To the north! It had been confirmed: the cold wind was coming from the north, and it was extremely cold. Parvati suspected the climate was always more chill. They noticed the variety of foliage to diminish to feature only the hardier of varieties. Flowers were scarce. Leaves were waxy or absent altogether. Thorns were in heavy feature, or wood without decoration. Fortunately the thorns were easy to spot and avoid but the cold was not. Parvati lingered around a little after making it through the tunnel, debating with themself whether it was cowardly to turn back or foolish to remain, when a shift in the breeze brought a different scent. Warmer, earthy. Parvati also noticed a rise of steam, as though fog emerged from the very ground. Maybe this was where fog came from.

Possibly. Parvati's silver form mixed in with the dull grays of the pools, only their shining eyes to distinguish them as a form of life. Click and click, step and step over bare stone. They looked down at a pool and curled their nostrils. Sticky. Gross. No good. Definitely not drinking this water. There was an orange orb in the water that Parvati decided was a sort of sulfate-based fungus. Interesting. To stay and study, or continue to cover their nose?

Screw it. No fear allowed. With their ears back, showing displeasure and general resentment, they started looking for a way around the pool to study the orange orb better.

@Nymeria

now, one may ask what exactly had provoked nymeria to travel further into the north, after the cool tendrils of fall had already began to sweep across the rest of the valley -- and, if they did, she would unfortunately have no response other than a simple, blissful sense of curiosity. it had been a long time since she had visited the tundra and explored the vastness of the territory and, considering that the last journey had awarded her both a friend and pridemate in lena, the druid figured that the worst that could happen was that she returned home the same that she had left.

and so, the queen moved with ease and purpose across the landscape, slipping towards the whistling, frigid winds with the slightest wrinkling of her nose. her aimless wandering continued until she remembered the familiar (and relieving) essence of the hot springs, quickly opting to make a beeline for the warm pools, if only for a bout of relaxation. what she found upon arrival, however, was another lonesome shape amongst the steam -- smaller than her, though any other features were masked by the light veil rolling up from the sauna. "oh, hello there," she started first, pausing, and not initially realizing what it was that had caught the younger figure's attention. "i hope i'm not interrupting anything."

@Parvati

A sudden disruption, a voice, fear! Parvati stiffened and tripped over some rough scree, tampering their frame down a ledge and clumsily arresting themself before the edge of the uncanny water. Ears still back, they carefully righted themself and then looked across the water. Green eyes required to squint. Another lion. The sulfur obscured their scent but they appeared to be maneless, likely female, and a dull sort of color. They had also introduced themself which made them less likely to be dangerous... though words could still be dangerous, could be taken wrong, could be twisted. "Oh... hi... I'm not doing anything. Just staring." At the fungus was what Parvati meant, though at the moment they were staring rather wide-eyed and unabashed at the stranger.

@Nymeria

the woman's eyes continued to squint, doing her best to peer towards the other shape, curious and hoping that she truly was of no disturbance to the other. but, alas, the quick scramble of their frame and the surprise that etched itself across their movements made nymeria feel somewhat guilty, ears pulling back, words caught in her throat as she pressed forward upon her toes. it would have been way worse if the other creature had found themselves tumbling into the pool, so the valour could, at least, be thankful for that. "I'm sorry, i didn't mean to scare you." she corrected, straightening her posture, as her eyes finally flickered to the shape bobbing within the center of the pool. it was wide, and orange, and buoyant and odd, and certainly nothing like she had ever seen before. "my name is nymeria --- what.. is that?" she asked after another moment, hoping that some friendly introductions would ease the sloppy beginning to their meeting, gaze continuing to shift rather casually between @Parvati and the mystery item.

Parvati found the other's expression difficult to read. It didn't come naturally. Ears back and a step forward implied aggression, but the female's words were an apology. Parvati continued to stare but couldn't understand. Most females were nice, though. Equality between the sexes aside... males were more likely to believe they were superior through size alone. Parvati kept their frame a little low, crouched and conciliatory. It also helped keep their balance on the dank rock near the springs. The steam that rose was quick to condense on the ledges nearby.

"I didn't mean to be scared. Or bother you by being scared... I should pay more attention to where I'm going." Parvati knew they often zoned out. Parvati blinked manually then followed the other's - Nymeria's - gaze back to the giant orange orb. They completely missed the implication that they should introduce themself; the immediate question seemed much more important. "I think it's a fungus. I've seen orange lumpy fungus before. But never in water. But this is weird water, so... I don't know what it is. Maybe it's good for healing. Or super toxic. I don't even know if it's hollow or not -" which reminded them that they were curious, and curiosity would probably be responsible for most of their nine lives. Parvati unfurled and advanced in a higher, though still cautious posture, reaching out one white paw with itty bitty claws to try to tap the mystery fungus on the noggin.

@Nymeria

double, double toil and trouble;
fire burn, and cauldron bubble...

Nafasi watches from the bushes, never once letting herself be seen by those huddled around her perfectly-placed pumpkins. They really were a curious bunch, weren't they? But, unfortunately for them, the sprite was feeling extra mischievous today, and had a trick up her sleeve! And so, with a small grin, the being tilted her maw down towards the earth, eyes glowing, before she gave a pointed flicker of her tail and brought her vision to life in the process.

Uh oh...

Suddenly the temperature plummets, your breath visible in smoky plumes. The wind picks up as the sky above whites out, a thick layer of cloud falling over as the sky opens up. It's less of a snow storm and more of a blizzard: the wind whips around with an unyielding ferocity, and before you can even blink you're standing knee-deep in snow. The storm shows no sign of slowing down, and.... is that hail?

Travel..... is not advised.

pixel credit to moonlight-pendent13