Darlington

Darlington is a charming, golden male with strength enough to bring down a stag on his own. Despite his outwardly sunny disposition, however, he is hiding darkness within him. He struggles often with the guilt of mistreating his brother Molder when they were pups, and believes that everything he touches, he will cause to die. To prove his loyalty to his brother after their rocky past, he has sworn fealty to Molder and has given up trying for the position of alpha for the rest of his life.

Birth: Nighttime, Summer

Mate: None

Relatives: Molder (brother)

Friends: 

Occupation: Hunter (Finisher)

Likes: venison, socializing, hunting

Dislikes: water, being alone

Hobbies: stargazing, wrestling

Backstory

Darlington, like his brother Molder, was born to Skunkbear, his father and alpha of their pack, and Honeybee, his mother. He is said to look like his mother, while Molder looks like their father.

     Growing up, Darlington swiftly became the biggest and strongest young wolf in the pack, surpassing even those older than him in growth, as Skunkbear secretly favored him, fed him juicy cuts of prey the rest of the pack didn't know about, and trained him personally.

     Darlington was always naturally social and loving, getting the trait from his mother and putting it into practice looking after Molder, and their sister Iki. Despite his tendency towards kindness, Darlington craved acceptance and approval, and would often do anything to please those around him.

     Guilt would overtake him whenever Skunkbear prodded him to go after mother animals such as a doe, and when he was prompted to take eggs from their nests. Each time he expressed his guilt over such a thing, Skunkbear demanded of his son to get rid of such a weakness and, as Darlington grew older, Skunkbear began to physically punish his son for speaking out or hesitating during a hunt or exploration.

     The pressures of his pack eventually eroded his own self confidence and self love; even before his brother Molder's pseudo-banishment, Darlington took to ignoring and even poking fun at his smaller brother to please the other wolf pups. Despite the guilt eating at him, Darlington continued to act in a rather two-faced way, bullying Molder when the others were around and hunting for him when they were alone.

     When Molder was suddenly excluded from the pack's caregiving, yet not allowed to leave, Darlington coped with watching his brother waste away by ignoring the situation, throwing himself into his training to be alpha, and often spending long hours away from the prairie pack's camp so that he would not have to see what had become of his brother.

     It was only on one such day out hunting with Skunkbear for a majority of the day that Darlington finally spoke up.

     "If I am to be alpha," he said, his tail wagging as he and Skunkbear gazed at the little harem of deer they were spotting, "I should start making my own decisions. I choose not to hunt does or take eggs. I won't do it anymore. And I think we should end Molder's punishment. It seems to have gone on long enough-"

     With a fury he'd never before seen in his father, Skunkbear had lunged at Darlington with his fangs bared. Shocked, too much so to feel the pain, Darlington's yelps had come automatically. It was only once the initial surprised wore off that he felt the bite and slash of fangs in his flank and belly, over and over again. He bled, began to cry louder, and Skunkbear's growls only became more savage. Out of the corner of his eye, Darlington could see the deer racing away from the noise as he was mauled. When Skunkbear's rage finally subsided, he gave one final, heavy stomp of his paw to Darlington's skull. Darlington lay still and curled tightly into a ball, shivering and silent, not daring to move or to make a sound.

     "Be rid of your weaknesses," Skunkbear snarled coldly in his ear, and Darlington could smell his rotten breath, "Or don't come back at all." Darlington still did not move or make a sound, his eyes shut tightly, and he heard his father stomp away. Still he lay on the wet, cold ground for a long time, until his body grew cold as well and his wounds made him stiff, his entire pelt stinging. He'd finally hauled himself to his feet, still trembling, but gradually coming to a realization. Skunkbear had meant for Molder to die. Fury filled him; the sting of injustice overcoming the sting of his wounds. Filled with a sudden darkness at the betrayal of his father, Darlington limped to the nearest stream of their territory and, sucking in air and gasping, had submerged his body in the icy water to numb the pain. Then, he began the long trek back to his pack's camp. He was going to rescue his brother.