Ione

Ione attempts to relax as Soleil tries to get her attention by rolling over (and then falling asleep).

## Kin

### Sisters

SunsetAmaryllis
Keziah
Wren
Cordelia

### Daughters

SoleilAdder
Wisteria
Mulberry
Ixia

## About Ione

### Biography

**Ione** was born to Raven and **Ridge** of the Meadow Pack inside the Tree Hut den, alongside five sisters and a brother. **Sunset** was always the bossy one due to being the oldest, while **Amaryliss** would typically be the one to lecture her politely yet informatively. Then there was **Keziah**, the sassy one who would often team up with her eldest sister. **Wren** took after their grandmother Briar to some extent, barely ever taking her time with things and constantly rushing through everything. **Oberon**, being the only male, was somewhat of an outcast, especially due to his shy and picky personality - but Cordelia was always there to hang out with him. Ione, meanwhile, was never the type to focus on social things, although she did love running around and play-fighting her siblings. From day one, she was interested in hunting birds and rabbits, even if she was still far too small to successfully catch any of them. When she did decide to engage in social activities such as sitting down and gossiping about pup stuff, she would notice Sunset being mean to their smallest siblings, particularly Cordelia and Oberon. In that case, she wouldn't hesitate to break things up between them. Of course, that never ended up being a permanent solution, so one day when she saw Sunset being overly pushy again, she didn't say a word. Instead, she full-on tackled her to the ground from behind, biting her rougher than she would in a regular play-fight. Raven ended up punishing them both, but to Ione, it was worth it.

As even more days passed, Ione noticed Raven getting more and more physically tired, and also realized she was getting less food than usual. She had always assumed her parents were stronger than anyone else in the valley because they'd always tell her to be proud of being a *pure-blooded Meadow Pack wolf*. Plus, they were grown adults, much larger and stronger than any other wolves she had seen - even the ones that would occasionally come to their den site and act aggressive. So, she decided to take it into her own hands to hunt some food, even if it was enough for just herself. In the afternoon, while Raven and Ridge were both out hunting, Ione crawled out of the den and approached one of the trees next to it. Her eyes locked onto a small squirrel that slowly descended from the tree it had been resting in, watching as it moved down to the forest floor. Carefully, making sure not to make a single sound, she approached it. Once she felt she was close enough, she lunged forward, catching the squirrel by the tip of its tail and pulling it back with her teeth. She managed to get a better grip on it by biting the back of its head, and it instantly stopped moving. *Her first successful hunt.* Proud of her kill, she was quick to tear it open and eat it, though it made her feel somewhat sick. She was approaching the age of being able to eat solid food, so that couldn't have been the reason. Shrugging the feeling off, she passed it off as nothing worthy of note and laid down in front of the den waiting for her parents. When they came back, beaten, battered, and exhausted, Ione concluded small prey was the easier thing to hunt. Despite that, she still showed off the squirrel carcass to them, and they gave her a little praise before walking away and discussing something amongst themselves. She went to sleep happy but woke up in the middle of the night feeling unusually dizzy, coughing, and sputtering. Cordelia - her sister that she had defended from Sunset - was woken up by the sound of her gagging and close to throwing up after her coughing fit. She leaned over her, asking if she had gone out while it was cold or eaten something funny, and she admitted to the latter. Cordelia instantly got concerned, having learned about sickness by listening to their father mutter something to himself. She told her the squirrel must have been diseased, at which point Raven came into the den to see what was going on, having been woken up by the noise too. Their mother shook her head with a sigh escaping her mouth, concerned that Cordelia was right and alerting Ridge about the situation. She decided to stay close to Ione until she felt better, and they shortly fell back asleep. ... In the morning, even more coughing was heard, except this time, it wasn't just her. Cordelia had caught the sickness as well, and her condition quickly seemed even worse than Ione's. At this point, Raven was very worried, stressing over everything that could cause further harm to her packmates and how to eliminate it all. With unbelievable toughness and resistance, Ione pushed herself to pull through and survive the sickness, and the only one left to get better now was Cordelia. She didn't know what she did that her sister couldn't do, really - all she did was think about healing, and she ended up doing so with ease. Her sickness only lasted two days, yet her sister's condition was still deteriorating even after five days had passed. At this point, she got sick for a second time; but not physically. She felt ill with worry, as she had never seen someone be this hurt before. All she knew was that there was nothing either of them could do. And like that, Cordelia *passed away*, limp on the ground just *like* *the squirrel Ione had killed*. This event was what made her realize just how cruel the world actually was. The sight of her sister's body sent chills running down her spine, and before she knew it, she began having night terrors. She learned a new emotion. *Guilt*.

Ione continued with her life, though it never really felt as carefree again. She learned that being as independent as possible didn't just mean being able to hunt and fight alone - it meant she needed to be careful, take her time to think, and educate herself on things properly before rushing into situations recklessly. And even after Cordelia died, that *wasn't* the end of it. The pack had to move dens because of how disturbed they suddenly felt staying in the same spot where one of their packmates had died. They were better off staying as far from the Tree Hut as possible. Yet before they left, they felt Cordelia's presence in a different way than just knowing her body was buried there. Her spirit had lingered before ascending, whispering to her grief-stricken family that nobody was to blame - not herself, not Raven, and especially not Ione. Not even the Starlit that had called upon her. Her parting wish was for everyone to find new hope, which affected Ione the most. *...New hope.*

The pack took some time to process their emotions properly, promising the young one that they would keep going for *her* sake. Then, just before they were getting ready to leave for real, Wren fell sick as well. It didn't come from the squirrel or any of her siblings this time, so she must've caught it from something else. It started small, then spiked horribly; she went from alright to not being able to walk in mere hours. The group had to take shelter in an undesirable patch of tall grass for some time, although they were soon forced to seek proper shelter due to a rainstorm. They didn't see it coming until it was too late to run from it; it had crept up on them, blocking out the sunlight and unleashing a hefty downpour. Each and every droplet of rain rippled and shook their bodies, their paw pads felt like they were melting into the ground to become one with the mud. Raven was the one carrying Wren as Ione and all the other pups had to walk, despite being exhausted. She felt like another of her sisters was going to die, and the morning after they finally made it to the new den, she was motionless on the ground, just like Cordelia was. However, she somehow started breathing again, the life jolting back into her as if she wasn't meant to have gotten sick in the first place. Having seen and heard Cordelia's spirit with her own eyes and ears, Ione assumed *this* was the *new hope* she had mentioned. The thought that she was determined to help even as a spirit gave Ione a powerful sense of determination. Determination to keep everyone else alive.

Ione spent the next two years of her life sharpening her skills as much as she possibly could, making sure she could hunt, fight, and think as quickly and efficiently as possible. She taught Wren how to focus on sharpening the skills she was already good at, despite the fact her growth was indeed stunted after the near-death incident. She did the same for Oberon, who had fallen behind all of their sisters because he was shy and afraid of injury after what happened with Cordelia. When the time of the heir-picking ceremony came, Ione didn't feel even slightly surprised that she was chosen. She made sure she was ready for this, so of course she was the first choice. Proud of her new role in the pack's future, she set off to the traditional mountain range to meet up with other dispersal wolves - Amethyst Mountain.

### Strength

Ione has never been particularly healthy or endurant, having been sick as a pup several times - the most severe instance being the disease she contracted from a squirrel carcass, and passed onto Cordelia. Nevertheless, she persisted and sharpened her other physical traits as much as possible. She mastered the art of efficiency, being quick as the wind and stronger than most male wolves. She can take down prey and rivals at unimaginably fast speeds, as long as she isn't weakened too much; for this reason, she excels at taking down everything except for moose and bison, who are simply far too tanky for her.

## Personality

Exactly like her mother Raven, Ione is very curious with a strong desire to explore and learn more about the world. She's also rather independent and able to solve problems on her own quite easily, with an eager will to be as good as she can be at her favorite things - hunting, running, and even exploring. A talent for taking care of herself and others is one of her most defining features, with her resistance and toughness being very important to her character as well. She's one of the most determined and resilient, capable wolves in the whole valley, and has been since she was incredibly young. She's very well-equipped to care for herself and will try her best to help others in need as well. When Cordelia was alive, they were best friends, despite their conflicting personalities. Ione was the first to fall sick, and though she ended up surviving due to her natural independence and will to stay strong, she passed it on to her poor sister. Seeing her slowly weaken and die was trauma-inducing and made her retreat to solitude for some time, before eventually warming back up to the others because she *knew* it was what Cordelia would have wanted.

## Appearance

Ione's coat is black with a mix of warm browns and reds, alongside some gray hairs. Most of her pelt is naturally jet-black, though the pollen of wildflowers has permanently stained it, giving it a rough texture and more of a russet tint. Her muzzle is peppered with silver fur that appeared as she aged, and the light gray cascades down her neck and onto the lower half of her body, alongside her shoulders. Her hindquarters have a slight red gradient that fades into the base of her tail, making her coat look very patchy, and her large, sinewy muscles don't help with that factor. Her eyes ironically gleam a dandelion yellow, as if the pollen that tinted her fur wasn't enough for the accidental wildflower theme. Yet despite all this, she's still undeniably stunning due to the raw, untamed, survivalist aura she gives off. One can tell just by shortly glancing at her that she's an aged warrior, resilient and determined to outlive her enemies.

## Litters

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

Soleil is a warm, light brown wolf with a darker stripe that connects from her nose to her tail. She's a relatively social, energetic wolf with very little sense of direction. She often wanders from the den, not because she wants to, but because she can't stay still for two seconds. When she gets lost, her mother must search for her, as she can’t get back alone. She's very oblivious to her surroundings and often walks by things like food and toys because she's daydreaming. She's also very easily excitable, so one should keep calm when around her - if they want her to be calm as well, that is.

Adder was a light brown she-wolf, but she eventually turned white. A very sly, sneaky, and rambunctious little adventurer, Adder is very curious about her surroundings and wishes to hunt everything that moves. She enjoys traveling around and likes to see as many sights as possible. For this reason, she’s known to wander away from the den now and then. She does whatever she wants to, whenever she wants to. Overall, she’s known to be the main troublemaker of litter, and the rest of her pack can never catch a break. Ironically, she was the only one in her litter to have never gotten sick. Not like she cares, though.

Wisteria is a tawny, almost beige-brown she-wolf. She's scarily quiet and always seen by herself, presumably thinking about deeper things than her still childish, hyper, unalterable siblings. Not once has she willingly interacted with or spoken to any of them, but that makes them wish to annoy her even more, so they occasionally get a growl out of her - that being the most coherent thing they'll hear from her. She isolates herself from the rest of the pack, and nobody truly knows why. Could something have happened to her while nobody was looking? Not like she’d answer your question anyway.

Mulberry is a very pale, light gray and white female. She's an overly sensitive individual, both physically and mentally. The very moment she left the den, she contracted a bad illness. Her mother feared for the worst as her sister Cordelia was killed by illness, but thankfully, the little one pulled through. She’s very caring, but also playful, making her a perfect playmate for Hyacinth. Mulberry also enjoys showing off her little stick and bone collections she digs up. Anyway, despite being one of the largest pups of the litter, and having been deathly sick when she was small, her body is very fragile, and her injuries are more likely to kill her.

Ixia is a tall, dark, dull-brown female. She's known to be a rather clumsy, easily overexcitable wolf with lots of energy. She's sort of a loner, and she's often found chasing little bugs, hares, or birds in the bramble thicket by herself. She enjoys being with her mother, Ione, because she admires her prowess, but also her ability to socialize. Ixia has never been that good at understanding social cues or anything of the sort, so she’s kind of an outcast. She hopes that sharpening her other skills will make up for it. She’s not alone, but she is lonely.

Hyacinth is a gray and white male. Not only is Hyacinth the only male in his litter, but he is also the youngest. He often gets teased by his sisters for various reasons, so he's rather shy and timid. He purposefully acts like a loner even though he's very social and enjoys others' company. Because of this, he mostly plays by himself, although he’s fine with someone else joining in. Another of Hyacinth's intriguing traits is just how much he likes digging the mud and dirt for bones and skull fragments, and the way he’s greatly fascinated by the way different animals’ bodies are built. Hares are exceptionally cool to him, and he wonders what it is that makes them so fast yet *so*, ***so*** soft.

## Gallery

Ione resting in a patch of flowers at Rendezvous.Ione hunting an elk calf, seconds away from being kicked by the calf's mom. <3Ione carrying a mule deer fawn through a patch of wildflowers.Ione trying to take down a bull elk in broad daylight.Ione attempts to relax as Soleil tries to get her attention by rolling over (and then falling asleep).Ione during an odd snowstorm that painted the sky every color imaginable.
## Trivia

* The name Ione has its origins in ancient Greece. Derived from the Greek word “*ion*,” meaning “*violet flower*,” Ione embodies the delicate beauty and grace associated with this enchanting flower. Ironically enough, Violet is also the name of Ione's great-grandmother, who she shares many personality traits with. Independence, resilience, and an eagerness to perfect her skills are their most distinctive shared traits.