Firestone Hot Springs Talgar

Steam lifted from the pools of water, hanging heavy upon the early morning air. The sound of tweeting had been left behind with the woods. The ground beneath the young wolf’s paws had changed from loamy earth to rough stone, broken by patches of grass and slick rock wetted by the scattered springs.

Nazair had found a reasonably large pool. He lingered on the edge of the water with a curious tilt of his head. While the scent of the hot springs was nearly unbearable, the heat radiating from the water was appealing. Youth granted him some fearlessness. The boy sunk his paws into the warm liquid and sighed.

Inching deeper and deeper, Nazair waited until he was almost submerged. Like an alligator, his snout and eyes peered from the surface of the hot spring.

weird weird weird!!!

everything here was warm and foggy-wet like after summertime rain but so many times worse and constant a-a-and--

ACHOO!

runnerdog sneeze-thrashed, scared by own loud noise into tucking tail and standing with head lowered and runnerlegs trembling in place, eyes big like food bowls and brown and rimmed with stark white and now filling up with own warm water of deepest confused worry--

heshe made a little sad pathetic failure whine sound.

The sneeze had succeeded in frightening two figures - the sneezer, and the crocodilian young wolf who had been soaking in the warmth of the springs. His marigold eyes blinked. Nazair pushed up from the water and emerged with drenched fur. Droplets sprinkled to the ground as he clambered onto hard rock, claws scritching at the surface as he shook his coat.

Bless you-

When he fixed his sights on the creature that had made the noise, his heart raced.

What in the great hells was this?

Uh- Nazair did not hesitate to prowl closer to the peculiar, spindly thing. His hawkish eyes were intent on the beast that was not quite wolf, not quite like anything he’d seen. What the hell are you?

with great slosh and splash something big and wet rose from waters thatwereemptymomentsago and tk's face froze in silent scream as that sopping something shook its coat droplets hitting eyes barely making frightened dog blink and never register words spoken brain too taken up by-

big.

big big big big.

and coming at herhim!

tk's head went as far back as it could on stiff neck hindlegs dropping into squat in attempt to lean away from approach, and when the greatwetwaterbeast noised --

what the he

-- heshe made a louder and longer noise.

Nazair visibly recoiled at this absurd creature’s sound. His eyes grew wide with shock. He stood rigid and tall, though not immediately imposing in posture. This thing was most closely related to a Muppet, if only Nazair knew what a Muppet was. It must have been fabricated - someone’s memory of a wolf… poorly constructed from the mind of a dazed and lost fool. 

Okay… he muttered with a wary stare at the other animal. 

Are you some kinda wolf? Your dad a deer? Or… a lizard. Or… something. The young man was not even certain it could speak properly. The only attempt had been something like the noise an eldritch horror might make when exposed to the light of day.

noise continued lessened in volume but no less droning for most of greatwetwaterbeast's own noising which tk realized were words because greatwetwaterbeast was a wolf.

lower jaw sprung shut but muffled uhhhhh continued another moment before tk cleared throat nearly choked coughed cleared throat again inhaled and said;

notwolf. notdeernotlizard. dog. gaze lurched sideways to think. 

lurched back on greatwetwaterwolf. 

notscaryaswolf. less. veryfriendly. but-  

like human raising palms ears sprung up. 

notforeating! nono. badtaste. awful. makesick. nono.

ears flopped about as tk shook herhis head.

The way it spoke, when it finally found the courage to pipe up, was frantic. The words ran together in a blur that only suited the strange animal. It was mildly frustrating to come upon such an alien creature and have no one around to share in its absurdity.

Not a lizard, not a wolf, or a deer - a dog. Nazair squinted, uncertain. He had never seen or heard of dog. It looked like a young wolf that had been tossed so violently by the river currents that it had lost all sense, and fur, and normalcy. The dog went on to say that they were not for eating, no, no. They tasted bad.

I- Nazair paused, a sheepish smile. I wouldn’t eat you if I was starving and you were begging me to have a taste. Of that the dog could be certain.

Are you starving or something? You’re way skinny. Not that he was one to body shame, but they were severely malnourished and it showed in the skinny length of its legs.