Aurora Heights gone, but not forgotten

We'll see about that his thoughts answered, but his tongue was done wagging. Jethro dropped and rather than fall off balance, Scully clung to his bulk, weight falling down and onto the other wolf. It was the spinning that got him, unable to hold back his well-muscled foe much less escape the grasp of his teeth on his limb thereafter.

Again he opted to roll with the punches, this time much like an alligator might. While Jethro pulled him further down and to the ground, his own jaws were seeking the other's nape, still aiming to come out on top. His hindlegs kicked out and down with the same goal, to gather and force the other back beneath his paws instead of allowing him to gain the upper hand. It was clear that one of them would soon end up pinning the other, and his pride demanded he be the one to put down his opponent.

Could he manage it, though?

The unnamed stranger fell too, though not back and away as Jethro hoped he might, but rather onto him. And lying on his side was not a good place to be. He could feel the other guy shifting, trying to gain his footing and grasping at his nape to presumably pin Jet down, which wasn’t something he intended to let happen. While this man had experience in this sort of play, and knew how to keep things civil, Jet had to make a conscious effort to soften his blows. But he did have size and strength, which he hoped to take advantage of.

With a huff of exertion, the dark one sought to regain his footing by first propping himself up on one elbow as he sought to wriggle and roll back to his belly to gather his limbs beneath him, though doing so meant he had to release the limb he’d managed to snag. From there Jet gave his head and neck a few vigorous shakes back and forth to hopefully dislodge the man’s grip on him, while simultaneously attempting to push himself backward and up at the same time, to hopefully free himself.

That frozen stream surely couldn’t be more than a dozen paces behind him, though. And Jet would be more than content to settle for plunging both of them into the frigid waters, if he couldn’t get completely free and managed to drag this guy back with him. He didn’t suppose the ice could support the weight of both of them. The stranger had gotten his free shot, and now Jet wanted to dunk him. In his mind, that would make them even - despite the fact that it would probably involve him getting wet, too.

Scully fought to maintain his chance at an advantage, doing his best to stopper Jethro's movement and solidify his grasp. The other wolf was definitely stronger, however, and he found his quarry successfully shifting out from under his grasp. A snarling sound reverberated in his throat, like one might hear from a dog when it's grip on a tug-rope was threatened. He didn't want to lose opportunity, and even as the other man managed to wrench away he continued to snap and grab for his nape. His forelimbs wrestled to pull Jethro back to him, while his hind paws strained to dig in.

Jethro would indeed need to drag him to reach his goal, Scully oblivious to the encased current and single-minded in his own attempts. Snow and ice were on the larger wolf's side however, the Archer's paws slipping far too easily along the ground to allow him a win.

feel free to pp Scully getting dunked~

For a few moments, he’d managed to wrench his neck free of the other man’s jaws, but not completely out of his grasp. Were it a real fight, that might’ve been an issue, and one Jet would’ve fought to solve - but for now, that was exactly what he wanted.

Jet’s advantage of size and strength was important, but equally so, his footing. With the other guy resting on his neck and grabbing at his nape, he could only do so much to resist being dragged back. And in this snowy, icy terrain, that was major.

But that didn’t make it easy. The other was smaller, but that didn’t make him a pushover, and with the weight of another resting partially on him, Jet’s body ached with the effort it took to support that weight, resist being completely grabbed and shoved down, and to drag both of them back. Grunts and growls escaped him until he felt a rear limb suddenly sink through snow and into the layer of ice covering the creek.

Jethro was pretty sure he could feel cold water seeping up through it on his back toes, which meant the plan was close to working. With a final, vicious twist of his head hopefully completely free himself from the man’s grasp before he went under, in case the stranger had any ideas. And with one more push back, Jet suddenly found himself almost wholly submerged in icy, slushy, freezing water, probably alongside his apparent playmate.

Scully did his best, but it was to little avail. All he was really managing was to keep the other man from seizing a win, and that illusion was swiftly dispensed of when the water hit his paws and then submerged him to the chest as shock caused his body to buckle and slip down into the frigid current.

"Shit!" he shouted when it all registered, his long limbs scrambling to get him back onto his paws and out of the unwanted bath. It was a struggle and he sprayed water with every attempt until successful. When finally able to pull himself out, he resembled a cat that had been tricked into a bath. He gave himself a thorough shake, teeth clenched in a scowl.

"I hope you get fuckin' pneumonia."

The icy water hardly what he would’ve called pleasant, but it at least was not shocking, as it was for the other man. A startled shout was all Jet heard as they tumbled in, and with the scuffle forgotten, at least for the moment, Jethro stood as quickly as he was able, the numbing flow soaking his legs and chest ignored for now. He turned his gaze quickly to observe and to relish this moment, which quickly came with barely disguised laughter. The other struggled for a time to simply pull himself out of the water, slipping and sliding on snow and ice until he was at last successful.

By this time, Jet had found himself in the throes of laughter. The other looked irritated and quite unhappy, his quip certainly evidence of that. With a deep breath, the dark one attempted to reel in his amusement. While he did manage to halt the laughter, he could not keep a smugly satisfied grin from forming across his countenance. ”How sweet of you, but I happen t’know of a good place to warm up. You aware of the hotspring, nearby?”

It was a little further than he’d have liked, but Jet planned on making a stop there before going back to the cove, and the least he could do was offer to take the other guy there too. He’d gotten a laugh, this time. No-name had gotten his free shot and his playtime. They’d both irritated each other previously, so in Jet’s view, that settled the whole actual quarrel thing.

”You are pretty alright, man. If this is what havin’ fun is like, I could.. get used to it.” They were even now, unless this guy took issue with things. Jethro hoped he didn’t, because no-name, true to word, did not seem all that bad.

Scully had every intention of being pissed about the other wolf getting the upper paw again, but the laughter that spilled from the other's open jaws wasn't derisive. It was joy that he heard, and he had to keep his back to Jethro in order to hide the toothy smile blossoming across his muzzle. That was alright then, he decided, and gave himself another shake to try and get the water out of his coat.

It helped knowing the other man was just as soaked.

He lowered his haunches onto the scuffed ground and lifted a forepaw to his lips, nibbling at the fur between the leathery pads to pull the water away before it could freeze. His company's initial retort earned only a scoff, but the question that followed got Scully to actually regard him over his silvered shoulder, a single brow raised.

He wasn't expecting this level of camaraderie, and the other wolf only continued with it, telling the Archer he was pretty alright on top of it all.

God dammit, he thought as he promptly turned his back once more. The guy was making himself stunningly attractive once again, much to Scully's ire. For once, it wasn't a road he was keen to go down.

"Thought I wasn't your type," was the only quip he could think of in the moment, focusing on defrosting his paws once again. All he knew to exude at the moment was nonchalance.

"... name's Scully, by the way."

If he wanted to go anywhere, though, it occurred to Jet that he should probably get out of the freezing stream, too, unless he actually wanted to end up with pneumonia, whatever the hell that was, anyway. Couldn’t be anything good. And as it turned out, clambering back out of the stream was not necessarily an easy task, involving a few slips to bring himself back onto solid ground.

A part of him was thankful that no-name had taken to trying to dry himself off, and didn’t seem to be paying much attention - though any laughs or jokes would be deserved in return, he supposed. Jet was content to allow himself to simply drip in the cold liquid, although the chill of it was enough to make him think that he probably ought not to delay too long in heading to the springs.

Thankfully, too, the other didn’t seem to remain too irritated, only responding with a short remark. But it didn’t suggest irritability. And then, finally, a name.

”Jethro, and you’re not. Not for all that.. flirty stuff, anyway,” Jet returned matter-of-factly. His opinion on play may have changed, but beyond that? Not so much. ”But if y’wanna warm up, I’ll take ya there.” After all, he didn’t particularly fancy finding Scully’s frozen corpse stuck in a cave halfway down the mountain or something, later on. And he had been responsible for putting them both in this situation - the least he could do was offer a remedy.

Jethro. How fetching. Scully couldn't help but chuckle at the phrase 'flirty stuff,' and attempted to thwart his own overactive heart's desire to crush by labeling the guy as straight. Totally straight. Not a chance in hell. If only that hadn't turned out to be untrue too many times before...

He'd gotten both front paws clear by the time the other wolf had pulled himself out of the water and re-upped his offer, and given he could already feel the ice setting in everywhere else across his body, he felt it'd be stupid not to take the man up on the offer to properly dry off. He hadn't been to a hot spring within the Lore before, but he was familiar with them and their benefits all the same.

Scully stood. He could tell Avella he was making nice with the other packs at least, yeah?

"Yeah alright. Lead the way."

good to fade & archive when you are <3

Most curiously, and somewhat unexpectedly, there wasn’t any charming response to be had. No suggestive or mildly provocative commentary, which was just a little disappointing, because it was fun. Just a soft laugh from the other, and an agreement by him, to go to the hot springs, so that would be that. Jet inclined his head, and without further ado, sauntered forth, casting a quick look up, towards the clear, night sky above them.

A Nori-level of a friend, this Scully character most definitely was not, but at least they did not have to be enemies, or rivals, either. That was good. It was progress. Being soaking wet was far better than some of the alternatives.

-fade!