[EVENT] Iron Hides - Teacher and Merchant [CLOSED!]

[Pijrrh]

The Bells and Whistles~
Wolf's Name: Quiet Determination
Previous Ranks: Scout, Stalker, Healer, Merchant

Personality: Patient, watchful, ambitious, and full of willpower. Quiet Determination may have been overlooked earlier in life because she was a runt, but she has shown her pack all the ways that she excels. She is very attuned to body language and is often the first to start trying to smooth things over when discord between pack members arises. However, she is not afraid of a fight and she will stand her ground to ferociously protect anyone she sees being wronged. She tends to follow tradition and encourage others to do the same. She does have a playful streak, a wit and sense of humor that appears suddenly and then vanishes again beneath her calm demeanor like ripples in the ocean. In her free time she likes to climb up into trees and find a branch to lay on while she watches others go about their day below her, and has on occasion been known to drop suddenly out of trees to playfully startle passersby.
History: She started as a Scout, and when she found that her slight build was a boon in combination with a natural ability to climb trees, she eventually moved on to join the ranks of the Stalkers. Eventually she grew weary of seeing her pack members get hurt without being able to do anything about it, so she joined the Healers. As she worked her way through each of these skills, she found she particularly loved interacting with young wolves, ones with a hunger to learn and a strong will, and discovered a spark of desire for eventually becoming a teacher. But she also knew that nothing she'd done yet had helped her foster an ability for diplomacy, camaraderie, setting others at ease, and dealing with a variety of communication (or lack thereof) and knew that time as a Merchant would be perfect to round out her abilities.
Future Plans?: Teach with the part of the pack that is on the move as much as possible. Staying still in one location doesn't suit her well, she prefers to see as much of the world as she can. The more she experiences, the more knowledge she can pass along to others.  

[medigel]

The Bells and Whistles~
Wolf's Name: Lady Fair
Previous Ranks: Scout -> Guardian -> Merchant -> Healer
Personality: Lady Fair is rather minxy for someone called teacher. She's rather young for the typical age one would think of for the position, and she leverages with the ease of a bird leveraging the wind in its favor as it flies. Her teaching methods are casual, her words charismatic and persuasive. One would be forgiven for thinking she's too busy flirting or being vain to be taken seriously, though that wouldn't make it less of a grave error.

Beneath her coquettish demeanor is a she-wolf that has seen more than she's cared to. Her carefree demeanor, maternal impulses, and generally girlish tendencies aren't exactly a facade, as these are integral to her character as a whole. But there are times where Lady Fair may flanderize these characteristics to hide her inner thoughts, deflecting someone from getting too personal or treading into her problems. As much as she's embraced the Iron Hides as family, she's yet to really loosen up about her personal life; that's someone completely different than she is today, a stranger she'd rather let stay in her mother's drug den to die.

Compartmentalizing from this also means, however, that Lady Fair suffers from imposter syndrome from time to time. No accomplishment of hers outside of singing is of her own power. Clearly this wolf is the talented one, or that one taught her what she knew. Lady Fair herself is simply the byproduct of learning from her betters.

(Not that she'll tell you. No, she'll wink at your question and draw closer, ask you to tell her the details about your day. Didn't she see a certain someone hanging on your words earlier? Mhmm~?)

The truth is that in spite of all she was given, Lady Fair feels lonely at the end of the day. For so long she felt she had to have a partner of some sort to make it, and with Milady gone, the hole has gnawed at her. So she fills it how she can: a lover, a lesson, a new song. She seeks experiences the same way her mother sought her herbs. It's like an addiction to never being bored and left with her own thoughts. Best to help someone else--or else help herself to someone else if not.

But whatever she does, she does so with the bearing of a noblewoman always. She chose her name for a reason, after all!
History: (permission granted by Vis to alter history slightly from what's given)
Lady Fair's early puphood was marked by a serious of unfortunate events, though no living pack member is aware of the specifics now.

For one, her mother had found herself addicted to a particular mixture of herbs shortly before her pregnancy, one which she had believed would lead to any would-be litters being flushed out of her system before they could take hold. In her haze of skipped time and delight, she was much too distracted until it was too late to do anything but wallow in her drug den and bemoan her new fate. The father--at least, she suspected it was the father--promised to help with the runts. This lasted for the first month of their lives, when he one day vanished to shrug off these new responsibilities of a much too large litter and a far too trashy parental partner foisting her half onto him.

For another, her mother didn't quite care what happened to the hellions after they were able to begin roaming about. Lady Fair remembers at least one was caught in their mother's dwindling stash of "herbal remedies"; the severity of her outrage and subsequent punishment was enough to scare the rest of them to the core. Death is always a harsh lesson to any youngling, after all. And with one less mouth to feed, the burden on her mother became lessened.

The still nameless female pup decided that she needed to escape any way she could. What methods she resorted to are left to the winds of time and dark memory, but what mattered was that not long after she began her sojourn, she ran across a group of adult wolves: several that had something painted on them, one with trinkets on her person, and a recently killed bear in their midst. The pup, thinking she could be sly, wove a tale in which she was a lost princess in need of assistance, and that she could reward them handsomely one day if they took her in and let her nurse her wounds. This was met, of course, with dubious looks, but a lost pup was a lost pup: it was hard to turn her away regardless.

Thus, the one who would eventually be called Lady Fair fell in with the Iron Raiders and the merchant Milady.

Her entry into the pack was strange, and even for a while after Lady Fair felt inside herself that she was an outsider. While she didn't shy away from the work she was asked to do, she felt like she stuck out from those that had learned the culture. It was then that the merchant Milady took the adolescent under her wing, teaching her not just the history and culture of the Iron Hides but of how to comport herself, how to move just like that to draw the eye, how to slink away back into the shadows when enough attention was given, and most importantly: how to sing. Having never had music in her life before, Lady Fair took to the lessons like a fish to water, and the heart of the pack would be home to her beautiful songs and duets with her mentor for many days and evenings.

In her need to return the favor to the pack for taking her in, and especially to Milady for mentoring her, Lady Fair threw herself even more into her tasks. She was an adept paw at most of what she did, converting the noblewoman's bearing she had been taught to field techniques: certain dances for keeping her pawsteps light and her shadow-melting a finesse as a scout, or how to keep her comport while staying alert when following Milady on her trading missions as a guardian, and so on. Lady Fair hadn't ever taken praise for her growing skills, however--except for her singing, which was gods-given, thank you very much~ Eventually, however, her mentor recommended she become a merchant as well due to her silver tongue and natural charm, and Lady Fair had never been able to say no to Milady, you see.

For a time, life was melodious. But life, like all songs, must one day end.

The Iron Hides began to wane with the health of their alpha. So too had time and sickness caught up to Milady, a strange illness of which no healer could find the source of. Lady Fair chose to pause her merchant duties to help the healers in this endeavor, acting as an acolyte and helper. Nothing found the old merchant relief, however, and she soon passed. Unable to find herself able to return to her old post, Lady Fair chose to mentor under one of the healers who had tended to Milady as penance, deciding she needed to learn every facet of the Iron Hides ranks that she was capable of to prevent such a thing happening again. (That is, to never be unable to help a loved one.)

It wasn't long after Snow Rabbit ascended to become alpha that she was approached to become a teacher. Her experience in multiple areas was invaluable, though Lady Fair was doubtful she would be a good teacher--after all, her entire life had been spent learning rather than mentoring. But eventually the she-wolf caved and took up the position. The weight of her previous work is still on her shoulders as far as she's concerned, however, and she's still seen probing other wolves from different ranks about their jobs just to keep her own mental guides and lists up to date.

Time, after all, is a terrible and inevitable enemy. having once thought she might die young, Lady Fair wants to make every day she does have count. That doesn't mean, however, that she will allow the song in her heart to die before she does.
Future Plans?:

• Troupe! Troupe!! Troupe!!! She could make one if there are other would-be singers.
  
• Actually finding a stable relationship with someone? Multiple someones? Big shrugarino there, bud.
  
• Most likely either has had a past relationship or 3 within the pack to plot out, or else is pining for one or two. Who these are are open to be taken by others! Romantic drama is her messiest point and would be fun to explore, especially since so far she's shown no interest (read: fear) in having pups.
  
• Probably would be friendly with others who were taken in by the pack like her, such as Snow Rabbit. Probably dotes upon them a little more than others. She ain't afraid to say she's biased okay.
  
• Dislikes violence, despite being in a pack that employs it as a tool from time to time. Would be fun to have that challenged, or else discussed. Her time as a guardian was...interesting to say the least on those few occasions she had to fight.

 

[NymiiNym]

The Bells and Whistles~
Wolf's Name: Nerve
Personality: "You're getting on my nerves," his mother would say, often claiming she named him for that very reason. Upbeat, eager, curious, and often with his nose in something, Nerve is often testing everyone's patience. He has places to be and things to see people -- get out of his way! Nerve is easily excited by adventure and new wares, making him fairly good at his job. He loves collecting, and while he's absolutely happy to trade with other wolves for their required Titles and rewards he is harsher on things he himself acquired. Want that pretty gold coin he found? Well, whatcha willin' to give him?

While Nerve is high energy and often involved in something, he's a good guy who serves his pack eagerly. He cares greatly for the members within and wears his heart on his sleeve. You know exactly where you stand with this guy. Witty, sarcastic, and a jokester at times, you also can count on him for a laugh.

He also is fairly persuasive, which might be due to his natural charm or ability to read others in the blink of an eye.

History: As a puppy Nerve was always under his mothers paws as he explored the pack and tried to help her with her own rank of Scout. His mother had bred with a rogue and, unfortunately, only birthed him. He kept her on her toes the best he could, often returning home with scrapes or even the Alpha carrying him after a scolding. His mother was often exasperated with him and, thus, he was thrown at the Teachers whenever she could.

His mother ended up dying during a job when Nerve became a teenager. It didn't stop him from his own interest in becoming a Scout, and so he trained. The moment he was allowed free for his duties he felt exhilaration at visiting the world beyond, but something didn't feel right. He had more potential than this, surely. His keen eye for valuable wares and ability to negotiate with his charm caught the attention of Snow Rabbit, and thus the position of Merchant was recommend. He took it eagerly.

Nerve is new at his job, and he vanished during his first trip. "I found the perfect spot for trade during my Scouting days!" He had exclaimed during the last time the pack had seen him. He hadn't lied, either, as he returns with bounties of aged gold trinkets and beautiful buy decayed silks. His eyes twinkle with a hint of obsession as, under his breath, he exclaims; "I saw it -- the bird of fire and life. I'm.... I'm going to get it, next time."

No one is sure what he speaks about, but perhaps someone should ask? He might be heading out soon.... in fact....

Future Plans:
- Wander off, again. It's to find things for trade, he says, and it's technically true, but he's also seeking something else. Something only the Alpha has been told about. A Phoenix, and he's desperately trying to bring one home. Who would mess with the pack then if they had a massive bird of their own? That, and any treasure collector wants something as beautiful, rare, and legendary as a Phoenix. If he obtains one he'll raise them. They will begin going on trips with him after his major injury.
- Return home for some time to focus on trades within the pack. He'll be needed due to being one of the few Merchants currently, and he does want to be useful to his home.
- Tag along with a Crow raid with the permission of Big Bad and Snow Rabbit. He'll help identify rare valuables and in return take a few for his pack.
- Perhaps on a mission he meets a female wolf who is pregnant escaping a pack. He stays longer than he should with her and, for the first time, catches feels. She unfortunately passes in a not-so-great way a few months after the puppy is born (the pack finds them? a storm?) and he ends up taking the pup in and, somehow, becoming a big brother/dad figure.
- Make a dumb mistake. During outside wandering he negotiates with the wrong wolf and ends up injured. Will return home to be taken care of. Will be maimed in some way.
- Stumbles on another pack. Would enjoy the process of trading with them maybe in attempts to secure the pack a new ally.
- Mentor a wolf to be a merchant. Perhaps someone as annoying at times as he. Perhaps the child he took in.
- I'm not sure if he'll ever mate, or even breed. It seems unlikely. He's so busy exploring, but if something organically happens I'm down.
- His Phoenix will begin to show concerns about his health (if he has one). Eventually start to stay home more, focusing on inner trades. The injuries from his attack never fully healed, leaving him disabled after. He'll be tired of pushing himself and perhaps wants to stick around the pup he raised and watch their family blossom and grow. Still annoying as ever lmao.

 

[RozeyBear]

The Bells and Whistles~
Wolf's Name: Soft Shade
Previous Ranks: Scout > Stalker > Striker > Caretaker
Personality: Determined and quick witted, Soft Shade has been described as a whirlwind of weaponized information. She believes wholly that knowledge is power and strives to devour any bit of useful information about, well, everything. Her goal as a Teacher is to pass her extensive knowledge along to the future of the pack via the eager pups that seems to hang on her every word. With them, she is kind and patient. Many parents have said she's perfect for her new rank, given how involved she is with the pups. She encourages their visions and dreams of the future, even going so far as to actively help them on her own free time--honestly, she's starting to forget what "free time" even is. Deep down, though, she knows she wouldn't rather be doing anything else.

History: Soft Shade was the runt of her litter. Small and weak and frail. Her parents doubted she'd make it through her first months. When she did, it surprised the whole family. What surprised them even more, however, was the fact that she seemed to be more intuitive than her siblings. At a young age, she excelled in most everything, including trails that most others thought would kill or seriously injure the small female.

Upon her coming of age, Shade took the rank of Scout. She was small, quick and smart. It seemed a perfect fit. For a while, it was. She was good at her job and eventually made a bird friend, a blue jay named On the Wind, that would sit and talk with her along a particular cliff side overlooking her pack's territory. All was well and she was happy.

One day she and On the Wind were making their rounds and out of nowhere, a strange wolf attacked them! He looked scraggly and unkempt, bones jutted out beneath his fur and his eyes... his eyes were wild. Shade did her best to fight him off and in the end, she was successful. The rogue ran and she turned to ensure On the Wind was okay. To her horror, he wasn't. He laid on the ground, one wing horribly bent. Every breath he took hissed from his lungs, the sound filled with pain. Gently, she picked him up and carried him back to the pack in hopes a Healer could fix him. Hours went by before she was told On the Wind wouldn't make it through the night. That was the first time Soft Shade wept in front of anyone. She stayed with her friend until his final breath wheezed from his lungs. Before he passed, On the Wind had asked if she would remember him. Shade choked on her own words, managing only a small, "Always." To keep her promise, she took one of the feathers from his wing. She still wears it about her neck to this day.

Not long after the death of her friend, she took the rank of Stalker. Her size and speed made it easy for her to fulfill her duties. She went through the motions, lived day to day without any real plan for anything. She was numb. She was hunting, and she found what she was looking for after months of searching.

A small group of ematiciated wolves, all snarling and fighting over the carcass of an elk. She watched, silent and hidden, as they made their way closer to the border of the Iron Hides's lands.

When she returned with this information, she requested another change in rank; Striker. She'd watched and learned from many membera of the pack, taking texhinques they'd shown her to make them her own. She could do this. She could defend her pack despite her diminutive size.

The rogues never touched the pack lands. They skirted the borders as if they knew exactly where to step to avoid the pack's wrath. Shade was not happy about that. She wanted them to make a move against the pack, against her.

More moons passed and Shade found she was more than efficient as a Striker as well. She'd been able to take down wolves twice her size and she provided the pack with kills every so often under the excuse of keeping her claws sharp. Not that anyone really minded. After all, who could say no to more food?

Shade was hunting again, this time tracking a rather large elk. She didn't know she'd stumbled into a bear's territory until it was too late. She hadn't had time to dart into the cover of greenery before the brute had rushed her. The force of the bear's entire weight slamming into her sent her crashing into the trunk of a sturdy tree. Something snapped beneath her fur, a sickening crack echoing in her ears. Pain exploded in her hip, her back legs crumbled beneath her. The bear roared, lifting a great paw to swipe at the she-wolf. Shade roared back, her feature twisting into a savage snarl. With every once of strength she could muster, she rammed her head underneath the bear's jaw hard enough to stagger him. Ignoring the pain, she stood shakily, growling and snarling as if she were possessed by some violent spirit. They lunged for each other, a flurry of teeth and claws and fur. Somehow, Shade survived again. She doesn't exactly remember how, but the bear had hobbled off. She took pride in knowing that he was just as injured as she was. The she-wolf collapsed on the spot, the pain engulfed her and the last thing she saw was darkness overtaking the sky.

When she awoke, she was back home. The Healer attending her told her a Scout has found her and brought her home, along with what he'd seen had been hidden under her paw. A single, large tooth, cleaned pristinely. She requested it be pierced into her ear as a reminder of her foolishness. With the extent of her injuries, she was given a choice of a new role within the pack.

She chose Caretaker because maybe, just maybe, she could help in keeping the new blood of the pack safe that way. It wasn't long after she healed that she chose to adorn her dye. The colours she wore honoured her friend just as much as his feather above her heart did. Soon after, as she limped towards her den for the night, she was approached about another change in her rank. She was offered the position of Teacher. She respectfully asked to think about it for the night.

The next morning, as the run rose over the horizon to bathe everything in a warm orange glow, she formally accepted her her role. Secretly, she hoped she could live up to the expectations that were likely attached to her new position.
Future Plans?: I'd love to have her interact with pups, mainly! She loves them and they bring out her softer side. Plus, she's a teacher, right?

I'd also love to find her someone to befriend. Someone to help her find closure with On the Wind's death, as that still weighs heavy on her heart. Perhaps someone who sees beyond her current disability (her shattered hip that causes her limp) to just see her.

She also needs a small group of friends that she's close to. I just... want rp for her in general. See where she goes from here and how her views change or stay concrete.