that's what.

The silver woman took a step back, lowering her head apologetically. There seemed to be no other option except to confess to her little game. If he thought he was angry now, she could only imagine what his rage was soon to be like. Perhaps she should have just turned then and run for it. He would probably be too shocked to react, and she had plenty of experience escaping angry animals. Fin took in a deep breath and let it out, prepared to accept her fate.

"Don't be mad, okay?" she said slowly, "But... sudden aggression and rage is another symptom." Or, y'know. That could happen instead. "It's the water, it gives you this fever that can be fatal if you don't act quick enough. If you'll just let me just mix up a quick remedy for you, I promise you'll be alright. You just have to trust me--I know what I'm doing."

The Blackthorn had never made a truer statement.

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hah! nice save in that post.

His words echoed in his own ears, the sudden outburst was relatively out of character and he knew it. It was no surprise that the panic started again when she began to explain that aggression was a symptom. She still gave him no clue as to what was actually wrong. Fangs golden eyes looked the female over, trying to assess whether or not she was truly trying to help him. A shaky, dramatic sigh escaped. Okay, okay. What do we need? He swallowed, trying to force himself to calm. I-I'm sorry for yelling. He muttered, softly hoping the female would be able to help him before it was too late Speech thoughts

*takes a bow* ;)

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And just like that, she was back in the game! Fin looked away from him to hide the smile that she was unable to stifle immediately. When she returned her gaze to his, it was a look of concern and determination that she wore. "I need to make an elixir. Just lie down and try to relax, I will be right back," she told him, shaking off his apology.

With that, she bounded off a few feet away and began to gather her ingredients. What she was making was actually something she had concocted many times in her life. It was a remedy for muscle pain, which was a frequent problem for someone who always went out of her way to get over-exerted, banged up and bruised. For the poor wolf she was having fun tormenting, it would do him no harm. It maybe actually would even make him feel better--that is if his back was aching.

After a few moments, Finley returned with a stick clutches in her jaws. On the very end was slathered a red jelly-like substance which was actually just crushed up hawthorn berries, some grass and a bit of water. She set the stick at his paws and took a step back. "Just eat all of the red stuff on the end of the stick. It may taste a little bitter, but it's definitely worth it," Fin told him as she dropped to her haunches and wrapped her tail around her paws, eyeing him quietly to watch for any signs that he was wising up to her scheme he was about to drop dead.

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the panic slowly began to fade as the silver female made her way to nearby plants, following her instructions he lowered himself to the grassy floor waiting for her to eventually bring back the elixir, which was evidently as tick with some strange red concoction on the end of it. As she dropped the 'elixir' in front of him, his golden eyes were busy glancing around the hot springs, his mind was beginning to clear and things weren't quite adding up. he dismissed the thought and began eating the offered cure, a rather unpalatable tasting paste, but it would prevent him from dropping dead, he'd suffer through. Pausing halfway through the unpleasant task of devouring the small amount of paste he questioned her. if this place is so poisonous, dangerous.. What are you doing here? His voice still quiet, and shaky, recovering from the shock of the situation. He couldn't help but feel this didn't quite make sense. Speech thoughts

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Finley watched him closely as he began to eat. She fought the urge to smile at her little joke, but was prepared to allow it once he had licked up every last bit. Oh yes, he would be feeling no pain soon. Of course, he probably wasn't feeling any pain in the first place so she stopped herself before she felt too much like a good Samaritan.

The Blackthorn knew the game was over the moment the man had begun to consume the "life-saving" elixir. She could tell by the way he asked his question and by a little flicker in his eyes that he was wising up. She took a moment to ponder her answer to his question, pretending to study the hot springs with mistrust in her eyes. Finally, she turned back.

"Just keeping an eye out for victims," she replied simply, offering him a sweet little smile. "Feeling any better?" She posed the question quickly, hoping to stop him from thinking too much about what she had said. Best that he not realize quite yet that he was the victim she was referring to.

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victims lol. 10/10 A+ 5 stars

victims. ..the halfbreed shook his head and continued to eat the procured paste. He let out a soft sigh followed by a rather disgusted a face at the taste of the food stuff. The panic and fear seemed to have fully subsided and he was laying in a much more relaxed tone. Since the initial panic and yelling had subsided the local fauna was returning the nearby birds and insects making their songs. better, yes. He admitted, though he wasn't sure he felt like anything was wrong to begin with. finishing the paste all together he fixed the silver female with a questioning look, nothing seemed to be making sense, especially this female who came screaming at him about the water. It was making less and less sense the more it went on, the most being the female herself. I'm guessing the bugs are just. ..not affected by the water? It was a genuine question, he was still unaware of the trick he was being involved in. Speech thoughts

Lol Wanna finish this one up? :D

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She allowed herself a grin as her game came spiralling down to an end. There wasn't much point in hiding it anymore anyway. They were on the last lap, neck and neck as they came towards the finish line. Fin enjoyed watching his face as his mind slowly put the puzzle pieces together and began realizing that they didn't really fit. It was endearing, but unfortunately not something that was going to last much longer. After all, no one beat Finley Blackthorn to the finish line, especially not at her own game.

"Only mammals are affected," Fin assured him with a confident nod. Figuring the metaphorical race might be turning into an actual race at any moment, she got to her feet and took a step back. "Yeah, only the warm-blooded. We can't seem to catch a break, eh? I'm glad you're feeling better, I'm sure you'll be as good as new in no time. My name is Finley if you need any further medical attention. Drink plenty of fluids, no heavy lifting, the water was fine the whole time I was just fucking with you, get plenty of rest, I'll see you around!"

Her words came out in a tumble that fell faster and faster as she went on, but once they were all gone, so was she. Finley turned swiftly on her heels and dashed off and away from the male, her laughter ringing as she went and disappeared into the mist that clouded the hot springs.

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Fang sat dumbstruck, she was gone in a flash, he was still trying to figure out her last words. He blinked a few times struggling to work out whether he wanted to laugh, or pop this bitch right in the mouth. He opted for the former, a hearty laugh escaped as he rose and began moving away. looking to where the now dubbed 'Finley' ran off. If he ever came across her again she might regret the joke, but for now he trotted off with a chuckle. Speech thoughts