Susihukka

AUTUMN
›› Susihukka and her best friend, Kullanmuru, were just two dumb kids, when they left their home and decided to start their own pack.
›› They probably wouldn't have gotten far without Tarkka – a pleasant male a year or so older than the girls – who was the first one to join their little band. They travel together for a while before finding their place at a beautiful mountainside, a beautiful den near a little pond. They decide to settle there and name it Susilampi.
›› Susihukka meets Sysi who – despite probably being a bit too cool for the gang – decides to join their pack. Kullanmuru especially is very glad to have another hunter helping her, now that the free-spirited Tarkka is more focused on exploring the nearby areas.
›› Ruskatuhka is the next one to join their quickly growing pack. He and Susihukka hit it off immediately - maybe even a bit too well. Susihukka and Kullanmuru have talked about having kids, but when it suddenly happens... honestly it's a bit too soon. At least it is clear that Susihukka and Ruskatuhka will work better as just friends.
›› Two puppies are born, a male and a female, and the father, Ruskatuhka, immediately adores them and is glad to take on most of the parenting.
›› Taigataika is a bit hesitant about joining a new pack so soon after losing her old one. But Susihukka manages to convince her.
›› Susihukka isn't honestly too keen on Retale, when they first meet, but somehow the crude male manages to worm his way into her good graces. And soon he proves himself to be an efficient hunter and a valuable new member of the hunting team.
›› Staying home all day with the puppies is starting to get to Ruskatuhka, and Susihukka orders him to stretch his legs and scout the nearby lands - even if it means that the two pups are left with no protection.
›› When he then cames home, Ruskatuhka is devastated to find the male puppy's mangled corpse near a bear's den. At least the female puppy seems to be mostly fine, if not a bit shaken. Susihukka is trying to tell herself that that's just what life is sometimes.
›› But life goes on. There are still other mouths to feed, and Susihukka convinces Lumituikku, a wanderer who may or may not be what she says she is, to join the pack. At last their hunting crew has full members!
›› Ruskatuhka accuses Susihukka of not caring about their children. Susihukka reminds him that he agreed to go scouting. Ruskatuhka thinks about leaving the pack, but decides to stay for the female puppy.
›› Myrskynmerkki always looks out for himself first, but as the chill of winter is starting to linger in the air, that means joining a pack is the wisest move. The Susilampi pack is glad to take him in, as they are in need of a herbalist.

WINTER
›› As the weather grows colder, so is life of the pack pretty chill. Everyone is starting to settle into their roles, and Susilampi is starting to feel like home.
›› Like when first meeting Retale, Susihukka doesn't much like Hohtosarastus at first either, and is reluctant to even let her into the pack. They are doing just fine without this smug asshole, thank you very much. But in the end she feels sorry for the lone wolf already struggling in the cooling winter weather, and lets Hohtosarastus join the pack.
›› As winter grows harsher and the prey becomes more scarce, tensions start to rise in the hunting party. Sysi keeps getting into arguments with Taikataiga and Lumituikku over the stupidest little things, and Retale keeps more or less insinuating that Kullanmuru is a part of the group only because she's the leader's mate, and not because how well she's doing her job as a stalker.
›› The female puppy of Susihukka and Ruskatuhka reaches the age of 3 months and finally it's time to name her: Hukkaparka. But don't tell anyone: Susihukka has already been calling her that in her thoughts ever since the male puppy's death.
›› Finally the tensions in the hunting party come to a head, when a verbal altercation between Retale and Kullanmuru turns into a physical fight. Fur is flying and teeth are snapping, but before any blood is drawn, Retale yields and promises to watch his words a bit more in the future. And that he does. Almost immediately the relationship between him and Kullanmuru gets better - they aren't friends, but maybe one day they would be.
›› Inspired by all that, Taigataika admits that she's been pretty torn up about feeling like she's actually started belong somewhere that isn't her old pack, which she lost - and she's unfairly been taking it out on the others, mostly Sysi. She apologizes and decides that believing in the future again doesn't mean she'd have to forget the past.
›› In the name of clearing the rest of the air, Lumituikku also drops a bomb and admits, that she's been straight up lying about her past. She didn't leave her previous pack on her own volition like she's been telling, but she was chased off for stealing supplies and food. But she really likes it here and doesn't want to make the same mistake again.
›› It takes a while for the rest of the hunting party - and the whole pack, because they made her tell the truth to everyone - to swallow the information. Susilampi pack is small and its resources are limited, and everyone has to trust each other for any of this to work. Some of the members - Sysi especially, since she's been clashing with Lumituikku the most, and Kullanmuru, who is Sysi's best friend - argue for kicking her off the pack. Whereas others - especially Retale, who is very fond of her - argues against it.
›› In the end Susihukka is the one, who has the final word, and since she took her in despite knowing that she was lying about something, and after reminding them that while staying at Susilampi, Lumituikku hasn't done anything wrong, it is agreed that she could stay. Lumituikku is very grateful for the second chance.
›› Things are quiet for a while. The hunting party is now getting along remarkably well, the two scouts, Tarkka and Hohtosarastus, are travelling farther and farther into new and exciting places, Myrskynmerkki is preparing medicines in case of rainy days in the future, Hukkaparka is slowly growing up under Ruskatuhka's supervision, and Susihukka is gathering supplies, getting into a lot of fights and having weird dreams [Lunar event]. Life is pretty good.
›› Kullanmuru hesitantly brings up the thought of having actual planned puppies to Susihukka, and feels bad because Hukkaparka is still very young, and she probably should love her as if she were her own. Though, sometimes it does seem like Susihukka, Hukkaparka's actual mother, pays little to no attention to her remaining offspring either.
›› Kullanmuru decides that it was better to wait, though she thoroughly enjoys daydreaming the pitter patter of her own puppies' little feet someday. At least Sysi is there to share her dreams and fantasize about the future with, even if Susihukka isn't quite there yet.
›› Hunaja and Mahlava have been travelling together for a short while, when Susihukka comes across them. They are... a lot to deal with, already in the first meeting. Mahlava clearly likes to boss Hunaja around, and he clearly likes to push all of her buttons and do exactly the opposite than what she told him.
›› When they ask to join the pack, Susihukka is once again very hesitant. It doesn't feel like there is much respect for her authority from either of them, and the pair seems to be doing just fine on their own. But it is the middle of the coldest and darkest winter, and Susihukka lets them join - on the condition that they work hard for their upkeep.
›› It isn't a surprise to anyone, that they soon really hit it off with Hohtosarastus, who no one else has been able to make real friends with yet. The uncontrollable duo and the stuck-up scout, on the other hand, get along remarkably well.
›› Encouraged by Kullanmuru, Susihukka tries to bond with Hukkaparka. "During the lesson: Timing is key when working with others so that you don't get in their way. Hukkaparka learned that being first sometimes means that you're the first one that gets scolded by Susihukka if something goes wrong." Hukkaparka misses her brother.
›› [Cataclysms event] Strange things are happening everywhere. Members of the Susilampi pack are terrified.
›› Caught in a middle of a raging firestorm, Susihukka meets a panicked wolf. They escape together and after the shared experience Susihukka just can't not ask him to join her pack. The wolf - ironically called Kipinöivä, sparking, gladly accepts.

SPRING
›› Winter turns to spring, but Susihukka is still plagued by weird dreams, and the whole Susilampi pack is still suffering from the devastation of a bizarre string of natural disasters. Strange and dangerous is starting to become the new normal.
›› Pohjanpalo joins the pack without much fanfare. Susihukka wonders when did her, Kullanmuru and Tarkka's little gang turn into an actual, sizable wolf pack. It feels weird to be leading such a big group of wolves, almost all of them a lot older than her.
›› Ketunkuiske and her friend stop by to take shelter from a yet another cataclysmic event. After the weather calms down a bit again, the friend goes his way, but Ketunkuiske stays at Susilampi.
›› Hukkaparka turns six months old and Tarkka takes her scouting with him. Tarkka gets a bit scratched up, but all in all it goes remarkably well and Hukkaparka really enjoys seeing new places (and some time away from home). After that she goes with Hohtosarastus, and despite Hohtosarastus's apprehension and Hukkaparka's initial wariness of her, it goes well and they both have actual fun. Next she joins the hunting party - and just witnesses them failing to catch anything. Kullanmuru tells her it's not that unusual, but Hukkaparka is still a bit disappointed.
›› Ruskatuhka is feeling a little aimless and listless now that Hukkaparka is all but grown up. He spends a lot of time visiting his son's grave.

SUMMER
›› A wolf called Thistle stays at Susilampi for a moment before moving on.
›› Lumituikku and Tarkka switch places for a while, Tarkka becoming the finisher for the hunting party and Lumituikku becoming the scout to map out places beyond the southern swamp. It'll do good to Tarkka to learn some teamwork and spend some time with other wolves. Lumituikku is excited to discover new places.
›› Kullanmuru catches the mange and Susihukka tries to comfort her as well as she can. She promises to bring her some sort of gift soon, to lift her spirits. Before she can find anything, Kullanmuru gets better (with the help of Myrskynmerkki), but Susihukka still intends to keep her promise.
›› After months of just wallowing in self-pity and missing his two newborn puppies - the one whose death still weighs heavily on him, but paradoxically also the one who got to grow up and is almost an adult now, Ruskatuhka starts going hunting. Having something to do helps clear his mind a little.
›› Hukkaparka has trouble connecting with either of her parents. Susihukka is still too indifferent, and it feels like that day by day Ruskatuhka is growing more and more distant too.
›› Tarkka has been doing really well as Lumituikku's replacement in the hunting party, and while he misses his old job and the solitude, he could really get used to this.
›› Meanwhile Lumituikku has also enjoyed her new job and she's become friends with Hohtosarastus, the pack's other scout. They like comparing stories about the places they've been, even though Hohtosarastus often just has to try and one up all of Lumituikku's stories. Lumituikku mostly just finds it amusing.
›› The only one who isn't quite as fine with all of this as they try to appear is Retale, who finds himself becoming incredibly jealous of Tuikku and Hohto's new friendship, and just really misses spending time with Lumituikku.
›› Seeing Ruskatuhka going hunts all by himself, Susihukka ponders about gathering a third hunting party. As her and Ruskatuhka's relationship is still pretty cold, she doesn't bring it up to him directly, but does let a lone wolf, Hurjahuurre, join the pack. Hurjahuurre slots in with everyone nicely and is happy to accompany Ruskatuhka on hunts.
›› Despite searching far and wide Susihukka hasn't found any suitable gift for Kullanmuru. She wonders if she should instead bring up again the question about having puppies, but ultimately decides against it. Not yet. Winter is too near, everything is so busy with the pack and everything, maybe in the spring....
›› Two wolves, Leiya and Redoak stay at Susilampi for a few weeks, but as autumn starts to creep in, they say their goodbyes and continue on their journey.