Peregrine put her head to the blustery wind and hunkered down. It was not quite freezing, but the air had a chill, clammy quality to it that seemed to get underneath her fur. She shivered, and felt Tsiry readjust her grip from where she sat on the earth wolf's shoulders. The rain was just beginning to sprinkle down for the day. Peregrine couldn't remember the last time it had rained for so many days in a row. Would it ever stop? Was this just her life now? She shuddered to think of it. Her bag began to bump against her foreleg, and Tsiry adjusted the strap. "Thanks," Pere called back. "One less thing to distract me from this beautiful day." Tsiry chuckled. "Maybe we spend today out of the wind, no?" Peregrine couldn't help but agree. She'd heard of a unique feature that was supposed to be in this area,  and they had to be getting close. Peregrine put her nose to the wind, but found no hint given the wind swirling all around them. She turned east and hope for the best. Occasionally she would catch a whiff of sulfurous fumes, similar to an unground tunnel she'd once explored which was filled with molten stone down below. Pere picked up the pace, knowing they had to be getting close. Finally she saw gouts of steam rising in the distance. They'd found the hot springs as last. Peregrine skipped forward, giddy with the thought of warmth. She could stay in there until it was warm and dry outside, right? Spring couldn't be all that far away. She dipped a paw in the nearest pool, making sure it would not scald her before sinking in with a luxurious sigh. Oh yeah. She could definitely stay here until spring. "Talk" "You" Think

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The ghost of a man swayed in time with the pitter patter of rain, pale silver eyes locked in a thousand yard stare. His mouth made his facial expression quite the enigma. Was it a smile? A snarl? Neither, in fact. If someone knew him quite well they may have discerned he was in fact quite neutral, simply taking a moment to just exist without doing anything in particular. His hide shivered slightly as the faintly cold water cascaded down his body, having soaked through his fur entirely. Drenched again. "Well, this is what you get for sitting in the rain, idiot." he thought bitterly to himself.

The sound of someone approaching nearby shook him from his introspection and grounded the man. The cold air hitting the hot springs nearby was creating enough steam that from this distance he couldn't make out much of what was over there but remained certain someone was over there now. Great, another stranger. Was anyone here not a stranger to him though? Hell, who cared anyways, he just didn't want to talk to anyone. Though the direction he'd planned on walking was incidentally the one past whoever was over there... Tentatively the man stepped forward and made his way towards the springs, wrinkling his nose at the funny smell of them that only grew more intense as he got closer. He tried to leave a wide berth, tip toeing away like a ghastly looking apparition. If he was lucky the other wolf might think she only imagined him. Freedom and the restoration of his shattered solitude were almost within his grasp...

Tsiry noticed the wraith amongst the fog before Peregrine did. Pere, lost in the luxury of all-encompassing warmth, couldn't care less if they were about to be mauled by a pack of rabid raccoons. When her companion stood up on the brim of the hot spring and peered through the murk, the wolf simply slid down farther into her pool. If this was the way she was destined to leave this world, she'd consider herself lucky. "Peregrine, there's someone out there," Tsiry murmured under her breath. Peregrine, still sinking lower and lower, left just the tip of her snout, eyes, and ears above the water's surface. "I'm sure they're just out for a leisurely stroll," she said in a slow voice, one drawn out by her relaxation. Tsiry made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat and moved closer to the edge of the pool. Despite Pere's best efforts, she couldn't help but crane her neck to see whatever it was the lemur had found in the fog. Sure enough, there was the ill defined figure of another wolf headed their way. Peregrine couldn't make out much at all of their features. "Such lovely weather and an unexpected visitor? It must be my birthday," she said in a voice dripping of sarcasm, loud enough to be heard. In her experience, wolves were much more dangerous when surprised, or even just when they believed they were being sneaky. Remove the mystery, corral them into a face-to-face conversation, and most decided you weren't worth the trouble of maiming. She waited to see what the male would do, still unable to see his fur or features with much clarity. "Talk" "You" Think

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The voices crushed any hopes he had of going unnoticed, leaving a pang in his chest and a furrow in his brow. Large paws sunk into the ground that was quickly turning muddy, the suction as the ground tried to capture each paw as he treaded so carefully likely further giving him away. Well, heck, no wonder no one liked the rain. It was more than capable of ruining your day in more than one way. Ears slicked back, pinning further when the woman spoke quite loudly, no doubt trying to ensure that she was heard by the passing man.

Huffing softly, steam emanating from his maw as hot breath hit the chilly fall air, pale eyes flicking towards the voices. He hesitated for a bit, unsure what to do. The woman's words nearly elicited a snarky response, 'Must be, you're in luck since at least one of your irritants is planning to leave', but the words remained in his head. If he spoke, wouldn't his raspy, broken syllables further catch the stranger's attention? Well, maybe it was better to simply head on over and freak them out with his ghastly excuse for a face so he could move on without anyone being tempted to follow. Everyone seemed to lose interest after he scared the shit out of them, anyways. Trudging closer on paws that no longer sought to be stealthy but simply carried him over the wet soil at a leisurely pace, the man enshrouded in mist and shadows  slowly emerged to where they could all take each other in. He discovered before him a woman who seemed quite content in her hot spring bath, and a lemur who appeared to be the more vigilant of the pair. He knew once he could see them fully they would now see him. How would they react? Fear? Disgust? Maybe someday he ought to make a game of betting which it would be when he encountered someone new. For now he simply stood, mutely assessing them with hid bright silver eyes, muzzle twitching in an impossible to decipher expression.

[Oops, mature language below] The shadow approached, slowly and without introduction. Peregrine sighed, huffing under her breath. Really? What was the need for the dramatics? He was probably some psychopath or something. Peregrine didn't give a fuck. He would drag her dead, pleasantly warm corpse out of this pool with his rabid jaws. He and everyone who had ever called her stubborn could all hitch a fast ride to hell, she grumped to herself. When he finally did get within a visible range, she got an inkling why he was so unaccustomed to social norms. The male's face was a piece of work, that was for sure. Still, that being said, Peregrine did not spook easily. Her eyes held the same lidded, unamused expression from the moment she realized there was another presence nearby to the time that he stood near the edge of her pool. She did not flinch or tick. Once the male came to a stop at the edge of the pool. She blinked owlishly, and sighed, heaving upright from her slouched position. Hot water ran off of her frame and the air beyond chilled her almost beyond tolerable. Needless to say, she was a bit grumpy. "You're a real beaut, aren't 'cha stranger? I'd certainly remember if I'd met you before. You must be lost." Tsiry froze with fear at her friend's harsh speech, the whiplike tone in her humor. Gods, why couldn't Peregrine ever use her brain?! Did it ever occur to the blasted creature to maybe not pick a fight with ever ghoul and goblin one comes across? No! Tsiry indulged in a slow, aggravated blink. Having condemned herself to death by her friend's idiotic urge to always speak before thinking, she trudged around to the far end of the pool to watch whatever was about to unfold from a better vantage point. She sat down with a dull thud, scowl planted firmly on her primate features. "Talk" "You" Think "Tsiry"

One would think a reaction out of the ordinary would be a relief to him. Finally someone who didn't bristle or run, finally someone who could actually stand to look at him, right? Ah, but Lerato was a man full of surprises whether or not they were good ones and today his contribution to the world was to be quite put off by her. It wasn't so much the fearless snark and obvious jab she took at him as... Well, he didn't know what. Maybe just the fact that she seemed quite keen on engaging in some kind of back and forth when he so clearly - at least he thought it obvious - did not want to speak a word aloud. He'd have curled a lip if he possessed one to curl, so the only sign of his attempt at the expression was a wrinkling at the upper portions of his muzzle and the slight defiant tilt of his chin. That was all he had to offer for now though, as he still had never really assessed how well he could talk now and wasn't about to try stumbling through his attempts in front of a total stranger.

Opting to turn his attention to the lemur, face softening slightly. With a quirk of a brow and a nod at the lemur's loud-mouthed friend he seemed to ask, 'Is this girl for real?' in that wordless way of his.

Peregrine was not frustrated, per say, but she was certainly something close. At least the man had not attempted to murder her... yet. Of course, he had been rather contrary so the possibility was not entirely gone. He certainly cut a menacing figure, but it left Peregrine feeling more mild curiosity than fear, present even under her growing dissatisfaction. When the brute leaned around her and expressed his own lackluster confusion, Peregrine bristled. "Hey bud, I'm talking to you." Tsiry, not wanting to be caught in the middle of it, let her head fall into the palm of one dexterous hand and sighed. Peregrine had perked up a bit, bland apathy becoming something much more animated. Her head was entirely above the spring's surface, and she gave the male a blatant once over. "What's your name, Stranger? I'm Peregrine Myre." Her introduction was brief, an unnecessary social constraint that she didn't particularly care for. She didn't know if she'd ever see this male again, so why should she have to bother being pleasant? She wanted answers to her questions, and that was all. As long as she didn't have to get out of the blessedly warm water, of course. "Talk" "You" Think

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He barely managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes at her first words, and failed entirely at stopping himself from bursting out with a snarky, "No shit." The words were hoarse, his voice deep and raspy from disuse. The syllables were blended together a bit, spoken in an odd manner since his words came from his mouth and throat rather than being formed by his lips. Immediately he seemed to curl in on himself, pale eyes casting his gaze downwards. He couldn't stand the way he spoke now. Sometimes the words came out okay, but other times and with certain sounds he either couldn't form the sound at all or it came out as a garbled mess. He didn't really appreciate being reminded of his struggled with speech and huffed softly, looking more defeated now than hostile as his large frame appeared to wilt.

His eyes cut back towards her when she introduced herself, absently staring at her a moment as he debated exiting this little encounter but eventually figured he may as well give up on escape. He was too polite for his own good and couldn't seem to convince himself to actually run off when this woman, while a bit annoying in her demeanor, was at least not treating him like some evil monster. With great care he attempted to wrap his tongue around the syllables of his own name for the first time in forever, "I'm Lerato". The M didn't come out very clearly, and neither did the O, once again reminding him that maybe talking wasn't worth messing with.

Peregrine was not oblivious to the man's difficulty, but she did pretend to be. When he finally did speak, it was clear that he stumbled over the finer points of precise pronunciation. It was easy enough to understand him of course, but the words elicited a sort of visible recoil. Peregrine schooled her face carefully to keep any surprise or confusion from leaking through. She was not utterly without her social graces, and it could be said that she had a weak spot in her heart for those who were forced to skulk about in the shadows of the world, for whatever the reason. She assumed this Lerato fellow definitely qualified. He introduced himself with considerable dignity, and Peregrine settled herself down into the water further. "Well Lerato, if you've come to enjoy the springs I hardly intend to stop you. This pool is occupied, of course, but I've no claim to the others." She tried to say it in a way that was not quite dismissive, but nor did it invite further conversation. If he didn't want to talk to her she certainly wasn't going to force him. Hell, all she'd wanted in the first place was a bit of peace and quiet! She moved to a new spot in the pool, closer to the vent where the warm, fresh water bubbled forth and sighed in relaxation. Oh, yes. She would grow gills sooner than she would willfully imperil a day such as today. "Talk" "You" Think

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OOC: Sorry I'm the worst and never replied lmao.


Flicking an ear as she responded, he began to uncoil slightly. Eyeing her and the pools around them, Lerato debated whether or not he cared for the idea of the hot springs. It was kind of chilly out, and the rain didn't help. It wasn't so much that he struggled with the desire to warm up, but rather his dislike of how much colder it would seem once he got back out. Why he couldn't just choose to not think and enjoy things was beyond him.

After much deliberation, he figured this woman wasn't terrible, and he was getting cold just standing. So, without further ado, Lerato padded on over the the pool nearest Peregrine's and slowly lowered himself in. The delightful heat on his sore muscles brought a soft sigh from the depths of his lungs as his eyes slide shut and he relaxed. He might not even be able to leave if he wasn't careful. It was far too nice. "So..." he murmured, glancing towards the other brown wolf with curiosity heavy in his gaze, "What brings you here? Other than the water, that is."