Kohana Pack

Fated To Roam

The Kohana Pack once lived in a plentiful deciduous forest. Life was simple, yet good. No one ever feared starvation, there was no animosity between neighboring packs, and humans remained undiscovered. A simple tale made up by elders to scare off pups. For the first generation of leaders, Camellia and Kobayashi, the small pack was expected live prosperously in the bountiful lands they called home.

But never are things in life certain, and after a plague wiped out nearly the entire pack, those who remained fled to the mountains of Lassen Peak. While hunting wasn't much harder, life here was miserable... at least, for their spirits. Sulferic scents stung the air, the temperature was an odd mix of warm and cold, and the terrain was anything but soft. Kobayashi was the first to die in the desolate peaks, and with the scout, so did the directions to return to their homeland.

Not all was miserable in the mountains, however, as this was where the first discovered dogs. Takara had been the first to stumble upon Seraphina, and he was instantly curious about the canine's wolf-like-yet-not-quite features. While initially much of the pack found her behavior odd, dogs would soon come to be respected immensely. Takara and Seraphina would go on to become mates, marking the lineage of alpha wolf-dogs.

Camellia, unfortunately, would pass not long after their arrival to the mountains as well. Takara was given precedence over his adopted younger brother, and so Takara desperately sent out Cayce, his father's scout apprentice, to search for the warm forest he had been born in. But despite Cayce's aptitude, he had never been to or shown where the forest was located-- Kobayashi believing if he returned, the scouts might fall ill-- and any trails or scents he followed remained a dead end.

In a frantic attempt to boost the pack's morale and provide a better life for his newborn daughter, Takara announced the pack would be heading southwards to a warmer region. There was no proper directions, and on such a long journey, food had also become scarce. In a last-ditch effort to find more food, the pack boarded a supply ship headed to Australia.

Now in a foreign, human-filled land, the pack needed a place to lay low. Takara decided the Daintree Rainforest was perfect-- as seldom did any humans come by-- and there was plenty of greenery, warmth, and water. Much of the pack enjoyed their time in the rainforest, even if it was far more difficult or dangerous. Still, Takara wanted to find his birth land and sent out his best scouts, unknowing he was now on a whole other continent.

Takara would come to pass and with his passing, Delja would go on to become the first wolf-dog alphess. She was kind, but stubborn, prone to doing things on her own. Thankfully for the alphess, her mate Ghy was always there to help. While she found her father's tales of his homeland fascinating, yet saw nothing wrong with remaining where they were. Still, Delja continue to tell the stories of forests where the ground was soft, leaves changed to gorgeous colors and fell, and there was always enough food in a wolf's belly.

Delja had a particular fondness for instruments, and granted the pack their first tradition; musical gatherings. Each season, the pack gathered in a designated spot, under an open and starry sky. A single wolf would play an instrument (in Delja's case, an ocarina) and the pack would sing along or relax to the melody. The pack would socialize, relax, and even nap, until sun up, when the wolf playing the music would finally cease, and take a long rest.

While this served no purpose from a functional aspect, the pack began to come up with other traditions. Delja was proud of what she had started, and adored seeing the pack grow in numbers. More wolves were born, a few wanderers joined, and even a fox had joined the mix. As well as another dog, to the pack's excitement.

Esmae, the pack's second dog, had returned one day urgently speaking of humans nearby that knew of their location. While she did have a new collar on, Delja didn't believe the humans could know simply from the device, and opted for the pack to stay. Esmae was seen as a bit delusional, but turned out to be correct, only cementing the pack's reverence of the wise canine creatures.

Now on the run from humans with a dangerous weapon (which, in reality, was a tripod camera), the pack found themselves lost in the outback. After assistance from a dingo, Warragul, she joined the pack on their endeavors and another trip on a cargo ship, the pack snuck into a truck, all the way to Las Vegas. Obviously, the city is no place for wolves and they fled yet again-- this time seeking refuge in the Mojave Desert's Valley of Fire.

Delja was disheartened to leave her birth land and only then began to realize the desperate feeling her father had harbored for so long. She fervently told more stories of the Kohana Pack's elusive deciduous forest, trying to rally wolves to help find it. Her son, Kuparr, however, liked the desert, and pointed out that the pack was doing well in the new environment, all things considered. He reasoned it would be safer to stay in a known land then desperately search for an unknown one, and a majority of the pack agreed.

Disheartened but knowing her son was in the right, the elderly Delja bestowed him with the title of alpha. Kuparr was dutiful, keeping the pack first and doing his best to keep them alive and well. Warragul, the aforementioned dingo, became his mate prior and was now the alphess. Knowing how to survive in a desert, she showed the packs the basics of surviving in the harsh biome. While not as prosperous as their life in the rainforest, the pack made due.

Life in the desert was slow, yet everyone was content... until a drought struck. Water dried up and pack members quickly began dehydrating. Kuparr was faced with a tough choice-- to stay and wait out the drought, or roam unknown territory for an ample amount of water. He knew what the right thing to do was, and so the pack was once again on the move, this time eastwards.

Kuparr never stopped for long. Everywhere they went didn't seem to have enough water, in his mind. A river would dry up. Humans could taint a lake with ease. Ice could remain frozen if the temperature didn't warm. Eventually, Kuparr found a spot to his liking-- a swamp, specifically, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, which was within the Albemarle Peninsula. Delayne, his daughter who had only known the desert, was astounded by the concept of trees. To humor her, Kuparr told her stories of the pack's homeland.

He spent the rest of his life living quietly in the swamp, before passing away and bestowing the title of alphess to his daughter. Delayne was the first to rule without a mate by her side, and did well as a leader despite her young age. Many of the pack found her to be personable and cheery, which made her only more curious about her future mate, Ox.

Ox was a quiet wolf, which instantly attracted Delayne. She fell head-over-heels for the loner, and invited him to join the pack. At first, he declined, believing he would not do well in such a large group. But as time went on, he fell for her too, and joined the pack as their new alpha. The two would go on to have three pups, with Marchioness as the designated heir.

However, one night during a particularly fierce hurricane, Marchioness went missing. The pack feared the worst-- surely, such a small pup would have drowned or been swept away in such a violent environment. But when the flooding began receding, a dog could be seen swimming tirelessly with the pup held safely above the water in his maw. He introduced himself as Kynan, and was given an honorary place within the pack.

Delayne wasn't getting any younger, and while most of their time in the swamp had been peaceful, humans kept releasing tagged wolves into the peninsula. Fearing they would come for her pack (and unaware they were releasing red wolves to help repopulate) the alphess urgently moved the pack onto a boat, insisting wherever they arrived, there couldn't be humans to spy on them.

The boat ride brought the pack to Porthmadog, all the way in Wales. While the port was out in the Welsh country, humans trying to gently coax them into crates and flashing them with bright lights from cameras and phones were anything but comforting-- the pack, previously frozen, scrambled in alarm at their alphess's commanding bark. Tireless traveling led to the pack eventually finding solace in Eryri National Park.

Delayne's time there was unfortunately short, and Marchioness was the one chosen out of her three siblings to lead next. She was a humble leader, and ruled relatively quietly, although the pack frequently came to her with hopes of seeking advice due to her wisdom. Her mate Jotham was well-liked by the pack as well, the pups especially fond of him. Jotham liked spreading the stories of the Kohana Pack's long-lost homeland to the little ones.

The pack quickly gained their footing, and the pack began finding ways to hide from the humans. The elderly Ox did his best to help guide both the pack and his daughter as well. The snowy, rocky land was harsh but the skilled hunters made food seem abundant. It was cold, but nothing the hardy pack couldn't handle.

Dogs Revered

The Kohana Pack sees dogs as almost these "guardian angels" or "supreme beings," of purity and kindness. They believe that what dogs lack in strength compared to their feral counterparts, they make up for in their benevolent natures. The Kohana Pack believes that for all the goodness dogs posses, each has a specific flaw.

Wolfdogs are also widely praised (although not to such an extreme extent) as their parental figure. The more dog DNA the wolfdog possesses, the more they are revered. The lineage of the Kohana Pack's leaders does possess canine blood, which many of the pack admires and causes them to favor their rulers as well.

The first dog to ever appear was Seraphina, or more aptly nicknamed "Sneaky Sera." She met Takara, the son of Camellia, while he had been out looking for his little brother. He was instantly intrigued, and Seraphina was welcomed... although her strange appearance did raise a few questions. Seraphina proved to be benevolent and wise, especially when she served as an alphess alongside Takara's leadership-- but her flaw was that she liked to steal. Morsels of meat, a cool toy... whatever she wanted, she'd take it. This did annoy a few pack members, but her soft features and innocent eyes quickly got her out of any trouble. Her "prophetic knowledge" of humans (she had merely just seen a few before) had the pack in awe of her power, and this is when some of the Kohana Pack started to revere dogs.

The second dog to stumble into their territory was a collie mix named Esmae. She was discovered when she wandered into the rainforest after seeing what she believed was another stray brown dog-- who happened to be Seraphina's son, Wilden. Esmae was sweet and tried to please the pack whenever she could, as a sign of gratitude for them allowing her refuge. Eventually had a pup with Wilden and their son Sandalio was affectionately nicknamed "almost-dog" by many of the pack members. The pack believed she was a bit delusional and crazy, so when she came back with a radio collar, the pack wasn't certain the humans could track their location with it. But when the humans did actually show up, the pack quickly believed yet again that dogs possessed some sort of supreme knowledge.

The third was Kynan, who even bore an angelic appearance. He rescued and brought Marchioness back to the pack after she had been swept away in a storm as a pup, and he has been hailed a hero ever since. Kynan is humble, insisting it was nothing and he was just doing what anyone else would do, but the pack believed his appearance on the day Marchioness got lost was yet another sign of canine omnipotence. He took Nayeli for his mate and served as a pupsitter, with practically every mother demanding the capable Kynan be the one to watch their precious pup. He seemed to have no serious flaws aside from taking up the entire bed, according to Nayeli, so the pack chalked it up to his angelic appearance meant he was part angel and thus he had no flaws. This... did not amuse him.

The fourth dog to ever grace their presence was a proud dog by the name of Silke. She found her way to the pack despite her blindness, claiming it was her incredible sense of smell. It didn't take the pack too long to figure out her flaw was arrogance, but for all of it she was very knowledgeable on herbs and treating wounds. Silke became the herbalist's assistant, to the surprise of no one, and some of the pack says that she even outshines Jacana at his own job. She left for a few days which sent the pack into a panic, before she returned safely and pregnant. This caused an uproar, but when asked about it, she simply dismissed it. Oddly enough, her naming scheme began a new trend where everyone began to give their pups two-word names, likely because the pack was trying to mimic the greatness that they believed was in every dog.

The pup did prove to be of pure dog blood though, and he was named Sente Sigfryd, marking him the fifth dog to be a part of the pack. While he was sometimes arrogant like his mother, he was mellow and liked to daydream and imagine when he could. Much like Silke, he was incredibly knowledgeable about medicinal plants and Jacana chose him to be the next herbalist, since he was old and Silke couldn't do the job on her own.

Untrusting, Not Unkind

text