Roza;
  Mother was exploring in the Amur Valley, though knew she should not be traveling or up and about in such a state as she was in. Enthralled in her own survival, she did not know that pup’s father was stalking her, awaiting her to give birth. She found a place she could call a den, a cave that use to belong to a Leopard, and simply kicked back. She did not eat, too tired to go hunt her own food, and she did not move around much after finding the cave. And then, a week after finding the cave, she birthed a total of one and a half puppies. The half puppy was being absorbed into mother for nutrients to sustain mother and remaining pup, as the others had. Once she had given birth, she instantly felt better. Unlike a lot of wolves, she felt no motherly affection towards her pup, and so left it to die in the cave, opting to go hunt food for herself.
  As the female left, Spiridon hurried into the cave, growling low in his throat once he saw the bloody mess that awaited him. His poor offspring was still in it’s sac, trying to breath for Christ’s sake! He quickly cleaned her, and picked her up into his arms, snuggling her shaking form into his clothing in an attempt to keep her wet body cold in the cold climate of the valley. He had noticed a Native village a mile due west of the current spot they were at. It would be a good place to take his pup, get her some food in her malnourished body, and a bit of heat to cool her flesh.
  They got to the village without much trouble, the people having recognized the canine as a wolf immediately. It was not so unusual. The people worshipped the great wolves, because they had blessed their people so long ago by leading them to a forest full of game when they were on the verge of starving. They helped Spiridon to save the poor puppy, and soon enough, she was a healthy little girl. She lived in the village until she was able to travel with her father. For three human years, her father trained her, taught her everything he could, helped her to be the master of her emotions and graceful in her body. He taught her about her family, about her lineage. Told her to keep it pure for the sake of their survival.
  She obeyed. His every word spoken, she obeyed without question. He was her father, her mentor, her teacher, and her best friend. But, all too soon, he left her, telling her that he had long overdue business to complete elsewhere. She did not believe him, smelling the lie coming from every pore of his being. But she did not question him. Instead, she said that she would see him again sometime, and watched him run off.
  She was officially on her own. As the years went by, she began to obtain jobs as a type of modern day hitman for those whom did not know what she was. And as the years went by, her anticipation of seeing Spiridon again ate at her. Sometimes, it completely made her lose her focus, and in doing so, the wolves and people around her would either wind up dead, or seriously injured, due to various royal families either needing her services, or wanting revenge on her for killing someone in the family. It was not too pretty.
  On one of her hunts, she came across a facility full of various disturbing things; Stuffed wolves, starved wolves on leashes fighting each other for a hunk of meat just out of reach, wolf tails hanging from walls, puppies in cages whining for their mother… It made her ill, and it was only just one room within the building, but she did not let her disgust show. Except for the way of killing the man that owned the horrible place, along with his three horrid children. She helped the wolves to escape their confinement, and helped the mother wolves get back to their hungry babies. Near finished with cleaning up human mess as best she could, she came across a wolf that she could recognize by smell. She smelled kind of like her sire. Weird.
  The other wolf seemed to think so, as well. Curious as she was, Roza knew she could not let the female come with her. But that didn’t stop the once captive wolf. She stalked after Roza, occasionally asking her questions about herself, her family. Roza did her best to ignore her, but she occasionally slipped, giving answers to her questions, or telling her to come closer to the fire she would make, not wanting a fellow wolf to get cold during the night.
  Before she knew it, Roza had herself a life-long companion in this wolf, Lis. But for the love of God, she did not know anything. She could not hunt, nor stalk quietly, take down prey properly, or even reign her emotions! She was like a pup. But, Roza supposed that was part of her charm. She was… cute, in a way, all inexperienced and stuff.
  For the first time since her father had gone, she was happy, around this wolf. She brought a bit of color into her black and white world. They stuck together for a grand total of fifteen years. Few months after Roza’s twenty-second birthday, she let her guard down, something her father had once told her never to do. And old enemy had caught wind of her presence and had sent a party of armor clad, gun wielding men after her. She was enthralled with wrestling with Lis, she was not listening for the signs of danger; Animals completely dispersing, vibratory sounds echoing through nature.. By time she realized they were in danger, the humans were already on top of them.
  A bum leg caused by an angered bull moose ramming antlers into hip had made Lis slow, and so, despite Roza’s best efforts, was caught, and shot in the head. She escaped, running having been the only option. She was… Sad. Her emotions were unlocked.. And for the first time in her life, she grieved. She spiraled into a depression so deep, that she was near death from lack of will to survive by time any type of creature had found her. It just so happened, that creature happened to be a human. He had been exploring the thin crop of trees that was known as a ‘forest’ and happened across her in her sorry state. It ate at his heart. He could not leave the beast in such a way.
  He took her on. Never a house-dwelling person, he found no need to take her back to the town he was born in. Instead, he stayed with her in her world. His presence there was a factor in her getting better. He figured it was because he was able to get her to eat. He bugged her until she snapped at his hand, which happened to have food in it, then would clamp her muzzle shut until she swallowed. Eventually, she would chew the food and swallow on her own, once she became use to their routine. He nursed her back to health, if not pestered her enough to rock her out of her depressed state. Roza felt no loyalty to him, and so when she felt she could finally get back to her black and white world, she just left. No goodbyes, not look that would be misconstrued as ‘knowing’ or ‘thankful’, she just left.
  Twenty-four now, she hunts for the one place where Lis would be. She had heard rumors from wolves, stories from people, tales from books… Wolves went there. The Flower Maiden lead them. Their loved ones would be there waiting for her. Well, Lis would be there waiting for her. And Lord Demidov. He would be there..
  She needed to find that Maiden, and she needed to find her soon. Else, she would be forced to find this place all by herself.. And with her stubbornness, she would most likely be the first wolf to do such.