Larkcall Lowlands bloodhound

OOC!  

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Word Count: 300  

It didn’t take long for Lorcan to join her as she headed out.  “Surprisingly, yes.” She replied to his question as they followed their curiosity.  The scent grew stronger with every step, as did the white wolf’s excitement.  Suddenly a mouth-watering smell hit her nose, mingling with the strange one whey were following.

Lorcan caught it too. “Can you smell that?!” He jumped forward, Anaia quick on his heels. We found them!  She slowed a little for a moment before speeding back up when she saw something strange.  Steam curled up from the ground, surrounded by the green blur of grass. Is it on fire? She wondered.

The ground softened beneath her paws she reached the plant life, but she quickly skidded to a halt.  In front of her was a shallow drop, and the area in front of her sheltered a tundra oasis.  There was a large herd of caribou – too many for her to count – but what held her attention was a strange yellow-green pool.  It was from the water that the steam was rising, and it also seemed to be the source of the strange smell they’d been following. She looked at the healer, confused. “What is this?” She asked.  She’d never seen hot springs before.

She watched as the caribou grazed around the pool, but never touched it. The drive to discover once again seized her.  She moved down the gentle slope until she came to the edge of the pool, the prey animals moving off without too much panic. One would think they’ve never seen a wolf before. She thought absently, but her attention was on the oddly-colored yet still clear water.  She cautiously dabbed a paw in and jumped back with a surprised yelp. “It’s hot!” She cried, turning to look at Lorcan.

"Speech"  Thought

(This post was last modified: Jan 26, 2017, 05:31 PM by Anaia. Edit Reason: fixing description )

Ember Chasm is located in the eastern part of Larkcall Lowlands. The pool appears never-ending with the water at the center appearing a dark murky blue. The outer fringes of the pool are colored in fiery shades of orange and yellow. Steam can be seen rising from the surface of the hot water. It is the steam which prevents snow from settling in the area immediately around the pool and allows for grass to grow, even in the harshest winter months.

Golden eyes peered curiously over the slope in the earth as the approached the area where the caribou scent grew strongest. Immediately his tail began to wag uncontrollably at the sight of the large herd of prey who grazed contentedly upon the exposed area of grass. Salmon pink tongue swept hungrily across his charcoal lips before he turned to Anaia with an excited grin. They would have to tell the others about this when they returned. If they could work together and take down a few caribou, there would finally be enough food to feed all of the pack.

It was only after he had finished eyeing up the sea of beasts that his eyes flicked across to the area where the steam was rising from the ground. Cautiously, he trotted closer, moving around the caribou herd who seemed to pay neither him or @Anaia much attention. It felt strange to feel grass once again beneath his paws. What was also strange was how much warmer the air felt around them. It quickly became apparent that the steam held warmth. Russet ears perked up at Anaia's question but he did not know the answer and so just looked at her blankly and shook his head. His head tilted curiously to the side as he wondered if the pool of water it rose from was also just as warm. He didn't have to wonder for long though, as Anaia touched her paw to it and cried out.

"That must be why the snow has melted here.. and why the caribou are congregating in this area." He pondered, moving to stand beside Anaia and briefly look over her paw. Standing still, Lorcan took a few moments to look at the scene around him. The hot water seemed to be held in a large  pool made of rock and earth and the water itself seemed stained blue, green and orange. "I've never seen anything like it before.." He admitted."We should stay back in case it's dangerous." Caution was also better. Carefully he peered into the centre of the deep pool.. "It looks like it never ends!" He exlaimed, turning back to look at Anaia, curious to hear what she thought of it.

(This post was last modified: Jan 26, 2017, 06:58 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

OOC!  

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Word Count: 201  

Her paw throbbed with a kind of pain she hadn’t felt before, and she suddenly wished for more snow around them.  Though she was ready for spring, the memory of its cool touch was appealing on her hurt pads.  She tenderly licked at it when Lorcan had finished looking it over, suppressing a whimper as her rough tongue swiped over the pink flesh.

“A never ending pool?” She mused.  The thought was terrifying, though maybe that was because it had just burned her paw.

She looked around at the caribou. “Well, we found what we were looking for.” Her voice held a hint of disappointment; it hadn’t taken quite as long as she was hoping, but she supposed it was a good thing the herd wasn’t too far away.

The curling steam captured her attention again, and she gazed back into the water.  “It is kinda cool.” She admitted, while still hanging back. “What do we call it?” While she wasn’t particularly interested in getting close to it again, the warm air it brought with it appealed to her very much.  It was far more comfortable here than it was on the windswept Monadnock – though to be fair, she hadn’t been there during the summer.

"Speech"  Thought

Although Anaia's paw had been burnt, it wasn't severe since she had only touched the hot water for a split second. He would provide her with some plants when they returned to the monadnock. As Anaia licked at her paw, Lorcan continued to study the strange hot pool of water in front of them. It really perplexed him.

His russet ears perked up at Anaia's reply and his brow's furrowed into a serious frown. "It's a good thing you didn't jump in or try to drink from it.." A slight burn to the paw he could fix, but the injuries the female could have sustained were terrifying, if she even managed to make it out alive. Catching Anaia's comment about the caribou, Lorcan turned his attention away from the hot pool momentarily to give a contented nod towards the female. Now they had some good news to tell the others when they get back, as well as warn them about the hot water pool they had discovered. His eyes flickered back to the coloured water and the steam which billowed up from its bubbling surface.

"How about..." He paused a moment as he pondered over a name. "Ember Chasm." At least the name gave warning to it's fiery disposition. Turning is attention back to the caribou herd which grazed around the far edges of the chasm where the grass grew, the agouti male gazed at them longingly. If only more wolves had accompanied them, then perhaps they would have been able to take one day. Now though, with just the two of them and with Anaia's hurt paw, there was no chance of a kill. At least they knew where the caribou were though.

"We should probably head back." He suggested with a flick of his tail. "We can find somewhere to rest for the night before it gets too dark and we can tell the others about the caribou when we get back to Whitestone." He said as he turned away from the geyser and moved slowly back through the caribou herd and back towards the snowy tundra, pausing occasionally to allow Anaia to catch up. The clouds were already starting to darken with the approaching night, they'd need to find somewhere safe to shelter soon.

(This post was last modified: Jan 26, 2017, 07:40 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

OOC!  

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Word Count: 206

The thought that she might have jumped in or tried to drink from it horrified the young white wolf.  While she was confident she would never try to drink something that smelled so strange or had that particular color, she could see herself just going for the dive.  Her eyes widened and she shook her head violently, trying to dispel the imagine image of her sinking to her doom in the scalding liquid.

“That is a good name.” She agreed, paw twinging from its own experience with it.  

Not wanting to think about it anymore, Anaia stared at the caribou, mouth watering as she imagined catching one.  She and Lorcan were not enough to hunt such a large creature though; they would have to return with backup.

She could handle that.

Following the healer, the pale woman struggled to keep up.  She still had energy enough, but her paw sent protests shooting up her let every time she took a step.  She was thankful when they finally stopped for the night, gingerly licking the seared area.  She found a patch of snow and placed her paw in it, for once enjoying its chill. This trip had not been as fun as she had been hoping after all.

"Speech"  Thought