Ambrose

"Hmph. What do you want?"

This imposing wolf keeps his sharp eyes trained upon you for as long as you are in his presence. Any step toward him is greeted with a curled lip, perhaps a warning growl. His tail is held high, and his long white fangs are kept at the ready.

Ambrose is the quintessential grump, and always has been. Having set out from his birth pack at as a young adult, he was the first wolf that Tanana met upon her arrival to the mountains. Though it often seems like an odd match to outsiders, the gruff and gloomy Ambrose and the lighthearted Tanana are mates. They fell deeply in love and decided to start the Shenandoah Pack together. Ambrose became the first scout, happily leaving leadership in his mate's creative and more sociable paws. Within just a few weeks of the pack's founding, Tanana realized that she was carrying Ambrose's pups.

Tanana's first pregnancy brought a slight change in Ambrose. Fatherhood seemed to be exactly what he needed to sand down some of the rougher edges in his personality. And indeed, the first few weeks of his pups' lives were the happiest in Ambrose's life. His daughter Tikaani and son Kenai brought a sparkle to his eyes and a warmth to his heart that no one, not even Tanana, had seen before. Sadly, this didn't last long.

When the pups were just three months old, Ambrose was shaken awake by their pupsitter, Oriole. She was in hysterics, and it took a few shouts and snaps from Ambrose before he could get her to speak coherently. Then he got the news that would snuff out the light that had just recently come into his life. 

While he was out playing, little Kenai had fallen off of a cliff, presumably to his death.

Ambrose bolted out of his den, knocking Oriole to the side in the process. When Tikaani, also in tears, tried to follow Ambrose, he practically roared at her to stay put with Oriole, if the pupsitter wished to actually do her job. He didn't wait to see how they reacted, and instead roused Rappahannock, the other scout, and set out a search for Kenai. The scouts both went in different directions, casting a wide net below the cliff where Kenai was last seen.

Ambrose was the one who found him.

His worst fears confirmed, Ambrose remained at the base of the cliff for a few hours. His memory of that day are hazy, but he eventually did bring Kenai's tiny, broken body back up to Pineshade Hollow. He does recall that breaking the news to Tanana and Tikaani was one of the most difficult things he's ever had to do.

Despite the hopes and best efforts of Tanana, the family didn't rally after the loss, or become closer. Ambrose lost no love for his mate and surviving pup, but something within him had crumpled, and he became even more distant and aloof. He began to scout farther and farther afield, spending days and weeks alone between reports.

In the late fall, after a scouting trip to the north that resulted in an injury to his leg, Ambrose was sleeping beside Tanana in the herbalists' den. She licked his ear to wake him, claiming that he was suffering from a nightmare. They talked for a few hours that night, processing some of their shared grief and concerns for their future. Ambrose was genuinely shocked when Tanana haltingly expressed that she wanted to have another litter of pups. She assured him that it wasn't to "replace" Kenai, or anything of the sort. But, they'd had dreams before the tragedy -- dreams that they could still achieve, even with Kenai's memory in their hearts. Ambrose was hesitant, but agreed.

So while Tanana was in heat in the early winter, Ambrose remained with the pack. It was... strange, seeing everyone again for such a long period. He hated how some of the wolves looked upon him with pity, and others with fear. But worst of all was Tikaani. Looking at her, he saw a reflection of himself -- she was nothing like her mother, or the smiling young pup he'd left behind. Instead, she'd adopted a gloomy and pessimistic attitude much like his own. She would barely speak to him, or anyone else besides her fellow adolescents, for that matter. Ambrose was given pause, but felt powerless to mend the rift that had opened between himself and his daughter. Was this what the new pups would grow up to be like as well, if they even made it that far? Ambrose began to have second thoughts about the new litter, but at that point it was too late to change course. 

After Tanana's heat, Ambrose departed on another scouting expedition to the north. By the time he returned, winter was well underway. When she ran to greet him, Tanana was blissful, and kissed him passionately. Ambrose greeted her with trepidation, unable to look away from the roundness of her belly. He learned that the new pups were due in early spring. Sensing Ambrose's hesitation, Tanana climbed up on his shoulders and bowled him down to the ground, whining and snuggling into his neck. Ambrose laid his ears back and leaned into her, suddenly overwhelmed with a heaviness in his chest. 

"It's going to be okay," she whispered. That's when Ambrose heard a strangled whine coming from his own throat, and felt Tanana's snout rubbing against his now trembling shoulders. None of the other pack members bothered the pair as Ambrose lay beneath his mate, grief and fear pouring from his throat as the floodgates finally burst. They stayed there together well into the afternoon, snuggling and comforting one another, with Ambrose apologizing for his absence, and for his behavior. Tanana accepted the apology, but did admit that the distance had hurt her; it was plain to the whole pack that Ambrose's extended scouting trips were merely an excuse to avoid staying home. She asked that Ambrose remain in the mountains until the pups were born. Having felt them kicking as he lay against Tanana, Ambrose knew that he had no choice in the matter. Without hesitation, he agreed.

Of course, nothing really ever goes to plan during a harsh winter. One morning, during a heavy snow storm, Ambrose was sitting in Pineshade Hollow, speaking with a cousin of his that had joined the Shenandoah Pack during one of his previous scouting excursions. That was when Tanana walked in, caked in snow and with her head held low. Ambrose excused himself from Wren and rushed over to meet her. She was trembling from the cold, and a smear of blood had gotten frozen along her shoulder. Before he could even ask what had happened, Tanana took in a sharp breath and asked for him to fetch Falcon, the pack's resident herbalist. 

He delegated this task to Tikaani, who was trotting up at that point. His quiet, calm tone gave the adolescent something of a shock, judging by her expression. Ambrose ushered Tanana further into the den, toward the chamber that they shared. He could tell by the way she breathed that this wasn't about the injury to her shoulder; she'd gone into premature labor.

When Falcon arrived and assessed the situation, she informed the pair that there were no medicines available to stop the labor, and that the pups that were originally due in Spring would be arriving during this late winter blizzard. Ambrose remained with Tanana through the birth, comforting her. As it turned out, she had gone out to trade with the local raccoon merchant for some extra food in case the pack was snowed in, and had gotten into a tussle with an aggressive moose along the way. Swallowing his immediate shock that she would go out alone this far into her pregnancy, Ambrose pressed his forehead to hers, simply saying that he was glad that she made it home.

A few hours later, two tiny pups were born. They were frail, and barely made any sound as they groped around for their mother. Falcon informed Tanana and Ambrose in a low, quiet voice that the pups were unlikely to survive due to their prematurity and the winter cold. The only optimism she could spare was that they were developed enough to have the instinct to suckle, so there was a slim chance that they might grow, thereby increasing their chances of survival. With that, she left, intent on gathering ingredients to make a wound salve for Tanana's injuries.

Ambrose was hesitant at first, but eventually leaned down to lick his new pups after Falcon's departure. Despite the pall of sadness and worry surrounding the situation, he was letting himself fall in love with the little things, just as he had done with Kenai and Tikaani. One of them, a little white pup with golden patches, gummed at Ambrose's nose as he leaned down to him. The other flipped over onto its back and whimpered, feebly flailing his tiny pink paws into his father's snout. Ambrose heard another unexpected sound rising from his chest -- a soft laugh. His tail wagging, he lay down beside his mate and new pups. He wouldn't leave them... not until they grew, or perhaps passed on. They would know both of their parents for as long as they had. Tanana was struggling to remain awake at this point, but she did move her head on top of one of Ambrose's paws. Their eyes met for a few moments, and then she settled in for a nap.

Since that night, Ambrose has been much more present in his family's lives. This now includes grandpups from both Tikaani and Aqissiaq. Watseka, Aqissiaq's daughter, is the apple of Ambrose's eye.