River was the son of Starlit Pond and Brimstone. After he was weaned, he was mostly raised by his father, Pond loved him deeply and spent almost all of his time with him while he was young.
Brim always came home with wonderful stories, tales of her travels and the legends she heard, River was thrilled whenever she was home, they would stay up late in the hollow to hear her tales.
River was fascinated by the legends, both him and Pond were involved as much as they could be when the events of Coigreach occurred, traveling and gathering what stories they could to help. Storytelling was River's passion, he loved when he could go with his mother on scouting trips and talk to other wolves, to share tales.
Cub chose the name Winding River for him to celebrate his love of stories, the winding tales brought down from wolf to wolf.