Heartlands' Story - Tracker & Lore

“Yes, I admit that, but--”

“So you did trick her!” more and more wolves were witnessing the event, and murmurs began to pass among the growing crowd. Barnaby, who had just arrived from getting a quick meal, came upon the commotion and asked what was going on, “Redtail tricked Snowtuft into drinking and getting high with him so he could make her pregnant.”

“What?” said Barnaby.

“Everyone, let him explain!” it was Whitestorm who silenced the crowd, Yellowfang, and Barnaby. Redtail’s words had been overshadowed by all the noise, “Let's hear both sides of the story before we pass judgment.”

“Thank you, Redtail...I did not trick her into anything. I asked her, before the second round of the Tournament began, if she wanted to drink and celebrate with me on winning the Tournament. I thought I was going to win the Tournament at the time, and I wanted to drink and eat Wolfkiss one more time since we were banned and all.”

“Wolfkiss?”

“It’s what I named the plant.”

“You left out some details,” this time, it was Snowtuft who spoke. Everyone there turned to look at her as she passed the crowd and approached Redtail, anger in her eyes, “You never mentioned you made the dose stronger. And what was the alibi you gave to Barnaby, on why we were gone those two days?”

Confusion crossed his face. What was she getting at here? “I said we were out scouting.”

“And why not tell him we just wanted alone time together? He knew we were mates. He would have let us go, being hardworking Heartlands members.” Redtail had no idea Barnaby knew. The only person he ever told was Sootvine, and he knew Sootvine would never say anything without asking if he could first. When did she tell him? “Unless you didn't want to hint at anything you were planning to do.”

“That’s absolutely stupid, Snowtuft,” he bared his fangs at her, but Yellowfang bared hers back. She honestly believes all this? “I had no intention to mate with you. It just happened,”

“Yes, it just happened. All according to plan, huh?”

“You know how we got whenever we used Wolfkiss. Hell--remember last year when Robinwish used too much fermented fruit? You know how we all were then, too! Nobody thinks straight!”

“He's right,” it was Sootvine who spoke this time, appearing from the crowd moments before the Windrunners returned, “I know firsthand how drinking, and especially Wolfkiss, can make me feel. It was wrong of him to use them, but that doesn't mean he intended to mate with Snowtuft against her will.”

“Shut up, Sootvine. It was exactly because of the effects that he decided to use them as an excuse. He knew what he wanted, and he acted on it.”

When the Windrunners asked questions, the wolves relayed what was said of both sides. Arguments broke out, one group supporting Redtail, another group supporting Snowtuft. Things were getting heated fast, until a loud bark stopped them all in their tracks.

“Enough!” It was Barnaby, his head low and teeth bared, though his tail curled upwards in dominance, “The only people who know the truth are Redtail and Snowtuft themselves, but they tell different stories. We need to decide on who is telling the truth. Redtail, Snowtuft, step aside and turn around. I want everyone except them in a straight line. We're all going to vote.”

“Vote on what?” Sootvine asked as he and the others got into a line.

“Vote on whether Redtail will be banished.”

Anger swelled up inside the red wolf. A part of him wanted to rip her throat out for her betrayal and slander. But above that, all he wanted to do was go back and change time, to go to a point where they were happy and smiling at the news of her pregnancy.

“I will give everyone a minute to decide. After a minute is up, those who raise their paw will have voted for him to leave. Everyone will close their eyes,” After a minute passes, Barnaby speaks again, “Austin, stand beside me to make sure no one peeks. Whitestorm, you watch Redtail and Snowtuft. All right. Raise your paws if you believe Redtail is guilty...”

The verdict is decided. “Lower your paws. Everyone open your eyes and turn around. Redtail,” he stands before the red wolf now, who looks expectedly at the Alpha, “You have been found guilty of your crimes. You must never step foot in Heartlands territory again. Failure to adhere to this rule will result in being attacked on site and possibly maimed.  Ourwin will escort you out.”

[Euhh I don't feel like writing but I wanna get this overrr so basically Redtail is all sad and walks with Ourwin out of the territory and then he asks him if he voted him out and Ourwin said no. 'I believe you were both under too much influence to make good decisions. I believe you should be punished for breaking the rules, but this is not the way to go.']

tl;dr Snowtuft finds out she is pregnant and promises to punish Redtail for it, so she pretends he tricked her into drinking and doing the special plant aka Wolfkiss with her. She uses Yellowfang to blow up the situation, a trial is had, and the members find him guilty and exile him.

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: So...9 pups on the way...and then Yellowfang will get pregnant in a few days...hmm. I now fully understand why the TC is flooded with potato pups. It's going to be hard to let them go v.v

So, my original requirement was that wolves had to be 300 stats and above in order to mate. I'm going to change that to 350 (which means 700 total, which'll give me 260-280 pups), and I want to slowly increase this until I can get 320-350 pups. This way it'll take them about 13 levels to reach the 500 stat minimum I eventually want to get to, so that I can eventually and comfortably move to a difficult biome, which is probably where I'll stay for at least a really long time.

I originally had about 8 pairs planned, but I think I should be even more selective in what wolves I want to breed. The less wolves that barely make the current 300 stat min, the faster I can reach my goal and go to a difficult biome. It'll be hard to deny some of these wolves the chance to continue their lineage.

I changed the way Scouts are chosen, so the current one listed is out of date.

Day 33 (Jan 27th, 2021) Spring 4th, Y2

It is a misty, humid day when Barnaby and Sleekshade return from visiting the Morningstar Kingdom. They were having a casual conversation, until a mysterious breeze seemed to pull both wolves in the direction of a land not too far outside of Heartlands territory. Nestled within the side of a steep, rocky hill was a cave, its small entrance covered by tall grasses, overhanging plants, rocks, and the like.

Inside, the cave widened, with the only source of light coming not from the entrance, but from the seemingly glowing pool that rested still in the center, untouched by wind. The water was a glowing blue, but murky and unreflective. The wolves wondered what may have brought them to suddenly come here.

A strange creature seemed to appear out of nowhere. It looked like a rat, but bigger, and upon further inspection seemed to be blind. It also had a very weird, wiggling nose. Where did it come from? “Been called by the God, too?” it spoke, a heavy accent making its words difficult to understand, “Water brings many miracles. The God has favored your pack, if you are here. Mmm, listen to the wind, yes? May lead you back here, for miracle.” The two wolves looked at each other, confused, and when they turned to look back at the strange creature, he was already gone.

The camp continued on without Redtail. Everything seemed to go on as normal. Alpha and Heir shared their strange encounter with the rest of the Council, who overall had nothing much to say about it. In the end, they opted to all go to the mysterious cave to see what’s up.

When Ourwin tried to put his paw in the water, he described it as ‘freezing cold,’ and the one toe that touched it was numb for a moment. So Austin, as smart as he is, decided to taste it. Much to the wolves’ surprise, he did not jump up in surprise. Instead, he described the liquid as “comforting and cool. Revitalizing, even!” but right after, he began to lay down, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

In his dreams, he saw visions of Heartlands… there were familiar faces, but some were wolves he’d never met. The wolves were happy and celebrating over a bonfire, strange contraptions placed about the area. Contraptions he’d never seen before, yet the wolves used them as if they knew exactly what they were and how they worked. Everything looked so familiar yet different; he recognized they were celebrating the Festival, but there was so much going on [portion I never finished]

Meanwhile, Sootvine had found Redtail coming back and forth to the edge of Heartlands territory. He had actively sought to find his friend, and it didn’t take long to do so. During their meeting, Sootvine says he tried to talk to Snowtuft, but she refused to answer.

“Then all the other nursing she-wolves told me to leave.” Redtail thanks him for trying. Unlike most of the pack, Sootvine did not believe Redtail had intended to trick Snowtuft into doing anything with him. He was disappointed in his pack, for as long as they knew Redtail, they knew that he was an aggressive and strong wolf, but they should have known that even he had limits.

Sootvine and Redtails meetings together would happen often, every few days, in which Sootvine would tell Redtail all the new happenings surrounding the pack, “Snowtuft, Owlfrost, and Velvetwing are confirmed pregnant. Me and Yellowfang just tried not too long ago, so we’ll see if she needs to go to the Nursery with them. Either way, we’re gonna have a lot of pups to take care of! Jessie and Pinepaw will be the main caretakers. His ceremony will be really soon.” As well as other news.

Barnaby had begun to realize, especially as the days counted down on the arrival of new pups, that he had begun to neglect his goal of helping out rogues in need. He also began to realize that he had set a new goal for himself: to take care of Heartlands. This was his new focus. His family. He would cherish them until the day he died.

One of the extra caves has been spruced up and designated the den Apprentices live in: Eaglepaw, Pricklepaw, Swiftpaw, and Pinepaw. Pinepaw’s warrior ceremony happens days after the den is fixed. During his ceremony, he is given the name ‘Pinetree,’ and is honored for his big heart and caring nature. He continues to train to be future Herbalist under Robinwish, who expresses that--when Pinetree is ready--she will retire as herbalist and become a hunter.

“I miss the thrill of the hunt. I’d like to join one of the hunting teams, if there’s space. And don’t worry, Pinetree, just because I become a hunter doesn’t mean you can’t come to me for help.”

Leader: Barnaby

Heir: Sleekshade

Herbalist: Robinwish (Apprentice: Swiftpaw) & Pinetree

Scouts: Snowtuft (Apprentice: Pricklepaw) & Redtail

Hunters: 

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

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

(Windrunners) Jessie, Sleekshade, Stormpelt

Pupsitters:

Warriors:

Pups:

OOC: Since I don’t (unless under veryyy rare circumstances) keep the entire litter from a single mother, you may notice what I list under ‘Pups’ to change a lot. We’ve got 11 pups on the way (Yellowfang will have 2)! But only 4 or 5 will live to their apprenticing ceremony...I think. I mean, most will die before they’re weaned, but I’m still trying to figure out how. Thankfully, that mysterious pool that the supposed ‘God’ showed the pair will give me some possible ideas ;)

Hello. It's been a while! I was on the second page :'D

Now I've been thinking long and hard about the future of my pack. Have I come to a conclusion? Not really! But, I've realized that it's super, super hard to let go of wolves I've written about. Which is a problem...My pack will so easily get overfilled, even with the "one pup per pair" rule I got going on.

This means that I will no longer be typing out extra long stories like I did before. With school being a factor, as well as taking into consideration the other sites I write for, I think this is a good decision. But I will not stop writing here! I'm thinking...from now on, I write more of an OOC perspective on my pack, kind of like Nelthyen does? I love their entries :')

The missing days will be added soon~ (I hope. Still trying to figure out what to say about these new pups lol)

Day 34 (Jan 28th, 2021) Spring 5, Y2

-Sootvine continues to meet with Redtail, but is eventually caught by Barnaby and told to stop.

-Barnaby has a private talk with Sleekshade expressing how different he is from when he was still a rogue until now. Expresses doubt that being a leader is the right thing for him.

-Yellowfang, confirmed to be pregnant, enters the Nursery.

-Pricklepaw becomes Pricklestep and chooses to become a Hunter. Assigned a Deepfeeder.

-Swiftpaw becomes Swiftbriar and chooses to become a Hunter. Assigned a Windrunner.

Leader: Barnaby

Heir: Sleekshade

Herbalist: Robinwish & Pinetree

Scouts: Snowtuft & Redtail

Hunters: 

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

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

(Windrunners) Jessie, Sleekshade, Swiftbriar, Stormpelt

(Deepfeeders) Pricklestep

Pupsitters:

Pups:

OOC: Now that Deepfeeders exists as an infinite role, Warriors is no longer needed. They’re kind of all Warriors, aren’t they? There are very few wolves in this pack that would prefer not to fight a threat, though for some of them it depends on circumstance.

Day 35 (Jan 29th, 2021) Spring 6, Y2

-Snowtuft gave birth to three puppies! A Goldrenrod boy, a Tumbleweed girl, and a Cream boy. I’d keep the Cream boy for having the highest stats, but he has no markings. Also, because they’re the highest-stat puppies I’ve ever gotten, Goldenrod and Tumbleweed are staying. I wonder what their names will be.



-Owlfrost gives birth to 3 puppies, a Quartz male, a Howlite female (who looks identical to Owlfrost in nearly every way), and an Ashen female. The Quartz male stays. Despite how bland he looks, Quartz is the prettiest of the three bases on its own. I would’ve kept Ashen so I could pass down her marks, but she looks so uninteresting! Yeah, I could use GC to up the opacities...but you can’t even see them anyway T^T

-Strongly considering buying horns for the Goldenrod boy, but you can’t put them on a non-adult phase >:(

HEARTLANDS (OOCLY)

Leader: Barnaby

Breeding Male: 

Herbalist: Robinwish

Pupsitters: Jessie, Pinetree, Pricklestep

Scouts: Redtail & Snowtuft

Hunters:

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

(Frostfangs) Yellowfang, Sootvine, Hazelglow

(Windrunners) Swiftbriar, Sleekshade, Stormpelt

Pups/Teens:

Eaglepaw, 3 unnamed puppies

Edit: Literally cannot make the universal font size 14 for some dumb behind reason e-e I am so sorry

Edit 2: Omg I finally figured it out. It only changes the font size of the first paragraph you highlight instead of just the whole thing. Holy craaap that's not gonna work

~ Intermission ~

(I gave up on font size manipulation ok)

Since the story ends so abruptly, I'm going to put it here for whoever actually reads this, and for myself.

-Snowtuft, after the pups were born, began to realize that it wasn't fair of her to treat Redtail the way she did and begins to realize that he never intended to harm her. They were not just mates, but friends. She explains her new opinions on Redtail, and the pack invite him back. Some wolves are still a bit distrustful of him, but that will fade over time.

-Snowtuft will refuse to raise her children, and allow Owlfrost to be their surrogate mother. Redtail will, throughout his kids' lives, be a very supportive dad, and will raise his children to be confident in their capabilities, to train hard, and to work hard.

-Barnaby would have, while still young, passed down his title to Sleekshade, believing the role of Leader to no longer fit him.

-The magical pool mentioned was not a fully fleshed out idea yet, but essentially it was supposed to be a place where the wolves could give offerings to the God that watched over their pack. This 'God,' in turn, would have granted them blessings, like warning them of certain pack-wide catastrophies, blessing certain pups with mutations (I.e horns), sex changes, certain odd markings, the knowledge to create primitive manmade objects...basically, the pack would have went full-on fantasy. But eh. Since I'm no longer writing lore, it could be retconned in my or your headcanon. Who knows.

Day 36 (Jan 30th, 2021) Summer 1, Y2

-Velvetwing gives birth to 3 puppies! The father is Barnaby (yah I know I kind of skipped their relationship development when I did lore but honestly, I was going to! I just...got excited with finally unlocking the pair breeding quest and didn’t want to wait. Let me enjoy my baby boom! I won’t have more pups for a long time D:). There’s a Jet boy--which I’m keeping--a Marengo boy, and a Gray Darker girl. None of the wolves got the white nose line from Barnaby ;-; I wanted to keep that! They might breed again, when they reach 1,100 total stats…

At the time of me writing this, Snowtuft has to explore Glacier 3 more times for it to unlock!

Austin x Robinwish & Sleekshade x Hazelglow are my only planned breedings so far, but they haven’t hit the stat req! Also looking for T2 mates for Eaglepaw and Swiftbriar, but I ain’t rushing.

Everyone is low stat in Windrunners so they’re really struggling :’) especially with Swiftbriar being new and the Stalker. Nice to go back to my OGs Sunseekers and Frostfangs, who pretty consistently give me the option to hunt for large and medium. Idc about catching them, I just want the xp!

I wonder what difficult biome I’ll end up moving to...

Robinwish is definitely going to become a Scout when Snowtuft is done. Sorry, Eaglepaw, I know I planned for you to be Scout, but we're not doing that yet! I want Redtail to go even further beyond.

Fought a lvl 12 Caribou Herd (at lvl 13) at 8% energy...came out with 5hp left and a Broken Antler! That's another item off my collector's checklist.

A very kind Eagle gave me an Eagle Beak, +1 stamina, AND a healing salve. How kind.

HEARTLANDS (OOCLY)

Leader: Barnaby

Breeding Male: 

Herbalist: Robinwish

Pupsitters: Jessie, Pinetree, Pricklestep

Scouts: Redtail & Snowtuft

Hunters:

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

(Frostfangs) Yellowfang, Sootvine, Hazelglow

(Windrunners) Swiftbriar, Sleekshade, Stormpelt

Pups/Teens:

Eaglepaw, 4 unnamed puppies

Day 37 (Jan 31st, 2021) Summer 2, Y2

Yellowfang gave birth to her 2 pups! They’re both pretty potato-y. I won't be keeping either of them. All I wanted was for honey shaded to pass down, and they both failed me >:( They’ll be trying again as soon as Yellowfang's cooldown is up. By that point, they'll both reach the stat req.

A few pups weren't at 100% survival chance (and one of them was unprotected at 60%), but none died! Good on them.

Snowtuft has finished exploring Glacier! Meanwhile, Redtail is so unbelievably buff from exploring the Rainforest so much.

Snowtuft, our oldest wolf, though still fit, will retire as pupsitter (11 pups is a lot to take care of lol). A new wolf, name undecided, has joined our place and become Scout! He's a chased T2 Vanilla with 8 markings! I was hoping for a female to pair Eaglepaw/Swiftbriar with, but he'll have to do for a possible future female from Sleekshade x Hazelglow. Or maybe he'll be sex changed? Gotta see if he and Swiftbriar will make good pups. I wonder if scrying lets me see same-sex couple puppies...

It does not. Why?! >:(

The NBW's name has been changed to Hailpaw. Now if only I can get a female T2 chased wolf...

The 4 pups I'm keeping have been named! Beetlepup, Dustpup, Breezepup, and Featherpup! I also added some brown dilution to Dustpup. She's my favorite =)

Nothing eventful has happened all day >.>

Day 39 (Feb 2nd, 2021) Summer 4, Y2

Gave Dustpup a lil scar on her thigh. Bought it for dirt cheap.

Breezepup is now considered a 'limbo' puppy. It means they were the best of their litter, but were otherwise not desirable. He's a Barnaby x Velvetwing kid, meaning that if they breed a pup that's better than him, he will go bye-bye before he becomes an adult.

By the way, I chase pups I know will be pretty potato-y to the majority of people because I don't want them lowering the quality of the chase pool, and because I know they won't sell.

I bought Smudge from the Rekindled Hearts Adoption Center! Y'all should check them out. I love trying to buy pups most people might consider useless. I changed her name to Lilypaw and changed her base from Jet to Lilac. Don't get me wrong; she looked stunning with a Jet coat. But I'm still relatively new, so I'm still in awe at T2 bases, and I want more of them! She'll be Swiftbriar's mate when they meet the stat req :D It'll take them a while but they'll get there!

Speaking of Swiftbriar...he's like, the sole reason the Windrunners are failing hunts so often. Man has only given me 1 small trail ever since he became a Hunter! And he failed it! I am so grateful for Sunseekers and Frostfangs for the change in pace x_x even if Hazelglow (the finisher) is the main reason why Frostfangs ever fail.

Speaking of finishers! Ourwin of Sunseekers is almost legit the only reason why Sunseekers ever fail. What's up with y'all? Do you know how rare it is for me to see the chasers fail? How are these hunt fail/succeed rates calculated? e-e