Pheasant

On the memorial stone, you see a swath of warm brown surrounded by a rainbow in the shape of a large leaf. You are told by the herbalist that this symbol represents Pheasant, one of the founding members of the Shenandoah Pack. 

Though it might not have seemed like it from her lazy demeanor, Pheasant was actually the pack's first lead huntress. She was alway a bit of an odd duck, even to the rest of her own hunting party. But you've been told that she had a good set of eyes and an even better nose, and when spurred into action, she always proved to be one of the most effective leaders that the pack had to offer.

The early days were a bit awkward for Pheasant, who was born with male anatomy despite knowing that she was a she-wolf. With the help of a dear friend named Oriole, Pheasant worked up the courage to ask the pack to treat her as the lead huntress, rather than as the lead hunter. Everyone in the pack was accepting, much to Pheasant's relief. A year or so after establishing herself in the pack, Pheasant she prayed to her goddess for a way to change her body to match who she knew herself to be. Somehow, it seems to have worked. You know that Pheasant was the mother of several litters in her time.

In her later years, Pheasant began spending a lot of time with Pumpkin, one of the pupsitters. Pumpkin's health had declined over the previous months, but Pheasant helped to keep him in good spirits. The two began to realize that their infatuation with one another was mutual, and decided to quietly begin a romantic relationship. They weren't able to keep it under wraps for long, however. Given Pheasant's age of over six-and-a-half years, she assumed that it would be difficult for her to become pregnant. As it turns out, she was wrong. For the third time in her life, Pheasant was going to become a mother. But this time, it was going to be with a wolf she loved.

Sadly, due to complications when the litter was born, only two of Pheasant and Pumpkin's four pups survived. The situation was dire. For a few grueling hours, Pumpkin was worried that Pheasant and all of the pups were going to die. Thanks to the herbalists -- Falcon and Albatross -- Pheasant and two of the pups survived the ordeal.

As it happened, the scout Ambrose returned home with an orphaned pup the morning after Pheasant gave birth. The little lavender-pelted fellow had been wandering on his own through the mountains, and was lucky enough not to get bitten by the rattlesnakes hiding within the thick summer foliage along his path. Pheasant and Pumpkin adopted the pup without a moment's hesitation. They named him Winterberry, and Pheasant allowed him to nurse alongside Chicory and Thrush.

Pheasant's older son Quail saw through his mother's attempts to present a strong front following the birth of his little siblings. Her body never fully recovered, and her hunting party began to suffer as she lagged behind and grew weaker. When her newest pups were weaned and on the brink of adolescence, Pheasant was finally forced to retire from her role as a huntress. She took up residence in Blackrock Burrow, spending all of her time with her beloved Pumpkin and his charges. Despite having more time with her mate, Pheasant found herself hit with a fresh well of grief as she made her home in the burrow. Her old friend Oriole had passed on months before, and Pheasant had been avoiding the inside of the burrow ever since. Pumpkin did his best to comfort Pheasant and make sure that she felt at home, and her depression surrounding her ill health, Oriole's death, and the loss of her hunter role was tempered somewhat.

When Pheasant was approaching seven-and-a-half years, Quail came running into Blackrock Burrow with wide eyes. When Pheasant and Pumpkin asked him what was going on, all he could do was stammer. That was when Chesapeake, Quail's mate and the granddaughter of the lead wolf, entered the den behind him at a calm trot. She nuzzled up to Quail and offered a respectful greeting to her elders. From the way that Quail looked down at Chesapeake with wide eyes, filled to the brim with a mish-mash of fear and wonder and joy, Pheasant saw the news coming. Quail blurted out exactly what she expected -- Chesapeake was pregnant. Pumpkin and Pheasant immediately leapt to their paws and ran to shower the young couple with licks and nuzzles of congratulations. Winterberry, Thrush, and Chicory joined in, having been in earshot. The old, grey-muzzled Pheasant couldn't have been more proud that day, surrounded by her loving, growing family. 

Pheasant lived to see her first grandpups' birth. She breathed her last beside them, when the family was curled up in Blackrock Burrow. She drifted off peacefully in her sleep, and though she was deeply mourned, the entire pack knew that she died with a peaceful smile on her snout. She was laid to rest by Pumpkin, Winterberry, and Quail while the rest of the pack watched on. Her grave is at the foot of one of Shenandoah's dullest crags, at the top of a hill where she often sat to sniff out prey upon the breeze. With her, a jagged leaf was buried -- a symbol of her goddess, and purportedly some component of the favor that helped her to live her truth as a she-wolf.