Ghastly Woods Strengthening relations

Karina gave her companion her warmest smile, barely able to contain her delight. The typical responses she received when she explained the Mother usually went one of three ways; either the wolf clung to the region out of desperation, was polite but unmoved, or was very vocal about how the whole thing was hogwash.  Rarely did she find someone like Moonshadow, who was willing to intellectually consider an asomatous higher power and discuss the finer points of religion without trying to convince her that she was wrong.
 
Karina’s face fell at Moonshadow’s question; her own biological dependence on the flesh of other creatures had always been a struggle for her.  “There would be no need for predator and prey, if the world was infinite,” Karina began. How she wished that were so! “As it is though... without predators, imagine... the deer would multiply until every blade of grass was devoured. They would starve to death in hordes, slowly and painfully... much more painfully than falling to the hunt.” Karina trembled slightly as she imagined the horror. The Mother would weep to see her children suffer so.  
 
“Wolves take the weak and the sick from the herds,” she continued, remembering a lesson from long, long ago. Her father had taught her this, at her very first hunt. “If not for us, the weak would go on to pass their traits to their young, and disease would spread throughout the herd. Predators keep the herd strong and healthy... So the hunt is a kindness, in its own way.” She knew all this to be true, and yet she had never been able to bring herself to join in the hunt.  Seeing the fear in her prey’s eyes, feeling its racing heartbeat in her jaws, tasting its warm, fresh blood on her tongue... She shuddered at the thought.  Karina could satisfy her own hunger on edible plants and scavenge her meat from the already deceased.
 
“Does your mother live in the Cove with you?” Karina asked, thinking of her own mother in Hearthwood River. Would that she could still be with her.  “She sounds like a kindred spirit. I would love to meet her.” 

   

    
 

OOC! Sorry for the text colors. My phone is testy with keeping it consistent.

The dark woman's eyes filled with worry as she watched her friends face fall at her question. Dark ears fell back against her skull. The cove matriarch didn't want to hurt her companion in any way. She had shown such kindness as well as discussing her religion with her. Mercury eyes watched the salt and pepper form of her friend as she answered her question. Karina explained how without predators prey populations would explode and they would eventually use up all of their food supply then succumb to starvation. She explained that starvation was a much worse fate than a quick death from a hunt. Huh. It was a logical explanation to why killing was a necessary evil. This would have been explanation enough for the midnight woman but luckily for her information hungry mind she was given an additional reason. Keeping the weak and sick from passing on their genes and bringing down the herd was also a humane reason as to why they need to be hunted.

Inky lips pursed together as her explanations reached the dark females mind. Both made complete sense to Moonshadow. Finding the answer to her question sufficient the dark woman smiled once more. "Both those reasons are completely logical. I've never given it much thought. Though I'd be open to learning more about your goddess and what you do to serve her." The idea of serving an unseen being was tougher to swallow than just having it simply exist. The existence of higher powers was now in the light for Moon. She was unsure about the whole servatude situation.

The question of her mother being with her with in Fallen Tree Cove caused a pang in her heart. Her eyes and ears fell and her head lowered. Oh how she wished that her mother was with her - or any of her family really. After her accidental excursion from the territory the dark woman had given up on the hope of seeing her birth family ever again. She had to let them go so that she wouldn't lose the one she had made here in the lore. Completely letting go though hadn't fully happened yet for being asked to step up as lead overruled her thoughts. "Sadly shes not." She replied looking back towards her new found friend. "I - uh lost my entire family in a forest fire a few months before I turned a year old." Moon tried her best to hide the sadness in her voice. She hasnt actually discussed the incident much with anyone before. Funny that its been almost two years since it happened and she's kept it in all this time. Opening up was something she's never exactly been good at but maybe it would be good for her to learn to.

 It seemed that many of the wolves Karina encountered in Relic Lore came from a tragic past, and the moment she saw the light in Moonshadow’s eyes fade she knew her companion was no different.  Long ago, Karina might have felt guilty that her question had triggered such sad feelings for Moonshadow, but after much experience ministering to the bereaved Karina now understood that talking about the tragedy is part of the emotional healing process.  “I’m so sorry,” Karina murmured, voice full of kindness and sympathy. When she heard stories like this, she tried to remember about the predator and the prey... about how sometimes, something painful must be endured in order to avoid even greater pain.  It was the only explanation for how the Mother could allow something so horrible to happen to one of her children. “Truly,” she said solemnly, meeting Moonshadow’s silvery gaze. “I know without a doubt that they run with the Mother in Her pack now.” Even if they had not known or worshipped the Mother in life, Moonshadow’s departed family sounded to be the kind of souls the Mother would want by her side in the Beyond.
 
She was silent for a stretch of time as they walked, wanting to allow space for Moonshadow to say anything more on the subject of her family if she so wished.  After a bit though, she ventured to return to Moonshadow’s first question. “Serving the Mother… it’s very easy in some ways. Being kind to others, spreading Goodness.. it’s second nature for many of us. But in other ways, it is very difficult, and goes against habits and insitinct.”  Karina could only assume this, considering the difficulty others seemed to have reconciling pack law and Good acts. As for Karina, serving others was and always had been her deepest instinct.  “Service to Her children must come before pack law.. Though in our packs, we are taught to serve the pack before –and in many times, instead of-- all others.  This was the reason I had to leave my own family’s pack.. It came to the point where I was almost constantly choosing between service to others, or obeying my alphas.”  Karina bit her lip, worried that this might seem like footling to Moonshadow; a trivial reason for her to turn her back on her family. The young priestess had no doubt that Moonnshadow would do, believe in, or try anything it took to be with her own mother again. “Those who follow me will never have to make such a choice,” she vowed.

   

    
 

OOC! Out of character comments here

A faint smile was given in response to the apology. While it wasn't anyone's fault the apology was appreciated. Her next words however struck a cord and tears began to form. The dark woman had always hoped that her family would be alive and well somewhere. That the fire didn't kill them but only chased them from their home. Accepting the very real possibility that they're dead wasn't something she was quite willing to do. Despite coming to terms with never seeing them again she desperately wanted to cling onto the notion that they're alive. Black eyelids blinked rapidly over their silver orbs to banish the forming saline. It wasn't Karina's fault for the tears, she was simply trying to make Moon feel better to give her some closure. A murmur of thanks was given before welcoming the fall of silence. This would not be the day to learn to open up. With something so simply warranting such an emotional response she knew she wasn't anywhere near ready to talk about it, let alone with someone she just met. While the pale woman was kind and would likely be someone the temporary matriarch could grow close to, the pair was still a long ways away from that stage.

As the silence carried on Moonshadow allowed her thoughts to drift to the present. She looked around the moonlit forest and wondered how close they were to the mountian. The sound of her companions voice pulled her away from her thoughts. Her words addressing the previously forgotten asked question. Nodding at the words as once again the pair could see eye to eye. However as they continued the ebony she-wolf was unsure if she agreed with the latter half of Karinas words. Service to Her children must come before pack law? Now that caused the shadow queen to internally pause. Pack law was something that almost every wolf was taught to uphold since they were pups. To simply disregard it would mean one had to go against everything they've ever known. However since Moonshadow had always been good at seeing multiple side to situations she could acknowledge how much faith in the All Mother it would take for one to be able to do such a thing. The dark woman met the pale blue eyes of her friend as she said that no one in her pack would have to choose between service and following pack law. This was something that Moon would like to see. While she would not leave the ones who gave her a home she would like to keep close with Karina. "That is very commemorable of you." She said with a smile and a wag of her inky tail. "You must be very proud of your home. I can see how choosing between the two would prove to be very difficult especially if the pack didn't support such beliefs." Believing in something that no one else did would cause tension. While Moonshadow didn't think she could disregard pack law all together she would still want to try to start seeing the world with the All Mother in it.