Paradise Falls because the wind is high it blows my mind

Addison, Your Treatbag Reveals: You had something big planned for tonight and now it's cold and raining, you'll have to figure something else out. All welcome!

Her teeth were falling out, and the final of them had dropped today. First had been her incisors a month ago, and now with all the old gone, she could run her tongue along her gums and feel the start of every adult tooth that either had or would come in. Constant change, consistent growth. Addy had kept every one of the fallen milk fangs in her own private stash, what was situated betwixt the gnarled roots of one of the trees which overlooked their crevasse home. For a purpose, not just curiosity.

Tonight was it then, but... the weather had turned as the day progressed, getting colder, wetter. Now, with the sun finally gone, a storm was raging. Driving rain and strikes of lightning, always followed by sister thunder. She considered letting it stop her, but as she watched nature show off its power, Addison found herself strangely compelled to go out into it all anyways.

She stepped out into the rain, and felt its cold begin to creep through her fur.

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

---

Miriam had been adjusting to her new life in paradise. The woman had settled for certain hunting patterns, wandering around the outskirts of the border and into the land beyond to bring back food for the caches that she could muster on her own and falling into a patrolling pattern. She was doing her part to defend the home she had chosen. What else was there to do in the great test of life other than prove one’s worth the gods? She was convinced that was whomst she was among, after all. Nothing would change her mind on the matter either, regardless of how much Jethro insisted they were normal wolves.

No, the dark tawny girl knew better than that! It was raining, a limp rabbit in her jaws as she carried it to tuck herself away to weather out the storm, a hint of a content hum on her maw all the same as she did so… and that was when she saw the small child, her head tilting to the side as she looked at them, blinking along with it. She’d let out a woof through the muffled nature of the rabbit in her jaws as she moved to find shelter for herself so she might ask the girl what she was doing out.

God or no, she was going to catch a cold.

It wasn't so bad. Nowhere near as nice as dry warmth, but certainly not the end of the world. She let it all soak in, acclimating thoroughly before setting off. Movement caught her eye, and her ears cupped forward to catch the adult's greeting. Addy would have returned the soft bark, but baby teeth weighed down her tongue. Instead, she merely regarded Mir calmly, almost blankly. One time, her tail waved.

Then she was off, disappearing from sight swiftly if not immediately followed after. There was a mission on Addison's mind, and there would be no stopping her from completing it. There was a place nearby, a stream that came out of stone and disappeared into the ground, and it meant something to her. Perhaps as thanks, she would give it these pieces of herself.

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

---

The priestess had not been good about getting to know her fellow packmates, nor the child that she found herself chasing after… but with the chill of the rain, she found herself depositing the rabbit in a place she could return to later and bounding after the girl. Her curiosity was far from sated, and she wanted answers but to make sure that they were okay as well. The last thing she wanted was for them to get a cold… what if it would become an ill omen? Perhaps this was the test she was meant to play.

“Wait up!” Her petite voice would call out as she found herself catching up. “Where are you going? Do your parents know you’re out here? You’re going to catch a cold!” She’d call out again, stirring up all kinds of ruckus as a result, not that the dark tawny woman had ever shied away from it too much.

Wait up!

Addy paused briefly, looking over her shoulder to watch the older wolf bound after. Fast enough she'd catch up even as Addison continued on her way. More words spilled from her maw, and the young girl wasn't exactly jumping to answer. Her thoughts swirled around what response to give, but none really came. She picked up the pace; the quicker they were there, the easier it would be to talk.

It only was minutes from one place to another, thankfully. The sound of the water entered her ears and caused her to smile, lips tugging in a way that only subtly hinted at her mouth being full. The stream was in sight, and then at her paws, and then she turned to face Miriam fully. Her lips parted, and nearly thirty tiny teeth spilled from her maw at once, pelting the ground like hail amongst the raindrops.

"Being cold's not so bad," was her first simple answer.

"This won't take long," was the next as she turned again, now crouching down and regarding the small river closely. The weather had caused it to swell, it's current strong and healthy. Her rusty tail thumped against the wet earth happily.

(This post was last modified: Oct 21, 2023, 07:00 PM by Marigold.)

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

---

She was taking off after briefly looking over her shoulder towards Miriam, causing the girl to glance behind her. Were they both being followed? No, that could not be the case. Oh. She was looking at her, the adult… there was a pause for a moment before she raced ahead once more. She would catch up with the girl who was so eager to get away from her. She had to assume it was because she was an outsider who had not introduced herself much to the girl or anyone else in the pack. It had to be that, right?

There was no need for the little angel to fear her! And she had hoped her words would convey that but as the girl spoke, she let out a soft sigh in response. It hadn’t exactly been what she had been looking for… “Not cold, catch a cold, like getting sick.” She stated with exasperation, and concern, clear in her tone.

Still the girl was insisting that it would not take long before launching herself into puddle, a whine escaping as she glanced around. Perhaps her parents were nearby and could intervene. She was hardly good with children, being little more than a child herself. “You should get back inside and dry off! What if your parents see you all soaking wet?”

Addison could recognize the emotions stirring within Miriam's words, but they did not touch her in any way. Her blithe heart had no need for them. Anyways, she'd been sick before and could survive it again if that was what it took to properly enjoy and revere this night. The adult's growing distress would not spoil it.

"I think yer more fussed about it than they'd be."

She turned back again, and began to play with the littering of her own teeth with a single forepaw. Considering how to begin. She wanted to see the way the water moved and took them, one by one, all swirled together, gradually fed. Her focus was on her perceptions, the color of them, the glints of moonlight and the shadows that swallowed, the music of the river, cold rain against her back, her company's breathing, the prickling of proximity.

"Watch,"

Addison decided on a single canine, picking it up with those newly grown, tombstone-shaped incisors of hers. For a moment she contemplated old, dead, separate bone against its own living replacement. Then she turned and used her long, gangly limbs to leap over the stream onto its opposite bank. Russet paws took her to the water's end, where it gurgled and spun before disappearing into blackness. At it's throat, she dropped the tooth. It moved with the water and her green eyes followed it raptly until it vanished into the earth.

She looked up at Miriam, expectantly awaiting her reaction.

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

---

Miriam let out an exasperated huff as the girl talked back to her, telling her she was ‘more fussed’ than she ought to be. The audacity! She had never spoken back to an adult like that… she supposed as an angel, the girl had something of a right to do so. Surely it made her tougher than a regular pup, right? It had to!

At least, for her own sake, Miriam hoped. Not quite ready to give up the task of watching over the girl, she continued to lurk, her eyes staring the girl down with apprehension. She wasn’t ready for this, of that she was certain. The pup demanded that she watched, and so she did, though the nerves remained apparent. And then she leapt, and with it, she took Miriam’s heart.

The panic overtook her, flashes of water swallowing her whole that were only slightly relieved as her paws touched the opposite bank. She dropped a tooth into the stream, and Miriam watched as the water swallowed the tooth she had held whole, watching as it disappeared into the depths. “The current is strong here.” She commented, the apprehension present as her nose twitched lightly. “You won’t be seeing that tooth again.”

She still didn't get it, and Addison failed to understand how. The magic of this moment, this tribute, seemed plenty clear to her. The girl stared up at her elder without emotion, just perception, while she considered whether or not to pursue this puzzle. That the length might be unsettling to the subject of her observation did not occur. Ultimately, Addy decided it was simply Miriam's loss if she wanted to ignore the wonders right in front of her.

Without so much as a shrug she turned away and back to her teeth. This time she would take three, and drop them in all at once. Marvel at the way they traveled as one before splitting amongst the vortex, and then gone all together, fed into the earth. She leaned in close to that small abyss, nose poking fearlessly deep into the darkness. She smelled earth and stone and water and metal, life and space and something like warmth that wasn't.

She began to hum, but the sound didn't echo like she'd hoped. Still Addison maintained the tune, so soft it could sometimes not be heard. There were plenty more teeth to send down Charybdis' throat, and the pup would take her time with the ritual, enjoying it thoroughly regardless of whatever pressures her company may or may not try to exert.

WELCOME TO MIDNIGHT MASS.

---

Miriam watched with a mix of disbelief and growing frustration as Addison persisted in her unconventional behavior. The angelic pup seemed utterly unbothered by Miriam's unease, and the older wolf couldn't fathom how someone could be so carefree in the face of such a perilous act.

"The current is strong here," Miriam repeated, her tone a mix of concern and annoyance. She couldn't shake the worry that clung to her like a stubborn shadow. The stream was unforgiving, and she couldn't bear the thought of the pup getting hurt.

As Addison continued her ritual, dropping three teeth into the water at once, Miriam's apprehension deepened. She took a step closer, torn between the instinct to protect and the realization that Addison was determined to carry on regardless. The pup's humming filled the air, a stark contrast to Miriam's inner turmoil.

"Addison, you must be careful," Miriam finally interjected, unable to contain her anxiety any longer. "This isn't a game, and the river isn't some plaything. The river has claimed enough already, and I won't stand by if you're putting yourself in unnecessary danger." Of course, Addison wouldn't know what she meant... she hadn't told anyone in Paradise Falls about just what she had seen rivers claim.

Miriam's eyes bore into Addison's, a mix of frustration and genuine concern etched on her features. She didn't understand the pup's fascination with the river's depths, but she couldn't let her face the potential risks alone. The struggle between guardian instincts and the enigma of Addison's actions played out in the stern set of Miriam's expression.