Acacia

Lore by: Scouting for Booty #1810

Blizzard's first memory of Acacia was in their puphood. Blizzard was a shy pup that was picked on by his siblings and other pups in the pack. When Acacia came into the pack with her parents, she took an instant liking to Blizzard, and disliking to all his bullies. They came to pick on him, and Acacia was ferocious in scaring them off, promising they would find snakes in their dens the next time they picked on him. They became fast friends, and spent time together. Acacia didn't mind their shyness, though Blizzard would eventually outgrow it with Acacia's help. They spent their puphood playing together and making other friends. When it came to their adolescence they didn't waiver in their friendship. Though they certainly found themselves spending a little more time apart as they were both pushed towards training in different roles.


Blizzard was nudged and pushed towards becoming a hunter like his parents while Acacia was pushed towards learning the ways of a herbalist, a noble and useful job that her parents wanted her to do. All was well in the beginning of their training, but things just weren't quite clicking as they should. They both got the basics down, but Blizzard wasn't all that great at sniffing out prey or keeping up with the adults. Acacia had trouble remembering herbal names and what each herb was used for, and her remedies or pastes ended up disastrous mush or did the opposite of what was intended. When Acacia had a particularly horrible day of training, she came to their spot out in the forest covered in green and red goo. Blizzard was too nice to laugh, offering to help her get it all off in the river.


They made their way to the river, Acacia questioning her entire life at such a tender age. She didn't want to mix herbs, sure she wanted to help the pack and make a difference, but she couldn't wrap her mind around everything she had to know.

"You'll get it eventually, you don't have to learn everything now." Blizzard had said, nudging her into the water. He used his paws and even his head to rub off every last bit of paste. It had brought them incredibly close together, and in the moment, Blizzard found himself nuzzling Acacia in more than a platonic way. In the cool waters of the river, they became much more than friends after that night.

Acacia was the first to suggest their change of roles. It had been a few days and the two hadn't really talked about that night, but Acacia had certainly been thinking about it. It was unprecedented for a male to become a broodmother, a broodfather if you will. But Acacia knew that they would both be perfect for the role. When she brought the suggestion to Blizzard, he was apprehensive at first. Mostly because he didn't want to disappoint his parents, but also because the males didn't do that kind of thing in the pack. Acacia let him think about it while she took the first steps to switching her training.


Her parents weren't so keen, they insisted she would be way better as a herbalist, insisting she would get it eventually. Acacia knew becoming a broodmother would be the best thing for her. She always had a soft spot for puppies, and had always had a caring nature to her. She especially knew that her observance skills would come in handy when taking care of pups. With the little training she did have as a herbalist, she would be able to notice the signs of a pup coming down with something. She would see who was picking on who, and give them a nip to be nicer. She wouldn't be the most gentle broodmother in the pack, but she was confident she would be a good one.


Blizzard took a little more time to figure it out. Like Acacia, he also cared for pups and was always gentle with them. From his own experience as the picked on, he would be able to pick out the victims and help them gain confidence like Acacia had for him. Chasing after pups had to be easier than sniffing out and chasing prey anyways, right? When he brought it to his parents, they were a lot more understanding. They encouraged him to find what made him happy and go for it. He'd been so afraid of disappointing them, he was happy to learn his fears had been for nothing. The pack leader and broodmaiden, the head broodmother, was a little less understanding. They insisted he would be more suited for a different role, encouraging him to go back to hunting. He refused them, and came back with Acacia and his hunting trainers who gave them a glowing review of why he would make a good broodfather and a bad hunter. With a little convincing, they agreed.


Together they would train as broodcarers, learning the ways of caring for pups. They used their time together after training to become closer and by the time they had reached adulthood and completed their training, they were mates. They would welcome their first litter soon after and raise their pups together with the rest of the pack's pups.

"Thank you, for suggesting this." Blizzard would tell Acacia one night as they were snuggled into their den with their pups between them.

"We both deserved happiness, and this is happiness." Acacia said back, giving her mate a lick on his muzzle and then the top of their pups' heads.