YOUR NEW BOYFRIEND ♡ HOT SPRINGS

[michael t.]

ALL I FOUND THE SPACE BETWEEN THE SPACES
STANDING IN THE NOTHING, AND TIME RECLAIMS YOU

Jaime's death... it wasn't a subject that Michael had thought a great deal about, lately. Mainly because it hadn't had as much of an impact on him that it did on some others, such as Rox and Roan. That wasn't to say that it hadn't affected him at all, though. After all, Jaime had been his nephew, and he had cared. He just preferred to put things like deaths behind him, and not linger on them for too long. The dealer had already seen what happened when one dwelled on grief for too long, and it wasn't pretty. Hell, he was just lucky that he hadn't fallen apart on his own yet – mainly thanks to the help of Diya, Goldie, and Roxie. And Roan too, of course, although the soothsayer was never quite as sweet as the rest of them.

Although the bobcat had never been shown where exactly Jaime was buried, he had ended up near there anyways. Mainly because... well, he had noticed Roxie. It wasn't often that Michael was up so early, but he had been making a habit of getting up earlier lately. It seemed to help with his general disposition, when he could do things like watch the sun rise. It had certainly been a surprise to be up early and see Rox out and about, though. He would've figured she'd be treasuring any brief moment of rest she could get between her captain duties. Obviously feeling a bit worried about his sister, the thief had decided to follow, albeit with a bit of a gap between them so that he wouldn't be right in her tail.

Ultimately, the male's timing meant that he didn't see Roxie talking with Jaime's grave. Instead, he came across her in the hot springs, a location that caused him to pause. He couldn't remember ever hearing of these, but... it wasn't exactly as if he went up the volcano very often. Clearing his throat as he stepped forward, Michael found himself chuckling, "Well, well, well. You certainly seem like you're enjoying yourself... have you been keeping these a secret from everyone else?" His tone was teasing as he took another step forward, poking one of his paws forward to prod at the warm water. It definitely felt pleasant, and it wasn't long until he headed in as well, silently glad he wasn't wearing his menagerie of jewelry just yet.

As he slowly sank down into the water until it was just below his muzzle, Michael found a soft and rumbling purr leaving his throat. His mismatched eyes slowly came to a close, and he muttered mostly to himself, "Think I could get used to something like this..." It was a shame they were in such an obscure location, or he was sure he would've found and visited them much earlier.

— Reggan