Early morning just as the sun is rising. Welcome to all, pack wolf or not! Hot springs. Skyfire couldn't get enough of them. She had spent the last five days or so near this place just to soak. Besides hunting for food once in a while, Skyfire typically stayed at the hot springs. Why was she not gifted with such a blessing before? The hot water soaked into her muscles as she laid her head on a rock. The mineral water, she felt, was only adding to the restoration of her beauty. As if she wasn't beautiful enough already. Her black and grey fur floated freely, waving around with the movement of the water. The water only moved if she did, or the wind would ripple across the surface. A smile seemed to be permanently plastered upon her blackened lips as she leaned her head back on the shore. Skyfire was not belly up, but she had found a place to lean on her back with all four limbs on the water while her head remained on the edge of the pool. While she would not get her head wet, she ignored the fact that her fur wasn't going to be dry for a while. One thing that Skyfire didn't consider was that the minerals from the water would make her coat kind of crusty, but it would get brushed out in time. One of the things Skyfire considered while she mused in the pool was the colors of the sunrise. While her coat was mundane and muted, the sky was full of vibrant, sharply contrasting colors that to her resembled fire. Reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows blended together in the canvas of the sky, where thin strips of purple clouds disrupted the smooth brush stroke like pattern. As the sky ascended toward the stars, the colors became muted and dull, fading to a dark indigo. Quite frankly, Skyfire was jealous of the sky. Her name reflected the sunrises more than her own pelt. While her apple green eyes looked as if though it could melt anyone with their intensity, her coat was merely a joke in comparison to the beauty lighting before her. Why couldn't she have gained her mothers glorious golden coat, and her bright orange eyes? Why was it that she had to look like her dad. It disgusted her really, to resemble a man who knew nothing about beauty or romance, but focused on fighting and petty material things. There was so much he was missing, that everyone was missing, because they chose not to open their minds. Such fools. Such petty peasants. If she was back in her noble home, and named queen -- heh. Well this Queen would show them what life was all about, and fix the wrongs that had been done. Skyfire thinks. Skyfire listens. "Skyfire speaks."

He’d ventured out from Valhalla again, heading the long way eastward. When he spotted the steam ahead, he paused cautiously, then pressed onward, wrinkling his nose slightly at the sulfuric scent in the air. He paused a lot longer as he saw the woman in the water. He could feel the heat all around, but she wasn’t screaming in agony in the slightest. His friendly,. Easy nature won over his caution over the surroundings as he called out, “Good morning, Lady. I take it the water’s not dangerous?” Deep sapphire eyes smiled at her as he tested a paw in the water. For now, he decided, he’d just dangle his front feet in the water, He’d been walking since noon yesterday, and they were somewhat tired. Maybe he’d have to find a few prey animals on the way home. Slowly, he lowered to his belly on the ground, forepaws dangling into the water as he sighed, eyes half shutting. “That actually does feel really good.” His eyes opened as he glanced to her, nodding as he added, “I’m Cairo Adravendi, by the way, Nerve of Valhalla.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Recluse had had a lot on her mind lately, ever since the birth of her half-siblings... cousins? Both? She had her mind on her thirst for power. If her father was going to fuck his way into power despite proving time and time again that he wasn't capable of holding it for anything then she needed to prove she was stronger than he was, more worth than he was.  For her plans to work she needed to find wolves who'd chosen to follow her, needed to build her network. And she needed to know more about the lands of Boreas, she needed to figure out where to settle. So she'd started leaving the packlands more often, letting her snow-white paws carrying her wherever the wind took her. Lilith would make these trips with her, coiled around the girl's throat, her usual place. The snake hadn't been separated from the young wolf pretty much since they'd met so she was more than used to the gentle pressure on her throat now. The problem was she'd wandered too much this time, the lifting of the sun from the horizon was proof of that. Recluse still moved at night more than anything, determined to avoid looking as he father did, she refused to allow her delicate flesh to be marred by scabs as the once king had allowed happening to himself when she'd been a pup. Once she'd dreamt of being just like him... not so anymore. But more than that she was keenly aware of the danger she was, comparably to others, in during the day, her eyes were weak in the light and she struggled to see clearly in the full light of the sun, as well as, well frankly it was painful. But she'd failed to realize how late it really was and had yet to return to the pack and the safety of her cool dark den before the sun started its ascent. The scent of another wolf reached the girl, and she squinted in the begining of the morning glow, not really wanting to be found in such a vulnerable state outside of the kingdom. Lilith gently hissed in her ears: "Recluse there are many pools of water here, I can guide you but you'll need to move carefully." Recluse nodded, allowing her companion to help navigate her, much to her chagrin she found herself getting closer and closer to the scent of a stranger. "Stop, there's strangers ahead of us." Recluse stopped, squinting and just making out the hazy outline of a wolf lying a few feet in front of her. Of course, she could hear the voice of a male, his scent now clear to her at this distance and she silently cursed under her breath. speech think action

Skyfire felt heavenly. She adjusted temporarily so that she was now on her chest, and her forelimbs were out of the water, leaving the other half to soak. The sun had come up more and was about to breach the mountains when another voice sounded to her left and broke the silence. Skyfire was much enjoying the sound of the waking birds and the gentle hissing of the water, so to see someone else coming into her pool was rather rude. There were a ton of other pools weren’t there? Why did he have to come to this one? Skyfire watched him carefully with her green eyes with a glare, but she immediately changed it. It seemed as though he had not been in a hot spring before. Besides the sulfuric stench he would carry with himself later, his coat would be rather rough until the minerals wore off. Or he could go put himself into a rather ice-cold bath and freeze, she thought to herself. The male greeted her and asked if the water was dangerous. An eyebrow lifted in surprise. Really? She wouldn’t be in this Godly gift if it were dangerous. She would quickly be wolf stew that smelled and tasted like rotten eggs. As the male relaxed his front paws in, Sky thought perhaps he had been walking for a long time to only need his front paws to soak. Cairo. It was a strong name as he introduced himself. It wasn’t the first time Skyfire had heard a name like this, as her old pack had at least one other person named Cairo. Nerve of Valhalla? Nerve that you should be interrupting my peace, that’s what you are. Skyfire sneered in her mind. As she opened her mouth to say a remark, yet another wolf arrived nearby this time with a snake. Skyfire squealed a bit as she saw the black thing cling to the white woman’s neck. Skyfire stumbled backwards, splashing water all about and chuffing to herself. She now had two other wolves disturbing her peace! The nerve! Regardless, Skyfire regained her composure, shook off the water from her coat and decided her soak was done for now. To respond to the male’s greeting, Skyfire cleared her throat first. ”The name is Skyfire Turner. Noble princess of the far outlands.” she said, holding a paw to her chest and her head directed to the right in some form of regal, dramatic pose. It would be clear to the others that she thought highly of herself with pride, though she wasn’t against being social. She didn’t look down on the other two, except for the snake which she disliked much, but she did admit in her mind that she was definitely not like them. That much was obvious. Skyfire could be nice, but they did interrupt her relaxation. So, she could afford to be a little snippy. ”I was enjoying my soak until I was rudely interrupted,” she said with a slight glare. ”But – I’ve been here a few days already, so perhaps I can afford to meet some others for a while. Especially since both of you are the first two I’ve seen in a while.” Skyfire thinks. Skyfire listens. "Skyfire speaks."

Cairo did not for a moment miss the hostile look the woman cast him before she banished it from her features. But he kept the reaction in mind as he studied her more closely. She was primarily grey, with a black head and scruff, a semicircular line saddling her sides along the back, and a notable, perfectly round white circle on one shoulder. Her eyes stood out as starkly as his own pure, fathomless sapphire eyes, but instead glinted a cold emerald. She supposed she was pretty, but her initial behavior put somewhat of a damper on things. She would have said something, he was sure, and he could only wonder if it was going to match the hostility with which she’d greeted him in one look, but it came out as a squeal. Cairo merely turned his head to study the albino woman that had come closer. He’d heard her coming, and the soft hissing words guiding her. The only initial indication he’d heard her coming had been a cock of one ear keeping a feed on her. He considered as he studied the younger lady, head cocking as he took in her darker marks with interest. Hadn’t he seen someone recently with feather-like strips like that? A subtle sniff told him only a small amount, but from what he could glean, she smelled like… The other woman brought his attention back to herself, sapphire locking with emerald in bemusement as she posed. Noble? His personal view of what was noble was Aurielle. This woman hardly fit the bill. She fell flat by a mile. “I’d suggest a massive pro-tip in life as a loner princess. Don’t glare at a stranger right away, regardless of what they do. There are a lot of wolves on this continent who don’t need much provocation to rip into someone, or force them into their pack. And there are more than one or two who take slaves. Former High Rank does not matter to them.” For all that his words were firmly rebuking, his tone was gentle, somewhat concerned. Her behavior could well get her hurt, or taken. He rose to sit, head cocked as he turned to study the albino yearling, before carefully posing a query, “Would you happen to know a Banshee Fatalis-Klein?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Recluse was quickly getting over this. She was tired, half-blind and now she was getting screamed at and stuck listening to the inane complaints of a stuck up princess? Recluse snorted. "Don't think that makes you special, these lands are overrun with princesses. I'm a princess." The man gave her advice and Recluse snorted. Well she'd admit he at least seemed to have a brain in that head of his. Frankly she was already done. Recluse shuffled herself, turning so she thought she facing away from the wolves. Lilith seemed to understand what she was doing and started gently guiding the girl again. She paused for a moment when she heard the man's question. Recluse had to admit she was curious how this man knew her sister... Recluse turned her head in what she hoped was his direction. "I do, why not come find me once you're done dealing with her royal stuck-upedness and we can have a proper conversation, one that won't be as vapid as the one you're doubtlessly about to have, with intelligence behind it and everything." Recluse chuckled softly and then continued on her way. She hoped the princess drowned in her soak. -exit Recluse- speech think action