The age gap between the two was not that big, if we pay attention to numerical values only. But in terms of maturity and experience both were miles apart. Dwin was still a kid in a nearly grown-up body. Heph was an adult, who wore her coat and shoes with confidence and ease. At least it appeared so to the young Blackthorn. She sort of expected a list of things to do, so at first the more philosophical take on the question came as a bit of a disappointment. Not that she did not understand that there was a value in all that Heph had named, but she was at a stage in life, where she did not yet fully appreciate it. 

"Well, I believe that all the good and great is ahead of me. I don't know yet, if, what I have seen and done, is the most important stuff in life that all people should do," she shrugged. "I mean, my sister Dee does not consider that trench digging is either fun or useful. I think it is important and interesting. But I do not expect that you think the same way."

"Trenches work both ways - it offers you protection from being seen and it trips and makes any enemy fall, just in case they happen to stumble over. I suggested to dig a hu--u-u-u-u-ge and deep trench all around Brecheliant, but my parents did not approve," she shared. It was not that they had said - "no, Dwin, no trenches in our home!". They just did not think it being practical or even achievable. Besides... no one had attacked them yet and the strength of the pack lied not only in fortifications, but in the wolf-power. 

"Yeah, I don't agree with that. Moose and stags are huge. Baiting them out on my own may shorten my life expectancy," in other words Dwin did not feel confident at all in the presence of the large ungulates. They were frequent visitors of the caldera and she had had a taste of them as well, but to hunt them on her own? No. She was well aware of her small frame and how disproportionate a fight between her and hooved-kicking pairs of legs would be. "I would like to live long though. Do you?"

"I think you are right, but this works for old people, who know stuff," Dwin remarked. "I mean I do not know a lot and I think that therefore I should... I think it is wiser to keep with, what I know well," that sounded awfully wise from a young wolf like her, but then she too was a contradiction to this rule. Had she followed her own belief, she would not be out in the middle of the winter, half-starving and having no idea, where to go next. Instead she would be sitting diligently at home, getting fat and learning stuff to prepare better. But even Dwin's adventureness had red lines and hunting big game was one of them. 

"Existing just like that might not be fun," she said. "But then - I think it was my Aunt Wraen - who wanted to be a tree in her next life. To take a long rest after a turbulent life," again, dear reader, take notice that Dwin was not good at remembering facts correctly. "Maybe being a tree is a different kind of existence that we cannot appreciate, while we ourselves are being wolves," she finished her thought. "Would you like to become tree one day? Any tree at all - of your choosing?"

"I have never considered, what a tree wants. Do they have a "want" - no, that is not correct - a will to... to... feel such a thing?"' Dwin picked up the suggestion to rummage through it thoroughly. She looked to the forest line nearby and imagined for a moment all the trees watching them and discussing them - crawly, tiny creatures. Could they also talk crap behind your back? But, if they spoke in a tree language that Dwin had not mastered, would talking behind your back even apply? Cause the idea was that... you had to understand and be aware of it. 

"I dunno. I think that I would want to become a river. Or... or water - I mean, you are always on the move and you meet so many interesting creatures along the way. You can become ice and you can become a cloud. I think that water means the ultimate freedom. And... and... infinity, I think?" she guessed. Death seemed such a faraway thing that it seemed almost silly to discuss it now. "Oh, and as water I could find out, what trees and plants think, I could become part of someone else. 'cause - you know - water is everywhere and a part of everything. Kind of like a God..." Dwin was lost in thoughts for a bit. 

"Is that, what they mean, when they say that the God is in everything?" she asked with an "eureka-moment" giddiness in her voice. 

"Well, mom said," and again I repeat that this does not necessarily mean Maia had ever said anything like this. Dwin was bad with remembering information sources, therefore it was easier to ascribe it to either her mom or dad. "That gods are something people believe in to explain stuff they cannot. Or... or to bring order in a very, very chaotic world," she began a very lengthy explanation, but without a preface, she could not give a proper answer to Heph's question. 

"So... and there are generally two types of gods. Ones, which are like super-controlling and telling you constantly, what to do and what not," reference to the God in the Old Testament. "And they can get very angry at you also, if you do not obey," there had been some stories that had struck Dwin as quite nasty. Say - asking a father to sacrifice his son to show that he believed in his god. Or that the same god had destroyed a whole lot of packlands, because they had chosen to live the way they wanted. 

"And then there are more practical people and gods. That means that people do not bother their gods unless they need something from them, because the gods have a lot more important stuff to deal with than to meddle in the affairs of mortals," the business-like attitude of gods felt more to Dwin's liking. IF Gods existed. "And then... then there are some sort of belief that that the god is not something that lives above and rules everything, but that it is part of every thing. I have not yet quite understood this concept, but becoming a water seems like the closest thing to it," she finished. 

"Well, mom said," and again I repeat that this does not necessarily mean Maia had ever said anything like this. Dwin was bad with remembering information sources, therefore it was easier to ascribe it to either her mom or dad. "That gods are something people believe in to explain stuff they cannot. Or... or to bring order in a very, very chaotic world," she began a very lengthy explanation, but without a preface, she could not give a proper answer to Heph's question. 

"So... and there are generally two types of gods. Ones, which are like super-controlling and telling you constantly, what to do and what not," reference to the God in the Old Testament. "And they can get very angry at you also, if you do not obey," there had been some stories that had struck Dwin as quite nasty. Say - asking a father to sacrifice his son to show that he believed in his god. Or that the same god had destroyed a whole lot of packlands, because they had chosen to live the way they wanted. 

"And then there are more practical people and gods. That means that people do not bother their gods unless they need something from them, because the gods have a lot more important stuff to deal with than to meddle in the affairs of mortals," the business-like attitude of gods felt more to Dwin's liking. IF Gods existed. "And then... then there are some sort of belief that that the god is not something that lives above and rules everything, but that it is part of every thing. I have not yet quite understood this concept, but becoming a water seems like the closest thing to it," she finished. 

"I think that you have to believe in, what helps you to feel the most comfortable," Dwin said, liking the hands-off approach of gods far better than the totalitarian one. "And in the meantime don't be a jerk to other people. That's also important," just in case someone felt that their zone of comfort involved doing harm to others. 

"I think that it could be so that... all gods and beliefs are good and valuable, it just depends on, where you live and what you need at the time. If... I am very self-confident and have a good grip of my life - those gods, who have their own godly business to mind, would be the best. If - on ther other hand - this, I do not know for sure, but mom says that if people choose to have strict order and hierarchy and a person, who tells them, what to do, then they feel unsafe in the world. That rules and order give them peace of mind," she paused, wondering if Heph as a more experienced person in this conversation, could corroborate it. 

"But I think that a god that tells you, what to do, kind of strips you of the ability to think for yourself. If all of a sudden you lose that god - for whatever reason - I imagine people would feel seriously lost and confused and would not know, what to do with themselves," she mused. 

"Well, that's the beauty of an uptight god - isn't it? You do not have to think, you have to obey," Dwin pointed out the core reason, why any god would give up on her as a loyal follower. She had too many questions and gods usually did not like to be challenged and proven to be either wrong or not knowledgable enough. "Sometimes not having to think is easy, but then one day you might end up realizing that you are in a ton of trouble just because you decided not to think much," she mused. It could also be so that the most fervent followers went to their graves never realizing that their god might have been - in fact - a criminal. Being a deity and a bad guy did not exclude one another. 

"Well, in your case... maybe with people like me and you... we do not need gods. Though I would like to believe that occasionally things happen at the right time and place and just the way they should be," she finished. "Oh!" her face lit up, as she remembered something, she grinned. "Want to hear an old wisdom clad in somewhat... somewhat unpoetic truth?" she asked. 

"Well, there is another line of thought called... pre... predestiny? Predestination!" Dwin made a little jump on the spot, when she got the word right. "It means that your fate is already written. No matter, what you do or where you go, you will not outrun your death," which was something you could look at from two different angles. Accept the inevitability of your fate and be miserable about it. Or have a "devil may care" attitude. 

Unfortuntely, this train of thought had completley wiped out the story she had wanted to share with Heph earlier. Try as she might, she could not recall, what it had been. "Uh... maybe another time then. I think I forgot it," she laughed at her own silliness. "I think - that's my mind's way of telling me that I need a rest," she smiled. "It was nice talking to you and maybe we run into each other again some time in the future?" she asked.