Biography I was much smaller than my littermates when I was born. I remember the scorn of the she-wolf who stole us about a moon after we opened our eyes. "Your littermates are worth keeping, but you are not," she growled at me. She said that her own pups had been weak, and she was wrong to keep them. They had died on their first cold night. "I will not make the same mistake again," she snarled as she dropped me by the shore of a mountain lake, barking at me to stay. Her mate, who had gone to find food, met up with her there. I saw them speak. They seemed to agree on something. Then he walked over to me, looking at me digustedly, before tearing a shallow slash in my side. "That shouldn't kill you," he growled softly, "the cold will do that. But even if you do survive, it will leave a scar, and you will not forget that you are weak." He turned and left with his mate and stolen pups. By the time their paw-steps faded into the distance, I was shivering not only with cold, but with terror. I lay there, bleeding, for a long time before I was calm again. I stumbled to my paws and twisted around the look at the wound. It had nearly stopped bleeding by then, but still hurt. I waded into the lake, shivering again. The sun began to rise, warming the fur on my back and reflecting on the water, shimmering over ripples every time I moved. I went back to the shore, watching the water become as clear and smooth as the sky on a clear day. It reflected the mountains and trees behind it perfectly. As I watched the sun's reflection slowly move, I felt something deep inside of me. It was like I had found my true place, and my spirit was becoming its true self. Who I was suddenly became as clear as the water in front of me. I had found my name. "Everest," I softly barked to myself. It was a nice moment of realization, but I remembered that I was still stranded in the middle of a potentially hostile pack's territory. I had just noticed how hungry I was when I heard other wolves. The sounds came closer, bringing with them comforting smells. These were Darkseekers, like my own pack. Finally, they reached the mountain lake. A small female, not much older than myself, with beautiful dark orange fur and bright blue eyes, came barreling through the surrounding trees, chased by a younger dark brown and black female. The brown pup tumbled over the orange one, who had skidded to a halt when she noticed me. "Get back here!", an angry voice called. The speaker, a male with the same dark brown fur as the smaller pup, padded into the clearing. "But Quest, there's a pup here!", the orange female barked. The brown male, Quest, froze, staring at me with a shocked expression. The orange pup bounded over to me. "I'm Calla Azura. What's your name?", she barked. Quest seemed to recover, and ran over to me. "How did you get here?", he snarled. Then another wolf came out of the forest, this time a multicolored female. "What are you doing? He's only a pup!", she called, joining the other wolves in front of me. "I apologize about Quest," she said to me. "He's a bit worried since we found two wolves with stolen pups last night. We chased the pup-thieves away and returned the pups, but they may have been working with other wolves. Have you seen them?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. "They took my brothers with them, but left me here because I'm smaller. There were only the two,". "Why wouldn't you have returned to your own territory, then?", Quest growled. "I liked this place," I replied. "I... didn't feel like I should leave it,". The multicolored female quietly barked, "You've found your spirit-place,". "It's where your spirit belongs. And it's in my pack's territory... I'm sorry, but you'll have to join us,". "What?" I barked, sharply. "I don't want to join another pack! Couldn't I just visit sometimes?". "We can't have a stranger waltzing into our territory whenever they please!", Quest growled. "I don't particularly want you joining either, but you have to,". "Let's go back to the den," the multicolored barked decisively. As we walked, I told them my name, and learned that the multicolored female was named Celeste and the dark brown pup was named Ciara Istas. I had heard the names Celeste and Quest before, I realized. Those were the Alphas of the Pack of the Earth! The Pack of the Earth was a bit of a fairy tale for Darkseeking pups. There were stories about how the pack saved pups, whatever their allegiance, and took them in. --->
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| Personality It was also said that the wolves of the pack sometimes had prophetic dreams, and had such an abundance of possible good Alphas that each pair could only lead a few years. I suddenly knew, as clear as the mountain lake, that I would be an Alpha. When we reached the den, everyone seemed excited to meet me. A group was about to go out hunting, and Calla Azura and I were invited to go along and watch. As we followed the group, we talked. She told me that her Spirit-Place was a field with a good view of the sky, and many flowers. She, like me, had joined this pack because her Spirit-Place was on their territory. However, she soon began having prophetic dreams, and realized she was destined to be an Alpha. Terra Ayira and Celeste had accepted her as a future Alpha, and, as was the tradition, asked her to pick a male wolf to lead with. There had been no suitable wolves in the pack, however, so she had remained alone. That night, she had a dream. She had seen two wolves circling each other by a mountain lake at midnight. One was an older female, and one was a young male, hardly more than a pup. They snarled at each other, and then the older wolf attacked. The two fought as blood spattered the ground, each blow tearing through fur and skin. Finally, the she-wolf had pinned the younger male down. He growled at her as she lifted a paw to tear his throat... and the dream ended. But Calla Azura recognized the smell now that she had met the wolf. The young male was me. But as soon as Azura said that, the leaves behind her began to rustle, and I smelled a scent I recognized. "Fox!", I barked, but the hunting group had gone too far ahead to hear me. Azura spun around, slashing the now-visible fox's muzzle as it snapped shut a hair's width from her tail. I leaped at the fox, but missed, falling at its paws as it stepped back. | .................................................V
Preferences It was lowering its head to bite my neck when Calla Azura jumped onto its back, crushing its spine in her jaws. I rolled onto my paws and bit its throat, killing it. Azura gave a yip of amusement. "Looks like I'm making a habit of saving your tail," she barked. "I saved your tail, too," I replied. Just then, the group of hunters came charging through the bushes. "We heard fighting," growled Alcyone, who was leading the group, "but since you seem to have taken care of this fox, you can drag it back to the den,". By the time Azura and I reached the den with the fox, it was dusk. The pack gathered and howled together, thanking the Spirit-Wolves and the Shadow-Wolves for the wonderful lives the pack members had, before eating and going into the den to sleep. I picked a spot next to Azura's, and slept with her fur brushing against mine, listening to Terra Ayira, a former Alpha, making arrangements to send compensation mushrooms to my former pack. The next morning, I began settling into a rhythm of wake, howl, hunt, howl, eat, sleep. Six moons passed, and I became closer and closer to Calla Azura. Then one night, I had a dream. The ground was shaking with the power of a thunderstorm. Wolves were running everywhere, disorganized and afraid. I alone seemed to feel calm and powerful. I gathered the wolves, and led them to the safety of an open meadow, before waking up. As I looked out of the den at the surrounding forest, the ground began to shake. As in my dream, the pack began to run, terrified, and as in my dream, I alone seemed to feel powerful and calm. I padded out of the den and let out a howl. As it rang out over the forest, clear and bright as the mountain lake, the pack gradually calmed, and ran to me. I led them to a meadow, free of trees. Then, the pack waited. | ...............................................V
Special Skills The shaking soon subsided, and the pack returned to its daily routine. By late afternoon, only myself and Azura were left at the den. "Azura, I had a dream last night," I began, only to be interrupted as one of the hunting groups appeared from the forest. "Two wolves attacked us near the mountain lake!", a hunter barked. Azura was on her paws in a moment, ready to go. "Come with me, Everest," she barked. Then she took off towards the mountain lake, me behind her. By the time we reached the lake, the sun had set. By the time we found a scent trail, it was nearly midnight. But I recognized this scent. It was the pair who had stolen me and my littermates! We split up, agreeing to howl if we found something. I continued to the lake. There, I saw the intruders. I tilted my head back and let out a howl. The wolves padded towards me. They began to circle each other. "You still bear your scar of weakness, I see," snarled the female. "After I defeat you, it will be a scar of strength," I replied. Then the female pounced on me, and we fought, the older male watching. Blood spattered the ground, and each blow tore through fur and skin. Finally, the female pinned me down. "I should have killed you when I had the chance," she snarled, lifting a paw to cut my's throat. But then Azura smashed into her side, knocking her over. We fought again, pair against pair. But Azura and I fought as two halves of one being. We chased them out, warning them not to return. Then we howled victory and power together. In that moment, we truly realized that we were two halves of a whole. "Everest, will you lead this pack with me?", Azura asked. "Yes," I replied, for lack of a more dramatic response. And so we will lead this pack together. We have already renamed it the Mountain Moon Pack, and we will make it greater than it has ever been before, as one being forever.
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