Named for her gray pelt and markings, Aspen was one of the original and founding wolves of the Lingering Howl. She was chosen by Puddle to be one of the three chasers in Puddle's Party, and ran alongside both Fox and Oleander. Her observations were always the best out of the three, making the trails easy to follow.
She bore pups twice, each to a different wolf. She didn't mind not having deeper connections with the wolves she mothered pups for. After all, they weren't apart of the Lingering Howl, and she was getting what she wanted. Pups. It was a win-win, and kept the unnecessary drama out of her and her pack's life.
Out of her first three pups, whose father was Kodalk, only Ashen was to remain in the Lingering Howl. Sunflower's dream had been unpleasant seeming, but the mother wolf spun it for her pups as positively as she could. When the two adventurous siblings had left the pack together, to find the fabled river of lights in the sky, Ashen and her had watched with happy tears.
When her second litter was born, their father being Nyko, neither of the two pups were meant to stay either. Again, Aspen weaved a pleasant story, and her daughter Wren had been given to a new pack before she was even an adolescent. Now, Hickory still waits for his pack, his tail thumping every time a different pack's lead comes to their caves to speak with Whippoorwill.
Her son Ashen watches his younger brother with heavy protectiveness. Having become a pupsitter, he now knows the truth of the dreams the pack herbalists have. Having grown distant and angry towards his mother, Aspen can only watch as her oldest child tries his best to keep up the pleasant lies to the pups who are prophesied to disappear.
Because of such a rift, she could not mourn the loss of her fellow chaser, Fox, when his time for rest came.
She's getting older... she's just as alone as she was before she had her children..... Maybe there's still time... to fix her bond with Ashen... or... to make some new ones.
Making new bonds was supposed to be easier.
After convincing Whippoorwill that she was able to carry one of his litters, Aspen waited patiently for the pups to come. There weren't many more than her second litter. However, she wasn't prepared for what was about to happen.
The pups came too soon. Out of the three of them, only one son remained. He looked just like Whippoorwill, the only pup to look like his sire. Aspen was having a hard time looking at him. He was her son, she was supposed to form a new bond with him... But... one of the other pups... had looked just like Ashen....
She knew now she couldn't replace her estranged son. Not like this. A feeling of emptiness began to take place inside her.
Hunter 
Hunter