The darkened brute found himself sitting somewhere in the middle of all these springs, careful not to misplace his step and fall in to any of them. The steam had a nice, warming feel to his skin but he was one more for the cold and preferred not to take a dip in the boiling water here. Of course one could call it romantic for a date or relaxing on a cool fall day, but he thought otherwise. He tried to stray from warm places most the time. Though Gaius had a harsh life thus far, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as a ton of others. And maybe that's what kept him going. Knowing that he wasn't the worst out there. The only thing he could hope is that it didn't get worse... who knew what he would do next. He stared at the small pools of water, steam rolling just above the surface. When could he find his next purpose in life? Walk "Talk" Think

Three years.

This season marked her third spring since her birth, and Alfrun Finnvi had finally chosen to end her self-imposed exile to emerge once more into the world. Curiosity drew the delicate priestess to visit first the more southern lands, leaving the north for the first time in her life. She had not been there long, and she could see already why her mother had always told them that the south made for weak wolves. The lands were a riot of color both in normal sight and the Other Sight, and scent, by the gods, nearly overwhelming scents, and she saw more prey here in these soft lands than she'd seen in months in the harder northern lands. Oh, there was plenty of food in the north for those who knew how to find it, but here the prey practically ran into your jaws of their own accord. It was... a startling experience. One that she was beginning to understand was necessary, as it drove home her mother's teachings more and more. The south seemed like a paradise... but paradise allowed for, and encouraged, weakness.

Take, for instance, the land she found herself in now. She'd been forced to skirt around a couple of closely pressed packs to reach it, and the sulfurous, humid air had nearly made her turn around and leave again. But curiosity and the desire to know more about the southern lands had driven her to keep exploring, and she had gone so far as to dabble a paw into one of the crescent-shaped pools that covered the landscape like dragon scales. Warm, nearly to the point of being uncomfortable but not quite. The overall effect was one of relaxation and sloth, and it drew from Runa an atavistic aversion. The serene innocence of her face hide a pinch of disgust and contempt for the wolves who would choose to make this... eastern region their home.

She turned away from the pool, only to find her gaze resting upon the dark, multicolored pelt of a much larger male a short distance away. His own gaze seemed to be riveted upon another pool. She blinked at him, then twisted her head slightly to bring her Other Sight to bear on him. He did not bear the green aura she associated with healers, not even the sickly red-tainted green of those who habitually worked with poisons... traits that were actually revealed to her by her own acute sense of smell and experience with herbals rather than through the spiritual nature of her eyesight as she believed... but even had they borne the green that did not make them safe, so it did not much matter to Alfrun as anything more than a piece of the puzzle that was a stranger.

Touching her tongue lightly to the deformed roof of her mouth, the viking drifted closer to peer into the pool as well, curious as to what vision the male saw within its depths.

Gaius was once trained for war, strenuously. But all of that was thrown out the window when he was engaged and his sole purpose was to then to produce children for that kingdom. He set away from his teachings and instead moved to hunting for his new found pack which would also prepare him for his life with pups and a family. And of course all that crap was chucked out the window too because of his adulterous wife. Never did he think he would be shunned like he was as a child. A prince with a colony that hated him. And then a King who turned the same. He was sick and tired of all the responsibility and stress that poured down on him as royalty. It held him down and it almost put him into an eternity of misery if his wife had bared his children. If she did, nothing could have drove him away from raising his pups. So turned over in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed the fae who found herself beside him looking down into the same scale of water as he. Coming back to reality and realizing the stranger, his body would jolt slightly only surprised that he had blacked out like that. "Oh, Sorry." He quickly stated, "I uh- didn't notice you there." Well that was kind of stupid, she's probably been standing there forever and he was just oblivious. Rubies gently looking back at her he would offer, "Um, Gaius." with a quick pause, "And... you are?" Walk "Talk" Think

There was nothing held within the pool but their reflections, but Alfrun continued to stare quietly into its depths despite that, just allowing her mind to drift from thought to thought without grabbing hold of any. Until, that is, the male beside her started in surprise and spoke, pulling her blinking from her reverie. "No need to apologize. You would not be the first to do so," she assured him faintly, and truly he wasn't. She had a habit of moving softly, aided by the light and delicate nature of her undersized form, and often found others surprised by her seeming to pop out of nowhere beside them. "I am Alfrún Ósk Finnvi." Blinking thoughtfully at him a moment, she amended her statement to match his. "Alfrun." She tilted her head slightly. "What brings you to this land of dragons?"

As she had reflected his name, he would reflect hers, "Gaius Mikoto." But he would have to stop and think on how to respond to her next. Why was he here? Hell if he knew. Looking around momentarily, he would notice her land of the dragons ignoring his confusion when she named it that way. He looked down at the pool one last time, and then back at her. "I truly don't know. I just happened to stumble around here." Which was a hundred percent true and Gauis didn't care to admit that. He needed his purpose and he was easily found as a lost pup at this time in his life. "I have been looking for a place to call home though." He wasn't asking her for a place to stay, only letting her acknowledge his purpose, "And then what brings you here?" He could tell by her scents that she came from the north. Been there her whole life? He couldn't say that but she had the stale smell of ice caught in her aura. Walk "Talk" Think