Storm Harbor Pack

Residing in the forest, these anubites consider themselves a conglomeration of misfits. They share their territory with the Treehopper pride, whom they trust as an "alarm system". They are friendly and welcoming to strangers, perhaps even naïvely so.

Sandstorm ♀

Sandstorm was born into a pack in which only males were valued as more than breeding stock. The alpha, who in this case was her father, had breeding rights to any female in the pack, and had several sons and daughters. When the alpha died, his sons would fight amongst themselves (often to the death), with the winner becoming the new pack leader. Shortly after Sandstorm's birth, a secret coalition of females was made, led by her mother. The females planned to overthrow the male-dominated hierarchy, and place one of their own in charge.

At first, the females were unsure who to choose, but observing Sandstorm's proclivity for leadership, they elected to place her in charge, once she was of an age to lead. The female anubites met in secret, and trained Sandstorm privately, honing her hunting skills and teaching her to be a great leader.

They all expected that the alpha would not die for many years, but when a hunting accident crippled him, Sandstorm's mother led the coup. Encouraged by her mother and the other females, Sandstorm challenged her father's position, and the ensuing fight resulted in her father's death. Sandstorm, only a year and a half old, took her place as alpha. The males of the pack were horrified, with most disbanding, and the others being killed by the females who considered themselves Sandstorm's personal bodyguards.

Her guilt over what she viewed as her father's murder never left her, however, and she soon grew sick of her position. Secretly, she exiled the females who had overthrown her father, one by one, until she was left the alpha of a nonexistent pack. She met Fogscout a week later, and the two traveled together, meeting others who had either left or been cast out of their previous packs, forming a pack of their own.

Though Sandstorm was trained by intelligent females, she is secretly unsure of her leadership skills. Her mate is her greatest confidant, and he coaches her, restraining her when she would do something rash, and reassuring her when she is afraid. Despite her setbacks, Sandstorm is eager to do the right thing, and with time will more than likely become an excellent leader.





Blue Sand ♂

Blue Sand came from a pack of desert-dwelling anubites, where he was viewed as a prince. His pack was waiting for the day when he would, as tradition dictated, take his father's place as alpha. Already, he was wise beyond his years, not given to irrational decisions. He was calm and thoughtful, and it came as a shock to them all when he announced that he was leaving.

He was not leaving out of anger, he explained, but because he wanted to see more of the world than the desert that was all he had known since birth. He planned to travel until he had seen everything there was to see, after which he might return home.

Blue Sand only made it as far as the forest, however, and it was there that he met Sandstorm and the small group she had accumulated. He traveled with the group for a while, and during that time he and the young alpha became fast friends, eventually falling in love. Blue Sand made the decision to stay with Sandstorm, and the two have loved each other dearly ever since.

The alpha male has not lost his love of exploration, however, and he seems wistful when he listens to travelers recount their past adventures. He is always eager to learn more about his world, and Sandstorm sometimes worries that he will leave to go exploring. She has nothing to worry about, though, as Blue Sand is extremely devoted to his mate and his pack, and wishes only the best for both.





Eagle ♀

Not much is known about Eagle's life before she was found by Sandstorm and her pack. All they know is that she was part of a roving pack, and that they were attacked by diwes as they passed through the forest. Eagle's parents were killed, and the survivors fled, leaving the pup badly injured.

Fogscout found her while on a brief survey of the pack territories. The scout was distracted by an eagle, which she then "raced," as she tells it, though in all honesty she was probably chasing it. Their flight led them over the clearing where Eagle lay injured, a small red blip on the ground. Scout took her back to Sandstorm, who had recently suffered a miscarriage. Full of pity and maternal instincts, the alpha let the un-weaned pup nurse from her teats, adopting her as her own and naming her after the eagle that led to her discovery.

Eagle is very aware of what happened to her real parents, but was apparently so traumatized by the event that she refuses to speak of it. For a long time, she refused to speak, period, but she has grown more open, and reveals more of her childish, adorable personality to her pack. Around strangers, though, she clams up instantly, and refuses to do so much as look at a diwe or diwe-mix.





Omen ♀

Omen was born during a thunderstorm - common in the rainforest, but to her parents, one sign of many that she and her siblings would be great fortunetellers. Her pack viewed magic as a sort of religion, and all were proficient in some field of magic. Omen's parents were masters of what they called "Otherworldly Sight" - divination - and they were excited and proud to have a litter that would follow in their footsteps, as the talent was a rare one. After his mate announced her pregnancy, Omen's father did what was called "immersion into the Fires of Sight," where he saw that the litter would have extremely potent abilities.

There were six pups born in all, and Omen was the last born, the only female, as well as the only one with a fur color other than black. All of these were seen as signs of her powerful abilities. As the pups grew older, it became obvious that all of them were gifted with magical powers - all except for one. The Naming Ceremony came, where the pups were given elegant names related to their magical abilities. The pups were named Seer, Fortune, Prediction, Firesight, Fate, and Omen's Disgrace, or Disgrace, for simplicity's sake. Omen was the only one in her entire pack who lacked powers of any sort.

Mocked and ridiculed, the alphas eventually made the decision to kill the pup. Her father, who felt guilty for misreading the omens surrounding his litter, took his daughter aside and informed her of the plot for her life. Omen fled, leaving the rainforest entirely. She dropped the second part of her name and left her past behind her. When she found Sandstorm and her pack, she was thin to the point of starvation, but she immediately ingratiated herself, almost forcing the pack to accept her.

Despite her past, Omen is incredibly outgoing, to the point where she must almost always be around others. If she spends too much time on her own, she panics, as if she is afraid that she has been abandoned. Once she finds company, though, she becomes perfectly cheerful and is reluctant to talk of her hysteria.





Dien ♂

At one point, Dien was the alpha of his own pack, but under his leadership, the pack nearly fell apart. He had the best intentions, and he often knew the best course of action, but for some reason was unable to execute his plans properly. His hunts often failed, and his pack slowly starved. Finally, he was driven from his position by several younger males, and instead of staying as a low-ranking pack member, Dien left his former pack.

Dien is ashamed of his leadership skills, but he has put it past him as best he can, and is content to be a cheerful adviser. He loves to chat and exchange stories with others, and is always one of the first to greet newcomers to the pack lands. He is understandably reserved about talking about his old pack, and tends to avoid the subject entirely.

Dien has crushes on both Omen and Kiri, and he can't help but feel a bit like a lecherous old pervert, considering himself to be much too old for both of them, Kiri in particular. He hasn't admitted his feelings to anyone, but the rest of the pack is very aware of his infatuations, which they find endearing and just a touch saddening.





Kiri ♀

Nobody knows where Kiri and her sister came from, just that the two showed up in the pack's resting grounds one day. Kiri was leading, a fresh slash across her left eye, and blood on her claws. Dreri followed behind her, her tail tucked between her legs. Kiri announced, rather boldly, that she and her sister were seeking a pack to join. Sandstorm strongly considered turning them away, as Blue Sand and Fogscout advised her to, but for reasons she wasn't able to explain, she allowed the strange anubite sisters to stay.

For months, Kiri was sullen and occasionally aggressive, shifting between a moody silence and bursts of rage. Despite the wound, which left a long scar across her face and partially blinded her left eye, her nose was as keen as ever, and she proved to be a powerful hunter. For this reason alone, the pack kept her around, and grew to see her as one of their own, though Fogscout has never trusted her or her sister.

Finally, Kiri allowed herself to relax around her new packmates, and seems to finally be happy. She is extremely protective of her sister, however, and would defend her to the death. If she thinks she picks up even the slightest insult or threat towards Dreri, she becomes instantly aggressive. She is wary of strange males, especially those who show an interest in her sister (for this reason she often becomes snappy towards Dien). When she flies into a temper, her sister is the only one who can calm her down.

Despite both her caution towards strange males and her close bond with her sister, Kiri seems to get along best with males. However, she has never shown any interest in mating, and the rest of the pack doesn't even have a clue as to her sexual orientation, which remains, like many aspects of her, wrapped in a web of mystery and self-protection.





Dreri ♀

At first, Dreri seems to be little more than her sister's shadow. She is quiet and shy, and for reasons that she will tell no one, becomes extremely nervous around males she doesn't know. When Kiri first brought her into the packlands, she was incredibly fearful and spent the first two months within inches of her sister, never saying more than five or six words at a time. She has put up an internal wall to protect herself from being hurt.

Once one manages to get past her defenses, however, the little anubite warms up and becomes a loyal friend. She cares tremendously for all of her packmates, even Fogscout, who treats her with contempt and tends to bully her when Kiri isn't around. At one point, she became very close to a male who was staying with the pack for a few months. Everybody expected her to follow him when he left (which irritated Kiri to no end), and they were all shocked when she turned him down.

Sometimes Dreri wonders what life would be like if she were more open, more easily approachable. She wishes that she could live without being in constant fear of strangers. Though she would never say so to Kiri, she sometimes tires of her elder sister's constant, protective presence. Despite her love for her sister, she is a little afraid of her quick temper, and for now would rather follow meekly in her sister's footsteps than risk that temper being turned on her.





Fogscout ♀

Scout was the first anubite to join Sandstorm's new pack. The two met while on the hunt, and though their first encounter was fairly aggressive, the two soon realized the benefits of working together, and so began to travel as a pair. Their friendship is strained sometimes, but Scout does care for Sandstorm, sometimes viewing her as the daughter she never had.

Fogscout tends to think of herself as an old woman, and her busy-body, gossipy nature would reinforce that image. Her desire to know just what's going on and where makes her the excellent scout she is. She is, with Dien, the first to greet others. She is hasty in judgment, though, and once she forms an opinion about somebody, her belief is unshakable.

Scout calls her back-story simple. When she was young, her parents gave her as a mate to the male heir of another pack. The male was cruel and abusive, leaving her trapped inside a cave when he desired to wander off. While she lived with him, she suffered several miscarriages, each one bringing her closer to death, until her mate dismissed her as infertile and began to look for other females. She managed to escape one night, years ago, and has never looked back.





Slinker ♂

To the best of the pack's knowledge, Slinker was abandoned by his mother when he was a pup. They are not sure how he survived on his own (presumably somebody took care of him, but they do not know who), and he has had a very hard time integrating himself into the pack. Slinker is mute, and while that alone would be a handicap, if a more manageable one, he also fails to recognize and display appropriate body language in many situations. Even simple conversations with him take time and patience.

Despite his shortcomings, Slinker is easygoing and eager to please. Scout has taken him under her metaphoric pair of wings, and coaches him with basic tasks to help the pack. Slinker adores his tutor, and acts as though he has a crush on her, though the truth of the matter is unknown. Fogscout clearly cares for him dearly, and is his biggest advocate.

The rest of the pack is not so sure that Slinker is worth all the effort that has been put into his care. He cannot scout, being unable to report what he finds, and he is an ineffective pupsitter, as Eagle can't be watched by someone who acts no older than she does. Kiri, in a fit of rage, once called him a "waste of space and resources," but Sandstorm, out of perhaps misguided sentiment, allows him to stay, saying she doesn't have the heart to turn him away.



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