Snowflake

"Who the heck're you? Back off!"

This thin female is heavily scarred, and wobbles as she adopts a defensive posture. Her fur bristles, and her eyes - one gold, and one a pale, milky yellow - fix on you. A deep growl rumbles from her throat, and her lips curl to reveal her gleaming white teeth. You were warned about this one... Snowflake.

Snowflake was one of the first outsider pups to be taken into the Shenandoah Pack. Found by the scout Rappahannock, Snowflake is the sole survivor of a cougar attack that killed her mother and six siblings. She did not escape without scars, however, and would have died if she hadn't found a space between some tree roots that the cougar could not reach. 

From the beginning, Snowflake was a terror to the pack. At first, the aggression she displayed was attributed to pain and grief. Perhaps that is legitimately where it originated, but her disposition has barely improved over the years she's spent in the pack. 

You've heard some gossip that Snowflake wanted more than anything to be a hunter, but that her heavy limp dashed those dreams immediately. She nearly lost both of her hindlegs during the cougar attack, and even with the best care that Falcon and the black bear healer could provide, there was only so much that could be done. If the scars and missing digits are any indication, it's a testament to the healers' skill and dedication that Snowflake can even walk at all. Her only choice was to become a pupsitter... The least-liked pupsitter that all of the little ones dread to be watched by. 

Snowflake only tolerates the presence of two wolves -- Tikaani and Grizzly. She grew up alongside both of them, and enlisted a similarly grieving and angry Tikaani in her efforts to torment the other pups. Grizzly was the only wolf their age to not only withstand the bites and insults, but to try and offer friendship to them both in the early days. It took Snowflake longer to accept Grizzly than it took Tikaani, but now he is the only one that can calm her down without fail.

Some months ago, Snowflake disappeared from the pack for several weeks on end. Everyone was worried, and the scouts were sent to find her to ensure her safety. Neither Ambrose nor Rappahannock made a report, as Snowflake's trail "went cold" at the banks of a river to the northwest of the mountains. In truth, Rappahannock had scented her beyond the river, and indeed caught a glimpse of her. It had been a few weeks since her disappearance, and about one of those weeks consisted of the search. It had been enough time for Snowflake's pregnancy to become apparent. Rappahannock, having mated with Snowflake after a strange and particularly impassioned argument, immediately turned and walked in the other direction after the reality of the situation sank in. 

Snowflake became aware of her condition shortly after her friend Tikaani made it known that she was carrying pups. Seeing the attention and fawning that Tikaani had to rebuff was enough to convince Snowflake that she didn't want anyone to know about her own pregnancy. So, without a word to anyone, Snowflake snuck out one night and walked as far as she could. She dug a shallow den and lived off of meager scavenged scraps and dying birds and rodents that even she could catch. 

Going through the pregnancy without the support of her pack came with grave consequences. When the time came, she gave birth to five scrawny pups, two of whom died on the first night. Two more would grow weaker over the course of a week before succumbing. And the last, a grey and black pup who looked just like Snowflake's deceased mother, died in her sleep two days after opening her eyes. All of the pups were underweight, just as Snowflake was by the time her final pup perished.

Early on, Snowflake had secretly wished that none of her pups would be born alive. The idea of being a mother disgusted her; she never wanted to be seen as maternal, and being a pupsitter was bad enough. When that final pup died, though, Snowflake found herself sobbing. She tried for a while to revive the pup, licking and nuzzling it after it stopped breathing. It was no use, however.

When Snowflake returned to the pack a while later, she was sure to keep to herself. Any attempts to welcome her back or ask what happened were met with open hostility. She even gave Tikaani the cold shoulder, and did everything in her power to avoid seeing Tikaani's three healthy pups frolicking near Blackrock Burrow.

Grizzly was the only wolf she allowed within a few feet of her. In fact, she let him come close enough to lick her on the forehead, and she slept curled up at his side after eating the meals he brought to her. She knew he could see that what little milk she had was still drying up. But he never said a word... Never acknowledged that she came back lactating, but with no pups in tow. As usual, he knew just what kind of support she needed. 

As seasons rolled by, Snowflake recovered from the ordeal with Grizzly's help. She began to acquiesce to his requests to go on short walks to the lake and back with him, and she listened to his hunting stories. Where she once felt only jealousy at such stories, she began to feel differently. Snowflake still wished that she could be a hunter, but when Grizzly told his stories, it didn't feel as if he was bragging. She could almost place herself in the hunt, and it set her tail to thumping on the ground. And she was proud of him.

One night, when she and Grizzly were parting ways to their respective sleeping dens, Grizzly asked Snowflake if he could nuzzle her. The big, confident wolf was looking down at her with hope in his eyes. Before she knew what she was saying, she agreed. It was the beginning of a formal courtship that lasted for weeks. Snowflake was falling for her puppyhood friend, and she could hardly believe that she was letting such a thing happen to her. 

When Snowflake became pregnant with Grizzly's pups roughly a year after the loss of her first litter, she was initially alarmed. But rather than listening to her fears and running, she went to Grizzly this time. He was thrilled, and with a kiss, he asked her to be his mate. She leaned into him and agreed, letting herself feel the happiness that warmed her heart. This time would be different. 

And so it was, even if there was some concern at first. Snowflake was nest-ridden very early on in the pregnancy thanks to the size of the litter and the pups themselves. But, with her pack to care for her, Snowflake did not lose a single pup. All six of her and Grizzly's pups thrived, and eventually struck out to join other packs, or form packs of their own.