Feeling out of place in her homeland, Sagacity took to wandering again as soon as she felt physically able to do so. She felt tired, drawn out, with a low reservoir of energy. This she pegged to exhaustion from healing, plus perhaps a tinge of depression which she wasn't quite willing to acknowledge yet. It hung about her like a cape drawn about her shoulders, one which she refused to admit was even there, to the point where she denied that she would need to shrug it off. She mourned not for the fact that she had been attacked and used; she only felt anger toward whoever it had been that had attacked her. She would find him again one day, she promised herself, and he would not survive their next encounter. But she felt sadness, something which followed her as closely as footsteps left behind in the snow. She mourned the loss of children which could have given her a part of Rhysis that she could have had for her very own- a part of him that Naira could never claim.

She caught the scent of water tinged with an odd scent. She'd never smelled water quite like it before but felt drawn to it, to investigate what it was. She felt warmth in the air which mingled with the cool mid-morning breeze, and found herself moving more quickly when she realized that the warmth intensified the closer she got to the hot springs. A thin haze rose through the trees ahead, and she marvelled at the fact that water could be so warm, even at this time of year.

It looked much like any other water source, though it was much warmer and perhaps a bit more opaque, though she wasn't sure if she imagined that or not. Warmth rose from its surface; she lowered her head to smell the water and decided she did not want to drink it- it smelled too strongly of earthy minerals. But she placed one front paw in the warm water and then the other- the sensation was delightful. She looked around, wondering if others would think her mad for moving further into the warm waters, but the temptation was too strong. She waded in until she was up to her elbows and slowly, carefully, lowered herself into the hot springs, closing her eyes and sighing in the rapture as she was engulfed in the warmth of the mineral rich waters. For the first time since her return to Nomad's Pass he felt relaxed, warm and healed.

It took her a few moments to adjust to the strangeness of the warm waters. The mist swirled around her head and for a little while it was noticeably harder to breathe than it had been before she'd come to the pool- she chalked this up to the mist, though, and the humidity. With her eyes closed and her body relaxed, she was able to enjoy the sensation further, feeling the waters move around her softly, gently, caressing her body. She felt calm and serene there, and all tension eased away from her shoulders and limbs. She couldn't smell very well, over the scent of the mineral-infused waters, but she simply invested faith in the hope that no one would come near her in a harmful way, not when the surroundings were this peaceful, and not when she was this relaxed. Part of her doubted anything would happen simply because of the odds- she'd already been attacked once, she should then not have to worry for quite some time of a similar thing happening again.

One of her ears drifted lazily toward the sound of a low bark. There was no urgency in it, it had merely been a greeting. She opened her eyes and turned her head, peering through the haze as she tried to make out the figure standing there- she could hardly make out any features, but recognized the colour and shape as being a large, dark-coloured fellow, fairly tall. The colour of his pelt reminded her instantly of two wolves- first, of the stranger which had attacked her and second, Rhysis. But she didn't recognize the build as belonging to either of them. For a moment he was a stranger to her eyes, hardly discernable until she saw the full, thick, plushy tail.

She squinted, trying to make out a clearer feature, but the haze was too hard to see through. Sagacity sat up, warm water trickling down her slicked grey pelt which became significantly darker when wet. With her head slightly higher the mist was not so thick, and she thought she saw, when a puff of a breeze shifted the mist, the glint of yellow eyes. "Faol?" She asked, voice proclaiming easily that she wasn't entirely sure if it was him or not, but she felt confident enough to make the guess.

He didn't answer at first so Sagacity sat a bit taller, the wet hairs along the back of her neck lifting a bit, though weighed down somewhat by the moisture. He was quite still and for a moment she lost sight of him completely, until she caught sight of movement. He was approaching and the sterling female tensed, ready to spring backwards with a spray of water should he charge toward her. She was sure she'd seen the glint of yellow eyes through the fog, but maybe she'd imagined it, as she'd wanted so badly not to see the hue of lime green. Her lips tightened as she watched, turning her head swiftly for a moment to glance about- she could have been surrounded, for all she knew.

But her mind was put at ease when he came close enough for those eyes of his to be seen as clear yellow, and his pace was relaxed. It was Faol, she realized, with relief. She hadn't seen him since the incident with the mushrooms- at that point in time she hadn't been entirely sure of him, but he'd been gentled considerably by sobriety, and therefore left her to assume that any hostility she'd sensed had been because of the mushrooms.

She gave him a small smile when he spoke at last, his voice somewhat coarse but not without allure and gentility. He was a bit of an enigma to her- had she not met him in a near-frantic state she might have understood him better, but as it was she was still somewhat left in the dark about him; it was hard to forget such a memorable first meeting, and difficult for it not to have an impact on her perception of him. But to his credit, however, was the fact that he'd recovered quickly and had done no wrong even while possessed by the infliction of temporary insanity. "It's nice to see you again, Faol," She said. "Keeping out of trouble?" She asked in a jokingly churlish way.

Sagacity had only been given a slight glimpse of who Faol really was the last time they had met. It had been enough to assure her that he was reasonably safe, especially given that even while intoxicated, he hadn't harmed her. It was too easy to become aggravated while consumed by the grip of mushrooms, but he hadn't harmed a hair on her body. This alone meant a significant amount to Sagacity who had, uncharacteristically, given him enough of her trust as to let him stay in her den that night. Not enough to share it with him or to frequent it much after that, but she hadn't run out on him, in the very least.

She hadn't expected him to be a QUACKSILVER or a demon- and he proved her right. He was mannerly and calm, and seemed fairly sincere about what he said. Truth be told, Sagacity had expected that they might see each other again- there had been a feeling that had accompanied her whenever she went out scouting that she might find him again. She'd even decided that if she came across his trail, she would have pursued it in the interest of finding him- just to quiet the little voice which insisted they would meet again. And here he was- she hadn't expected to see him there, certainly not while she was in the middle of a sauna-like bath, but she wouldn't complain. It was as good a time as any.

Sage, relaxed, allowed herself a small laugh at his comment and she nodded. He seemed like the type who might enjoy a bit of a thrill now and again, so long as the repercussions were avoided. She nodded appreciatively when she asked about her own experiences. "I've been keeping busy. Haven't had to play 'hero' in a while though; life's getting a bit boring without someone to save." She joked.

Sagacity chuckled softly when Faol subtly hinted that of the pair of them, he was the damsel in distress and she the hero. A true reversal of traditional roles and she wasn't entirely sure she'd ever considered herself as a potential hero before in her life. She didn't consider what she'd done for Faol a huge service- instead, she considered the situation in a way which made Faol seem more like a savior, given that he'd managed to control the savage part of him which had awakened on that day. He'd spared her and she knew she'd been close to being attacked- had she said the wrong things, of course.

She winked one yellow eye at him churlishly when he spoke again. "Or am I?" She asked playfully. A hell hound? Probably not. She shook her head. "I'm as likely to be a hell hound as I am a hero," She admitted. When he sat close to the water, she watched him, but then sat down as well, her hind quarters sinking into the warm waters. A shiver ran up her spine and lifted the hair at her nape; it was an unusual feeling to sit in water so warm, but it was relaxing and pleasant.

She gave him a slight look of surprise when he asked about her den. "Looking to spend another night?" She asked playfully, coyly avoiding a direct answer to his question.