Firestone Hot Springs Puzzle

  The mysterious pale wolf paced around the gurgling hotsprings, mumbling to himself. Why is it so hard to get to moutains around here? he thought to himself. by now he thought he would find some. Did he pass them up without noticing? Surley not. They where so huge, how could you not see them? Maybe he did pass them. While he was to busy putting together the puzzle peice past.

 He looked out south. The way he had arrived here. There didn't seem to be the tips of mountains there. A heavy sigh escaped his muzzle. What had happened to him? Did his family not love him anymore? Did they all die?

 Where they out there?

 

Perhaps their ranks were full enough, but now that Fox had a taste for recruiting, she found that she wanted to do more of it. After escorting Wildfire back home (and spending a day or two there to rest), she kissed her family good bye and trekked north once again. Why she never went south is only known to the human world, because the map only extends to the north. Perhaps there's a barrier to the south or something, idk! In any case... Fox had gone north, eventually come to the hot springs she had once frequented while living on the plateau.

From afar, Fox spotted another wolf. Not one she knew, but one that did not smell of others. "Hey, you!" Fox called out, once she was within shouting distance. "Yeah, you!" In case, for some reason, her subject thought she was talking to a rock, the grass, the dirt, or the sun. As of late, Fox usually wasn't one to call attention to herself, but she was on a mission that demanded it of her. The fireball strode toward the other wolf with purpose.

 His thoughts where interrupted by a sound. A voice sound. He pricked his ears and turned his head to the source of the voice. It belonged to a autumn colored wolf. She strode to him at a very fast pace. It even frightened him a bit. Was there a Pack nearby he didn't notice?

He took a step back as she reached him, because he was expecting some slap in the face. "Uh... hi." Seriously? That was the dumbest greeting he had ever said. Well, can't blame him. He barely spoke with anyone until a few days ago. How did he even know how to speak?

If "hi" was a dumb way to start a conversation, Fox didn't want to hear a smart one. If she'd known the male's reservations about his greeting, she would have assured him that he sounded perfectly intelligent. Or at least enough to satisfy her for the time being. Fox spent the next few heartbeats scrutinizing his appearance. He was light-colored, much like here sister, Dove. But he had the added bonus of little spritzes of darker brown here and there. He looked about Fox's own age (young adult), but she couldn't decipher much more than that.

"I'm Fox Redleaf-DiSarinno," she explained, "Alpha of Redhawk Caldera. We're recruiting. Interested?" If not, the fireball would move on. If he was even remotely interested, she'd probe him for more information. She did not want to waste her time with chit-chat if this was somebody who wasn't looking.

 " Nice to meet you Fox," he said. "My name is Inari... at least I think it is." He could only remember that tiny fragment of his name. He listened intently to fox as she spoke of new recruitment. Maybe there as someone there that knew him? But he couldn't take a chance of no one being there.
 
 "This Redhawk Caldera you speak of, is it by some rocky slopes? I've been searching for a wolf. " His ear flicked as he tried to remember the name. "The name. It started with an A. But that's all I could remember." There where probably so many wolves with the name that starts with 'A' though, but maybe Fox knew where she could find this wolf? Maybe she was part of this Pack?

Warning bells started going off right around then. A wolf that could not remember his own name was probably not of much use to her or Redhawk Caldera as a whole. Not only that, but he hadn't even answered her question. "Redhawk Caldera is a rocky slope," she clarified, tail lashing. She ignored the question about the wolf who started with a... well, the thought seemed to be incomplete anyhow. Fox didn't know the alphabet (she was a wolf, after all), so she'd just assumed Inari—if that was even his real name—had decided not to finish the statement.

"So I guess that's a 'no' on the recruitment front, huh?" Fox half-asked, though she wasn't even sure she wanted to pursue such a thing. Njal had joined them, Grimm was back, and their ranks were full once more. Then again, maybe this Inari dude was a real catch. She'd wait around a little while longer to see.

  It was a rocky slope, as fox had informed. That made him hopeful. But still, she didn't know where that wolf was. Well that's what he concluded. To him, no answer meaned 'no'.

 "I guess it does. But I don't think I would be much help," he stated, "I'm not the best at defence." Though he wasn't good at defending, he was excelent with herbs. But of course he didn't know that it could be useful to a Pack. He didn't know much of Pack life. Only living alone. But every so often he remembered a black coat with him. And it taunted him. Haunted him.

It was really too bad Inari couldn't remember the name of the wolf he was looking for. If he had been able to spit it out, Fox would have immediately known who he was talking about. Amekaze was a traitor as far as Fox was concerned. She had teamed up with Jace and Ferdie long ago. An enemy, to say the least, though Fox had all but forgotten about her and The Sunspire by now. Fox had always assumed that it had fizzled out, considering she had heard little to nothing about the place.

"Defense isn't the only way a wolf can be useful," Fox replied, though she wouldn't go on convincing a wolf who didn't want to be convinced. Redhawk Caldera had plenty of able bodies, and Fox didn't want to fill them up with anything but the best. Still, she lingered a little while longer, just in case.

Last post for me. Ty for the thread :)

 [i]Defence isn't the only way a wolf can be useful.[/i]

 He hadn't known that. Well maybe he had in another life. "I'm good with herbs, but that is all." How? He didn't even know. Some voice reminded him, and flashing images. He wanted to know why. Why did he hear a girl's voice all the time and pictured mountain tops in his sleep? If only he could find the answer. He would find the answer. And then his mind could finally rest.

 "I am greatful for your offer Fox, but I think I should find that wolf." Somehow, he silently thought to himself. "Your offer will stay with me, but for now I think I should head off." He gave a small nod before turning and setting off to his quest.

He headed off, and Fox shrugged. The only herbs she had readily accepted were the ones that Ashton had brought her. Or had it been Finley? She couldn't recall with clarity... that had been so long ago. She wondered if she could find those same plants again. They had been... interesting, to say the least. It had relaxed her in a way she hadn't thought possible. Perhaps she would share the knowledge with Peregrine, and they could both relax with one another. That would be a delight.

Fox turned back toward Redhawk Caldera, giving up on recruiting anybody for the time being. Surely, in time, more would come to them. If not, they could reach out again to test the waters.