IMPERIA DELACROIX.
Actions. "Speach." 'Thoughts'

Despite all of her outbursts, angry glares, accusatory snarks, and general bullheadedness towards the situation at hand, Imperia was thankful to find that her guide was still as patient and supportive as ever. Never once had he yelled back at her, or bared his fangs and threatened her behavior with a low snarl; no, all he did was calmly look on and slide on a smile here and a look of sympathy there, wherever deemed appropriate, and it really was helping her to calm down and come to terms with all of this information. One might argue that a fiery child like Imperia needed a good scolding to be kept in line, only to find that it was actually Oberon’s kindness that helped her the most during this trying time.

So, with that, the girl committed herself to being a little more patient with the man: to bite her tongue and at least give him a chance to properly explain all he had to say before screaming out any more frustrations.

Ears attentively perked to the rumbling bass of his voice, the she-wolf drinking in every scrap of info he had to provide… though that didn’t mean she automatically understood it.

The dark-furred god went on to explain that “each mortal is claimed by an aspect”, and reminded that his was Earth. He then said that it had called to him not long after arriving in this realm (Imperia took a brief moment to glance around, wondering things like where he first showed up, how long ago that was, who guided him (if anyone), whether or not it was easy for him to accept this new part of his life, what had his life been like before, etc.), but that he hadn’t known much of it at first until he grew to recognize its calling. Then, as an example, a distant rumble could be heard deep underground, one Imperia would have mistaken for thunder had there not also been the subtleist of vibrations felt underfoot, drawing her gaze downward to study the faintly shaking pebbles and grass blades between her paws. She then kept her muzzle pointed down so as to think all of this over, believing, for a moment, that he was done talking.

Alright, so… did that mean she already had her aspect, and just needed to… recognize it? How exactly was she supposed to do that? Were aspects only limited to physical, earthly things, like wind and storms and plants, or could they also include intangible things, like emotions or foresight?

‘Hmph, if that’s the case, you’ll probably be the god of disappointment,’ the critical voice in her head snarked.

‘Shut up,’ she mentally rumbled back.

Then, Oberon continued, apparently not finished, prompting her to ember eyes to gaze back up at him once more.

"Though it is different for every wolf, and I do not do this as a rule, I want to tell you to focus on fire."

The she-wolf’s heart sored with relief and hope before she even completely understood what that meant. Ah, fire! That… that was pretty cool, right? Her, Imperia Delacroix, god of fire! Would she be able to conjure fire, or just manipulate already existing fire, or… both? Was it unique to her, she wondered, or were there other gods of fire? Or was it maybe like a generational thing; was there always one god a fire until a new one showed up, and then it passed down to them? Suddenly, that brought forth many questions about just how many others there were in this realm… but she decided to hold off on that for now, just until she could gather all of her thoughts.

Furthermore, he said he didn’t tell others their aspect as a rule… did that mean she was… special, maybe? Did he… maybe like her more than most, or see more potential in her? Or… did he do it out of pity, or because he didn’t think it would come as easily to her as everyone else? Her spirits rose with the first assumptions, then sank with the latter, and not wanting to entertain those final thoughts, she opted to just not think about it and be grateful she had a head start.

"And above all, do not fear. You may call on me at any time, and my guidance will always be available to you."

Woah, so she could like… summon him? Like a spirit or something? Well, then again, he was a god, which was kind of like… the ultimate spirit… Oddly enough, likely because most of this meeting had been spent thinking him to either be a normal wolf or some hallucination, it only just now occurred to her that he was… actually... a god… as in, some kind of immortal being with supernatural power. Or, at least, she assumed he was immortal; was he immortal? She didn’t know. So many questions, yet she didn’t want to spend a millenium asking them all…

Once her guide had finally finished saying all he had to say Imperia gave a solemn nod, then paused for a moment so as to funnel all of her inquiries into a few manageable questions. “Alright... So then, I have like… three questions, and I’ll be good… I think.” She took a breath.

“One: how does this realm work? Does time pass? Do I have to still eat and sleep and stuff?” She would imagine so, on account of a dull hunger pang starting to form in her stomach; it had been quite some time now since her last meal, and perhaps being transported to another realm put a lot of stress on the body’s functions. Then again, maybe it was something like a ghost pain; she didn’t actually need to eat, but her mind was so used to it that it made her think she was hungry? As for the passage a time, she felt the need to ask on account of their current location just being shrouded in perpetual darkness; it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night, and such a detail made her wonder if there even was day and night here.

“Two: are there a lot of other mortals here? And are they all… wolves…?” Could other animals become gods…? Would these other mortals work like loners in the other realm; those she had to compete with for food and resources? Was it a… competition to see who would become a god first…?

“And three…” Perhaps the most important question of all. “If I become a god… will I be as big as you?”

Compared to the others, that final question seemed a bit out of place, maybe even to an amusing extent, though the little she-wolf stared up at him with an intense, wholly serious expression.

What? If godhood changed one’s body, she wanted to know about it!

Ray
just these last few questions, then we can wrap it up <3

IMPERIA DELACROIX.
Actions. "Speach." 'Thoughts'

"A very practical question.”

Despite herself and the seriousness of the situation, Imperia couldn’t help a swell of pride in her chest at hearing those words. It was a nice thing to hear, and just a nice thing in general- to be complimented. Especially after beating herself up for the mistakes of the past.

She listened with a somewhat resolute and determined look on her face, and nodded with understanding to his first set of answers. Ah, alright, so it seemed she still would have physical needs in this realm until she actually became a god, in which they would then no longer be needs, but more like wants, something she imagined would be similar to the “ghost pain” theory of her’s: though her body would no longer need such things to sustain itself, her mind would probably still feel the desires out of habit, and whether or not she actually indulged would simply come down to personal preference. That, however, would be later; for now, yes, she still needed to take care of herself. All she needed to know.

Then, as a subtle piece of advice, Oberon went on to express the importance of dreams, saying that answers may come to her while she was asleep that otherwise might not be as apparent while awake. This bit was a little confusing, especially because it sounded important, but was delivered more like an afterthought, earning a faint questioning look from the girl. Was she… supposed to take that literally? Like, if she had more questions to ask, he might be able to appear in her dreams and answer them? Or did he just mean that in the sense of he could see how challenging this new life might be for her, and advised she sleep off the stress in order to get a clear head; you know, the normal reason for sleeping? Either way, like everything else he was saying, the words were noted and she silently agreed to continue sleeping, even if the need began to wane. Honestly, that probably would’ve been her plan anyway; napping was nice.

Next, he responded to her question about the kind of beings that called this realm home, and she found herself silently nodding along yet again, just wanting to show he had her attention and that she was listening. However, giving it some thought, she couldn’t help but pinch her brows and crinkle her nose, fending off an amused smile at the image that all kinds of animals were attracted to his realm. not just wolves, meaning there could be like a… squirrel god or something. Or a magical fish god. A laugh suddenly began to force its way up her throat, which she played off as a cough and proceeded to push a serious expression onto her features yet again, not wanting the guide to think she was mocking him or not taking him seriously, or else he might just decide to up and leave before she was ready to see him go.

Anyway, amusing imagery aside, it was interesting to think there would be other wolves in this realm with her, also on a quest to godhood. The thought was both comforting… and concerning. Could there still be bad wolves here? She wanted to believe only good wolves could become have “divinity in their hearts” and become gods, if not only because she didn’t want to have to worry about stranger danger, but because she also hoped that meant, despite all of her mistakes and shortcomings, that <i>she</i> must be good.

However… though she couldn’t think of any reason why that wouldn’t be the case… she also couldn’t think of any reason why that would be the case, so… for the sake of safety, it seemed she’d still have to carry a healthy dose of suspicion with her in this realm too… especially after the ordeal back home, where her father had been murdered by some enemies who had managed to slip past the pack’s defenses, all because they just weren’t wary enough… Which suddenly brought forth an even more terrifying notion: what if one of her enemies got drawn to this realm…?

Best not to be too trusting with anyone.

It was for that reason that she heard Oberon out on the importance of finding others and teaming up with them, but silently agreed with herself that she’d be staying on her own for quite some time, at least until she had a good idea of who was trustworthy and who wasn’t.

Finally, the last question, and the smile she saw faintly tugging at the dark man’s lips caused some heat to rise in her cheeks and a slightly embarrassed, childish-feeling pit to form in her stomach, now knowing such a question must have seemed silly, but too prideful to take it back or admit to knowing. Thankfully, he answered it just as seriously as the others… if with just a touch of amusement, claiming he didn’t know for certain, but saying it might happen if she really wanted it to. Another wave of heat rolled through her, causing the girl to break gazes with him and glance to the side in an attempt to look apathetic.

“I mean, I don’t really care, I was just… wondering…”

She then took a moment to clear her throat and turn back to him, raising her head high, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath.

Alright. Okay. So, this was her new life… and she had all the information she needed… she should be all set and ready to go, right?

Admittedly, a few more questions were buzzing around in her brain, but at this point, she was itching to leave and just explore this new realm, find out for herself how things worked and what was different. She knew he could give her more answers if she only asked… but part of her, probably the part that still felt really incapable and really irresponsible for ditching her pack, felt like she needed to take on this challenge for her own so as to prove she could be better… or, you know, because she felt guilty and thought she deserved to struggle a little bit. Either way.

Besides, Oberon had mentioned something about having other mortals to guide, meaning she wasn’t the only one that needed him and that any time spent with her was time he could be spending with someone else that was far more lost; if she was ready to go, she ought to not take up anymore of his time.

“Okay. I… I think I’m good then.”

She looked up to him and tilted her had a bit, eyes quizzically squinting.

“You said I just have to… call you, when I n- want to see you again?” Last thing she needed clarified, on the chance something bad happened and she needed him, but would realize she didn’t actually know how or where to find him.

Ray
sounds good to me!