Night Sky

Night Sky in the late summer of First Meadow

## About Night Sky

### Biography

**Night Sky** is one of five pups from Snowy and Bear's litter, born in the safety of the Rocky Hillside den alongside Sirius, Usagi, Gloom, and Lunar. Ever since the young male emerged from the small stone-filled cavern, he tended to behave very carefully and attentively, listening to his mother's stories whenever he got the chance. His father and littermates were all the ideal - large and strong with wiry muscles visible beneath their thick fur. But he was small, thin, and frail, his coat sleek yet oily and constantly full of dirt. Whenever he would run, his legs would give out from beneath him, and if he would walk at a pace that was normal for him, he would be outsped by the others. Out of all his packmates, he always felt the most connection to his mother, as she did to him. She was wise and rarely showed worry, despite being small and physically weak like him. The idea of learning to rely on mental strength, cunning, and prowess instead of raw brute force was comforting, in a way. For some time, she was the only one he spent time with, but she charmingly talked him into becoming more social and playful towards his sisters, and perhaps his loner of a brother as well. He found a way to communicate with the others without stuttering like a mess, and despite the awkward and somewhat scared feeling he would get in his stomach every time he went to open his mouth, he began talking to them somewhat normally. Snowy continued encouraging him warmly, her kind words giving him some level of motivation behind the scenes. Still, he was unable to believe that he would be like her one day. Her snow-tainted, silvery white coat was a blessing from the Starlit. His golden yellow coat only contrasted with his surroundings. For whatever reason, that made Sirius like him - which isn't something that should be overlooked with his cocky, almost egregious persona. Night Sky, as one could easily guess, started to feel fascinated with the stars, and how brightly they shone despite everything that the sky endured. Again, he was outclassed - he couldn't see himself being strong without his mother's support, and he pitied himself. The tales his mother told him were always captivating, though, and he would always take time out of his day to listen. Later in the spring and throughout the summer, he and the pack as much food, warmth and safety as they wanted, and his worries finally cleared as they traveled over to the Grassy Lakeside on the furthest corner of McBride Lake. As long he had Snowy beside him, his weaknesses could be overlooked.

In the cold, foodless winter, the pack suddenly had nothing to eat. No matter where they searched, something edible would not be found, even at the faraway Bison Peak Bluffs that heirs would journey to for the purpose of testing their strength on moose and bison. The few scraps of food they managed to find were given to Night Sky and his littermates, slowly stripping Kuma and Snowy of all the fat on their bones. One freezing day, they traipsed through the mountainous terrain that had become damp with snowfall. As if their prayers were answered to some extent, a lone mule deer slipped on the ice beneath her hooves, weakened because all the plants were withered. Neither side had anything to eat, and neither side was keen on dying as far as Night Sky was aware of. They used up all their strength to hunt it down, turning corners on steep cliffs and risking everything they had just for the sake of having something to satisfy their nauseating hunger. They finally had at least a little to fill their stomachs with. However, in the middle of their hasty feast, Night Sky realized that Snowy wasn't eating at all, despite having starved the longest. Unaware of her intentions, he pleaded for his mother to eat, though she simply told him the lives of him and his littermates mattered more than just hers. No matter how loudly he cried and begged, the small white silhouette only smiled as if she had prepared for this moment a long time. Later that day, once the moon had risen, Snowy took her final breaths - they weren't fast, happy, or peaceful. At least not for the young one that only remained *social*, or for that matter ***alive*** because of her. In those breaths, she announced that Night Sky would be the heir to the Meadow Pack, and, seeing just how horribly distraught he still was, promised they would meet again in one way or another. It stuck to him like resin.

When it was time to disperse to Amethyst Mountain later that year, he went alone and met a black wolf named Ivory. He didn't know how to interact with her properly now that Snowy's death had sunk in - she was the only one that he didn't feel like a burden around. Night Sky hoped and prayed that everything between him and Ivory would work out well, but the more she got to know him and the more he overshared, the less comfortable she felt around him. Just before she intended to leave, it dawned upon him that unless he toughened up and began acting serious and mature, nobody would want to be around him. *Not even himself.* And so, he began pushing himself to try and seem smart, wise and cunning like his mother was. It worked, and she stayed. But by doing this, he pushed himself even deeper into solitude, fear and discomfort. He couldn't undo it, though, and he had no choice but to proceed with his job as the heir. A job he wasn't made for, and a job that would never truly fit him unless he pretended it did.

Ivory tagged along with him on his journey back to Slough Creek, where they met Kuma – Night Sky’s dad – for the first time in a long while. They got to sit down and talk about how their lives were going, and Kuma ended up telling them he was visited by Snowy’s spirit in his dreams. She told him the truth – she was always meant to sacrifice her life, and she had received a prophecy foretelling her death before Night Sky was even born. She was always meant to have died so the others could live. Night Sky, having listened to her stories ever since he was a young pup, didn’t need much convincing. He believed his father almost instantly, but it made him miss Snowy even more than before. Nevertheless, he took over the old territory and decided to start his journey of reviving it.

With the knowledge that Snowy was wandering as a spirit now, Night Sky began thinking about her final promise to him – the one she made in her final breaths. She promised they would meet again one way or another, it had to have been true. They would meet again. Taking a deep breath, Night Sky and Ivory continued their journey to re-mark the territory’s borders and spread their claim to Junction Butte and Crevice Lake. A rivalry between the three had been present for years, though nobody knew where it was headed anymore; especially after the incident with the Moon Pack. There was constantly so much going on in Night Sky’s life, that he didn’t know what to do with himself for some time. His goal to get stronger had been overshadowed by the facade he put up after Snowy’s death. It was for the sake of self-preservation, but what if something slipped through one day and he let everyone down again? What if he returned to the state of a puny, weak pup once more, but with no mother to defend and encourage him this time? His relationship with Ivory was built upon lies, so he didn’t have much of a choice left but to keep pretending to be tough and confident, even if he couldn’t be any farther from it.

Shoving his thoughts into the back of his mind, he and Ivory settled into the Skyview den on Sandy Slopes in early spring, which just so happened to be a short distance away from the den of his Moon Pack cousin Terra. She had proved her worth and survived the battle with Junction Butte, and as it turned out, her father was prophesized to give up his life as well. His absence was painful, though she overcame her emotions and pushed forward stronger than ever – the complete opposite of what Night Sky did. Nonetheless, the cousins were happy to border one another in case anything happened again. They were sick of losing their closest family members. ... Not long after meeting Terra, Night Sky and his mate welcomed seven pups into the Meadow Pack – two sons and five daughters. The males were named Zen and Oasis, while the she-wolves were named Birch, Iris, Lagoon, Chiyono and Tundra. When everyone’s pup coats emerged, Night Sky was shocked to see that Tundra looked almost exactly like Snowy. She had long, silky white fur with silver undertones, and light, pale eyes, and she was also the youngest of the entire litter. It would have seemed like a coincidence to anyone else, but Night Sky took this as Snowy sending a memento of herself down, so he had something to remember her by. Only this time, he would be the one taking care of her. He would always stay the closest to her, making sure she was well-fed and felt loved. This slightly backfired once she grew up to be slightly spoiled, and bolder than she needed to be. She would almost constantly act cheeky and occasionally get into problems during predator attacks and such. Night Sky still treasured her just as much, though, and selected her as the heiress to the Meadow Pack. Not just because they were the closest, but also because Tundra proved to be the strongest and most capable leader. She accomplished what he couldn't so, so easily. *Or was she pretending too?*

### Strength

Despite having been the largest of his litter as a pup, Night Sky wasn't particularly healthy, and often got sick even as an adult. He did, however, have a very strong bite, and was able to take down potential threats with ease as long as he didn't take too much damage as well.

## Personality

As a pup, Night Sky possesed a timid and introverted nature, but deep down he treasured his packmates. He was a careful and surprisingly modest wolf, and he was also an attentive listener. The stories told by his mother held a special place in his heart, and he would always listen with his utmost attention. Eventually, Night Sky socially warmed up to his littermates due to her encouragement, often playing with them. He was rather sentimental and thoughtful, but also held the others very dearly. The eventual death of his mother impacted him the most, and he held onto her promise to see him again closely.

As Night Sky matured, his inherent caution returned stronger than before, and he retreated back into solitude. He grew quieter, mirroring his sister, Gloom, and began avoiding attachment to others.

## Appearance

Night Sky is, in a stark contrast to his name, a light, tawny, golden colour. He has a warm, toned shade of gold fur on the top half of his head, ears, neck, side of his torso, rear and tail. His tail has very thin fur, unlike his neck ruff. The tip of his tail is a very dark brown shade. His muzzle, eyebrows, scruff, back and legs are a very light yellow, almost white. His left ear is slightly torn up, and he also has a scar on his right eye. His eyes are very dark brown, just like his father's. He's of a large, tall, yet lean build, and he has a slight back curve like his mother did.

## Litters

### First and only litter - Ivory - Age 3

Night Sky and Ivory had their litter in the Skyview den on the Sandy Slopes of First Meadow. It consisted of seven pups - two male, and five female.

Birch was a large, light brown she-wolf that looked a lot like her father. Again, despite her size, and despite being the heaviest of all the pups, Birch was very, very sick all her life. She got sick during her stay at the Rendezvous site, and at first, it was unknown whether she would even live. Despite her weakness, Birch was a very happy and grateful young wolf, and although she had to spend most of her puphood being nurtured separately from her littermates, she tried her best to still be playful. She stayed optimistic for as long as she was ill and was very kind and sweet to her pack.

Iris was a stunning dark brown wolf. She was outgoing and independent, and also rather tomboyish. She could be very impulsive yet enthusiastic, especially when she was young, but she would always just narrowly avoid any kind of trouble or conflict. Her spirit was very strong and fiery, and she ended up being rather passionate. Iris was scrappy, perhaps even feisty, always defending her opinion boldly, and perhaps even breaking a couple of rules to try and prove it. She was rather cheeky as well, and surprisingly good at hiding things from others.

Zen was a gray and white, runt male. Being physically smaller and lighter in weight than the others didn't stop him from being active and being willing to charge into action at almost any moment. He was really sociable and playful, and, like Iris, wasn't afraid to express his opinions - except in his case, it was because he knew his bold, cocky sister Tundra would defend him, whether she agreed or not. It was as if they were tied together by some sort of invisible string, and one always knew what the other was thinking. When he wasn't running around, playing, or annoying the others with Tundra, he was lying down with his stick collection that he tried not to share (but Lagoon would steal the sticks anyway).

Lagoon was a light, reddish-brown female. She was immensely friendly, especially to Oasis. The two of them were practically inseparable - even more so than Tundra and Zen. Oasis was always the one thinking of possible 'crimes' to commit ('crimes' as in stealing things from Zen, especially his sticks), and Lagoon was the one physically committing them, just because she liked the fun. Other than that, she was very kind, outgoing, and willing to do basically anything others dared her to do (cough, Chiyono's outrageous dares). In situations where her packmates were cornered, she'd boldly march ahead.

Oasis was a deep black male. He was always thinking and scheming, even if it wasn't necessary. He would sneak through the shadows subtly, faintly whispering - either to himself or to someone he was trying to get a reaction out of. When one would think he was finally gone, he would command Lagoon to pounce on them! Oasis was truly sneaky and easy to miss, but not easy to forget. In more serious situations, he would be the voice of reason, usually convincing Chiyono not to get herself into trouble. The only one that could really get to him that way was her - too much energy was too much to withstand.

Chiyono was a small black she-wolf. Of every single wolf in her pack, she was easily the most unpredictable, energetic, overly bold, social mess. She would talk all day and all night, and she was down to do absolutely anything that could give her a rush of adrenaline - whether it was pursuing a pack of coyotes, running up to a moose, or swimming down Tundra's Creek - she was completely fine with doing anything potentially fun, no matter how dangerous. She was the wanderer, the adventurer, always daring the others to leave the den. Nobody knew peace with her around, not even her. Her curiosity knew no bounds, and she was always exploring everything around her.

Tundra was an eye-catching, pure-white dame - the same way her grandmother Snowy was. Except Tundra's personality was the complete opposite of hers. She had Birch's persistence, Iris' feistiness, Zen's socialness, Lagoon's sneakiness, Oasis' scheming, and Chiyono's recklessness - alongside her *own* independence and leadership, yet also rashness. She was never afraid to do what she believed was right, and that included wandering off in the middle of the night to watch her stream. Tundra's Stream. It wasn't even one of Chiyono's dares - she rested while the white noise of the stream gently chimed through her ears. It was the place she got a break from maintaining her outgoing social status, and also the place she wished to have her den near. It was as if something pulled her towards it.

## Trivia

* Night Sky was the last male Meadow Pack heir for its next seven generations!
	+ Looking at the Wanderer Pack, he was the last male for the next five.
* Night Sky was the first wolf to have a maximum-sized litter with seven pups at once, due to his 4\* diversity with Ivory.
* At first, I was torn between selecting him or Usagi as the heir, but the difference between what one would expect him to look like due to his name and what he actually looks like was really funny.
* He was the first wolf to experience an eagle attack in the new Anniversary Edition