You floated in the murky depths, unable to remember who you were or how you'd gotten there. There had been an explosion of some kind. You remembered falling….
Who are you? The Haven wolves use only first names, as the pack is considered to be one family despite differences of background. What name did you hear echoing through the void?
The elders claimed that you were a difficult child, always focused on whatever suited you best at the time rather than the exacting standards werewolf society demands. In the long years following your birth, you came to define yourself on your own, but others have a tendency to require more impersonal definitions. How do your peers within the pack see you?
You didn't spend all that long cloistered with the other wolves of your gender. In the Haven pack, youths are mixed at an early age, leaving the pups to grow and learn as they see fit. Eventually you grew old enough to consider romantic interests.
Before long, you joined the school, where you were allowed to choose a primary area of study. These studies defined your early experiences in the pack and helped you become the wolf you are today.
Which discipline did you spend most of your youth studying?
Not simply content to live out your life without understanding the forces at work around you, you devoted a large portion of your studies to the ins and outs of human law and the methods by which the local government operates. Many of your classmates scoffed at your choice of focus, but you would rather have a sharp mind than be forced to rely on the sharpness of your claws alone.
Next
You woke up back in your waterfront apartment, transformed back into your human form, your bed drenched in sweat. For a brief moment you'd believed that the previous night's activities had merely been a nightmare. But when you discovered Dena in your kitchen, she explained that she had dragged you from the water and back into your bed. It had taken your body eight hours to recover after sustaining massive damage from the explosion and your fall from the bridge—an almost unheard-of recovery time for superior werewolf physiology.
You looked into a small cracked mirror to check for lingering wounds. A human face stared back at you, the full-length crack in the mirror splitting you in two as always. Your hair was greasy and unkempt, but its color showed through in a natural…
You ran your hands through your hair, trying to put its disheveled red mess in order as best you could.
The werewolf forms of many in your pack mimic the physical attributes of their human forms. Of course, there is an exception to every rule. You could almost picture your wolf in the other side of the split mirror, its thick coat of fur a striking…
You'd returned to your lessons as usual that day, trying to hide the fact that you knew the adults' secrets. After your instruction, you were accosted by Bly—a fighter and known delinquent—and Jolon, the pack's youthful "huntmaster." Both wolves were only a few years older than yourself, nearing the age of majority. Bly explained that she had learned of the humans' grotesque experiments over a year ago, and she offered to train you in the art of combat back in her dojo. Jolon offered to train you in the more subtle art of stealth and intimidation. Of course, you also had an appointment with Elder Ahote in his office, and you weren't sure if ignoring a summons was a good idea.