T’nox Zver

// C O N T . _//\\ F R O M _//\\ M E R ' L O P T I Č K A \\

Mer'Loptička and her mate, Mrazivý Zû went in search of T'nox Zver to discuss matters of the pack more logically. They walked to the center of the island, close to where the earlier discussion was held. There was a small rocky pond with a creek leading away from it. The creek spiraled through the forest, branching off in every direction. Feeding the rocky pond was a small waterfall, flowing down from the highest point on the island where fresh spring water miraculously bubbled up from the underground. A waterfall on a floating island is nothing short of magical.

Mer'Loptička pawed at the water's edge, creating ripples to call her friend up to the surface. Bubbles appeared. About a wolf's length away, T'nox Zver emerged. Her thick and oily fur almost immediatly fluffed up after breaking through the water. You see, the magic of the island helped sweet T'nox Zver in her search for isolation. As she found her place in the pack was on the outskirts, she woke each morning with better and better adaptations to survive underwater. Under the water she could truly be alone, free from the legacies left by her grandwolves. The guppies and hellbenders do not bother her with the expectations of the pack.

T'nox Zver said nothing, but swam over to her friends and shook off. "Did you listen to the discussion?" Mer'Loptička asked her. "Yes." T'nox Zver responded. The three wolves looked around the forest, and despite finding no one listening, they choose to walk back to the privacy of the glacier's edge. The wind howling up and down the island, grating through The Valley Below, kept voices from inside the forest from being heard, kept voices from the glaciers edge from being heard, the only thing it seemed incapable of muting where the screams of Shadow Stalkers. The three wolves talked until almost the first light. They discussed the packs fears, the fears of the other forest creatures, and the dreadful fact that no creature yet understands where magic comes from. How do we keep the magic on our island from running out?

"What if one day the water stops running?" Mer'Loptička knew she could show her vulnerable, worried side to her close friends. Mrazivý Zû nuzzled into her side. They had been talking for hours. T'nox Zver practically rolled her eyes. As if that most precious to her could be taken away. She wouldn't allow it. All the same, she indulged her friend. "IF the waterfall dries up and the creeks disappear, then we will have to leave the island and try traveling south. If any of the rotten things happen people have started worrying themselves with, then we will have to leave the island and try traveling south." T'nox Zver took a slow and deliberate breath. She locked eyes with Mer'Loptička. "You know there is no point worrying, there is nothing that can be solved until there is an actual problem. You're just tired, we all are." Mrazivý Zû tried to wrap the conversation up so they could all go get some rest. "Being tired won't help ease the minds of the forest. What can we do to calm people's thoughts?" Mer'Loptička sighed. "Tomorrow we will bring back as much large game as we can carry. I will talk to Najá Pré about stocking up on supplies. She can also work with the creatures to devise a way to carry rations, should the pack need to move quickly." The leader looked back at her loyal friends, and smirked. "... should the pack need to move quickly... in a calm and organized fashion." The three of them chuckled a little, nuzzled, and T'nox Zver left them to return to her pond.

B A C K G R O U N D

On her mother, Drevo Nox's side, T'nox Zver has the legacy of Dobré Nox. Dobré Nox was a Realgar foundling, an oddity and a treasure. He was recovered and trained by the one and only Zoskok. Zoskok was the second leader Calm Day ever had. He was imaginative and gentle. Most of the pack was foundlings when Zoskok found Dobré Nox. Back then he was a young wolf, and Zoskok showed him the importance of being a kind leader. Dobré Nox took over leadership when Zoskok died and sired over 1,200 pups! He was everything Morning Rush, the founder of Calm Day, and Zoskok had hoped for in a leader.

On her father, Zver's side, T'nox Zver has the legacy of T'Loptička and the burdensome reputation of her father. T'Loptička, her grandmother, was a foundling who never took a misstep. She did nothing but help provide for the pack and always took as few rations as she could. She saved as much as possible for the pups and elders. She could push herself to starvation for the pack and would always bounce back! Everyone knew her and everyone loved her. Her son, Zver, inherited her ability to survive extreme situations, but some how missed the lesson in generosity. Zver was known for always showing off his strength, joking, and generally acting brash and beastly. He was liked well enough, but his immaturity began a division in the pack. Creatures began discussing and asking- what did the future of Calm Day look like? When T'nox Zver was born, everyone began wondering aloud- would she be more like her father or her grandmother and grandfather?

Feeling immense pressure by everyone to live up to the reputation of her mother's father, and her father's mother, and feeling constantly criticized by her father's poor decisions, T'nox Zver shied away from the pack. She lingered on the edge of the glacier whenever it wasn't time to go on a hunt. She found caves outside the forest to sleep in. Wolves whispered judgements back and forth, gossiping about how she must have been relieved to not be chosen to lead after her father's passing. "What would her grandfather say?" Why were the strengths and weaknesses of the pack being placed solely on her shoulders? The only wolf T'nox Zver felt she could talk to was her cousin and the current pack leader, Mer'Loptička.

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