Oriole

"The first pupsitter of our pack was named Oriole. She was very kind, but in the end... She was also very sad. Would you like to learn more about her?"

The Herbalist sits down next to you as you approach a carving upon the boulder. This one is stained with yellow, and resembles a large creature surrounded by smaller ones.

Oriole lived in the mountain range that the Shenandoah Pack calls home for her entire life. Her birth pack was truthfully just three adults and the litter that Oriole was born into. One thing led to another, and the entire group slowly dispersed over the course of a few years. When Oriole wandered into the newly-founded territory surrounding Pineshade Hollow, she was surprised to be greeted so warmly by Tanana. Life as a lone wolf had taken its toll on her, and out of desperation, she agreed to join the new pack when asked.

At the time, the only members were Tanana, Ambrose, Falcon, and a very quiet and sleepy wolf by the name of Pheasant. The latter would become one of Oriole's closest confidantes. When Pheasant mumbled to Oriole that she would prefer to be treated as a female wolf rather than as a male, it was Oriole who nurtured Pheasant's courage and helped her to share her feelings with the pack at her own pace. The two were already close by that point, but they were absolutely inseparable ever since.

Oriole's experiences with the pack were not all so positive, however. During the adjustment period after Oriole's acceptance into the pack, it became clear that hunting was not her strong suit. Around that same time, Tanana's pregnancy became apparent, and it was decided that pupsitting was the next logical role that Oriole should try to adopt. Oriole had no experience with pups, having been part of the first and only litter in her birth pack. But when the time came, she stepped up to the challenge. The first few weeks were simple, with little Kenai and Tikaani simply needing to stay inside the den or at the very mouth of it. But as they grew, they became more adventurous. Oriole had a difficult time keeping up with them, especially when they wandered off.

When the pups were three months old, a chilly Spring morning became one of the hardest days in Oriole's life. The pups had wandered off again, and Oriole's efforts to find them failed thanks to the sweet smell of the morning dew. When Tikaani emerged from a thick patch of bushes and ran toward her, Oriole was relieved. Then, that relief melted into horror as she made out some of Tikaani's words between racking sobs and whimpers. Kenai... Kenai had fallen off of a cliff. On her watch.

Oriole snatched up the weeping pup and bolted for Pineshade Hollow. She found Ambrose sleeping and roused him, and then attempted to explain what she could about the situation. Something was happening to Oriole that she'd never experienced before, however. The panic swirling in her head had seized her entire body, and she could barely put one word after the other. It felt as if the den's walls were shrinking in around her, and she could barely breathe. Ambrose was shouting at her then, snarling in frustration. He was going to kill her. She knew it. This was her fault -- his son was dead because she'd failed as a pupsitter.

But Ambrose didn't kill her. He merely barged past her and barked cruel, harsh words toward her and his daughter, and then he left. Oriole went to Tikaani and pulled her in close, numbness settling in where the panic was mere moments before. She let the pup cry into her fur until Tanana arrived home to take her daughter. 

Kenai's body was found later that day. A thick fog of grief settled over the whole pack. Oriole remained convinced of her impending punishment for the better part of three days. She confided in Pheasant, telling her that she'd never been so afraid in her life, and that she didn't even have a right to deny any punishment the leader or her mate had to dole out. Kenai was dead because of Oriole's incompetence, after all. Not long after that conversation, Tanana came to Oriole with a tearful smile and assured her that she would be facing no such consequences. Kenai's passing was an accident, and no one was at fault for it. 

Tanana may have released Oriole of her guilt, but she couldn't make Oriole forgive herself. When Oriole conceived pups with a handsome rogue male who chose not to join the pack despite Oriole's love for him, it almost seemed as if she was being punished by something more cosmic in nature. And then, when her three beautiful golden pups -- Poppy, Sunflower, and Daisy -- all passed away with no clear explanation, she knew it to be true. She was cursed. All she could do was care for others' pups in penance, and ensure that nothing ever happened to another pup under her supervision.

Nearly a year and a half later, Oriole became pregnant again, and was again abandoned by the pups' father. She gave birth to four pups, three of whom were stillborn. The last was a dusty brown male that she decided to name Cuckoo. From day one, she knew that Cuckoo was doomed to die, and was perhaps less secretive about this "knowledge" than she ought to have been. He was an awkward pup, only made moreso by his mother's emotional distance. She loved and cared for him, but was never emotionally accessible to him. When Cuckoo made it to adolescence without incident, Oriole was shocked. But by this time, their relationship was what it was -- repairing it would be a daunting task, and neither Oriole nor the sullen Cuckoo were equipped to bridge the gap on their own. 

By the time Cuckoo reached adulthood, Oriole's age was beginning to catch up with her. She could no longer keep up with the faster, older pups. Instead, she became the primary source of warmth and comfort for the very youngest of the pack's puppies.