Heron

30 Moons ― Male ― Asexual
Riverbloom ― Corvidae

→ appearance ←

Heron's fur is a mix of tan, light red and black, dappling along his body in various patches. It's true to the shades of Riverbloom, and he looks very much like his mother. His eyes are a light golden and his nose is long and pointed. Heron is rather small for a wolf, despite his age, and he's lean- almost scrawny. Despite eating well, he never really seems to gain weight, and his thin, short fur displays clearly his skinny body. His legs are long- he could have been a great hunter with such a slender frame, but that's not his path.

→ personality ←

Heron is not really a pushover of a wolf, but he has a wealth of patience for dealing with the injured which might come across as being unable or unwilling to make a stand. Push him too far and he'll show you how little he appreciates you snarling at him or refusing to follow his advice. Your welfare is his responsibility, and if he has to lean on the Alpha to make you listen, he will.

The stubborn nature of the guardians annoys him. He knows that they are what keep the pack protected and fed, and as such they are the ones usually in need of his help- and he also knows they are the ones who generally give him the hardest time about him helping. Pups, while often just as difficult, are easier to treat with encouragement.

His relationship with his father, his last relative in the pack, is strained- Stag doesn't seem to understand why, but Heron never told him about Alder's death- caused indirectly as it was by the older male's harsh treatment of Lightfur. He is grateful that there's little reason for them to interact anymore, and he's not above making work for himself to keep from spending time with his father.

He has a connection with the Kingdom of Stars- perhaps not as strongly as his mentor did, but enough for his prayers to have power, and he's young yet- he hopes that with the passage of time, this connection will strengthen.

→ history ←

Pup
Rowan and Lightfur were born to Guardians, Stag and Alder, as the couples' first litter. It was, more than anything, a mating encouraged by comments on how well the two got on together, how well they worked together, and what benefits their pups would be to the Kingdom. They decided to give it a try- and as she grew heavy with pups and her duties were forcibly diminished, Alder grew more irritated. She found the confinement to the Sanctuary unbearable, and most felt her short temper in snappish words. Stag, easily angered himself, often growled back.

The birth of the pups only led to more problems. Rowan, the firstborn and the male, bore the typical colors of Riverbloom wolves, but the female's coat was startlingly pale. Stag, stunned, was all too quick to blame Alder of disloyalty- of mating with an Astralridge male. She denied it, but made no secret of her admiration for the snowy coat of her daughter- the name she gave, Lightfur, served as a mark of her mother's pride. Stag named Rowan, giving him a strong name he hoped the male would grow into.

Rowan noticed early on that Stag's treatment of the two was very different; to Rowan, he was warm, playful, instructive- but he never seemed to get past the idea that the she-pup could not be his- and as such, he would not treat her as his.

Greenhorn
At six moons, Rowan and Lightfur became greenhorns. Rowan, however, had hardly been in training a month when he was unexpectedly called to the Corvidae's den and told that the Kingdom of the Stars had chosen him to be the next Corvidae. It was a surprise to the young male, but he accepted; it never crossed his mind to refuse. Not until his father learned of the news did he feel any regret, but Stag, aside from an initial comment that he had hoped Rowan would follow in his pawsteps as a good hunter, gave his approval and congratulations for the honor. And, to seal his new path in life, a new name came to him that night in dreams: Heron.

Falcon, his new mentor, started his instruction immediately. Herb knowledge was the easier part of what he had to know, and the various plants and their uses were quickly mastered. The prayers were more difficult- finding his connection to the Kingdom of Stars was difficult. He had been chosen by them, but apparently, it wasn't quite that easy, at first, to connect to them and give his prayers power. He was, however, quickly chosen by a raven- one of his mentor's raven's chicks- the single white one in the brood. It was hard to concentrate with the constant yanks on his tail, by the brazen hatchling strutting over the herbs he was supposed to be sorting, or mixing.

The bond, though, grew despite the young raven's antics, but it wasn't until the raven's flight feathers grew in and he left the nest for good that he shared his name: Guile. Not long afterward, Heron went on a visit to the Raven Tree, and there he was visited by a wolf who had once been Corvidae for Riverbloom. It was little more than a greeting, assurance that he was doing well, a promise that, if he persevered, that he would find his place within the Kingdom.

But it helped. While he had barely seen anyone on his induction visit, merely felt the presence of ancestors and their acceptance of him, the verbal praise set in stone the feeling that he was doing the right thing.

It wasn't immediately easier- he still had many incantations and spells to master, and Falcon had to be sure he had mastered them before allowing him to begin to treat wolves, but he did learn, memorized the prayers, and slowly began to treat those of his Kingdom. Minor injuries, at first, with Falcon hovering close by in case he needed to step in- which, a time or two, he did.

During his instruction, his sister, Lightfur, had been receiving her own. By her twelfth moon, she had learned all she could, had passed her test and sat her vigil and was counted as a guardian of the pack. However, the trouble with Stag had never stopped; despite repeated insistence that Lightfur was his daughter, the male couldn't see past the fur that stood out so sharply among the others, and when he did have to interact with the young female, it was with temper barely held in check. The strained relationship between the two, and between Stag and Alder, often included Heron- Stag was like a different wolf around his son, and it irritated Alder, who often ignored Heron in favor of spending time with Lightfur.

Lightfur and Heron, though, remained close. The she-wolf didn't blame him for their father's belief, or show jealousy for the fact he had Stag's affection. He wouldn't change his mind, Lightfur was sure, but that was his choice. And yet, there were times that they were torn between their parents; if Stag was with Heron, Lightfur stayed away, and Alder made a point of butting in to ask if Lightfur would like to hunt or patrol if she saw the two together.

Then, on their twenty-fourth moon, it suddenly came to a breaking point, and it was just another comment from Stag that did it- the male had been in a foul mood from a poor hunt that ended in a fight with Astralridge wolves, and he'd been bitten badly on a forepaw. Heron had been in the middle of treating him when he made the comment: wondering aloud if the wolf who'd bitten him had been Lightfur's father- commenting on the likeness of the enemy's fur to the she-wolf's.

Lightfur had turned her gaze on the male, and Alder had snarled at him, but Heron saw the flood of emotion across his sister's face before she'd stood and as calmly as though she'd decided to patrol a border, announced that she was leaving, for good. No attempt to change her mind did any good; Alder, unable to deal with going on without her daughter in the pack, went with them. They knew what it meant to spurn the pack, knew that they'd never be welcome back, but they went anyway. Heron never saw Alder again, and Lightfur just once more- four moons later, when he spotted her lying in a heap not far from their border and covered in blood.

He couldn't not help her, even if he paid for it afterward. He stopped the bleeding, treated the scratches and recognized them as a cougar's, and eventually got the story from Lightfur when she recovered. She and Alder had made a kill, only to be challenged by a mother cougar with her own cubs to feed, but when they'd tried to drive her off, they'd found themselves outmatched. Alder had been killed and Lightfur chased off- and when she'd finally collapsed, it'd been chance that it had been at the border of her birthpack.

She refused to return to Riverbloom, despite Heron's attempts to convince her. Despite the difficult life she knew lay ahead. And there wasn't anything he could do but watch as she went on her way when she'd recovered, leaving him with the news that she'd changed her name; he might always know her as Lightfur, but she would be calling herself Storm from then on.

Corvidae
Just one moon after Lightfur's departure, Falcon, Heron's mentor, died in his sleep of age. And Heron found himself with the welfare of the entire pack on his shoulders- he also gained the startling ability to truly talk with Guile, his raven companion. Guile hasn't been the biggest help, really, but he's a constant source of company and Heron relies on him- and knows he's always up to seeing light of even the worst situation, which is often a help. Heron is doing his best, which may not be the best Falcon could do, but he is slowly finding himself settling in to his role within the pack.

→ extra ←

Mother: Alder (deceased) ― Father: Stag ― Siblings: Sister: Storm - Rogue
Notes: None