Firestone Hot Springs lotus eater

@Puck!

The season caused a sense of restlessness within Lyra, and she knew Hydra (and no doubt Alya over in Easthollow) felt it too. They ranged far, collecting useful herbs and trinkets, keeping track of herds and vermin alike, and ensuring possible threats to Moonspear were kept at bay. Yet after they returned to their mountain, only a couple of days — sometimes only hours — passed before Lyra was keen to head off again. Her itching paws begged for a journey.

This time she wandered northeast towards Whitefish River, though she stopped just short of it, attention captured by a peculiar place. The earth beneath was warm despite the chill in the air, and it looked as if the clouds in the sky had come to rest just above the ground here. Lyra wove gracefully through the fog and pools of water, stopping every so often to test the temperature of one with a dip of a paw, all the while trying to ignore the atrocious smell of the place. It was beautiful, but god, it reeked.

he felt weird.

he'd felt weird ever since he came back to the Teekons. Puck was either too stupid to realize he was a victim of the season or that he failed to even have 'the talk' with his parentals when he left. Pa was somewhere, stooling in his own misery. Ma was dead so that didn't help. he'd been too young for 'the talk' anyway at the time. it felt like fire ants were crawling on him, biting him but not harming him. just general discomfort. 

he didn't want to impose on anyone if he knew he was in heat. right now all he wanted to do was find some water to roll around in. get the proverbial ants off his back. but this place smelt gross, and he wasn't going to take a dip in boiling water. Puck sighed, testing the waters himself. it wasn't that hot but he had wanted a nice cooling dip. oh well. lifting his eyes from the liquid, he'd spot another in the near distance. female. inside, his organs did a flip. strange. why was he excited to see a girl? 

"hi!" he'd bark out, hoping to catch her attention.

Lyra's nose hovered just above the waters surface, testing both temperature and smell. While the pool seemed pleasantly warm her muzzle still crinkled in disgust — it smelt even worse up close! — and she quickly pulled away with a snort, before turning as a shout caught her attention. She hadn't expected company so soon, especially not here.

It took her a moment to locate him in amongst the fog, but when she did the Ostrega woman made no move towards him, instead letting the stranger come to her as she sized him up from a distance. He was a well enough looking young man, though quite average by all accounts, as far as she could tell from here. Certainly not the tall, dark, and handsome types that had managed to woo her sisters. Lyra lifted her muzzle slightly, an invitation for him to come and have a chat.

"You lost?" she queried innocently.

she didn't seem to have a problem with his approach. Puck took that as a sign she'd tolerate him as many others had done. he'd still wear a friendly smile as he neared, stopping a few strides away from her. out of respectful, ya dig? the other would ask if he knew where he was. lost. well, he wasn't that lost. "well, I don't know where I am" he'd confess breezily, not at all bothered by such a thing "but at least I know I'm still in the Teekons. that's something, ain't it?"

she was a pretty thing though now that he got a look at her. some pack scent he didn't know was on her coat. like a storm he'd muse or a sky without stars. either way, he wasn't minding the presence of a beautiful lady, nope! he'd edge a bit closer at her invitation and sat. her scent was intoxicating and he didn't even know why. for fuck's sake, he just met this girl. what was going on? "its uh... nice here?" he'd blurt out, feeling the ants crawl further down his spine.

"well. okay, it smells like days old piss, to be frank" Puck would bark a laugh and shake his head "please tell me ya don't live here. if ya do though, feel free to smack me. that was mighty rude."

He strode closer with a nonchalant confession, closing the distance between them until he was only but a few courteous paces away. Lyra gave a huff of laughter before she reclined onto her haunches with a flick of her tail, letting it rest back onto the edge of a pool, the tip only just skimming the warm water's surface as she regarded him again. Average though he was, he had the most amazing eye colour — it was nearly enchanting. It reminded her of a sunset after a summer storm. As he sidled slightly closer, Lyra tested his own scent, though couldn't place where he was from (at least, not over the horrid smell of these springs), yet for some reason she just couldn't get enough of it.

Her stomach began to turn uneasily just like the stranger's own, though she did not show her discomfort. Hydra had spoke of a similar feeling lately — one of restlessness and frustration. It seemed to spike in the presence of others, particularly males, though the sisters had yet to connect the dots. "Agreed," she said in response to his succinct assessment of the place, sneering at the acrid steam rising from the pools. A shame too, for it was a nice place. "But no, I don't," she added, turning back to him, her voice almost monotone compared to the boy's own jovial manner. "It would make for terrible hunting grounds." Her gaze flicked down to the pool. Would the heat from the waters be enough to even kill a deer provided it could not just leap out and run? She would have to test this one day.

His mention for her to smack him for being so rude was one she responded to with a smirk as she entertained the thought. A certain kind of lust was indeed there, but she couldn't tell if it was for violence. It felt different than usual.

well good! she didn't seem to have her balls in a twist, could laugh like any other normal girl. well, girls didn't have balls did they? ladyballs his mind would correct him they got ladyballs. some weird and mystical thing, y'know? though he felt it was quite rude to even ask such a thing to a lady. that'd earn him a great smack upside the head.

"I dunno" Puck would sniff dramatically and cringe "it'd, like, hide your scent well enough" a pause before he went on "not that I would want to hide your scent. its the only thing that makes the place smell better." it was true. her more womanly perfume was making the day's old piss better.

he'd tilt his head as he looked away, keeping one fuschia eye trained on the stranger. "oh right, right right... name's Puck. I live in Elysium." who could even tell pack scent here? woof. it stunk.

She gave a soft hum at his response about the stench of the waters being able to hide one's scent (a useful idea), but she didn't ponder over it too long, for his next statement — a compliment — caused the corners of her mouth to curve upwards into a pleased grin. For if there was any way into the Cerberus' three hearts, it was via flattery (and, y'know, absolute subservience and loyalty and devotion and—).

"You're a charmer," she stated matter-of-factly, meeting his vibrant gaze with a teasing look. Puck. A simple name for a simple fellow. He seemed to fit the charismatic jester type, so different to the stoic, serious demeanours around Moonspear. The pack (or territory?) he mentioned Lyra had never heard of, or if she had, it clearly wasn't important enough to remember.

"Lyra," she offered in turn before she tilted her head slightly. "Your home has a beautiful name." A half-truth; of course the Ostrega would never think any place would be able to top her own beloved home nor its name. "What's it like?"

He told her, and the two then spoke idly but playfully about this that and everything, Lyra enjoying the flirtation that ran through the man's words before, finally, she took her leave.