Caidan

Two Sisters (NPCs)

Seaver (Brother)

Fey (Sister)

## Application Sheet

Caidan was a reddish-brown male wolf with green eyes, a younger brother to Seaver and Fey. Originally finding a place in the Domain within Morrow, the pack's disbandment resulted in him moving to Blutwald. After the Blutwald-Aryn War, Caidan moved to Aryn to join his brother. He had a mate - Gypsee - but she left him and was never seen again. They had three pups together - Howl (who vanished mysteriously like his mother), Ellis (who left the Domain for adventure), and Madelene (who was killed by an eagle in her infancy). He found a new mate in Erin, and the pair left the Domain together to start a new life. He was created and RP'd by WynBird.

## Personality

* ***Submissive, Introverted and Gentle.*** He has a tendency to worry about life rather than face it, and should a conflict come down to fight or flight, Caidan would much rather run away. His first instinct is always to submit, even to weaker individuals. He tries to be brave, *really.*
* ***Devoted.*** Furthermore, his cautious nature, combined with the fact that he takes his time forming opinions about others, means that Caidan has few friends and great difficulty making new ones. He is utterly devoted to the ones he loves, even to a fault. He will follow them anywhere, any time, for any reason. This was especially true when he followed Gypsee to Blutwald, despite the pack's bloodthirsty reputation.
* ***Wise, and a Storyteller.*** A philosopher at heart, his distant outer demeanor hides a vibrant heart and deeply idealistic soul. Though young and fearful, Caidan is surprisingly mature. And while he hesitates to talk about himself, he revels in telling stories about the places he's been, and the simple wisdom he's learned from from the seemingly meaningless aspects of nature. He is curious about the world around him, preferring to watch a deer or a rabbit rather than chase it, and has been known to spend an entire afternoon watching a raven care for its fledgling young. Caidan hunts without remorse, but does not revel in killing.
* ***Gentle and a Daydreamer*.** Caidan enjoys long solitary wanderings through the wood. He is fond of swimming and long runs across the moor. These treks often leave him dirty and covered in mud, but he almost seems to enjoy being grimy. It makes him and his bright ruddy coat stand out less. He has a tendency to hoard and hide objects. Meat, sticks, or an interesting rock - he's got things buried all around the territory, and outside of it. He's got quite the repertoire and has certainly forgotten where he hid half his treasures, but they remain there to be found again when they are needed. Or to attract dangerous scavengers. It depends on how you look at it, really.

## Pre-Group History

Born smallest and the only male in a litter of three, Caidan’s parents were two loners who aspired to create their own pack. His mother favored and doted upon him; the two were very close. Caidan’s father did not hold the pup’s affection in nearly the same way. Strict and firm, he was more concerned with teaching his children to survive than winning their love. Both Caidan’s sisters inherited their father's aggressive temperament. Being much larger and stronger than their brother, they often teamed against him in play. on the rare occasions that their father did spend leisure time with his children, he spent that span 'teaching', critiquing their actions and offering (motivational) insults in the name of education. He insisted that a strong wolf must never run, that strength was one's only defense. Caidan learned quickly that he was not this “strong wolf” his father talked about, and that he couldn’t hope to best his sisters in a fight. Or anyone else, for that matter. He learned to run far and fast, and how to hide. Caidan's sisters became more and more antagonistic toward their brother as they grew older, driving him away from even his mother's quiet company with their bullying.

Over time Caidan grew sullen and resentful towards his family, and began to spend more and more time away from them. He began to disappear for days at a time, exploring the territory on his own, rather than under the critical eye of his packmates. His father saw Caidan’s disdain as a challenge to his authority. Eventually the hostility between him and his son grew violent; he would have his son’s respect one way or another. And in the end, Caidan did exactly what he always did. He ran.

Alone and left to his own devices, Caidan spent almost a year as a loner before finding the Morrow pack. During that time, he wandered far from where he was born, seeing what the world had to offer and trying to stay away from other wolves as much as possible. Many of the skills he refused to learn from his father Caidan picked up by observing the animals around him. In his own way, the young male learned the best places to find and stalk prey, to find water, and to hide from the elements or enemies. Still, the struggle of living alone as an inexperienced juvenile meant that he was half starved when he found his new home, and much smaller and frailer than others his same age.

## Group History

One of the first wolves Caidan met in Morrow was Charaka. Admittedly, he was a bit nervous around his new packmates, including her! He was able to befriend Gypsee, however, and they shared their stories of how each arrived in Morrow - he was shocked and impressed that Gypsee had managed to escape from Blutwald, of all packs! The pair quickly became close friends, and Caidan felt the stirrings of something more in his heart for the beautiful, kind she-wolf. He met other kind wolves in his pack, such as Ronan, who gave him some fighting lessons. It was the first pack that felt like *home* to the young male.

Caidan became a hunter for the pack, joining hunts with packmates like Gypsee and Impala. He met Judith, too, as well as Dakota. This home didn't last very long, unfortunately. When an outbreak of rabies threatened the wolves of Morrow, the pack disbanded, for their leader, Howl, had contracted the disease.

Caidan joined a devastated Gypsee and Crash (Howl's sister) in escaping the territory and trying to find a new home. He didn't know what would happen to them, but he knew he'd stick by Gypsee's side no matter what...which was why he was so surprised when she suggested they go to Blutwald.

Blutwald?! Gypsee explained that Stallion had taken over rule from Roman, and the pack should be a better place for them. And so, they went to Blutwald.

In Blutwald, they became mates, and before long, were expecting puppies. He was very worried about becoming a father, but excited! He had all the more fear when Gypsee was attacked by Ivan at the border of Morrow. He pinned her down and told her he would kill Stallion and Winema, and he was going to kill Gypsee for betraying his father Roman, but wouldn't there - he needed to maintain the element of surprise, and killing Gypsee would alert Stallion of his presence. Gypsee fell, terrified, against Caidan, and he assured her that he would never leave her.

Shortly after this encounter, Gypsee went into labor, and Caidan had to help her, because no healers were around. Caidan became a father to three children: Ellis, Howl, and Madelene. The pair adored their children and promised to be good parents.

Caidan and Gypsee would lose their daughter as an infant, and doted all the more fiercely on their sons. Unfortunately, Ellis wanted to explore, and often convinced Howl to sneak out - Caidan always had to be on his toes!

As the children grew up, and Winema became the new alpha of the pack after Stallion abandoned them, Caidan wanted to make sure he would still be welcome in Blutwald. Winema assured him of it, and helped him to pick a task: Archer. He felt a bit more optimistic about the future, knowing he now had a task and could provide for the pack.

But everything seemed to go wrong. Ellis left the pack as a juvenile, desperate for adventure, and Gypsee and Howl vanished without so much as a goodbye. Caidan was utterly alone...and a famine gripped the Red Pack. Caidan worked hard to try catching prey for his packmates, but the famine was vicious, and would eventually result in Winema's daughter, Bloom, crossing the border of Aryn in pursuit of prey.

This would lead to a tense cold war between the packs, and Bloom being taken prisoner. Caidan, like most others, didn't *want* war, he wanted things to go back to normal. Joseph, a fox, tried to talk sense into both sides, speaking to Caidan, too, but his efforts were in vain.

After an extended period of time, tense diplomatic efforts would be hijacked by Rhaegan, and battle between the two packs occurred. Caidan was ready to fight to protect himself and his packmates, but the wolf he was facing off against...was *Seaver!* His older brother! Seaver ran off, and Caidan was involved in battle with a different Arynian, before the battle ended. Blutwald disbanded in the chaotic aftermath, and Seaver returned to bring Caidan home.

Caidan's injuries were tended to by Erin. Despite his Blutwald allegiance (at least, original Blutwald allegiance), Athena agreed to let him stay, for the pack disbanded and Seaver vouched for his brother's good nature. Caidan worked to help his new pack as a Courser, joining his brother Seaver as well as several other Arynians in the task (such as Hani, Lawson, Skunk, Kris'tran, Tobias, and Quentin).

He and Erin grew closer during his recovery, and felt his paws itching to leave the Domain and seek a new life. He asked Erin to join him, to be his mate and explore the world with him - and she agreed! The two eloped, and haven't returned to the Domain since.

## Trivia

* Though he had been growing more accustomed to expressing himself and acting with confidence, the death of his daughter, and the leaving of his son and mate, have caused Caidan to retreat from almost everything that once brought him joy. He stopped eating, and no longer spoke. Most of the time he wandered the borderlands in solitude, alone with his thoughts. When war destroyed the Red Pack, Caidan was reunited with his brother Seaver, and took shelter in Aryn. He is looked upon with suspicion, but is slowly regaining strength and if not with the Vicars, Caidan remains glued to Seaver's side.

## Quotes

* "'A wolf is only a wolf if he's more powerful than the ones who challenge him. Only owls and crows waste their time trying to be smart. And they're not worth anything at all. You're either strong enough or you aren't.'" (quoting his father, *Learning the Skills*)

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* WynBird's deviantART Gallery