Firestone Hot Springs A little bit dangerous, a little bit sweet

@Flicker

He pulled himself back into the shade of rocky overhang just over the mist that draped from an erupting geyser. The foam ramsacked the air as steam coupled with it to provide the bubbling pool something much more spectacular than regular water. While he didn't care for the natural healing properties, he enjoyed being around the heat. This place he noted down specifically for when the winter came to freeze everything else to death.

Flicker had taken to wandering through the named Kintla Flatlands; what a stunning place it was. Surrounded by territory’s, it came as no surprise, the beautiful river winded past the mountains and a medow of flowers teemed with fauna; everything from deers to mice and Flicker decided it was no place for killing. 

At last she came across a number of pools radiating heat against the brisk chill of the air. But the stench was putrid enough to make Flicker balk and think twice about getting closer. “Disgusting.” She muttered as she took her first steps into the winding grass past the steaming pools. 

She clearly didn’t notice the wolf-dog resting in the shadows and mist. Flicker sat, content for the time being in the heat and watcjed the mist curl about her legs and skim the waters surface.

The useful thing about heat was it's ability to amplify smells. The air atoms and particulates bounced around alot more in the heat that the cold, which nullified smells exponentially. So the moment Flicker has arrived, it took only seconds for Siqsa to take notice. 
Damp heat clung to his dark navy fur, giving him the hue of an oceanic's abyss. The yearling was nearly 2, and it would only be a few more months before he managed to grow into his prime stature. Even now he was growing to be larger than average, his last remaining pup features fading into much more intimidating illustration. 

Standing from his resting spot, he looked around, shrouding everything in his molten gaze of scarlet topaz irises. Someone was here, and he had to ensure it wasn't an enemy. It was clear it was another wolf, but he couldn't pinpoint whether it was one of the recently met 'Blacktail' or whether it was an entirely different pack, all together. 

His eyes narrowed at he lack of announcement; surely they had to know he was here. He could smell them, but they could not smell him? Indignation rose in his chest as he felt insulted. He completely overruled the potential for them being nose-blind or him being too far from notice by their own proximity. All he knew was his pride had been scratched by the unintentional insult. His tongue sharpened as it began to prepare to exchange sharp words instead of a simple greeting, if he chose to open his mouth at all. 

Rising from his comfortable sport amongst the heated land, his head lowered, the usual mass of his no longer held imposingly, but held in the manner of a pather which stalked. He was a shark now, placing himself in a hunt for this unknown company. Serpentine in his pursuit, his banner snaked from side to side with every completed set of steps, and silently he came across the trail of this other lupine. 

Auds swiveled as they locked onto sounds made further out of the clouds of steam pluming in a drift. Washing up out of the sea of heat, the dark navy and ebony quadruped emerged like a titan. And immediately his gaze locked onto the back of a cream and scarlet russet back, a body built from mountains and the toils of lone wolf judgement.

He wasn't too far from them, and another scant inhale allowed him to discern her lack of family. No one else's perfume intertwined with hers, and his assumtion of her body was confirmed. He wouldn't say anything to her though, no.
Siqnas would simply scowl at her as though she was the worst wolf in the world. Fiery eyes on the back of her neck, he waited for her to feel that creeping suspicion that she was being watched. She had made him uncomfortable, and this was her having a taste of her own medicine. 

It indeed was tranquil here, if you could get over the stench of which she was becoming accustomed to, and her ears flicked with the sounds of the steams hissing from wherever they originated. Once before she'd come across a place like this, but that was certainly not a place to hang around; her eyes glazed at the memory and a small amount of anger arose in her.

Her eyes traced small insects fluttering and buzzing around to the waterside vegetation. She sighed softly and relaxed her muscles; glad to have some time to herself to think about the wolves of Blackfeather Woods. Then it hit her, the spider legs running up her spine to signal that she was being watched. Flicker bristled with annoyance only hinted with a hint of fear; after all, she had been pleasantly surprised when she'd met the wraith, Maegi, but that couldn't go with every wolf dwelling here. So the traveler stood with a purpose and air of confidence and turned to the one that stared at her.

Her golden, blue-flecked eyes met the fiery stare of a shimmering blue-black wolf that stood roughly to her height. Her red muzzle lowered and a low growl rippled from her; a stark warning to the stranger that she greeted most with; especially one that looked at her with that look. 

"What," her voice was stony and accusing, "Do you want?" She let her lips curl back slightly to emphasize her point of attacking first if he so much as takes a wrong breath.

"I could ask you the same thing. But the difference between us," 

His own growl was light, only just scorning the fringes of his word's end.

"is that I don't care[font]."[/font]

Choosing to remain guarded around this flashy female, Siq stayed standing. If she struk first, it had better been to kill him, as his retaliation was going to be murder.
Despite this, would they stay civil?

Disinterest crossed his face as she snarled at him even more. But the more hostile she became, the more interested he had gotten. The little voice in his head whispered to walk away from something like this, she was right to be hostile. But that same voice voiced over to kill her, to drag he through the seething waters of this place, to drown her in a molten puddle of her own blood. To revel in her bubbly cries as he held her down and rejoiced in her passing. 
What the hell was wrong wth him?

"Whatever; I'm unapologetic. Don't care if I offend you.[font]"[/font]
 

[font]She offended him, but he wouldn't bring it up. It was only his pride; it could heal over twice as strong. The dark male actually decided to chalk it up to-[/font]

"Hormones."
 

It could certainly be assumed he was talking about her, when in all reality he was referencing himself. Siqsa hadn't taken it into consideration himself, however. And nonchalantly he began to head back into the field of steam and warmth. Whether she would attack him with his back turned or not was completely unregistered in his mind. 

Go ahead and go for attacking him if you'd like, hun. No worries; he deserved a good smack in the ass!

Flicker bristled at him, her hackles raised to the autumn fur stood on end along the ridge of her neck and back. He didn't care? Then maybe he wouldn't care when she sunk her teeth into the yearling's neck to mar him much like herself; or worse. Reason tried to talk to her, hissed about survival and what she'd do if she got an injury. But she could match him, maybe even outweigh him with experience. 

The sinful looking one again stated he didn't care for her; was also unapologetic. Well, that made two of them. But to just pass it off as hormones? Interesting. She'd noted he seemed younger from the mixture in his frame that he appeared to not have fully grown out yet. Or maybe he was offending her, trying to get a reaction. It seemed he'd get one as a low snarl rippled from her before reason had stopped her.

His back turned on her just before her snarl, it left a clear opening for her to teach the wolf a lesson in manners. But that would be such an underhand act, would it be worth putting her morals on the line? In the moments it took for him to make a couple steps she'd made up her mind. Flicker launched at him with the aim to flip the wolf onto his back.

She would reach his side in two powerful bounds and if he still hadn't reacted to her sudden movement she would ram her side against his to knock him onto the ground.

It hadn't occurred to the younger boy anything more than when he heard the snarl. It was seconds after when he felt the wind heighten in built up energy that he mulled over his final words. Only the slight connection between the word and the gender which he was dealing with came to be after he found himself no longer staring ahead-
but up. 

He felt winded, as though he took a hoof to the chest. Could have been his back hitting the hard stone and dirt, or whether it was her that knocked him somewhere that made him winded. Could have been both. But the only thing he could muster out from his lips in this swindling wad of unknowing, was, 

"I was...referring....to myself...."

Staring heatedly at the woman above him, his own body wrenched almost serpentine as it whipped around to face itself, properly. Limbs and body worked in a near otherworldly manner, flexing his body up with jagged movements that somehow ended up being normal. And in the same fluid movement, he threw himself at the older fae, intent on ending her. 
He hadn't even registered his need to breathe; his form was almost that of a work of fluidity in reality as his lurch was a demand for her soul. However he wanted to have it, it would be met. As a member of the Nightmares, it was mandatory for each pup to defend themselves against peers and superiors, alike. Considering he was the soul survivor of such a pack, whether it be by his fang or not, it still spoke of his aim to remain alive.

Fangs primed for the stretch of her exposed and gorgeously there shoulder, he concentrated on his lunge more than his defense. His attack was far more pristine than his speed however, and as genetics spoke it, he would be massive and powerful, unlike the swift and nimble usuals he had either barely bested with a delivered blow, or been ruined by their ability to dodge his attacks with their agility. Curses left his lips with hateful seethe as his pride had been nipped by a girl.

"J'us varosene dridonera. J'us valia mrias, nudien."

If his attack was unsuccessful, he's go for the feint to her lower forelimb of the opposite side, snapping ivories to trap it into a sharkish bite of make her resign her assault. 

She had clearly angered the nightmare, and she didn’t care if he was referring to himself or her...it was his fault for turning his back onto an opponent; cockiness or no. But she was pleased she got her desired result and noted his lack of regained breath. It was then she glimpsed his snapping ivories amongst the black shimmering blue.

Flicker was about to turn onto the male, but not before he seethed a string of words in a tounge she didn’t recognise and stopped her in her path of renewed wrath. 

By the time she’d remembered him a searing pain shot through her shoulder as his ivories clamps into her. The scarlet cloaked wolfess barked sharply in protest; she didn’t attack him with teeth, but she could mull over that after he was detached.

She twisted her autumn muzzle towards him with a growl that emerged from her ending bark and snapped her own ivories to his face, as close to his eye as she dared, in an attempt to make him let go with her need of ripping herself from his grip. 
If he did indeed let go her aim was to jump sideways away from a renewed attack then drive towards him to clamp him in her jaws, her attack aimed more towards his scruff. If she missed, then she would miss and her catch would be the empty air.

Something terrible came over him, something much more wicked than what he usually allowed to surface. The confrontation wasn't expected, nor was it meant to end up such a way, but the yearling fought like he had back in the Nightmares; as if this was a life and death manner, and he needed to survive. He could already see the innocent face of ths woman twisting and contorting into a murderess in a flash of seconds, standing triumphant over his lifeless form, body still twitching as blood pooled from his mouth. He was lost in the daydream, and she wrenched herself free from his loosened grip, fangs snapping in his face to wake him up.

She darted away, and almost in the method of a hellish hound, he was after her, giving her no time to regain her ground. Fiendish, he would ram into the bulk of her muscled frame, and the connection gave her time to lock jaws onto his scruff in an awkward angle. Unable to twist free, his hinds braced, hocks locking and his spine arching, and he thrust his shoulders up, his goal to buck her off, bloodlusting hor her to have a broken set of teeth, in the process. He didn't care about whether they were still in him or not; the maniac wanted her to be underfoot.

Flicker saw what was happening before she could properly right herself but the contact was just enough for her to latch onto him. An awkward angle indeed. There was a moment to figure out just what was going on, she had angered something deep inside him, and maybe he just needed a release. In a swift movement, the male rose up, causing her head to snap back as her jaws were wrenched from him and she reeled backward. 

Pain throbbed in her jaw, that was a cause for concern. Her eyes darted wildly for an escape, should she need it, before lowering her head to glare at the black wolf. She was now in her defense; her comfort zone, but it clearly was not him. Flicker resolved to feel the wolf out and assess the extent of his ability before planning another attack. 'Get him underfoot, push him to defend himself.'  The words whispered through her mind like a melody; a calling. At that, the cream and scarlet, blood-flecked maw spread into a grin. She would indeed teach this wolf not to turn his back; morals or not.

She started to circle the wolf, waiting for his next attack. Perhaps she'll tell him her name while he planned against her.

Something sharp broke off in his shoulder, neck feeling wet. Something pierced through his undercoat, the dark navy blue sheen becoming much more noticable as it got wetter. Was that...his blood? Or hers?

His mania subsided momentarily and the words flew out of his maw, conflicting wth his body's language in more ways than one. He nearly bit his own tongue off trying to speak while his body forced him to snap back at her circling body. She had recovered, and so was his sanity. But his body refused to give it up.

"I do not want to kill you-[font]" The words hung sour in his mouth as if his body was punishing him for saying such a reckless thing. And in retaliation, he felt his neck grow sore. His body hadn't been excercised this way in so long, and the taxed muscles protested as he kept crouched, following her circuits with his own. His brain screamed directly into his ears, heart racing and adrenaline trying it's hardest to keep him going. His mind flew with thoughts.
She will eat you.
She will end you.
She is your end.

Pride was gone at this point; now was just him trying to fight himself moreso than her. He, as all predators did, had the ability to kill. But did he want to? Or did his past want a reason to exist? What would Arana think-

It didn't matter what she thought. She wasn't involved.

Rage from within boiled over, and again he was a dark navy shark, attacking from below. He couldn't find it in him to bend his neck upwards; his neck was getting more sore by the second. So his ownly alternative would be to ruin her structure from underneath. Brutish body weaving low, he curbed a majority of his remaining strength into his hinds, thinking to use his head or his shoulder as a battering ram to simply shove this girl down. She was a heft lady herself, and woman or not, she was smart. Whichever way she chose to move would dictate whether it was his head or his shoulder which would land. Knowing it was much more risky to use his head, he prayed his aim hadn't gone astray with his exhertion. [/font]

Flicker tilted her head at his words. Not to kill? Certainly didn't seem that way, but that was because she'd angered him; she knew that much. But the pain throbbing from her jaw carried her from thought to thought like bees to wildflowers. Her tongue snaked out to lick the blood coating her teeth to find one of her teeth had been rendered a jagged stump in her reddened gum. At the realisation she snarled softly; how dare he pull such a dirty trick that came from his own attainment. 

The wold charged her again and she had enough time to adjust and cause his head to ram into her, but she misjudged the force he ran at her with and was sent sprawling. An eye for an eye she guessed. She smoothly rolled onto her front, protecting her precious underbelly and neck, she was not going to give the maniac the satisfaction of her death. Another day, perhaps. Before the wolf attacked again she spluttered, "Stop!" A command, but desperate. She needed him to snap out of whatever frenzy she'd sent him into; she'd seen it plenty before and was not about to kill him for fear he was a pack member.

The word jarred him much more than any attack could have. But it wasn't simply the word; it was the tone in which she used it.
She was hurt. He was hurt. Was this worth killing each other for?

Taking a step back, he attempted to recoved his tattered manliness. "That's- That's what I was aiming for!" Auds splayed backwards as another step was taken back. He didn't like this, at all. Hurting people was all he had ever done, his desire to simply cull everyone who tarnished him in one way or another. He wanted to even kill Arana, and that was the final straw; the straw the led hhim to leaving her behind. Was she even still alive at this point? Or had those other wolves ripped her apart and left her for dead?

"I am-" he began, struggling to figure himself out.

Was he?...Was he really? The youth panted, dark grey tongue licking chops as he struggled to get a hold of his own destiny. Would he follow the path his supposed father carved out? Or would he take a stronger way of life, becoming the ideal his mother attempted to set he and his deceased siblings on? The way of a Nightmare? Or in the steps of a matron Dragon?

"I am not sorry." The words vibrated through the parched throat. "But I know someone who can help you-  to help us." Would she trust he wouldn't attempt to kill her? What would he even do?

She panted heavily and looked up at the wolf. "Aiming to stop or aiming for me?" She questioned, and despite herself, she grinned at him, revealing the broken tooth. As he backed up, looking like he were in shock, she stood and assessed herself. Rolling her muscles caused her shoulder to throb, stepping forward made it even worse. But still, she swallowed the pain and took another couple towards him. 

He was indeed in shock, she should be too but...that would come when she could no longer feel the electric coursing through her veins and pounding in her ears. She watched as he struggled to find where to start, but she had questions. And had to give her true reason for launching her attack, however petty it was. I am not sorry. His words cleaved through the air, fair enough. He had nothing to be sorry for. 

"I am not sorry for attacking you. Never turn your back to an opponent, no matter how little you think they'll attack."  She paused to gather her thoughts, casting about and slithering her tongue out to remove the blood upon her muzzle.  "I am sorry, however, for making you react in such a manner." She didn't know what she'd unlocked, and she'd perhaps never know.

Help. Was that in the form of a healer? She gave a light shrug but then nodded in agreement. She'd go with him purely out of fear of infection, but what about Blackfeather? Her brows knitted closer in thought before she dismissed the thought; if they wanted her they could find her if they ventured from that forest of theirs. She remembered her name and eyed him warily before revealing, "My name is Flicker. What's yours?"  She accompanied the words with a grin, neutral.

He didn't answer; hell, he couldn't answer. He didn't have one. Was he in fact trying to kill her? Some disgusting internal worm hoped he wasn't.

It was clear they were both worked up. Deep breaths with a low hung head, he preoccupied himself with relieving some of the tension in his neck by keeping it that way.
'Dartovi sis zemas Nu valia niekadabuti gabus kia mada xok darval?' he thought, worried. 

"I didn't expect you to turn from sals to opponent so soon," he said bitterly. "But I will know for next time." It wasn't often he took other's advice. Actually, the bastard took no one's advice. This was insane. Her apology he bobbed his hung head with, acknowledging it, but choosing not to speak upon it. To be sorry meant to regret, and to regret meant to not learn from. 

That was why he didn't apologize.

As he turnedd to lead her away from the heated stones and springs, he headed where he remembered Arana being last. As he turned to do so, he murmured, 

"Siqsa."

She watched him still with predatory intent as the absence of a reply filled the air. She tested her shoulder again to find it was getting sorer by the moment. How she wished she could learn a way with the flora so that she may be able to relieve her pain. But again when he did reply, Flicker noted the foreign word dropped in. She would ask later, when they both could think straight and the wolfess may be in a better mindset to grasp the concept of his language. 

He seemed to listen, whether it was a facade or not she didn’t care, and stepped from her place to recklessly follow the nightmare as he turned. ‘Reckless. Mindless. Pathetic.’
​The words slammed into her head like steel to rock; what good could come from following him?

Despite her inner turmoil, his name settled in her mind and she decided to not press him for more information; not now at least.

Shall we finish this one and start a new one in a different area?