Vestige

Vestige drinking from Chalcedony Creek.

## About Vestige

### Biography

Vestige was born to Petrichor and **Masquerade** of the Moon Pack in the Fallen Forest, alongside **Dimension** and **Ascendancy**. Their den was at the edge of the forest on Hope Creek's eastern bank, right beneath an uprooted tree that had faded to white over the passage of time. Since he and his littermates were very small, their mother would tell them stories about the Moon Pack's past, wishing to teach them about what was right and wrong. They would listen to tales of their history in Slough Creek, and about all the blood that was needlessly spilled due to their ancestors' efforts to establish a territory among the meadows. Although the three pups were still young and innocent at this point in time, they were highly intrigued by everything their mother would tell them - especially Vestige, who would often sit in front of the den anticipating his mother's storytelling sessions. She remembered to teach everyone not to behave agressively as she worked very, very hard to purify the ties between all the other packs. while their father Masquerade would try his hardest to keep everyone physically entertained in ways that wouldn't form any territorial or hostile natures within them. Vestige was always the closest to his father, and he looked like a carbon copy of him. They both had an unusually rare, white coat, with subtle silver swirls of colour across the snowfell looking areas of their pelts. A brown mask covered his father's face, which is what he got his name from, and he was happy to see his son inherited it. Beside his emotional relationship and attachment to both of his parents, Vestige was also very close to his littermates, especially Dimension due to their shared playful nature. Dimension would always jump and hop around like an excited little snowshoe hare, while he would follow happily, excited to burn through his energy. The pack lived happily and peacefully for as long as Vestige knew, even if there were difficulties that Petrichor did her best to hide. Vestige was practically raised to be the heir, so when he came of age and was chosen during the heir-picking ceremony he didn't feel much surprise.

Meanwhile, **Grapevine** came from the Avalanche Pack, and she is one of their only living descendants still in Yellowstone. She was very close to her family when everything was still normal, and refrained from dispersing for three whole years because she wished to stay back and help out due to her strong love for her packmates. Yet one day, tragedy struck, and her mother was killed trying to defend the newest litter from a ravenous boar grizzly. Two of Grapevine's sisters succumbed to their injuries aswell, and due to the sudden shock of the tragedy that occured, her father and younger brother left with the only surviving pup - young Pyrite - to a land unbeknownst to her. Still shocked about how quickly everything spiraled down, she set out on a journey of her own, with a newfound resentment for bears. In all honesty, she didn't even expect to find a mate due to the bad karma she had pent up, so when she met Vestige she just felt saddened. She was fearful of not being able to defend her new pack either, and distanced herself at first so she wouldn't form too strong of an attachment if something really did happen. Vestige did his best to comfort her and help her heal, soon sacrificing his right eye while shielding and protecting her from bears. Slowly, she warmed up to him and showed her true, bold and energetic personality, and they became partners that now shared a hatred for the creatures that haunted them both.

The pair would go on to shift the pack territory over to the eastern half of the mountain range, primarily because it was closer to the valley and had unfamiliar yet nicely open areas. They ran into Lamar Canyon wolves multiple times during their several trips around the zone, yet Vestige managed to avoid physical conflict due to all the things his mother taught him. He didn't wish to reignite the Blood Moon, and prefered to have good, reliable ties with other wolves. *They were all just trying their hardest to get by and have good lives, after all*, which is why he even bothered to help Grapevine open her heart back up to the world in the first place. Some time passed and they were still wandering, while pondering their future and which den they should choose - they were very late to having their litter, which was horribly unusual for one atypically speedy as Vestige. At long last, the duo settled into Gravelcave, which was a spatious grotto that lead to an open cliff toughened by hard rocks used as a natural foundation. A litter of six saw the light for the first time - four males, and two females.

**Atlantis** was the eldest of the litter, and the first to leave the den. Right behind him was **Blackhole**, his identical brother that absolutely nobody could tell him apart from. After the two eldest males, the other four rushed out simultaneously, kicking up all the dirt and sand covering the landscape. Immediately, **Pearl** began asking questions about everything imaginable, as **Citadel** rolled down the hill. Midna watched everyone causing a ruckus and decided to join in eventually, before realizing it was too much action for her. Then there was **Fog**, the youngest; and also the oddest. Just by the first couple of minutes that the litter was outside, Vestige and Grapevine realized just how much work they were going to have to do. They decided to let everyone run around for a while so they would spend all their energy, but soon, they heard a strange noise in the bushes. Out of the bramble emerged a Lamar Canyon wolf - the male alpha. They expected rival wolves to come, but this was almost creepily fast. Quickly, the pups ran into the den, save for Pearl who was mesmerized by the scene unfolding before her. Vestige remembered everything his mother taught him, blocking the grotto's opening with his body and maintaining a stern, tough look, not wishing to resort to fighting. The stranger charged, giving him a fright, before running back into the shadows as a sort of sick taunt. The whole thing was rather odd, but the Moon Pack wolves tried not to think about it too hard.

Over the course of the next few days, more and more wolves began appearing, almost as if they were attempting to mock them. And every time, they would disappear after a stare-down; spare from one occurence that they outnumbered the pair and pushed their luck in a physical battle. Vestige seriously didn't want to, but he leaped into the fight, biting and snarling, and trying his hardest to keep the intruders away. After sustaining a jaw injury, he got the strangers to leave, but he was exhausted. He practically passed out inside the Gravelcave, lying down next to his pups with a wish to protect them from the increasing danger. However, he was awoken at early dawn by the stench of sickness and gloom - one he was unfamiliar with. Citadel was hunched over in a corner, scared and trembling. He had fallen ill and needed utmost attention, but the others needed food badly, forcing everyone to choose between nurturing him or eating. Grapevine agreed to hunt as much as she could by herself, and bring back chunks of meat so Vestige could eat aswell. It worked for some time, but the plague slowly flowered and spread to Fog and Midna aswell, and Midna's case was much, much worse than either of her brothers'. She would often vomit, and was too unwell to even eat food normally. Beside that, she was unable to sleep and had insomnia, alongside the fact that she could barely stand up. For most of the day, she would lie down almost lifelessly and numbly, barely able to talk and converse with her packmates. Her situation was completely and utterly hopeless, and everyone else had already made amends. Vestige watched as her consciousness faded, and as her strength dwindled. Her body lay in the middle of the cold cavern, unmoving and stiff, and her father went outside to tell Grapevine the news. Only then, he heard a whispered cry as Midna began to breathe normally again. He didn't have the slightest idea as to what healed her, but he didn't care, and was in disbelief that she was even alive. Her brothers had healed aswell, and only needed some help to get back up on their feet. A *gentle laugh* echoed throughout the hollow space, and then spread through the clearing, only to dissipate a moment after. It was the *Echo of Cordelia* that saved them, and though Vestige didn't know who Cordelia was, let alone the fact she was the one who helped them, *he felt no less than utmost gratitude*. Although Blackhole fell ill soon after the others got better, and was swiftly followed by Atlantis, their shares of the sickness were nothing extraordinary, and they did just fine. They decided to move dens but couldn't find a nice, open and bear-free area, so instead they layed around in a large field of tall grass above Chalcedony Creek, where they felt safe. The pups, now healthy and feeling more energized than ever, would run around and explore almost all the time, running after snowshoe hares and pouncing on the fish in the nearby stream.

Once everyone was large and strong enough, they began the journey to rendezvous. But it didn't go so well. They climbed some hills and cliffs while passing by coyotes and stranger wolves, which wasn't horribly worrying until they got to the highest cliff overlooking the valley. The Lamar Canyon leader appeared before the Moon Pack wolves once more, tackling Vestige and trying to throw him down to utmostly certain death, only for Grapevine to push him down instead, injuring him badly. *She didn't wish to lose her packmates again*. The intruder passively retreated in a swift manner, but it wasn't for long, for as soon as the pack attempted to continue their journey, a cougar began tracking them from the shadows, waiting to pounce. Midna, having been ill some days ago and still feeling uncomfortably disoriented, didn't clearly see where she was going and got separated from the others. Although it didn't take long for Vestige to realize she wasn't with them, it was just enough time for the cougar to throw itself onto her as he watched. A long and tough battle was fought before it was chased off, yet Midna was badly wounded once more, and so was her father. After a quick breather they all journeyed down the slopes and into the valley, but encountered Lamar Canyon for the Starlight-knows-what time. They were severely outnumbered, and of course, Midna had gotten lost again, forcing Grapevine to turn herself into the centre of attention so she wouldn't be caught. This was the third time Midna was chillingly close to death, and Vestige, seeing the way his mate was willing to potentially give up her life to ensure her safety, had enough. Forgetting everything his mother had taught him when he was younger, he locked eyes with the alpha female who was in charge of the attack. She looked exactly like him. A *reflection* of him. With all his fury unleashed, he threw himself into battle once more, ripping out the opposing wolf's stomach and bringing out the Blood Moon once more. He had ruined his mother's efforts at keeping the pack's legacy pure, but he simply could not care anymore at this point. The rookies retreated, and all that was left was the cold body of their former leader.

With the Lamar Canyon gone and no longer troubling them, Vestige and his family settled into the Lamar Sideview rendezvous site just east of the forest, still circled by some trees. *(story pending)*

### Strength

Just like pronghorn - Vestige's favourite prey - he isn't particularly strong, and his endurance isn't that worthy of note. He is, however, the absolute speediest one around, *so* fast he simply outpaces all of his opponents. Other than that, Vestige is also a very healthy young wolf, and although he doesn't have his right eye due to a grizzly encounter, that just means his left eye is twice as keen.

## Appearance

Vestige has always looked like his father Masquerade a lot, with stunningly clean, pure white fur covering most of his body. He has a mask of thick, warm brown ruff on his face, covering his muzzle, and the top part of his head, plus his torn, scarred ears. The brown coloration then fades into a very light, gentle cream shade, that's lightly peppered across his neck and underside. The white part of his coat has barely noticable light gray swirls that mainly appear around his shoulders and tail. Besides his unique fur colour, Vestige also has one, shiny yellow eye, as he lost his other to a bear while protecting Grapevine.

## Personality

At the den, Vestige is often very laid back, chilled out, and calm, but when exploring or hunting he has seemingly random outbursts of energy! He's very unpredictable and so he usually keeps things to himself, so as not to confuse the others. He’s fast paced and might accidentally forget about those that fall behind, somewhat like his father Masquerade, whom he physically resembles a lot as well. He's also quick-witted and snaps back immediately, despite his seemingly layabout persona. He enjoys open spaces like meadows and valleys and prefers to have open dens with good views of his surroundings, as he does get easily lost in wooded, grassy areas. His favorite prey is - you guessed it - pronghorn, as they give a nice chase and like open areas as much as he does. (note: fog incident)

* LIFETIME CHALLENGE: **EAGLE-FOOD** – Den only in open spaces.
* SIDE CHALLENGE: **EXPLORER** - Visit the Lamar Valley with pups.

## Litters

### First litter - Grapevine - Age 3

Atlantis, being the oldest and self-proclaimed wisest, is the leader of most situations along his sidekick Blackhole - mostly because the two look nearly identical, with pale beige coats that are encompassed by two darker streaks that run down their backs. This doesn't mean he only pretends to like him because he has to, though - when the sickness spread to him aswell and it was time to abandon the infected densite, he purposefully lagged behind so his brother wouldn't be left out, even if for a short while. Otherwise, he's always the one trying to make others laugh, and trying his hardest to just have fun in a time of darkness. Whenever he gets lectured, he promises to listen and behave from that point on, only to shatter the promise very, very soon after. Nothing is taken too seriously by him, he's just trying his hardest to have a good time... and thus wasting all his time, attention and energy on completely needless things. He was the fifth to contract the quickly spreading illness, but was happy since it meant he got to be carried while everyone else walked normally.

Blackhole is a very chilled out, relaxed individual, and he agrees to almost anything without putting much thought into it. because he simply can't find himself to care unless it outwardly harms anyone. Alongside Atlantis, he's one of the more extroverted wolves, albeit somewhat awkward around those he's not already close to. His luck is extraordinarily bad aswell, not only making his social relationships with those except his brothers worse, but also sabotaging him in every way imaginable. ***(fill in)*** He was the fourth to fall ill in a row, and was taken care of by Vestige as Grapevine made sure all other needs were taken care of. As they were both ill at the same time, seeing Midna's condition worsen destroyed him, and he nearly succumbed to his own share of the virus. During recovery, the pack was forced to leave their shelter and Vestige decided to bring everyone to the valley. Not only did Atlantis get infected, but Blackhole also got kicked in the rump by an angry mule deer, which isn't anything unexpected due to his horrible luck.

Pearl is a very inquisitive young she-wolf, always asking questions out of childlike curiosity, and following her nose. Various scents intrigue her and distract her easily, so one has to keep their eye on her at almost all times, as she does basically everything except for what needs to be done despite her noblety. She's rather kind and gentle, and lets others do things at their own pace, as she has partial pacing issues. She tries her hardest to be polite, or even noble and dignified, but her excited nature always shines through brightly. She has plenty of energy and social battery, but when she becomes tired or even exhausted, she'll practically sink into the ground the moment she has the opportunity to rest. A close bear encounter caused Pearl to have a great fear of them, taking after her mother Grapevine's footsteps. They're the only thing that envoke such a large amount of panic and fear in her, so she stays out of their way and usually submits to them very quickly. However, experiences like this never stopped her from provoking and giggling at other predators, and she hated going into the den or even tall grass - so turning the tables on cougars, wolves and eagles and trying to kill them instead, was a perfectly normal, fun activity for her.

Citadel is in a constant loop of running around and trying to do things that aren't physically meant for him, failing miserably, not giving up and then doing it all again. ***(fill in)***

Midna's personality is seemingly a stark contrast from that of Vestige and Grapevine, and she's very cheeky and aloof. Ironically, she's very light in colour, and looks very different from what you'd expect of one named Midna. She's a loner at heart, insisting on doing everything by herself to prove her independence - unless she has the opportunity to boss someone around, which she will gladly take. When you try to force her into doing something more social and extroverted, not including turning others into her own personal servants, she'll flat-out reject it with barely any regard for your feelings. *And she holds grudges for the pettiest of things.* She has very little regard for those around her at first, but if they're accepting of her, she will eventually be accepting of them. She has a habit of throwing out snarky remarks even to those she cares about, just because she enjoys giggling at their angered reactions. She prefers to have most of the work done for her, as she likes being the one on top and in control of everything - she's very bossy and demanding. Midna was the third to fall ill when plague flowered, and was barely kept alive by the Echo of Cordelia - however, she was left in a permanent state of sickness, slowly yet steadily progressing. She tries her best to push through and look healthy and invulnerable, although during the journey to the valley, she got lost and was attacked by a cougar, with Vestige just barely saving her. Later during the trip, she got lost again, just in time of a battle with stranger wolves - barely jumping to safety once more. Her past isn't the greatest, and especially not the luckiest.

Fog has always been the odd one out due to his mysterious aloofness, and his carefree nature. It's as if he's an outsider, only silently watching everyone from the shadows like he's on *observation duty*. There's something almost eerily different about him, yet nobody can figure out just what it could be. Perhaps it's that, whenever he plays, he doesn't make a single sound, he just grins from ear to ear in an unsettling way instead - *or, it might be something more*. Due to the odd aura that he gives off, everyone views him as an outcast, but they try to include him in as many activities as they can anyway, as he might just be a weird underdog that doesn't know how to express himself in the same ways that everyone else does. They hope that's the case, at least. During the epidemic that swept through the lands, he was the second to get sick, and barely recovered on a tenth of his health - yet he was still very mellow and unbotherable through it all, smiling in silence. After the pack's arrival to the rendezvous site, the land was completely overcome by fog, and Vestige took it as a sign from the Starlit that Fog was destined to do *something important*.

## Gallery

Vestige proudly hoarding food.Vestige in front of Gravelcave.Vestige drinking out of the moonlit creek.Vestige and Grapevine splashing around in the muddly stream, having fun like young pups.Vestige's silhouette in the Foggiest Day.
## Trivia

* Vestige is the very first wolf to have the 856M coat in the Anniversary Edition, if you exclude Opal who is originally from 2.7.
	+ This also means he is the first to have a white pup coat that isn't the typical White Mix.
* Originally, Vestige was my least favourite out of Petrichor's pups, as he seemed very lazy and a little too laid back for my personal liking. However, once he began having his little outbursts of pent-up energy, he quickly grew to be my favourite.