define('WP_CACHE', true); Chapter 22: Back to Arrin’s – Crossed Paths – Logs

Jan 31

Chapter 22: Back to Arrin’s

Chapter 22: Back To Arrin’s

In Which There Is A Picnic At The Hot Springs.

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Yazeth: Soon Jozra is blinking in the sunlight. The snow from the storm that had trapped them in the burrow has since melted mostly away with remnants clinging to the shade and higher elevations.

Arrin Woodgreen: He turns to her. “Back to the village then my friend?”

Yazeth: “Yes.” She pauses for a moment as her stomach grumbles. “Perhaps we could take a lunch near the hot spring?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “Of course!”

Yazeth: The ferret grins as she sets off towards the hot pools. “I’ve been smelling that food Trey’s cooks packed up for us all morning.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins. “So have I. How does a swim sound?  Followed by some lunch.”

Yazeth: “Sounds good! And I think we’re nearly there, I see steam over the trees.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles. “Great!” He speeds up a bit.

Yazeth: Soon the two round a bend and find the hot springs before them. Jozra gives a whoop. “There they are!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He whoops also and increases his pace some more.

Yazeth: A few minutes later and the two are there. Jozra has already deposited her pack on the rocks where it will stay dry but where the two can still keep an eye on it.

Arrin Woodgreen: He tests the water with a footpaw. “Ahh, perfect!”

Yazeth: The ferret grins as she strips out of her tunic, folding it and laying it beside the packs.

Arrin Woodgreen: He too strips from his tunic and dives in with barely a splash.

Yazeth: Jozra hops in after the otter and takes a couple of strokes before relaxing against the rocky side of the pool. “Aaah… a beast could get used to this.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles and swims around in slow circles.

Yazeth: After a bit, the ferret attempts a couple of laps across the pool, working out the tightness in her shoulders and back.

Arrin Woodgreen: He stays near her, remembering what she said about not being a strong swimmer.

Yazeth: Jozra settles herself near the edge again as she tires. She grins at Soquan. “Ready for that lunch now?”

Arrin Woodgreen:  He swims around a bit more. “Not quite yet.”

Yazeth: The ferret nods and continues to soak contentedly.

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles and sends a splash towards her.

Yazeth: Jozra grins and kicks at the water, ineffectively splashing in Soquan’s direction.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and dives underwater. It takes a moment for him to find her, but once he does, he grabs her by the ankles and pulls her underwater.

Yazeth: Startled, Jozra takes a mouthful of water. She splutters back to the surface. “Hoo! I think I’ve had enough.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He surfaces and grins. “What was that?”

Yazeth: She paddles back towards the ledge. “I said I think I’ve had enough for today. Besides, my stomach is really complaining now. It’s definitely time for lunch.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods and heaves himself out of the water. “Okay.” He walks over to where they left the packs.

Yazeth: The ferret follows suit, alternately slicking and shaking water out of her fur as she follows Soquan.

Arrin Woodgreen: Suddenly, he turns around and grabs her, slinging her over his shoulder. He turns back for the water.

Yazeth: “ACK!” The ferret scrabbles for balance. “Don’t you dare!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and goes to toss her in laughing as she scrambles about.

Yazeth: Jozra lands in a giant splash in the middle of the pool. She surfaces after a bit, pawing water from her eyes. “You… you…” She laughs. “Okay, that was fun. But still! It’s the principle of the matter, otter! You can’t just pick up poor land beasts and chuck them in the water!”

Arrin Woodgreen: With a grin, he leaps in beside her, purposely making a large splash.

Yazeth: She grins at the otter as he surfaces before placing her paw on his head and dunking him. She swims as quick as she can and clambers up on the shore before he can catch her again. “Okay, okay, really, I’ve had enough for today.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins and climbs out also. “You can’t blame a guy for playing around can you?”

Yazeth: She chuckles. “No, but can you blame a ferret for not being a strong swimmer?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He wraps an arm around her shoulders, giving her a friendly hug. “If something happened, I woulda come after you.”

Yazeth: The ferret nods. “I know, but it’s not just that. If you’re not a strong swimmer, it tires you quicker and then you would have had to carry me back to your village!” She grins cheekily and then blows a raspberry at Soquan.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins playfully. “I wouldn’t mind.”

Yazeth: The ferret merely chuckles in reply as she pulls open the packs, digging for the food. “So shall we eat it all or conserve some, just in case?”

Arrin Woodgreen: “Hmm.” He goes alert a second while he listens to things. “Save just a little bit, we should get back to the village soon.”

Yazeth: The ferret pulls out a few left over baked potatoes. They may be cold, but they’re still good. There’s a few more of the honey scones as well as some blackberry jam. She spreads the food out between them, using a cloak as a picnic blanket.

Arrin Woodgreen: He sits across from her with his legs crossed. He takes a scone and smears it with jam, munching on it contently as water continues to drip off of him.

Yazeth: The ferret takes a bite out of one of the potatoes, and then experiments with putting some of the jam on the potato. She chews thoughtfully for a moment. “Not bad. Unusual combination but still.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He chuckles a little bit taking another bite.

Yazeth: She finishes up her potato and then takes a scone. “Now these are good,” she says, chewing, “but I think I liked them even better when they were still warm.”

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter suddenly gets an idea and takes the package of scones, wrapping them up. He flips over a large, heated rock and digs a small hole, placing the scones inside. He puts the rock back in its original position and grins at her. “Now we wait for a little bit and enjoy the potatoes while those heat.”

Yazeth: The fettet grins. “You are just chock full of good ideas, aren’t you otter?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He laughs. “I try.”

Yazeth: Jozra grabs another potato and this time is quite generous with adding the blackberry jam to it. After a moment she says, “I suppose people would think me quite strange if I advertised that cold baked potatoes and blackberry jam are good together.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He returns to his earlier position and picks up a potato, adding some jam as well. “What about my potato-soup method? Or you remember that cheese-bread stuff I made the night before we got to my village?”

Yazeth: The ferret laughs. “How could I forget? I’m still not entirely sure if it was pure genius or just plain weird.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He laughs. “But you liked it though!”

Yazeth: The ferret laughs as well. “True.”

Arrin Woodgreen: With an air of feigned hurt at the comment, he crosses his arms. “Alright that’s it, if you don’t apologize I’m not cooking for you ever again.”

Yazeth: Jozra gapes in mock incredulity at the otter. “In that case, I most humbly apologize! If you never cook for me again, I just might starve!”

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter’s stern expression evaporates and he bursts out laughing, nearly choking on a bit of his potato in the process.

Yazeth: The ferret chuckles. “Careful there, matey. You think the scones are warm now?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “Yeah, I think so.” He lifts the rock again and removes the scones. He juggles the scones from one paw to another. “Oooh! Hot!” He puts them on the cloak.

Yazeth: Looking back and forth between scones and rock, the ferret comments, “I didn’t think they would get that hot! Wow!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He blows on his paws to cool them. “I didn’t either.”

Yazeth: After a moment, Jozra carefully picks up one of the scones with her fingertips. She breaks of a bit and blows on it before popping it into her mouth. “Oof, still a bit too warm, but very good.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins. “I think I’ll just wait a bit.”

Yazeth: She nods as she breaks off another bit and tosses it between her paws before eating it.

Arrin Woodgreen: He leans back against another warm rock and closes his eyes, basking in the slight warmth.

Yazeth: After another minute or so, the scones are cool enough to eat comfortably. Jozra picks one up and tosses it on top of Soquan’s chest before grabbing another one for herself.

Arrin Woodgreen: He’s jerked out of his slight doze. “Wha?”

Yazeth: She grins. “Scones are eat-able.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He merfs slightly and gropes around the cloak for one, not noticing the other now in his lap.

Yazeth: The ferret talks around a mouthful of scone. “It’s on your lap. Tossed it onto your chest.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods and picks up the scone, chewing on it slowly. The otter was obviously not very alert when sleepy.

Yazeth: After dusting the last of the scone crumbs off of her whiskers, Jozra takes note of the sun’s position. “As I recall,” she ventures, “at this point it’ll be nearly sundown by the time we make it back to your village. Ready to go?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “Yep!” He gathers his things, changing out of his wet pants and putting on his shirt in the process.

Yazeth: The ferret packs the rest of their belongings away and gets her things together, changing back into her dry tunic. She gives a last check of the area before hefting her own pack.

Arrin Woodgreen: He pick up his pack and grins. “You ready?”

Yazeth: She nods her assent. “Yep. Lets get going then.” She sets off down the path.

Jozra

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