⌘ Tyr ⌘

It was mossy soft where Tyr was born. She remembers it under her tiny paws. The pines and firs were tall and prickly, and the mountain streams were thin but fresh. She wasn't very old when she first left her den and got to experience the wonders of her home. The ground was always soft, soft, completely covered in moss, mostly green but also white. Her mother did not like it when she tried to climb in the fir trees. When she was a month or so old, there were Oh so many berries, growing everywhere on the ground. The red ones made her stick her tongue out, but her mother said they're good. The blue ones were delicious! One time she ate so many her tummy hurt! The black ones weren't as common, and while they weren't very tasty they had a nice crunch that she enjoyed. The yellow ones were a little sour but also super tasty! But you could only find those in the place where your paws sank down into the ground. Mamma said not to go there alone. She sounded more serious than she ever had, even more than when Tyr climbed 5 meters up a tree and almost fell. Tyr can still remember her mother bringing her out into the woods to teach her which berries to eat and which not to eat. It was important, the blue edible ones had to be small and round, not oval. Tyr learned quickly. Lingon, blåbär, kråkbär. Those were the round ones. Cloud shaped ones didn't grow on the ground and Tyr could only find them in certain places. Hjortron, hallon, björnbär. Bear berries? A bear is an animal, Tyr knew that, but she had never seen one until one day when she was almost two months and one walked close to their den. Mamma told Tyr that it would soon be winter - winter, what's that? - it means that it's cold and rain turns soft and white, and bears are gone, and after winter bears come back and Tyr has to stay away from bears because they might get angry at her. Tyr always listened to mothers serious voice, but her kind voice as well. Tyr remembers a lot from her home. The soft moss, the berries, her mother, the millions and millions of trees, the fresh and clear water, the tiny forest flowers. She's lucky, so very lucky, that what she remembers from there wasn't what the others remembered.

There weren't a lot of wolves where Tyr came from. They still met other wolves but there just weren't a lot of them and they didn't form big packs, mostly just small families. Tyrs family was just her and her mom, Tyr never really wondered why. The winter was very cold, and Tyr loved it. The snow made the ground several meters higher at some spots and the adolescent Tyr took advantage of it in order to climb trees easier! Oh how Tyr loved her world. Her home! 

-

She grew up. She did not remember much from her travels away from her home. As soon as she arrived at the place her mother had told her about, where wolves would be safe and not hunted like prey, she went to find somewhere that would feel like home. She found forests, they were nice but not quite like her home. At last she found the tall pine trees and that is where she decided to stay. It was nothing like home. The ground wasn't soft, it was different. There were other plants, they were greener and leafier. Well, it would have to do. She had been alone since she became an adolescent and she was planning to stay alone, but she found some friends, and then she found some pups and she couldn't let them be alone. Suddenly in this new place she was a mother, an alpha, a leader. It was strange, but she decided to be there for these wolves who needed her.

-

Tyr regained her sight, feeling blood streaming down her face. Fuck. She clenched her teeth and shook her head. Had she been unconcious? Or did she just lose her vision for a second? Her tongue instinctively reached out to clean the warm liquid running down her mouth. Urgh!

She opened her eyes to see the bear a bit away from her. She had won the fight, but at what cost? She was usually so careful!

Tyr went to the river to wash her face. The cold water stung her wounds, but she didn't want to go to Astrid all bloody and scare her for no reason. The blood did start running again by the time she came home, and Astrid carefully took care of Tyrs wounds while Tyr sat quiet in thought.

"There, should be all better soon. You should take it easy, stay here for a while. You'll heal, alpha, but you will have scars," Astrid said carefully. Tyr nodded, she could use a reminder of her recklessness. She laid down to rest, and laid her chin on her front leg to look up at Astrid.

"Astrid, can you inform Räv that I will be away for a few days?"

"But your wounds should stop bleeding in just a while and you should be ready to be up in some hours, alpha?" Astrid looked confused.

"Yes, in a few hours I will be on my way, so please inform Räv so that she has the time to come here with any potential questions before I leave."

-

It pained her to be away from her pack for that long, but it was necessary. The incident with the bear made her scared. Not for her safety, but for what will happen once she isn't there to lead her pack anymore. Most of the adults in her pack are pups that she raised, they still call her mamma. What happens when she dies? She had thought about it on her way home from the bear, her first thought was that, of course Björk should take over. He is the strongest male in the pack, the second strongest wolf in the pack but he surely will be the strongest by the time Tyr dies. But then he will surely be very old as well.. He is Tyrs oldest pup- well.. adoptive pup. Another thing, Tyr had pups before and they left the pack. Tyr didn't find them suitable for leadership anyway now that she thought about it. But was she suitable for leadership when her pack chose her? That's it! Maybe the pack will just choose the next heir once Tyr is dead! But what if they can't get along, what will happen to all the orphan pups? Surely Räv will care for them! Wait.. Räv is years older than Tyr and will also be dead by that time.. So is that it? Tyr dies, the pack dissembles, orphan pups get abandoned? Then what was it all for? Tyr had dipped her face in the water to cool down her thoughts while washing her wound.

It came down to this, Tyr was now on her way to survey suitable studs. It was a quest that would take days, but the only logical and easy way to choose a heir would be for the pack to feel a deep connection to one wolf, maybe they would feel like they owed that wolf something, perhaps their loyalty? The only way to do that would be for her to have a biological heir, one that tugged at their heartstrings with memories of their old leader. Someone needs to keep the pack together.

Tyr searched far and wide, spying on other packs territories from up in the trees, and following studs around, stalking them like prey, to see if they were any good. Sometimes she got bored of waiting for them to do something cool, so she revealed herself and growled at them, inviting them to fight. She needed to assess them somehow, didn't she? If she returns in heat looking for a male, they will forgive her anyway.

-

When Tyr stood up on the hill in front of the fallen tree, the pack in front of her went quiet. She had asked them to all come home from their duties with a howl, and they arrived quicker than she thought, probably due to her being away for multiple days. Tyr spotted Räv in the crowd and relaxed a bit.

"It is time to solidify this pack, with some rules for the future generations," she spoke loud and clear, "One day, I will die-"

A worried gasp and some muttering voices whispered through her pack and Tyr had to pause. Her pack was loyal and true, they are proving that her idea will work even before she has told them about it!

"Do not worry, my pups, I am planning to live a long life. A few days ago I acted recklessly in an encounter with a bear. I hope you all recognize me despite my scars, and that they remind you that even my life is not for ever," she scanned her pack and saw them listening intently, "One day I will have to leave you. But out of love for you, I will leave you with a gift. My gift to you will be a heir of my own flesh and blood, one that I have made and raised carefully to lead you in the future. Due to the positions sensitive nature, all pups of my bloodline who are not eligible to be chosen as heirs will have to leave the pack, to avoid conflict. As my heir will have to be born in years time, pups as well as grandpups will be able to be chosen, that is why the choice of who and when one out of my bloodline leaves the pack will be left my decision."

Tyr looked them over once, and then bowed her head, to which her whole pack responded with deep respectful bows, showing that they accept her decision. Tyr immedietly left the hill. She did not feel deserving of that respect. She hadn't fully made up her plan, but she had to tell them something to make up for being gone for so many days.

-

Tyr loved her pups more than she thought she would.

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