"There is no life, without death. Just as there is no death, without life. We're in a constant state of change. And it's not evil, or good. It just is. We need to accept that, adapt, and win. We need to show that we are the Storm Watchers. And we will survive."
Swallowtail led a life of harshness. Her mother was a vicious bachelorette, who cared only for pups she deemed beautiful and useful. Any pup not up to her standards she usually ran off. And unfortunately for Swallowtail, she did not meet her mother's standards. No, she was discarded and abandoned, just like her sister Fritillary, and her elder brother Firefly. The only kin she knew to survive being chased away by their mother.
Firefly had been born a season before Swallowtail and Fritillary, but stayed close to take care of other pups that may be runoff by their shared mother. And as Swallowtail grew older, she began to finally understand exactly what had taken place when she was but a young whelp. And she grew angry.
Bold and unafraid, she used that anger and turned it into something she could wield, something she could protect her siblings with; and became what measured up to as the protector. They worked together well enough, with Swallowtail being their main fighter, Fritillary being the agile sneak, and Firefly the one who cared for them and their wounds.
However, eventually both Firefly and Fritillary left, on to seek their own ways of life and to create their own family. Swallowtail had argued hard for them to stay, but... the choice was not hers, and in the end she simply paid them a soft and bittersweet goodbye before leaving quietly, turning away from them.
(The Starting Point)
She became a lone traveler for only a scant few months before meeting Seishin; a headstrong and confident male. It was a chance meeting during a hunt that nearly ended in a fight; the two grudgingly decided to work together. Afterall, two wolves were better then one, even if they both were ridiculously young.
They became fond of one another, and the two decided to settle in a territory. Their bond became one that played on the edge of romantic, and completely platonic. And then Swallowtail found Azalea. There was a bit of a rough period when Swallowtail worried about whether they'd be able to stay kind towards one another, but luckily her worries were unfounded.
As Swallowtail continued to find more wolves to join her ever-enlarging pack, there came new trials. There suddenly were multiple pups to look after, territories that needed to be scouted, herbalists and hunters and so much more. She took this in her stride, though.
There were wolves that had left. Ones that had decided they were too good for the pack, others that decided they just weren't fit. And then there were the ones that needed to be chased.
-tbc-
Although she never intended for her pack to become as large as it did, she's become a bit of a people-collector; a bleeding heart for most. Due to her names' similar origins with Fritillary and Firefly, she decided to define her pack via something she called name-lines; pupbearers or mothers were supposed to name any pup they had (adopted or otherwise) to something resembling their own or something that resembled their sire.
To date, she's had three pups that take after her name-line, all of which are (ironically) adopted, though she named the pups she bared after their sire.
With a recurring theme in the older males and females of the pack taking on younger cubs as apprentices, Swallowtail has been debating on whether to instate a packlaw for new generations to follow.
(Adopted cubs are Silk, Menelaus, and Pipevine; biological ones are Ruapehu, Arenul, and Namib.)
Themes;♩Chained to the Rhythm♩Pham - Movements♩
Stats: 200 + 101
Started with; Howlite base, fallow nose, oxblood skin, blue eyes; gray blanket 100%, black mantle 100%, yellow dilution 100%
Ended with:
Gen: 1
Pup Count: 3 living, 4 dead.
Spicebush Swallowtail
Northern Red Oak Sapling
Gambel Oak Sapling