Paradise Falls night of the hunter

For @Chan so she can discuss a pack role <3

give me your heart

and i'll give you my soul

to just feel a little piece of heaven

Nadine had been thinking much about her role within the pack. When she had first joined, she had informed Finley of what she was good at: diplomacy, hunting… she had even led a pack hunt with moderate success though there was little doubt she still had much to learn. There had been blunders, and flaws… some her own doing and others decided by the universe… but one thing she had noticed about Paradise Falls in particular was it’s peaceful nature. They had no real conflicts to mediate with other packs… and thus, her role as a diplomat was not horribly necessary.

It was not to say that it would never be necessary, but it was something the yearling had come to learn she could not lean on for a pack role… not if she wanted to actually be useful. With Finley stepping down with Jethro’s return, she was now seeking out Chan. She did not know him fairly well, and only really saw him in passing… but anyone who resided within the Cove automatically earned her respect solely for the fact that they were packmates, and him even more so for the fact that he was now the acting leader. It meant something to her.

She sat outside the pack den, raising her maw to call for him with excitement brimming in her eyes.

Chan wasn't far, depositing a kill into one of their most central caches. When he heard Nadine call he moved a bit quicker, pushing earth back on top of the store to protect it as best as a wolf could. He then gave his body a shake and set off to his next task. While he didn't have a lot of personal details on the pair of unattached yearlings within their ranks, he had seen plenty of courtesy and work ethic from them both. In fact, if anything, they seemed overly respectful. Mature, in ways they shouldn't have needed to be so young. Of course, why should he complain about the commendable?

"Yes, Nadine?" he asked once she was in sight, approaching at an easy pace. What was left of his tail swayed behind him, his overall demeanor relaxed and welcoming.

give me your heart

and i'll give you my soul

to just feel a little piece of heaven

Nadine had never known any different. It was the life she had been raised in – stuck in a turmoil that her mother helped guide her through. They had worked together to negotiate trade deals, hunting parties that shared between two packs… work that had shaped who she had become. She’d never known what she had missed out on, because she’d never been particularly exposed to it. It had been an expectation in the world she had come from. For her, her sister, and all the other pups from the nearby packs. At least from her experiences.

She offered him a polite smile as he arrived, a dip of her head to display the proper respects that were so engrained into her body. “I was hoping to speak to you about a pack role, and about what my future here might look like.” She explained, trying not to sound too ominous though she supposed it was a general disposition she usually carried unintentionally. “Where I come from, I was a diplomat, trained by my mother in conflict mediation and peace negotiations… but the environment here is so different. There are no overarching conflicts to assist with, and I hope there never are.” War and the likes were never a good thing.

“I guess… I’m just trying to figure out how to fit in fully.” It was different from how she had envisioned her life… but not in a bad way by any means.

Chan brightened further as the topic of conversation was swiftly introduced. It was nearly always a wonderful thing to see another deliberating on and then pursuing aspirations, and he would of course help where he could. Listening to what she had to say about her upbringing, he tucked each detail away in memory. All of it was new to him, after all, though not exactly surprising. Her general demeanor made a bit more sense within such context.

"Well, diplomacy best serves us before any conflict can start, in my opinion. I think we could certainly find a way to utilize your current skillset, if that's what you want to pursue."

It was clear that they needed a scout, which would require the same strengths, especially given the strain that now likely existed between the Falls and the Cove (or was it just between himself and his own family up there in the mountains?). However, being raised for a certain position didn't mean it was what Nadine truly wished for.

"Really, though, your future can look however you want it to. Whether you've already got experience or not, whatever role you do decide on, we'll see you through to it, yeah?"

(This post was last modified: Jun 08, 2024, 07:34 PM by Eros.)

give me your heart

and i'll give you my soul

to just feel a little piece of heaven

Nadine had always been one to get straight to the point. She found it the most effective form of communication, and could often lead to her being quite blunt. If she thought something, she’d say it. Her mother had always taught her to keep feelings out of politics, to focus on the logic even when the other side could not, because otherwise one would do their pack a disservice. They would burn bridges… she knew in practice it was much harder than that unless one was an unattached third party which seldom handled matters of state.

She offered a gentle smile, a glimmer in her eye. “My mother used to say the same… I’m afraid that before I was separated from her I never quite learned how to identify conflict before it starts in order to neutralize it.” She offered, a rare display of bashfulness as she admitted the gap in her own education. She knew much about the art for her age, but she was far from perfect. She knew she had plenty of room for growth, and would not pretend to be an expert.

“I guess I don’t know what a traditional pack looks like? My home was so different from the Falls that I feel rather off-kilter… my normal is very different from how things are here. And I love it here… but it leaves me a little lacking in my own knowledge in order to decide what kind of role I want to pursue.” She explained, wanting to express her lacking in a way that asked for more education, or maybe an explanation so she could understand what roles the pack needed and utilized more fully, from someone who had been around much longer than her.

Separated from her mother. Chan had not known that about Nadine, and there was a subtle sobering of his expression when the information was given. It didn't seem to be the concern in her sharing, and perhaps it wasn't a matter to be pitied at all. Regardless, perhaps her could help her in that area of study, if she wanted it.

"Well, to be honest, I have been a part of many packs, and 'traditional' has meant a different thing to each and every one. Though I suppose the Lore does appear to have a few customs... I would say around here, the most common titles given out would be scouts," he nodded toward her then, for her title of diplomat fell into this category if she did not already know it, "guardians such as Isla, hunters, teachers like Finley, advisors or counselors, and medics."

He would not assume which of those she was and was not familiar with, pausing here to let her continue in guiding the conversation. It was, after all, about her.