[Palace]

   He had spent his days searching out the territory. Finding out where he would be sleeping, and finding places that were comfortable to relax at. Despite knowing how much he wanted to be apart of a pack, he still sometimes needed times of solitude. Palace had found his anxiety peeking over the past few days. Everything was new to him. There was so much for him to take in. The land was new to him, and so were so many of the faces. Even if some were from the previous Bacchus, that didn’t mean he remembered them. But it was also frightful to have some kind of connection with others, when he couldn’t properly place it. Had he seen these wolves before? The fear of being wrong, or general interaction, made him keep to himself. He had passed by others, giving nods and waving his tail but continuing along with what he was doing.

   But there were still questions he had on his mind. Being here, so many would be able to be answered. There were members who had truly been members of his home, and they could help him. But out of fear, he didn’t seek any he didn’t know out. But there was one wolf he knew - Rainer. The alpha had been apart of the pack, ranked, and knew how everything worked. Palace had been just a pup, and barely remembered anything, but still had the ways set in muscle memory. He had asked to meet the Prime Minister not too far off from the opening of the tunnel that lead to the outside world. They would be close enough to find their way, but no one would hear them speaking from this distance, nor really know they were there unless searched for. It was the main spot Palace knew.

   The bacchus dire waited anxiously, shifting his paws. When the other were to show up, Palace would be on his paws, eyes betraying his nervousness. He’d dip his head politely. “Thank you, for meeting with me. I just, I have questions and you can probably help.” He looked at Rainer, hoping that this wouldn’t piss him off as a waste of time. If the other seemed to be okay with going forward with this, Palace would perk up some. “Can you tell me more about the previous Bacchus? I never got to learn everything properly.” How could he say that he felt robbed of something he thought he should have had? There was no one to truly blame, but he felt like there was someone, or something, he felt the urge to scold or fight for taking the opportunity away from him. But this would do.

[Rainer]

One of their full blooded males had requested to see him today. For some reason, he had requested that they meet near the Immigration Center. This raised more questions within Rainer's mind - was the young male tired of his time here? Was he requesting legal emigration so that he could find a new home in the beyond? Was he requesting a role of exploration and diplomacy like Sveyn had? The prime minister strode through the snowy landscape, deep in thought as he made his way towards the mouth of that great tunnel.

He saw the brown-coated male in the distance and picked up his pace, pushing aside his thoughts and clearing his mind for the interaction ahead. As much as Rainer enjoyed spending time with his pack mates, sometimes he had to mentally prepare for when he had to act in his rank. He slowed to a stop before Palace and returned the dip of greeting, taking the prerogative to step forward and touch his nose to the other's shoulder in respectful greeting.

Thank you, for meeting with me. I just, I have questions and you can probably help.
Ah, questions. Rainer nodded, allowing Palace to go ahead, Please, speak your mind. The other perked up visibly and the prime minister blinked patiently, glad that the other's nerves seemed to be soothing. It had to be rough, coming into a new environment. After all, Palace had been but a child when Bacchus had fallen.

Can you tell me more about the previous Bacchus? I never got to learn everything properly.
Oh. Rainer smiled thoughtfully, his dimples showing. Vhat vould you like to know about? He considered the question again and began, Bacchus was a powerful nation, though very isolated. Our kings and queens kept a very tight rope, and though innovation sometimes occurred, eet vas never quite the... democracy. Vee vould learn to fight one another, but vith no enemy, our knowledge was stunted. Vhen the sickness came, eet hurt us very badly and vee vere still veak when the invaders came. He peered at the other queerly. Do you remember that day?

♕

[Palace]

There was no true goal to this meetup. Palace felt like there was a goal - had to be a goal, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized there was none. If there was a goal, it was to know exactly what it was like to be alive during Old Bacchus, working and being ranked within the pack. As many questions as he could ask, he would never truly know how it felt. It was something he felt would take a while to accept, but this was a step towards such progress. When Rainer approached, Palace felt a calm befall him. At least there was someone who could help him feel like he knew his history. They touched noses on each other’s shoulders in a kind greeting. They shared a greeting, and Rainer agreed to answer the questions Palace might ask. He had come up with some beforehand, but in the moment, he was forgetting most.

   ”Vhat vould you like to know about?” He wasn’t even sure. Could he ask questions about things he never knew? ”Bacchus was a powerful nation, though very isolated. Our kings and queens kept a very tight rope, and though innovation sometimes occurred, eet vas never quite the... democracy. Vee vould learn to fight one another, but vith no enemy, our knowledge was stunted. Vhen the sickness came, eet hurt us very badly and vee vere still veak when the invaders came.” That is what felt different, when he heard about Rainer being prime minister. That’s not how they use to be, but they had evolved, it seemed, into the new Bacchus. ”Do you remember that day?” The sickness. He didn’t truly know anything about it, honestly barely remembered much of it, but he clearly remembered how he felt. “I just remember I was scared. So scared.” It was almost upsetting to him.

   “Do you know more about it? How it started, or anything?” If he had been told when he was little, he had hidden the memories away, too scared to think much on it. To a pup, it had been the most frightful thing. He had known some death, but only what he understood as physical. Sickness, to him, didn’t seem as physical. It was supposed to be something plants and herbs could heal. They still had all their blood in them, usually. It had not been Palace’s intention to ask about the downfall of Old Bacchus, but now that the subject had come up, he felt like it was something he was obviously supposed to wonder about. It was a major event in his life, even he had never thought of it in such a way. It was a major event in many lives, as well.

[Rainer]

I just remember I was scared. So scared.
Rainer nodded - he understood that. Palace had been just a child when the Disease had come, whereas Rainer himself had been a young adult, more than capable of remembering the pains of what occurred - even if he didn't want to. He had seen so many deaths during that time, it scorched his heart. Had he the ability, tears would have brimmed in his eyes. But instead, he blinked, eyes softening genuinely.

Do you know more about it? How it started, or anything?
He considered the question for a long while, looking to the distance as he did so. He could remember standing at this exact location, looking back over the dying land. He shuddered, the fur along his spine pricking up before relaxing down. He remembered so much that he wished he could forget. Vee thought eet vas food poisoning. How wrong they had been. He remembered first learning of the sickness, and how quickly it had spread. Vomiting, inability to keep food down, starving. Internal bleeding.

How lucky he had been to escape without getting ill. They had no idea whether the survivors were immune or simply had been lucky or strong enough to fight it. Vhen a volf became sick, vee kept them isolated as much as they could be. It must have been impossibly lonely and terrifying for those who became sick. But by the time vee had learned that eet vas... contagious, eet had spread.

Memories of grieving howls lit his ears and he fought the urge to pin them back. Vee do not know how eet came into our valley, but I suspect zee enemy, zee invaders, had sent in a diseased deer or bird. Biological warfare, something similar to what would happen in another world with catapulted diseased cows. Bearers of death. Vee had barely recovered vhen they came, they vaited until enough of us vere dead that they could kill the rest of us. Some thought they were cowards for escaping, but truthfully, they would have died had they remained.

It was that cowardice which made it possible for Bacchus to rise again.

♕