• Clan Co-Lead • Lead Scout •
Mate: Missy, Pack Matriarch
Diego is a german shepherd, who found his way into the woods before his mother died. He and his mother and two littermates were stray dogs in a big city, and his mother moved her three young puppies into the woods to avoid further harassment from humans. The journey took days of traveling.
The family would call the Deciduous Forest home for many moons.
Diego's mother was an older dog, and cared for her puppies as best as she could, though she was getting weaker. She taught them to hunt and fish, to make a den, and to treat infection and wounds. One day, the four of them lay down for a rest in a forest clearing. They were all tired from searching for food. Suddenly, an enemy pack of coyotes charged in, and surrounded the small family, yipping and cawing. Diego's mother gathered her puppies close, but one of Diego's littermates was grabbed by a coyote. Diego's mother put up a hard battle, as the others were still too young to help. The coyotes were chased off, but the puppy's wounds were too severe, and he passed the same day.
And then there were three.
Diego and his remaining brother, Rodrigo, started to realize that life in the woods was going to be very difficult. Their mother tried, but her old bones could not do what they had in her younger years. Hares were too fast for her to catch, deer and elk too large to challenge. She was tired. They could sense it. They would need to provide for themselves, and their mother. So, the two worked out a plan. Diego would search for new hunting grounds, and Rodrigo would stay and care for Mother, bringing her what he could. Diego spent a lot of time away, searching for better hunting grounds. He would leave his brother and mom for days at a time, only to return with no good news.
One day, though, everything changed.
Diego returned home from a successful two-week-long scouting trip at the turn of fall. His paw pads had become calloused, and his stomach had become accustomed to the constant pang of hunger gnawing in the background. At the very end of his trip, when he had a day's journey left, he spotted an injured moose calf. It was bloody, and weak. Swiftly, he jumped at the chance to deliver the final blow. So much food! A moose calf would feed his family for a few days at least! He dutifully, eagerly dragged it towards home, so excited to show mother what he had accomplished! Though it added much time to his remaining journey, it was worth it.
As Diego finally approached their makeshift home, a small cave his mother had found when his third sibling was still alive, he could smell and see his brother standing outside the entrance.
"Rodrigo! Mom!" he cried out, "I've brought us a feast!"
He was cut off before he could finish. "Diego!" answered Rodrigo, "Thank goodness you're here, come quick! It's mother…"
At that, Diego dropped the carcass and bolted for the cave. What was wrong with mom?
His brother stopped him just short of seeing inside. "What's wrong?" Diego asked.
"Mother's not well. She's been very sick the last few days. She won't move from this spot. I've tried preparing the herb mixtures she showed us when we were pups, but she won't have any of it! She tells me not to waste my energy.." There were tears in Rodrigo's eyes. Diego asked to step into the cave, and his brother allowed him to. He saw a very frail old woman, hardly the image that came to mind when he thought of Mother.
"Mother, it's Diego," he began, "finally I've brought us a feast! A whole moose calf!"
His mother weakly raised her head to meet his eager gaze. She looked sickly. Diego worried.
"Diego," she started, "what a fine young man you've become. A moose? That's wonderful. Would you bring me some?"
He went back for the carcass and, with the help of his brother, dragged it into the cave where his mom lay. He tore off a large chunk, and lay it in front of her.
"Fresh meat, not two days old. Are you proud of me, mom?" said Diego. His mom began to lick the piece of meat in front of her, tears forming in her eyes. "Son, this is the best thing that's happened in days. I am very proud of you." She paused, to delicately tear a strip off the moose meat. Then she continued. "As you know, I am very ill," she wheezed, "You boys will need to care for yourselves. I have taught you all I know. I am just glad that I got to see both of my sons together one final time." She started into a coughing fit. When she recovered, she continued: "You must leave me here. It's no good waiting for me to pass. My fate is sealed. I can cross into the afterlife confident that my sons will survive." Another bout of coughing. "Please. Go." At that, she gave a small swish of her tail towards them before laying her head down, signalling them to leave her at her final resting place. Diego and Rodrigo both howled outside the den, before setting off.
•••••
The months after Diego's mother's passing were difficult. Both brothers struggled to find game. Diego and Rodrigo began scrapping more often, usually over food. Diego was bigger than Rodrigo, but his brother was much more agile. Their scraps ended up with them both bloody and wounded, sometimes badly. Diego was spending more time scouting, and Rodrigo had picked up the habit as well. After a while, when the relationship was hanging on by a thread, they parted ways and vowed never to see each other again.
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