Cedarwood Forest- Wolf Pack RP

After farmers begun to expand their territories deeper into the Cedarwood Forest, wolves were forced to flee or be hunted. Many wolves were lost and many packs dismantled in the initial battle for the forest.

One wolf, Akela, had attempted to protect his family’s territory as they slowly fled, one by one. After a year of living alone, too close to humans for comfort, Akela began to hear rumours of a forest far away, a forest full of life and prey, the perfect place for a new beginning. 

Having seen multiple small packs passing through the Cedarwood Forest in search of this new land, Akela decided to attempt the journey himself. Maybe he will make it before the first snowfall... and maybe he will find a new pack along the way...

Character Sheets

Akela could feel the warm, morning sun on his back as he lay on the forest floor. The morning dew coated the earth, glistening in the orange glow of the sunlight. Akela looked around slowly. How could he say goodbye to this? His home? He took a deep breath and took in all the sights and smells, looking for any sign to stay. 

As he enjoyed the silence of the morning, a loud screeching startled him back to reality. Those darn roosters... Akela stood slowly and stretched. No better reason to leave. He looked to the North and took his first steps away from home. His first steps to the unknown.

I want to see the world while I can, she'd pleaded with her father. He was growing older. There was more gray than red in his muzzle. His time to step down from leader was coming soon, and as his heir, Rue would be taking up the mantle. It was a responsibility that she wasn't quite ready for. She felt too young and carefree to have the burden of leadership. More than once, she wondered why her older sister, Amara, wasn't chosen instead. But the crown weighed heavy upon her head. And as a final bid for freedom, she'd asked to travel a bit, gain some experience. She would be home before her father passed. She promised. 

So here she was, at the edge of the forest, tilting her head in the direction of the strange bird call. What was that? she wondered. She'd never been this far from home before. The creature wasn't nearby to see for herself, but there was a wolf to ask. 

"Excuse me? Do you know what that sound is? What sort of animal does it come from?"

Akela was startled and turned to face the stranger wolf. With all the different wolves passing through the area, he didn’t pick up on her scent so close. 

“It’s a rooster. The wretched birds scream every morning.” Akela watched the wolf, she appeared to be alone. “What brings you to Cedarwood?” Akela asked. Not many wolves are lone this time of year. At the end of summer, most of the wolves he knew were trying to find a pack to get through the upcoming winter. 

"A bird makes that sound?" Rue asked, wrinkling her nose in distaste. It can't attract many mates when it sounds that awful. Maybe it's trying to ward off predators? She mused, before properly taking the other wolf in. He didn't look too old. In fact, she would venture to guess that they are around the same age. Was this really a safe place for a lone wolf to sleep? If so, then she supposes that she's found a good place to stop. 

"Cedarwood? Is that what they call it? I'm simply a traveler. This place smells busy of wolves, and plentiful in prey. It seemed like as good a place to explore as any. What are you doing here?"

“I was born here,” Akela answered. “With the humans being so close, my pack left... most packs in this forest left when the humans started hunting us.” Akela paused and looked around. He was going to miss this place...

“If you’re going to explore stay away from where that bird is. It lives with the humans and if they see you, they’ll kill you. Sometimes the human will come this far into the forest, it’s like they’re looking for us.”

"I see.... That's very unfortunate," Rue spoke reverently. "I'm sure they all miss being in their home. Humans are such a nuisance."

At least, they were in her father's bedtime stories about them. She herself, has never laid eyes on a human, and she considers herself to be fortunate not to have done so. She turns to look in the direction of the rooster's crow and wrinkles her nose again in displeasure.

"Well, I'm not surprised that a creature that makes such an ugly noise is the human's doing, or that it needs protection from them either. I will have to find my breakfast elsewhere," she huffed. "Hmm, if it's not too bold to ask, why are you still here? When everyone else has left?"

Akela thought for a moment before answering. “I was just stubborn... when I was a pup my parents were killed by humans so my grandfather raised us. Once he died my siblings left one by one. Stranger wolves came and went... our pack wasn’t really a pack anymore. My parents are here, I wanted to fight for this place.” Akela looked up at the dense treetops as the rooster screamed again. “But I realize now that I can’t do much fighting if I’m in the ground. I’m on my way out of here, actually.”

“So what’s a young wolf like you doing travelling? You came from a pack, didn’t you?” Akela asked. 

"I see... that's horribly tragic," Rue replied, reflecting on her large family, her parents and many siblings. Her nieces and nephews. She can't imagine losing any of them. It's ironic that she should feel that way, as she is the one who left them behind. "Well, you're right about that. There's no fighting it if you are dead. You probably don't have the numbers to win now in any case..." She shakes her head sadly. "It's a shame... this is a beautiful place." 

She tilted her head in confusion. "Young? Well, no younger than you, surely," she scoffed, though it is more of a playful offense. "I am getting some dirt beneath my paws before I'm stuck in a den somewhere giving orders."

“Well technically you could still travel as an alpha... just lead your pack wherever you want to go,” Akela stated. He took a step further into the forest. “What exactly are you hoping to find?” He asked her. 

The wind rustled in the leaves and a single leaf fell from above onto the ground. Fall was coming rather quickly, and Akela was hoping to not go another winter without a pack.