Aspen

Born far to the North, in the icy crags of the Tundra, Aspen was the only pup of his litter to survive. Food was often scarce, and the treacherous cliffs and slippery slopes of the ice were none too hospitable to a pup. Still, Aspen managed, mostly by the skin of his teeth; there were long, cold nights where it didn't seem like he would make it.

Yet that was nothing compared to when Zephyr was found. Discovered alone in a cave with no other wolves, he was on the brink of death, sure to not survive the night. Aspen, a little older and a little stronger, was so moved by the mystery pup's plight that he sought to help however he could. When Zephyr survived the transport to the pack's whelping den, Aspen laid beside him, keeping him warm through the night.

Zephyr survived, and the two became inseparable. Young as he was, Aspen was blinded by his enthusiasm for having a friend, and never questioned why he was given no more siblings. In fact, try as she might, the pack leader could not reliably get pregnant, and when she did... There were never any survivors.

Arctic wolves are suited to the Tundra, yet Aspen got the feeling they were not all natives. Several older members of the pack could not easily hunt in the cold, and food was harder and harder to obtain as Fall turned to Winter. Aspen was born in Spring, and could only watch as his packmates struggled, too young to reliably help.

Deep into the Winter, Zephyr awoke Aspen late in the night.

"...Mmmhuh?" Aspen blinked blearily up at his companion, a lanky, skinny adolescent with a permanently worried expression.

"Aspen, we have to go," said Zephyr gravely.

"Go where?" Aspen yawned, stretching his paws out in front of himself. Still confined to the whelping den, he had grown accustomed to the lack of his mother's warmth, but was already missing Zephyr's as the other paced in front of him.

"Away." Zephyr approached the mouth of the den and looked out across the snowy clearing, the little hovel they had created for themselves. "Far away, where the sun shines for more than a few hours a day."

Aspen pushed himself to his feet. "Away? From here? We can't leave here, Zeph. What about the others?"

Zephyr gave him a nervous glance. "They're... They're going to die, Aspen."

Staring at his companion for a long moment, Aspen slowly stepped closer, trying to look Zephyr in the face, unable to catch his gaze. "What do you mean?"

"There's no food," Zephyr said quickly. "And we lost our Herbalist. Remember?"

"She drowned," Aspen murmured, remembered how she'd falling through thin ice while collecting herbs.

"Exactly. Without her, it's only a matter of time before something befalls us all. We'll die here if we don't leave."

"We could take them with us."

Zephyr shook his head. "No! Don't you get it? They're too stubborn. They'd never leave. And your mother, she's too proud, Aspen. She would never admit defeat to a place like this."

Sitting back down, Aspen nervously scratched behind one ear. "Is this what happened to the pack you came from?"

Zephyr went quiet.

"Sorry." Aspen stood back up, giving himself a good shake. "Where would we even go?"

"There's a forest to the South," Zephyr explained, looking to Aspen briefly. "I've heard the Scouts talk about it. We could go there, settle down in a nice grove among the pine trees."

Looking out the mouth of the den for a moment, Aspen considered Zephyr's words. "How would we get there, though? We're just two wolves."

"A lot of wolves strike out on their own," Zephyr explained. "Usually at a year... I don't know that we have that luxury, though. We need to go now. It's only going to get worse here, and I don't... I don't want to see them die."

"Me neither."

The wind howled outside, picking up before slowly dying down. Aspen sighed. "Would we make our own pack?"

"Of course. And you would lead," said Zephyr. "I could help you. Advise you. We could gather packmates easily."

"If you say so." Aspen thought about it a little more, then began to wag his tail. "Could we have puppies?"

Zephyr smiled. "Yes! And they would survive!"

That sounded like a good deal. Aspen had always wanted to see more puppies. He bumped his shoulder against Zephyr's. "Alright. I guess... I guess it's a good idea. Can we come back and visit?"

"Someday."

In the following weeks, the two prepared for their journey, as much as two adolescents with no experience could do so. Aspen, young and naive, didn't think it was goodbye; he was sure he would see his mother and mentors again. Even if Zephyr said they were going to die, maybe without the strain of two pups, they would survive. 

Into the South, the pair faced many perils. Beasts of all kinds came for them, and they learned many a lesson about which prey animals were safe to bother or hunt. It was a miracle that they survived, though as their pasts had destined, it was by the width of a whisker that they did.

When the Taiga proved too close to the Tundra, and the Coniferous Forest proved too difficult to survive in, the two plunged into the river and made their way towards the Deciduous Forest. The swift current, however, took them both under.

Aspen awoke on the shore hours later, soaked and exhausted, with a black wolf looming over him. Tala, she said her name was. She effortlessly helped him reunite with Zephyr, and seemed to be the one responsible for the survival of them both.

(But why had they been separated if she rescued each of them...?)

She guided them to the base of a great tree, under which a den had been dug among the roots. The two set up shop, and just as mysteriously as she'd appeared, Tala vanished - leaving some carcasses and toys in her wake.

Having survived their ordeal, Aspen and Zephyr floundered for purpose, unsure of how to form a pack. It was then that Satsuki appeared. Reluctant to speak of her past, she took to the task of turning them into a proper pack with gusto, and within the next few days they had another member, Sol. The four of them put their heads together, and as Winter turned into Spring, Pine Grove was born.

Aspen leads the pack with a gentle paw, happily being the sire to as many pups as the pack can handle. Zephyr remains by his side, his stalwart companion, overseeing the pack efficiently and effectively. 

It wasn't long before Aspen realized that Zephyr had no intent of returning to the Tundra. So on his second birthday, Aspen trekked there alone, much more competent and confident than he'd been before.

Where his pack had been, he found naught but foxes having taken up residence in the dens. Still... he holds out hope.