Tern

BORN

25th Dec, 2020 08:59

Picard is the Dad

1-8-2021

Tern was born in Star Trek Pack to wolves without names. They were simply other faces among the masses. He was passed around the nursery to different nursing wolves, never knowing who was his mother. The pups around him were unfamiliar and hard to keep track of, as they didn't have names either. He didn't know what a "sibling" was. He didn't know what a family was. He was only born to be sold, and his parents were only born to breed. When he became an adolescent, he began to be trained in the ways of this pack without love or affection. He was told not to bond with other wolves, that mating was only to produce pups, and that he could only trust himself. Tern and the other adolescent wolves eagerly awaited the day the Alpha (even he didn't have a name) would assess them to see what their role in Star Trek Pack was. The day finally came, and the Alpha thoroughly looked Tern over. He lifted his tail, checked his teeth, even listened to his breathing! After a few tense moments, the Alpha told Tern he was to be sold for territory. Tern's entire world came crumbling down around him. He lashed out in a fit of rage, taking the Alpha by surprise. Although he had little battle training, Tern's aim was true. His first bite was a killing blow, and, as he looked down at the Alpha's body, he felt nothing. He had no attachments here. He looked around him at the shocked faces of his peers and couldn't recognize a single one. No one looked sad exactly, just surprised. Another nameless wolf would just replace the Alpha, as would another wolf replace him. That's when Tern ran, and he never stopped running. He left his home in the Grasslands behind, and came upon the great Mountains of the west. He made a home there among the cliffs, still not knowing who he was or where he belonged. That's when I came along. I found him shivering under a rocky overhang, and I invited him to join my pack. When I introduced myself as Kestrel, he seemed in complete shock and asked me why I was called something. I was speechless. Did this wolf really not know what names were? We sat and had a long talk, where I told him what a pack could truly be. Tern seemed excited and relieved that life wasn't all suffering, and it was then that I named him. We walked back home together, chatting the whole way, and when he arrived, he was ecstatic. His head was whirling with all the names and faces, and he was overwhelmed at the kindness the other wolves showed him. Seeing how confusing everything was for him gave me a thought. What if I could make things less confusing and painful? What if I gave every adolescent a mentor? It was then that I came up with Mentors and Apprentices.