After checking that her borders were strongly scented, Karabela began the journey south with the intention of checking on the hunting grounds in the Redbud Nook. While the pack was small yet they could manage the borders while she completed this task and if anyone were foolish enough to trespass their scent would linger long enough for her to track the perpetrator down and make them pay.

Summer was proving an excellent season for prey and while the fawns were growing up quickly they'd still prove tender meals. She catalogued the worn deer trails in her head, making notes for future hunting escapades as well as what animals might provide additional profit in trade. As she neared the southern border she strayed into the Hot Springs. Shimmering pools of warm spring water glittered over dark rocks as a fountain circulated the water. She maneuvered around the large trees toward the crescent pools and wrinkled her nose as she examined them. She could feel the warmth rising from the pools and was hesitant to touch them. She'd never seen water before that wasn't… cool.

"Speech"

Traveling on his own, he hadn't met anyone in the lands of Ardent yet; he'd avoided contact with anyone as much as possible. He was alright with that, because he wasn't exactly the most sociable wolf out there. It wasn't that he didn't like others... in fact, he did grow lonely at times. But his fears were enough to prevent him from seeking out others. He didn't trust other wolves, and what brief contact he'd had with other loners many sunrises ago, had not lasted long. He was great at just slipping away unnoticed, and never making another appearance.

Sometimes it just wasn't a very fulfilling lifestyle, though. How long was he going to live this way? He wasn't sure if he'd ever trust anyone, but maybe... maybe he didn't have to be alone forever. Yet his reaction every single time he noticed the scent of another wolf, or caught sight of one unexpectedly, was to turn tail and get out of there without even thinking about it. How was he supposed to meet anyone, or do anything differently, when he was so used to just running away?

As he came to the Hot Springs, his honey golden eyes looked nervously to the steam rising from the many pools of water. He couldn't really see very far, and the smell of steaming water and wet rock was overwhelming. It was a kind of interesting place though, and he did enjoy checking out new places and things he'd never seen before. Hot water. How interesting; he wondered how it got this way. Padding along the edge of a particularly large pool, he came around its edge and past a billowing cloud of steam, and found himself face-to-face with someone very tall and intimidating in appearance. His jaw gaped, and he stared with wide eyes at the stranger, unsure of what to say.

Karabela leaned in carefully, watching the steam flutter over her rippling reflection. Delicately she reached out a paw and tapped the water, delighting in the ripples that spread out from her touch. The water was very warm but not intolerable. Her tail swished behind her. Raba bet the water would feel good on her sore muscles but it was difficult to tell how deep the water was and she wasn't sure that her quick touch would prove an accurate gauge of temperature.

Karabela was deep in thought when the breeze shifted the steam and there was a man right across from her. Her fur stood on end and he appeared just as startled, jaws open and wide-eyed. Well, he wasn't threatening so she slowly relaxed and laughed. "Man! You scared me, haha. I wasn't expecting to run into anyone out here." She slowly sat down, tail wrapping around her paws as she gazed at the man. He was good sized with a creamy pelt and rich amber-gold eyes. "Name's Karabela Thyre, who might you be and say you wouldn't happen to know how deep these pools are by chance? I was thinking of taking a dip."

"Speech"

As he stared at the woman across the pool from him, he realized that she looked just as startled, although he worried even further when her fur rose and he considered making a run for it. But before he could do anything decisive, her laughter broke the silence, easing him slightly. A nervous laugh bubbled past his lips in return, and he shifted from his frozen position, standing up straighter as he perked to the sound of her voice. "Y-yea, me too," he replied, chuckling nervously as he sort of shrugged his shoulders. He hadn't expected to see anyone here, but he supposed it made sense that he wasn't the only one interested in this place. As he watched the woman sit down, he took in a breath and moved around the edge of the pool, but didn't approach her too closely, instead seating himself with his creamy white paws near the water's edge.

Canting his head to the side as he turned to face Karabela while she introduced herself, he blinked his golden topaz eyes when she asked who he was. "I'm Dominik... Stormrage," he hesitated, wondering if he should bother mentioning his surname, but since she had offered her full name, he supposed he might as well. When asked about the water, he shrugged. He'd never been here before, and had never seen warm pools of water. He leaned closer to the water and lifted a forepaw to dip below the water's surface. What a peculiar feeling, but not unpleasant. "Never seen water like this myself," he mused, glancing up at her, "But I'd be willing to find out how deep it is, if that'd help you." He lifted a brow, wondering what she'd say. He was sure he'd be able to find a ledge to step on, and give the warm water a try.

Karabela continued to smile gently, her posture loose and relaxed. He still seemed a bit nervous around her but she supposed she was a bit large and intimidating. The man introduced himself as Dominik Stormrage and stated he hadn't seen water like this before but he was willing to find out how deep it was. She grinned mischeveiously. Well, it seemed like he was slowly warming up to her. She chuckled to herself at the pun and nodded. "Ok, you're on. Let's find out just how deep this is…" Getting to her feet she padded back over to the ledge and carefully extended a foreleg her paw carefully touching the waters surface. It was hot but not scalding and slowly she put in one leg, trying to feel around for a bottom….hmmm… "Oh! I think I found the bottom…."

Carefully, the tall young woman eased herself into the hot spring. "Ohhhh hot… it's warm… it's really warm haha." The water came up just to her mid-chest. "C'mon Dominik it's your turn, don't make me splash you!" She grinned and carefully lowered herself a bit in the water before she started to paddle. Ahhhh…. this felt good. "So Dominik do you live around here?"

"Speech"

He smirked as she decided she would try at the same time to find out how deep the water was. "Alright, let's do this," he said with a bit more enthusiasm, feeling like perhaps he could be a little comfortable around her. He watched her for just a brief moment as she dipped in a foreleg, searching for something to stand on. Then he got to business, dipping in his right foreleg as he grounded his hind legs to balance and support himself. Karabela got into the water before he could find a good spot to step down, teasing him to get in faster, otherwise she was goingt o splash him. "I'm trying!" he retorted playfully, catching a ledge with his paw. He placed his weight onto the paw and found a good hold, so he plunged into the water, to find it was deeper and warmer than expected. He dunked under just momentarily, before finding his ledge and placing his paws on it to hold himself steady. With a laugh, he shook the water off his head.

"It is pretty warm, it's kind of weird," he commented, glancing at the steam surrounding them, "Can't say I don't like, though." He watched her with some amusement as she began to paddle around a bit. For now, he chose to stay perched on the stone ledge he'd found, enjoying the warm and fuzzy feeling in his muscles that the peculiar warm water gave him. It was quite relaxing, easing some of his tension and nervousness. His ears flicked when she asked if he lived around here. He didn't even need to ponder on that - nope, he didn't live anywhere. "Nah, I've never called any place home," he admitted, shrugging, "I just tend to go wherever the wind takes me; sounds corny, I know, but I really do just kinda float around. What about you?" Did she have a place that she lived? It seemed that everyone did, except him. He wasn't sure it really bothered him. Maybe sometimes it was lonely, but then again, he never had any obligations tying him down. A slight shrug moved his shoulders as his thoughts tried to take off, but he reeled it back in and focused on his current company, curious about her now that he had determined he had little reason to fear her.

Karabela's tail wagging slowly in the water, stirring it up and making her giggle again lightly as she moved aside to give Dominik a bit more room to jump into the hot spring with her. This was delightful! She wondered what caused this water in particular to be so hot. She could only assume it had something to do with thermal heat down in the earth maybe something connected with Mount Volkan. If it weren't for the trees she supposed she might be able to see the mountain in the distance but even then it was a far ways. How far did the thermal chambers go? She wondered if she could find any places around Fenrir's Maw that had thermal springs or water like this as it wasn't terribly far from the volcano.

Dominik plunged into the water and Raba grinned. "Alright! Now it's a party!" However, the minute he dunked down Karabela gasped about ready to dive down after him before his head bobbed back up to the surface. She breathed a sigh of relief for a moment and then nodded. "Yea, it's strange but I think I like it. I bet it has something to do with the volcano and I kind of wonder if there are any thermal waters in the Eastern mountains. My pack would just love that!" Well, even if they didn't she certainly would. Relaxing after a particularly long border patrol or hunt… ahhhh.

Her ears perked as he answered her question about wandering. Excellent another wanderer! "Don't worry about it! I'm much the same. I've always been a wanderer. I've been roaming for most of my life though… I did final settle down some roots. I've started my own pack in the east, Ivory Ridge. We're a pack with a particular emphasis on trade so I still get to wander quite a bit. Maybe not as much as I used to but it's nice to have a place to return to. A home to return to." Her gaze drifted off towards the east for a moment. It was weird to even say the word home again.

"Speech"

The blond man chuckled as he saw his acquaintance's somewhat concerned expression as his head broke the surface of the warm water. Well now, he wasn't going to let a little hot water take him from this world. After shaking the water from his head, he perked his ears toward her. Interesting, it seemed she had an idea as to how these waters had been warmed. Dominik himself had no idea about it, and though he'd heard of volcanoes, also termed as fire mountains, he had never seen one himself. But, his acquaintance seemed pretty smart, so he would nod, listening curiously. Then she mentioned that her pack would love it if they could find something similar to these warm pools closer to their home. Hmm, now, did she mean her pack as in 'where she lived', or her pack as in her pack, belonging to her? Was he speaking to an Alpha without even knowing it?

He didn't have to wonder long as the subject of their conversation began to shift, and she offered some information. That she had been a wanderer for most of her life, just like he was. Yet, she had finally decided to settle down a bit, forming her own pack. So, she was an Alpha! "Perhaps I should come snoop around some time just to say hi," he said with a laugh, although he wasn't too sure about the idea of having somewhere permanent to call home. Ah, not like he had to really worry about it right now, anyways. Just because she had a pack and a place to call home, didn't mean he needed to follow suit. After all, he'd been on his own for years, why was that to change right now upon one simple meeting? But, he didn't mind the idea of having friends, so maybe it would be nice to see her home one day.

He continued to listen with interest as she stated her pack was largely based on trade with other packs, so she'd still get to wander quite a bit. Yet, at the end of the day, she'd still have somewhere to return to. Well, that didn't sound all bad. "Sounds like you've got a good thing going for you," he commented with a nod of his head. But, he was more interested to hear about her travels - had she been to far away places? Did she know all of these lands like the back of her paw? "So, you say you've wandered quite a bit, before now," he spoke, ears twitching as the steam seemed to add weight to them, "What's the craziest place you've ever been to?" He'd have to dig around in his own mind to remember the strange things he'd seen in his lone wanderings. But he was curious to know what strange landmarks resided on this continent, as it would surely differ from what he'd seen in his lifetime.

Karabela closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the warm sensation. This would be a great spot to visit in the dead of winter, just for a bit. Of course she'd have to get out of the water again and that wouldn't be terribly fun to be walking about while it was freezing and soaked to the bone. She supposed there would be a way to bring a certain set of animal skins with them to dry off a portion of the water before continuing back home. She mulled the idea over. The gears in her mind turning purposefully. It might seem a silly or small matter for an alpha to waste her time on but Karabela knew the harshness of the land in which her pack dwelled could dampen moral.

Karabela chuckled at his words. "You should! You'd be more than welcome to visit. My pack is settled in the northern end of the Eastern Mountains on Fenrir's Maw. It's… well, I'll be honest it's a rough territory to live in but it keeps us alert and strong." And she'd expand it soon, she just needed to built up their numbers a bit more and then pick a neighboring territory. She grinned at his question. "Hmmm…. the craziest? That's a tricky one… if I had to pick I'd say the Deadman's Scrap. It's certainly the weirdest hands down! It's far to the west near the coast and it's full of all kinds of weird things. Things I don't even have words for. Hooman things. It smells terrible but occasionally you'll run across some really neat items. I've found a couple other Hooman dwellings as well. There's this big metal cave clear to the north, again near the coast. It's pretty… disconcerting. There are some neat things there to but it's quite a bit creepier. What about you? What's the craziest place you've ever been?"

"Speech"