Hot Springs can you feel the heat?

@Sitamat.

Spring and it was still far too cold. Nine degrees on a clouded afternoon left the pregnant woman irritable and sore. Though still she clung to her winter coat, ever more keeping her mostly warm due to the thickness of her coat anyhow, the woman already begged for winter to ease. She missed travel, scouring the lands for rare herb to pass her time which was favored for the healer. Now, she exited from the storage den at the edge of her home, close to the foothills of the mountains with an eagerness to stretch her limbs. Even as a healer, she would have likely been reprimanded for venturing too far from her homeland, mainly when it was scaling the length of a mountain side while pregnant. But the woman rebelled, pushing through the very lands she had warned her pack mates about.
The rocky terrain was something she had grow to, but even these footfalls were something to pay close mind to and the woman walked carefully with the oddity of her body, much more rounded and heavier with already moving through the half point of her pregnancy. Into the lower heights of the Serpent's Pass, she travels north, smelling the Hot Springs before she actually sees them. The chilly air grows warmer, comforting like a den might have been and she quickens her pace with sure steps. The streaming waters was not anything she had encountered before in these lands though something she knew and approached them with still caution. She tested the waters with a dip of hr grey toes, a rumbled coo echoing her mug in the aftermath. Without further ado, the woman eases herself into the shallow hot waters and it soothes her, easing her aching muscles and tired bones from both travel, stress and pregnancy alike.

There is no agitation to be felt within the massive Issumatar as the knowledge truly embeds itself within her: she would not bear cubs this season. Siku had begun the legacy of Tartok in the name of bearing cubs, and she had done so successfully. She invested her time in them, and them alone. She had begun with her cubs: Atuaserk, Malrok, Pingasut, and Sitamat. Siku was prepared to have cubs again, but not now. She had more to do before this was done. Now that her firstborns were yearlings, they could move from home. Spread. Learn of the world as she had, but earlier. They would be cultured. Sitamat the slow lagged behind with intention. Siku had demanded that he find herbs before he found her. She would hide, and he would use his nose. The scent of Phineas was gone, replaced instead with the scent of the Copse (where she had told Phineas she would linger until she and hers were ready, and he was ready to stake his claim: they were the first loyalists). But even that she had rubbed away with rock and stone, thinking of Ivik Summit and Arktayok Peak. Her heart did not ache for those territories, or the familiarity of them. But it would be good to climb another Mountain. And so she did, without looking back; she forced her scent to be that of this place, so that she was as good as the land itself. There would always be the distinct ode de Siku; but that distinctness was hardly nameable, or even recognized. For it was so miniscule. Her years of tracking had come in handy. It had, for all intents and purposes, once been her life. She knew how to find. She also knew how to never be found. But she did not try too hard. She and Sitamat had yet to do this exercise together. She would not go easy on him—she never had—but she would not make it impossible. Yet. So every now and then, she would fall into a tree, allowing a tuft of fur to be caught. Shaking out her ruff, she then pushed onward in long-legged strides. Like Elettra, Siku smelled the place before she saw it; the change in temperature came soon after, and the warmth made its way past her thick furs unto her skin. Siku preferred the cold. The heat was aggravating; she did not look forward to the impending Summer, and she did not particularly enjoy Spring. Now even less so, being that she would bring nothing into this world. No matter. She would in due time. The trail of another was thick in the swampy warmth around her. Siku did not make to follow it. She avoided it, in fact, forking in the opposite direction. In the end, however, she and Elettra had made it to the same central area. The scent of her pregnancy caused Siku to feel irate, but only temporarily. They were not pack. There was no cause to do what she had desired to do to Rati (and likely would have, had they not made their own compromise). Siku eyed the water, having never deigned it necessary to use heat to soothe aching muscles. Still. The water would cause her sons trail to become confused, and so she decided to ingress a different water-source, near to Elettra herself who had perhaps seen her (Elettra had not been sought out actively, lest the she-wolf think that had been her purpose here). It was surprisingly nice, but she was out as quickly as she had entered, stepping away to shake out her jet-black coat.

I should have known this wouldn't have gotten too far. XD

Much the same feelings did they share when it came to the cooler months. Elettra enjoyed the chilly weather in both the serenity of the lands itself during snowfalls as well as the comfort in brought her in having a thick, fluffy coating of darker coloration. Winter was a challenge, all the same, pushing the strongest to survive and proving your worth in this where Mother Nature did test. However, she was a healer and, after such a long run of winter and having been quite hard on her pack, Elettra was eager for spring to come. Spring was yet still cool, sprouting out many new herbs to toy with her senses and send her on a search where her wandering heart often craved. Summer, on the other paw...Well, fuck summer.
For the time, the Hot Springs did well enough to please her. The winter chill did not ache her bones, though the extra weight had left her muscles a bit sore. She had only been pregnant once before, forced into a cavern lock down away from prying eyes. This time she was on her feet often in her pregnancy, even going to the length of feeding for herself in moments where an impatience pushed her from otherwise waiting for her pack mates to do their job. She would have to remember this place, for Skana's sake. Though the trek alone might be hard on her bones, perhaps it would be worth the venture yet still for the older woman Elettra had come to quite enjoy.
A sigh took her then, stirring the silence as a curl of hot breath mingled with the hot air around her and with a winter's breeze to cut through, came the scent of the other woman. An instant awareness overcomes her, vulnerable in her placement within the waters and Elettra shifts, nearing the edge to where she would be ready to spring out in ether fight or flight should the need arrive. She is greeted by a woman, as dark as they could be with a pale gaze of icy rifts. The woman's features, without a doubt, instantly intrigue Elettra. She is dark, with her eyes a bright contrast to her body, scarred along her muzzle with a hint that more lie under the thick of her coat. And her size, large in a towering manner. The structure of the woman reminded her own her own family line, a powerful genetic that filled Elettra Archer with obvious pride. The woman before her could be allies in this or complete rivals, though for the moment Elettra was content to keep silent and prove neither.
Elettra would lift, easing from the pool as quickly as Siku enters another not far from her. For a second, Elettra is still, the length of her coating slick to every curve of her figure as she directs her attention to the other. Nothing is said, but a brief recognition of her presence, grey eyes seeking the ice of her own. Then she shakes, breaking the stare and trotting off towards home. There was nothing more here and the Matriarch had been gone far too long.

(This post was last modified: Apr 12, 2013, 12:54 AM by Elettra.)

LOL. I love these sorts of threads though. <__________>

The other emerged as Siku had; for she had not lingered for too long at all in the warm waters, and felt that there was no use in doing so. Siku reveled in the pain she was brought. It meant she had fought well. Rarely could others appreciate the pain she did; she was no masochist, but she could appreciate the soreness one felt after any battle. There was something to be said of it. Her eyes fell to Elettra as Elettra's eyes came to her, eyes roving over the features of the other. Siku saw no beauty there, just as she had never seen beauty in anyone. But the features of Elettra were utterly aesthetic, testament to the wolves that would continue to thrive. Siku did not note the rounded belly, as pregnancy was hard to see in a belly that dropped but did not round. Siku could not imagine the woman to have a sweet lilt in her voice; a strange thought, as she seldom thought of speech at all. Elettra was the first to look away. Siku's head lifted some as she watched the other depart, and then her great head turns to look in the opposing direction. Elettra was going the way she had come; there would be no use in backtracking when Sitamat was trailing her. And so she fell lazily to her haunches, lifting a hind leg to satisfy an itch behind her ear, viciously scratching until she was satisfied. Siku thought of the other not at all when she was gone; there could be no impressions left. She would allow herself to dry some in the warmth before moving on, waiting for her son to arrive. Her bear cub would arrive in due time; she had all of the time in the world. And so she quietly waited, ears pricked and senses attentive. Her sons steps would be easy to hear, she imagined, though the fog around may muffle the sound some. All the more reason to remain silent.

Her movements are swift yet delicate, taking her time as she loops back around from which she had came, eager now to take herself back home to rest within the safety of her boarders and, without the worry of her pack mates taking note of their only active Leader having gone missing and, with their future pups hanging in the balance. It would have been an easy journey, descending down much quicker then the trek up and having grown into harsh circumstances, surely she would make her way all the more smoothly. ...Though not as smoothly as a mountain lion.
The scent struck her hard enough to leave her sliding in her tracks along the thin lining of snow over the cold earth. Not only was her scent as a wolf a dead give away as a predator, she was pregnant, slower in this state and a bit more vulnerable. She had yet to make way into her pregnancy where moving around was altering her, but the signs were there none the less. ...And she smelt like wet dog.
Instantly the woman turns, deciding upon another route to lope around the mountain side instead of descending directly downward. An encounter with a cougar was a deadly game, one of much accomplishment and pride should you accomplish it, but not a risk Elettra was willing to take at the moment. She feared not herself, but what she carried: the future of her pack, her children. She'd lost a little once and would not fall into the same paw prints again.
Moving swifter, her tail out straight in an aggressive display and her nose wrinkled to the approaching scent, Elettra once more came upon the woman she had only moments ago turned away from. She was settled there, content with her placement in the world, whatever that may be. A rogue, likely with nothing better to do. A gruff noise echoed from parted mug, silvery pale eyes darting back to the woman's of ice. Elettra kept on her toes even as she passed up the woman once more. The warning she offered clear - it was no longer safe here.

It was strange, to be a lone wolf; but she was not really one any longer, was she? No, she had decided to follow Phineas. There was no pro in being a lone wolf. It spelled death. She had never been one, truly, regardless; she traveled with her pack. Aves, who had gone to watch Nunataq and Tonraq, Sitamat and Ataneq. The familiar scent of Elettra caused the woman to reenter her mind. Siku was swift to rise, knowing that she had not returned for nothing. Siku was a simple woman, dense, even, but not vapid and without sense. The grunt emitted said more than enough, and Siku lifted her nose. The scent of cougar came in the air, but then, so did the scent of its blood. Siku looked to the retreating Elettra, licking her chops. The woman moved in the way she was now intending to go. And although the others potential pregnancy may be a burden, the Issumatar imagined that the cougar may very well keep its distance from two wolves in its own injured state. All these thoughts occurred in seconds. The Issumatar, matriarch of Tartok and each of its battalions, moved swiftly after Elettra. Her strides were long and strong, and she peered over her shoulder only once as she thought of her son. But she had told him what to do should this situation arise. He was the slowest, mentally, of her sons. But like her, he was not stupid. She was not worried for the yearling. She did not keep too close to Elettra; they were not friends. Siku would not actively seek to help the other if she could help it, not because the other was an enemy but instead because she had no ties to her. But as they moved on together, Siku could smell the pungent odor of their would-be enemy, her eyes narrowing. Siku slowed some, ears perked. Siku moved ahead, intentionally moving herself in the predicted path of Elettra, her nose pointing at a bloodied tree that the enemy they moved to avoid had likely stumbled into. Sickly. That did not matter—this did not bode well. A branch snapped in the near-distance, the scree that fell not echoing in the stagnant air but heard in brief clicks. Siku's head lowered, a low, predatory rumble bubbling in her chest in not a warning, but a promise: come near and die. She imagined it would not move in a typical lilt that was seen in all cougars. Siku could not predict how injured the thing was, and the blood on the tree gave her little confidence. Still. For now, she stood her ground. Moving forward would entice it, she was certain, just as it would any predator.

(This post was last modified: Apr 12, 2013, 02:18 AM by Siku.)

The silence still rang between them, marching within the same direction of one another, though far from side by side - traveling partners though not friends. They were allies this moment with only the intent of survival. Facing off two wolves was much harder then facing off one and though Elettra needed not out run the cougar (only outrun Siku) within the mountains it was yet still a risk she would rather not take unless pushed towards. Elettra's long, lean limbs move swift, with a sureness towards home where ether the cougar would object to the idea of going against a pack of wolves or Elettra would have the back up of her pack to fend off the enemy.
Though she is stopped, suddenly, as Siku arches quick into her path, stopping her in her tracks with a silent jut of her muzzle. Elettra's head lifts for the view upon the tree and her muzzle twitches with a sniff. Elettra is left with little choice but to turn around with the dark woman at her side. Each snap of the twigs as the creature grew nearer left Elettra on edge: her hair along her spine stood on end, her head lowering to push back and level with her spine, limbs splaying out for balance and a readied lunge. Her tail is like a banner behind her, offering an intimidation display as a last resort for the cat to turn tail and run.
The mountain cat, for now, does not take the bait, but rather swaggers into the scene before them with a weary footing yet determined gaze. Ribs could be seen along the length of the beast, as well as upon it's left flank a wound of a hole, likely from an elk or a mule deer from a hunt gone wrong. The cougar stops once it is in full view, as though the sheer sight of him would make the wolves flee in order for it to give chase. A bellow echoes from opened jaws, a roar which shutters through the mountain side, leaving Elettra's jaws to snap in warning and hiss. If it was going to be a fight, the Torbine Princess would give it a run for it's money, dancing around it's enemy with speed where Siku (a larger built woman, but seemingly to be slower then her due to this) may face it with a more direct approach. Or, they will run like pansies. Who knows?

Siku was a woman who held honor. And as the creature danced onto the scene, hungry and wounded, Siku knew for certain that she would not be the one to decamp. The Tartok matriarch lifted her head and tucked her muzzle slightly, allowing the cougar to take in the counterpart of Elettra. If the stature of one would not make it anxious, perhaps her own could help... But a yowling sound informed Siku that their intimidation tactic had not worked. Cougars were a different breed than their own. And in its lucid state, it fancied itself capable to handle them. One more than the other. Its eyes lingered on Elettra, and Siku's tongue rolled over a single canine. The strong survive. Her eyes did not drift to Elettra, but remained upon the cougar, who took a languid step forward, lazy and assured in itself. Siku herself took a step forward, though her own was rigid and confident, tail high and ears thrust forward in the promise of aggression. The thing was injured enough for her to take, Siku understood, with the aid of Elettra's distraction. Already, Elettra was doing the perfect job. Siku had decided long ago that she would kill the beast. If it weren't injured, perhaps she would have not even thought in such a way. But its weakened condition was what she needed, and if it were dead it could pose no threat to her own cubs. So she moved herself, slowly but surely, around so that when the time for the creatures attack came, she could go for its rear where she would be least vulnerable to tooth and claw, and further upset the predators injury to the point of its limb being altogether useless. The limp was subtle. But the predatory gleam in Siku's eye was all that it took to know that it was noted.

Their eyes locked, predator against predator, for Elettra had no means to leave this world this day by the likes of an injured rock cat. Her display remained solid, her tail rigid and straight out, though unlike Siku who stepped forth, Elettra stepped back. She had obviously gained the cat's attention, likely due to her slighter size then the bulk of Siku's form, not to mention the smell of motherhood and a sight of more rounded stomach to hamper her down. But Elettra's powerful, long limbs had never failed her yet.
At the failure of her and her 'partner's' aggressive display, the dark fae turns her position to defensive. She hampers down, her eyes forming into slits of silver and her limbs bending and spreading further for a readied spring action. Her ears are back and her head low as she continues to move backward. Elettra takes note from the corner of her vision the larger black woman arcing slowly around to the mountain lion's back side. Drawing it's attention still, the sole Leader of the Ridge works her way in slow backing steps, turning herself with each movement so that she arcs in the opposite direction of Siku. The cat follows, salivating, hungry, a hiss under it's breath.
The Archer woman's attempt is to help guide the predator's gaze far from the rogue's maneuver and to help aid this Elettra hunkers down lower, submissive, less threatening as though a plea for her very life and the life of the children she carries. A false act of desperation in her 'last moments' as she eases along the sloping paths of the mountain side, closer to the edge...

The cougar moved toward Elettra. Nearer and nearer it lurked. As Siku followed, her own eyes gleamed in a feral manner. The tables had turned as she went unseen. She and Elettra were now the predator, the cougar their prey, though not for eating. Its eagerness did not slip, though its power over the situation—unbeknownst to it—was, and rapidly. The ratiocination for this was hardly needed then and there; there seemed to be no logic in this at all, but it was right, clearly so. The thing would die. The certainty in this was felt the longer her eyes lingered upon its injury— And then it moved. This was something of a hunt, wasn't it? As it hunted Elettra, the two strangers hunted it in kind. It had been a fool to discount either of them, even with Elettra's evident (by scent alone) disability. As it lunged, Siku surged forward, hoping that the leader would move out of the way so that with all of her own momentum, she could shove it off the ledge.