The Engineer had taken a break after the completion of his first autonomous beast. He deserved one, right? Surely. Not working on something or studying the beautiful laws of nature left Ulrik very curiously without a task, and he was not sure how he felt about that. When faced with the daunting sea of nothing to do, he was forced to look inward, and that was an even bigger mystery than the world around him. No, best not to look inside - not very pretty having to crawl through cobwebs of forgotten emotions.

Instead, he grazed lightly on the ground which was now free from the suppression of snow, and the smell of earth was so tempting, that he had to roll in it, of course. The massive, black stallion, rubbed his body all through the dirt, wiggling a little to ensure that he was completely covered. After pulling to his hooves again, he shook, a large, plume of dust billowing from his back. All of the head shaking had caused at least two knots in his thick, black mane, and his tail was more or less a disaster with strands knotted up to the long, lion bone.

So, when Illynx walked by, all shiny and clean, even the Engineer had to feel self conscious. He was still a little splayed out with his legs from when he had shook himself off, so when she captured his attention, he looked like a complete idiot, awkward and dorky - but then again, what are nerds for? Should he bathe?

No, so clean, Kirchoff groaned sarcastically in his head, rolling his silver eyes and glaring up at Ulrik. With a sigh, the hellhound shook his head and then stalked off toward the hot springs. "Follow."

A sweet smell followed Illynx, one that had intoxicated him once before with that one mare... what was her name? Lotus? Hm. Distracting.

"Now." Ulrik glanced at his hellhound as the demanding little shit barked in his head, ordering him over to the hot spring. The stallion stood at the edge, looking down at the wolf before sighing and stepping down into the gravel. The Engineer stood, unsure of what to do as he stared at the dog at eye level.

Kirchoff rolled his eyes and leaned forward, grabbing the knots with his teeth and pulling.

"Ow." Ulrik grunted, narrowing his eyes but standing still. Somehow, he managed to get clean with Kirchoff's help, and he lunged out of the water, shaking off the moisture. With his winter coat gone, he looked almost regal, deep black shining in the sun. He swung his tail around, drying off the bronze ends.

"No roll." Ulrik heard Kirchoff lecture, and the stallion smirked down at the hound.

"Thank you, mother," he teased before going back to where his sentinel was, not entirely sure that he could start on the second without more metal. He did not expect Illynx to be standing there, looking up at his metal creation, and he blinked, bronze eyes with green flecks widening a little. She really was lovely, all golden and shiny. At least he was shiny now too, if not a little damp still. Most of his mane was now pulled out in places, making him look even more ragged than usual, and his tail curled nervously around one of his hind legs.

That smell.

"Oh no." Kirchoff groaned in his head. Thinking that he knew where this was going, the hellhound took off in the other direction, ears flattened against his skull. The wolf crawled into a cave sullenly, but Ulrik barely even noticed. A very alluring hum had started to take residency in his brain where rational thought had once proudly waved its flag. The thought of creating a kid was not even on the horizon of his thoughts but rather floating somewhere in outer space all alone.

Awkwardly, the Engineer cleared his throat, blinking again. "Were you looking for me?" he asked, knowing no other reason why she would be standing right there next to where he had been working for the past season.