Paradise Falls because the wind is high it blows my mind

Addison had hoped for silence from the other wolf, but instead she continued after a few beats, voice gaining strength. Not all of it sounded like conviction, though most of it did. She looked again at the still-stranger, and wondered if perhaps Miriam simply liked to be in charge. Atara could be like that sometimes, and there'd been a select few moments she'd gotten very frustrated with Addison when she had been unable to control her. Atty had been the one corrected, and the redhead pup assumed it would be the same here.

"Who are you to say the river is full?" she challenged, having figured the yearling had meant her teeth. There was not anger in her own tone, but rather willfulness. Addison was standing her ground, convinced she was perfectly safe and that if her parents were present they would be lecturing Miriam about not always getting her way.

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

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Miriam's brows furrowed at Addison's challenge, a mixture of frustration and incredulity playing across her features. She couldn't fathom how the pup remained so steadfast in her seemingly reckless actions.

"I'm not saying the river is 'full,'" Miriam retorted, her voice carrying a touch of exasperation. "I'm saying it's dangerous, unpredictable. It doesn't care if you're young, confident, or unafraid. It can take without warning."

Miriam took a deep breath, attempting to rein in her own emotions and convey the gravity of the situation. "I've seen what it can do, Addison. It's not about getting my way; it's about understanding the risks and respecting the power of nature. It's about survival."

She glanced around, gesturing to the surroundings as if to emphasize her point. "We're in Paradise Falls, yes, but that doesn't mean we're exempt from the rules of the wild. There are things out here that even the bravest can't conquer. I'm not trying to control you; I'm trying to protect you."

Miriam's gaze softened, her concern evident despite her stern demeanor. "I've seen too many pay the price for underestimating the river. I don't want you to become another cautionary tale.

Miriam's tone worsened, and Addison couldn't help but roll her eyes. Yes, she was most definitely a second Atara. Maybe even worse. She called her beloved stream dangerous and unpredictable, but Addy saw it as dependable and generous. It never left its place, always provided her water and comfort, and even if she did manage to get swept up in its leg-high depths, she wouldn't even fit down the hole!

'I've seen what it can do, Addison.'

Her beryl gaze flicked back onto Mir's face, curiosity regarding the older girl piqued for the first time. Was she talking about Addy's stream itself, or another body of water? What had it done that had the yearling so put off and worked up?

'It's not about getting my way.'

Ruddy brows crinkled, wondering genuinely if Miriam had heard her thoughts. She went on to speak of respect, as though that were not the very thing Addison was doing. Continued on about danger that the younger girl still did not see. It wasn't that Addy didn't listen; she simply trusted her own eyes and gut more than the influences of others. She'd never experienced such... differences with another wolf before, and remained clueless as to how to navigate this in a way that could make them both happy.

'I'm not trying to control you; I'm trying to protect you.'

Addison looked back to her water, clear and practically glowing beneath the night sky's light. If all this was just some kind of favor, she had a right to decline, didn't she?

'I've seen too many pay the price for underestimating the river. I don't want you to become another cautionary tale.'

Somewhere different then, and now Miriam painted it all the same. Lessons were being learned here, but they weren't necessarily those that the older girl was intending.

"Mm. No thank you."

She turned toward what was left of her teeth, still eager to simply continue her little ritual without the yearling's nagging in her ear.

"I don't need protected right now."

Lowering her muzzle, she paused midway toward picking up more, a compromise finally coming to mind. She wouldn't mind Miriam talking so much if it was answering the questions she did have.

"... you can tell me a story, though?"

Green eyes lifted to Mir's peach, still big and puppyish when they wanted to be.

(This post was last modified: Jun 08, 2024, 11:59 PM by Addison.)

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

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Miriam's ears twitched as Addison declined her offer of protection, her heart sinking with disappointment. She had hoped to impart some wisdom, to steer the young wolf away from potential danger. But it seemed Addison was determined to chart her own course, heedless of Miriam's concerns. Her initial instinct was to push harder, to insist that Addison listen to reason. But as she looked into the earnest gaze of the young wolf, a different approach occurred to her.

"Alright," Miriam began softly, her voice carrying a gentle warmth. "I understand that you feel confident in your own abilities, Addison. And perhaps you're right; maybe you don't need protection right now." She paused, choosing her words carefully, knowing that this was her chance to reach Addison in a different way.

"But let me tell you a story," she continued, her voice taking on a storyteller's cadence. "A story about a pack much like ours, led by a wise and revered alpha who claimed to have special knowledge from a higher power." Miriam's gaze held Addison's, hoping to capture her attention with the intrigue of the tale.

"This alpha preached about the dangers of straying from the pack, of defying the rules set forth by their ancesors. He warned against the temptations of the outside world, insisting that only within the safety of the pack's boundaries could true happiness be found... they all thought he had a special connection to his ancestors."

As she spoke, Miriam's tone grew somber, her eyes reflecting the weight of the narrative she wove. "But one day, a young wolf much like yourself began to question the alpha's teachings. She wondered if there could be more to life beyond the confines of the pack, if perhaps there were truths waiting to be discovered beyond the familiar territory." Miriam paused, letting the significance of her words settle between them. "The young wolf's curiosity led her on a journey of self-discovery, where she encountered challenges and faced dangers she had never imagined. But through it all, she learned to trust her instincts, to rely on her own judgment rather than blindly following the dictates of others."

She looked at Addison, her expression softening with understanding.

"You see, Addison, sometimes it's not about needing protection. It's about finding the courage to explore the unknown, to question the status quo, even if it means facing uncertainty and risk. And while I may not agree with your choices, I respect your right to make them." Miriam's tale was a subtle parable, a reflection of her own beliefs woven into the fabric of storytelling. She hoped that Addison would glean from it not just a lesson in caution, but a deeper understanding of the complexities of life and the importance of forging one's own path.

'Alright,' she agreed, and Addison visibly perked. However, despite how happy she was for Miriam's tale, the girl still did not stop her own course of action. Her ears stood tall and her tail wagged as she both listened and continued the ritual of saying goodbye to her baby teeth. She would take them in differing amounts, rapturously watch them float and disappear, and then repeat. All the while, the older wolf's voice was taken in.

A higher power. She had never heard that phrase before, yet it made perfect sense, sounding just as familiar as the rest of the words surrounding it. Of course. This alpha was a not a good character for long, however, complications arising in the narrative. By the time it was over, Addy's teeth were nearly gone and she found herself identifying with the story's heroine. At least, they had the same desires. Thankfully, Addison was not constrained as the young wolf in the yarn, at least not in any way that had yet become noticeable to her.

Thinking more on it, a glint entered her half-lidded eyes as she regarded the remainders of her offering. Her smile stretched up high, her features growing a touch smug.

"You were being the alpha," she side-eyed Miriam as the words rolled teasingly off her tongue.

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

---

Miriam could not helkp the devious smirk that came from her when the girl began to tease her, letting out a few soft giggles as she nodded along. “I suppose I was, wasn’t I?” She would offer back, offering the girl a light bump to her shoulder. The water had freaked her out, and worried her… but Addison is fine. She was fine and would continue to be. Miriam wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her… and that meant there was no harm done, no foul to be explored.

“I grew up very similar to the alpha in the story… I believe in a higher power, in the Ancestors, and I believe that they led me here on purpose… for a Greater purpose. My pack always spoke of a greater land, a pack of heavenly wolves who settled upon Paradise… and I believe that is why I ended up here.” She recalled her conversation with Jethro when she first joined, and every moment since. She was but a mere humble servant, nothing more and nothing less. “It’s a little different than I expected… but not in a bad way. No, definitely not a bad way!”

Miriam agreed, rather than taking any kind of offense. That was a difference from Atara! Addison's tail wagged more, and she regarded the other wolf with a small measure of fondness now. They had managed to bridge the gap after all, and while she wasn't really sure what the turning point had been, Addy was happy for it as well as bolstered. See, everything was okay after all! Miriam had just needed help coming to terms with that, the pup supposed.

There were two more little teeth, and now Addison sat directly next to them, giving the older wolf her full attention.

"Aren't ancestors, like... wolves that died? That you're related to?"

The first question, but of course the rest of what had been said had not gone unnoticed. Miriam's family had known about their pack here?

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

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Addison’s question was more complicated than she might have realized. Miriam didn’t have a firm answer herself. “Partially… part of them being divine beings is we will never really understand all of it… but what I do know is that the spirits of the dead ascend to join them, granted the wisdom of generations before. There are even wolves who are born with the power to commune with them. They helped guide my birth pack on important matters.” It did not sound out there to her, merely a fact of her life.

“But it’s believed the first ancestors never walked on the ground… they did not need to ascend because they are celestial beings… they created everything… the trees, the lakes, wolves.” There was a hint of admiration in her tone. “But they chose wolves to be special, to ascend to join their ranks so long as they lived a good life, a moral life…”

Addison's head would twist to the side at certain words, always perfectly back and forth. Spirituality had not been introduced to her. While it had not been explained to her as such, her father was an atheist, and so all explanations he gave her about the world had been rooted only in the observable. They certainly did not involve phrases such as 'divine beings' or 'spirits of the dead.'

The novelty of it all was likely very abundant upon her features.

"I don't... what do you mean?" one could swear there were actual sparkles of intrigue in her eyes as she stepped closer to Miriam, "Never walked the ground? Where then?"

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

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Miriam’s head tilted to the side, curiosity in the blasphemous nature of the question the girl asked. Had she never been educated in such things? Admittedly, Miriam found her excitement growing in that she was allowed to introduce such an important topic to a young wolf such as Addison. Her tail wagged at the prospect, an excitement in her eyes.

“Wolves do not simply walk amongst the ground… there are wolves, faster and stronger than us… they walk the sky, and the stars that linger are their pawsteps, showing their paths and reminding us that we must all make our own journey in life.” She explained as she motioned her nose towards the sky.

“They hide during our day because it is their night… working in opposition of us but shaping our futures with every pawstep.”