Blackfeather Woods Pained red

@Maegi

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It was early afternoon, but the sun had been mostly blocked by clouds all morning. A light snow had been falling for the last couple hours, lightly placing scattered snow flakes atop Rouge's black pelt. She found herself that afternoon stepping into the Redgrove. This was the first she had seen it and it was a sight to behold. With the light layer of snow the floor of red it was beautiful, but not in the regular sence. 

Red was often seen as the color of blood and danger. Things not characterized as beautiful but deadly. But it was seen as less of a bad color then black she felt. That level of inbetween matched her rather well she thought. She layed down in on the ground and slowly began to roll in it. Enjoying the slight smell that still remained through the winter, and scratching her back.

It wasn't long before another black-furred woman walked into her life. When would she walk back out? Maegi wondered, sitting in the shadows just beyond the grove and watching the newcomer. Her scent was fresh; she had not been here long. The absence of injury suggested she had been invited, so no threat there. . .right?

Still, hackles slightly raised, she stumbled into the clearing, mismatched eyes fixed on the woman. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice sharp and demanding. She stayed on her feet, swaying a little due to her natural imbalance, but kept her eyes firmly locked with the stranger's.

She wondered often what she would do if Cass were to appear again. She was torn between boundless joy and fury, between jumping on the woman and covering her in kisses, or ripping her limb from limb the best her little jaws could. Every black pelt she caught a glimpse of, she thought was Cass, only to be disappointed when it materialized into Nyx or Moonshadow. . .or this new face.

Not that she was disappointed with them; Nyx she especially admired. But they weren't Cass. Cass, the first wolf outside her family to show her any kind of love.

She moment or relaxation was cut short when she heard a young voice ask a question. Rouge quickly turned over onto her belly, unsure at first if it had been the words of a child or an adult that might have looked down on her for doing such a thing. When she turned right side up she saw a young pup, with a white pelt, gray feet and mismatched eye colors. 

At first she was releaved but a second later she was shocked. She didn't meet too many pups now adays. Rouge's usual two personalities comprised of mostly business and her normal mischevious self. But for pups she was a whole other person. She always had a solf spot for pups, she had never had any of her own, but they always made her think of her tough life as a pup and it made her think that she needed to protect and help them, like no one did when she was little.

This pup had a demanding voice, not timid or shy. She wondered if she was one of the leaders pups. "My name is Rouge. I'm a newer members her. What about you. Who are you?" she replied and asked in a relaxed tone.

Roooj. A word she hadn't quite heard before, but a cool name, nonetheless. Not quite as cool as Moonshadow, but perhaps she would make up for it. Maegi nodded, accepting the name.

"Maegi. Melonii," she added, just so this woman would know who she was speaking to. If this Roooj hadn't heard of Meldresi by now, she would soon. "Did Vaati let you in? He's my brother."

Her head felt kind of overwhelmed, with how many new faces there were in the woods. First Moonshadow and her brother, then Nyx--though she wasn't new, just new to the girl--a couple of creepy looking wolves she had only seen from a distance, and now this woman. Roooj.

"Why'd you wanna come here?" Maegi asked, the same question she had thown at Moonshadow. "It's dark and scary." Not to her, she almost added, though the glint in the Blackfeather babe's eye as she said it should have been enough illustration for the woman.

The young wolf introduced herself as Maegi. Her last name help no significats to Rouge other then it being something at the end of her first name. She nodded to her and said "It's nice to meet you." in a somewhat neutral sounding tone. 

Though it was common curtesy to say such things it was very odd for Rouge to say. Often forgetting to even give her name to those she didn't know. Pups and other young wolves were different for Rouge. She didn't mind opening up to them and speaking, finding that her past allowed her to see more incommon with them then differences. 

When she asked about Vaati she nodded. Then gave a somewhat surprised look when she said he was her brother. Though she didn't know why it would be shocking, maybe just slightly intimidating thinking of how much influence this pup would have if she didn't have it already. 

She then asked Rouge a question. Why she would come here. A rather loaded question until she specified that she spoke about the place itself rather then the question. The dark and scary aspect of the place is what drew her in actually. "Exactly. It's dark and scary. Just how I like it. It helps me blend in and... its calming in a way." she said to the pup. Most might not think that scary was calming, but Rouge and most likely the other of this pack thought differently. "Do you like it here?" she asked wondering her stance on the scenery.

She wrinkled her nose at the question, finding it a silly one. Of course she liked it here. If she didn't, she would constantly be wandering outside of the woods, like her brothers. Nevertheless, she answered Roooj, though not without some bite to her tone.

"Oh yeah. It's too bright out there," Maegi remarked, flicking an ear nonchalantly. "Plus this is where the gods live."

She tilted her head, regarding the woman once more. "Sooo, Vaati let you in. Did he tell you about us?" Her bicolored eyes tilted up toward the canopy, as if she could see the spirits floating above. "How our grandmother found this forest, founded this pack. How the gods favor us above all."

She listened as this little pup spoke with a raised eye brow wondering where she was going with this. She was trying to build suspence, at least that's how it looked. Like she wanted her audience's full attention before speaking of such a tale. Rouge had never dabbled with gods or religions before, and was quite curious to hear this little ones tail. She lowered her head a bit before responding. "He did not. You wouldn't be willing to share would you?" she asked in a baiting voice.

This wasn't the way she wanted to learn about the pack's history, but it was the most convenient at the moment.

And if bait was offered, bait would be taken. Flashing the woman a rare grin, Maegi sat down, wagging her small tail in response. "You really need to know all this if you're going to live here," she began, raising an eyebrow. "So. . ."

The girl's voice pitched lower as she commenced with her story, starting from where she knew. "Years ago, Meldresi Melonii came to this forest. She brought her gods, her tales, from a faraway land. She had children--my mother one of them--and the pack was born."

Her eyes lifted once more, hearing the whispers of the gods--what another might pass off for the breeze through the trees. "The Night Mother, Mephala, and the Dread Father, Sithis, watch over us here," Maegi explained. "We worship them, and they like us." She brought her gaze down to Rouge, grinning. "I'm training to become a priestess."

Even though this was coming from the mouth of a pup, Rouge listen to the story taking what she could from it. The youngster might be telling a fable, but she suspected that some if not all of it had to be true, involving the beliefs of the pack. Rouge had never taken into consideration the forces that had made the world as it was, but wasn't against the idea that there might be an actual reason for it all. 

This belief had been passed down through many generations it sounded like, with this pup being one of the youngest ones and still being trained towards the religion. 

Wanting to more about what the pack's belief in these gods actually mean she asked, "So The Night Mother, Mephala, and the others. What are they like? What do they do?" 

She paused a moment, thinking. How to explain the Night Mother to an individual ignorant--for now--of her existence? She closed her eyes, hoping the Daedra would speak to her, help her tongue to give the right words, the right definitions.

"Mephala. . .the Night Mother. . .she holds all our lives in her paws," Maegi whispered, a small smile coming to her muzzle at the thought. If Mephala had wanted her and her brothers dead, they would be dead. Right? "She knows everything. How long you live. When you die. And she taught our ancestors everything they needed to know.

"And Sithis," she continued, "is our Father, Mephala's husband. He is death, the Void. We join him when we die." She paused, feeling suddenly unsure. She wished Kove or Miraak were here, looking over her shoulder, armed with corrections or helpful suggestions.

But then, this was the life she had chosen. One day, her teachers would be gone, and she would be the teacher, responsible for imparting this knowledge to generations that came after her. She might as well get used to it now.

She listened as the young wolf spoke about a night mother and sithis. These two gods that were present in like and after. Rouge still thought of religion as a fun story, but she understood why others might choose to believe such tailed. It explained what couldn't be explain by normal means, and provided a sence of security that nothing in reality could.

But from a religious stand point these things were reality and things to live by, and Rouge wondered what they used as evidence for thier claimes. "And you being a priestess. What does that mean. What are you training towards?"

The woman's question took her aback, and Maegi paused for a long moment, face screwing up in puzzlement. What was she training towards? All the while, she'd been learning prayers and lore and had never thought to ask what her own role in this world would be. She had been so drawn into the words that she hadn't stopped to consider their context.

"I. . .well, I'm not sure, yet," the girl half-stammered, trying to smooth her features back into some semblance of confidence. As a child born into these Woods, she had had the upper hand in the conversation--but now Rooooj had thrown her a curveball, and she was scrambling to think on her feet. "Pray a lot, talk to the gods, give them offerings. Keep them happy."

She would have to ask Kove, when she saw him next. He was a priest; he would know what he did.

It was surprising to hear that someone so deicated and trained from such a young age towards something didn't know why they would be doing it. She spoke so strongly and confidently before this question, but now she seemed stuck. Her answers were stammering and indefinate, but were going somehwere. "Seems alittle strange that you would sign up for something without knowing the purpose." she remarked in an indirect tone. "So what happens to us if you don't keep the god happy?" she asked.

Her ears flattened as Rouge questioned her intentions. How dare she? Did she have all the answers? Did she know her true purpose in life? What was she doing haranguing Maegi about it, anyway?

"The gods speak to me," she snapped, bristling. Rouge had struck a nerve, and now the girl was lashing out. "They have since I was born. And now, I can talk back." A haughty look blossomed over her face as she lifted her chin, looking smugly at the woman. "Not everyone can hear them, you know."

She shrugged at Rouge's question, though now the gesture came from a place of indifference, not ignorance. The newcomer had deeply offended her, and the part of her that had began to open up, like a flower in the spring, was rapidly closing once more. "They get angry, of course. Bad things happen."

Hate to do this, but I'm just going to have Rouge exit since she will be PPC once all her threads are done.

Rouge didn't read into the young girls out burst too much. She wasn't sure how much of the tales she truely believed and her talk of them speaking to her and how others coundn't made her sound more crazy then knowledgeable. It wasn't as though telling someone something was happening, but then claiming that they wouldn't be able to do it themselves was something that screamed truth.

Feeling this way the possibility of impending danger from offending the gods didn't bother Rouge. Maybe it was this pack's religion that had brain washed the girl into hearing voices. "Well then... keep them happy for us will ya?" she asked retorically before slowly leaving the girl to her voices.

no problem!

Maegi scoffed as the woman left with a parting retort, bristling and turning away. Only the gods could judge them, and she knew they would judge this newcomer harshly. Who treated the daedra with such scorn? Maegi was unimpressed that Vaati had let such an impious creature in the Woods.

Ah, well. Rooooj had disappeared into the shadows, and so Maegi went her own way, murmuring prayers to herself and thinking of hobbies to occupy her time with for the remainder of the day.