Winter's Steady Hand

SpoilerOne of the first wolves I befriended, somewhere around December of 2022. He was bonded to Tranquil Morning, and no current descents survive. He had the role of a hunter and was a chaser with 100 proficiency.
Winter's Steady Hand is an adventurer by heart, he's always been known to seek the thrill of discovery and the glory of coming home with a new tale or story. This drive for knowledge and adrenaline is what made him leave his birth pack, having preferred being a free loner than trapped in a home of familiarity and consistence.
He spent years isolated, travelling from place to place and never settling down, every day he'd find something new, win a glorious battle or escape a near-death experience- However, something was missing, he felt alone.
It's a bit funny, really, the biggest challenge of being a loner wasn't the unforgiving weather, the persistent hunger or the constant threat of other predators; It was the very thing it was named after, loneliness. When Winter finally realized this, everything felt meaningless to an extent, he had all these tales of greatness yet no one to share them with, all of the things he'd done would be buried with him.

This needed to change, but how would he even go about finding another wolf to befriend? Packs are aggressive to outsiders, if he just as approached their borders he'd be immediately chased away, and other loners are even more wary and distrustful of strangers. Maybe he could try to rejoin his birth pack? No, they wouldn't be happy to see him after he left them, they probably wouldn't have even recognized him.

He felt stuck, for the first time in his life he felt like he found a challenge too great for him.
That was, until he spotted another wolf on the vast and open Prairies, she was too clean and well-fed to be a loner, so she definitely was part of a pack, however unlike a pack-wolf she hadn't chased him off yet. Maybe she was confusing him for a member of her pack? Or maybe she was in fact a loner? Either way, he felt safe enough to approach her.
Her name was Tranquil Morning, she was part of a pack like he first thought, but she was friendly, welcoming and humble. He felt safe around her, and she offered him a place in the pack.
By all means, this was an odd encounter, everything that happened here went against the rules and guidelines of a normal pack, still however, he accepted her offer.

When he reached the pack's camp, it suddenly all made sense, this was a new pack with few wolves, no wonder they needed help with starting out.
He was assigned the role of a hunter, which was great for him as it meant every time he'd be sent out to hunt he'd spend a lot of his time tracking and exploring new places in their territory, and this time he'd have a group to enjoy this with.
He quickly formed strong bonds with the members of his pack, however none of the bonds he formed were ever as strong as the one he formed with Tranquil Morning, she loved hearing his stories, his dry humor and charismatic nature.
This was love, by all means. Even if he got bored of exploring the borders of their territory while out on hunts, or even if pack life became mundane he still wouldn't abandon it if it meant he could still spend time with her.

He didn't need much to be happy after that, just calm, wordless nights resting under the tall oak tree they called home next to the one he loved. Life was simple, he lost the need to seek thrills and new adventures, happiness was wherever they were.
And, he was okay with that.