[PRP] So shy! (( Frostpaw / Praemonevi ))

[Bronze Coffee]

Things were starting to look up for her mother's pack. If they could call it that. So far there was something of a social structure, she had a new father and aunt, and there were even small pups. Of course they didn't really belong to anyone in the pack, and the caretakers took care of them, but they were still there.

Sighing as Frostpaw moved out of the watchful eye of.... everyone, the heiress made her way to one of her favorite hunting grounds. It's not that she was shirking her duties, really. She was just ignoring them for the time being so she could get some mental rest. That's what she needed. It was hard work with her lessons and shadowing her mother all the time. At least her betrothed seemed lik ehe was enjoying the heavy duties that befell him.

Ugh, that word was so ugly. Duty. Whatever. She wasn't going to think about it right now. No. She was going to go take herself a bath in some of the sun warmed waters that were in the surrounding marsh. Despite it being winter, the sun was out a lot, lately. Which meant the shallow puddles were perfect for warming up and soaking away one's worries. Which is exactly what she needed. She was too young for such aches that she had. Her mother was always, always, doing something with the new dad, or his sister, or with someone else in the pack. Never did she have a chance to just.. rest. If she so much as lingered behind her mother, she got the 'come on, Frostpaw, do not dawdle' shtick.

So, with green eyes looking ahead, she kept padding for her favorite spot. A nice, big, shallow watery area in the grass next to the biggest sunning rock. It was nice and flat and she couldn't wait to sun dry herself.  

[mouselet]

The burgundy and tan wild dog had found the watery area in her travels and had paused for a moment to enjoy the peaceful serenity in the place. She'd rarely found spots so beautiful as this where she could stand and simply be, allowing her cares and worries to melt away underneath the bright sunlight.

Indeed, it was a rare moment of peace and introspection for Pramonevi, where she could really sit back and think about where she was, how she'd come to be here, and what she planned to do. The lattermost was the most nebulous of the three and she sighed as sh considered what to do.

The female froze at a sudden sound - or was it a scent? - that warned her she was not alone. Nervously she looked around, scanning for whoever it was that had joined her in this place.  

[Bronze Coffee]

Frostpaw's paws had slowed upon smelling another in the distance. The wind was changing so rapidly right now because of winter, that it seemed they both smelled each other. Letting her green eyes narrow slightly, it didn't take her long to spot the burgundy female. Oh, well, if that was all, she didn't have to worry. In her mind, all wild dogs were good and just. Just like the ones in her pack. With wide eyes and a smile on her face, the brown and white female moved closer.

"Greetings," she said in her best, princess.... voice? Whatever. It was warm, still, though practiced. "You look a little lost. Do you need help finding something? Or someone?" Her head tilted as she spoke, peering at her curiously.  

[mouselet]

'Monevi relaxed a bit as the stranger revealed herself to be another wild dog, a bit younger than herself. Old enough to be-

She cut the thought off before it could go any farther, focusing on the here and now, rather than the past. Smiling at the younger girl, she replied.

"Nah...Ahm not lost as all that, jest dinna know where Ah be," she explained, yellow eyes earnest. This girl was so young! Praemonevi hoped that her pack was nearby, for she hated to think of a young dog, scarcely more than a pup in some ways, wandering on her own in such a cruel world.

"Ah be Praemonevi...an' yerself?" she asked.  

[Bronze Coffee]

She wasn't lost, just... basically lost. Right. Shaking her head in an amused way, Frostpaw just smiled and nodded a little. "I go by Frostpaw," she said, lifting her one white paw. She dipped her head in another greeting and then straightened herself up. She had to look diplomatic here. She was a young adult, heir to a mighty pack! Or so she believed. So her mother wanted her to believe. Honestly, Frostpaw felt like a pup in many ways.

"You just wandered here, then? Maybe it's the sign of the goddess that stays in these lands that you're meant to be here!"

Everything happened for a reason. That's something she believed down to her very core.  

[mouselet]

Yellow eyes widened. This girl believed 'Monevi's presence here was some sign from a god? The older dog seriously doubted that there was anything divine in her feet leading her here for the moment. She'd wandered many places in the long season since she'd left the pack of her birth, and there'd been nothing particularly inspired leading her anywhere.

"'Snice ta meetcha, Frostpaw," she replied, wondering how she could gently break the news to the other female.

"Ah dinna think a gahd would care abaht any mere mortal," Praemonevi told the younger dog. "Ahm jest here because here is where Ah am."  

[Bronze Coffee]

"I don't believe that. I think the gods care about every mortal, or else there wouldn't be gods. I think we have gods because we believe in something enough that those beliefs manifest and become alive. So we have something to look up to. Something to help us, to believe in..." She gave a nod and licked her lips a little as she spoke.

Her soak seemed like it would be delayed, however. As sad as it was. She was looking forward to it, but a talk about beliefs and gods always interested Frostpaw. "Do you really think anything just happens randomly? I believe everything is planned out."  

[mouselet]

Ah, now she had the measure of the younger dog. A mystic, this one was. Not necessarily a bad thing, but for a dedicated agnostic like Praemonevi, a bit disconcerting in her certainty. Indeed, she felt that surety was for the young only, who could still see the world in black and why instead of realizing it was all made up of shades of grey.

"Tha's one way tae look at it, sure," she replied politely. "Baht it seems a bit much, tae jest set thar all day, deciding what ev'ry mortal does." If there were gods, and 'Monevi wasn't going to say yea or nay on the subject, she imagined that they'd have better things to do with their lives than control every mortal in the world. Not to mention the whole free will issue.  

[Bronze Coffee]

"Well... Maybe, but they're gods. They exist because of mortals, so they have to care about us, or else they wouldn't have been born." It was a nice change of pace, this discussion. Most people wouldn't get into it with her because she was an avid believer that the gods had planned everything for her. Every god had something to do with her life, it seemed, even the ones she'd rather not tangle with. Her tail wagged this way and that and she just seemed completely engaged and calm.

There was no point getting mad at a nonbeliever. She'd encountered them before. Most couldn't be swayed, but it was always interesting to learn why they didn't believe like she did.

"Either way... We have a pack around.. If you seek shelter from the upcoming night you're welcome to stay.."  

[mouselet]

'Monevi declined to continue the discussion about gods and mortals, given the choice, simply because she had no intention to offend anybody. But it wasn't something she cared to think about. There were no gods involved in her life that she could tell, not at the best and not at the worst. Mortals did wonderful and evil things because they were mortal and they could. There was no more and no less in the world.

So she seized on the change of pace gratefully, if nervously. Packs were always problematic. And if this girl's pack was anything like she was, well, Praemonevi was a wanderer now, and comfortable with it.

"Tha's good to know," she replied, neither accepting nor refusing the offer.  

[Bronze Coffee]

"Well..." That wasn't very helpful. Sighing, her ears flicked this way and that before a frown graced her face. "We're not all believers like I am... I don't think many are. If the topic makes you uncomfortable I'll refrain from bringing it up again! We're friendly... You don't have to stay for more than a night if you would like. We can get you food and a warm place to sleep, and you can be on your way again." She hoped she didn't scare the other girl off. Honestly, they weren't all enthusiastic about gods like Frostpaw was. Even her mother, the Queen, wasn't.

"I'm sorry. I tend to run on at the mouth without really thinking. I'm trying to bring that in, but it's hard..." Frostpaw let a sigh leave her lips before shrugging. "So...?" She was now looking for an answer.  

[mouselet]

Well, perhaps there was some hope for this girl after all. It seemed like she had finally picked up on the fact that this conversation had been wholly uncomfortable for Praemonevi. Still, even if she was telling the truth and this pack was less religious than Frostpaw had made it seem, that didn't necessarily mean it was a good place.

"So Ah'll think on it," the older wild dog answered coolly. So very young. So very eager. 'Monevi was sure she'd been that way once. But she couldn't conceive of it at all, couldn't even figure out when that innocence had been murdered.

For now she would remain here, in this gentle and enchanting place. Perhaps she would follow the other girl back to her pack, perhaps not. She would do as she pleased when the time came.  

[Bronze Coffee]

Frostpaws ears swiveled this way and that before she gave a nod. She wasn't at all pleased with herself. "Till we meet again, then," she said, slowly turning her back to head back to the pack. Curse it all, she'd fudged a meeting. This wasn't the way her mother had taught her to talk to others. 'Avoid your chatterings about the gods' her mother said to her often. But she couldn't help it.

So, back to the pack she went, mentally beating herself up.