Layla

**Layla** is a character on *Wolf's Bane.* She débuts on the third episode/part of the first season/chapter. She is a supporting character.

### Personality

Layla is a quiet, cunning, slightly introverted, selfish, sophisticated, compassionate and calm dog. She cares about her loved ones but usually puts her needs first. Because of her being abused in the past, this might explain her egocentric behavior, as she often doesn't regard the feelings of others, such as her mate and pups. While she might mostly only care about herself, she doesn't lack empathy.

### Appearance

Layla has a sand brown pelt with white markings. Her eyes are brown. She is slightly taller than an average male shikoku, due to her heritage.

## History

### Birth & Childhood

Layla was born to a shikoku mother called Goldie on another island. She has four unnamed siblings. Layla, as well as her siblings, never knew about her father. Her mother rarely talked about him and only mentioned him when she was upset or vulnerable. When Layla was only 1 month old, she got adopted by humans. She lived with a wealthy family that had a habit of treating her very poorly. She was kicked and sometimes went without food for days.

#### Escape

When Layla was 2 years old, she decided to leave, which she had planned for months. The humans tried to get her back but Layla was quick enough to escape. She jumped into the ocean and swimmed to the nearest beach, took a break there and thought about leaving the whole island as she couldn't stay there. She was afraid that she would be taken back to the family or maybe even worse place. She then noticed another island in the distance. She took a deep breath and jumped into the water. She swam as hard as she could, but slowed her pace betweentimes and then continued swimming faster. Hours later, she finally reached her destination. But because of the pace she had swimmed, she was extremely exhausted and then passed out.

### Meeting Anuk & Joining the Eastern pack

She woke up the next day in a cave, only not alone. She was accompanied by a wolf. She got startled but quickly noticed that this wolf wasn't going to harm her, as the wolf seemed to be a friendly one. Layla and the male wolf got quite close in a short period of time. They always met late in the evening, sometimes even during the night. The male wolf told Layla about his pack and other wolves that live on the island. Layla was very fascinated. In return, Layla told the wolf about her past and her reason to travel to the island. Layla and the wolf grew a bond between each other quite quickly. Before the wolf returned to his pack, he asked for Layla’s name. She answered and she then asked for his name. Anuk, he answered. One day, Anuk introduced Layla to Nimueh, leader of his pack. Layla was extremely nervous and afraid that she wouldn't be accepted, because of her being a dog. Nimueh thought for a moment and discussed with Anuk about her. Few minutes later, Nimueh then accepted Layla into the pack. It was a miracle and she felt great happiness. She was then able to start over. It didn’t take long until she had developed feelings for Anuk. The feelings were mutual and the two became mates.

### Before betrayal

#### Maram and her passing

Layla met Maram, Anuk's adoptive mother, a week after joining. Maram was excited to meet Layla and the three spent a whole day together. Maram didn't mind her being a dog instead of a wolf, as she only cared for her son's happiness. Unfortunately merely a month later, Layla was present during Maram's revelation, the announcement of her state and her passing. Layla also attended Maram's burial.

Nearly two months had passed since her joining and things between Layla and Anuk had progressed fast - too fast for Layla. She was already expecting pups. For Anuk, it was a moment of joy, but for Layla it was a moment of regret. But she decided to give it another chance. Layla gave birth to three male pups. First, Layla felt happiness but it quickly faded away. Layla noticed how Nimueh kept an eye on her.

Three months later, Layla’s situation hasn’t gotten any better. She felt even more unhappy. She started to go for strolls, hoping that and the alone time would help her to feel better. But they weren't working and Layla became even more frustrated. Every time she returned to her mate and pups, she would become even more depressed. Layla then started to go for strolls during the middle of the night. During then she could fully be all by herself. She felt relief, relaxation and freedom. She hoped she could stay deep in the forest forever, but knew that that was not possible.

One time, when returning back in the early morning, she was received by Nimueh and Anuk. Both then started to question her. Layla calmed herself down and answered that she was afraid that Anuk wouldn’t like her going for strolls any longer and then went during the night. Anuk believed her immediately but Nimueh stayed suspicious of her.

### During betrayal

Layla continued going for the strolls in the middle of the night without telling Anuk or their sons. She didn't want to tell them and felt that they didn't need to know. She also felt that she wanted to leave them behind and start a new life somewhere else. As Layla was walking towards the beach where Anuk found her, she heard noises nearby. Layla got startled and thought it was Anuk and Nimueh following her. She went hiding in the bushes and waited for them to appear and leave. But instead of Anuk and Nimueh appearing, it was just a rabbit. Layla let out a sigh of relief and continued walking around. As Layla passed the beach she all of sudden heard a sound of splash and struggling. First Layla didn't think much of it but when she heard a thump, she ran to the beach to check and saw a dog. The dog had passed out from swimming. This reminded Layla of herself when she had arrived on the island for the first time.

Layla first was going to tell Anuk and Nimueh about this stranger but instead decided to stay and watch over them. Two hours passed and the stranger was finally starting to regain consciousness. Layla and the stranger locked eyes. The stranger then sat up and questioned about his surroundings. At that moment Layla had noticed that the stranger was a male. Layla answered that he was on the island of wolves, to which the male then seemingly celebrated himself for achieving his goal. Confused, Layla questioned the male dog for his odd behavior. The male dog then started explaining himself. Layla only nodded as a sign of understanding. Shen then started to notice how it was about to be a morning. Layla panicked slightly and apologized to the male for having to leave. Layla was able to return back unnoticed and without raising any suspicion.

Layla was able to return to the male dog two nights later. She went to the same place as before, looking for him. The male dog showed himself and eagerly walked up to Layla. The two dogs then catched up from where they left off; the male started their conversation by asking Layla's name, since she didn't have the chance to tell it the last time. Layla answered and asked for the male's name in return — to which he answered his name to be Flash. Flash wanted to know Layla's reason being in the island. First, Layla hesitated telling him her story. But, Layla decided to tell it in the end. Flash sympathized with Layla and softly stated how both of them thought of the same idea, and hinted for two of them to have a new start together. This made Layla feel both flattered and conscience-stricken. She quickly switched topic to something else, which made Flash slightly confused.

#### Getting caught & Banishment

Despite Layla feeling guilty for what she was doing behind her family's back, she still decided to continue visiting Flash, and spent time with him instead Anuk.

## Trivia

* Layla is loosely based on a dream that the creator had, along with Anuk and Nimueh.
* Layla was originally going to be a corgi.
* Layla's voice claim is Jenna from Balto, but with a british accent.
* ~~Layla's great-grandfather was a pure-blood wolf; thus making Layla 12,5% wolf but 87,5% dog.~~