Sunrise

(Thanks Freezer for making my wolves bios!)

Sunrise was always a no nonsense, serious wolf. expecting and preparing for the worst. This made her an ideal leader as she was never caught off guard or unprepared, but was always working and never took much time for fun. It was strange, then, when she and River, a very bubbly wolf, became very close mates.

She left the pack of her birth as soon as she was old enough. For reasons she has not yet said. She ran into a black wolf, tala, who was a kind wolf. Helping her on her journey of starting a pack of her own. They eventually parted ways, and sunrise met another wolf. His name was frozen river, or river for short. He was friendly and outgoing, something she wasn't used to, but made her take an interest to him.

They decided to stay together. He was the first wolf to have joined her soon-to-be pack. They became close, his caring personality and her strong one, perfectly balancing each other, to everyone's surprise. She knew she could always depend on him. It came as no surprise when eventually she found out she was expecting pups.

She had two pups, a male and a female. The male had a soft dusty look to his pelt, and was called Dust. No wolf was a match for his overflowing confidence. He often wandered off if unattended. The female was named Frozen sunrise, For her blue pelt marked with red. A perfect mix of both parents. They loved both of their pups dearly! They even started their own little pack with a couple other wolves. One day sunrise Returned from exploring to find her daughter gone, and her pupsitter asleep. It was later they found her. An eagle had snatched the unwatched pup...

She, river, and dust mourned for a long time. It was a while before river finally convinced her to leave the cave. She then vowed to never lose a puppy again in her pack.she diligently worked at getting the pack organized and instilling some sort of order to it.

time passed. Dust was now a strong young adult, who still had outmatched amounts of confidence. He had taken up scouting with his father. Both of them leaving on long trips, discovering new places. Their family bond was as strong as ever. She saw them off on each trip, watching them leave with a smile. "Soon things wouldn't be so quiet around the cave anymore" she thought, once again feeling her belly getting heavier.

Four more pups were soon running around the den. They were all loved and cared for. Unfortunately, their birth had come at a bad time. Winter raging outside, with no sign of easing up. Her pack had already been suffering, wolves had even resorted to leaving due to hunger. She had to face that she could not keep them, lest she loose them to a long painful death with empty bellies. She made the choice of which one she would keep, then left for the Center, a place where other wolf leaders often traded supplies and wolves. She found homes for them, the one remaining one now permanently stuck to her side. His name was Quartz. Now With no siblings to play with, he amused himself by watching the other pack members, he was rather keen and had learned a lot.

The winter had eased up, but it was definitely severe, and had taken its toll on the pack and on sunrise. Her viewpoint had hardened over her time as leader. Now, if wolves were no longer useful, they were chased out. She was untrusting of outside packs due to the actions of one wolf who had fled their pack and had found refuge with her. but soon she had been found committing a heinous act, and once again she fled a pack before sunrise could catch her. Now she only took in lone wolves if they would earn their keep. Her pack, although still small, was flourishing.

it was no time at all before, once again, she was expecting. She had another litter of 4 beautiful pups, again during winter. She was no stranger to the Center now, and knew that the pups would fare better there than in her pack. This decision was still a very hard one, but she knew the alternative with winters icy grip once again clawing outside. once again, she took the litter on the journey, and sent off all but one. His name would be Melting snow, as a reminder of the winters that cost her emotional heartache, and the hope that would rise from beneath it.

One day, she was spending the day in the center. Selling off carcasses that her hunters had caught. She heard a wolf calling out that they had claimed a loner, and would soon chase him off. Her interest piqued, she approached them. Tyr was her name. SHe had found the male wandering in her territory, and had given him a place in the pack, but now his usefulness had run its course. Sunrise followed Tyr back to her pack to meet the loner. She thought she could never again be surprised at what life threw at her, at least until she came face-to-face with Sunset. Her brother…

their reunion was bittersweet. They had just been pups the last time they saw each other. Of course she immediately took him in and set him up with his own den and offered a permanent place within her pack.

Once again she had a litter of pups. This time there were only two, and one of them sadly passed away soon after birth. Leaving her with the lone pup who she named Obsidian Snowflake For her white pelt covered in a flurry of black specks. Much like both snowflakes and the obsidian rocks covering their mountain home.

their pack had now become massive. Sporting almost 30 wolves. Several of them, even her own pups, had started their own families and had pups of their own. It always filled her with such joy knowing that she could now protect all the young ones from any danger and provide homes for the ones who had been chased out from their own packs.

however it wasn't much longer before she felt her age creeping up on her. She knew she needed to find a suitable heir to guide their pack after she and river were gone. She wanted one her own pups to take up the mantle. She thought of dust, as he was the most knowledgeable about how the pack ran and had a good heart, but he was older and she needed a younger one to take the lead. Around this time she had her final litter. One pup standing out among the others. She had the sharpest mind, for a pup her age. And she was a strong little bugger! She could take on pups who were several months older than her. She named her Morning Shadows.

she made sure to teach the young one everything she knew, drilling her on the tasks that needed done, and everything that needed maintaining. She always asked her opinion on how to settle things, and tried to teach her the qualities of being the best leader she could. Sunrise only hoped she would take these lessons to heart and be a good leader.

Several months later. She knew something was off with river. He hadn't gone on any hunting trips for a while now, and instead was spending time with everyone in the pack. A strange peacefulness in his eyes. They just spent the day together talking, About his childhood, his favorite memories, and all his fantastic adventures. Eventually he took her on a trip. He refused to tell her where they were going. " you'll just have to wait and see when we get there." He teased at her, which she just rolled her eyes at and chuckled. It took a while, and she was winded from the journey, but finally, they arrived at their destination. She didnt recognize it at first, but as she walked around the snowy clearing, the memories started trickling back. A dark night just like this, A wolf with an equally dark pelt, and a new scent which is now permanently burned into her memory. She suddenly found herself choked up, almost unable to speak. "I used to visit this place quite frequently back when i was a scout. I even got to bring dust here one time." He murmured. "This'll be the last time ill get to see it" he chuckled, trying to be lighthearted. Now she finally realized what was going on… she suddenly found it very hard to breath, harder still to get words out. Instead she just waked over and nuzzled in close. Wanting to make the most of the fading evening. They spent most of the night stargazing before heading back.

Rivers passing had hit her harder than she would have ever expected. Her world now shattered, she saw no reason to leave her cave, no reason to tend to the pack, no reason to even feed herself. If anything, she hoped her starvation would shorten her time here, all the sooner she could see River again. But as if the universe had some cruel sense of humor, she lived on. She lived to be one of the oldest wolves the pack had seen in fact. Now resigned to her cave for the rest of her life, Shadow had informally taken over the pack as the new leader, which sunrise was fine with as she knew her daughter would be a better leader than herself during her hardest time.

the last thing she remembered was drifting off to sleep after a fitful day of constant bombardment from bad memories and hurting. When she woke up, she could already feel something was different. She could feel Everything wrong suddenly fall away as if it was nothing more than water sprinkling off her back. Breathing in felt like she was lighter, suddenly floating. As she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was her mate, standing over her, mouth wide open with a grin, and eyes twinkling with so many unspoken emotions.