Alder

Adopted by Willow and Shadow from the enclave shortly after the two became pair bonds. His adoptive siblings include Pebble, Snapdragon, Augustine, and Rowan. He was three and a half months old at the time and had little to no memory of his biological family other than they were from the Autumn Leaf Pack.

Given to Xavier for pupsitting.

Rowan and himself began spending more time together.

Soon on in his new life in the Western Crow's Haven Pack Alder decided he wanted to be an herbalist when he was older, as he liked the idea of being able to help others.

His adoptive mother and father adopted his newest sibling, Carnation.

Alder's mother and father brought home Branch, another pup they'd adopted.

Became an adolescent and began training under Nulberry.

Alder began to suspect Nulberry didn't like him, so naturally, he found someone to vent to, in this case being his sister Pebble, who seemed already disgusted with Nulberry for reasons unknown.

Got a new adoptive brother, Wiley.

After rigorous training as an adolescent in herbalism, Alder became an adult and took over fully as Nulberry quickly left the pack.

Alder quickly felt pressure building as he realized being a full herbalist was harder than being an apprentice. He felt like he was never home anymore, and barely got any sleep with the constant foraging and remembering all the herbs, which also gave him headaches from time to time.

In an attempt to soothe a really bad headache, Alder took a day off, but he felt bad knowing his predecessor, Nulberry, would've looked down on him for it.

Started talking with a wolf who was somewhat new in the pack, Quisca. She worked as a finisher and replaced August when he left the pack.

Salem came to him with a deep leg wound from a scouting mission, it was Alder's first real injury since becoming an herbalist.

His mother and father adopted another sibling, Mimus, who wasn't bad company. He did have a habit of mocking others though.

While out collecting herbs, Quisca went with him to help. The two didn't bring much back, they'd been too busy chatting and frolicking around like pups.

Zorro came to him coughing, with a hardened nose and pads. Alder diagnosed him with distemper and encouraged the rest of the pack to stay away from him, something they already did. Quisca worried for Alder and tried to offer her help with a cure, but he didn't want to risk her catching it.

After hours of work, Alder came up with a cure for distemper, and it worked. Alder pitied the pup still as he observed the rest of the pack avoiding him like a plague even after they had been told he was safe.

Scry wondered over to him with a case of Pox, Alder was able to immediately begin a cure for her, but he worried if any of the other wolves in the pack would catch it.

He and Quisca went out for a run, Alder asked her one question, and by the time the two came back to the clearing they were pair-bonded.

His sister, Snapdragon, and Scry both woke up sick, they came to him and Alder diagnosed Snap with Pox, and Scry with a cough. He easily cured both illnesses but began to wonder about Scry's immune system as she had just given birth and had Pox during her pregnancy. Alder also began wondering if there would be an outbreak of Pox.

Quisca must've caught some kind of puppy fever because she began pestering him about starting their own family after she saw Scry's newborns. Alder just wasn't ready yet, and Quisca backed off a bit.

His mother became pregnant with her final litter, Alder was excited to meet the new siblings.

Willow gave birth to three pups, one of which died at birth. The two surviving pups she and Shadow named Spider and Brook. Alder spent his time hovering over his new brother and sister out of fear that something may happen to them as it did to their littermate. He felt responsible as the pack herbalist.

His littlest sister, Brook, was taken to the enclave and traded by their mother. Shadow gave out the news to him and his other siblings. Alder was a bit sad over it but knew it was in the best interest of the pack considering it was getting a bit crowded and supplies were getting hard to keep.

Welcomed his older sister Pebble into the "not forever alone club" he just formed in her honor. Pebble seemed to find it funny, but it didn't get as big a response as he had hoped. Either way, he was happy to see her happy with Zorro.

Spider left the pack. Alder hated to hear that he left, and he felt that if he had been able to save his littermate just maybe he could still have someone to be there for him.

Was able to confirm for his older sister Pebble that she was expecting, Alder was a bit confused at first when he sat down and started thinking about it. he was going to be an uncle.

Alder had never had more than two wolves come to him in the same day, and rarely did he see more than one a week. Thena, Mimus, and Zorro all came to him with different illnesses, Mimus a heatstroke, Thena distemper, and Zorro just a rough cough. Mimus worried him more than any.

His mate came to him with a small delivery of herbs he didn't have the time to fetch but needed. She let it slip that she wasn't feeling all too great and Alder needed to know his mate was okay before he could worry about anyone else. and he had already dealt with Mimus so he felt comfortable making Quis his next priority.

Finally, after his busiest day yet was over, Alder took a moment to visit Pebble and her newborns. He enjoyed the pups' company and something about them made him happy.

Alder never had a relationship with his sister, Snapdragon, but when it became obvious to him that she was pregnant he wondered why he hadn't at least heard from his mother or other siblings? Finally, he figured she kept it a secret and decided not to tell as it wasn't his place to.

As he left camp to grab some more herbs for his stocks, he caught the familiar, yet changed by pregnancy, scent of Snapdragon. She followed him unstealthily until they came far enough from camp. She fumbled out of some bushes and met him with a swollen belly. He remained unsurprised even though this was his first good look at her in a while. The two mumbled awkward greetings and he began to collect herbs along the tree line of the glade they had ended up in. She got to the point quickly and addressed her pregnancy, and how she never meant for pups. In the end Alder was faced with a question, "Will you take these pups?" He wanted to say no, that he wasn't ready for that yet, but after a silent moment he answered quietly, "I uh, sure, I'll have to speak with Quis of course, but I'm certain she wouldn't mind being a mother to another wolf's pups. I think adoption was always on the slab for us. And this way we'll still be family no matter what."

He returned to camp with a small bundle of dandelions. Snapdragon had asked him to come back with Quisca and he planned to. He honestly didn't know why he said he would take the pups, he really didn't feel ready, but being on the spot, it seemed like it wouldn't be so bad. He drug his questioning mate through the woods and met Snapdragon once more. She seemed nervous and Quisca's questions silenced.

It had been just under a week since he and Quis agreed to take Snap's pups. He looked forward to meeting them and knew they would be here any day now. They had all three agreed Snapdragon would just be an aunt, but part of Alder felt guilty. And how would they be fed? Quisca had no milk, and Snapdragon couldn't be seen nursing. It was a terribly unformed plan, but they could make it work.

Snapdragon gave birth outside of camp in a make-shift nest, he had brought a couple things along with him in case there was any complications, but the birth went smoothly. He felt guilty carrying the pups back, something about the longing look Snapdragon gave them as they left, each carrying two pups. None of them looked like him or Quis, two of them were blue gray, one looked suspiciously like Scry, and the only girl was a muted brown with gray unders. He guessed their biological father would've been Sulley buy coloring alone, who left the pack with ill timing if he was indeed a father now. They might could pull it off. Quisca came from another pack, no one knew her parents and for all they knew, they were blue gray. Perhaps his biologicals were too, or at least looked something like Scry.

Upon coming into camp, he and his mate were pretty quickly met with the questioning gazes of his mother and a few siblings. Quisca made up a lie of the pups being born sooner than thought so they weren't in camp. Rowan and his mother seemed skeptical, but allowed them the nursing den to themselves.

He and Quisca finally decided names for their pups. Slate, Murk, Dusk, and Dove. Admittedly not the best names, but somewhat suitable.