Dead Empress Backwater When the meaning is gone there is clarity.

@Viorel

As of recent Marguerite was beginning to have thoughts that were... too big for her, so to speak, and it was starting to frustrate her in ways she didn't really understand. There were birds, deer, wolves, bugs, trees and other plants. There was the sky, the water, and the earth below. All of these things existed, but... why? Was there a purpose that went along with all of this? Almost everyone and everything was living, but why? For what reason did this cycle of life exist? Was there even a reason? Did there have to be one? Whenever these thoughts started to float around in the Valle child's head she'd try to shake them away. They gave her big headaches and would sometimes even fill her with a sense of panic and dread. Wasn't she too young to be thinking about stuff like this? Shouldn't she be off playing with some sticks or something instead of being on the verge of some sort of existential crisis?

It was still the wee hours of morning and Marguerite had already witnessed a bird eat a caterpillar whole. That seemed somehow to trigger these thoughts being louder than they'd normally be. Unshakeable. Margo decided that she couldn't just keep going on letting these things bother her, she'd just have to ask her parents for some answers to these big questions. She'd start with her dad.

"Dad, are you busy?" The peppered-pup approached, having found that her father hadn't seemingly started his day in any meaningful way yet. She hadn't wanted to interrupt him from any important pack leader duties with this nonsense, so it certainly was a pleasant surprise to find that she'd managed to catch him early enough.

Viorel was actually almost ending the previous day, even though most of the pack was just starting theirs. He had chosen one of his favourite fallen boughs to lounge upon just as the sun was beginning to peak above the horizon. He usually took the sunrise as a few moments of peace before he went to sleep for a couple hours and then fully went into leader duties and responsibilities. But, this time, this time was just for him.

Which is why it came as such a surprise that the sound of paws approaching him was not Vanadis, who was also a bit of a night owl, but Marguerite. Perking up, he looked down from the log that he had perched upon, a smile upon his face. Tail wagged casually behind him, ”Not at all Margo, you’re up early today.” He didn’t pick up on the vibe, maybe it was because he was tired, or maybe it was because he wasn’t as sensitive as some of his children.

He could only assume she had a quick question, maybe ask permission to go exploring out of territory, or ask where her mother was, and then be on her way. He had no idea what was coming for him.

Margo let out a sigh of relief when her father replied that he wasn't busy. Finally she'd be able to get some answers and put this all behind her. "Yeah. I like the morning lots so I've been tryna wake up 'round this time recently.. Y'know, to watch the birds n' squirrels n' stuff.. " It was nice to be up just early enough to watch the rest of the world wake up, the Valle found complete calm in those moments. But she wasn't here to talk about that right now. As pleasant of a conversation that nature always tended to be, there were more important matters at hand. The girl took a rather large inhale before speaking anything else. Where to start?

"I have some questions... Uh.. What happens when we die? Why are we alive? How are we alive? And not just us, but like... All of it, everything. How are we all here and why?"

It surprised the father to hear that Margo was usually awake around this time, so much he missed out on while he was napping! He was about to chuckle and say something to that effect when he heard his daughter take a deep breath as if steeling her nerves. The smile dropped away from his face, and he gently leapt down into the snow below, looking at the dark girl seriously.

Her questions made Viorel blink in surprise, stunned to silence for a long moment. Wow. His kids really weren’t that little anymore were they? They were almost teens, and they apparently had big questions about the world around them. Shifting on his paws he let out his own slow exhale, ”Oh, wow. Okay, yeah let’s talk about it.” He was still trying to formulate his thoughts, not only on what his answers would be, but also how to handle this parenting moment.

In the end, as always, he settled on honesty. After another few moments of contemplative silence while he was clearly deep in thought, he launched right in. ”Well, I will be honest with you Margo. Nobody really knows for sure the answers to all of those questions. But, I can tell you what I was taught growing up if you would like?” If not, that was okay too, but he wasn’t going to lie and say he knew the secrets to the universe.

Marguerite was not impressed by the answer she'd received from her father. Nobody on this whole planet knew for sure? The girl wanted to doubt him, but when had he ever been wrong about something in the past? She was about to let out another large sigh, this time filled with more dramatic, child-like angsty theatrics, but what followed next managed to pique her interest once more.

So he did know something, maybe. "Yes please! I would really like that a lot!" she exclaimed, making herself more comfortable in anticipation for the much needed and much appreciated story to come. "You're really not busy though, right?" Margo would really hate to be an inconvenience if he had something better to do, but at the same time she was awfully sick of these questions eating her up the way they had been. She really hoped he had a free schedule.

The father hated seeing disappointment filter across his daughter’s expression, and was pleased to see it was only momentary. Still, he was sure it would come back before the end of this conversation. The questions she had asked had been good ones, but he truly did not have the answers for them, and he was not sure that anybody did.

But, he would do his best.

Sitting down into the snow, he looked over Margo with a kind of wistful smile. She was growing up way too fast, how many more days did he have left where he was the one she came to for answers? The grin grew, and he reached out with his muzzle to ruffle the fur on the top of her head, ”I’m never too busy for you little flower.” If only he could turn back time and relive their childhood all over again, this time knowing everything was going to work out okay.

Looking to the brightening sky for a minute, he started, ”I guess I will start with your first question. I was always told that when we die, that is only our body giving out, but our spirit, what makes you you is still alive. You see, you have lived many lifetimes, even though most people can’t remember them.” It was a nice thought wasn’t it? ”After we die, our spirit spends some time wandering the world, until they come across another creature that has just been born, whether that’s a tiny spider, or a mighty whale, and then you get a new body and live a new life, as if you had just woken up for the first time.” He looked back towards the dark girl.

”What do you think of that?”

The pup smiled as her father relayed to her that he had enough time in the day to teach her what he knew, and listened very intently as he began to tell his tale.  Again, the entirety of the topic at hand was a little too big for Margo's growing brain, but her dad did a pretty decent job at explaining things to her in a way that she could understand, or at least for the most part.  After all, this was probably a big subject to any wolf, let alone an eight month old.

"Hmmm...."  Margo paused.  "I think... I want to be a bear next time!!" She cackled in childlike glee.  Bears were cool, and strong, and didn't have to worry about nothin'!  She was definitely gonna be a bear in her next life.  "But so... I chose you and momma in a way then?  And where do the spirits come from?"

Margo seemed to be thinking deeply about his words, and Viorel could not help the wistful smile that adorned his muzzle. She really was growing up right before his very eyes, and quickly becoming a beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful young woman instead of the pudgy pup she had been just a few short months ago. Grinning he nodded, ”I always thought I might want to be a bird, it might help me get over my fear of heights.” Maybe, or maybe it might just make it worse.

Her questions were only getting tougher and tougher, humming for moment in thought he began his explanation, ”Well. A long long long time ago, before there were any trees or mountains, or anything else, there were ancient beings who lived in the sky. Nobody knows where they came from, but they live forever, and they together made everything that we see around us. One of them is in charge of the ocean, and another the sun, and another the moon, and on and on. And together, they each used their unique gifts to make a new soul whenever they need to, so one day, maybe many lifetimes ago, or maybe just this time when you were born, they made you too.” That might be a little more complicated, but it was what he had always been taught.

Smiling again, this time almost in a distracted fashion he murmured, ”And often, often they will make two spirits at once, and that other spirit is your twin soul. Most of us spend our whole lives trying to find this other soul, in life after life, because they are the one who makes you complete. Sometimes that other spirit is your mate, sometimes it is your best friend, or a mentor, or a sibling, and the luckiest lives are the ones when you get to spend time with them.” It was a romantic idea wasn’t it?