Heartlands' Story - Tracker & Lore

Day 93 (March 28th, 2021) Autumn 4, Y4

“I regret having more kids...” Yellowfang groaned. Beside her, Robinwish was getting ticks from black she-wolf's back. She was growing too old to reach certain parts of her body, the effort causing her body to ache in protest.

“Well, I don't blame you for wanting to leave a legacy behind. I know it sucks to have all your children in another pack,” Robinwish felt that feeling once, when Tallfern, Barkface, and Silverpaw had all decided to either join StormClan or, in Silverpaw's case, become a rogue. It was why she had another litter. She missed having her own pups to fuss over, “I think this will be my last litter as well. I think I'm starting to get grey fur like you.”

“I'm not that old!” she fussed, but her dark coat made the graying hairs much more obvious than her lighter-furred friends. The Herbalist didn't respond, too busy getting a particularly stubborn tick right on Yellowfang's spine. When it finally relinquished its hold, the black she-wolf sighed in relief.

“Would you like some medicine for your joints? I noticed you've started limping again.”

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” skulking, the she-wolf made her way out of the den. Robinwish watched her limped away, and shook her head. Yellowfang would stay stubborn to the end, just like Snowtuft.

Heartlands hasn't had so many pups at once in a while. Thirteen pups! She still couldn't believe it. Winter will be busy and hard this year. Thankfully, though, all of the pups are already weaned. She wonders how many of them will decide to stay come the apprentice ceremony, and of the ones who will, if any of them might want to be an Herbalist Apprentice.

It was part of Robinwish and Pinetree's job to see whether anyone was planning on having pups, and if any pregnancy attempts were successful. No new pups anytime soon, but Hazelglow and Dawnblaze spoke of trying to have kids of their own sometime next year. Robinwish noticed Lilypool and Sunfall were beginning to get close as well, however much the male did not want to admit it.

“Mooom! Shadowpup is being unfair with the stick again!”

“Tattle-tailer!”

Cashewpup, one of Robinwish's daughters, came up to her. Shadowpup and several other pups that were playing were watching from afar. Robinwish shook her head, though not with disdain. Before she could say anything, Berrycloud trotted into camp with a question that caught Robinwish's attention.

“Has anyone seen Stormpelt? She said she would meet me by the river, but I haven't seen her since this morning.”

“I haven't seen her all day either. Maybe you went to the wrong part of the river?” Smokewood suggested.

“No, we always meet at the burnt aspen tree...” he trailed off, as if embarrassed to admit it, “Can someone help me find her?”

“I can help you. If she's hurt, we need to make sure,” Sleekshade offered. Despite no longer being Alpha or Heir, he didn’t let it stop him from being a dependable, loyal Heartlandian.

~~~

When the two wolves finally caught wind of her scent, they were surprised to find a different she-wolf instead. In front of the stranger, the ground had been dugout, and next to the upturned pile of dirt was an old brown box, with something blue glowing inside.

Instantly, Berrycloud got into a defensive position, asking where Stormpelt was.

When she turned around, her features were unmistakable, her brown eyes dark with worry. It was Stormpelt...but also, not?

“I don’t know what happened,” the she-wolf spoke. It even sounded like Stormpelt, “I was looking for something I buried here, but then I caught whiff of something else so I dug it out. The lock on this chest was rusty. There's a...glowing blue sphere inside of it. When I touched it, everything went blue and bright. Swirls of blue tendrils wrapped around me. And then, in the next moment, it was gone. I...I looked in a puddle. It changed me.”

The wolves could see it. Stormpelt's pelt, once a solid blue-grey, was now tipped with almost white underfur, and black markings smudged parts of her face, her limbs, her tail, and all over her back. On her right flank was some weird scribble mark, colored black. “I touched the orb again, thinking it would change me back, but it only made the colors more pronounced. I've been sitting here since, wondering what this meant for me.”

At first the wolves didn't know how to respond. Berrycloud had calmed down since, and now both looked at her with worry. Sleekshade spoke.

“We’ll close this box up and bring it back to camp. I'm sure the Alphas will want a good look at this. You can tell them your story too.” A part of him wanted to hide the orb away, worried Redtail might somehow use it for bad, “Walk beside us. I don't want anyone attacking you.”

When they arrived back at camp, the wolves were confused at first. Berrycloud went to explain the story while Sleekshade brought Stormpelt over to Redtail and Sootvine. The Frostfangs had just returned from their hunt.

“Frostfangs, can you put this elk away?” Sootvine said. The three other Frostfangs nodded and did as told.

Since Redtail and Sootvine's ascendance to Alphaship, the wolves had made a separate den for them and Sootvine’s mates. Right now, they were the only ones sleeping there, as both Yellowfang and Marigoldshine still resided in the Nursery. At request, Stormpelt recounted what she told the others. By the end of the story, Redtail came up with a decision.

“If I hadn't seen how you look for myself, I wouldn't have believed you. Magic? Sounds just as stupid as Dawnblaze and Firesong's religion,” Sleekshade forced himself to remain quiet, stilling to urge to defend his pack-mates' belief, “But I can't deny what I see right in front of me. We'll need to find a place to hide this orb until we figure out what it is. Where should we start?”

Sootvine suggested asking their allies first, to see if they knew anything about it. Redtail countered that they didn't know enough to trust outsiders with information about the orb, and concluded that he would have a dedicated team go out to see if they could find any leads on it. The four wolves there, along with Whitestorm, Hazelglow, and Robinwish, were told that Stormpelt's new appearance was the Orbs' doing, and tasked with finding leads. Redtail made an announcement stating no one should be worried, that they're investigating the cause of Stormpelt's new appearance, and that if they see or hear anything strange, to not engage and to report with the Task Force -- the name he gave the group of wolves dedicated to solving this mystery.

Firesong and Dawnblaze suggested that perhaps she'd been blessed by one of the Gods, and to visit some of the altars scattered around the country to check and confirm this, “Stormpelt, of all wolves, blessed by the Gods? And you're suggesting I send my wolves out to explore the far sides of the country for who knows how long, with winter on the horizon, to pray to Gods that may or may not exist?”

The two wolves were taken aback by his response. They knew he didn't believe in the Gods, but it was one thing to not believe in them, it was another thing to belittle them entirely.

Raindrop, a wolf who was almost always quiet, nearly to a point where she was selectively mute, spoke a simple suggestion.

“I know someone who sells rare items.” When Redtail asks 'capable of doing something like this?' she nods.

“I give you permission to go out and find them. Do you need an escort?” she shook her head. Then, just like that, off she went.

~~~

OOC: Too lazy to put formatting :P

Day 94 (March 29th, 2021) Autumn 5, Y4

Due to my sentimental value in Yellowfang, I've decided to keep one of her pups. I've named him Blizzardpup. It wouldn't be fair to have her have two litters, with no pups to stay in Heartlands, before growing too old.

Also, a few days ago I renamed Graypup (one of Velvetwing’s daughters) to Mistypup, because I kept thinking of Graystripe everytime I saw her name, and it made me keep imagining her as a male.

I've decided to stop keeping track of StormClan. Too much of a hassle recording all these random pups, deciding who goes to StormClan or becomes a rogue or was never born... Now I only keep track with "stay or go?"

I've decided to keep pups until they're 6m old, so I don't have to keep looking at my notes to see how old they should be in the lore, which is especially useful if I planned to chase an entire litter. I also put pups I think will be useful on TC, chase the ones with the least likely chance to be adopted, and...yeah. If they're not adopted by the time they reach 6m, they'll be chased and it is assumed they've decided to move on from Heartlands.

StormClan will have sent a quick message saying that they're going to move to more suitable territory, and that this means a final farewell and that they won't be joining in on anymore Summer Festivals. Heartlands will miss them.

Omg Redtail is a grandfather! I think he is the first grand-anything in this pack currently? Shows how slow I'm taking this lol

Day 98 (April 2nd, 2021) Winter 3, Y4

I'd be writing daily entries again if college didn't think it was fun to give me essays every week -^- So I'll have to do a summary of the past IC month.

~~~

Over the course of the winter, several wolves have been apprenticed. From Robinwish's litter of three, two have decided to move on from Heartlands, while Sandpaw -- hesitantly -- has decided to stay. His reasoning being he wants to keep his mother company. He knows she is aging, and that he is the only child of hers left in Heartlands. Despite his desire to be with his siblings and explore the world, he wants her to be happy. Sandpaw was given Berrycloud as his mentor. It'll be Berrycloud's first apprentice.

From Yellowfang's litter of two, Blizzardpaw has decided to stay while his sister goes. Showing good tracking potential, he is given Swiftbriar as a mentor, in the hopes that Sunseeker's Stalker will pass on some of that skill.

From Velvetwing’s litter of three, two of her pups have decided to stay: Mistypaw and Shadowpaw. Respectively, the two apprentices are given Sleekshade and Sootvine as mentors. Velvetwing has admitted that these children are not Barnaby’s, but rather an outside male's. Barnaby had been fully aware of this from the start, but was not distraught. Still, Sleekshade feels bad for him. It seems Velvetwing and Barnaby’s special bond has come to an end; another failed pairing on the grey male’s part.

Lastly, only one pup from Marigoldshine’s litter of five have decided to remain: the elegant, confident Rosepaw, mentored to Marigoldshine herself, granted by Sootvine. Rosepaw is as beautiful as her mother, but in her own unique way, and even the brutish bully Blizzardpaw seems to have a crush on her among this generation.

Grasspaw finally has other apprentices to share her den with, though it won't be long before she's made a Warrior.

A teen is found weak and starving just outside the border. With a good sniff, it seems to be a male...no, a female? They're not sure what it is. Cautious since Lucien’s Claw’s attack, the wolves are reluctant to help at first. But the wolf is persistent, hanging around near the border but never trespassing. Grasspaw takes it upon herself to bring bits of leftovers to the teen over her age, and they appreciate it.

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but your scent confuses me,” Grasspaw said once. The rogue already knew what she was referring to.

“I'm an intersex. I'm not really any gender. Or maybe I'm both.” Grasspaw didn't fully understand. How can you be both genders? Or neither?

Day 98 (April 2nd, 2021) Winter 3, Y4

Woops. Accidentally made an entry.

~~~

On a day when their mentors were out patrolling or hunting, trouble child Blizzardpaw, and his competitive friend Shadowpaw, go in search of the mysterious chest Redtail and Sootvine hid long ago. It was an ongoing project of theirs, to find it and prove that they were worth more than just a glance from Rosepaw! They'd show her they were serious. On the day before Opposite Day+, they finally do it... Far east from the camp, hidden in a trench and half buried under sleet, rotten leaves, and other undergrowth, is the chest.

The wolves pry it open and find, covered in large leaves, a glowing Orb. “The chest is too big and obvious. We'll have to leave it behind,” Shadowpaw said.

“Yeah. Why don't you start burying the chest back, and I'll take the thing with me to Rosepaw?” Blizzardpaw suggested.

“No way! You just want to claim all the glory for yourself!” Before Blizzardpaw could even respond, Shadowpaw hastily gripped the orb in his jaws and began to run. Blizzardpaw chased after him, nipping at his heels but slowly losing the chase as his faster friend began to grow farther away from him.

During the chase, a scrap of leaf was loosened by the wind and movement. The skin on the inside of Shadowpaw's maw touched the orb. Immediately, wisps of bright blue light engulfed him, the surprise of it causing him to drop the Orb as he floated in the sky for seconds. Blizzardpaw watched it all, shocked and frozen in place. The entire ordeal only happened in a moment, and next thing both boys knew, Shadowpaw was back on his feet, the blue light gone, looking completely fine.

“Pups! Are you all right?” It was Dawnblaze, bounding over towards the two with a patrol in tow: Tawnyspots, Smokewood, and Lilypool. Quickly, they noticed the glowing Orb beside Shadowpaw, as well as his different appearance... It wasn't as drastic as Stormpelt's, but the dark fur that engulfed his undersides had now disappeared, replaced with light grey. The same symbol that adorned Stormpelt's flank now rested on his own.

“We’re not pups anymore!” Blizzardpaw replied indignantly, frustrated that Shadowpaw had gotten them caught.

~~~

The teens showed the team where they found the chest, and the wolves carefully rolled the Sphere back inside the chest before giving them a good scolding. Redtail and Sootvine, summoned by the team's howl, came at once. 

~~~

Okay I haven't finished the entry now but I will (gotta save the rest of this energy for tomorrow. I've got at least 500 words to write in one sitting -^-).

I retconned! Dawnblaze doesn't know anything >:)

Day 98 (April 2nd, 2021) Winter 3, Y4 - Continuation

When the patrol reported back to the Alphas, the camp was abuzz with questions, concerns, and even excitement. What else could the Orb do? It was Sootvine's decision to tell everyone what they currently knew about it, which wasn't much. Now that the cat's out of the bag, it was better to be honest and forthcoming. Redtail warned, though, that anybody attempting to remove the orb from its chest, or even look at it, would be severely punished, and that no one was to mention its existence to anyone not within Heartlands. "I also don't want it talked about, mentioned, or hinted at outside of camp either. Anyone can be hearing." His harshness and strictness on the rules instilled within the wolves fear of punishment. Everyone knew Redtail truly meant 'harsh punishment' when he said it, and no one was willing to see just what he would come up with.

"Raindrop is taking quite a while to come back with her friend," he mused once, grimacing at the possibility that she was probably exploiting Heartlands' lack of knowledge as a weakness.

~~~

I wanted to get entry uploaded, since I know I won't really have time to make a full entry like it deserves. The next entries will probably be pretty short too. There's a lot of writing in the classes I'm in.

Day 102 (April 6th, 2021) Spring 1, Y5 Coming Soon...

Raindrop returns with the wandering trader, and she seems to know about the Orb. Also, good news spreads across camp.

Day 101 (April 5th, 2021) Winter 6, Y4

Grasspaw, who earned the Warrior name Grasspuddle just two weeks ago, continued to visit the rogue past the borders. Some of the wolves were aware of the female's continuous visits outside of pack territory, but only Lilypool seemed to care enough to delve further into it. When she caught the two wolves together, it was at first assumed that their relationship was kept secret because they were in love, but now Lilypool wasn't so sure.

“You're not going to tell them, are you?” Grasspuddle worried, her friend sitting beside her. It--he--what were they?--was just as fretful.

“No, I'm not. But you two best be careful. I don't think either of them will take kindly to dangerous lies being kept from them.” 'Them' being the Alphas.

“I'm not dangerous,” the rogue's voice kind of sounded feminine. Perhaps it was safe to call it a female. Lilypool's nose scrunched up instinctively; her scent was confusing, “I get that look a lot...” her--their--dejected voice made Lilypool regret her actions.

“Sorry,” she responded, trying to ignore the confusion the rogue's being gave her. Male and female, in the world of wolves, were the only genders. It was very rare to see any wolf who did not belong in either category. It was one thing to smell male or female but call oneself the opposite gender. It was another to be, biologically, neither. As if there was something wrong with their make-up. Such deficiencies were given the same scrutiny as a wolf born with too few legs, or a wolf born with no working eyes. How can you live life properly without them?

“She didn't mean it. I was just as confused as her when we first met, remember? But there's nothing wrong with you,” Grasspuddle and the rogue rubbed cheeks as a show of affection. There was no doubt that they had been visiting each other for quite some time, “She goes by 'she.' Her name is Dunestrider. Pretty cool huh?” Lilypool was just relieved. It was nice not to have to assume what gender she was.

With Grasspuddle's help, Lilypool and Dunestrider got to know each other better. Dunestrider had been a rogue for most of her life, kicked out of her pack for fear she would not be able to sire children. As a young child, she was helped by a rogue man who taught her how to fend for herself.

“He took pity on me, but I guess he wasn't looking forward to being a dad for long,” so once she had adequately learned how to hunt, forage, and learn some basic herbs, he left her.

By the time she finished her story, night was drawing near. Lilypool and Grasspuddle headed back to camp. Blizzardpaw, his loud voice drawing attention, asked: “Where were you guys?”

Lilypool spoke sternly but calmly, “None of your business.” the teen went to say more, but Yellowfang -- his mother -- cuffed him on the ear to be quiet. She knew why they were gone.

Yellowfang's health was deteriorating by the day. Even despite this, she still insisted on doing things by herself. It took until she fell into a ditch when walking by herself, and then being stuck there for nearly an hour before someone found her, for her to concede (with verbal protest, of course) with having an escort when she went out on walks.

Grey hairs littered her entire body and muzzle. Her body ached almost constantly, and her eyesight was degrading. Blizzardpaw, as annoying as he was, stayed with her often. He was often her escort on her trips out of camp.

Yellowfang wasn't the only aging member of the group. As the years go by, more and more of the founders start to feel the effects of their age. Jessie has announced that her current litter of four will be her last, knowing that she's on her sixth year of life. Ourwin, as some have noticed, is getting his first few grey hairs. Robinwish has been spending much of her time in the medicine den, her status as Elder long since given to her as her immune system weakens. Austin spends even more of his freetime with her, while their son Sandpaw watches worriedly from a distance.

Barnaby, in his first few weeks being blind, relied on the support of Pinetree to help him adjust. Pinetree helped the retired leader from despairing, and eventually the wolf grew used to his blindness, as if he had always been that way. Though he could no longer hunt or scout for the pack, he became a good source of philosophical advice, and an ear to talk to when some wolves had problems.

It took some time for most of them to get used to Barnaby's conversion into a religious person. He adopted Dawnblaze and Firesong's religion, which had no name but first derived from the philosophic and religious Taoism. Some of the wolves understood that his transition must have been a coping method. A way to find strength and peace where he otherwise would not have found it. The three wolves were not the only ones who adopted their faith. Mistypaw was interested in it too.

“How do you know the Gods exist if you've never seen them before?” often, she asked hard questions. But the religious couple had heard such questions asked to them many times before in their travels, and they answered with ease. She admired their unwavering loyalty and faith towards what they believed in, and they had the charisma and respect to make her believe anything.

Doespring had long ago stopped mooning over Redtail. When Redtail asked her why, weeks after her joining, she replied shyly that it 'wasn't who she was.'

He was confused. What did she mean?

“I thought… well, you and Sootvine seemed like such fine gentleman -- it was more like a puppy crush, you know? I don't hide my affection very well,” ah, it was starting to make more sense now. Doespring was still young and inexperienced with love. Her only love had been a man who did not stay long, and who wasn't around to help her raise the children he left her with in Fierce Grace, “Then I realized Sootvine already had a mate...mates, I mean. But my crush on you stayed longer.”

She apologized for her behavior then, and he accepted it, lack of charisma preventing from finding the right way to say 'it wasn't your fault.'

Now, over half a year later, it seemed Redtail was starting to get a crush as well. Doespring fit in well with the crowd, finding friendship in the niche consisting of Hailstorm, Smokewood, Lilypool, Sunfall, and Grasspuddle. In his spare time, he found himself sometimes watching her absent-mindedly, curious as to how she'd spend her own time. Eventually these random musings began to grow more and more frequent, until he invited her to the hot springs just a few days ago.

On his way back to camp, Doespring in tow, they were spotted by Sootvine returning from making dirt, “You guys were gone for quite a while,” he pointed out.

“What of it?” Redtail challenged, still making his way inside.

“Just saying, man,” Redtail saw the faint smile on his face. He must think I like her. In his mind, he had only wanted to further get to know a wolf he did not often hang out with, something he did every now and then with any wolf he hadn't known for years yet. She was nothing special!

~~~

OOC: I did not go over this entry for errors hehe, here you go!

Day 102 (April 6th, 2021) Spring 4, Y5 [Unfinished]

“We’re going to be parents!” the words spoken were filled with such joy and happiness that the wolves could not help but to howl their congratulations. It was a joyous moment for Dawnblaze and Firesong. Unsuccessfully, they had been trying to start their own family, but finally, their efforts yield fruit.

“More puppies! The Nursery will be full again in no time.” Pinetree mused, unable to suppress the smile that adorns his face.

“Oh, I'm so happy for you two. We'll be trying our own luck soon as well,” Sleekshade announces, Hazelglow nodding in affirmation next to him. She signs 'So glad you two are happy!'

Redtail didn't know what all the fuss was about. So what if she's pregnant? He voices his opinions to Marigoldshine, who watches from a distance like him.

“They’re very respected members of the pack. They do a lot of good. It's more than just 'more puppies' to everyone.” the she-wolf shook her head in disdain when he argued that 'By that logic, everyone should always be this excited when someone gets pregnant.'

Days after the announcement, Raindrop's howl announces her arrival home. The Alphas, as well as several other curious wolves, meet up with her halfway into the territory to see what was going on. The first thing that told them of her location was a loud, squeaky sound and the clattering of hooves on dirt and stone. The sight that presented itself was something they'd never seen before.

Next to Raindrop was a she-wolf with an unnatural contrast of black and white fur. It appeared as if she had painted swirls and dots inside the swirls, like the swirls were half-moons cuddling a black or white ball. Even her eyes contrasted: one white, one black. Her scent was confusing and new; the wolves could recognize only vague smells of plants, spices, and dirt that they've never encountered. She wore on her jewelry of a dark, deep purple, like the color of wine, beads woven together with strings of an unknown, silver material that bends when she moved.

Even more mystifying was the massive wooden box that was carried by a golden brown and white horse. The wolves had never seen such a contraption before! The mare seemed unusually calm under the curious gazes of what is supposed to be her species' predator. Wooden sticks from the moving box attached themselves to a wooden piece that the horse wore. How come they did not bother her?

Even Redtail, who was usually unafraid of anything, looked wary and apprehensive. Sleekshade thought that he might even consider this an act of offense on Raindrop's part, but instead he spoke to them both calmly.

“My name is Redtail, one of the leaders of Heartlands. I presume you're Raindrop's wandering trader friend?” Imagine if she wasn't!

The she-wolf, all smiles and slow wagging tail, spoke jovially, “Yes, yes, I am! My name is Saoirse, it is a pleasure to meet you.” she had a thick, unknown accent, but was otherwise understandable. Her name was pronounced 'soar-sha.' “My friend Raindrop -- zhat is what you call her? -- had traveled quite far to find me, mm. She tells me you have magical artifact I know of.”

“What is it?” Shadowpaw said, his wail wagging excitedly, “It gave me a mark, look! And it gave me white marks on some of my underfur.” He showed her the symbol he had been given on his flank after touching the Orb, then pointed at the white fur on his chin, throat, and legs.

“Oooh, I see. And where is the girl who zhis also happened to?” Just on time, Stormpelt came out with Swiftbriar, each carrying the chest carefully between the two. They placed it down in front of her, and she gingerly opened the chest.

Inside, the Orb still glowed its blue hue, the leaves once wrapped around it now splayed out around the chest. Moving the chest around, Saoirse inspected it carefully, only nosy questions from the apprentices breaking the silence.

Finally, she stopped, and nodded confirmingly, “Zhat is El-ahrairah's Sphere all right.”

“El-ahrairah's Sphere? I have never heard of such a thing,” Firesong announced. He seemed even more intrigued now.

“Oh, zhat is because El-ahrairah does not come vrom any volven religion or story. He is a legend amongst the rabbits, a Prince. The Sphere, vhich was blessed upon him by Lord Frith so zhat he may trick his enemies and prosper. One day, a vox named Thaumiel managed to outsmart the cunning rabbit and steal the Sphere. The reasons why vary. Some say he stole it out of envy, so zhat he could prosper like the rabbit, others say he wanted to give it as a giff to a Goddess who had captured his heart.

Vhatever the reason, it backvired poorly on him. Touching the Sphere turned him into a hideous, giant sea-creature, and vhen he tried to use the Sphere to return back to normal, it instead turned him into a vlightless bird.

He kept trying still, hoping zhat one day it vould change him back. But he had touched it so many times that it vouldn't even work properly...its energy vas waning. Its support vrom Lord Frith ebbed. By the time he had stopped touching it, the Sphere vas only able to change the most miniscule of things, and he had become so devormed and unrecognizable that he wept in the deepest chasms of the underworld, until he drowned in his own tears and became one vith the stone.”

At first, no one spoke. They were unsure what to make of the story, and it was a lot to process. After several moments of silence, Sootvine spoke up, “So there's no way to revert them back.”

“I'm afraid not. But to my knowledge, there is nothing to worry about with the Sphere. So long as you do not touch it offen.”

Her explanation gave rise to more questions than it answered. None of it made any sense. How did it end up here, in their territory? If that story was true, did that mean other stories of magic and Gods were too? If it managed to shapeshift Thaumiel into different creatures, how come it only changed fur color? What were they to do with this information? With the Sphere?

The murmurs and questions amongst themselves ceased when the mare chuffed. Soairse, in turn, looked to her and spoke words none of them had ever heard. Was she communicating with the horse?

“I apologize I could not be of vurther help,” she said in Wolvish, “Raindrop and I, ve have traveled var and had many things to do. You are lucky to have such a volf in your pack,” a moment's pause, and then to Raindrop, she said, “If you ever need me again, dear, I will be in Aoczan vor the year. And now, some parting giffs!” Soairse got up and walked over to the large, moving box. A piece of the wood swung open, revealing that the box was hollow inside and had more to tell. When she appeared moments later, she had two things.

One was a small pouch, wrapped closed by thin rope. Another was a stick she carried between her jaws, but not any random stick. The wood was a deep, reddish dark brown, and it looked like it had been shaped so that multiple sticks swirled together like braids into one, bigger stick. At the base of it were four protrusions made of the same wood. The top-end of it had four protrusions as well, but these curled like a panther's claws over empty space. When she placed it down, the bottom pieces planted firmly in the earth, and the entire thing was as tall as Soairse.

“These hooks are elastic, so you can put the Sphere inside of it. Zhen, you will be able to carry it around safely. No more holding it in your mouth. Zhen, next gift, some Zilver Cones,” she nudged the pouch over to Redtail, who opened it up and peered inside. Sure enough, there were Silver Cones, and a lot of it, “No need to count. There are v'one thousand cones in zhere.”

[The rest is unfinished. What follows after is the wolves carefully place the Sphere inside the Staff, Soairse says goodbye, and a brief meeting is had to talk about the Sphere. Redtail and Sootvine says that anyone who touches the staff will be severely reprimanded and no one is to talk of the Sphere outside of camp. Firesong challenges Redtail’s belief in Gods, and Redtail is about to fight him before being calmed down by Sootvine. Later that day, when Firesong talks about the near fight with Dawnblaze, she suggests leaving Heartlands when their pups are weaned, but Firesong reassures her that everything will be sorted out in time, without his input.]

~~~

OOC: I didn't really want to finish this, so I added a paragraph explaining what I didn't write in-depth. Also, you may notice that Lord Frith and El-ahrairah come from the novel Watership Down, which is where I got the inspiration about the Rabbit Prince (who actually exists in the novel) and the fox who stole his orb (who does not actually exist).

A Day in the Life of the Heartlandians…

Dawn is when the day starts. One hunting team, chosen by Sootvine or Redtail the previous evening, goes out to hunt and catch as much as they can until sunhigh. They are not allowed to eat what they catch unless they catch more than three meals of good size. In winter, sometimes two teams go out at a time.

At the same time the hunters depart, two patrol teams -- usually consisting of three or four wolves each -- go out to patrol one side of the border. One day, one patrol might go east while the other goes west. And then the next day, a patrol will go north while another goes south. These patrols are allowed to catch food for themselves provided they have the time to do so after scent-marking and checking the borders. The patrols are to come back at sunhigh.

Sometimes a small group of wolves is designated to venture to a trading site, or to one of Heartlands’ allies in the mountains. They are given supplies to help them, as well as Cones and goods to buy useful items or trade. Such a trip usually takes two to four days depending on location and what happens for them to return. They are given ample time to rest and are checked on by the Herbalists after reporting back to the Alphas.

Meanwhile, at camp, some wolves are still sleeping, but the apprentices are wide awake, playing and getting into trouble as they await sunhigh. The grumpy Elders -- well, just Yellowfang, really -- shouts at them to keep all the noise down as Pinetree or Robinwish checks her body for ticks she cannot reach, and to see if she may be coming down with an illness.

In the Nursery, Jessie and Dawnblaze keep each other company. It’s usually something boring, like Dawnblaze praying her pups are strong and healthy, or wondering what they’ll look like, and Jessie -- the Mother of Heartlands, as she’s so dearly been given the title of -- will calm her down and tell her stories about her past litters and how she dealt with them. For now, Jessie’s children are too young to start learning lessons, but when they become weaned, Jessie and any other current Pupsitter will teach them all the basic lessons about Heartlands, like who the Alphas are, or what will happen when they become adolescents, or the laws of Heartlands, or how to be respectful.

When the patrols and the hunting team arrive, they will report anything unusual, notable events, or today’s catch to the Alphas. The hunters will bring what they’ve brought back to the storage, a series of dug-out caves hidden under trees and bushes where most supplies are kept. Food is given the deepest, coldest cave to lie in, where there is less dirt and more stone, then the food is wrapped up in dried leaves and cloth-like material and placed upon a pool of ice that is replaced daily, though less so in the colder months. Patrols, if they’ve found anything worth keeping, like the feather pile of a bird recently snatched up, will usually inspect and then give them to the pups in the Nursery, and if it is an item particularly decent, may gift it to a mate or person of interest.

Wolves may sometimes come to Pinetree or Robinwish speaking of having a thorn in their pad or an itch that won’t go away. The Herbalist will diagnose the issue and give them something if they need it, like a bit of feverfew to prevent infection, or a honeycomb to soothe sore throats. Some afflictions are given no treatment at all, too miniscule to need medication. In such cases, the body is left to heal itself. Sometimes one of the Herbalists leave to go retrieve an herb that cannot be grown in the small garden, and sometimes they bring along an escort if they need an extra paw.

When the patrols and hunting party have done their business, mentors will call their apprentices, and everyone will go either in small groups or alone to train their apprentice. One day, an apprentice may be taught how to deal with certain situations, asked certain questions like ‘You find a snake sleeping inside the camp at night. Everyone else is asleep, and you’re unsure if the snake is venomous. What do you do?’ Other days, they may be taught how to hunt and play different roles, or taught how to fight different types of enemies, either with another apprentice or with their mentor. Apprentices are even taught some basics in medicine in case there are dire situations where they cannot immediately get help.

Sometimes, Redtail will announce a day or two before that today will be designated to adult training, something that was never given special attention to in Barnaby’s reign. On these days, the wolves will fight -- less aggressively than in the Tournament, but still with power -- each other and try to overcome their weaknesses, keeping their fighting skills sharp and their mind ready, something especially needed for those who have not had a mentor or mentee to train with in so long. Even the Herbalists partake in this, for they need to keep their fighting skills sharp as well.

The wolves, worn out from hunting, patrolling, training, or teaching, will usually gather inside camp to catch up on news, invite each other to play a game, visit an area of interest, or just rest. Once a week, the wolves will pick out larger meals they’ve hunted, if applicable, and gather at the center of the clearing to eat together. The higher the ranking, the sooner one can eat, and the sooner one can pick which of the available foods to eat. The winner of the Tournament of Champions always gets first pick even before the Alphas, as one of the bonuses for being the victor. Before they eat, they all thank themselves and/or a higher power for the food. Dinner is not often quiet, as the wolves talk about their day or news they may have between bites, which includes the list of wolves set out to go hunting or patrolling the next day.

Weary and tired after a long day of work, the wolves will one by one go into their dens for the night. There are six dens: the Nursery, where pregnant or nursing mothers and Pupsitters go. The Apprentices’ den, where all the adolescents go. The medicine den, where the Herbalists keep their medicine and herbs, and where sick wolves sleep. Two Warrior dens, where the population of Warriors is split in half. The Alphas’ den, where Redtail, Sootvine, and any respective mates go. And a seventh, largely unused den. Its purpose is miscellaneous. Sometimes it is where wolves who want to get away from the crowd or a specific wolf goes, other times it is a special place for the Elders to go...but Yellowfang refuses to be alone, and so did Snowtuft. Robinwish doesn’t seem keen on sharing a den by herself either, so who knows what the den’s purpose is for.

Since Redtail’s reign, one person every night is tasked with standing guard outside the camp to watch out for dangers. The wolf on guard duty is exempt from any of the following days’ duties.