SLATE

40 Moons ― Male ― Heterosexual
Sacredwood ― Guardian

→ appearance ←

While Sacredwood settles in both extremes and mostly somewhere between, Slate remains an impressive might. He is tall, but not disproportionately so, as well as rather solidly built, towering rather intimidatingly over many wolves, even when he doesn’t try to. One would think that his larger bulk would make him far slower, but in actuality it only slows him down a bit, which he makes up for with the tightly packed muscles rippling beneath his fur that lend him strength and power. His fur is short but thick, seemingly always smooth and well kept despite his lack of obsession over his looks. It is mostly a rich black, though fades just slightly lighter around his muzzle and underbelly. His eyes, ever watching, are a piercing, paler shade of golden amber that look far warmer than the heart they hide.

→ personality ←

Slate is not necessarily cruel or harsh, but he sure isn’t what one would call the friendliest of wolves. For the most part, he is rather distant and cold. Emotions are not something he reveals lightly, nor are they the first thing for him to consider when dealing with others. Instead, he approaches every situation rationally, setting the feelings of all involved aside, unless there is a chance to consider those as well. He aims for the best outcomes in any and every situation, but in his mind a safe but upset pup is better than one being happy but potentially at risk, so why should feelings equate over safety and rationality. Such is how he approaches any situation, really - he has a very analytical mind, and often times he’ll approach everything as though it were something to figure out or solve, rather than a moment to enjoy. He simply doesn’t see the point in mucking around and having fun when there is work to be done.

Analytical and realistic reasoning aside, Slate is still a reasonably cold wolf with rather high expectations. Whenever there is a job to be done, he has no qualms in helping to achieve it, but he’ll expect everyone else involved to pull their weight. While for the most part he is quiet and observant, preferring to leave everyone else to their own troubles and deal with what needs more immediate attention, he bares no hesitation in saying what is on his mind, whether it will upset another or not. Even when he feels bad for upsetting someone, or something happens that he should be upset about, it seems as though he has set his emotions aside and locked them away, alongside most of his compassion. Any gentleness he seems to show is not necessarily with heart, but with reason. He knows its best to keep certain wolves calmer or happier if he can, in order to achieve the best possible outcome.

Despite his not quite so friendly nature, Slate is undeniably loyal to his clan above else. Whether he seems to care for you or hate you, if you are of his kingdom he would defend you with his life without question. He has no hesitation going into battle for his kingdom, be it an a battle he sees as fruitless or not, if this is what he must do. He has no shortage of bravery, and while he doesn’t allow it to make him do reckless things, it has the capability of seeing him push his limits to the maximum or make risky decisions to save his pack without hesitation. If you cross the line between who he sees as his pack and who he does not, though, be careful where you tread your paws. Any traitor, be they family to him or not, are far from a member of his pack, and any outsider will be treated without mercy should they cross the line and become a threat to his kingdom. Perhaps his coldness is a warning not to step too far with this wolf.

→ history ←

Pup: Slate was born alongside his brother and sister to a pair of Sacredwood guardians, not out of a loving partnership between two males head over paws for each other, but out of pressure and expectation. Neither had been entirely ready for pups, had even really wanted them at all, and a stillborn fourth pup certainly didn't help them achieve full devotion to the surviving three. Expectations were always high, and their parents were considerably tough on them - important or not, they were both loyal guardians with highly expectant parents that pushed them together. They thought in all honesty that by being so tough on their pups they were preparing them for the real world. Instead they were only driving their pups away and recreating their own childhoods. To make things worse, the two drifted even further apart, often fighting in front of the three young siblings, whilst the rest of the kingdom was telling the three to just have faith that the stars would fix their family and their problems. At the time, Slate and his siblings had great faith in this expectation and faith in their ancestors. Throughout the rest of his puphood he willingly and faithfully believed this - the Kingdom of Stars would fix this, they wouldn't let his family be torn apart.

Greenhorn: Being chosen by the Stars as Greenhorn of the alpha was a shock. A welcome one, but a shock none the less. Still, it gave Slate hope. Perhaps this was their ancestors' way of helping him, of bringing his family back together through pride for him or the new deeper tie to the kingdom. It didn't. His parents continued fighting as he trained beneath their leader, and eventually his mother up and left the kingdom. The three siblings were pressured to choose between their parents - Slate hadn't noticed past his difficult training and new focus, but this was why his parents had gotten his hopes up by suddenly seeming to care. Eventually, the decision came, and whilst he'd been closer to his mother than he ever had his father, and he felt that aching tug that drew his brother loyally to her side as well, he found himself turning to stand beside his leader, his mentor. She may be his mother, but this was his home, and they were all his family. If she was not loyal, she was not one of them, and he belonged there. Not only was this the first instance that slowly began to steer him away from his ultimate faith in the Kingdom of Stars, but this was his first true instance of pure loyalty to his pack.

After the way Slate rejected his mother in favor of his pack and the promise he gave them by holding the rank he did, his mentor seemed to gain a whole new level of respect for him, as did the kingdom itself. He was greeted with more warmth, and trusted a lot more not only by his peers, but by his mentor too. The only one that seemed to resent him and dull his achievements just at little bit was his father, though as he'd chosen to stay in the pack rather than leave with his mother, Slate never understood why this was. He and his sister grew closer, until they were something akin to good friends, often confiding in one another and giving each other advice. She was the only one he could confess anything to, without a wolf being surprised and disappointed that he wasn't perfect, that he was still just a young wolf figuring out his life. He had other friends, of course, and even a denmate he'd began to feel for - yet none of them were true friendships, none of them felt close or understanding, not entirely.

What Slate didn't know, however, was that his role within that pack was a lie, that the Kingdom of Stars had about as much faith in him as he had in them, if not less. When he was nine moons, a young she-wolf was brought across their border by Corvidae Ibis. He'd noticed the times if strange nervousness about his alpha before, and the hesitance toward giving him tasks many expected of an Alpha Greenhorn, yet he'd never known why, never even considered. Now he noticed it even more, alongside the way his mentor watched the new young wolf. Part of him resented the young white wolf, especially as his mentor claimed to have recieved a sign from the stars, and dropped him for her like an old bone for a fresh hare. She was his replacement, because the Stars had no faith in him either. At least, that was his understanding. They preferred a stranger from beyond their borders who didn't know their ways, over someone who was born among them and chose his pack over everything.

He chose to cast away his mother over a false promise.

Guardian: Alongside his sister, Slate was made a Guardian, and sat vigil with her. It didn't change anything, really - he was no longer a Greenhorn like she was, but she was still the favoured one. He had to admit, she took to her role well for an outsider, and he would do the same. A Guardian was only as important as they made themselves, and he was going to help his kingdom stay strong, prove to them that a rejected alpha to be was no less than he was before. He just wanted to do the best for his pack. Despite the more freedom he held now than in his youth, or even under the Guardian mentor he'd been given once the Alpha took on Campion, he still spent this time bettering himself and working hard. Maybe part of him was determined to prove himself, for the most part he just wanted to work and to provide. He became more serious and grown up than most wolves his age, and he distanced himself more from his packmates as he focused on what he had to do, but he hardly even noticed. He still had his sister, and he'd been growing closer and closer with the young she-wolf he'd fallen for. That was enough for him.

Another hiccup in his fate steered path, was when his father began to speak with him again. They did not grow nearly as close as he and his sister, but they came to a sort of understanding, which developed into the closest to a father son relationship he could hope for. His father was truly trying, at last. Perhaps the stars had changed their tune after all - maybe they were helping him now to make up for the past. That was what his packmates insisted, anyway, and it would be poor of him not to at least try and share in their kingdom wide faith. That was, until a sickness claimed his father, yet he insisted he would get better. The Corvidae insisted this too, and who could disagree with a wolf who held the stars in their very paws? His father died all the same, and as Slate knew the Corvidae had been doing their very best to save him - did that mean the Kingdom of Stars had not? Perhaps they chose not to send their power through the healer's prayers, and just let his father die. It seemed they were determined to just take and take, to never give.

Eventually, his sister convinced him to pay a little more attention to his heart, and so he approached the she-wolf and asked to speak with her. It was strange, finding someone he didn't feel like being so neutral and distant with, but she was a rare wolf indeed. Still, she was on edge, perhaps even excited, and she insisted there was something she needed to do before they could talk. He followed her to the top of the ravine, and he watched her as she started searching. There was no doubt in her voice as she told him the Kingdom of Stars had sent her a dream, that she had to find one specific thing atop the ravine, yet there was a heavy doubt indeed in his heart. She searched and searched, and started drawing dangerously close to the edge. She promised him she would be safe as he tried to warn her back, that this was the will of their ancestors - and yet she fell, and that was the last he saw of his mate to be, aside from her cold body, with only mint and lavender to disguise the scent of death upon her once soft and warm pelt. She was gone, fallen prey to her devotion and fervent belief for their ancestors. Why would the Kingdom of Stars betray them like that? Or was her dream nothing, and she'd just deluded herself that some silly daydream was all part of some bigger plan because of how strongly she revered the stars above. Could no one think for themselves? Well, he would not let himself be caught up in that, not again.

From then on he only grew more distant, put more focus into his work and training his first Greenhorn. He pushed his sister away, too, and he blamed himself for the death of the one wolf he'd ever truly loved. Perhaps that only made him more of an idiot, but his faith that he'd once held so strongly was entirely rattled, and the one wolf he hadn't lost yet, he'd distanced himself from and made himself feel only that much more alone. Eventually, though, he toughened up. He didn't get much friendlier, but he straightened himself up, told himself to quit his self pity and move on, for the future of the pack. He didn't need the love of a mate or the rank of Alpha to do great things for his Kingdom. He was determined - he wasn't going to let them down, and he wasn't going to allow them to let themselves down either.

He put great focus into his mentoring, and by the time his Greenhorn was old enough, he'd learnt the best way to manage the youth he trained, to encourage them to be strong and capable. Many told him it should have been him, not Campion, but he brushed it off. He had his own life to live, and messing with the balance would only mess with the Kingdom. He took on a new Greenhorn, and watched the young alpha to be as she grew, trying to see what the stars saw in her. At least she was loyal and capable of leading one day - he could live with that. Eventually, the old alpha was claimed by sickness, and Slate congratulated Campion as she ascended without a flash of resentment toward her.

→ extra ←

Mother: Left the Kingdom ― Father: Deceased ― Siblings: Stillborn, Left the Kingdom (Brother), Sacredwood Guardian (Sister)
Notes: While Slate believes in the existence of The Kingdom of Stars, and understands they are very knowledgeable, he doesn't have as much faith in them as the rest of his kingdom, not seeing the point in relying on them for everything rather than making decisions and doing things for themselves. If they're not talking, don't just wait around until they do, and don't just put all your faith and trust into them rather than reality. Still, he won't mess with the beliefs of others unless he thinks they're being stupid and putting their lives at risk for their faith.