Rain Dove

Named after the rain dove, or mourning dove, for his pale coloration and soft voice. He is called just Dove by his partner Noctilucent and a few others who know him closely. 

As a pup he never spoke, and even as an adult he speaks rarely. When he speaks it is with a smooth, quiet voice just above a whisper. His quiet nature does not keep him from being a powerful leader; his pack always falls silent to listen to him, and can easily follow the wordless direction of his body language. The flick of an ear, the length of his stride, a movement of his tail; these actions speak for themselves, so he sees no reason to speak aloud if it isn't necessary. 

When he left the pack he was born into, he travelled far, following the river down from the cold mountain region until the landscape changed. This new place was warm, dappled with cool shade and scented with the gentle, comforting smell of rotting leaves. The damp leaf litter clung to his pawpads as he explored, decorating him with soft gold-green gingko leaves. Charmed by this, he decided his new clan would be called "leaf-paw". Rain Dove found a resting place among the grove of gingko trees, on a carpet of gold. 

Shortly after settling in his new forest home, Rain Dove met the wolf who would become his mate: Noctilucent. She was a shadow among the trees, dancing gracefully along the edge of the river. Gold leaves adorned her dark paws too, and her face looked like the moon peering out from behind stormclouds in the night--dark, with a singular slim pale mark between her eyes as gold as the leaves the covered the ground. She did not seem afraid of him when their eyes met across the moonlit water. They watched each other for a while and then she turned, silently, and dissolved into the brush. She came to the same place across the river from the gingko grove every night and they would do this again-- each observing the other from a distance, catching scent on the air. One of these times, something was different. The air was heavy and tense, thunder rumbling low in the distance and threatening to move closer. The water was black between them. When Noctilucent caught Rain Dove's blue eyes this time, she did not stand still on the edge of the river. She danced and splashed through the dark water and he moved toward her with tail wagging until they met in the middle of the shallow river. Dove reveled in their scents blending together, their shoulders touching, finally this wolf was more than just a shadow on the river's edge- she was scent and paws and tongue and noise. Suddenly tangible. As the thunder drew nearer and rain threatened to pour, the wolves waded together out of the river. Rain Dove, as usual, said nothing- but Noctilucent understood and followed him back to the grove. In the shelter he had carved out for himself they mated many times and soon Noctilucent was pregnant with her first litter. 

Rain Dove's first pups were born in the forest, surrounded by a small but strong family of wolves that came together under his leadership. He had accomplished what he left his family in the mountains to do- form a pack. Though it was still small, his wolves were loyal and capable. Rain Dove's new life was just beginning....