The Songs of Thunder Gorge [Lore/WIP/Read Only]

Thunder Gorge is a spacious, green canyon that was carved out by a glacier long ago, framed by sheer cliffs and pine trees. All that's left of the glacier nowadays is the winding, relentless river for which the area was named, and the moraines at the mouth of the canyon. Saga's pack have made their home in a cave at the foot of the western mountain, protected from the prevailing wind by the peak. Across the valley in the eastern gorge is where wolves go when they're sick, to heal and avoid spreading the illness to others. The north pass overlook is a well-protected den higher up on the cliffside, where the pup-sitter can also act as a lookout for the pack.

The songs that the wolves of Thunder Gorge sing to each other and to their allied, neighboring packs are the tales of everyday life - of hunts gone well or foul, accidents and serendipity, the meeting of friends, and the day-to-day drama of living in close quarters.

Thunder Gorge will be going by specific rules of The "Grounded" Challenge, a list of which can be found below the core pack members' descriptions, along with any lore-related exceptions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Territory and Council (You are here!)
Pack Organization and Relations
Challenge Rules
Worldbuilding
Stories

Discussion Thread

Saga and Edda founded the Thunder Gorge pack together after dispersing from their home families. The two are unrelated, and had a brief, experimental affair before they mutually decided they were better suited as friends. Saga is the imaginative, far-seeing and sometimes-daydreaming leader of the pack. She goes where the wild winds take her, but always finds her way back home eventually. Her strong intuition - and help from a shadowy wolf - led her to the gorge in the first place, and it has been a haven ever since.

Saga and Edda founded the Thunder Gorge pack together after dispersing from their home families. The two are unrelated, and had a brief, experimental affair before they mutually decided they were better suited as friends. Nimble and speedy Edda managed to woo his way into the pack by being too bouncy for the more even-tempered Saga to ignore. The two became fast friends, and as the pack grew their bond grew and changed with it. Edda is now the pack's confident, energetic Lead Chaser who makes up with unquenchable optimism what he lacks in skills. He gained a fair amount of maturity - and Saga's renewed interest - after an elk gored out his eye on a particularly dangerous hunt.

Fehu was a rambunctious young pup, always picking on her brother and whining at both Draugr and Saga. She was also the first to open her eyes, which have remained a deep, piercing blue even as she's aged. Neither Edda nor Saga are sure where she got her eyes from. As an adult, Fehu has become something of a wind-chaser, apprenticing under Angrboda in the ways of the Scout. It has become clear that her scouting doesn't only happen in the real world, however, as the blue-eyed wolf has now had more than a few strides into the mysterious, lunar Otherworld. Fehu, perhaps, dances with death.

Othela is significantly more personable than her mentor Draugr was. She has enough focus to protect the pups, though she relies heavily on the ferocity of her packmates to scare off potential hazards. She has a soft heart, in spite of her mentor's harsh ways, and has over time grown fond of Draugr's only son, Uruz. She comforted Uruz after his mother passed, and they only grew closer in their shared grief when Draugr followed her path. Othela, being one of Saga's pups, certainly has her fair share of weirdness, but she's still perfectly Capable.

Vitki is significantly more Dutiful than either his brother Veidi or even his mentor, Gandr. Vitki in fact sometimes gets frustrated with his mentor's propensity for getting absorbed in his work, to the detriment of all else. On the other paw, Vitki also recognizes that without Gandr's guidance he would have stepped into his new role completely lost, and is slowly coming to find that the now-retired herbalist still has plenty to offer in terms of wisdom.

PACK ORGANIZATION

Last updated: Jan 05, 2023 - Generation 1.5

Pack Leader: Saga - Saga is in charge of the big picture of the pack, making sure everyone is getting along and needs are being met physically and emotionally. In the early days she was in charge of expanding the pack by way of befriending other wolves, but they've reached a decent size, now. Saga's previous partner was Angrboda, her current partner is Edda, and her temperament is Imaginative.

Pups: The den is empty! - At least for now.

Herbalists:

• Vitki - Veidi's brother luckily never struggled with nerves or clumsiness. Vitki has taken on the mantle of Herbalist with patience and poise, his Dutiful nature serving him in good stead. He's a friendly sort, but incredibly focused, and takes his job very seriously. Gandr was like an uncle to him.

Pupsitters and Mentors:

• Othela - One of Saga and Edda's pups, she grew up not knowing precisely where she might fit in the structure of the pack, until Draugr took her under his wing to train her as a pupsitter. Othela is now a formidable den guardian, with a fondness for the hunting team's finisher, Uruz. Her temperament is Capable.
• Utgard - Spent most of his early days in the pack skirting the edges of the territory eating rats. He, Rind, Draugr, and Kenaz all formed a slightly haphazard hunting party to fill in while Hyndla and Berkana were expecting, but nobody was quite sure of his place in the pack until the incidents with the Faelcu. His temperament is Dishonest, and his tricksterish and somewhat mysterious nature served him in good stead protecting the adolescents from the strange lights and stranger creatures that lingered on the edges of Thunder Gorge territory. As the only other Stoic, he and Draugr tend to clash over pack matters, but after watching the younger wolf out-Fae the Faelcu, Draugr has gained some respect for him.
• Berkana - An absolute sweetheart, and the team's former Tracker. She's the wolf everyone talks to if they're having personal difficulties. She has a fondness for Edda, which the two of them cemented after Edda lost his eye while hunting an elk. Her temperament is Reliable.
• Laufey - Laufey is a dispersal from another pack that never found her own footing until Kenaz spotted her eyeing an elk carcass that the hunting team brought down. With Edda's permission, they offered her some of the kill, and she was very polite about taking her share. Now she acts as a backup Den Guardian, and is learning the ways of Thunder Gorge. Her temperament is Trusting.

Scout Team:

• Fehu - "Owl Eyes" Fehu was always a bit strange as a pup, with her bright blue eyes and her mother's habit of staring into nothing, as far as anyone could tell. She became a scout under Angrboda's guidance - and under the watchful eye of Raven-Wolf Tala - though it seems that her Gifts allow her to scout more than just the waking world. Her temperament is Keen, just like her younger brother.
• Jera - Jera was one of the "summer pups" along with Isa, Svanhyndla, and Raido. She grew up being absolutely fascinated by Utgard and all things strange and unsettling. She has now grown into a proficient scout, using her acquired wisdom and Sneaky nature to creep around the territory and beyond.

Hunting Team (Steadfast):

• Edda - One of the Original Founding Pair (the other being Saga) and the pack's breeding male. He leads the hunters and makes sure the pack is fed and morale is good. His role on the team is Lead Chaser, and he has matured with the role and the increased responsibility to look after the pack. He has a fondness for Berkana, and his temperament is Confident.
• Veidi - Tracker. Veidi trained under his mother, Berkana, in the ways of hunting and pathfinding, while his brother took a less gregarious role in the herbalist's cave. Veidi's Imaginative nature serves him well as tracker, though he often finds creative ways to get to prey that the rest of his team finds tricky. Edda has been trying to curb his more outlandish ideas while still offering enough creative freedom for him to be effective.
• Kenaz - Second Chaser, and possessing of a rather intense personality after taking a shine to Angrboda as a pup. He aspires to be like her, but as one of Edda's pups, he does much better in the social environment of the hunting party. His temperament is Keen, and Utgard's strangeness has certainly not escaped his notice.
• Rind - Third Chaser. Approached the pack as a stranger in order to help Fehu with her strange visions of a peculiar lunar world, and then volunteered for pupsitting duty when Hyndla, Berkana, and Saga all had litters at the same time. When Verdandi got too old to be an effective hunter any more, she stepped in as a Chaser. Her temperament is Observant.
• Uruz - New Finisher, and the only son of Hyndla and Draugr. He has his mother's raw power and his father's air of intimidation, and spent many moons learning how to hunt from his mother. He stepped into his role as the new Finisher with confidence and an almost stoic attitude to get things done. His actual temperament is Observant.

Hunting Team (Patrol):

• Isa - Tracker for the Patrol. One of the "summer pups" alongside Jera, Svanhyndla, and Raido. She is significantly slighter than her sister Svanhyndla, and always has been. Instead of strength, she has her mother Berkana's keen senses and sharp mind. Isa makes an excellent tracker, and her Trusting personality means she doesn't micromanage her team.
• Raido - First Chaser for the Patrol, and definitely his father's son. Raido has Edda's high energy and incredible speed and agility, at the cost of being perhaps not the sharpest needle on the cactus. Luckily his Confident temperament helps him cover for some of his shortcomings, and he's always ready with a joke or an encouraging word.
• Gulmist - Second Chaser for the Patrol. A recent dispersal from another pack, who caught Raido's attention for her Bossy nature. She's the only one in the pack with an aggressive personality, though the others - namely Kenaz - have told her in no uncertain terms to keep it in check. She seems snarly, but deep down Gulmist is just happy to have found a pack of her own.
• Svanhyndla - Finisher for the Patrol. She was the biggest pup in her litter, and the last one to be born before Hyndla's death. She was named Svanhyndla in the old wolf's honor, and grew up to be a powerful finisher, like her namesake before her. She and her runt sister Isa both have a Trusting nature, and trust each other above all else.

Former Pack Members:

• Gefion - Former Third Chaser, and spent most of her days mentoring the pups after retiring from the hunt. Her temperament is Sociable, and she was a mother figure for most of the pack. Death: Old age, Autumn of Year 3.
• Hyndla - Former Finisher, and gave her last breath to see a new generation of pups born into the world. Svanhyndla was named for her. Survived by her mate Draugr and her son Uruz. Death: Old age, Summer of Year 4.
• Kyne - Former Second Chaser who retired into mentorship and lived to the very ripe old age of 8 solid years. Death: Old age, Autumn of Year 4.
• Draugr - The grumpy and stoic white wolf had a surprisingly gentle side around pups... and Hyndla. He respected Saga and Angrboda and trusted them with his life. He served the pack well as their first Den Guardian, but followed his love to the otherworld only a few months after her passing. Death: Broken heart, Winter of Year 4 
• Verdandi - A rogue wanderer who settled in with the pack as first a scout, and then a chaser when Gefion decided to settle down. She proved her worth to the pack, and was instrumental in teaching Kenaz how to hunt before she retired. Death: Old age, Summer of Year 5
• Gandr - The Old Man Who Knew Everything, Gandr was a bit nervous around the other wolves, but quite engaged with the study of medicines. A bit of a klutz on occasion, but incredibly studious. Over time he gained more confidence, and became a master of identifying and using medicinal herbs. Death: Old age, Autumn of Year 5,.
• Angrboda - She was a Scout since the early days, and was completely loyal to Saga. She was arguably the best at her job. Her partner was Saga, and she had an intensity about her that the others tended to find a bit off-putting. The new generation of pups grew up seeing her as just Auntie Angrboda. Death: Old age, Autumn of Year 5.

ALLIANCES - NEIGHBORS - RIVALRIES

Last Updated: 11.06.20

Illusperes - Through the north pass lies a pine-laden basin, crowned by jagged peaks and dotted with bubbling pools where the earth spits hot steam into the sky. This is the home of Kaiza's pack, another young group of wanderers who have banded together in a loose family, much like Saga's pack. Contact has been made, rules agreed upon, and boundaries established. While they're cautious of each other right now, Saga is hopeful that they may be strong allies in the future. [Current Disposition: Neighbors]

Fester - Scouts returning from the southern reaches bring back tales of strange, lithe wolves in the mist, rumors of an isolated pack in the swamps. [Current Disposition: Ghost Story]

CHALLENGE RULES

This pack is following the rules of The "Grounded" Challenge - here are the rulesets that I've chosen to abide by:

BASIC:
1. All packs and adult wolves must have some simple lore.
2. Wolves may not breed to their pups.
3. Stories must be semi-realistic.
4. All pack leaders must be related to a starting pair (OGP - Saga and/or Edda in this case)
5. No Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics.
6. You must keep your foundation pair in your dynasty.

Additional Standard:
2. Colors must be at least a little realistic.
- In cases of strange but Really Cool fur colors there will be an attempt at explanation made. There is some amount of magic in the Thunder Gorge pack, but verisimilitude will be paramount. Odd-color markings will be more permissible than coat colors, with the logic that if an Herbalist can apply medicine, they should also be able to apply paint of some description.
3. For every leader/generation, a new breeding male must be picked from outside the pack.

Additional Advanced:
1. Outside studs may not be used - there is an exception for breeding partners.
- Adding an exception for pair-bonds as well for the sake of genetic diversity and there being no clear rules on the matter.
2. Wolves within the pack can only breed to cousins and less related wolves (line-breeding)
3. You may not buy/adopt puppies from players outside the clan/your breeding partners. (Exception made for Enclave puppies and for the sake of quests.)
4. You may only keep up to half of any puppies produced by a single pair of wolves - the rest "disperse."
- Pups to be dispersed from Thunder Gorge will wander away once they reach adulthood and can be given a role.
5. You must have a quarantine cave to prevent illnesses from spreading. (East Gorge Cave)
6. The breeding male must be kept in the pack after retirement.

OPTIONAL:
1. There must be a lore-based reason for all puppies that are bought or swapped between clan members.
2. Your breeding male(s) is limited to a set number of litters (1-15) in his lifetime.
- Edited to include pair-bonded males if applicable, since it seems there are no clear rules on that matter. Litter limit is now listed in each male's individual lore if he has a partner or is the breeding male.
3. You can synchronize your breeding females to only give birth during spring (meaning they become pregnant in late winter/early spring) [An attempt will be made - we'll see if I can pull it off.]
5. Wolves do not breed until 2 years of age (for realism/maturity purposes).
[Edda's first litter was the only exception - it happened pre-challenge and due to a tutorial.]

WORLDBUILDING

Thunder Gorge is a very new pack - there's a minimal amount of established history, and everyone in the first generation of the pack are dispersals from elsewhere. Their history will be built from the ground up, using in-game events, adventures, and sometimes glitches (See: The Great Herbalist Strike) as springboards for lore, story, and possibly traditions as the generations wear on. The pack might build up folklore over time - especially with an imaginative leader like Saga at the helm - but for now the pack's history is a clean slate.

There will be a light smattering of fantasy elements throughout Saga's story especially, since she has a more poetic and mystical view of the world than most of her pack. Whether or not she actually has something like The Sight (or however I call it down the line) so far remains to be seen. I'm willing to incorporate and trade lore elements from neighboring and allied packs as long as they don't muck with either territory too much, but for now Saga might just have a wildly vivid imagination and perhaps a touch of Rocky Mountain Toad Syndrome.

PACK CULTURE

The Thunder Gorge culture is very much based in canine body language, but respect and loyalty are determined on a case-by-case basis rather than having a strict hierarchy. Dialogue between wolves will be treated in a roughly similar vein to the Warriors series, something like "wolf-to-human" translations of subtle body language and vocalizations, with some expressions treated more like pure reflections of emotion rather than words and phrases. When interacting with other animals (bears, ravens, big cats, etc.) I treat it like speaking different languages. Prolonged exposure and a good dose of intelligence means different animals can pick up on each other's body language pretty well and even develop some inter-species methods of communication, but so far only Saga, Gandr, and Angrboda have had much meaningful interaction of that sort.

Since they're still such a new pack, the Gorge-dwellers haven't really developed a prestige system or traditions, yet. The closest thing so far to a leadership structure is Saga's "council," which represents all of the different areas of life in the pack. She mostly stays out of her packmates' business, aside from making sure Edda knows what they need from the hunters, and directing the scouts based on weather and intuition. Saga's pack respects her, and those that are more ambivalent respect Edda or fear the wrath of Angrboda. They're a big, found family, basically, with ties as deep as kin even if they aren't related. They build bonds based on personal respect and compatibility, which has led to some slightly unorthodox, non-monogamous structures within the pack. So far the only one who's batted an eye at this has been Draugr, but only because he can't believe Saga and Edda had pups so young to begin with and isn't surprised that they're no longer together.

One of the first stirrings of an organized mythology in the pack has been the story of Tala the Raven, a mysterious figure who led Saga to the gorge and has occasionally reappeared bearing gifts, wisdom, or cryptic omens. She is sometimes described as a black wolf with eyes like stars, and sometimes as an actual raven. Most of the pack has developed a reverence for ravens and crows as a result of her storytelling, but few actively believe in Tala. Those that do consider her a benevolent trickster and shapeshifter spirit.

LANDMARKS

West Gorge Cave - A crag worn out from ancient, metamorphic stone with a big glacier-deposited boulder outside. This cave acts as the main den for the pack, and is where the hunters, scouts, and Saga spend most of their time between other tasks. It's also where all of the pack tends to huddle up in the winter, since the overhang keeps things dry and both the cliff and the boulder block much of the wind.

East Gorge Cave - Gandr's herbalist nook, and another crag in the rocks similar to the West Cave but on the other side of the valley. It has been decorated with all kinds of herb bundles and shiny things; this is also where the pack keeps their owl talons, mollusk shells, and things that can't be used for eating or nesting.

North Pass Overlook - Slightly around the corner and up the cliff from the West Cave, this is the nursery. It's up far enough to keep coyotes, racoons, bears, and other too-curious wildlife away from pups, and is situated in just the right place for any pupsitters to keep watch over the north side of the valley. From this perch, one can see the pond, the pass, and much of the intervening woodland.

The North Pass - Once an offshoot of the main glacier that carved out Thunder Gorge, this hanging valley is accessible via an alluvial fan deposit that dumps out into the gorge. It contains a gently sloping waterfall from a tributary that feeds down into the main pond. On the other side of this pass lies the valley of the Illusperes, whose geology seems to suggest some volcanic activity in these mountains. Visitors over the pass have agreed to announce themselves with a howl and wait for an escort from the neighboring pack.

Moraine Pass - The south pass out of the gorge and into the foothills, and the easiest route in and out of the gorge. Scouts and the leader usually use this pass to explore the outside world. The river cuts between two shallow moraine hills and allows for both an easy to follow route and an easily defendable valley. There's a rocky hollow in this area that lone strangers and scouts from other packs sometimes stop in to rest.

Raven Tarn - The big, clear pond left over from the glacier that shaped the valley. Named after the raven (or... wolf?) that led Saga and Edda to the valley back in the formation days of the pack, it acts as a social hotspot in the valley. The pack comes here to cool off and gossip in summer, and with more interaction from outside packs could become a meeting ground for outside wolves away from the dens.

[Reserved for future expansion as required.]

Foundations - How Saga and Edda found their home - Mid-Winter, Year 0

The wind creaked and groaned in the aspen and pine. Saga felt it in her fur, singing a quiet mountain song, smelling of ice and deer and last year's pine needles. A low whine next to her broke her concentration. She twisted around and flattened her ears out to the side as Edda snuffled through the undergrowth like a boar looking for tubers.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Edda perked up again and let his tongue hang out. He wagged his tail happily and stretched his paws out into a play bow. Saga snorted at him and kept moving. He whined, but trotted along after her.

"Sorry, Saga. You did your... thing and I got bored."

A rustle of feathers in the dense wood interrupted any response. Saga's ears perked straight up and she watched for movement. A raven croaked. Deeper in the pines, a black shaped moved. Saga's fur stood on end.

"What is it?" Edda sniffed her neck.

"This way."

Saga trotted after the shape. It was strange. She could see the wolf, fur dark against the gray and white of winter. She lost it a few times as it darted behind the dark-barked pines, but she could still see it. She could not, however, smell it. That concerned her and intrigued her in equal measure.

Every once in a while, she and Edda had to slow down, and the black wolf stopped ahead of them, ears perked and looking back. If she looked hard enough, Saga thought she could see vivid yellow eyes like the sun staring back. The raven was somewhere nearby, creaking and cawing. It almost sounded like it was calling her name. Saga paused, and tilted her head at the strange wolf.

"Saga, you're being weird again." Edda whined and nudged her muzzle. "Come on, let's just find a quail and..."

The wolf took off again. Saga snapped at her partner once to get his attention, and bounded after it. Onward they went, loping through the forest on the trail of something with no scent. The flapping of bird wings made Saga's ears twitch but she stayed on the path. Ahead of them, the wolf darted around a huge boulder, and Saga broke into a sprint to keep up. When she took the turn, she had to skid to a halt, flinging undisturbed snow everywhere.

A great, sheer cliff rose up in front of her, skarn-dark rock scored through with streaks of lighter tan. Something had worn away a large cave at the base of it, a cave which appeared unoccupied. A dead pine tree sat half-fallen up against the boulder, forming a shelf of branches above the entrance. Saga stared at it all for a moment, listening to the quiet drip of thawing ice and the howl of the wind in the trees.

Edda took the turn much more calmly, padding along and panting. Saga glanced over at him as his ears perked up, and he tilted his head at the cave. She righted herself, and shook the remaining snow out of her fur.

"See?" she said. "I told you there was something up here."

"What were you following?" he asked. "I couldn't see that far ahead."

Saga swished her tail, but didn't respond. Instead she started a perimeter of the cave, sniffing around to see if she could find any trace of that wolf. She smelled a bear, but it was distant and old. Edda followed her lead, and after a good poke around, they determined the cave hadn't been occupied in at least a season - probably closer to a year. Edda bristled his fur out while Saga got to work marking their new home.

"What do you think happened, here?" he asked. "This place seems too good just to leave lying around empty."

"And that's exactly why we're here to fill it." Saga shook herself and looked up at the fallen tree. "I wonder if we could get up there?"

Edda craned his neck backward to look at it. Without a moment's hesitation, he pranced up to the trunk and put one paw on it, testing. Saga watched him, tail swishing nervously as Edda jumped up and carefully picked his way across.

"Pretty solid for an old stick," he barked.

"It doesn't look like beetle-kill," Saga said. "It should last a while, but... just be careful."

Edda made it all the way to the top of the boulder, then turned around and jumped up to the clifftop, disappearing behind the face. Saga's ears and tail perked straight up, waiting for him to make another move or sound. The faint scratching of claws on stone reached her, followed by a brown and white face peering down from the top of the cliff. It looked like a long way up. Edda gave a low howl, calling for her to follow. Saga barked once, and paced nervously in front of their new den, before the flutter of wings drew her attention. She stopped, and looked around for the raven. A low croak drew her gaze back to the boulder, upon which sat the black wolf from before, ears pointed forward.

Saga stepped up onto the fallen tree, claws digging into the bark and legs wobbling slightly as she made her way up to the boulder. She focused on where she put her paws - Edda made it look so easy, but he was also lighter and more nimble than she was. When she arrived at the top, she found no trace of the black wolf, just the faint smell that Edda left when his fur brushed against the branches. Saga turned and found the dip in the rocks that led up to the clifftop. She leaped for it, paws landing easily on the rough stone. Only then did the sheer terror of what could happen if they fell make her stomach drop out from under her.

She carefully picked her way up the rock to where Edda sat, tail wagging happily. The sun had just begun to dip below the clouds, and the light cast a golden glimmer across the treetops. It felt like they could see everything - the winding river that snaked down from the glaciers farther up in the mountains, the craggy peaks broken into flat faces turned inward to watch over the valley, the distant lake that gleamed with the sun's light on its icy surface. Saga sat, transfixed, as the wind howled down from the high country, rumbling and whispering in the trees. She heard the raven again, somewhere nearby. This time, Edda's ears perked up, too.

Saga raised her head and howled, voice carrying the whole stretch of the valley. Edda joined in, a higher, friendlier tone. They stopped and listened to the echoes bounce off the mountains, but found no reply. Edda huffed, and gave an excited whine.

"This really is our place now, isn't it?" he asked.

"I think so," Saga said. "If we can get back down the tree, anyway."

Edda nipped at her chin playfully, and she swatted him with a paw. He bounded off and made his way back down to ground level, fur bristling with joyful energy, completely unfazed by the height. Saga stayed on her perch for a little while longer, watching and listening, absorbing the peaceful winter, imagining what it would be like come spring, or even summer. What would it be like in the valley when storms broke open the sky and rained bellowing thunder down on them? How even those mighty peaks would shudder at the might of the sky.

A raven croaked, and pulled Saga back to reality. The sun was setting. They should probably hunt soon. She fluffed her fur out, already looking forward to sharing a nice warm meal and cozy den with Edda. She picked her way carefully back down the rock, then the tree, all the while dreaming of a pack of their own, all howling together and singing to the mountains, the sky, and each other.

When she reached the ground she didn't see Edda anywhere. Panic made her hackles bristle, and she howled for him. A slightly muffled whine pulled her attention back into the woods, where Edda pranced along, muzzle darkened and a somewhat skinny-looking hare clamped in his jaws. Saga settled back, slightly perturbed that she'd been up there long enough for him to get a kill on his own. He dropped the carcass at her feet and licked her muzzle.

"Glad to see you made it down in one piece." Edda sat back and wagged his tail. "What were you doing up there anyway?"

"Coming up with a name for this place," Saga said. "What do you think of Thunder Gorge?"

Edda tilted his head, ears flopped over in confusion. "What's a gorge?"

Saga stuck her tongue out at him and got to work on the hare.

Owl Eyes - How Angrboda told Saga about the Riparian Woodland, and Fehu got her name. - Mid-Spring, Year 1

A confident, melodic howl echoed through the trees from the moraines to the southeast. It bounced around the inside of the nursery and stirred Saga from her peaceful half-drowse. She recognized the voice - it was too low to be Edda or Berkana, but not low enough to be Draugr. Saga's ribs heaved in a deep yawn and she lazily lifted her head to howl back. Two tiny squeaks joined her, not anywhere close to a howl but obviously not happy with the interruption. When she was sure Angrboda heard her, she looked down at the tiny lumps of fluff curled up next to her belly. One was dark, like stone. The other was pale, like Edda. Saga's heart warmed as she watched her pups curl up again, basking in the warm spring sun.

The sound of padding through the undergrowth drew her attention back out to the woods, and she watched a dark shape slip between tree trunks, expertly avoiding thorn bushes and exposed roots. Saga wagged her tail as Angrboda hopped up the rocks to the overlook.

"Welcome home," Saga said. "You were gone for a while."

"Glad to be back." Angrboda touched Saga's nose, then sniffed the two pups. "Look at them. Getting so big already."

Saga flapped her tail proudly, but yawned again in spite of herself. Angrboda padded around behind her and flopped down so that Saga could lay her head on her flank. Saga whined her appreciation.

"They certainly eat like they're growing fast," she said. "Thankfully they sleep as much as they eat. Is that normal?"

Angrboda huffed in amusement and nibbled Saga's forehead. "You worry too much. They're doing just fine."

"Did you have pups before you left... wherever you came from?" Saga asked.

"No. I wasn't old enough. I'm surprised you've managed as well as you have, actually, being as young as you are."

"I have a family of kind strangers looking after me." Saga buried her muzzle in the thick fur of Angrboda's neck. "Thank you for that."

"Strangers." Angrboda huffed. "We all smell like the Gorge now. I think we can safely call ourselves a pack."

Saga closed her eyes and whined happily. They settled in for a quiet, peaceful lounge together, the sun warming them and the breeze through the cave making sure they didn't overheat. Somewhere in the far distance, Edda's voice rang out against the hills, a joyful, yelping howl. Berkana joined him. They both always sounded like they were laughing when they howled. Saga's ears perked up, but she didn't raise her head.

"They got something," Angrboda said.

"Mhm. Edda's a good hunter." Saga snuggled up closer to Angrboda. "Bit dense, though."

She felt Angrboda's fur bristle, and heard the tiny, angry growl deep in her chest. They both sighed.

"Think you'll ever forgive him?" Angrboda asked.

"I have no hard feelings. Neither of us really... thought about it. I just got caught up in the excitement and..." Saga whined. "The good thing about this is that I'll be prepared next time."

One of the pups gave a grumpy whine. Saga was still learning their voices - so were they, for that matter - and looked up. It was the girl, the pale one. She yipped, wobbled her way closer to Saga's chest, and curled up again. Saga's heart warmed. Angrboda licked her head.

"It's a good thing you didn't chase us off," she said. "Draugr and me, I mean. I don't know what you'd do without us."

"I can imagine... but I'd rather not." Saga huffed. "Speaking of imagining, what did you find out there? You sounded pretty excited coming up through the pass."

Angrboda tilted her head and flicked her ears, as she always did when she was forming a report. Saga rested her head on her shoulder again, and closed her eyes.

"Well, I mostly followed the river," Angrboda said. "The big one that goes down from the lake. I went down through the foothills, through that big meadow, into the forest with the woodpeckers. Of course, it was foggy as anything so I didn't see much."

Saga flicked her ears. If she thought about it she could imagine taking that same trail, as though following Angrboda along through the eyes of a raven, or an eagle maybe. The winding river cutting through hills and a dark shape loping through the mist, bright eyes blazing with curious intensity.

"On the second day I followed the river until the forest started to change. The farther you go, the more muddy and damp it gets underfoot, until you can't quite tell where the ground ends and the water begins." Angrboda's fur bristled. "I feel like my paws still aren't dry. But at night, it was the most beautiful thing... watching the stars and sky reflect in the river. In the calm places it was like you could walk off into the night and never come back."

Saga sighed happily, picturing it. She and Edda had sat at the frozen lake a few times over the winter, listening to the ice sing and watching the stars dance in the melted places. She could have dozed off dreaming about it, but Angrboda's fur bristled, and she heard the excited flapping of her tail against the rocks.

"Saga, look!"

She picked her head up, and followed Angrboda's gaze down. Two little shining blue eyes were looking up at her from a brown-masked face. Her little girl. Saga's tail wagged, and she gave a tiny, excited whine.

"Edda doesn't have eyes like that, does he?" Angrboda asked.

"No, he doesn't." Saga licked her pup's head. "I don't know anyone with eyes that blue."

"Is she blind?"

"I don't think so. I hope not."

The pup gave a tiny, disgruntled yelp and turned around to bat at her brother's tail. He wiggled away from her. Angrboda huffed, and licked Saga's cheek. Pride radiated from both of them, while the two pups settled back down again.

"I think she's earned a name," Angrboda said. "Edda's going to be so excited."

"Fehu," Saga said, without hesitation. "She's my first."

"He gets to name the other one?"

"He does... or you do." Saga rubbed her cheek against Angrboda's jaw. "Whichever one of you is around when he opens his eyes."

"What if we're both out?"

"Then I get to name both of them." Saga wagged her tail. "Or Draugr does, depending."

Angrboda barked quietly in amusement, and the two curled up to groom each other and wait for the hunters - and Draugr - to return.

Hide and Seek - How Gandr went missing and the pups learned a lesson. - Early Summer, Year 1

This story was inspired by the Great Herbalist Strike of October 2020.

Tiny, squeaky howls echoed around the gorge, both of them calling a name. Saga's ears stuck out sideways as she tried to figure out who told the pups it was alright to howl for people in the middle of the day. Gefion huffed quietly from the other side of the den.

"Did they wake you up, too?" Saga asked.

"Long ago." Gefion didn't seem particularly angry. "They're getting stronger, your little ones."

Saga yawned, and bristled her fur out as Naago howled again. They were looking for the herbalist. That made her sit up.

"What happened?" she asked. "Is someone hurt? Where's Kyne? Where's-"

"Kyne, Hyndla, and Berkana went down to the lake to cool off," Gefion said. "Draugr and Edda are with the pups. Ang hasn't come back yet."

"That's normal," Saga said. "Where's Gandr?"

"That's the question, isn't it?"

Gefion's tail wagged in amusement. Saga huffed, and begrudgingly rose to her paws to go track down her howling pups. It was a wonder their father hadn't joined in, yet.

Even moving slower in the mid-day summer sun, Saga easily caught up to the pups and their caretakers. Fehu gave one last ear-splitting howl before Draugr noticed. He barked to shut her up, and Edda spun around, fur out and growling, ready for a fight. Saga stared him down, ears straight out. A heartbeat of silence passed until Edda tucked his tail under and ducked his head.

Draugr huffed at him. "Told you."

"Where's Gandr?" Saga asked. "And why are you howling for him?"

Edda perked back up and stretched out into a play bow, gearing up for a doozy.

"He's gone, dear." He straightened back up and wagged his tail. "Get it? Gone-dr?"

Draugr barked at him. Saga closed her eyes and let the absurdity wash over her, while her pups yipped in amusement and pranced through the undergrowth. When she opened them again, Fehu stood front and center, tail wagging and tongue hanging out.

"Hey, Mom! Are you gonna come look for Gandr with us?" she asked. "He's hiding. He's hiding real good."

"Yeah, we've been looking the whole day." Naago whined dramatically and flopped on his back in a patch of clover. "I'm sooo tired."

Saga glared at their father. Edda wagged his tail innocently.

"It hasn't been that long, Naago, you're just lazy," Fehu said.

"Well you're smelly," Naago said.

Draugr gave a low growl and both pups yelped. They scampered over under Edda's legs, tails wagging and yipping with laughter. Saga sat back with a defeated huff, and looked up into the trees. No ravens.

"See, now that's the problem with Gandr, right?" Draugr asked. "He's not smelly like we are."

"He smells like bear and pine cones," Fehu said.

"Yeah, and every type of flower ever in the whole world," Naago said. "We'll never track him down by smell."

Understanding dawned slowly in Saga's half-asleep and heat-addled brain. She looked down at her pups and tilted her head.

"Is that why you've been howling?"

"Yup!" Fehu bounced back out from under her father's legs and posed proudly, tail sticking up and ears proud. "Dad says I'm a pretty good howler!"

"But if he's hiding, why would he howl back?" Saga asked, resisting the urge to glare at Edda.

Fehu tilted her head, and her ears flopped over in an expression reminiscent of her father. "Oh. I hadn't thought of that."

Draugr sat back and barked under his breath. Naago wound his way back out from under Edda's legs, and the two pups got their heads together, trying to figure out how to find the missing herbalist. Saga turned her tired gaze on her one-time mate. She couldn't fault him for taking care of the pups, but sometimes his lack of awareness irked her.

"Is... Gandr actually missing?" she asked.

"Kind of?" Edda folded his ears back and ducked his head. "He went out gathering herbs while you were asleep and hasn't come back yet."

"Did you check his cave?"

Draugr whined like he was trying to keep himself from saying something, and Saga glared at him. Edda tilted his head.

"He has his own cave?" Edda asked. "Since when?"

"Since that time I came back with a cough that he didn't want to take any chances with," Saga said.

She stood, and barked quietly to get the pups' attention. They looked up from their discussion, wide-eyed and tails wagging. Saga started off towards Gandr's cave at a slow walk, so that the pups trotting along after her could keep up. She heard Draugr snap his teeth at Edda somewhere behind them before they started following in her wake.

"Do you know where Gandr is, Mom?" Fehu asked.

"I do. He has his own place on the far side of the valley," she said. "We have to go all the way over there when we're sick so we don't get anyone else sick."

"Is he sick?" Naago asked. "Is that why he's hiding?"

"I hope not." Saga sniffed the air for a few paces, but couldn't find any hint of sick wolf on the wind. "I suspect he's just making medicine so that he has some if we need it."

"See, Mom knows everything," Naago said.

Saga wagged her tail. They were definitely Edda's pups, but they were her pups, too, even if she was entirely unprepared for them. She glanced down at them once to make sure they were keeping up, and they bounced forward to keep stride with her shoulders.

"I don't know everything," she said. "Do you know why we don't howl all the time?"

"No? Is it cuz it'll wake up all the elk and scare them away so we can't hunt them?" Fehu asked.

"In part." A twig snapped somewhere behind them but the following low huff told her it was Draugr. "Mostly it's because we don't want other wolves to know how many of us are here. We don't want them coming to see us."

"Why not?" Fehu asked. "Draugr says all of the grown-ups came from outside of the Gorge, and they're friendly."

"Some wolves aren't so friendly. If a bigger pack decided they wanted this territory for themselves, they could come in and make us all leave. But they could only do it if they knew they had more wolves than us."

"They couldn't do that," Naago barked. "Draugr is big and scary and he'd drive them off, first!"

Saga yipped quietly in amusement, and kept any further comment on that subject to herself. She and Angrboda had both seen roving wolves out in the woods and meadows, heard them howling sometimes on still nights. There were undoubtedly other packs out there. She didn't know where, but they were out there. It was part of the reason she worried so much about Angrboda.

She put all worry for the future out of her mind though as she stepped around the exposed root ball of a long-fallen tree. Back against a steep slope and between several large boulders sat Gandr, an assortment of leaves, roots, tree parts, and flowers arrayed across a big, flat stone. It smelled like spring had permanently sequestered itself in his cave. Gandr appeared to be deep in thought, tail swishing idly, ears perked forward and staring at a chunk of bark like he expected it to move.

"There he is!" Fehu bounded forward through the pine needles. "We found you, Gandr!"

Gandr looked up and his fur fluffed out like a spooked hare. Naago chased his sister up to the cave, but the two of them knew better than to make any sudden moves around the timid herbalist. Saga strode up as well, but sat a ways away, keeping her ears open and letting him have his space.

"Was I lost?" Gandr asked.

"Yup! But we found you," Fehu said. "Didn't you hear us howling?"

A light rustling turned Saga's attention away from her pups, as Edda padded up to sit next to her. He whined quietly and licked her cheek. She gave a disgruntled huff, but touched his nose anyway. Something like an apology, perhaps. Edda nuzzled her neck.

"They're your pups," he said. "Just as smart as can be."

Saga flicked her tail and bristled her fur. "Yours too, with all of that bouncing and carrying on."

Edda sat back and they both watched Gandr explain which herb was which to two very curious pups. They were silent for a little while, tails wagging quietly, until Edda glanced over and wiggled.

"He's not so gone-dr anymore, huh?"

Saga whined.

Written after the Great Two Year Hiatus

Saga's Daughter  - How Hyndla learned that Fehu is more strange than she expected - Late Summer, Year 1

Hyndla shook off the last of the post-hunt dust and debris before she started up the steep, uneven path to the Overlook. It wasn't a long path, nor was it full of scree like some of the back trails up by the North Pass, but the narrow ledge made her uneasy. More uneasy than even the fallen tree that Edda was fond of scampering up. Her fur brushed the solid rock as she wound her way up and she scented the air to see who had come before her. Just Draugr and Fehu, it seemed like. She couldn't tell which direction they'd passed through by scent alone, but given their absence in the main den...

She took the last awkward step up into the nursery and found Draugr lounging back in the shade, white fur in bright contrast against the dark stone that defined the whole cliffside. On the other side, Fehu sat upright and still, ears perked out toward the North Pass and blue eyes distant.

"Fehu, dear?" Hyndla tilted her head. "What are you listening to?"

Fehu didn't respond, but Draugr picked his head up off his paws. Hyndla padded over to him, ears turned toward the pup. She supposed calling them pups wasn't entirely accurate anymore - Fehu and her brother had grown into lanky, lithe young things over the summer. Naago had gotten even more rambunctious and restless, but Fehu had calmed and quieted. It was a stark contrast from the end of spring.

"She's elsewhere, lass." Draugr yawned and stretched his paws out. "Don't bother trying to get her attention, she won't hear you until she's good and ready."

Hyndla huffed and curled up beside the big, white wolf. He was nice and cool from sitting in the shade, and after the long hunt in the sun, that shade felt like a nice roll in the snow. Draugr licked her ear while she watched Fehu.

"What's she doing?" Hyndla asked. "What do you mean, elsewhere?"

"Daydreaming, knowing her mother," Draugr said. "Though... Saga does respond when you call for her."

Fehu's ears twitched at a raven's croon from somewhere toward Gandr's end of the valley, and she slowly twisted her head in that direction. Hyndla's fur bristled. Seeing a wolf move that slowly - especially the daughter of someone as bouncy and energetic as Edda - seemed wrong somehow. Draugr whined quietly and she flicked her ears at him.

"Keep your fur on, Hyndla," he said. "She's fine."

"Are you sure?" 

"No, but if there is something wrong with her not even Gandr can figure it out." Draugr set his head back on his paws. "So how'd your hunt go?"

Hyndla sighed, and watched the pup nervously for a few more heartbeats before turning her attention back to Draugr. He seemed relaxed enough, as though Fehu's behavior was a normal occurrence. Perhaps it was, and Hyndla just hadn't noticed. She'd been rather busy with the hunters, after all, ever since she joined the pack.

Before she could speak, Fehu whipped her head around to look at them, ears tilted with concern. The young wolf's eyes matched the bright summer sky behind her.

"Is Kyne going to live?" she asked, whining and lowering her head to her paws.

Draugr bristled, and Hyndla licked his cheek to soothe him. "She will," she said. "Edda and Gef practically had to drag her to Gandr's cave on their backs, but they made it."

"What happened?" Draugr asked, then looked to Fehu. "Did you see all the way out there, lass?"

Fehu looked away, turning one ear toward the far side of the valley. A raven croaked. Edda's slightly panicked howl echoed up the gorge, and Saga's answer came back from somewhere near the southern moraine. Hyndla waited to see if Fehu had anything to add, but when she only whimpered, the older wolf settled back in.

"We found a big elk," Hyndla said. "A big, aggressive elk. I don't know if it was the season or if it was an old bull with no sense left, but he didn't run very far. Turned around halfway to the hot springs and swung his antlers. Kyne was the closest. She got gored pretty badly. We backed off and Berkana and I went after a quail instead. Wasn't a full waste, but... I would very much have preferred none of us got hurt."

"Dad is pretty shaken up about it," Fehu said distantly. "Berkana stayed with him."

Draugr and Hyndla both stared at her for a moment. Then Gandr's howl, airy and delicate, drifted over the pines. His was calm. Saga answered from somewhere down the valley, but closer. Kyne would, in fact, live. Hyndla didn't want to admit her worry for their lead chaser, but she also couldn't hide it when her fur flattened out and her shoulders relaxed. Draugr huffed, and nibbled her forehead.

"I should go see if Gandr needs help," Fehu said, and abruptly bounced to her paws.

The two older wolves watched Saga's strange, blue-eyed daughter pick her way down the rocky path to the valley floor in silence. Hyndla looked up at Draugr when she'd gone.

"Does she know something I don't?" Hyndla asked.

Draugr huffed again, buried his muzzle in the thick fur of her neck, and draped a paw over her flank. "Fehu knows things none of us do, seems like."