Name: Tawny

Gender: Female

Breed: Wolf/ Unknown

Mother: Zeora (deceased)

Father: Koren

Mate: Open

Siblings:

Wind Foot- dark grey male

Roka- light brown female (deceased)

Description: Tawny is easy going and fun, as well as gentle and very protective

Likes: Running, her family, hunting, pups, the Lakota Village, horses

Dislikes: The cavalry, Koren, Suqal (pronounced Soo-call)

History:

Tawny and her siblings were born in the Lakota Village in early spring. Unlike the rest of her family, Tawny was lithe and graceful. Her siblings and mother were short and muscular. Tawny liked to think that she looked like her father, whom she had never met before and her mother never talked about. As pups, her and her siblings would make up stories about their father. The pups always thought that he was huge and as strong as a mountain and as quick as the wind. In their minds, he was brave, chivalrous, and a hero. As Tawny grew older, she and her siblings began to take on responsibility. They went hunting with the Lakota men, to help feed the village, guarded the horses, chased away intruders and predators, and mostly kept a watchful eye on the children.

            When Tawny was about a year and a half, almost full grown, she decided to leave the village and find her father. She approached Roka the night she was leaving, to see if she wanted to come with her.

            “Are you crazy?” Roka asked, shaking her head. “The village needs us, and how do you know that our father is even alive? You don’t know his name or what he looks like.” Tawny hadn’t considered this, but nonetheless she wasn’t swayed from her quest. Early the next morning, before even the birds had awoken, she bounded away into the unknown. After three days of wandering, Tawny was beginning to get hungry. She wasn’t used to hunting on her own, only in a pack to take down larger game. She had no experience hunting small animals such as beavers or squirrels. After another day of starving, Tawny found a dead buffalo that she presumed other wolves had found. She ate her fill and continued looking for her father. Tawny wandered for many days, so many that she lost count. She was resting in the shade of a willow when she heard a voice behind her.

            “Are you lost?” She snapped her head around to see a large black wolf standing behind her, amber eyes narrowed with suspicion and curiosity.

            Tawny scrambled to her feet. “No.” She said quickly. The black wolf let out a short barking laugh. “You look horrible, and you don’t smell like any of the wolves around here. I’m Suqal by the way.” He tipped his head to the side. Tawny introduced herself and took a step forward to look at him a bit better.

            “Like I said, you look horrible. Want to come back to my den and tell me why you’re here?” Suqal said with a wag of his tail. Tawny liked this wolf; he was the first wolf that had helped her since she had left the village.

            “Sure!” She said, her tail wagging furiously. She trotted after him as he led her away into the darkness.

            When she got to his den, he led her down into the deep earthy tunnel.

“I didn’t dig this myself, it used to be an old birthing den for mothers, but it hasn’t been used in some time.” Suqal said as he crawled into an open, but cozy den. Tawny laid down and Suqal curled up next to her, his fur pressed against hers.

            “So why are you here?” Suqal asked, looking at her.

Tawny flicked her ears. “I’m looking for my father.” She confessed. Suqal blinked. “What’s his name” He asked. Tawny bowed her head.

“I don’t know, I don’t know anything about him, my mother Zeora never talks about him.”

Suqal stood up, “Your mother is Zeora?” he asked. “I can take you to your father. I know who he is.” He said. Tawny stood up excitedly. “Let’s go!” She barked. Suqal shook his head,

“Not tonight… let’s just go in the morning.” He said. Tawny nodded and lay back down, closing her eyes. She missed the hungry glint in Suqal’s eyes as he looked at her.

Tawny awoke to a cold nose nudging her awake. “Tawny, come with me.” Suqal’s voice said. Tawny struggled up. “Are you taking me to my father?” She asked. Suqal didn’t answer, he just turned and walked out of the den, leading her into the darkness of the forest. After walking a bit, Suqal turned to her. Tawny looked confused,

“Why aren’t we going to see my father?” she asked. Suqal let out a growl.

“Because your father is a lying piece of Rat-dung.” He growled. Tawny took a step back. “W-what?” She asked. Suqal growled. “Let me tell you about your father. When I was a pup, your father raided my pack’s territory with a band of ragtag males who had no place in the world. He wanted our territory, hoping to wipe out our pack to take it for himself. I watched him murder my mother and father, as well as my brothers, Ember and Nupaq. I was smart enough to play dead, and they left me there, thinking that there were no survivors. They took the females who could give them pups, so that they could have a strong pack one day. Your mother Zeora was one of them. Koren took notice of her immediately. Your father mated with Zeora, thinking that he would have the strongest and best pups in the pack. But Zeora was smarter than that. She escaped one night, and I assume that she went to the Lakota village like you said. I escaped as well, and made a den here. As for Koren’s pack, the males al began to turn on each other. Soon the only one left was Koren. I don’t know or care where he is, I hope he’s dead and has been eaten by mice and filth.” All while Suqal had been telling Tawny this, he had slowly been circling her and coming closer.

His breath sounded softly in her ear. “Tawny, be my mate and we can have a strong pack one day, we can hunt down your father and kill him if he’s still alive, just like he deserves.” Tawny shivered slightly. Suqal went behind her, and tried to mate with her. Tawny jerked away, snapping her jaws. “No, Suqal! I don’t want pups created on hatred and a need for revenge!” She whispered. With one last look at the black male, she bounded away from him and never saw him again.

It took Tawny a long time to find her way back to the Lakota village. Her brother and sister greeted her enthusiastically. Roka and Wind Foot bounded around her, tails wagging furiously. “Did you find out anything about our father?” Roka asked excitedly.

Tawny turned away. “No. I didn’t find anything at all.”

Life returned to normal slowly. Tawny went back to hunting and guarding the village. One afternoon, as Tawny and Roka rested quietly they heard Wind Foot’s frantic howling.

They stood up to see a large group of strange men thundering down the hill on horses. The village fought against the men valiantly, but as the smoke cleared after the battle, Tawny only could see Wind Foot. She and her brother searched for her mother and sister, and after what seemed like hours, they found them dead, buried underneath the ashes of a burnt teepee. Tawny and Wind Foot grieved for some time, but life slowly went on as the village recovered. Tawny vowed never to let her family. Her real family; the Lakota people, get hurt again.

Relation to spirit: lives in the lakoato village/ knows Rain and Little Creek

Line art: theSuta

Background: Dreamworks