Omen Readers pack lore [read only]

Introduction

The Omen Readers are a pack that is a safe haven for prophets. It is where those with the Omen's Gift can come to learn on how to develop and grow their skills, how to control their sight without being afraid of their own gift. The pack was originally started by the current pack leader, Meadow, accompanied by his mate, Hornet. The pack welcomes a variety of wolves, varying from those with the Omen's Gift to those who do not have the gift but accept the wolves that do, and swearing to protect them from any lone or pack wolves that dare to harm them. But news of the Omen Readers is spreading fast between pack wolves and travelling wolves alike, and sooner or later someone may decide to turn on the pack from within their own ranks.

The Pack

Meadow ~ The pack's alpha male and founder of the Omen Readers. Has the Omen's Gift. 

Hornet ~ The packs alpha female and long life friend and mate of Meadow. Does not have the Omen's Gift. 

Blue ~ The first wolf to join the Omen Readers, the packs caretaker for pups. Has the Omen's gift, however, it is very weak. 

Shade ~ One of the pack hunters. Has the Omen's Gift and it is overwhelmingly prominent, to the point it may surpass Meadow's gift.

Marrow ~ One of the pack hunters. Has the Omen's Gift and has some of the best control over his ability compared to any other wolf in the pack. Works with those who have trouble developing their gift.

Amber ~ One of the pack hunters. It is unknown if she has the Omen's Gift as Amber somehow joined the ranks of the pack with her charms alone. 

Dune ~ The second scout for the pack. While he has less experience of travelling and discovering new lands compared to his older companion, Cyclone, he shows promise of staying by the pack's side. Does not have the Omen's Gift. 

Castor ~ The pack's herbalist. While it is hard for the pack to trust his abilities as a healer due to his very clumsy and forgetful nature, Meadow has full confidence in his growing ability as the pack's herbalist. Does not have the Omen's Gift. 

Ash ~ The first born daughter to Meadow and Hornet. Since she was very young, Ash had shown promise of having the Omen's Gift, but is neither happy or proud of this fact, and has chosen not to develop her gift against Meadow's wishes.

Honey ~ The second born daughter to Meadow and Hornet. Despite her sister's obvious abilities, Honey has never had any promise of the Omen's Gift and is very much aware of this, but tries to look past it. 

Quicksand ~ Originally brought to the pack as a pup, Quicksand is the first wolf to have been brought in by another pack to develop his Omen's Gift. Meadow allowed him to have regular visits back to his original pack, but Quicksand's loyalties now lie with the Omen Readers. 

Dionysus ~ To stay by his brother's side, Dionysus willingly left his original pack and joined the Omen Readers so he could stay next to Quicksand. He does not have the Omen's Gift but is an avid supporter of his brother and those who are helping him develop his ability.

Osiris ~ Joining the pack as a protector of those with the gift, Osiris is... a strange addition to the pack. But as a wolf with a lot of energy who's more than willing to attend hunting parties, he's not an unwelcome one. 

Artemis ~ Daughter of Marrow and Amber and bearer of the Omen's Gift, Artemis is a very determined member of the Omen Readers, especially since she was the only one out of the litter to be blessed with the gift. 

Apollo ~ One of the sons of Marrow and Amber, Apollo was originally a lot closer with his sister Artemis when they were both pups. But as they grew, Apollo eventually started spending more time with his brother as Artemis continued to develop her Omen's Gift. He does feel a little bit left behind by his sister, but he doesn't express this out loud.

Julius ~ As the other son of Marrow and Amber, Julius was always a little bit of a loner growing up. He looks up to his sister and greatly appreciates his brother, but wishes he felt like he had more of a place in the pack. 

Joker ~ Despite being the first son of Meadow and Hornet, Joker is a rather... strange male. He's not weird, per se, just seems to keep to himself most of the time. He's not opposed to company, but it's more often than not to see him by himself. 

Smoke ~ From a very young age, Smoke has always idolised her older sister Ash due to their very similar markings and that Ash wasn't afraid to speak up against their father or mother. Smoke tries to make herself act like Ash, but every once in a while this facade is broken.

The Deceased

Cyclone ~ The pack's first scout. She was chosen as the pack's scout due to her already extensive knowledge in travelling long before she joined the pack itself.

The Future

Meadow and Hornet take a moment to talk about their current pack members, and what might happen to the pack in the future

~

"The pack seems to be growing well," Hornet said as she approached Meadow. Meadow replied with a nod, watching the pack as they continued their day. The youngest of the pack, Ash, Honey, Quicksand and Dionysus all sat together conversing their day. Hunters sat together, and Castor sat with the two scouts Cyclone and Dune, asking them if they saw any new herbs while out on their journey. Amber and Marrow sat further away from the pack, with their pups running around them.

"It seems so," Meadow said, turning to his mate with a wag of his tail. Hornet sat next to him, scanning over the pack members herself.

"I'm slightly worried," Hornet said. Meadow blinked with surprise.

"Why?"

"Word is starting to get out about the Omen Readers,"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not if it attracts the attention of those who think wolves with the Omen's Gift are cursed," Hornet explained. Meadow paused. He hadn't even considered that. Would wolves really come to intentionally disband the pack? Perhaps it was something Meadow should've seen from the beginning. Instead he shrugged.

"Well, the wolves with the Omen's Gift haven't alerted me to anything. And I haven't received any sort of vision that would tell us about the pack's downfall," Meadow reassured.

"Still, I feel we should prepare. In case the worst is still yet to come," Hornet said. Meadow tilted his head when he realized Hornet seemed to be glaring at someone. Following her gaze, it lead to Amber.

"Has Amber done something?" Meadow asked.

"No. Not yet," Hornet growled. "We still don't know why she's here."

"She doesn't need to tell us if she doesn't want to," Meadow stated.

"Still. She has yet to show any implication that her reasoning for being here is with good intentions," Hornet said. "Marrow's a good wolf. I don't want him getting involved with someone who could possibly be a traitor. Even if Amber is the mother of these new pups."

"I think you're worrying too much," Meadow said.

"I'm still going to keep an eye on her," Hornet said. 

"Fine, do what you want, just don't annoy her too much," Meadow insisted. His eye drifted away from the happy pair, to Shade who was currently sitting with the other hunters and staring at the two. Meadow let out a sigh. "I'm sad for Shade."

It was Hornet's turn to tilt her head, and she looked over at Shade. "Ah. So his crush on Amber has yet to go away?"

Meadow stared at Hornet. "Amber? I thought he was interested in Marrow?"

The alphas stared at each other for a moment before turning back to Shade.

"Oh dear,"

The Seers

Marrow, as the teacher of the pack, has once again taken the other wolves with the Omen's Gift out to strengthen and control their gift. While the other's are fine with their abilities, Ash continues to question why they are doing this.

~

"Well, Ash? How are you doing?" Marrow asked, directing his attention from Quicksand to Ash. Quicksand, who previously had his eyes closed to better focus on his task, opened his eyes and turned to Ash as well. Ash snorted, and turned her head away.

"This is stupid," she muttered. The other two wolves with the gift, Quicksand and Shade, shoot glances at each other while Marrow lets out a sigh.

"This again?" He asked. "You know your father wants me to teach you-"

"You don't have to listen to everything he says," Ash interrupted. "It's not like he's threatening to kick you out of the pack if you don't do as your told."

"I do this because I want to. Because I know this gift can be scary, so I want to teach others how to not be afraid of it," Marrow explained. "You haven't given it a chance." 

"I know I don't want to with Shade over there waking up screaming whenever he has a bad dream because of the "gift"," Ash said, nodding her head over to the older wolf. Shade flattened his ears and looked away.

"Ash-" Quicksand started.

"Shut it, Quicksand," Ash snapped. "Don't you hate this too? You were left here, by your pack, just because of this stupid- this stupid thing. It's not fair. None of this is fair. We shouldn't be continuing this, we should just stop this entire thing and hope and the Omen's Gift will go away completely."

Everyone went silent. It wasn't until a long pause went by that Ash glared at the others around her.

"Well? What do you have to say to that?" She accused.

"...You can't be serious," Shade said.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Ash asked.

"Meadow wants us to carry on this gift, not destroy it. I know- I know I'm not a great example of it, but surely you don't actually want to go against his wishes?" Shade asked.

"I never asked to be included in this stupid plan," Ash snapped. "I don't care if the gift is rare, or that wolves with it are treated as outcasts- whatever. It's not something that can thrive peacefully. If anything, it'll cause more trouble than it already has."

"Ash, this isn't right," Quicksand said with a soft voice. Ash glared at him.

"Out of everyone here, you should be the one who actually understands," she growled. Quicksand startled slightly, and backed away from her. Ash huffed, and started walking away.

"I don't care what my dad says. Don't include me in this ever again,"

Siblings and Gifts

While Honey no longer needs to stay in the cave made for the pups, pupsitters and healer, she still frequently visits the pack pupsitter Blue to ask for advice.

~

"It's been a while since I've seen you in here," Blue teased, her tail wagging slightly behind her. Honey let out a huff through her nose, and dropped some prey between her and the pupsitter.

"We've been having to hunt a lot more now, especially with Amber and her new pups," Honey explained, flopping down with a relaxed sigh. "How are they, by the way?"

"Oh, they're wonderful. The girl has already been showing signs of having the Omen's Gift. Her brothers on the other hand may be a little lacking, or not have anything at all, but that's fine," Blue stated, leaning forward and sniffing the food. She was about to take a bite before noticing the other wolf's ear flick. Blue raised her head and tilted it to the side. "What's wrong?"

"You seem to be really fixated on whether pups have the gift or not," Honey said quietly.

"Oh Honey, I know it was really hard for you growing up with everyone fawning over Ash and her gift, but I can assure you, you are just as equal as your sister. Gift or not," Blue reassured.

"I know, but I mean... my dad is so focused on showing the good side to this gift and making sure it thrives and I feel like I'm just... getting in the way? Especially since Ash is already so amazing and I'm just..." Honey trailed off.

"You shouldn't talk about yourself like that," Blue said softly. "It may be bad now, but eventually you'll feel like you've found a place in this pack. Besides, Dionysus is in the same situation as you, right? And you get along with him. And there are a lot more wolves here who don't have the gift compared to those who do."

"...I guess you're right," Honey mumbled. "I still just feel like I should be doing more, or... or something."

"You have time. You're still young. Now come on, eat some of this wonderful food you've brought for us and tell me about your day, hm?" Blue suggested. Honey forced out a grin and tore out a piece of prey to chew on.

It was always nice visiting Blue, in Honey's opinion.

She was always just someone who could help get her thoughts in order.

Loyalty

With no word on why Amber joined the Omen Readers, Hornet finally decides to drive her out of the pack based on the suspicion that she may be here to disband the pack.

~

"I think you need to leave," Amber looks up from the piece of prey she was currently gnawing on to see the Omen Readers very own Hornet. Amber's ear flicks.

"Evening to you too, Hornet. Were you hoping I was gonna share?" Amber says, risking a tease at the alpha. Hornet's glare grows harsher as she looks down at Amber. 

"You need to leave. Now," Hornet says, her front lip curling up. Amber stares at her, her eyes half-lidded. She blinks. She blinks again. Then she dips her head down to take another bite of her food. "Are you listening!?"

"I'm not leaving," Amber says through a mouthful of food. Hornet starts to growl an takes a step forward, her claws digging into the ground beneath her.

"That wasn't a request, that was a demand. Now move," Hornet snarls. Amber blinks at her again. Then she stands up and Hornet lets her growl die down, thinking she's managed to make Amber leave. But instead of turning tail and leaving the territory, Amber instead gets closer to Hornet. "What are you-"

"I hope you don't mind me asking, dear alpha," Amber starts. "But why am I being kicked out so suddenly?"

"No one knows why you're here," Hornet spits. "We don't know if you're here to develop the omen's gift - if you even have that -, if you're here to be an onlooker, or here to eventually bring down the pack. And with how you're being, I have reason to assume you're here for the latter."

Whatever Amber is thinking, it is not portrayed on her face at all. Hornet is about to snarl at her again when Amber moves back and goes back to eating her food. "Are you braindead!?" Hornet snaps.

"I'm not here to do any of those things," Amber says. 

"Then what-"

"I'm waiting for someone," Amber states. Hornet pauses for a moment in complete disbelief.

"...What?" Amber lets out an annoyed sigh and looks back up at Hornet.

"My sister. She was chased out of my old pack for having the omen's gift. No one in the pack tried to stop it, not even me. But eventually I left and went to go find her. I'm... hoping she'll catch word of the Omen Readers and find her way here," Amber explains. The two wolves stare at each other for a long while. "...Well, if that's all you're gonna say-"

"What if she's dead?" Hornet asks.

"She's not dead," Amber snaps. "She's smarter than that. She's built to survive. More than I am. She'll find her way here, eventually." 

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Amber shrugs.

"Didn't realize it was such a big requirement to be here," she says. "Now buzz off, would ya? You're really ruining my dinner here."

"...I can tell Meadow to look out for your sister," Hornet says quietly. Amber stops midbite. "If that's alright with you."

"...Yeah. Yeah, it's alright,"

Uncontrolled

With the most prominent gift in the pack, Shade often has moments where he will suddenly receive an omen. Most often at the worst of times.

~

"The tracks end here," Shade states, lifting his head from the hoof prints below him. The chasers immediately split up to find where the doe may have gone. Marrow, however, stays by Shade's side.

"You would think as the tracker of our group, you would use your gift to know where the prey is," Marrow teases. Shade's ears grow hot.

"I'd rather not have it ruin the hunt," Shade grumbles. Marrow glances at him.

"It would help if you practiced more, I think," Marrow says. "So you know how to use it in everyday situations. Instead of living in fear of it."

"That ain't really the case though," Shade huffs. "It's never... it's never something small. Like a pebble getting stuck in my paw or something. It's always... it's always something big. Something awful."

"Like what?" Marrow asks, fully turning to Shade with a questioning look. Shade looks away from him, staring at the grass below him.

"...A mountain. And there's a blizzard. And I can see- I can see purple eyes. Just ahead of me," Shade explains. "I have no idea what it means. But it can't be anything good."

Marrow takes a moment to think over Shade's words. "...Has it changed at all?" Shade shakes his head.

"No. It's always that. I'm not sure if I should tell Meadow about it, because it could be nothing. But... I'm not sure. I don't think it is," he explains. Marrow huffs a sigh. The two wolves suddenly look to a rustling bush, where Amber walks out.

"Dionysus found the doe. Keeping an eye on it so I could find you two," she says with a grin. Marrow walks to join her side. Shade only stares at the two for a moment before following along. And sure enough, they make it to the other two chasers Honey and Dionysus, keeping an eye on a grazing doe.

"There are some rapids not too far from here," Honey whispers. "If we chase her towards them, we can trap her."

"If she doesn't decide to try and jump into them, that is," Dionysus whispers back. 

"Alright. Honey, Dionysus, you take the sides. Marrow and I will take up the back," Amber says. The two younger wolves nod and take up their spots. "You're not a half-bad tracker yourself, Shade." Amber says, turning back to the black wolf to wink at him. Shade's ear flicks.

"Whatever,"

Shade stays crouched with Marrow and Amber, watching Honey and Dionysus slowly approach the doe.

Shade suddenly sees a snowflake drift past his nose.

He stares at it for a moment, wondering why there's a single snowflake in the middle of Summer. Another one floats down. Then another. And another.

And suddenly he's in the mountains, snow howling past him, biting and burrowing under his fur, making him shiver uncontrollably. He looks around, trying to pick up Marrow's scent or see Amber's russet fur. Instead he sees purple eyes in front of him.

And a figure.

There was always a figure but it was barely seen. Now it seems more clear. Shade can almost see who it is.

"What are you?!" He yells. The figure steps forward.

A white wolf stares back at him. And it throws its head back and laughs. It carries out through the wind, echoing against invisible walls and ringing in Shade's ears.

Shade starts running. But no matter how far away he thinks he's getting from the white wolf, the laughing is still loud in his ears. He wants it to stop. He wants the laughing to stop.

"SHADE!"

The doe shrieks and runs away from Shade as he runs towards it. Unprepared, Honey and Dionysus still try to chase after it. Marrow runs ahead to catch up with them while Amber rushes to Shade's side.

"What's wrong? What happened??" She questions, her voice full of worry. Shade is now rooted to the ground, his claws digging into the earth while his legs shake.

"We have to warn Meadow,"

The White Wolf

With Shade's warning now open to the pack, worry has spread like wildfire throughout the members. Meadow has tried to keep them calm, but even he is slightly worried with how fast the pack is growing, so he decides to turn to the rest of the wolves with the Omen's Gift for opinions.

~

"Y-...You're taking it seriously?" Shade asks, almost bewildered. Meadow turns to him and gives him a curt nod.

"Of course I am. Especially since everyone else in the pack has decided to do the same," he explains, then turns to the rest of the wolves gathered around him. "Has anyone else received a vision similar to Shade's?"

Marrow shakes his head. "Nothing of the sort. I've only been receiving visions of the next few days and nothing has a white wolf."

Cyclone and Blue glance at each other before turning back to Meadow. "Cyclone and I haven't gotten anything. Our gifts are still very weak and since we're not developing them, I doubt we will get anything of the sort," Blue explains.

"Still, it's one hell of a strange vision," Cyclone says with a huff. "It gets cold here, sure, but it's not like we get that much snow from what Shade described. Especially since we're more in the valley compared to being in the actual mountains."

"I know what I saw," Shade suddenly says. Cyclone blinks at him.

"I wasn't denyin' what you saw, kid. I was just giving everyone my input, s'all," she says. Meadow turns to Artemis, and tilts his head questioningly at her. She shakes her head.

"I-... I still don't have much in my training," the younger wolf says. "But I haven't seen anything like that. I'll let you know as soon as I do though." she says. Meadow sighs and finally turns to Quicksand, who's staring down at his paws.

"...Quicksand? Have you received anything?" Meadow asks quietly. Quicksand pauses and shakes his head.

"N-no, I'm just- I'm just thinking..." he slowly lifts his head up to look at Shade. "I-It wasn't Dionysus, was it? My brother? He- he can't be the white wolf... right?" Quicksand says quietly, as if he was afraid to ask the question.

"...I..." Shade starts. "I didn't see the wolf that well. But... I'm certain it wasn't your brother. And the wolf's eyes were definitely purple, not blue." He explains. Quicksand quickly lets out a sigh of relief and turns to Meadow.

"I haven't seen anything," he says. Meadow lets out a huff while his ear flicks, his gaze turning towards the empty part of the den.

"...And I assume Ash hasn't told any of your if she's seen anything?" Meadow asks.

"Quicksand and I tried to talk to her before coming to this meeting," Marrow says. "If she has seen anything similar to Shade's vision, she's not being open about it."

"Of course she isn't..." Meadow says under his breath. "For now we'll have to keep our pack closed to outsiders. Even if they're blessed with the Omen's Gift." Meadow says that part to the rest of the group.

"Wait- what?" Marrow interrupts. "But- but Amber-"

"I know you're concerned about Amber's sister," Meadow says bluntly. "But this is for the good of the pack."

"Good of the pack?" Shade says in disbelief. "You formed this pack to help wolves like us. Why should we suddenly excuse them?"

"Because of your vision," Meadow says with a more harsh tone. "Don't let your feelings get mixed up in all of this, I'm sure Amber will understand."

"M- Fe- what?" Shade stutters with a suddenly flustered look.

"Meadow you can't do this," Blue says, stepping closer to Meadow. "This is the only known haven for those with the Omen's Gift. If we close off our territory, what will they do?"

"I don't want to do this," Meadow says. The den goes silent. "But if this vision that Shade has received really is something to warn us of on-coming danger, I don't want the pack to be destroyed because of it. I'm... I'm hoping we will eventually be able to let wolves join the pack again but for now, this is the best thing we can do."

The wolves all glance at each other. Cyclone stands up.

"Well. If that's your decision, then there's no point in us trying to stop it," she says. "That all for today?"

"...Yes. You may all leave now," Meadow says quietly, turning to take his own leave. The other wolves slowly trailed out of the den, Shade and Marrow being left alone. Shade looks to Marrow.

"...Look, the thing about what Meadow said-"

"How am I supposed to tell her?" Shade stops when Marrow interrupts him. "She's... she's been so worried about her sister ever since she joined the pack. And when Hornet told her they would keep an eye out for her, she was the most hopeful I had ever seen her," Marrow turns to Shade with a pleading look in his eyes. "How am I supposed to tell her they won't let her join the pack now?"

Shade doesn't know what to say. And after a long, agonizing silence, Marrow goes back to looking at his paws. But instead of leaving him alone, Shade walks up to Marrow and sits down beside him, close enough that his fur was brushing against the other's, but only slightly.

"...I can help you tell her. If you want," Shade says quietly. Marrow doesn't say anything. "Be... be emotional support. For the both of you. As- as thanks for helping me as best as you can."

"..."

Marrow leans against Shade.

"Thank you,"

"...It's no problem. Really,"

Loss

With the sudden death of one of the scouts Cyclone, the pack is thrown into a state of grieving while also trying to look out for any enemies at any moment. Dune, the other pack scout, takes a moment to sit where Cyclone was buried, not expecting to be joined by anyone else.

~

"...Hello, Dune," a voice says. Dune turns his head around to see the pack pupsitter, Blue, approaching him.

"...Hey," Dune says quietly. Blue silently sits next to him and they both bow their heads, looking at the patch of ground that was still disturbed from the recent dig.

"...Were you close?" Blue asks quietly. Dune nods.

"A little. We could talk to each other, since we were both already travellers from before joining the pack," he explains. "But Cyclone knew more. She taught me how to safely explore new lands, tips for finding new things in lands I already knew. She was a good teacher... and a good friend."

Blue hums in agreement. Dune glances at the other wolf. "...How about you?" Blue's fur bristles. "Oh, you don't- you don't have to answer-"

"No, it's fine," Blue says, cutting off Dune. She lets out a sigh. "...We were both the first wolves Meadow and Hornet brought into the pack. So we had a lot of time to get to know each other." Blue pauses. Dune tilts his head. "...We only got closer recently. Realized we had a lot more in common than we thought. And..."

"...You loved her?" Dune says quietly. Blue hesitates, but eventually nods. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," Blue says with another sigh. "We both knew what a risk it might be. Seeing how we were already both so old. But I don't think we expected it to be... this soon."

"Do you regret it?" Dune asks. Blue takes a moment to think.

"No. Even if it was short, I'm glad we took that chance near the end of our lives. So... no. I don't regret it," Blue says.

"...That's good," Dune says.

"At least we'll be together again soon," Blue says, resting a paw on the mound of dirt.

"You seem very calm about that," Dune says. Blue's ear flicks.

"I was scared when I was younger. But... Now I'm not. Now I know I've done everything I wanted to do and I can calmly... Pass on," she explains. Dune stays quiet.

And the two sat there for a very long time, silently helping each other through their own grief.