Hot Springs come to the fountain and you can be satisfied

For @Iyes.

Unsurprisingly, Ophelia had no talent as any kind of negotiator. She was impatient and quickly bored with a wandering mind and an obvious lack of attention that was apparently considered rude. Well, if someone wanted her to pay attention, they should at least try to say something interesting. Rather than frustrate her father or insult their allies further, the pale princess chose to wander off on her own.

She walked with a complete lack of concern as if any potential dangers were so far beneath her that they could not even possibly register. Even the slippery cliffs along which she'd walked had been treated like ant hills rather than the unforgiving mountains they were. Each step was taken as if a grass carpet had been rolled out in front of her and she strolled with ease and confidence. Her nose twitched as she caught the heady scent of water that was not at all similar to that of Cut Rock River. Frowning, the pale female moved forward to investigate.

With winter still clinging stubbornly to the Lore, Ophie watched with fascination as steam curled above the bubbly surface of several springs. The girl trotted down to the waters edge and sniffed curiously and gave a cautious lap only to lift her head and tilt it. Warm, she marveled. In this cold? Encouraged that her tongue had at least not been burned, the princess took a tentative step in and hummed with delight before stepping deeper into the spring until water lapped against her sides.

They needed a place like this in Cedarwood! It was marvelous. The girl lay down, fully submerging her back with only her head left above water. Her cheeks warmed delightfully and she closed her eyes. Content to stay right there until her father came looking, Ophelia stretched out her back legs in languid comfort.

Lost Lake was a discovery that thrilled Iyes the moment she laid eyes upon the valley, excitement fueling her descent down the mountainside like she were a furry Lewis or a four-legged Clark. Who would have known that by heading north up the Heights and continuing straight on just the right path would lead her to such a pristine body of water nestled right in the mountains? Right away she donned the imaginary cloak of Guardian of the Lake and began a patrol around its shore, wary of the pack nearby but otherwise blissfully inquisitive to all the sights and smells.

She was likely halfway around the lake when a different smell rolled over from the east - a smell like water, but very weird. As she loped closer the stones underfoot turned from hard grey to soft beige, and in the midst of softer soil sat a few shallow pools of water. The edges looked as though they had been rusted and gave off a peculiar but not exactly unpleasant smell. She stepped closer, squinting. Was the surface... producing fog? Almost like her breath did when it was really, really cold.

Determined to investigate Iyes drew closer, only to halt herself after a few steps. There was something in the water that looked a lot like... the head of a wolf? Yeah, that was definitely one of her own kind. Her lips twisted down with somewhat of a frown, wondering why anyone would be submerging themselves in water when it was so chilly out. But she didn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort. With a dry throat she briefly considered maybe the she-wolf was dead. While it seemed genuinely unlikely, it probably wouldn't hurt to check it out - right?

Gingerly she moved closer to the pool, fire-bright eyes trained carefully on the other youth to look for signs of life. Tips of her toes came to a halt just before the water's edge as she tilted her head, tail swaying from side to side behind her. Well it kinda looked like the wolf was breathing, so Iyes called out, "What are you doing?"

adopt thea?

Each exhale Ophelia made caused tiny ripples in the water hovering just under her nose. Her soft hums to herself blocked out any chance of hearing the stranger approaching from behind, and even if she had, the princess would likely have been slow to open her eyes anyway. She was enjoying herself. Why should she hurry to have her peace interrupted by some nosy busy body?

So when the question came from far too close, a flick of a tan tipped ear was the most reaction garnered from the pale girl for nearly an entire minute. Finally, relenting to the fact that the stranger was not likely to leave on her own, Ophelia gave a long suffering sigh as she opened her pale green eyes and turned her head to regard the black female.

The Grizzly Hollow pup's gaze narrowed in judgement on the girl. Normally, Ophelia would find some fatal flaw and poke the bear just to get a reaction. But this girl was pretty though she was maybe a little short, it was hardly a good enough bear to poke in the first place. Instead of going with her normal first reaction of teasing, Ophelia cocked her head and attempted to wag her sodden, half submerged tail. The result was a slow wave of the pale banner across the surface of the steaming springs.

"Relaxin', what's it look like?" she wondered without heat. "Water's warm. What's your name?" The number of girls her own age Ophelia actually got to meet was thus far limited to two and both of them had been wild red heathens, though Flair was infinitely more likeable than that Archer girl. It would be nice to make another friend, even if they did live far away.

A long and dull pause followed the question posed by the inky she-wolf. This would have furthered her assumption that the other girl was dead had it not been for a simple flick of her ear that suggested she'd heard what Iyes said. Standing in the silence she felt her skin warm underneath her coat. Was she... not welcome here?

But then the other wolf slid open her gaze, settling a pair of pale green eyes on Iyes. The dark yearling stood, brow furrowing slightly, as the quiet continued and she seemed to be the focus of some judgement. A slow wave of a tail in water ended the ordeal, and a word rose from the youth. Relaxing. Given Iyes' last encounter with a body of water this winter she didn't imagine there was anything relaxing about being wet in such weather. But the pale female clarified, water's warm, and her amber eyes widened to an incredulous expression.

"I'm Iyes." She responded distractedly, inching near to the water's edge. Delicately she touched the tips of her toes against the surface, amazed to find it was exactly as the female said it was. Warm. Taking gentle steps forward Iyes let her body become slowly submerged in the pool as well, stopping just after her shoulders were covered in water. She heaved a long and well-fulfilled sigh as she felt her muscles relax within the heated pool - why didn't they have one of these in the Heights?

The gentle waves of heat radiating from the pool brushed against her cheeks as she returned to her attention to her current companion. Iyes lifted her chin and canted her muzzle in the direction of the pack smell she'd encountered before. "Are you from that pack over there?"

adopt thea?

As the dark, pretty wolf introduced herself, seeming more focused on the water than Ophelia, the young pup lifted her chin a smidge, but there was no hint of annoyance in her pale green eyes. She'd already learned not to expect others to think anything of her right off the bat. It was something she had to prove; a hard lesson indeed for her. "I'm Princess Ophelia Macieo," she introduced, holding her head now regally in a matter befitting one in her distinguished position. "Heir to the Grizzly Hollow Pack," the girl added when Iyes asked if she belonged to the nearby pack.

Daintily, she shook her head. "Daddy - that's Veho Macieo - and I are just visited. Something about family or whatever. Boring adult talk, so I came out to explore." Regarding her new companion with curiosity, Ophelia smiled. "Where are you from? Definitely not the place I came from. Are you part of another nearby pack? That's pretty close, isn't it?" Before allowing the older girl to answer, she had to add, "We live in Cedarwood Forest. It's huge and feels very secluded."

More questions bubbled up in Ophelia's throat - what was her pack like? Why was she out alone? Did she not have many friends either? Could they be friends? Did what little conversation they've had already constitute the groundwork for a friendship? - but the pale princess managed to hold them back behind their teeth to allow @Iyes to speak up and answer the ones she'd already asked. No need to overwhelm her so early on, she supposed.

A small smile spread across her ebony muzzle as the youth spouted off questions, a barrage of words which did not discourage her further. After the initial long silence she had been half expecting an awkward mutism to envelope them until one of them (most likely Iyes) would have to force themselves out of the warmth of the hot spring. Thankfully, that seemed to not be the case. Bolstered by the questions, her bright amber eyes fixed on the pale youth.

Woefully undereducated in royal terms Iyes waved her tail innocently below the water and acknowledged her new companion, Princess. She tilted her head, blinking as she attempted to holus-bolus grab the pieces and put them together. Veho Macieo was the Leader of Grizzly Hollow in a forest of cedars, wherever that was. And his daughter, Princess, was the next in line due to inherit Grizzly Hollow. This was probably going to be something similar to the situation of Kyna and Greer's cubs, Iyes kept in mind. Veho and Princess were related to someone in the pack that lived by the lake, and they were here on a visit. That was a lot to remember in one go.

In some corner of her brain she briefly wondered where @Mace was, if he had found his family - her family too - and where they lived. Could she visit family? Did she even care? Since the dissolution of her own she had found a family in the Heights, and they were wonderful. No boring adult stuff of which to speak.

Retreating from those thoughts Iyes was happy to reciprocate her own set of information, a bright grin adorning her muzzle as she regarded the pale royal. "Yeah, my pack is close. I'm from Aurora Heights. We live up on the mountain, on a beautiful plateau. It's so high up and you can see the whole world." Iyes stood by her hyperbolic statement, turning her muzzle toward the Heights and lifting a paw out of the water to motion vaguely in the direction of home. "I'm a Guardian. Or, well, a Guardian in training, I guess." When did she get to become a real Guardian? Heigen would probably just tell her when she reached the level she needed to be. Tilting her head she wondered aloud, "Where is Cedarwood Forest? I don't think I've ever been there."

adopt thea?

As her companion shared where she was from, Ophelia's tail continued to sway along the water's surface while steam heated her cheeks. She liked this girl! Iyes was nice in an honest sort of way. She didn't have the same haughty attitude like that one red girl or the frowning disposition of her brother. Odin, she recalled. The girl's name, she'd forgotten if it was ever shared. Ophie hadn't cared to invest any of her brain-space on someone like her! But @Iyes was different.

When the yearling mentioned being able to see the whole world from her pack's location, the pale princess wondered if even Cedarwood could be visualized from such a high perch. How different would it look from way high up on the mountain? Was it the closest a wolf could get to a bird's vision? She would have been happy to ask along those lines, but found herself immediately distracted by the word Guardian. It sounded mystical and exciting when she said it. Nineva was a Guardian, Ophie thought. Or at least she looked over the territory and protected everyone against any wolves that dared trespass.

"Wow," the girl breathed, truly impressed. "You must be really talented to be a Guardian." She didn't add the 'in-training' part. As far as Ophie saw it, everyone was always training for something. Even Daddy. Every day, he was training as leader and getting better.

"Oh, home is that way," she shared, her muzzle jutting westward. "It's a few days journey from here. Maybe you could get there quicker if you had to; we traveled pretty slow though."

The princess stood suddenly and shook out her pale coat. The chill of the air had a hard time penetrating her still-present winter coat despite how sodden it was. "Hey, do you wanna play?" she asked, peridot eyes gleaming hopefully. Since Felix had left, she really hadn't had anyone her age to play with, and now that she and Daddy were traveling, it was even harder to come by. The girl bowed down, her chin just barely hovering above the water now while her tail waved high over her back.

Iyes couldn't help but blush beneath the her black-furred cheeks at Princess' compliment, and for once in her life she was inclined to believe it was true. Maybe it wasn't exactly talent, but she enjoyed working with Heigen and felt like she was getting better at it - so something was working out for her. Her tail wagged faster, disrupting the water as it did. "Thanks," she grinned, somewhat bashfully. "I mean, I'm still learning but-" Iyes offered a hapless shrug, brushing off the compliment and fully accepting it in the same rise and fall of her shoulders. It was cool to be a Guardian, even just in another wolf's eyes.

Just how far away was her friend, anyway? Maybe the pale-coated princess could swing by and visit Aurora Heights before she went back to the Hollow with her dad. Her eyes widened with a curious excitement when Ophelia mentioned she was only a few days west. Iyes could probably see Princess's house from her house! Maybe she could even point it out to her from way up high on the plateau! And then they could-

Her wandering imagination was taken back quickly when the young princess stood suddenly. The inky yearling tilted her head almost wistfully; was she going so soon? But the Macieo youth had a different proposition in mind. Black ears perked forward like someone had offered her the wolf equivalent of a million bucks. She wanted to play? Thea had never wanted to play. The last time she had properly tussled with someone had been many, many months ago and several small tragedies earlier. But even that was not enough to destroy the pup in her completely.

Standing too she backed up until her hind legs hit the banks of the hot springs, lowering her chest and muzzle into the shallow waters in a bow to match her friend's. A playful growl sent bubbles up from her muzzle beneath the water's surface, an acceptance of the terms. In a flash she leapt up and bounded around the bank of the rounded spring, lowering her head in an attempt to butt it into the pale youth's shoulder. Then, if she stumbled, Iyes would give her companion a friendly downward shove back into the hot springs from whence she came.

e_e sorry this took me 900 years and 1 day

adopt thea?

A pleasurable thrill dashed through Ophelia as her words had a marked effect on her companion. To see @Iyes shyly light up brought a grin to the pale princess and she shared a warm smile in return. It was a new aspect of herself that Ophie was discovering; that she could be kind without losing face. And that others would take to it in such a rewarding way was news as well.

When her invitation to play was so obviously accepted, the Macieo youth snickered as the dark girl blew bubbles in the spring. Ophelia stiffened in preparation as Iyes made her charge. When the young Guardian drew close, Ophie twisted away and barked in her face as she stumbled and sloshed through the water that reached her chest. She moved gracelessly through the water, bounding and tripping over the excessive drag she wasn't prepared for until she could angle back towards shore and have solid ground beneath her paws.

The tiny black tip of her tail flagged high overhead as she laughed and raced away, turning it into a game of chase. Barking and laughter filled the air atop the mountain as she led her new friend around and around the springs, leaping and bounding to offer playful nips in turn. "Can't catch me!" she boasted, giddy with the game as a whole. The very thought of being caught was encouragement enough for her to keep up her top speed!

She had expected to feel the young Macieo's fur against her skull as she charged forward, but the princess was too talented to be caught by such an easy trick. Small like Iyes but far more tactful she twisted away with quick steps and slogged through the hot springs toward the other side. With her first charge lost the inky yearling jammed her feet into the soft floor of the springs to steady herself, snorting and giving a rough shake to rid her face of the warm water that splashed up in her face from all the ruckus. But the glint in her eye was still shining strong; she wasn't giving up here!

Ophelia's laughter rang out across the thawing mountainside as she danced back over towards Iyes, the latter responding with a bounce on to dry land. Nips were met with friendly growls, and growls with the clip of her teeth toward the princess' cheek. Despite the wrinkle in her muzzle her tail thrashed gleefully, giving the undertone of unbridled joy to every fang she dared display in the young wolf's direction. Suddenly Ophelia turned and bounded away, a taunt ringing out in lilted tones.

"Bet I can!" Iyes retorted and gave chase. Cat and mouse was usually easy for Iyes, but she had never met someone quite as fleet-footed herself. The joys of being much smaller than all her friends were few and far between, but being able to sprint away was definitely one of them. Ophelia had this ability as well - which meant she'd have to be a bit smarter to win this one. A toothy grin spread across her blackened muzzle in acceptance of this challenge.

Her admiration would have to wait - Ophelia was quickly leaving her in the dust and that was totally unacceptable. A giddyup growl surged from her chest as Iyes launched herself forward, digging into the earth with wide strides to make up some of the ground between them. Meanwhile she began to weave toward the Hollow heir's left side, aiming to drive her pale companion toward the mountain's foothills. Ophelia could outrun the mountain wraith, but perhaps Iyes could outfox the forest fairy.

adopt thea?