[Gift] Hot water

There was snow on the ground as the three Albertosaurus were walking down a path through the forest. Ochei, who was perhaps the biggest one with a small margin, walked at the back of the lead. Xylitol walked ahead of him. The lightest green colour of all of them. And at the front Pickle was walking with a goal in mind. She was taking them to the hotsprings she had heard about. A passing couple of raptors had told her all about it and while she was still hiding their destination from her two partners she couldn’t hide her excitement. Her tail was swinging a bit extra as she walked ahead of the both of them. Pickle and Xylitol both had an advantage over Ochei, they both had feathers and he only had spikes. So she knew he would appreciate it greatly. He, especially when it was cold out, always had to sleep between them so that their feathers could help him keep his warmth. She anticipated that he would be the one that stayed in the hotsprings the longest.

They could see the steam before they arrived. It made its way over the treetops before disappearing into the cold air. As they made their way forward the air slowly became more and more humid and when Pickle could see the first hints of hotspots she stopped and turned around. She had a smile on her lips as she told them they had arrived to their surprise and she took a step to the side, revealing the area to the other two. There were many dinosaurs in the area but there were still many pools of heated water empty. There was a raptor standing at the edge of the pools watching over the other dinosaurs. He had clearly recently exited a pool as he was still dripping of water. 
“Hello hello!” The raptor exclaimed as he saw them, as he was the greeter of the hotsprings. “Are you new here?” It was an educated guess based on how both Ochei and Xylitol were looking around themselves in amazement. 
“It’s our first time, yes.” Pickle nodded.
“Great for you. I basically live here. The closer you get to the lava - the warmer the water gets,” he pointed at the red liquid at the furthest part of the hot spring area, “I do not recommend any of you use them. They can get real hot real quick.” His smile faltered a bit before he shook himself back to reality. Pickle didn’t disturb him. The other two were probably not even listening. Ochei was walking up to the nearest pool that held a bunch of older cryo’s who looked at the black Albertosaurus as if he was trying to rob them of the pool. Xylitol was with him and they both redirected to an empty pool instead. 
“If you want to start easy. Start at the pools by the edge of the forest. They’re still hot. But they’re the least hot of all the pools of water. You can always go to warmer waters, but it sucks to try and change to colder pools. Do not put your head under the water. It’s not good for your head even if it feels nice.” The raptor ruffled his feathers. “If you need anything feel free to find me and ask, but I am heading back into the water.  It’s cold here.” He scurried away from them and Pickle turned to the other two.
“Shall we test it out?” She said as she took the lead to one of the cooler pools. All three of them stood at the end of one of the bigger pools. Waiting. For one of them to go first. Pickle, who was often the most daring of all three of them, stuck her feet into the water at first. She held it in the water for a few seconds before slowly letting her leg sink in. She stood with her leg in the water for a bit. Feeling the temperature before she quickly entered the water fully. Emboldened by their partner Ochei and Xylitol both entered the water as well. They couldn’t describe the feeling even if they wanted to. It felt as if all their muscles relaxed. The water held their body mass up while the warmth of the water seemed to melt into them around them. It was relaxing in a way neither of them had ever tried before. Ochei quickly sunk so that his entire back was other water. Pickle reminded him to not put his head under the water and he let out a grunt of understanding as he lowered his head onto the rocks instead. The steam from the hotspring was enough to heat his head up. Not to the same degree as the water of course but it still made it feel warm and nice. Ochei was quite sure that they could spend the entire winter here. He wasn’t sure how he would make it back to the cave in the cold after this. But for now that was a problem that didn’t need solving.
Xylitol and Pickle, who both had a feathery coat, looked at Ochei amused as he closed his eyes. It was comfortable for them as well. But they both knew that Ochei needed this more than they did. 
“I think we should make this a routine, what do you think Ochei?” Xylitol laughed as Ochei just nodded.