Firestone Hot Springs vegetable man, where are you?

tagging some nearby children; no obligation to join :) he needs friends! @Tuvak @Nieve @Khepri @Rowan @Moonshine @Syrma @Spica @Acheron

after nearly a month of recovery, cam was finally feeling brave enough to venture from the safety of the woods. his wound had healed over, although the muscle damage would remain with him; a tiny hitch in his gait would plague him at least until he learned to compensate for it. the psychological damage? well. . .

he still jumped at shadows. he probably always would.

but this place was familiar, and it was with warm thoughts of ibis and okeanos (where were they?!) that he ventured into the sulfur steam, wrinkling his nose. he thought that a dip wouldn't be too awful on a chilly early evening, the moon rising over the horizon, its light filtering down through clouds. he prodded at the surface of one pool, enjoying how the heat clung to his cold, slightly aching pad.

with a small sigh, cam slipped into the water. he was big enough now to raise his head and neck and part of his shoulders above, when before, he'd struggled to keep his nose up. he felt the tension in his muscles slowly slip away, the comforting feeling of his fur swaying slowly underwater, like kelp.

as long as he didn't breathe through his nose, the hot springs were heaven on earth.

hope you don't mind reif!

reif did not know what to make of the hot springs.

he eyed them dubiously from a safe distance, tail swishing at his hocks. the smell, it made his eyes water as his nose wrinkled and he would've fled this place in an instant had curiosity not driven him forth to investigate only to discover the stinking water was warm?? aboslutely perplexed, the boy had slunk back to a safer distance where he could actually breathe without the overhwhelming urge to retch. he really couldn't afford to risk puking up what little food he managed to scavenge. 

yet to add to his bewilderment was the sudden appearance of a little shadow. still uneasy after his experience with orochi, reif wasn't prepared to expose himself just yet and had drawn back even further, crouching amongst the gathered shadows to watch curiously. eyes widen, jaw falling almost comically ajar as the small wolf proceeded to get into the stinking hole. how...could he not smell? astounded, it proves to be enough to tempt the boy from safety as she moves forward tentatively. a few times he stops, breathing heavily through his mouth in an effort to avoid letting any of the smell in before stopping a small distance away. "h-how..?" is all he manages to splutter out, sage eyes wide with amazement. 

yet surprise suddenly takes ahold of him as he peers closer at the boy; so familiar...he never forgot a face. another surprise then comes along in the form of an unfamiliar pang, seeing something he associated with the willows made him....miss them. a frown creeps over his muzzle as he simply states; "i know you" not well, they'd never spoken and reif hadn't made an effort to get to know anyone besides his brothers but he had seen that face back at home, that much he was certain. this was, at least once, an elysium wolf.

*screams*

at first, he thought the approaching golden form was nieve, and that gave him a sensation like a rock settling in the bottom of his stomach. cam felt kind of bad for running away like he had, especially from rosalyn, who had been so kind to him. and nieve, so friendly—he was preparing an apology when the young wolf came closer and it turned out that it wasn't nieve.

but! it wasn't a stranger, either.

i know you, the boy said. i know you, cam echoed, staring intently at the other. they'd never spoken, never really interacted. . .this had been one of the younger children, one of olive's litter. why was he here? wait—but this meant—

i know you! he said again, but louder and more triumphantly. he clambered out of the pool and stood dripping, ignoring the chill that slowly settled into his soaking pelt. you. . .elysium! they're here? are they here?

oh. . .! he'd be able to see daddy again, and lana and ziggy, and all the rest. . . his heart beat hard and fast in time with his tail, which was flinging noxious droplets here and there in his unconscious joy.

like a little parrot the inky boy echoed his words and reif gave a little, slightly impatient nod. yes they knew each other there had to be more than- yet his thoughts freeze as ears lean back with surprise at the third statement of those three, now really annoying words yet there is a difference this time. they are exclaimed with a surprising bout of..triumph? reif really wasn't sure what exactly was so great about knowing him that was deserving of such a jubilant attitude. like personally he thought himself pretty great but from what he'd experienced so far; no one else seemed to appreciate such a thing. still eyeing him dubiously, he flinches back when the boy emerges from his stinking pool only to stand before him dripping and gross. 

wirnkling his nose, it takes reif a great deal of effort to bite his tongue and not question him on his ability to smell. yet the boy's next sentence truly catches him by surprise to the point of even he forgetting the stench for the moment. oh. he shuffles his paws uneasily, eyes dropping to avoid the unfiltered joy radiating from the gaze of his company. now reif wasn't actually aware of elyisum's current...non existance but he knew they weren't here and even that was hard to deliver in the face of such hope even if he does have to also spare a few reproachful glares along with a purposeful step backwards at the stray droplets to fall upon his soft toned pelt. feeling increasingly awkward he shakes his head slowly; "no im sorry they're...not here. i uh got separated by some big rocks and decided to leave the mountains, i kind of miss it though" it's a surprise to admit this, glancing back in the distant direction of their home. 

looking back; his ears lift slightly as he announces; "i know how to get back though, maybe we could..." he shrugs lightly, tail flicking along the grass.

little by little, cam's face fell again. by the time reif made his offer, he'd fallen into a sullen attitude once more, his hopes quashed. he shook his head, vehemently—they were very obviously not on the same page. they're not there, cam informed the boy flatly. i went back and everyone was gone. figured they'd be with you.

his excitement to see someone familiar had stemmed only from the hope of seeing his family again, and now that that was off the table, what was there to get enthused about? olive's golden child was nice enough, but cam barely knew him; he certainly didn't know what to do next.

where're you staying? he asked instead, less out of curiosity and more selfishness. neverwinter forest was quite empty, with not much company. in warmer weather, with more plants and animals to observe, cam would have preferred this. but it was quite dull in the wintertime—he could use a friend.

someone from elysium would be more compatible then, say, a wolf of moonspear.

n-not there?

but

that couldn't be!

how could...elyisum not be at elyisum

the pallid creature staggers back as if he's been struck in the chest, not even noticing the little shadow's own pain as he became a victim to his own. sure he'd left elyisum but that's because he could go back it couldn't, no it wasn't GONE. his breaths increase until they shift from his chest in rapid movements and he falls into a crouch, wispy tail wrapping around willowy wimbs as if it could hold him together. he doubted it though, he felt as if his entire world was crumbling. 

because elysium was solid and his...family? it didn't matter that he'd left them all behind without it seeming to spur a moment's doubt or hesitation and continued to wander the flatter grounds a shrinken, hollow creature rather than just go home. that didn't mean he didn't...care! he just...he didn't know, he just..now he did want to go home and apparently he couldn't! that wasn't right.

blunt claws dig so deep into the damp earth that bright, crimson liquid leaks free to stain pale hairs. reif doesn't even notice, instead he raises a little contorted face, sage eyes uncannily bright as he splutters; "y-you're wrong! that doesn't make any sense, it can't..just be, gone?" tears stream freely now as he looks away, pushing a sniffly nose into this forelegs- he just wanted it to be quiet and the second question posed at him doesn't seem to even reach slicked back ears.

though panic had been his first instinct upon finding the willows empty, cam hadn't the slightest idea of how to handle this outburst. he stood, rooted still and silent in place, watching the boy cry with an impassive expression. once the tears had ceased just enough for him to speak again, he did so, voice flat and morose.

they are gone, cam replied. i dunno where they went. sorry. he shifted uncomfortably, ears swiveling as if looking for a distraction around him that wasn't there. he'd reached a stony acceptance of his family's disappearance; like with mummy's death, there was nothing else to be done.

but the boy hadn't answered his other questions, and he fixed him with a stare increased in intensity. where're you staying? he repeated, trying to cut through the misery.

everything just felt so wrong and now that the shaking had ceased, the painful thud of his heartbeat having grown fainter to the point that he momentarily feared it had given up on him completely- reif just felt...hollow and..and wrong. his eyes are still squeezed viciously shut, paws pressing desperately against the solid surface and oh how he wishes one of his mothers or siblings were here to embrace him, squeeze him tight until he no longer felt like his body was tearing at the seams but sealed and secure again. yet he was alone...he'd chosen to leave and now he truly was alone. panic bubbles hysterically in his chest once more and he presses his forehead to the earth with a wince; what was WRONG with him?

because, something was. he knew that; he wasn't an idiot. on the contrary he thought himself to be something of a genius and yet something was, clearly broken- and he didn't want to be! he just... he wanted to be normal. he didn't want to need to hug the earth because no one else was there to hold him tight when everything felt like it was falling apart.

but he was alone now. no one was going to help him and so he'd have to help himself. eyes crack open, blinking blearily as he glares up at the dark boy. shame prickles down his spine in an embarrassed flush and his jaw grits as willowy limbs gather beneath him to push shakily to a sit. gazing hard at the ground, reif just nods at what the little raven boy says- silently grateful for the direct delivery. 'sorry'....he really didn't get why wolves felt the excessive need to apologise all the time when they had nothing to do with the outcome they seemed so guilty about. scrunching his nose slightly; reif simply mumbles "you know it doesn't make sense to apologise when you didn't do anything wrong" 

nothing else, no comment on the meltdown he'd had to endure in front of who could pretty much be a stranger and now must think of him as some freak, no comment on elysium being...nothing. no, just that saying sorry for something you didn't do made no sense. ears remain slicked in defeat as eyes now follow the anxious trailing of his paw through the damp grass; no longer even seeming aware of how disgusted he'd found the excess moisture only moments before. he just feels so...exposed, vulnerable. why now?

eyes flutter to skim across pressing emeralds briefly at the question; focusing as hard as he could on it in an attempt to ignore pretty much everything else. "i...nowhere i guess, i'm..alone" mumbled with monotone defeat whilst slender shoulders lift in a listless shrug. moments trickle by as he worries at his lip before pushing on tentative but gruff, as if fearing that upon discovering his idiosyncrasy he'd be spurned by the first company he'd found he wanted to keep, "what..about you?"

when the boy spoke again, cam gave him a jaundiced look, but then paused, contemplative. the boy was right, actually. why was he saying sorry? it wasn't his fault.

(yes it was you left and everyone else left and it's your fault your fault YOUR FAULT)

he shivered briefly, bringing himself out of self-loathing and into the present. i live in that forest, he said, turning to point his nose toward the evergreens. with a wolf named mal, who used to live in elysium.

cam looked again at the golden boy, head slightly cocked. do you. . .want to live there, too? he asked, a little shyly. he hadn't ever offered that before. he felt it was only right, seeing how devastated the other young man seemed. being at neverwinter had certainly healed many of his own wounds, physical and mental.

wearier than ever now, eyes of benign hues are cast to distant peaks. scouring their brazen climb with painful trepidation whispering hollowed soliloquies that stroke tender claws across velveteen ears. a wince as they pin tight against his head, he must ignore such insoluble thoughts and queries. unless the answer was achievable, what and why could beome the most bitter of enemies. 

starting slightly, he escapes his rumination at the words of his shadowed companion. eyes flick back, following the direction the boy gestured towards. the opposite direction to home- no. best not to call it that anymore, he'd lost the right to call it that before whatever happened to empty it so. it is as he peers forth towards that denser blur of green, apprehensive but...curious that he is asked. eyelids flutter as he  shifts eyes from forest to ground as quick as one can to avoid lingering on his companion. he would like that, wandering around hungry and tired had lost its appeal mere days after this whole thing had started and yet-

eyes flicker restlessly towards snow capped mountains, leering down on the rest of them whilst paws shuffle with dainty shivers. inhaling, he glances back with a weak little smile. "yes, i would really like that" lilting forth into soft bashfulness as he hesitates once more before pushing on "but-" what a funny little word, so small and essentially meaningless yet always the signal that something was about to change. he personally was not a fan of such a word. "-i..i need to see it- not because i don't believe you! just...otherwise i'll just be thinking non stop. i must, visit elysium once more" it's finished with a straighten and a determined nod of an angular face yet there is lingering sorrow present. reif liked solitude, but he now knew there was a large difference between solitude and actually being alone. he wasn't so fond of the latter. yet, soon...blinking he simply murmurs- "what's your um, forest called?"

but. he didn't like that word; it always threw a wrench into things. his nose wrinkled as the boy described his desire to go visit elysium—cam nearly interrupted, telling him it was pointless, but held back. if that was his wish, then. . .he'd have to suffer the same kind of empty panic. it was inevitable.

neverwinter forest, cam replied. and my name is cam. you should come back after you find elysium.

he was beginning to dry out, the cold wind cutting through his slightly-damp pelt. it was time to return to the shelter of the evergreens. but now that there was a promise of a friend—

goodbye, then, he said gently, a kind of smile curving his muzzle. see y'later. and with tail flagging, still reeking of sulfur, cam took off. the disappointment upon not finding his family was beginning to dissipate, for here there was a new opportunity. . .and he was good at recognizing and seizing those.