Shiruku (Deceased)

Shiruku: The Weary Thread

Shiruku is another weak pup born in Cherry Root's litter. She has a pale, pink-ish pelt with faint brown tones along her back. She has striking orange eyes and a black nose unlike her littermates. Because her mother was too old and busy with alpha duties to look after her, Shiruku was given away to another mother.

Kumo, her paternal grandmother and the one who named her and her brother, was the one to care for Shiruku. Although Kumo wasn't nursing any puppies yet when Shiruku was first given to her, she was definitely due to give birth in a week. When Kumo had a litter of four healthy pups, Cherry Root knew that Shiruku would be just fine in Kumo's care.



Once Shiruku and her siblings turned a month old, they were able to see each other and their mother again for a few hours. Shiruku was still not as strong as her littermates, but she is starting to get more healthy now. At their family reunion, Shiruku went with uncle Aoi and Kumo to see everyone. She got to talk to Queen Daybreak (Cherry Root's grand aunt), and her two newborn daughters. Shiruku was pretty shy to meet all of her family that was in the pack, and it certainly wasn't a small one. Even her great grandfather Ura, from her father's side of the family, is still alive, and she got to greet him too.

Torn Thread

Shiruku always felt something was off about her brother. He didn't like playing with his sisters, and rarely talked to his family. His step-mother, Cloudy Night, was the only wolf he actively talked to. Even then, it was rare. This made Shiruku a bit upset, and she always would try to cheer her brother up whenever she saw him.

One day, when her and her siblings were playing, Akira didn't seem too fond of Blossom and Skyberry's play wrestling. He was annoyed to the point where he lashed his anger out on Shiruku, who tried to ask him what was wrong. Cloudy Night was quick to carry Akira away, but poor Shiruku was left shaken and feeling pretty hurt. Not just physically, but emotionally. She wasn't sure what she did wrong, and she felt like her brother hated her. Nothing could prepare the poor pup for what would happen to her just a few days before turning 3 months.

Gore Warning Ahead

SpoilerOn an early summer morning, Shiruku and Akira were out in the oak tree forest not too far away from the pack. Though, the pups weren't close enough to safely get back home without facing any danger. They had snuck out an hour ago when it was still dark outside, and the sun was beginning to rise by the time they got to their destination.

"Hey, brother?" Shiruku looked towards Akira who had his back turned to her. He didn't respond to her. "Where are we? Why did you bring me out here?" Her questions were met with more silence, which made Shiruku more upset. She briefly looked back at the direction of where they came from; where the pack territory was. Her attention shifted back to Akira when she heard his pawsteps moving away from her.

"Brother! Why won't you answer?" She was quick to follow behind him, but Akira was still giving her the silent treatment. As the two ventured deeper into the oak forest, the scent of coyotes loomed in the air which made Shiruku nervous. After another few minutes of silently following Akira, the young male came to an abrupt stop. "A-Akira? You're making me nervous..." Shiruku had a slight whimper in her voice as all her attention was focused on her brother. Suddenly, Akira let out a high pitch howl. It made Shiruku rather uneasy as she knew coyotes were in the area. She ran up to her brother, staying by his side as she kept her eyes peeled and ears focused for any coyotes.

"I'm sorry Shiruku, but just know this isn't personal," Akira finally spoke up, turning to face his sister. Shiruku was confused about what he meant by that, but she had no time to react. The pale pup was suddenly pinned on her back as Akira nipped at her neck and paws. All she could do was squirm and yelp, which only drew the coyotes to their location. As soon as the sound of approaching pawsteps was heard by the two, Akira ran off back towards the direction of the pack. Shiruku quickly got back on her paws, but her movements were slow thanks to the bites on them.

She wasn't fast enough to escape the coyotes.

The young pup was torn to shreds from a group of four coyotes. Her pained shrieks and yelps rung throughout the forest, and the neighboring one too. Her throat was soon ripped out, her stomach torn open and the bones in her legs were pretty much crushed. By the time a few wolves from her pack rushed over to her aid, she was already dead. The sight was grizzly- unlike any coyote attack on a pup that the pack has seen. Usually, they wouldn't rip out the intestines of wolf pups if they were trying to kill them, but this pack was extra brutal in their killing of Shiruku.

The pack was quick to kill the coyote culprits to avenge Shiruku's death, and Cherry Root was left to mourn the death of her precious daughter alongside her family. Nobody knew what really happened to spark the coyote attack. They only knew that Akira and Shiruku ran for their lives, but Shiruku wasn't able to run fast enough.

The puppy was buried at sunset, on the same day that she died. Cherry Root, Daybreak and Kumo never left the grave, however. They stayed there the whole night, silently mourning the death of their fallen kin. Cherry Root and Kumo never forgave themselves for allowing Akira and Shiruku to sneak off like that, and after the coyote incident, all of the pack pups were being monitored closely at all times of the day.