Spruce

RMA for lead? (Later 'Spruce" as leader, to represent his goals and the new life he:s bringing to the Pack)

(Chosen to lead as a pup, which caused a split in the Pack when his mother, the aging Leader, announced her most recent litter would be the next Alpha and Pack Representative - roles that were highly sought out in the Pack. Briar found himself selected for Alpha, but celebration was cut short as accusations of favoritism we're quickly thrown around following the announcement - especially as, shortly after, the death of the Pack's beloved second in command led to his Uncle taking the part. Many felt River was playing favorites, and Briar found himself caught in the cross-fire, especially after discovering his oldest sister had been all but promised the role before him...


At a young age, Briar had to learn how to handle himself- after all, how could he lead if he had any doubts? Sure, he did have Frost, his litter mate, and Nettle, his mate, and a few other close wolves who also believed he should lead, but... In the end, whether or not he lead, and did so well, was up to him. And he planned to keep this Pack together, the way his mother had. When his father passed, and River no longer ate or drank, Briar stepper up and began running the Pack as she would have. And when River finally passed, he officially led as the Alpha of the Sheer Cliffs Pack.

Within his Pack, Briar is a calm and friendly wolf, albeit somewhat distant. Training as the Alpha set him apart, and unlike Frost, he doesn't get to see outsiders unless welcoming them into the ranks or chasing them off, so he's not as well-versed in outsider's customs, although the interest is there. He loves pups, and is secretly a softy when it comes to family, exploring, and hunting - most wolves assume his loves go into being leader, wanting to "expand the bloodline and territory" or something, but, honestly, he's just happy keeping his Pack and family alive.

However, is is a skilled leader, and holds himself with a quiet confidence and authority that his Pack listens to...

It seems they have reason to, as he hasn't led them wrong yet. Perhaps they await the moment he does, so they can turn on him... Or, perhaps that's just the echoes of the past, whispering through the mountains on the wind...

A cautiously confident Alpha, carefully awaiting his Pack's seemingly inevitable betrayal.



As time passed, he slowly became more confident in his role. He led his pack through a great famine, into seasons of great prosperity, and stayed as a point of stability as the Pack faced a Cataclysmic season. His skill as Alpha slowly silenced his former dissenters, and gained the full loyalty of his Pack, helping him regain his own confidence in the process, slowly growing into his own; during this time he took on the name Spruce, in recognition of this change.

As he aged, and his loved ones slowly began to die around him, he slowly realized he needed his own Heir to take after him. He had done everything he could to keep his own family out of the Pack's politics - he didn't want them to go through what he had - but it slowly dawned on him that his grandson, Set, was the most fit to lead. The pup's father, Iah, was from a distant Pack, and had been found outside the territory at a young age; Spruce himself had become a mentor-type figure to the male and trusted him closely, while Storm, his mother, was Spruce's oldest daughter, was strong and independent, while distant enough from Pack politics to not be seen as a threat.

He took Set under his wing...