Hot Springs indecision

He was hesitating, stalling. For as close as he was to the falls, to having the answers he sought, to seeing his family again.. Jet found himself having doubts about whether he was ready to face that. What if they’d already grieved for him, and moved on? Would coming back and throwing them all for another loop truly be what he wanted - especially for Finley, or Atara?

Was it better to just let his daughter move on with her life and leave whatever hopefully good memories she had of him intact, than to risk turning it upside down again? He didn’t know.

So he sat, chest deep in the warm, frothy water. Staring down at his reflection in it. Familiar and different both. The grey under his muzzle was spreading, beginning to creep further up his chin and nose. He was thinner, too. Not the proud leader he’d been. The man staring back up at Jet was much different from the one he’d been just a scant few months ago.

It was stunning the difference just a few moon cycles could make. Giving his head a shake to dispel those thoughts, Jethro turned to saunter deeper into the water before promptly dunking himself, enjoying the soothing feel of warmth.

He would rest here for a while. Considering his options, and planning his next move before he made it.

Armand wasn't supposed to be out here, not with the Cove still on 'lockdown,' but as proper as he liked to appear, the yearling had always been something of a rebel. It felt good, being outside of anyone's realm of control again, and to do it with the thrill of breaking the rules? Suffice it to say, he was quite pleased with his present situation, even if he only had himself to enjoy the time with.

Or, maybe not? His destination, the hot springs, were ahead but someone was already partaking in their heat. A dark mass faded beneath the surface, and Armand picked up his pace. A new face too?! Smalltalk with the same packmates day after day had gotten so tedious. Such routine was making him easy to please outside of it, apparently. He waited for the other to come back up for air before letting out a friendly bark.

Hopefully, he was the amiable type.

(This post was last modified: Mar 23, 2024, 03:42 AM by Armand.)

This place was one he’d sorely missed, for as much as Jet had once loved the falls, to be able to come here for a swim even in the coldest of months was a treat. The dark man wondered if this would be the last time he’d ever see it.

A bark, announcing the presence of another took Jethro out of his own thoughts for the moment. He gave his head a vigorous shake, dispelling droplets from his ears and nose, before promptly splashing about to face the newcomer. Up on the banks rested a smaller figure - almost childlike
in stature, but.. not quite. A yearling, perhaps? From Sanguine Cove?

For the briefest of moments, he thought back to the time he’d met Chan here. Jet’d probably been around this kid’s age, and Chan.. closer to him, now.

”Hey there. Comin’ to enjoy the water too, are ya?” Jet surprised even himself at how amiable that sounded. It was rather nice to meet someone he didn’t know.


---it is very nice to write with you again (: I didn't realize how much I missed this!

likewise!!

It would seem that he was. Armand's tree-bough tail wagged, sweeping at the powdery snow that came up past his ankles. He'd yet to draw close enough to tread onto the thawed shore, though his paws already tingled in anticipation of its natural warmth. He had liked coming out here, before @Nash had called that fated meeting. Things had certainly been much better before his little brat had come home.

And she was a brat. Mand remembered her from childhood, the times his mother had brought him and all his siblings up the mountain to visit with family. At least her sister wasn't still around, too.

"Bien sûr," he replied breezily, rolling his shoulders in an approximation of a shrug as his daintily-jogging steps bounced him every nearer.

"The name's Armand Gerau," spoken with a touch of pride (or was that arrogance?), before a teasing glint took up residence in his gold eyes, "and you are?"

His thin lips curled upward into a lopsided smirk, something a touch darker also creeping into his features, "hopefully not our mystery assassin everyone's so worked up over?"

The kid replied with something Jet hadn’t heard before. Another tongue perhaps, or maybe gibberish - he had no way of knowing. The tone of it seemed to indicate a more affirmative message though, or at least a friendly one. While once he may have asked, the friendly part was all the former leader particularly cared about right now.

Armand Gerau, spoken with a hint of pride - something else Jet found himself sorely lacking these days. He did still have some self-respect and decorum, however, and tipped his head in a nod.

”Jethro,” he answered casually. It was hard, even now, to remember to leave out the leader of Paradise Falls portion, and a tad painful. It was an emotion he kept masked behind an otherwise neutral countenance.

Although he did find himself mirroring the smirk as the kid posed another question. ”Hmm. Would you expect me to answer that truthfully if I was?” Trading a question for another, but made to sound innocent enough.

Touché, Monsieur Jethro.

"I suppose that would depend on your skillset, hm?" he continued the banter, playfully-narrowed eyes looking the other up and down as though trying to determine just what nature of criminal he was dealing with. Were he a larger wolf, his teasing might have continued down a more challenging route. Armand could be rowdy, when the mood struck him. This was a stranger, though, and one he clearly would not be able to defend himself against if he bit off more than he could chew.

Growing up the runt of a litter of seven had been a double-edged sword in many, many ways. He knew better, but it didn't stop the emotions from building up. Armand would be someone completely different had he been born into a different, healthier body.

He had reached the warm, sandy earth now and stopped to enjoy the feel of it beneath all four paws. A contented sigh left him as his golden eyes closed, outwardly the picture of someone who did nothing but enjoy the small things.

"Either way, there are worse places to die, I'm sure."

(This post was last modified: Mar 24, 2024, 11:24 PM by Armand.)

...depend on your skillset, the youth shot back, earning him a broadening smirk. ”That, and probably my mindset, too,” or at least so he suspected. Jethro had always imagined assassins as the more discreet sort typically, avoiding attention and seeming otherwise normal. He supposed, however, that might not always be true.

Especially if one got too arrogant…

The kid came closer though, and once he’d reached the water Jethro was able to pick up the scent of cove upon him through the aroma of the hot spring.

Armand’s next statement elicited a soft laugh this time. ”There certainly are,” Jet agreed. His recent experience remained fresh in mind. The pain, cold, hunger… if he could’ve picked, he’d far prefer to go here.

”But nah, I’m no assassin. I used to live with the Cove, too. Back here just.. relivin’ old memories.” His words took on a more contemplative tone for a time, but his smile remained. "Boring, I know."

This kid didn’t look like he was related to the Cove in any way, at least not as far as Jet could tell. He wondered what’d brought Armand here.  

When Jethro relented on their little pretense, a singular golden eye cracked open to peer at him. Equally interested to know what the stranger's truth was, until it actually came. Both eyes popped open then and his mouth pulled down into a frown before he could control the reaction. The next instant, his features were perfectly arranged into their typical default. Not the blithe mirth he'd been showing; now his gaze was lidded and his lips flattened into absolutely nothing, a poker face that read 'unimpressed' if anything at all.

"Oh."

No longer did he feel a light sense of comradery, nor lighthearted freedom. He might as well have been back behind those walls of scent, where he had no clue what he was doing, only that he was constantly uncomfortable.

His gaze went back to the water, though he was no longer considering getting in. It irked him, that he now wanted to leave. Why should he? His mind dug its metaphorical heels in, despite not an ounce of resistance or pressure actually coming from Jethro. It was all conjured inside of himself, problems he consistently created for himself, but Armand was far from recognizing these things.

"Pardon. I shouldn't interrupt."

He could walk the shore he supposed, that would be reasonable to do without continuing interaction, right?

(This post was last modified: Apr 04, 2024, 03:57 AM by Armand.)

He had anticipated some level of disappointment from the kid, once the truth was revealed. But Jet hadn’t expected the stark, 180-degree turn-around he presented. The fun they’d been having, that little exchange, the thrill of the unknown was gone instantly. Replaced by.. well, nothing, it seemed.

Oh.

Disappointing, but probably better than having a cove wolf running around thinking he was a murderer. Jethro could only observe though, as his company seemed to retreat into himself. And seemed ready to retreat from this encounter completely.

Shouldn’t interrupt. The former leader’s brow arched a little, mildly curious.

”You’re not,” he responded cooly, with a loose shrug. Company was nice, but Jet didn’t care what Armand decided to do either way. If he wanted to move away and bathe elsewhere, so be it.

However.. ”I might not be your mystery assassin, but maybe we could try lookin' for 'em. Do the Cove a favor.” Jethro had been intending to do that anyway, at least as far as he could while heading back to the falls. It couldn't hurt to travel in numbers, and it would also let him keep an eye on the kid, just in case.