Firestone Hot Springs legend comes to life
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#1
Life moved quickly for wolves. Osprey Jr. had been home a week now and already she was becoming old news. Everyone seemed to have some sort of drama going on in their lives, whether good or bad, and she was still young enough for much of it to go over her head. Her way of dealing with this was to be indignant at first. Why wasn't she still the center of attention? Eventually, she decided to shrug it off and do whatever she wanted, seeing as everybody else was so busy.

Already a Warrior and now a little curious about trying out other apprenticeships—apparently, she could have up to three specialties—Junior took the opportunity to slip away from the plateau. She didn't go far. After crossing the river without being swept away, she followed her nose to a relatively small patch of land nestled between sloping woodlands to the west and foothills to the east.

She arrived at the edge of the hot springs, her black-furred face scrunched up at the overpowering smell. The air felt warmer and heavier here. According to the adults and Saēna, those in charge of exploration were called Outriders. Reminding herself of this and her mission to discover her secondary and tertiary trades, Osprey Jr. swallowed her distaste and began carefully picking her way further into the springs.
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#2
Yay outrider threads! I've been wanting another thread with Junior!

Vienna, when she first arrived, was not aware of the vast multitude of packs in the area. She had honed in on her brother's scent first thing, and while she knew there were some, the true number surprised her. It also made her aware of Outriders, wolves who traveled outside of their packlands. She hadn't known this to be a regular thing, but it intrigued her. The idea of meeting so many new wolves on a regular basis was alarming but exciting all the same. She'd had to give it a try.

Today she had traversed across the flatlands and arrived at a group of hot springs. The smell made it apparent from a ways away, but she had never seen the like and was curious as to their nature. Dipping a paw in, she marveled at the warm temperature, oblivious to the other female. The strong sulfur of the springs drowned out any other scents and she was too focused on the strange nature of the water.
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#3
Howdy! Did you draw your avatar?

The ground underfoot was strangely damp and springy. There were puddles here and there and when she dipped her muzzle down to inspect them, she realized the strange smell was coming from the brackish water. Perplexed by this, she continuously sniffed at the scattered pools... until one of them inexplicably and ominously bubbled. It made the pup jump slightly. She moved on quickly, head held high in the air now. Maybe exploration wasn't her thing...

Another part of an Outrider's duties included something called ambassadorship, a concept with which Osprey didn't quite understand, though she figured she knew the gist of it. And the last duty was relaying messages. When she spotted a stranger up ahead, these two things popped into her head and she made a beeline toward the unfamiliar gray wolf.

"Howdy!" she called loudly. She couldn't remember who'd first used this greeting on her but it had become a recent favorite. Maybe it would become her trademark. "I'm Osprey Jr. Who're you? D'you have any messages for the plateau?" the youth questioned, unaware that this wasn't quite how it worked.
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I did ^^ wanted to try out a new quick style. Super fun!

Continuing to stare at the water, Vienna proceeded to take both front paws and step into one of the shallower pools, closing her eyes as the pleasant warmth seeped into her legs. Whatever these were, they had a relaxing effect like nothing she had ever experienced. She made a brief mental note of that. If she ever wanted to be an official healer, this place could hold some massive benefit. Not all wounds were external.

Junior's abrupt greeting startled her, not enough to knock her into the water but her head did snap up. "Oh, hello! I'm sorry, I didn't see you!" Her next words confused Vienna a bit. "Plateau? I don't think I know that place, sorry. Is that where you are from? Is it nearby?" She paused, then her eyes widened. "Am I intruding? I am so sorry, I didn't know. I didn't scent a boundary so I figured I was okay. This place is just so beautiful." She was horrified at the thought that she might have accidentally trespassed on someone else's land. If she needed to go she would leave without argument.
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#5
It's really good! Do you take commissions?

The she-wolf didn't even know about the plateau, much less want to send a message to its residents. "Oh," was the youngster's mildly disappointed reply. "Yeah," she added a bit more brightly, turning and pointing at the distant plateau with her tapered black muzzle. "It's there. See it?" She glanced at the stranger out of the corner of her eye. She would quickly realize she was nowhere near trespassing.

"What's this place?" Junior asked in the next breath. "And who're you?" she asked again. The female hadn't answered it the first time, though Junior honestly forgot she'd asked and didn't even realize she was repeating herself.
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Oh my, I've actually never been asked that ^^; so I never have. Or I can just make you something because your characters are amazeballs like that? XD

Vienna had been so caught up in the idea that she might be encroaching that she didn't even hear Junior ask her for a name. With the relieved realization that she was in fact far from this Plateau, whatever it was, she caught the question the second time. "My name's Vienna! It's nice to meet you Osprey Jr." She looked about. "I'm not sure what this place is called, but it is wonderful. The water is warm!" Despite her age such things still made her excited as a pup once more.

Junior had seemed a bit disappointed that she had no message to give, a fact that didn't escape Vienna's notice. She thought for a moment. "You know, I could give you a message to give back. Just a hello from the Sunspire." It couldn't be a bad thing to start good relations with the surrounding packs, especially since things with Swiftcurrent were so rocky. She wasn't sure how much socializing Ferdie did, but allies were always a welcome thing.
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#7
Lol, well, I'd love some artwork for them! You should totally take commissions. :)

"Yeah but it's stinky," Osprey countered, wrinkling her nose and looking at Vienna questioningly. Maybe she knew why the water smelled exactly like one of Pura's most rancid farts.

Osprey forgot all about it when Vienna offered to give her a message after all. "What's a Sunspire?" she wondered, head cocking to the left. Not that it mattered. She could already barely wait to head back and relay the message to her dad... unaware that he, unlike Osprey herself, saw little merit in wandering, ambassadorship and relaying messages to and from other packs.
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Perhaps ^^; I'm terrible at putting value on my work. I'll think about it! If you have suggestions you can pm me! (also if you want me to draw someone, let me know who ;) I need to get back into practice)

"Yeah," she responded, not too fazed by that. Nature was nature, smelly or no, and even the stinky parts filled Vienna with wonder. She didn't have too much more of an idea than the pup, though she had a guess. "Must be something to do with why it's hot... maybe something beneath. Doesn't seem dangerous though." It felt and looked like normal water. The scent wasn't rotten or malign either, just different.

"The Sunspire is the mountain my pack lives on. You can see the tip of it from here." She indicated the distant peak. "Do you have a message for me to give to my Alpha?" She cocked her head, wondering if the younger wolf would have any words. She would deliver them dutifully, but knew that her job was more than a courier. If this wolf was anything like she was when she was younger, however, the idea that her words would be carried to an unknown leader would have made her happy. She hoped it did the same for this girl, though she wasn't sure. In any event, it would help to give them a connection to someone.
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#9
I'd love some artwork for Junior. If you're not 100% comfortable doing commissions, I can always send a 'tip' via PayPal or make a donation to Wolf in your honor or something? :D

Osprey pondered Vienna's observation a moment, then dropped the subject in lieu of the one that interested her more: Sunspire and the passing of messages. She gazed into the distance when the silver she-wolf motioned toward the peak, then looked back at her companion and licked her lips. Did she have a message to pass along? Well, no... but Junior didn't want to pass up this opportunity. The thought of delivering a message to another pack's Alpha was sort of thrilling!

"Um... tell him that, uh, my dad says 'hi.'" That was harmless, right? "His name's Peregrine. He's the Alpha. He has two special friends, you know! You can tell your Alpha that," she said with a sage nod. If it was important enough to announce at a pack meeting, then certainly it was important enough for their neighbors to know, right? "Oh, and, uh... we have a new leader too! Her name is Fox. She's one of my daddy's special friends." Little did she know that Vienna's Alpha would actually learn of this firsthand soon enough.
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Vienna listened carefully to the younger wolf's message, committing it to memory. Some might have asked just to appease, but she fully intended to deliver the message in full to Ferdie as soon as possible. The mention of two special friends surprised her, and she wondered if perhaps Junior meant something different by it. Dismissing any thoughts that may arise, she waited for the finish.

When it came, Vienna's ears twisted back, but she hid any reaction from her features. Fox... the girl flashed back to the incursion on the border, a ginger female who fought like a polecat and blatantly disrespected their borders. True, she had felt justified in doing so, but Vienna still could not think kindly of her. Apparently she was no longer leader of the Creek? Interesting. Perhaps she would have more luck in this Plateau. In truth Vienna was glad to hear it. It meant that Fox was farther away and not likely to cause them more trouble. Much as she didn't agree with her decisions it wasn't in Vienna to wish ill of anyone. Perhaps she had learned something from all of this. Obviously something had happened to make her abandon her post as Alpha.

"I will tell him," she confirmed, nodding seriously. "Make sure you say hello for us!" She smiled, happy to be making new friends. This exploring thing was really working out for her so far. It was much more fun than staying cooped up all day long.

Sorry for the wait and the somewhat shoddy post ;.; LOVE Junior so much though, omfg, she is too cute
I have another gift to do first (secretsssss) but after that then yes, definitely!!!!
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#11
Osprey grinned when Vienna confirmed that she would relay the message. Although the youngster knew that exploring was another large aspect of an Outrider's duties and this foreign place was the perfect backdrop for such ventures, she already itched to return to the plateau. To be honest, the hot springs did little to spark her interest anyway. They were hot and smelly.

"Okay! I'm gonna go right home and tell my dad," Junior declared. She turned, raring to go, only to pause and query, "How will I know when you pass my message? And what do we do next?" Should they arrange to meet again to swap responses to said messages or was it up to the leaders what to do next? The pup pondered this, black head cocked and mismatched eyes peering curiously at Vienna.
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Vienna cocked her head at Junior's questions. She honestly wasn't sure how this worked any more than the pup. She had never actually met an Outrider nor, obviously, been one herself. She figured she better get back as well, though. She had been trying not to stay out too long, unsure as to how far Ferdie wanted them wandering with the Swiftcurrent attacks having been so recent.

"I guess we just trust each other to deliver them? We could always set a meeting time and place, but I don't really know. I've never done this before." She grinned. "It's been fun, though! I enjoyed meeting you. Even if we don't set a place, I'm sure we'll cross paths again. After all, we both will become Outriders, right? Then we will be traveling quite a bit!" Her eyes shone with excitement at the prospect. Not that they weren't normally filled with that same expression. It didn't take much to excite Vienna, really.
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#13
Vienna's response was lighthearted and noncommittal, which satisfied Osprey's curiosity despite the lack of a concrete answer. "Okay!" she replied brightly, tickled by the idea of running into fellow Outriders on her exploratory missions. This conversation had really locked down her interest in the trade.

Satisfied thus, Junior called, "Bye, Vienna!" and waved her black tail at the she-wolf before breaking into a lope, quickly clearing the edge of the hot springs and heading directly home to the plateau.
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Vienna was super excited by this encounter and the prospect of perhaps meeting Junior again. The younger girl seemed to share Vienna's friendly openness that so many others she had met lacked. It was refreshing not to have to temper it (not that she ever successfully did).

"Bye!" she called back, watching the black wolf disappear. She too would leave soon, but for now, the warmth was too enjoyable and the terrain far too interesting. She would explore a bit more before she left.