Soren

## Application Sheet

Soren was a reddish-brown-furred male wolf with topaz-colored eyes. He lived in Chandor, serving the pack faithfully as a Bear Totem, and serving as one of the alpha Nadia's closest friends and advisors. Eventually, however, he chose to leave the Domain, and has not been seen since. He was created and RP'd by OkamiShiri.

## Personality

* ***Proud***. Soren is a stern, proud wolf. Although as a pup he was practically fearless, he learned when to stand down quite quickly after realizing that he was not the amazingly strong, brave wolf he once believed himself to be. He became far humbler as he grew older, although he remained confident in his own abilities.
* ***Stoic.*** Soren is fairly serious, a trait he gained after his first loss in battle against his parents. He acts tough and is extremely quiet when he is around those he does not know, tending to favor brief responses if necessary or not talking to them at all. Due to this, he often comes off as being cold. Soren rarely shows emotion unless he has a good relationship with those around him.
* ***Self-Critical.*** Soren is often furious at himself for how similar he is to his father, and thus has trouble dealing with pups. He distances himself from them in fear that he is his father’s shadow, and that he will hurt them as he once was hurt. Soren distances himself from others due to his fear of failing them.
* ***Calm.*** When comfortable around another wolf, Soren is much calmer and kinder. He is friendly and easy-going, peaceful and patient. He even cracks a few jokes here and there, although they are a rare occurrence.
* ***Protective.*** Soren is especially loyal to his sister, placing her wellbeing above his own, and thus becomes irritable when another wolf tries to befriend her as he fears they will hurt her in some way, although he would never admit out loud to caring for his sister’s wellbeing so much. At least, not to her face. With the disappearance of Dierdre, Soren struggles with internal conflict of blaming himself for failing to protect her. Although he knows she left of her own accord, he feels like he failed her and believes he caused her to leave.
* ***Unsure.*** Whilst once confident in himself, Soren is now insecure and untrusting. After slowly beginning to come out of his shell, the disappearance of his sister caused Soren to shut himself away once more. He tends to stick to the sidelines and remain constantly wary when around others. He has great trouble opening up and bonding with others due to his underlying fear that he will once again be left alone, as his was when his sister left. He can be anxious around wolves he doesn't know well.

## Pre-Group History

Soren was born into a litter of three pups, consisting of himself, his sister Dierdre, and a sickly runt who passed away shortly after birth. Due in part to this factor, Soren and Dierdre became extremely close.

Their pack was tribal-esque, clinging to the ways of the past wolves. They chased the young from their packs once they were old enough to fend for themselves, partially to avoid the young challenging the alpha wolves, and partially so the pups could form their own packs and become independent.

Soren’s father was extremely hard on the two pups. He saw the potential they both had, and sought to bring them up to be the best they could be. Soren was a proud, bold pup, and Dierdre was oddly heavyset, which was fairly unusual for females from their pack. He hardened his heart and acted somewhat aggressive towards them, which he believed would help them to grow.

Despite his good intentions, the pups felt like their father hated them, and due to their mother generally allowing their father’s behavior they began to lose faith in anyone but themselves. They became distant to the rest of the pack.

As the pups grew older, their father noticed their dominance grew too; especially Soren’s. He was extremely assertive, and his bold nature led to him standing up for himself more, even towards pack mates who were his superiors. Knowing he was getting on in his years, his father became frightened and infuriated by the thought that his youngest pups might overthrow him. The thought haunted him, and thus he became even tougher on his children. He began to often bully the pups, forcing them into submission whenever they acted even slightly dominant. He made sure the other pack members would do the same, and thus any lasting tenderness or caring he showed the pups disappeared completely, drowned out by his fear.

The siblings great dislike for their father grew more and more. They became bitter and angry with their parents, and grew stronger due to this. They had not known the comforting kindness that was to be expected for most litters, but this was their drive to succeed. They had become old enough to survive on their own, and their parents had had newer litters since them. Well aware their banishment was drawing near, the siblings promised each other they would not go without their revenge on their father. An attempt to dethrone him, and cause him even a fraction of the suffering he had forced upon them.

Their plan ended in disaster. Dierdre and Soren were, of course, young and inexperienced. Despite their training, they had never fought seriously against another animal around their own size. Their mother fought against them with their father, and despite Dierdre inheriting her mother’s large build, she still proved to be much fiercer than either could hope to be with such little battle experience behind them.

Thus, they failed and were chased from their home. Although most pups would separate from there, the two had such a strong bond and were best friends. They had worked together in everything, and weren’t about to split up now. They decided to travel together and aim to become stronger, never forgetting their first loss.

## Group History

As the pair approached Chandor, Soren and Dierdre decided to split up upon entering the pack. If they remained together, they would never branch out and get to know the rest of their packmates. Soren was concerned, and grumpy, but then he was greeted by Nadia - and welcomed! She wasn't the leader of the pack yet, so she was a bit easier to talk to, and she assured him that the pack was a great place to live.

He met other packmates, who were warm and welcoming as well, like Impala. Because they were both new to Chandor, they explored the area together, and became good friends.

But Dierdre vanished.

Her disappearance sent Soren spiraling. How fragile were these bonds he'd forged with his packmates? He didn't know what to do, but ultimately chose to remain in the pack...for now, at least. Still, it was hard to see his reflection - his reflection was his sister's face looking back at him, they were so similar.

While patrolling the borders, Soren happened upon a loner named Keeva. Keeva was going through something similar to him, herself - she had lost her parents, and her sister Savoy was...*changed*. And in a different pack. Soren, realizing she had gone through the same thing he was, asked how she managed it, and eventually, Keeva suggested leaving it all behind, to get a fresh start. Soren didn't know...but he thought he'd consider it an option. After all, was he just going to wait, alone, in Chandor for Dierdre's return? He didn't think that sounded like a good future.

Chandor needed him, though, as he would soon find out. When a mountain lion invaded the pack's lands, Soren traveled with Impala, Navindru, and Oden to chase it off. They intended to trick it, but the cat got the upper hand and worked to avoid the four wolves. They managed to catch up with the mountain lion, however, and managed to force it over a ledge and into a river, which swept it downstream - and they were satisfied that it wouldn't be bothering them anymore. Navindru and Soren began to speak more after that, having undergone this tricky task together. He also started spending more time with Nadia.

He would need all the friends he could get, for his closest friend in the pack, Impala, came to him with sad news: she was leaving Chandor. She and Oden were moving to Heyl, to be with his family. Soren immediately froze with anger, and tried desperately to shut his emotions down as they welled up inside him. He accused her of lying to him about her friendship, and turned away from her, leaving her behind.

Bitter and withdrawn, Soren focused on his duties. He encountered a young male, Rhys, playing with a bear cub, and intervened to make sure the cub's mother didn't attack him. Rhys helped him to recover, as did apologizing to Impala, and, of course, Nadia. She was constantly bubbly and supportive of him, and the pair spent a lot of time simply enjoying one another's company. They worked together to chase off an unfriendly, trespassing lone wolf.

His time with Nadia helped Soren to open up a little more to his packmates. He met some of the newest, to extend a warm welcome, like Kaen. He opened up more to his packmates at Winterfest.

Eventually, Nadia approached him, and he realized he should apologize to Impala. He asked Nadia if he could go to Heyl to apologize to her, and she agreed - and promised she'd wait for him in Chandor, as long as it took him to return. She wouldn't be going anywhere. This helped to reassure him. But while he was gone...after speaking to Impala and her daughter, Lucia...he realized that he had to leave Chandor.

He wouldn't leave right away. He had promised to return to Nadia, and he intended to do so, before saying his goodbyes. Their parting ways was difficult, but he needed to leave. He promised he'd never forget her, and the pair wished one another well, before Soren left the Domain. He has not been seen since.

## Trivia

* Soren does not have any nicknames, and attempts to avoid gaining any.
* Soren speaks in a deep, rough voice, often monotone.
* Nadia was his first love...and he was hers.

## Quotes

* "You... why did I trust you? You made me believe I had a home, a family... and now you're just leaving as well? You're just like everyone else... I'm so damned tired of these 'friendships'!" (to Impala, *Broken Bonds*)
* "I think... I need to leave. I've been reflecting on it, and there's so much I need to learn, to change. But I worry that if I stay here I'll never be able to. I felt like I was home here, and it was thanks to you and everyone else that I've come a long way from how I was. But...I keep doubting myself. Doubting everyone around me. Even...sometimes, even you. I'm scared to think if I stay here, I might keep doing this forever. Even if I'm not there by your side, I know you'll be great, Nadia. We'll always be under the same sky, no matter how far apart we might be." (saying goodbye to Nadia, *Under the Same Sky*)

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* OkamiShiri's deviantART Gallery