Fawn

Lynn (Half-Brother)

## Application Sheet

Fawn was a young cream-and-rosy-brown wolf with a pink nose and mint green eyes. He was born outside of the Domain, but he entered to live as a loner alongside his half-brother Lynn. Fawn's story is ongoing. He was created and RP'd by PaperElk.

## Personality

* ***Kind, Optimistic, and Friendly.*** A bright young lad, Fawn is nothing if not a friendly face. He certainly doesn't shy away from meeting new people, and is eager to make friends with anyone who will give him the time of day. He is definitely your glass-half-full guy, and will offer up warm advice (warranted or not) to anyone he thinks might need it. While his fathers oppressive presence might have dampened another wolf, Fawn, thankfully, inherited his mother's sunny personality and brilliant smile.
* ***Dreamer, Simple, and Dependent.*** Despite his friendly nature, Fawn isn't your most interesting wolf. His sheltered upbringing left him with nothing to do but daydream about the world outside the Kingdom, so he has had very little in the way of interactions with others his age and less to offer in terms of conversation further than the weather. He is still discovering who he is without his pack and what he thinks of the wider lands beyond his doorstep, but for now, he is simply a product of his upbringing; a clean slate. He's never been this far from home, and while he *is* the King's son, like most juveniles has not learned to hunt or fight properly, and largely depends on Lynn to feed and protect him.
* ***Self Conscious, Weak-willed, and Irresponsible.*** His fathers iron will always had Fawn fearful of saying the wrong thing, lest he meet the disapproving gaze of the King, and as such has a hard time speaking his mind, worried to embarrass himself and his fathers name. Having been raised to be the name to the throne after his father, Fawn was kept as impressionable as possible, and unfortunately is very easy to manipulate. He has his ideals, and wants to do what's right, but in doing so can often find himself in a bit of trouble after being a bit too naive. He has a hard time understanding consequences, as he was always granted pardon should something happen. But it's the real world now; his father can't sweep his mistakes under the rug anymore.

## Pre-Group History

Born to King Cervus of the Ithiril Tree and Queen Ignacia, Fawn was the youngest of the litter. Unfortunately, one of the young pups wouldn't make it past the first few days, and while Fawn appeared to be the smallest and the weakest of his siblings, eventually was the only one to survive to childhood. His father's disdain was always apparent, even to others, and while the King was proud to finally have an heir to the throne, Fawn wasn't exactly what he had in mind. He had wanted a strong, noble son with a stronger will to match, but Fawn was as soft as his name.

If Cervus had loved his son, he wasn't one to show it, leaving his rearing entirely up to his mate and the Royal Guard when needed, only interfering when the boy needed a firmer hand to teach him the ways of the pack; and these sessions were not favorable to the young boy. While he never questioned the segregation between the Highbloods and the Lowbloods, as he was raised, his kind (weak, as Cervus saw it) nature made it hard for him to look down on anyone, and Cervus often left these meetings with less certainty that Fawn would be the proper heir he needed. Instead, he charged his mate and his sons’ keepers with keeping him as impressionable as possible. No interactions with Lowbloods who might taint him with their ideals and wants. When the time came, he would teach his son how to be a King. A proper Prince for Ithiril.

Despite his fathers’ disappointment, Fawn was a bright and happy pup, always delighted to watch the comings and goings of pack life, even if he wasn't allowed to join in on any of the fun. He often wished he could join the pups his own age in their games of tag or hide and seek, but the Royal Guard were always there to drag him back by his tail when he tried to sneak out. Occasionally he'd be escorted out for a walk, and on these excursions, he couldn't help but wonder what was out there. Maybe when he was older and had his father’s approval, he could go out and see some of it? Was it all just dense forest like the one they lived in? Did the woods stretch on forever?

His mother, the only proper warmth in his life, would tell him stories of water that stretched on farther than the eye could see, of fields, barren with no trees but lush with the greenest of grasses. He could hardly imagine it, let alone the peaks capped with snow that she painted in vivid detail in his mind. It was these nights he treasured the most, nestled up beside her as she spun her web of imagination for him to see. She was his best friend. His rock. She was compassionate, but stern when she needed to be, and while he had nothing to compare her to, he was certain she was the best mom ever. She even told his dad to go away when he wasn't feeling up to his 'lessons'. She was, for all intents and purposes, his hero.

On one of his walks one day he was allowed the company of another Highblood pup, a young girl by the name of Vallis. Vallis was the daughter of a highly esteemed wolf in his father's entourage, and while Fawn was gentle, Vallis was as rough-and-tumble as they came. She had four brothers and as such was used to their constant tussling, often engaging in play fights with the young Prince, and for the first time in his life, he had a friend. They couldn't see each other all the time, but when they did, Vallis would regale him with tales of her excursions to the borders, of how her father was weeding out rebels in the Lowblood ranks and leaving the perpetrators far beyond their territory. He would often question her about the latter, asking what the rebels were doing, but she would just shrug it off, saying that they were thinking far beyond their pedigree allowed.

To anyone else, it was apparent that this had been a set-up. Vallis was deeply ingrained in Highblood culture, easily turning her nose down at the Lowbloods, and Cervus had hoped her proper attitude would rub off on his weak-willed heir. If his son couldn't be the King Ithiril needed, at least a suitable Queen could run the pack in his stead.

Fawn's mother, on the other hand, was undoing any work her mate was trying to do.

Behind the scenes, away from prying eyes, she would explain to him why the rebels were upset, how the segregation between the Highbloods and Lowbloods wasn't beneficial, and only served to put others down and keep others in positions of power. It was hard for him to grasp at first, the separation of the two being all he knew, but the general message of having certain wolves being treated as less-than made sense, loud and clear. She was careful to explain to him never to mention this to his father, and while he wasn't keen on lying, he supposed it wouldn't matter anyway. His father wouldn't ask him his opinions, if he even spoke to him.

It was nearly a full three moons after first meeting with Vallis that his usual Guard was swapped out for a young male named Lynn, a bit of an enigma in Ithiril. Lynn's father was the Captain of the Royal Guard despite he himself being a Lowblood, and with his good standing with the King, was able to secure a position within the ranks of the Highbloods for his son. Unfortunately for the pale wolf, despite his new rank, he was still classed amongst the common folk, and more than once Fawn overheard Highblood passers by throw a few barbed insults Lynn's way. When this happened, he could only stand by awkwardly, unsure if he should try to defend his new Guard, or just... let him deal with it himself.

Lynn was... less than friendly; at least compared to the Guard he had had before. Lynn was snappy, and quick to anger. Fawn couldn't blame him, having been privy to the verbal harassment of Lynn's peers, but he found himself wishing that they could be friends. His old Guard had been much older, an adult with adult pups of his own, but Lynn was much, much closer to his age. Maybe they could find some common ground? Vallis was great and he loved being around her, but he longed to have someone he could talk to daily instead of once every week.

And going on his usual supervised walks with Vallis was somehow more awkward with Lynn around, a bit embarrassed if he tried to talk to her about finding cool bugs or seeing who could jump the creek without getting wet. It was almost like having his father around. Some part of him didn't want to disappoint Lynn, to make himself seem 'uncool' to the older boy, and Vallis only exasperated this with her own insults thrown at the Lowblood Guard. Fawn wanted to tell her to stop but couldn't help but shy away from doing so. He couldn't lose his only friend.

Over the next few moons, slowly but surely, he got used to having the pale wolf around, getting used to the sarcasm and the dirty looks, and while Lynn might not be fond of the young Prince, Fawn certainly was fond of him. He had become one of the few constants in his life, and despite the older male barely giving him more than a passing glance in response, Fawn found solace in chattering on about all the things he'd seen that day. He trusted Lynn, and by the time he was nearly six moons old, he felt closer to him than he did almost anyone else; even if it was one sided.

The veil of innocence was wrinkled only weeks later.

It wasn't *his* fault he needed to pee in the middle of the night - a true rarity for him - but as he slunk out of his den, scrambling up over a thick tree root and into the thicket nearby, he caught the sound of hushed voices nearby. He knew he wasn't supposed to be out, especially this late and with no guard, but as he froze in the bushes, the words grew louder, more frantic. It took a moment to register who was speaking, but the low rumble of his father piqued his interest, and he slunk forward, only to see the vaguely familiar figure of Oleana; Lynn's mother.

***"Don't you forget, wench; I have him under my paw. You stay in line, you keep your mouth* shut*, and he stays alive."***

***"He is your* son*! How can you be so heartless?! Lynn doesn't need the throne, but you cannot-"***

***"Enough. The bastard will stay where I can watch him, lest he find himself in the jaws of the Guard. A shame, really. Had you accepted my proposal those years ago, your son would be next in line. Now, he's next to fall, should you forget our deal."***

**"OUR *son, Cervus."***

There was a low growling, and Fawn took that as his cue to leave, suddenly no longer having to pee, scurrying back over the thick wood and back into the den. The words weighed heavy on his mind, but he couldn't shake what Oleana had said.

Lynn was his... half brother then?

The shock had him reeling, but the way his father spoke... This was a secret he couldn't let slip.

It was on his seventh moon to the day when his mother woke him from a deep sleep. The sound of distant thunder met his ears, but it was the worried look on his mother’s face that had him up in an instant. He wasn't sure what she was so worried about but while the night fog still clung to his eyes, he was obedient, following the wolf out of camp and deep into the woods without question. This wasn't unusual, Fawn was used to following, but this wolf wasn't one he recognized; definitely not one of the Royal Guard. Still, he did as he was told and sat in the small meadow, heeding the stranger’s words to stay still until his mother came to collect him. Was something happening? A flash off in the distance was the only interesting thing that happened while he waited, counting a few birds, some ladybugs, looking up at the darkening clouds.

But then, they weren't just clouds. They were huge columns of smoke, thick and black, curling up over the treeline and into the dim sky, the plume stemming from where he had come.

Panic struck him instantly, his fur standing on end as he raced back toward the Tree, the stench of soot and burning wood growing stronger with each fearful step. Had the tree been struck by lightning? Was it burning down?

Unfortunately for the young Prince, his worst fears were realized when he burst into the pack camp and was met with absolute chaos. He had expected fire, yes, but the scene before him was an absolute nightmare. Wolves tearing each other apart, the Ithiril Tree, flames bursting from the knots and hollows as the fire crept up from within its hollowed trunk. Blood was everywhere, and bodies littered the scene, but he couldn't tell what was happening before a loud crack sounded from above him. Shrieks of terror from several wolves sounded out as a branch from the Tree fell, several feet wide at it's thickest, and Fawn was only just able to scramble back before it hit the ground with an ear-splitting crack.

He couldn't think. There was so much happening, and no time to process it, his mind whirling with the smells and sights of death and fire, but in the heat of it all, Lynn appeared. At first, Fawn shrunk away in horror, the older male stained with blood and soot, but when his Guard quickly ushered him away from the carnage, Fawn followed, his trust entirely in the pale wolf.

Fawn wasn't sure how long they'd run. The forest that housed the Ithiril Tree was dense, and in certain areas it was almost impossible to squeeze through the trees. The fire devoured it as quickly as they managed to escape. Their only saving grace was the torrential downpour that finally came, and while they were certainly out of immediate danger, the young Prince and his Guard continued on their journey North East, and out of the forest...

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* PaperElk's deviantART Gallery