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Moonglow

Appearance

Her fur is the color of thick cream with just a sprinkling of darker guard hairs on her face and back. Moonglow has the potential to be quite beautiful but is a bit too ragged and underfed for this be a reality. She generally carries an air of desperate sadness, head low, tail limp and golden eyes blank. She shows no care of her appearance; fur full of brambles and dirt. Moonglow is also a good ten pounds underweight.

Personality

She is severely depressed. She also sleeps as little as possible, because her dreams are too horrific to bear. Sometimes she won't move more than a few feet for days; while at other times she'll stay on the move until collapsing from exhaustion.

She hunts when it occurs to her to do so but mostly feeds on carcasses when she remembers to eat at all. Moonglow is also terrified of wolves in Secui form and refuses to even attempt a change. During particularly bad episodes she'll speak to her dead family; usually to apologize for her failure.

Biography

Moonglow was born to a pack of two. Her mother and father, Nightsong and Lightstrike respectively, were newly mated and eager to begin a pack of their own. Their first territory was small, little more than a pocket of about four miles across in a small mountain range populated with mostly smaller animals and some deer.

They were both Luperci and while Lightstrike found the Secui form useful when Nightsong was too heavy with young to aid in the hunt they both stayed mostly in Lupus form. Nightsong waited her first litter calmly, knowing instinct would guide her; while Lightstrike worried constantly.

When three healthy pups were born in early spring they rejoiced. The eldest pup, a male, they named Winterwind because of his pale coloring. The second born a female was dark and the youngest, a female, was pale so they named them Moonshadow and Moonglow. The pups grew up healthy and rambunctious. Moonshadow was the bravest of the three, she was the first to exit the den with Winterwind close behind.

Moonglow was more timid and had to be nudged out by her mother that first time. While there was some tension between the two eldest pups the little family was close. Lightstrike and Nightsong began teaching their pups about shifting and hunting when they were six months old. The pups were ecstatic, of course, even Moonglow, who was still on the timid side, couldn't wait for the lessons.

Then, when the pups were close to seven months and the world began to grow colder, Lightstrike came back from a run limping heavily. The family gathered around him, worried, but he assured them at it was just a small bite from a fox he'd startled. Nightsong cared for him tenderly, licking the wound clean regularly and insisting he rest while she continued to teach the pups. Two weeks passed and the family grew more and more worried as Lightstrike grew sick.

Nightsong attempted to act normal but she grew thin and anxious as her mate got worse. Lightstrike began sleeping little, sometimes acting as if he didn't know where he was; other times he would grow irritable even going to far to snap at his mate or children. The pups grew closer during this time, each leaning on the other for comfort. Nightsong began to leave her mate's side only when absolutely necessary. The pups no longer played or attempted to shift; instead they focused on hunting.

They brought their mother what prey they could catch, mostly mice or rabbits. A mere four weeks after their father first became sick Moonglow was returning home from her failed hunt, her siblings already having returned ahead of her. When she drew near the scent of blood reached her and snarling. Moonglow ran, sure they were being attacked perhaps by one of the rare bears that roamed the mountainside. What she saw was so much worse. Her first sight was that of her mother looking smaller than she'd ever seen her, throat torn open and twitching feebly. A snarl drew her eyes to the side.

It was her father.

Her father transformed in more ways than one. She had seen him as a Secui before but never like this. Never had his eyes been so savage, so merciless. Moonshadow and Winterwind were facing him, fangs bared, they were shaking Moonglow noticed faintly. It was Moonshadow, always the bravest, that attacked first. She was tossed aside easily, landing with a yelp but quickly staggering to her feet. She snarled in wordless hatred and began edging to the side, looking for an opening. Winterwind had fallen, convulsing to the ground.

Moonglow willed herself to move, to help her sister.

She couldn't.

She couldn't move.

She felt strangely disconnected from what was happening. Like it was a dream. A horrible dream. Her sister rushed again, going for her father's neck. He aimed low, snapping his daughters foreleg like a twig. Moonshadow fell, writhing and snapping even as Lightstrike pounced and tore her stomach open.

Winterwind finally stood, heavy with muscle, his first Secui transformation. He cried out in pain at the sight of Moonshadow's dying form, he cursed Lightstrike who simply turned to him, eyes still senselessly wild. They crashed together, at Winterwind's yelp of pain, Moonglow found she could move. She rushed into battle, ramming her father's far heavier form hoping to give Winterwind the opening he needed.

Her father attempted to turn on her but Winterwind attacked and succeeded in blinding Lightstrike's right eye. Moonglow staggered back, dazed. The last two members of her family were locked together in a fierce battle, she was unable to get closer because she feared distracting Winterwind or possibly even injuring him. Eventually her brother wounded their father fatally. Lightstrike fell while Winterwind staggered back, Moonglow rushing to support him. He collapsed a few feet away, bleeding heavily.

Moonglow whined and began cleaning his wounds as best she could. Winterwind fell asleep quickly. She huddled close to him, whining and aching and afraid. The night passed slowly, the scent of death all around her. Finally, the sky just lighting with dawn, her brother died beside her; never having woken.

Moonglow wandered for days afterward, not thinking or feeling.

The explosion of grief came nearly a week later. She roared her horror at the sky and hated her weakness. What if's tormented her.

What if she had gotten there sooner?

What if she hadn't frozen like a worthless coward?

What if she had died with her family?

She wanted death. She wanted her family. She ached inside, cold and empty. There was nothing and no one. Moonglow wandered, eating only when her body's demands penetrated the gray fog that clouded her mind.

There is also the secret she keeps, even from herself. The existence of another personality, a complete monster that presents itself only in her Secui form.

Family