Vaahtera

"I'll protect you. I'll stand by you if anything happens."

Name meaning

Maple tree.

Personality

Vaahtera is kind-hearted wolf who's made many mistakes, but works hard to become the best version of himself. He tries not to dwell on his regrets, but sometimes he needs a good nudge on his shoulder to remember to cut himself some slack. Once Vaahtera finds something that really matters to him, he dedicates all his time and effort to protect it.

Backstory

Vaahtera was born in a forest where wolves weren't very organized with their packs - everyone took mostly care of their own little circles. Vaahtera made a few good friends with some older wolves very early on and so, when his parents passed away due to old age, he already had a safety net to fall back on. There was enough food for everyone and nobody seemed to care that much about territories, which led to very few fights among wolves. All things considered, his childhood went leisurely and without a lot to worry about. Sometimes he wondered what laid outside the forest he'd known all his life, but his friends didn't seem to like the idea of leaving so he stayed as well.

When Vaahtera reached his adolescence, things changed. A pack of aggressive wolves came to the forest and when they realized how disorganized local wolves were, they took advantage of the situation. They treated everything and everyone selfishly, overhunting and treating others badly, and local wolves were unable to stop them. Vaahtera tried to convince his friends one more time to leave with him, but they were too fond of their home to be able to leave it behind. Vaahtera couldn't bear with the situation anymore; he had no choice but to go all by himself, leaving everything he'd known behind.

Although Vaahtera knew the basics of survival, the start of his journey was rough. He had to learn everything the hard way, from exploring new areas to finding shelter to hunting prey he'd never seen before. As time went on, he gained more experience and his skills improved. Still, there was an everlasting ache he couldn't name.

Finally Vaahtera's paws led him back to the forest he'd left behind years ago. He was shocked to see the current state of the forest: the aggressive wolf pack had met its end at the fangs of local wolves, but the forest had never recovered from the times of violence and bloodshed. Everyone was constantly fighting and food was scarce. This wasn't the home Vaahtera had known for so long.

Vaahtera didn't want to stay a moment longer than necessary, but he wanted to check on his old friends one last time - he was certain that this would be the last time he'd cast an eye on this place. To his surprise, his friends were now a couple and they had a daughter, Ruska. Despite his greatest efforts to convince them to leave with him, his friends refused, saying they were too old. Instead, they begged Vaahtera to take their daughter with him to someplace where she'd have a brighter future. Vaahtera couldn't say no.

Vaahtera made sure Ruska wouldn't forget her parents. He told her stories about his childhood with her parents, about all the adventures they'd had together and how their home had used to be. Vaahtera had no idea how much his stories would influence Ruska in the future.

It didn't take long before Vaahtera and Ruska found a small forest that was empty of wolves. Vaahtera decided to stop traveling for the time being in order to take care of Ruska, but as time went on, he realized he didn't want to leave the forest anymore. The ache inside him was gone.

When Ruska was roughly one year old, another wolf came to the forest. Koivu had fled from the forest where Ruska's parents lived and he was in search of a new, peaceful home. He told that a new pack of wolves had moved in and killed off all the weak wolves who hadn't been able to escape immediately. Unfortunately Ruska's parents hadn't made it. Vaahtera was thoroughly shocked and he regretted deeply not being able to convince his old friends to leave - that could have saved their lives. Ruska promised she'd keep this forest safe and, when Vaahtera voiced his regret, she assured that she held nothing against Vaahtera, as she believed nothing would've changed her parents' minds. Still, Vaahtera couldn't help but feel like he could've done so much more.

Soon after, the said pack of wolves arrived, having hunted down and killed all the weak creatures they could've found in the previous forest. A big battle ensued, but Vaahtera, Ruska and Koivu were able to chase the intruders off. For a moment, Vaahtera considered going after the intruders and killing them all in order to revenge his old friends' deaths. However, he knew that wouldn't bring his old friends back - and he'd seen what violence could do to a place. He didn't want that future for the forest they now called home.

That day, Ruska announced her desire to start leading her own pack Metsän Suojelijat, Forest Guards, and to dedicate her life for protecting the forest. She asked Vaahtera and Koivu if they wanted to be part of the pack; they agreed promptly. The guilt inside Vaahtera eased. Maybe he hadn't been able to save Ruska's parents, but he could dedicate his life for looking after Ruska.

Life in the forest was good. Vaahtera was happy to notice that Ruska and Koivu started to develop romantic feelings for each other. However, one day Ruska reached out for Vaahtera and admitted that she was worried about their rapidly evolving relationship. Vaahtera thought about his friends he'd left behind for years, only to lose them immediately after coming to see them. He thought about the ache that had accompanied him during his lonely years. He didn't want Ruska to have to look back years later after making the same mistakes he'd made, and so, he encouraged Ruska to not only trust her rational side, but embrace her emotional side as well. Soon Ruska gave birth to her and Koivu's two sons, Haapa and Huurre. Vaahtera couldn't have been happier.

Unfortunately, one of the puppies wandered off and was snatched up by an eagle. Later, when the remaining puppy had grown old enough, Koivu decided to start traveling and take the remaining puppy with him, even if Ruska couldn't join him due to her role as a leader and protector of the forest. Vaahtera couldn't believe Koivu could let Ruska down like this and he would've attacked Koivu, if Ruska hadn't stopped him. Ruska told she didn't want to hold Koivu back, and Vaahtera too understood Koivu couldn't live happily if they forced him to stay. Still, Vaahtera couldn't forgive Koivu, and he refused to say goodbye to him.

Now Vaahtera works hard to help Ruska in any way he can and be the friend she needs.