Camellia

[ Optimistic ]

Camellia is a gentle and hopeful healer who seeks the best in every situation and every wolf. She is well-known in Serpent's Keep for her dazzling smile and calming presence. Wolves feel better simply from being around her. At times, Camellia can be a little simple-minded and spacey, however. Her head is often in the clouds and she can be unfocused at times. Not only is Camellia the herbalist for the pack, but she has taken up the role of Lorekeeper. She tracks the history of the pack and the stories they make together, following up on family lines and who comes and goes within their ranks. She is truly the heart of the pack.

Despite her pleasant disposition, Camellia has led a rough life. While she excels at herbalism, her hunting prowess has always been lacking, and she often lets others walk over her. The pack she was born into took full advantage of this, as she was the youngest of five pups. She was particularly in competition with her older sister, who used every opportunity to make herself look better than Camellia. Meanwhile, Camellia was nothing but kind to her siblings and packmates. As they grew, it became clear that their home territory couldn't house five more full-grown wolves--at most, they could house two. Two of her siblings chose to leave on their own, leaving three to choose amongst them who can stay and who must leave. It came down to one hunting trip, where the most successful wolves would be granted full pack member status and the others left to fend for themselves. Camellia performed admirably, up until sabotage from her sister cost her the kill at the very end. Distraught from the betrayal, Camellia didn't even return to say goodbye, she simply vanished after the hunt was over and never returned.

Soon after, she found a pack to take her in. She was quite young and inexperienced, but she did her best to keep up. She made plenty of friends with her friendly disposition and cheerful outlooks, but once again it became clear that she lacked skill for hunting. Her mind wandered too much during a hunt and she struggled to keep track of the prey for long. One day, she even intentionally let a doe escape after realizing that the doe was a mother who would leave her fawn all alone if something happened to her. After that, it became difficult for her pack members to justify allowing her to stay. She felt terrible for performing so poorly and letting her packmates down. If the pack was to survive, after all, there was no room for softness. 

This is when, by pure chance, she encountered Wicker. He was looking for a herbalist, he said, and asked if she knew of any. Camellia confessed that she didn't, her pack's herbalist was more than happy where they were, but offered to take up the role herself instead. Sure, she had no experience, but she could tell she was on the verge of losing her pack and desperate to carve out a new place for herself, lest she starve in the wild. Wicker wavered, clearly unsure of the white wolf pleading with him to take her in, but something in her eyes convinced him to give her a shot. The two returned to Serpent's Keep after a trade was negotiated with Camellia's old pack's alpha. From there, Camellia studied under Herbert, determined to prove herself this time. While she couldn't succeed as a hunter, perhaps she could find her niche in herbalism.