Bored in Hoarfrost Reach

"You're sure you got this, Partner?"

The Handler watched as her silent companion simply gave her a thumbs up. It'd been a while since the two of them had dealt with Velkhana and all the craziness that had come with it and after it. With everything the two had been through together, Handler trusted the fully armored woman standing in front of her with her life! But, well, this latest mission was a bit different. It didn't have any rampaging Wyverns, undiscovered species, dangerous new mutations or anything! In fact, it was downright boring! The Boa Boa Lynians in the icy area wanted the Hunter to bring a few rocks from a nearby hot spring up to their cave, because evidently their own pools had been going a little cold. The catch was, this new hot spring was so secret that only someone who had truly, DEEPLY impressed them could know where it was. The only person who met those qualifications was Hunter, and unfortunately the feline tribe wouldn't let her bring a plus one.

So there stood the Handler, still coming along- it was still official business after all, and even if it wasn't she wasn't going to the Hunter to go anywhere without her!- but all she was supposed to do on this particular outing was stay at the base camp! With a sigh, she gave her partner a wave as they finished organizing their items.

"Alright, well.... Just send up a flare if there's any trouble. Or shout! Or anything, really. Don't hesitate to call me for anything!" The Hunter smiled and nodded at their plucky partner, before running off into the snow, their Palico right behind them. The Handler kept smiling until they ducked under a log and out of sight, letting out a frustrated breath of air as she sat herself down on one of the nearby tree stumps. After about five seconds of silence she jumped up. Even that was too long without doing something! She paced around, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow as she walked in a circle trying to think of something to keep her occupied... until she stepped on a stone completely bare of the freezing white, and her eyes lit up.

Of course!

There was a miniature sauna that was pretty much built into this particular camp. The others were all full of the cute little monkeys in the area, the Pearlspring Macaques that would run as soon as you came near. But this one, despite it's perfect warm temperature and secluded spot, had nothing in it at all, human, animal, or otherwise! The Handler was determined to change that. Looking around, she knew that her partner would be a while, but she was still to just strip off in the middle of the open air-- if not for privacy, than at least for the cold! Luckily the camp had a nice warm tent right in the middle of it, and so the Handler slipped inside kicking off her powder-covered boots. She placed her goggles down gently next to them, along with her Slinger, her bag, and her belt, and shook her long hair out as she added her hairpin to the pile. She took a deep breathe, and peeked out of the tent to find the clearing still empty. Next came the big items.

She undid the front of her top, tossing it aside before moving to the long black undershirt, before shimmying off her black slacks to join them, tucking everything away into a corner behind one of the seats inside the tent. She wasn't as toned as her Partner or any other hunter would be, considering she wasn't lugging around any weapons bigger than her body or rodeo-riding giant, thrashing lizards. Still, her smooth skin showed off a nicely toned body, a bit chubby around the stomach from how much she'd wolf down at the canteen, but her frequent activity and the quality of the meals gave her a lithe and active frame over all. A plain white, strapless bra was wrapped tight over her perky breasts, and a small pair of white briefs clung to her slender hips and bubble butt. She figured she'd keep those on-- she wasn't quite ready to go full naked in the wilderness-- but even this much would be scandalous to wear around the sauna back at base in Seliana. With one more glance around the camp from the relative safety of the tent, Handler took a deep breath, and sprinted tip-toe through the powder snow to make it to the warm water.

"Oh, oh, oh, aaaaaaaaaah," the Handler cried at each footstep through the cold, until she made it into the spring. She found a comfortable spot to slide into and sit down in, submerging herself up to her neck as the water soaked into the white fabric of her underthings. Between the warm water and the cold air and the wafts of steam, the Handler was in heaven, and just laid there for a little while, lazily waving her arms and kicking her legs as the soft current pushed through them.

Then, all of a sudden, her relaxation was interrupted by a sound. A familiar sound. The Handler's eyes snapped open as she realized what it was....