Rufous

Rufous is the daugther of Apollo, the breeding male of her birth pack. As a pup she always stood out as the shy and distant little fireball she was. While the other pups started to find their purpose one day, she could not manage to find her place withhin the pack.

Without any idea of what to do with her life, she seeked out for the pack leader Iceborn to ask for advice. After a while of consultig she suggested: Why not become a traveller? Or rather a seeker? She could go and visit different packs, discover secrets of the land she crosses, bring home important information and also make some friends. She could even find a lover?

Rufous' eyes sparked up. It was decided: She would leave the pack and become a traveller.
They agreed on Rufous staying away until she is six years old.

She is aloof and a little shy, but still tries to make friends. Rufous is curious and loves a little bit of secrecy and gossip but has a good heart. She is a quick and agile runner and loves to run through the forests.

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Thank you for letting Rufous stay withhin your pack! Feel free to let her help you with chores, socialize with your wolves, give her decorations you don't need and (most importantly) update her Bio! I would love to gather some lore on her :))
You can also breed her. If you do not want some of the pups she gives, you can also just send them to me - even though, I might now keep them aswell.

Rules:
- Please keep her max. 4 rollovers (can stay longer if being bred)
- Feed and play with her
- Please read her bio and update it accordingly
- Prompt: What has Rufous done when she was with the pack? How did the pack members react? Did the wolves like her or did she even find a lover? Did she have pups? What happened while she was gone and how did she feel even?
- When she is 6 years old, please send her back to Nonamewolf #84672
- Document her stay like this:

Pack name and ID/link:
Decors added (optional):
Journal:

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Starting pack
Noname Pack #84672
Decors added (optional): Gambel Oak Sapling
Journal: It is time. Today is the day that Rufous is going to leave. Her heart was pounding but she felt ready. She said goodbye to her parents Apollo and Mask and the rest of the pack. With a deep inhale, she made her first steps away from their territory and walked towards the sun.

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Wolftooth Pack #123021
Decors added: Scar: Eye - Medium [Right], Scattered Bones, Cliff Swallowtail
Journal: Sorry, too lazy to write

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Yuggera Tribe #29973
Decors added (optional): Angel Oak background, Tansy Crown
Journal: (view forum entry)
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Pack name and ID/link: Legion Of Ghouls
Decors added (optional): N/A
Journal: (view forum entry)

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Pack name and ID/link: 🌟opossum🌟 pack #33721
Decors added (optional): N/A
Journal: N/A

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Pack name and ID/link: Night Keeper Pack
Decors added (optional): N/A
Journal: (view forum entry)

09.10.2023
Pack name and ID/link: DreadfullTimes by Corgiesta #66730
Decors added: [Pasadena Oak Branch] and [Arctic White]
Journal: (view forum entry)

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Pack name and ID/link: ChainDarkz
Decors added (optional): Blue Jay Feather Decor
Journal: -

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Home pack
Noname Pack #84672
Decors added (optional): -
Journal: (view forum entry)

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The Wildfire Pack
Decors added: Swan Feather Decor
Journal: 10/18/23
After saying her goodbyes to her pack she once more set off, this journey taking her to the wide open prairie. Any direction she looked, she could see for miles. Walking in the slightly tall grass up and down the rolling hills she thought that there was no other wolves here as it would be hard to hunt in such open area and to have a protected home. Some time passed and a small silhouette of what seemed to be a small wolf appeared, walking cautiously closer she was greeted by had nod from a female wolf who's mouth was packed full of herbs.

Dark red in color with even darker spots, the wolf set down its herbs and smiled, introducing herself as Darva the herbalist for a pack known as The Wildfire Pack. Offering to lead Rufous to the packs home and met everyone else, she nodded accpecting Darvas offer. The trip to the packs home would take a day of travel and they had to stop for the night.

10/19/23
In the evening the two arrived in the packs home, a few pups ran up and greeted them but no adults. Darva took her to see Flare the Wild, the pack leader. Flare greeted her warmly and gave her a small tour of where everyone slept, ate and relaxed. Upon seeing how the other adult wolves made their way about the home, it was pretty chaotic but somehow controlled. Flare gave her a nod at the end of it all and told her to follow the two rules, do your part to help out and make sure to always carry respect towards all. For the remainder of the day she took the time to learn the pack better.

10/20-21/23
Th next two days she would help out Darva with her herbs and treating others. Many of the other wolves were nice but didn't want her help that time. She became good friends with the herbalist and when it came time for her to leave Darva gifted her a necklace made of Swan feathers so she could always remember their friendship.

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Pack name and ID/link: Night Keeper Pack
Decors added (optional): Scattered Sticks
Journal: SpoilerRufous knew where she was heading. The land around her became familiar as she trudged on. So much time had passed, she doubted things would be the same. Just as she was zoning out, thinking of the possibilities, a wolf she had never seen before appeared with herbs in their mouth. A herbalist?
Rufous approached the wolf. "Hello, who are you? I'm Rufous, a travelling wolf."
The wolf stared at Rufous and her eyes widened. "Rufous! I'm Patet! Lucky for you I'm heading back now, follow me!"
The wolf called Patet bounded off and Rufous scrambled to follow. It had been so long that roots kept tripping her and a few branches scratched at her side. She felt out of her element here after being away so long, but somehow she never lost sight of the strange wolf in front of her and soon arrived at a familiar clearing.
Wolves -- she guessed they were pupsitters -- Lay idly around the clearing, licking their paws as they watched a small group of puppies tussle on a patch of dirtied grass, ripped up from the comotion. Two wolves spoke at the edge of the clearing. Shadow and... Grey. Patet danced over to Shadow and spoke to her in a sing-song voice.
"Shaaadoooow! I found a wolf on my adventures!"
Shadow turned to look at the disruption and Grey also did, noticing Rufous immediately. His eyes widened with recognition. Shadow smiled at Rufous and said calmly.
"Rufous! It's good to see you again."
Rufous bowed. "It is good to see you too! It feels great to be back."

Rufous was allowed to stay for as long as she wanted, and Shadow left the area, leaving her alone with Grey. Grey shuffled his paws, looking at the ground nervously, before he looked up and smiled. "How were your adventures?"
Rufous smiled back. "They were great. Do you want me to tell you about them?"
Grey nodded eagerly and led Rufous to a decently secluded part of the clearing where tufts of grass and feathers were formed into a nest. Both of them settled in the nest, and for the rest of the day the two spent the time sharing stories. In the end they fell asleep laying next to each other.

Days passed and eventually Rufous came into heat yet again, and became pregnant, carrying Grey's pups. She began to realise there was a wolf that looked extremely close to Grey. Rocky Shore, otherwise known as Rocky. Rufous asked Grey about it, because she didn't recognise the wolf from last time, and he didn't look all that important.
Grey's eyes widened at the realisation Rufous left right after her pups were weaned. Rocky Shore was the only of her pups to survive and now he was all grown up. Quickly Grey told Rufous that Rocky Shore was her son, and Rufous was astonished.

While Rufous was pregnant, she and Rocky Shore spoke everyday until she gave birth... Just a bit early. In the end none of the puppies made it. Rufous didn't know what to do anymore. She watched her own puppies slowly die. Rufous didn't feel comfortable here. One glance at Patet reminded her of how she hadn't managed to save her puppies. One look at Grey and she was reminded that if only they survived, she'd have a bigger family. Her only surviving pup was Rocky Shore.

She felt suffocated here, with life just going on around her. Sure Grey was always there, by her side, but all the other wolves just went about their days, as if nothing even happened. She ran out of the clearing, desperate to escape. Grey yelped and chased after her, confused. Grey eventually caught up to Rufous, as she couldn't traverse the forest well. Rufous told Grey she didn't want to be here anymore, and just to leave her alone. She was going to a new pack.

Grey didn't stop her. He nuzzled into Rufous's fur before taking a step back. The two said goodbye and Rufous quickly escaped her miseries. She had to move on, mentally and physically.

Rufous left the territory. If her path brought her back to the Night Keeper Pack, she knew she'd have to follow it, but it was time to end her visit early.

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Home pack
Noname Pack #84672
Decors added (optional): -
Journal:
SpoilerRufous made a quick stop at her home pack. She was welcomed warmly and even Menace was there aswell. They had some nice get-togethers and she enjoyed the company of her pack again. She thought that she would not be a traveller for much longer, but her time to stop hadn't come.

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Pack name and ID/link: Night Keeper Pack
Decors added (optional): Dandelion Decor
Journal:
SpoilerRufous was laying down at her home pack, Noname Pack, when a wolf she didn't fully recognise bounded into the clearing. Skye, the mother of Slither, a charming pupsitter, and the puppies Sunborn and Soul, who she had met in the few days she had been resting here, approached the wolf. Skye licked him, muttering something about how he grew. Other wolves greeted the strange wolf, and then she learnt his name was Menace.

Menace started to talk about his adventure, how Bear of the Night Keeper Pack had found him on the first day of his travelling, bringing him to her pack and caring for him. Rufous's ears pricked up. She'd heard about Bear in her travels when she stopped at that pack. Bear was the first scout in the pack, helping the roots of the clan grow. Her last visit, that included her running away with misery from the pack, was weirdly Bear-free from what she could remember.

Recalling her memory, while she was pregnant, she overheard whispers from the gossipy wolves in the pack, talking about how Bear didn't come back from scouting. One of the new scouts reported ripped up fur and red-stained grass around where Bear should have been scouting. She wasn't found but reported dead. Rufous's ears lowered at the memory. Bear seemed to be important to Menace. Rufous stood and padded over to Menace, ready to tell him what she had heard. "Hello Menace, I am Rufous, one of the travelling wolves of this pack."

Menace was confused. When he was born Rufous suspected she was staying at another pack. "I've been to the Night Keeper Pack before. In fact, I just came from there." Rufous lowered her head. "I heard news that Bear has been reported as dead. I'm sorry."

When Rufous raised her head Menace looked... broken. His ears were lowered, and he started to back away, shaking his head. "No... No, Bear is still alive, she has to be." Menace turned and fled in the direction of the Night Keeper Pack. Rufous decided to follow him. "Menace!"

Rufous raced past trees and bushes until a familiar smell wafted towards her in the wind. Menace was in front of her, clumsy as he raced through the shrubbery, but he knew where he was headed. Rufous tripped on a root, losing balance but quickly setting herself upright, chasing after Menace again. She was too old for this.

Soon that familiar clearing came into sight and the memories that plagued the edge of her mind overtook her. She slowed down, taking careful steps towards Menace, who now stood looking forlornly at the sunny area. Wolves filled the clearing, and a few heads had turned to the bushes where she and Menace stood, curious at the sounds. Rufous shook her head and sighed. "Menace. I'm going home. I can't keep travelling anymore. You stay here. Find happiness within yourself and look away from the past. Promise me."

Menace turned to look at her with wide eyes, and all he did was nod slowly. Rufous turned away from the pack that had overtaken her thoughts. Maybe Grey would visit her in Noname pack when she didn't come visit in a while. Rufous began the trek back home. The adrenaline left her blood and her paws felt heavy,. Her days of travelling were over.

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Home pack
Noname Pack #84672
Decors added (optional): -
Journal:
SpoilerThe exhausted traveller went back home. She had to rest her paws after such long time of travelling. Returning home, she made herself comfortable in a nest in an empty cave and dreamt about her adventures. When waking up and stepping outside, Rufous was welcomed by her family - even though she didnt't know many of them. It was heartwarming...

Days went by as Rufous started to feel home here again. She started doing small tasks but was free to rest anytime. She spent a lot of time with some old friends and really enjoyed being here again.

One day, some stranger seemed to come close to the territory. Snoot entered the den site and talked directly to Delilah while looking in the direction of Rufous - that made her suspicious, so she went up.
Coming closer, she pricked up her ears in hopes to understand something. Then her heart sank. It was Grey. She was confused and felt like running straight over to him, but at the same time wanted to hide. There was no chance to do so, though, as he had already noticed her. He came closer - slowly - and looked at her with puppy eyes. She couldn't hold herself and jumped at him, licking his face, close to tearing up.
Grey told her that he missed her and he HAD to visit her.

She felt happy. The breeding male of the Night Keeper Pack had come to visit her. And he wanted to stay, for a while at least.

He was with the Noname Pack for about a month. They had a great time and cared so lovingly for each other. They couldn't be together forever, but at least for some time. Rufous even got pregnant again. Again, she only had a few pups. When they had aged a bit, they left to start their own packs or join existing ones.
Not long after the pups birth,Grey felt that he had to return to his pack, they agreed on trying to visit each other from time to time and said their goodbyes.

With this visit, Rufous knew, she had lived a great life. She appreciated her travels and the love she found during it - even though it could not last. She spent the rest of her life in her home pack and managed to see her lover every now and then.

While she was nursing her last set of puppies, the Noname Pack got visitors. Rufous was just staying insider her cave, cuddling with her pups, until these visitors walked up to her. She didn't notice them at first, until she could smell the familiar scent of her own blood. Rocky Shore, her son, had come to visit her. She was happy and greeted him, when she suddenly realized that there was someone else. It was her daughter Gold, that she had left oh so long ago. Rufous felt bad. She invited them in.

They talked a lot. She found out, that both of them were travellers now and that they really wanted to meet Rufous. This was actually Gold's first visit in another pack. Talking to them and socializing with her pups, Rufous really felt, that her life became whole now. She was looking forward to enjoying her life here and seeing her family sometimes.