Heartlands' Story - Tracker & Lore

Day 27 (Jan 21st, 2021) Winter 4, Y1

Some wolves were still suspicious of Hazelpaw, most notably Snowtuft and Redtail, who kept their distance with the silent she-wolf, and always seemed to keep one eye on her. They were intimidating to Hazelpaw, who avoided them when she could, though Barnaby had long since excused her from the weekly dinners.

“Members who are a part of this pack must act like it.” he had said.

Sleekshade likes to hang out with her, but sometimes it was hard and discouraging to when he could not understand her. One-sided conversations began to grow tiresome, and he slowly found himself hanging out with her less and less. So, long day, an idea came from Hazelpaw. While he was free of his duties, she came to him in greeting, and performed a series of odd actions and movement. Sleekshade was utterly confused.

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.” He said. She patted one paw on her chest, “You…?” a nod of confirmation, and then she mimics walking somewhere, “you’re walking.” she shakes her head. “You’re...you’re leaving?” he speaks tentatively, but her head-shake distills his worry, “you’re going somewhere?” she wobbles her paw and expresses a look of ‘so-so.’ He guesses it meant he was half right.

It takes a while, but finally she manages to charade a sentence to him: I’m going to teach you how to understand me. When he finally figured it out, she wagged her tail in happiness. She taught him the simple stuff first: words that required the movement of only one body part, as well as some common phrases. Some of them were easy, especially movements that conveyed emotion. But then there were the harder ones that took a bit longer to comprehend. She was incredibly patient, though, something he was thankful for.

When Barnaby arrived to inform him that the Windrunners were up to hunt, he told him of what he and Hazelpaw had been doing. Barnaby seemed pleased.

“That’s good. Then perhaps you can help teach the rest of the pack how to understand her. I don’t want her to sit around camp all day doing nothing. She’ll join the Frostfangs as soon as you teach Yellowfang and Sootvine how to understand her.” Inwardly, Sleekshade groaned. He knew those two would have no patience trying to understand her like he did. Some members might never even bother to learn enough to have a conversation with her; a thought that made him disappointed.

Leader: Barnaby

Heir: Sleekshade

Herbalist: Robinwish (Apprentice: Swiftpaw)

Scouts: Snowtuft (Apprentice: Pricklepaw) & Redtail

Hunters: 

(Sunseekers) Austin, Whitestorm, Velvetwing, Owlfrost, Ourwin

(Frostfangs) Yellowfang, Sootvine

(Windrunners) Jessie, Sleekshade, Stormpelt

Pupsitters: 

Warriors: 

Pups:

OOC: Hazelpaw is teaching what I like to call ‘Wolven Sign Language (WSL)’ :’D I’m making a separate Google doc of what it is as we speakkkk.

Day 28 (Jan 22nd, 2021) Winter 5, Y1

A young, rogue male arrives days after finding the pup, claiming to be a former pack member of the pup’s mother. Many wolves are skeptical, but he proves himself by describing the pup and mother’s appearance, as well as describing with great detail how the former pack was.

“Many wolves broke off from the pack. A ruthless leader settled in and...did some terrible things.” He went on to explain those ‘terrible’ things, and by the end of it, many of the wolves listening agreed on the word choice.

The distressed pup confirms the story. The male, who introduces himself as William, asks if he can stay. “Me and Eagle have the best chances here, in a pack,” he says, “It looks like you guys have a good thing going for you all...please. I promise I’ll pull my weight.”

Eagle’s name is changed to Eaglepup, and William agrees to change his name to Pinepaw. Because of course Barnaby accepts a new member, much to the chagrin of other wolves.

Days later, Barnaby assigns Hazelpaw to help Yellowfang and Sootvine in hunting. As expected, they complain about it, and so the leader leaves it up to his heir to solve the problem. As much as they hate what they consider to be a waste of time, they still listen to Sleekshade as he goes over the basics of what he’s learned, being occasionally corrected by Hazelpaw, as she always joins in on the sessions.

Leader: Barnaby

Heir: Sleekshade

Herbalist: Robinwish (Apprentice: Swiftpaw)

Scouts: Snowtuft (Apprentice: Pricklepaw) & Redtail

Hunters: 

(Sunseekers) Austin, Whitestorm, Velvetwing, Owlfrost (Apprentice: Pinepaw), Ourwin

(Frostfangs) Yellowfang, Sootvine, Hazelpaw

(Windrunners) Jessie, Sleekshade (Apprentice: Hazelpaw), Stormpelt

Pupsitters:

Warriors: 

Pups: Eaglepup

OOC: Okay, I can explain...I did not get Pinepaw from the TC. He was a NBW...a beautiful, simple, 3 marking NBW. Not chased, no special. But he just… Like, imma be honest, he is the perfect partner for [REDACTED]. I used to click ‘Befriend’ on wolves just to see what I’d get, not to try and actually befriend them, but I couldn’t give him up.

I’m consuming 35 food uses per rollover oml. My perma cap is 25, and now I won’t even look at NBWs in explore. Okay? Addiction phase over.

~ Intermission ~

How do roles work in lore?

Hunters are the bulk of the pack's source of food. They keep inventory of both food and other items as well, and give out rations in the event food is scarce. There are the two main groups: [5] Sunseekers (Friendly and Romantic) and [5] Frostfangs (Aggressive and Stoic). Ideally, wolves should never be removed from these groups. The sub-groups, [3-5] Windrunners (Friendly and Romantic) and [3-5] Deepfeeders (Aggressive and Stoic), hunt more so for experience, and members may switch between jobs when the situation calls for it. Sub-group wolves, if applicable and not destined for something else, will go to a main group when a member dies.

Scouts explore beyond the territory, tasked with taking note of other pack locations, watching out for incoming danger, and sending messages. With permission, they may also go to auctions to bring in potential members. Also called Spies.

The Herbalist aids in both physical and psychological healing, and will be trained to deal with both. Additionally, they pertain knowledge of herbs and other plants used to make spices and drinks. Also called Chef.

Pupsitters are often females who have unweaned pups, but that is not always the case. Pupsitters are both sitters and teachers, keeping an eye on children while teaching pups of the pack's culture, history, and rules. Also called Teachers. OOC, this role is only given to wolves who won’t breed for a long time, or who won’t breed at all.

Apprentices--adolescents who have reached 6 months--train under a mentor who teaches them the basics and intermediate levels of hunting, fighting, and herbalism. They ensure that any elders and nursing she-wolves are comfortable and have what they need. The role of the mentor does not correspond to the future role of the teen. It is entirely possible for a Hunter-mentor to teach a wolf who will grow up as a teacher, for example.

How Is a Scout Chosen?

Two starter wolves remain as Scouts for as long as possible, until all biomes are fully explored. Once this happens, two young wolves without roles (ideally favored wolves of their generation) will re-scout to earn levels and proficiency. The initial two wolves will either retire as Pupsitters or become Hunters. The new Scouts will remain Scouts forever, and when the Lead wolf dies (which is likely to happen if the Scouts chosen are young), they will explore all biomes until they die. If the Scouts die before all biomes are discovered (unlikely), then Hunters from the sub-Hunter groups will become the new, likely permanent, Scout.

~~~

Wow all I had to do was copy paste and somehow these boards managed to butcher the font sizes. Like, all I wanted to do was increase the size and somehow it managed to just f everything up. Looks wonky af.

Day 29 (Jan 23rd, 2021) Winter 6, Y1

The last newcomers settle in. Hazelpaw and Pinepaw are taught by Sleekshade and Owlfrost, respectively, on the laws, customs, and traditions of Heartlands. Hazelpaw is nearing the end of her apprenticeship, and will be getting her warrior name soon. As promised, Pinepaw pulls his weight and joins the Windrunners in their hunting. He also helps Robinwish in assisting Eaglepup, who seems to be getting better and displaying more of his personality. Though still somewhat withdrawn, he follows Robinwish around and likes to see what others are doing, expressing interest in the customs of Heartlands, and asking Swiftpaw and Pricklepaw lots of questions on how it feels to be an apprentice.

“It feels great! You get to leave camp without people having to escort you, but you always gotta let someone know you’re leaving, which kind of sucks.” Said Pricklepaw, continuing on to tell him more of the benefits of being an apprentice, and then saying, “Apprentices are supposed to help the elderly with like, fleas and stuff, and make sure they can get around camp and have their needs fulfilled, but we don’t have any elderly yet. And I think by the time we do, me and Swiftpaw won’t be apprentices anymore.”

“I missed it when we didn’t have to hunt our own prey all the time,” Swiftpaw groaned, “And it’s always so cold.”

But the winter chills were starting to leave, and the snow stopped falling for the rest of the season. Only frozen patches of ice and snow remained now, slippery and packed.

Word gets out that Whitestorm and Owlfrost are officially mates. The wolves congratulate the official couple. When Yellowfang finds out, it’s not a pleasant scene. Though no one not close to her knows the context, they see her storm of the den in a fury of raised hackles and bared fangs, citing expletive words. Sootvine notices it, too, and races out after her.

“What’s wrong?” he asks. They’re well away from the camp now, the thick trees blocking out most of the afternoon light. She turns around in a whirl of fury and anger, and for a moment he thinks she’s ready to attack on sight, until her eyes close and she remains where she

“Whitestorm was supposed to be my mate,” she began, grimacing as if to hold back pain, “Then that [EXPLETIVE] Owlfrost joins the pack with her [EXPLETIVE] kids and now he’s all over her instead.”

Sootvine was speechless at first, watching her standing there, sobbing over Whitestorm.

“How selfish are you?” he can tell by the way her eyes open a little wider that the response has caught her off guard, “Oh, boo-hoo, Whitestorm doesn’t like me, so I’m going to complain and whine about it and stare at them being all happy and lovey dovey from across the camp like I’m planning murder,” She doesn’t speak, but he continues on, “You’re not gaining anything by rueing their relationship, and they’re not losing anything by you hating them. You’re so busy being spiteful that you don’t even notice how much I like you, and how much I want you.” Nothing but anger and disappointment displayed across his face. When she remained speechless still, he shook his head and walked away. There was no sadness in his mind or heart. Only disappointment.

Later that day, just before the Frostfangs were sent out to hunt, Yellowfang came up to him to apologize.

“You’re right, Sootvine. I was being selfish,” she went on, before finally ending it with, “I love you too.” She placed her forehead on his chest, and he placed his head on hers, allowing himself to forgive her as he bathed in her scent.

Leader: Barnaby

Heir: Sleekshade

Herbalist: Robinwish (Apprentice: Swiftpaw)

Scouts: Snowtuft (Apprentice: Pricklepaw) & Redtail

Hunters: 

(Sunseekers) Austin, Whitestorm, Velvetwing, Owlfrost (Apprentice: Pinepaw), Ourwin

(Frostfangs) Yellowfang, Sootvine, Hazelpaw

(Windrunners) Jessie, Sleekshade (Apprentice: Hazelpaw), Pinepaw, Stormpelt

Pupsitters:

Warriors: 

Pups: Eaglepup

OOC: I am on my 28th rollover, so I won’t get the quest until the 25th, or Day 30. This is why I said 25th and not 24th.

Also, I moved to the Riparian Woodland :D Ever since finding out that buying 5 uses of a background meant only being able to put it on 1 wolf at a time (instead of 5 wolves at a time), I found no need to wait until Summer Y2 to move. I was saving up SC to buy a bunch of bgs and decor, but there’s no point now. Now my SC is used for scrying and future ultrasounds :’D

So we’ve got Austin x Robinwish, Sootvine x Yellowfang, and Whitestorm x Owlfrost as official mates. And you all know, wolves mate for life...wonder who else will make the commitment? They’re all gonna make such beautiful pups (I’d know, I’ve scried hehe).

I’m considering making Robinwish a hunter OOCly. She earns exp so agonizingly slow. If she becomes a hunter, she’ll be listed in brackets.

Day 30 (Jan 24th, 2021) Spring 1, Y2

Sootvine goes up to Redtail telling him the good news.

“Me and Yellowfang are mates now. I wanted to let you know first before we told anybody,” he says confidently. Redtail laughs jokingly.

“Me and Snowtuft have been mates for a while now, but she refuses to have pups with me. Don't worry, though, I'll convince her, and when I do, we're going to have the strongest and largest pups this pack has ever had.” it was his turn to boast.

Sleekshade was nearly proficient in the sign language Hazelpaw used. He still got words wrong every now and then, but could otherwise understand most sentence formations. Speaking of Hazelpaw...it was time for her ceremony!

“Wolves of Heartlands, gather here in the center for a pack meeting,” On the day of her ceremony, there was a small chilly breeze, but the air was otherwise warm and welcoming. The forest was damp from a recent light shower, “Hazelpaw, come forth.”

The silent she-wolf got up from the front of the crowd and stalked her way across the open space, nervous but excited, “You have studied hard to understand the ways of the pack, and have come far in your training to be where you are now. You are ready to become a true warrior of Heartlands. Sleekshade is proud to have been your mentor.

“From this day forward, you will be known as Hazelglow. Heartlands honors your perseverance and tenacity, and we feel blessed to have you with us.” As the wolves shouted her new name, Barnaby decided to give her a lick on her head. It was not a part of the ceremony to do it, but he was glad he had decided to take her in, a wolf who could have so easily been ignored and left to fend for herself over a defect she could not control.

As usual, Hazelglow was required to walk the entire perimeter in silence; not like the latter would be any difficult. Sleekshade offers to go with her, but Barnaby stops him. “This is a journey she must make on her own. You no longer need to watch over her now.”

But he still wanted to.

Eaglepup has his apprenticing ceremony days later. Pinepaw had wanted to be his mentor, but the wolves felt it not right to arrive such a fresh newcomer to train the youth. “You’re not ready to take on an apprentice. You must become a warrior first.”

Eaglepaw is given Sootvine as a mentor. He feels the man to be kinder than Redtail, but more harsh as a teacher than Velvetwing might be, who was the second option. Eaglepaw needed someone who could channel the rest of his sadness into a healthy dose of courage and bravery. He was a large, strong boy. He could handle it.

When Sootvine and Yellowfang come out as mates, wolves congratulate them. Austin jokes, “Couples everywhere! We should have the Tournament a little early, eh?'' Although wolves laugh, Barnaby actually likes the idea, making some wolves laugh even more. Whitestorm and Owlfrost particularly enjoy the idea… they plan to try for puppies soon.

Leader: Barnaby

Heir: Sleekshade

Herbalist: Robinwish (Apprentice: Swiftpaw)

Scouts: Snowtuft (Apprentice: Pricklepaw) & Redtail

Hunters: 

(Sunseekers) Austin, Whitestorm, Velvetwing, Owlfrost (Apprentice: Pinepaw), Ourwin

(Frostfangs) Yellowfang, Sootvine (Apprentice: Eaglepaw), Hazelglow

(Windrunners) Jessie, Sleekshade, Pinepaw, Stormpelt

Pupsitters:

Warriors: 

Pups:

OOC: One and a half hours til rollover~ Bought an elk heart for Snowtuft. We need this aging lady to have her children asap

Day 31 (Jan 25th, 2021) Spring 2, Y2

Tournament of Champions!

Barnaby was serious when he said the tournament was being held early. Plants and herbs have already grown back to life, though spring was not yet at its full vibrancy. Only the faintest chill breeze reminded them of the winter they had endured, yet the sky was often bright and cheery, masked only by clouds that brought the occasional shower.

On the day of the ceremony, literally everyone decided to join in. This was their first, after all, and they were excited to see who was better than the other. 

Now listen up, reader, because I'm only going to explain this once. The way the Tournament works is this: there is the adult division, and the adolescent division. Wolves are normally paired by how close their total stats are to each other at the beginning of the rollover. Sometimes they're paired for IC reasons. In the event there is an odd number of wolves participating, a dice roll will determine who gets to skip Round I and join Round II, but only if the total number of wolves is 7, 11, 15, 19, or 23.

This game is based off dice rolls. Five dice will be rolled for each wolf in a fight. Whoever has more high points than the other wins. For example:

Wolf A: 58/71/65/57/53 of 304

Wolf B: 84/84/72/77/81 of 398

Wolf A's rolls: 2/62/11/31/6=2

Wolf B's rolls: 21/11/57/14/57=3

Wolf B wins!

And then Wolf B moves on to the next round.

A health update is given to Wolf B. His total stats (398) minus the max strength of his opponent (58) determines how much health he has left (398-58=340, which is 85.4% health left).

This is done for all wolves in all rounds, until there are only 2 or 3 wolves left. The last round works differently. In the event there are only 2 wolves left, the only things that matter is their strength and remaining health. Whoever has the least amount of health before the round begins gets to go first. A dice roll between 0-their max strength determines how much damage they do. Whoever gets to 19.9% health first loses. 

A 3-wolf fight works a bit differently. They fight a 1v1v1. Wolves attack in order of lowest to highest health. A two sided die determines who the wolf attacks, and the order listed under ‘Round #’ is essentially what number they correspond to. Like this:

Round III

Ourwin 53Str (194 of 260) 74.6%

Redtail 84Str (306 of 398) 76.9%

Barnaby 42Str (185 of 266) 69.5%

Barnaby attacks first. A d2 roll determines he attacks Redtail (who, due to order, is '2').

But, if Ourwin had attacked first, then Redtail would be '1' and Barnaby '2'.

Now that I explained how the game works, you can try it if you want. With how many wolves I have, it takes a while to finish the whole thing, but it's fun!

“Now that I've picked everyone's partner, I'm going to remind people that there will be no death-locks, no breaking bones, no maiming of any kind. Feel free to rip each other’s ears, bleed, bruise, break a nail--whatever. But no going for anything on the face except the muzzle and cheeks, don't go for anyone's genitals, and if you ever find purchase on somebody's stomach, be mindful of how much damage you're causing. Robinwish and Swiftpaw will immediately aid both opponents when a wolf gives up. The winner has one week to rest and heal up before the next round starts. May the best wolf win!”

Round One

Adolescent Division - 3 wolves

Swiftpaw vs Pricklepaw vs Eaglepaw

Adult Division - 16 wolves

Pinepaw vs Stormpelt

Sleekshade vs Jessie

Robinwish vs Hazelglow

Velvetwing vs Austin

Whitestorm vs Ourwin

Owlfrost vs Barnaby

Sootvine vs Yellowfang

Snowtuft vs Redtail

---

Swiftpaw 41Str (219) 100%

Pricklepaw 41Str (219) 100%

Eaglepaw 56Str (278) 100%

SWIFT attacks PRICKLE for 6 damage!

PRICKLE attacks SWIFT for 40 damage!

EAGLE attacks SWIFT for 8 damage!

Swift: (171 of 219) 78%

Prickle: (213 of 219) 97.2%

Eagle: (278 of 278) 100%

SWIFT attacks PRICKLE for 9 damage!

PRICKLE attacks EAGLE for 5 damage!

EAGLE attacks PRICKLE for 28 damage!

Swift: (171 of 219) 78%

Prickle: (176 of 219) 80.4%

Eagle: (273 of 278) 98.2%

SWIFT attacks EAGLE for 24 damage!

PRICKLE attacks SWIFT for 18 damage!

EAGLE attacks SWIFT for 47 damage!

Swift: (106 of 219) 48.4%

Prickle: (176 of 219) 80.4%

Eagle: (249 of 278) 89.6%

SWIFT attacks EAGLE for 32 damage!

PRICKLE attacks EAGLE for 28 damage!

EAGLE attacks PRICKLE for 29 damage!

Swift: (106 of 219) 48.4%

Prickle: (147 of 219) 67.1%

Eagle: (189 of 278) 68%

SWIFT attacks EAGLE for 30 damage!

PRICKLE attacks SWIFT for 16 damage!

EAGLE attacks SWIFT for 7 damage!

Swift: (83 of 219) 37.9%

Prickle: (147 of 219) 67.1%

Eagle: (159 of 278) 57.2%

SWIFT attacks EAGLE for 28 damage!

EAGLE attacks SWIFT for 27 damage!

PRICKLE attacks EAGLE for 12 damage!

Swift: (56 of 219) 25.6%

Prickle: (147 of 219) 67.1%

Eagle: (119 of 278) 42.8%

SWIFT attacks EAGLE for 34 damage!

EAGLE attacks PRICKLE for 15 damage!

PRICKLE attacks SWIFT for 4 damage!

Swift: (52 of 219) 23.7%

Prickle: (132 of 219) 60.3%

Eagle: (85 of 278) 30.6%

SWIFT attacks EAGLE for 38 damage!

EAGLE attacks SWIFT for 5 damage!

PRICKLE attacks SWIFT for 12 damage!

Swiftpaw is out!

Eaglepaw is out!

Pricklepaw wins!

As expected, Pricklepaw is mighty proud of herself for coming out on top. Swiftpaw is just glad it's over, and limps away to Robinwish. Eaglepaw congratulates her on winning, but states he'll get her next time, “If you don't lose to someone else first!” Owlfrost licks Pricklepaw's head in praise, but the girl don't need no kisses!

“I'm not a child anymore!” she insists, but allows her mother to give kisses anyway.

Pinepaw: 224; 30/11/3/5/21=2

Stormpelt: 227; 21/39/26/20/10=3. 184 health.

Pinepaw fights valiantly, but Stormpelt comes out victorious. Stormpelt wins!

Sleekshade: 227; 42/20/26/43/14=2

Jessie: 227; 43/18/27/40/29=3. 176 health.

It’s a close, good match, but eventually Jessie keeps Sleekshade in a headlock. Jessie wins!

Robinwish: 293; 6/29/6/3/16=0

Hazelglow: 297; 53/45/27/51/55=5. 234 health.

The two wolves are evenly matched at first, but Robinwish makes a fatal miscalculation on a lunge, and cannot recuperate from her mistake. Hazelglow wins!

Velvetwing: 313; 2/7/50/54/1=1

Austin: 330; 14/27/13/61/87=4. 246 health.

Velvetwing, though agile, struggles to keep up with the energetic and fast-paced wolf. He tires her out before going in for the hold. Austin wins!

Whitestorm: 334; 14/71/80/17/16=4. 213 health.

Ourwin: 348; 83/44/26/9/5=1.

Ourwin's superior strength makes Whitestorm take a lot of blows, but he manages to use his unique hunting tactics to get the upper hand. Whitestorm wins!

Owlfrost: 353; 51/18/22/47/15=3. 250 health.

Barnaby: 388; 34/52/7/18/25=2

Barnaby tries to outsmart her, but Owlfrost catches his plan in the act and uses it against him. Owlfrost wins!

Sootvine: 385; 53/93/1/58/28=3. 314 health.

Yellowfang: 445; 11/57/31/24/67=2

The two lovers don't hold back on each other, both wolves wanting to win. In the end, Sootvine wins!

Redtail: 549; 70/61/78/64/98=3. 466 health.

Snowtuft: 513; 49/67/33/74/56=2

Redtail knows Snowtuft can take his mighty blows. The battle is fierce and even, but eventually Redtail wins!

During the week-long break, the camp is alive and bustling with energy. Wolves brag and congratulate each other, gather herbs, tend to Robinwish's reviving garden, and take advantage of the growing prey population. Overall, everyone was having a good time. Barnaby thanks Austin for the idea of the Tournament, but he wasn't the only one to do so.

Though she lost, Snowtuft accepts Redtail's offer to a secret celebration together, complete with a stronger dose of special drinks and the herbs Snowtuft had found over a season ago, “Might as well make it stronger, right?” he reasons, “Since drinking is prohibited and all. Who knows when we'll be able to do this again?” Their alibi is scouting, but in reality the wolves will stay just outside of Heartlands territory to do their taboo.

Round Two

Stormpelt vs Jessie

Hazelglow vs Austin

Whitestorm vs Owlfrost

Sootvine vs Redtail

Stormpelt: 184; 54/29/12/27/23=2

Jessie: 176; 19/3/26/49/55=3. 121 health.

Stormpelt seems to be winning at first, but eventually Jessie comes out on top. Jessie wins!

Hazelglow: 234; 40/29/50/43/55=2

Austin: 246; 48/60/22/43/44=2. 182 health.

Tie! A reroll of Wisdom gives 13 and 59. The wolves are completely matched throughout their fight, and eventually Barnaby stops the fight to prevent too much damage. Assessing wounds, he determines that Hazelglow has more of them, and states that Austin wins!

Whitestorm: 213; 34/29/18/43/30=2

Owlfrost: 250; 45/70/65/15/14=3. 192 health.

Whitestorm refuses to fully try, not wanting to harm his mate. Oh well, his loss! Owlfrost wins!

Sootvine: 314; 3/88/76/67/52=4. 186 health.

Redtail: 466; 87/69/45/43/26=1

It's a hard and bloody match, but much to Redtail's dismay, Sootvine wins!

Day 32 (Jan 26th, 2021) Spring 3, Y2

Tournament of Champions Part II!

Round Three

Jessie vs Austin

Owlfrost vs Sootvine

Jessie: 121; 31/7/1/46/40=3. 72 health.

Austin: 182; 14/2/4/59/30=2

It was a rough start for both wolves, with a lot of mistakes being made, but eventually Jessie wins!

Owlfrost: 192; 52/79/63/19/1=3. 126 health.

Sootvine: 186; 33/23/31/53/32=2. 130 health.

Many wolves had honestly thought Sootvine would win, but Owlfrost wins! Whitestorm and her kids are really proud of her. Redtail snickers at his friend's loss.

OOC: Okay so I did not expect Owlfrost to win so well...If I knew she'd get this far, I would have waited until today to breed her instead of yesterday. Let's just assume she got pregnant after her last round (whether it be Round III or IV), and the reason for her early birthing is due to some unknown cause :'D if her pups are undesirable I'll use it as an excuse to say it made them stillborn. Sorry Owlfrost!

On another note, I scried Snowtuft and Owlfrost yesterday (1/25). They're gonna have 3 pups each! But it might not be like that in the lore.

Final Round

Jessie vs Owlfrost

The final round. Jessie vs Owlfrost. It was an unexpected outcome for most wolves. Jessie was one of the smallest wolves in the pack, and--compared to most--hadn't been in a hunting team for long. But here she was!

Jessie: 50Str (72 of 227) 31.7%. 

Owlfrost: 56Str (130 of 356) 36.5%

JESSIE attacks for 4 damage!

OWLFROST attacks for 13 damage!

Jessie: (59 of 227) 26%

Owlfrost: (125 of 356) 35.1%

JESSIE attacks for 12 damage!

OWLFROST attacks for 53 damage!

Jessie is out!

Owlfrost wins!

In the end, Owlfrost wins! All of the wolves congratulate her on winning, and as this year's prize, give her an Arnica flower crown to wear. She accepts the gift gratefully, and she and Jessie go back to camp to heal up.

Pinepaw offers to train under Robinwish to become an herbalist. She accepts the offer gratefully. “Swiftpaw has good potential, but doesn’t have the determination or carefulness of a true herbalist.”

SO, school started this week, as you may know, meaning I'm going to be devoting a chunk of my time to studying, classes, homework. Jan 26th's entry is a little rushed at the end but finished, but 27th's is not.

I think from now on, I will be sticking to a bullet-point format that summarizes what happens in the pack.

I feel like I had more to say but I forgot. Ah well. I'll add more as I remember.

Later Edit: I also changed the description for Hunters. The only difference is that now Deepfeeders will not be a real group when it becomes used. Wolves in Deepfeeders are only hunters in lore, but OOCly are something else. I can't adequately use more than 3 groups, and I found a snag when--once I realized I likely didn't want Pricklepaw/step to breed in the future--that it wouldn't make sense for her to become a Pupsitter (which I need her to be). So she's a Deepfeeder hunter in lore, but Pupsitter irl.

I'll try to finish yesterday's entry today so I can start submitting today's entry in its bulletpoint format. I don't want to post out of order. I probs will anyway...

This entry deals with some possibly triggering details corresponding to unplanned pregnancies and implied forcebreeding. If you feel strongly about such topics, I'd recommend skipping to the end for a tl;dr.

Days before the end of the Tournament, Snowtuft vomits and feels the need to make dirt more. The events on the night she and Redtail hid under the radar were blurry and dark, but after spending some time alone to think about it, she remembers enough to know…

No, she gasps, I'm pregnant!

Catching Redtail alone, she relays the news to the young wolf.

“You are? Oh, this is great, Snow!”

“No, this is not great, Redtail! I don't want children! I--I told you this before!” she paces around, and Redtail’s smile fades quickly off his face.

“I...I'm sorry...When did you get pregnant?” Like her, he finds difficulty in remembering their night of taboo. All he remembers is how happy he felt, sharing the high and danger with Snowtuft.

“The night...” she stops pacing, but seems lost in her thoughts, trying to recompose herself, “the night we had wine and plants together, remember? The night you said 'I made a stronger dose 'cause this might be our last time,'” her words begin to grow accusatory, “You planned this, didn't you? You made it stronger so I wouldn't want to resist. You--you tricked me!” she growls, the fur on her back beginning to rise as she lowered to head, ready to attack.

Redtail’s ears folded back, but he remained in place, worry clouding his mind, “What? No! I would nev--”

“These children aren't yours. They aren't mine,” she seems to calm down, then, but it only makes Redtail more anxious, “I'm not keeping them.”

There's silence at first, with both wolves staring at each other, “What do you mean?” The worried expression that was once on Redtail’s begins to turn into one of question, as if he already knows what she means.

“I'm not having children.”

“Are you going to kill yourself?” hints of a growl resonate under his words.

She doesn’t answer at first, unsure of how to answer, “No...” a pained expression crosses her face. She never wanted children, “No, I'm not going to kill myself.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

Again, she's silent, and the red wolf waits impatiently for a response, ready to come up with a reply or act if needed. Suddenly, something in her mind clicked. All expressions of worry and fear were replaced with some resolute satisfaction. He didn't like the look on her face. “I'm going to give you hell,” she smiled, looking him straight in the eye. The hackles on his back couldn’t help but to rise, “I promise you that. You want children so bad, you can have them. But you’ll never be able to see them.”

Before Redtail can even respond, she's already leaving towards camp, walking at a race so fast that he knows he shouldn't bother trying to stop her. Whatever she had planned, it wasn't good.

The night the Tournament ended, Yellowfang came up to Redtail after he returned from a scouting trip. The Windrunners were out hunting, and Robinwish, Swiftpaw, and Pinepaw were out training together, but the rest of the wolves were in camp together. “Redtail!” she barked in her approach, fury in her eyes, “What did you do to Snowtuft?!”

So she had kept to her promise. “I did nothing,” he growls. The commotion starts to draw attention, “Whatever she told you is a lie.” Bad choice of words.

“So you didn't mate with her, then?” she was unconvinced.

“No, I did--but--”

“What’s going on?” it was Whitestorm, who had come out from the Nursery. The heads of Owlfrost and Snowtuft peaked out.

“Snowtuft told me earlier that Redtail convinced her to have a stronger dose of wine with her, and to eat those stupid special plants with him--the whole reason why Barnaby banned them from having it in the first place.”