Blackwater Islands Stabbed to death outside of San Juan
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239 Posts
Ooc — Ryan
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#1
All Welcome 
Hoping for a wild @Salish, but anyone is welcome! Mind if we use this as a naturalist thread? Whip is perplexed by the tides.

There were many powerful forces of nature that went without a proper explanation. Like, why did the sun rise each morning? And, what brought about the different seasons? Whip thought of these things often, and sometimes, without the proper tools and education to understand these processes in full, one just had to chalk these natural forces up to some type of magic -- far beyond the realm of wolf comprehension. Many times, Whip told himself that things were they way they were simply because that was the way they were. However, there was something that had snagged Whip's attention as of late.

The beach never remained the same size. It was as if the land were constantly in flux. In the early afternoon, the beach had been long -- stretching into the place where the sea once ruled. But after returning in the evening from a walk in the Thistlewood, the tide had returned and the land had once again been covered by water. It had done this every day. Every single day, and he had no idea why. Whip stared out to sea with an expression wrought with confusion.

Obviously, the sea was alive. There was no other answer.
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Ooc — Killi
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#2
There were many perplexing aspects about the nature of existance. However, Salish rarely gave these things a great amount of thought, and they did not trouble her. The way plants grew and flowers opened, the way the sun and mood exchanged positions every day and night, and most intriguingly, the changing of the tides. They were things she thought of fleetingly during the times she found herself walking alone, or while she waited for sleep each day. But Salish expended no effort trying to figure it all out. It simply was.

As the shadows grew, the tawny girl's paws brought her back to the Sea. As it always did, the water had reclaimed the beaches for the evening. But she was not alone on the shore tonight. Another Nereides wolf stood in the sand, a male handsomely cloaked in agouti tones. Her pace quickened so that she could reach him quickly, closing the distance between the two. Something about his expression interested her, and she tilted her head to the side, regarding him curiously, meeting his silver gaze.

Is there something on your mind? she asked with a swish of her tail.
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#3
Whip was joined by a sister he hardly knew. Salish had not followed the initial band that traveled with Meteora from Themiscrya, but Whip had heard that she had too come their homeland. There were others that traveled with her, not far behind he had heard, but they had yet to arrive. Whip turned his studious gaze from the shore break and he regarded the sister with a silent nod should she need attending to. Surprisingly, she did not. Even more surprising still, she treated Whip with kind curiosity.

He cast his gaze back out to see and answered. "Yes," he replied. "Why does it do that?" It wasn't long before he realized his question wasn't entirely clear. So, he tried again. "Why does the water move in and out like it does? It's really alive, right?"
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Ooc — Killi
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#4
As she looked at him, she recalled that he was one of the consorts who had traveled to the Islands before her own departure. It seemed that Whip was experiencing an internal crisis, asking why the sea behaved the way it did, and furthering his query to ponder whether or not the sea was alive. She was stumped, looking off to the side with her ears lowered, honey eyes widened into a stupefied expression. For the moment, she was interested in his troubles, forgetting her slight bias against those of the male gender to attend to his questions.

I suppose... in a way, it is alive. But not in the way you and I are. She grunted softly, not sure how to clearly explain what she meant. I doubt the sea has thoughts like we do, but it is part of the world, and the world is alive... It has to be... Now she had lost herself, and his questions became her own. You know, I don't know. I've never thought about this in depth before. She plopped herself down beside him, now meeting his gaze. Do you think about things like this often? she asked curiously.
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She gave an answer, or rather, she tried to. Whip, however, got the idea that Salish didn't exactly know the true nature of the ocean either. Perhaps it was impossible to know. There was something unsatisfying in that -- that there was no easily obtainable absolute truth. It both dissapointed and scared Whip. Salish did, however, agree to Whip's sentiment that it was a living creature. Whether it was sentient or not, that wasn't up for debate, nor was it possible to ever learn.

"Sometimes," Whip answered. He shrugged. "The world's a big place... and I thought, maybe if I understood it, it wouldn't be so bad." The boy sighed. Of course, there was much more nuance to it. More than Whip believed himself capable of understanding.
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Ooc — Killi
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#6
Aaand she's preaching at him. XD

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She sighed, knowing that she had not given a very clear or helpful answer. Hopefully, she had not saddened him further, but it became apparent that she probably had done so in his next response. Giving his shoulder a gentle bump with her snout, she spoke her condolences,  eager to help him, despite his being  a male, just a stupid and near worthless male.

I can understand that, she said softly. It's easy to deem the world a bad place, but it isn't, Whip. Her words carried a soothing quality as she attempted to nudge the consort in the right direction. We have much to be grateful for, but no amount of knowledge or understanding about the workings of the world can console us. There are the Mothers and the Sea, who watch over us and guide us should we allow them, and place all of our faith within them. Do you have faith?

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#7
As a child, Whip grew up without faith. He did not try to explore the metaphysical or the divine -- for if he had, he would have more than likely vehemently opposed the idea of any sort of god in the first place. He still struggled with it now at times. How could any benevolent god allow him to suffer the way he had. What kind and loving god would strip his family away. And finally, what god would make him the way he was: manic, anxious, always teetering on the edge of another ill-timed breakdown.

However, the answer the Neriedes offered was simple. The gods were not benevolent -- at least not to his kind. Oddly enough, this made it easier to believe in the presence of higher powers. On the other hand, it didn't really foster much trust from Whip. He briefly thought of Atlas, the consort whom Akantha had told him about, and how he had been swept off to sea despite his service. Mother Sea was to be feared above all else.

"I have faith in the Mothers," Whip answered. Trust? No. Somehow, he thought if he spoke the words, he would someday believe them (just as most of his conditioning had). But even then, Whip didn't know if the Mother's truly represented him. The Drowned God seemed more appealing one like Whip, though he knew not to talk about the lesser diety among the company of the sirens.
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Ooc — Killi
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#8
Salish had always been relatively comfortable in her faith. There were times when she questioned it, times even when she became bogged down in doubt. But these moments passed quickly, and without much inner turmoil along the way. She needed to believe in something, otherwise there was no meaning, no hope, and no purpose in her life. To live without these things was to become a miserable, bitter creature. And that just was not who she was.

He said, in a quite simple manner, that he did have faith in the mothers. This was enough for her, enough to bring the smile back to her face. I am glad, she said, plopping herself down upon her haunches and watching him with curious, though not invasive, golden eyes. Is there anything else you wish to talk about? she asked with a cant of her sunny head.