Sex: FemaleSeraphina expertly maneuvered through the cliffs and plateaus of the mountain. This terrain was familiar to her, but in truth it was much easier to traverse than that of her homeland. The large, uneven rocks that guarded both sides of the rapids were dangerous and it took a lot of practice to be able to cross over the rapids by jumping from rock to rock, especially since they were slippery. At last these rocks weren't slippery. Her new pack, on the other hand, was nothing like her old one and certainly wasn't any easier. She just didn't understand the wolves here or their strange customs. It horrified her that she seemed to evoke animosity from all of the wolves of Silent Moon Plateau except for one young girl. But Phina would hold on to that. She might have lost the respect of many, but she had earned the respect of one. She could work with that. As the small, tawny woman gracefully continued to let her long legs carry her from platform to platform, she tried to focus on the task at hand. She wanted to find something to bring back to her leader, something to show that she appreciated his acceptance and that she was willing to serve him as a member of his pack. She almost wanted to apologize, but to be completely honest she had no idea what on earth she had to apologize for. She kept replaying the scene in her mind and she didn't think she had done anything wrong. Her birth pack had been isolated and did not interact with any other packs! The only rules she had to go by was her father's and his were clearly not working in this new pack! How was she supposed to impress them or earn their respect when she didn't even know the rules? Seraphina's exasperation and frustration were beginning to wear on her nerves and all she could do was look up to the Moon, her Guardian, and pray that it guided her to some kind of answer. Tonight, she needed a fairy godmother. "Speech" |
Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief |
Her attention was drawn to the sounds of another wolf traversing the mountain side, the odd rock slipping under the other’s rocks alerting her. Pricking her ears, Myrrhis carefully picked her way towards the sounds, peering around a tree, staying in the shadows, to see a young wolf-and wasn’t that funny, that most wolves she would meet would be younger than her? Myrrhis didn’t really see herself as old, though not in a vain sort of way, even if she felt it.- peering up at the sky. Following her line of sight, Myrrhis noted the young wolf was staring at the moon. Did she believe in the Moon Goddess? The one who many wolves followed, even Myrrhis herself a little? It had been quite some time since she had asked for the Divines help but perhaps this girl needed someone, if she was looking to the sky as she was. Deciding to at least offer, the grey wolf shifted and followed through with the action.
“Hello!” Myrrhis stepped out from behind the tree, a soft smile gracing her lips as she stepped out into the light. She had been careful the keep her fur as clean as she could while she traveled, keeping it neat and tidy. So as the moonlight hit her coat, the lighter parts of her fur, the light greys, nearly shimmered in the moonlight while the dark parts deepened on her back. Her kind orange eyes glimmered in the light as well.
Seraphina's head turned at the sound of a female voice, brown eyes searching for the source. The regal woman's jaw dropped open at what she saw standing before her. A female wolf was there, bathed in the light of the Moon and shining almost as brightly. Had the Moon answered her prayers so literally as to send down an actual fairy godmother? The way the woman was smiling and the way her orange eyes were glittering, made Seraphina cock her head to the side in a curious, awed manner. Before she knew it she had whispered, confused and amazed, "Who are you?" The act of words escaping her black lips that she had not intended to speak made Seraphina snap back to reality and recollect her senses. No, the Moon did not work in that way. It may have guided this woman here, but it did not send her. She was just a wolf and Seraphina did not want any wolf to see her acting like a pup. Her father had always said that one needed to act like royalty if that is how they wished to be treated. With that thought, Seraphina snapped her muzzle shut, straightened her posture, and stopped gawking. "Hello." She greeted back. "My name is Seraphina..." Phina trailed off remembering that she couldn't share her last name. Instead she settled for identifying herself by her new pack,"...of Silent Moon Plateau." With that she realized that they were at the borders of her territory. She also remembered that she was under the light of the Moon and that required that she be on her best behavior. "You are rather close to our borders. Did you have business here?" Phina asked. She tried to sound professional, but instead she just sounded tired and worn out by all of the mental stress she was putting herself through. "Speech" |
Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief |
"My name is Seraphina." The red coated wolf straightened her posture as she spoke, the scent of a pack wafting on the breeze and darting by Myrrhis’ nose just as she added the name of her pack onto the end of her name. Myrrhis bowed her head to the wolf, making sure her posture was lower than that of Seraphina’s. Her tail tip brushed her ankles, opening her maw to answer the younger’s question.
“My name is Myrrhis, a wandering loner.” She responded in an honest tone of voice. “I was merely exploring when I saw you, alone and thought you would like some company. I did not realise I was so close to the borders of your pack. Please accept my sincerest apologies, Seraphina of Silent Moon Plateau, I mean no disrespect to you or pack.“ Myrrhis had no idea if this young wolf was a leader of the pack or one of their children, or simply just a pack member but regardless, the neat wolf did not wish to leave the lady with a bad impression of herself. Though, she did sound rather tired and worn. Had she been rather busy lately? or was she merely emotionally or mentally drained? Myrrhis pondered if she should ask or not.
Seraphina nodded as the woman lowered her posture. At least this woman wasn't going to try and fight with her! Patiently, Phina listened as the woman introduced herself as Myrrhis, a loner. Phina took a moment to study the silver she wolf. She seemed very kind and respectful and clearly meant no harm. Still, Phina wouldn't dare let the loner stay so near the borders when she herself had barely been accepted into the pack. What would the ivory leader say if he found out that she was not defending the borders? Then would his little girl's voice be enough to save her? Seraphina took a deep breathe as the thoughts passed through her weary mind. The tawny woman caught the scent of moose on the breeze and with a tired smile, flicked her tail at the silvery woman. "Come. We cannot stay so near the border but I have a feeling that we should talk." After all, Seraphina would not turn her back on the woman the Moon had sent to her. She still needed something to bring back to her new leader and perhaps the moose remains would not be too old to serve as a proper gift. Seeing the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, Seraphina began her leisure stroll away from the border and hoped that her new companion would follow. Over her shoulder she called, "Do you believe in the powers of the Moon, Myrrhis?" Seraphina asked politely hoping to strike up a conversation. The Moon obviously believed that this woman would somehow provide an answer to Phina's problems, so now she just needed to figure out how to glean that answer from Myrrhis. "Speech" |
Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief |
“Well, I grew up on the tales.” she started slowly. “My Ava, my grandmother she taught me all she knew about the Moon and said that one name for her was Diana. She told me stories of the power she held over the land and somewhere my Ava called the ocean when I was just a pup. She taught me that the Moon, if one believed enough and asked for her help, then the Moon would help that wolf in a time of need.” Her orange eyes lifted to the moon as they continued on their way to the moose carcass. “My Ava, she taught me that the Moon was wise, just and kind and would do all within her power to help those who needed to, and guide them. The Moon would always be there for that wolf, even if they didn’t know it. Why do you ask?” Myrrhis was curious as to why Seraphina had asked the question, not that she minded answering it at all. "do you believe in her powers?"
Seraphina nodded as she listened patiently to Myrrhis' answer. Seraphina's mother had been the one to teach Seraphina about the Moon. She had taught the whole pack about the Moon and about Nature. Once asked about her own beliefs, Phina was happy to share and only encouraged by the knowledge that someone in these lands shared beliefs similar to her own. "Well, yes actually. My mother taught me about the wisdom of the Moon and how She could help you if you opened your heart to Her. I prayed to Her tonight." Seraphina paused in her words, but not her movements. She let her eyes watch the ground as her legs carried her forward, closer and closer to the moose carcass. With a sigh she decided that it was probably best to just stick to a direct approach at this point. Looking up to let her brown eyes meet Myrrhis' orange ones, Phina admitted, "I asked for help with a problem I am having and She appears to have sent me you." Seraphina watched the silver she wolf to see how she would react. Deciding to press on, Phina continued in a wary tone,"I recently joined a pack, but I was not very welcomed. In fact, I was only let in because one of the daughter's of the leaders spoke up for me. I still cant figure out what I did to offend everyone..." As Phina continued to talk her guard began to drop. Her tone become mystified and even slightly frustrated as she continued her rant,"I only know the customs and rules of my birth pack and so I have no way of knowing if I did something wrong or not. And since no one likes me, I have no idea how I am supposed to learn these new rules so that I can start following them. If no one tells me what I did wrong, how the hell can they expect me to fix it?" And now more frustrated, "Are they all just going to sit on there high pedestals and look down on me until I tuck my tail and run away? Well, that's not going to happen. I came here for a reason and I am going to see it through." Phina paused to glare at the ground in front of her. Her brown eyes were bright with determination as she muttered, "I'll just have to make them like me." The frustrated woman finally took a breathe and as she let it out her whole body seemed to deflated. In a defeated tone she added,"I just don't know how." Seraphina spared a glance at her companion, her fairy god mother, and wondered if the woman had an answer. If not then Phina had just opened herself up for no reason. Still, the regal woman had to admit that it felt good to let all of her feelings flow freely for once. "Speech" |
Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief |
“Perhaps they have had hard times, these past few months and are reluctant to trust strangers right away?” Myrrhis offered to the look, eyes glancing over the moose briefly as her stomach rumbled at the smell. But her hunger could wait, while she helped this girl. It was obvious from her words she needed some much needed advice and comfort, even if it was just from a stranger. “You may not know what you did to offend them but it may have nothing to do with you at all. The loss of a close member or the betrayal of trust could set anyone on edge, it could be anything. All you have to do is show them that you mean well and nothing you say or do. Show them you mean well.” Her heart throbbed at the thought of the most recent, yet unintentional, betrayal Myrrhis herself had gone through but she pushed it out of her mind. She could not dwell on it now.
“The pack I grew up in, my Ava came from, it had through many terrible times. Famine, disease, pack conflicts, from inside the pack and out...I remember my Ava was always giving my siblings and I most of her food when we were all starving and protecting us from the inner turmoils of the pack hierarchy.” Myrrhis remembered it clearly, her Ava’s bones poking out from beneath her skin even as she told her grandchildren that she was full and to eat the rest of her share. Remembered her trembling yet soothing tones teaching them her second language, the one she never told them where she learnt it from, as vicious snarls echoed throughout the night. “She was a strong woman, my Ava. She stood up to my father, who was second in command at the time and who wanted his sons to grow up ‘strong and brave’, just like him. Able to follow orders in an instant. My brothers, they wanted to prove themselves to our father so much but they never could. But my Ava spat in his face and told him that if he so much as treated her grandchildren like her own mate had treated his children before his death, then she would steal us away and never come back. She stuck true to her word. I never saw my father again, after my first year but I’m forever grateful that she stole us away, because I remember how it was and to think that my own children could have grown up there...it makes my old bones simply ache at the thought.” Myrrhis shuddered at the memories she had always tried but failed to forget.
“What I suppose I am trying to say is, stand tall for what you believe in. If you don’t know the rules and no one will tell you, watch them. See what they do and don’t do, hear what they say and don’t say. Speak what they do and do as they say, until you know it all.” Myrrhis paused for a moment, tilting her head to the side and staring up at the moon hanging brightly in the sky. “But do not lose sight of who you really are either. Because if you do, then you just become another one of ‘them’, a drone. Blank eyed and ready to follow whatever orders you are given.” This is where the image of her mother, all misty eyed, came into play for her and she couldn’t stop the shudder going down her spine. “Please, for the love of all things great and mighty, do not lose your true self.”
Seraphina nodded, listening closely to the woman's advice. It seemed that the Moon had not led her astray. What Myrrhis said made sense and Seraphina almost felt embarrassed for not having thought of it that way before. The pack had been moving and she herself had noticed how small they were. Of course they were probably having a hard time! In that instant, Seraphina had a flashback of pointing out how tired and hungry the pups were and how the pack needed more able bodied wolves to take care of them. With a short, almost inaudible gasp, Phina realized that this was what had been so offensive. She had basically called them weak! Phina's concerns about her own problems slowly sizzled out as she listened to Myrrhis spin her own tale about her childhood and her Ava. Famine? Disease? None of those things had ever plagued Revelry Rapids. They had remained isolated from the rest of the world and thus never had any competition for food and never suffered from diseases, besides the occasionally cold or belly ache. Ashamed, Phina slowly began to realize that wolves out here had it much harder than she had in her birth place. She had run away from home hoping to come to this land and prove herself, but she had not accounted for how difficult that would be. She had never considered how different the wolves out here would be or how much harder their lives were. Leading? She couldn't lead any one out here. She just needed to focus on surviving the winter and she was lucky to have a pack that had taken her in. As Myrrhis finished her tale she pleaded with Phina to remain true to herself and that gave Phina a wonderful idea. She had thought that the wolves didn't like her personally, but they didn't really know her. If she wanted them to like her, she just needed to show them her true self. With that thought, Seraphina smiled widely at the grey lady and with shining brown eyes, barked out an excited"Thank you!" before dashing over to the moose carcass and inspecting the antlers. As she did, she explained to Myrrhis,"In my home, there is a tradition for those who take a role within the pack. You must present your alpha with some sort of gift to represent your loyalty to him. Many wolves, when given the chance, will present the head of some sort of prey as a sign that they acknowledge that their alpha is at the helm of the pack." Seraphina was happy to see that the antlers of the moose were large and thick, which meant that the moose was in his prime before he died, but that they were coming loose from the skull. It was mid November which is when most moose started to lose their antlers. A few weeks later and the antlers might have been left somewhere in the forest and the moose before her would have a bare head. It was good timing. Before going to work, Phina looked up at the silver lady who had guided her to an answer. "Your Ava sounds like a strong and wise woman. You are lucky to have had her, but I am sure she would see it the other way around if she were here right now. Thank you so much for your advice, Myrrhis, and if there is anything I can do to repay you please let me know." Seraphina's brown eyes held Myrrhis' orange gaze for a few moments to convey how sincere her gratitude was and then the dappled woman went to work trying to detach the antlers from the carcass. They would make a great present for her new leader and she hoped that she could show him that she was more than willing to give him her loyalty, her gratitude, and her servitude. "Speech" |
Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief |