Mentality
Personal history
Born on a Cree reservation in Saskatchewan Canada. At age twelve she had her first transformation. The tribal medicine man knew Raven's condition and how to contact a pack that had other Cree in it.
Raven spent ten years running with the Lonetail Stalkers near Churchill River. The small pack roved a sizable area and made little trouble for the locals however, often ended trouble by outsiders.
After the run-in with the Storm Howlers, a rival pack, Raven was forced to flee.
She fled to Chicago and met the Widow Oldenburg, a strange old lady who owned half a city block. Raven ran off some street toughs causing trouble however something more sinister haunts the residents. Nearly three years of making a new life in the city and setting up her territory in the neighborhood called Dharma Downs, Raven finds her past maybe catching up with her.
Education
Raven read a lot as a teenager and had a tutor in Buffalo Narrows.
Employment
to be determined
Accomplishments & Achievements
to be determined
Failures & Embarrassments
Lone Wolf
The red and white pickup truck led the two other vehicles along the 155 north of Buffalo Narrows. The two-lane paved road was in lackluster shape making for a rough ride under the gray clouds of early autumn. Traffic was light this time of year with no one on the lakes, this allowed them to make good time.
“I don’t like this. Who are these guys and why do they want to talk to us?” Raven grumbled looking out the passenger window at the trees whipping by. “And why do they want our whole pack there?”
“Would you feel better if the whole pack wasn’t there?” Seff answered with a grin.
Raven shrugged with an annoyed expression.
“Speaking which, did anyone ever get a hold of Isi?” Seff inquired as he turned on the windshield wipers to clear off the sprinkling rain. “I left a message telling her where this meet was, but I’d like to make sure she doesn’t beat us to the location.”
Raven shook her head. “If she does get the message, she’ll never make it here before us. We’re almost twenty-five kilometers north of Narrows. There is nothing out here but Taylor Lake.”
Raven inhaled and then slowed her breathing in an attempt to calm herself. For ten years she had known Seff, and during the last five years he had been pack leader of the Lonetail Stalkers, and never in that time had Seff led Raven or the others wrong.
“You have that same pensive look now as you did when I first met you,” Seff said. “You anticipate too much; you need to live in the moment.”
Raven shot him a glare. “I was twelve when we met. I knew nothing about my wolf or the life in a pack. I wasn’t pensive, I was scared.”
“So, are you saying you’re scared?”
“No.” Raven immediately retorted. “I’m just… concerned.”
“If you’re scared, I understand,” Seff teased. “Though I think I detect a waft of urine from your jeans. I’m not criticizing, it’s completely natural-”
“Fuck you!” Raven shoved Seff with a jolt that slammed him into the door, causing the truck to make a sharp swerve into the other lane.
The pair laughed and Seff honked the horn. The trailing vehicles honked in return in acknowledgment of Seff once again getting on Raven’s nerves.
They were getting close to the meet. Seff slowed as to be able to better spot the turn.
“This guy, Hades, what precisely did he say on the phone?” Raven asked as she scanned to the right for the dirt road they needed to take.
“He said that he was the pack leader of the Storm Howlers and they wanted to have a meet so that we could sniff each other out. I’m hoping that wasn’t a literal request.”
Raven snickered but then furrowed her brow.
“How did he get your phone number?”
“I don’t know, we didn’t talk that long.” Seff braked and turned onto a dirt road that looked more like a rural driveway. The path led straight into the tall trees and soon a lake was visible beyond. He retrieved a radio and pressed the key to address the occupants in the trailing cars. “Looks like we’re here. Let’s pull over to the side and see what we see.”
Raven and Seff climbed out with their eyes on the trees and ears listening for any sound that was not the wind or nearby water. From the Monte Carlo parked behind Seff’s truck, Eric and Jenna joined them. Eric was tall and wiry, dark haired, and dressed in his khaki shorts and a polo shirt. Jenna was average height with thick golden hair, she had the least amount of Cree blood to be sure, but both the Native and Wolf heritage had been passed to her. Seff claimed Jenna was the oldest of them, but Raven would not have guessed it by looking at the attractive woman. From the Trans Am in the rear came Running Bear, a lumbering three hundred pounds, who was the only current Lonetail Stalker that became a Wolf by bite rather than inherited.
Seff’s nose confirmed what they all sensed, and he gestured for them to fan out and move towards a boat house that loomed next to the water at the end of the road. Raven narrowed her eyes and lowered her head instinctively. There were others nearby. They weren’t even attempting to mask themselves other than simply standing inside the weather worn boathouse.
The five of them approached at a steady pace and crossed the thirty or so yards to the wooden structure. Raven listened as the water of Taylor Lake slapped the rocks, the insects chimed in the twilight, and the faint sound of steady breathing and creaking leather that came from within the building. With a solid grip, Raven readied her berretta from her jacket pocket. Whatever was going to happen the moment had arrived.
“That’s far enough,” called a strong voice from the boathouse. “No need to kick in the door and start shooting.”
The sliding wood door clattered as it opened. A bald man with tattoos on his head pushed it halfway open, he paused long enough to look them over before standing with his arms crossed. A massive form stepped from the darkness and into the fading daylight. He stood six and half feet in height, was wider than two men, his deep brown hair was long and tangled in contrast to his shortness of his beard. The heavy footfalls of his boots were brief, denoting a deftness of his steps and that he was more agile than his size would suggest. Clad in jeans, motorcycle chaps, boots, and a sleeveless Killswitch Engage shirt the mighty figure peered at them as if they were mere children.
“You must be Hades,” Seff surmised.
Flashing a tattoo on his tree trunk of an arm the giant answered, “That’s what the ink says.”
Raven caught the scent, and her reflexes drew the pistol from her pocket.
“Isi!” Raven announced. “She’s here.”
Another burly man from inside walked the petite girl into view. Steering her by her head with a handful of her black hair clenched in his fist. He shoved her forward where Hades snatched her by the arm.
Looking at Raven the Howler’s pack leader said, “Put the piece down. We wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.” Isi grunted with discomfort when he twisted her arm. “We’re here to talk, but we would never turn down a fight.”
Raven eased the pistol back into her pocket and withdrew her hand. With a cursory glance at the sky, she knew it was easily half an hour before moon rise.
“It’s going to be a while before anyone shifts,” Hades announced. “Time enough to say what I got to say.”
Seff spoke with a causal tone. “What is it you’ve got to say? Needless to point out, you have our undivided attention.”
“I do, don’t I?” Hades smirked. “Let’s talk hunting grounds. Your pack only numbers a few and yet you have a substantial area to roam. We Howler’s are two dozen in number and need to spread out. Our territory around Fort Mackay isn’t large enough. We need more game and less attention. This area would be ideal.”
Raven pursed her lips as her instinct to pull out his insides through a claw sized puncture welled from within.
“That won’t work, friend.” Seff kept a calm voice. “We don’t hunt our locals. Sometimes we are forced to act against outsiders, however for the most part we don’t—”
“I wasn’t asking. Friend.” Hades stepped forward with Isi. “I am telling you how it how it will be.”
Seff’s voice became aggressive when he replied, “What, you’re threatening to hurt Isi if we don’t give you what you want? Is that how you get cooperation? How long do you think that will last?”
The thundering rumble of Hades’ laugh startled Raven. He seemed genuinely amused at Seff’s comment and there was nothing funny about it. Then Hades released Isi and nudged her to join them. The teenage girl stepped with a cautious glance and then made her way to Raven.
Hades shook his head. “You’re not listening young pack leader. No threat. Do you know why I’m not threatening you? Because I am not asking for permission. I’m telling you, we Storm Howler’s will be hunting in your territory. This meet is not a negotiation, it’s a notification. We grabbed the girl to get your number and ensure you understood this was serious.” Hades’ expression grew cold when he said, “Do you understand?”
The breeze shook the limbs of the trees and boat house door to knock, however there was no other sound. For a long moment Seff and Hades stared at one another. Raven knew what this meant after a couple of moments, Seff would not roll over for the Howlers. Wolves do not react well to ultimatums and packs are even more stubborn. This was going to be settled here and now—whatever the odds.
Seff never broke eye contact with other pack leader. He trusted his pack and acted with decisive purpose by breaking into a sprint away from Raven and the others as he pulled out a machine pistol and sprayed the door opening—though he did not strike Hades, the burly pack member that had brought Isi out was hit and he fell backwards to the ground.
Raven shoved Isi down behind a stump as she drew her pistol. Without thought she pointed at the bald man and let loose two bullets. The shots missed due to his impressive agility but forced him to duck into the building. Eric, Standing Bear, and Jenna all took cover and fired their weapons. Raven located Seff behind a narrow tree exchanging shots with Hades. The large man darted from cover to cover with surprising speed. They were far on the other side of the boathouse and Raven was unable to do anything to help, instead she found herself ducking as the wounded bald man appeared at a window with a laugh as he sprayed bullets from an automatic rifle at her.
“I’m going to get you squaws!” He shouted over the rapping of the gun. Raven and Isi pressed low and waited for clip to run dry.
Raven nodded to the other girl and they both rolled in opposite directions onto their feet. Isi bolted for the cars to get a weapon while Raven fired three shots into the widow and forced the bald man to take cover instead of reloading. Then she darted forward and closed on the boathouse, veering to the side of the window the man had moved to. Raven raised her gun and pointed gut high and fired in a line through wooden wall until she ran out of bullets. There was a grunt as the Howler inside was hit.
Raven dropped low, almost sitting, and with deft hands placed a fresh clip in the Beretta. Once readied she peeked in the window where the bald man with the tattoos was on the floor with a clip still in his hand.
The sound of engines roaring echoed over the sporadic gunfire. Another six Storm Howlers on motorcycles approached from the main road behind them. They had guns out and most of them fired at Eric who was exposed to them from his position behind the Monte Carlo. The clapping of thumps against the car as it was pierced by gunshots was joined by Eric’s gargled yell as his body was penetrated by the same barrage.
Jenna shrieked with anger fired several times before a bullet caused her to go down. Raven couldn’t see what was happening as two of the riders and circled past the cars and closed on her. Raven leapt through the window and charged low through the building; she winged another Howler inside but kept moving. Reaching the large door she could see Jenna, Isa, and Standing Bear all injured and now disarmed by the Night Howlers holding guns on them. The two on motorcycles still were dismounting to no doubt pursue her into the building. There was little time.
Raven sprinted for the woods in the direction of Seff and Hades, where gunfire was still being exchanged. If she and Seff could kill their pack leader, or get him to surrender, perhaps this could still be resolved. The shooting had stopped, and the woods were quiet. Raven focused her senses and proceeded with caution. There was no sound. Though, with it being so close to sunset the dimness of twilight gave promise of the coming night. Raven tried to make her way wide of where she thought they were. The hope was when she would fall in behind Hades once she located them. There was the hint of movement some ways off. Raven hurried in that direction but still no sign of either of them.
Coming to a complete stop Raven decided to wait. Straining her ears, she held her breath and closed her eyes. There it was! A commotion not far away began; they were breathing heavy and letting out abrupt gasps. They were fighting hand to hand!
Raven sprinted in that direction and could see Hades had Seff wrapped up on the ground like a lion on a zebra. Hades was so large that Seff could not break free and the gratuitous amounts of blood that ran down Seff’s face and head spoke to the savage beating he suffered.
All sound vanished as a clap of thunder and whizzing sound startled Raven as the tree branch next to her exploded. She threw herself to the ground and somehow spotted the pair of Night Howlers that followed her to the woods.
“Almost got her!” One shouted as he shook his gun in frustration.
“We want her alive,” the other said. “Let’s split up. Go that way and I’ll move around behind her.”
Raven normally would have been amused at these idiots for talking loud enough for her to hear. However, with Seff so hurt he was nearly helpless against the massive Hades, she had no time to waste.
Raven looked to the sky and envisioned the moon. She imagined its glorious shimmering in the sky and strange pull she experienced when her gaze falls onto it. With her survival instincts kicked into high gear by the gun fight, knowing Seff was in danger, Raven felt her wolf rising from within. There had been stories of those who could turn without the moon, strong werewolves capable of great deeds, but Raven didn’t know if it was true. However, suddenly her wolf was upon her and the moon was nowhere in sight.
Raven cried out as she lunged forward, her face elongating with a bone snapping pop. Falling to her knees her hands stretched as her fingers shrunk, tears always escaped as the pain of the transformation railed through her entire body. The trick was to embrace it. Don’t try and hide from the agony, which made it worse. Her body twisted and she managed to kick off her boots and slip from her jacket. Within moments the pain was nearly over, the soothing sensation of hair rapidly growing from her skin also covered her identity as Raven.
The wolf remained low and sought the location of the pair after it. They had split up and were about to close from both sides. The wolf only knew there was prey to be stopped. Once the man was only a few feet away from the brush, the wolf leapt out with a growl.
“She changed!” He shouted and was caught between raising his gun and turning to run.
The wolf clamped mighty jaws around his arm, allowed its body to land to the side, then using its weight for leverage tossed with a mighty head jerk the screaming Howler into the other as he approached from behind. The urge to finish the kill was strong, but her mate was in danger.
Turning away from the would-be hunters, the wolf dashed for Seff. The massive form on top of him rose to its feet in anticipation of the assault. She pounced from a distance, jowls open, claws up, eyes on the prey only to be stopped with an enormous hand catching her throat. The charge didn’t even force her prey to back pedal. Instead he throttled the wolf.
The wolf fought with all the fierceness of a predator. Claws digging into the flesh of the arm and midsection, craning its neck to bite at the wrist, however none of that deterred this large man. The supernatural strength of Raven’s wolf was no match for him. As the exchange became frantic for the wolf it failed to see the silver knife Hades drew with his free hand. The devastating pain that drove deep into her side revealed the presence of the weapon well enough. The wolf became disoriented as she was hurled through the air and bounced off a hundred year old tree.
Still conscious the wolf laid on its side breathing heavy with blood oozing from the deep wound. Hades approached into view and looked down. This was a good death; to die with your pack defending your territory was a noble end.
“I’m impressed,” Hades said. “Shifting with no moon, you don’t see a lot of that these days. When you guys approached I knew you would be trouble. I was planning on killing you. I figured with you and alpha out of the way the rest of the pack would join us.”
The mammoth figure crouched next to her. The wolf snarled and managed a low growl in response.
Hades stroked her head and neck with a gentle hand.
“I’m not going to kill you,” he confessed. “You’re a rare breed, literally. You’re stubborn, so it will take a while, but you will be a Howler before it’s over. I’m going to breed with you. We’re going to have strong cubs and command all of the north by time I’m done.”
The wolf managed to raise its head and nip at Hades. He laughed at the effort.
“Plenty of spirit, I like that. First things first.” He rose from his position and lumbered to Seff. Hades knelt and readied the silver blade. “We have to cut your connection to the past, Raven. Nothing personal.”
The wolf let out a high pitched double cry in protest. Without hesitation or a thought Hades rammed the blade into Seff’s back through to his heart. He twisted the hilt a half turn and pulled it out. The wolf let out a gargled howl of despair that made the very sky weep as the rain began to fall.
Hades left with instructions for his minions to see to Raven until she was well enough to travel and then drag her off to one of their lairs. As the next hour passed the wolf diminished and its whines of sorrow gave way Raven crying where she lie on the ground a few meters from Seff’s crumpled body. It was unclear of what became of Eric, Standing Bear, and Jenna. To Raven’s dismay, she overheard that Isi joined the Storm Howlers and left with Hades. How could she turn back on her pack like that? It was unforgivable!
Soon there were only two Storm Howlers left with her at Taylor Lake. One had dressed her wound and they were going to leave with her in a van come morning. Raven was not going anywhere with them, nor was she going to be Hades’ mate. Her mind drifted to other stories she had heard about powerful werewolves and wondered what else could she do. Once she free she would have to leave Saskatchewan and go far south. Once there she would rebuild a life and try to find her pack… or at least avenge them.
Mental Trauma
The loss of her pack leader, closest friend, and first love, Seff has left Raven reserve and distant. She still has emotions, they are just turned down like a television's volume that can barely be heard.
Intellectual Characteristics
The Wolf in Raven makes her immune to fear. Raven still has intellectual fear, concerns, and understands risk. However she never experiences the compulsion to flee. For Raven to run from something it has be a decision. Raven can read a situation, has solid instincts, and never questions her gut. Not that she's never been wrong, Raven just doesn't worry about it.
Morality & Philosophy
Take from the world what you must, never more than you need. The greed of the whites never tempted Raven. She finds that city living is a lot like the wilderness; there are predators and prey. That is the way of it.
Raven will protect those in her territory. She is not prone to making trouble for others if they are not in her way, but if they are she will not hesitate to use her apex predator status to get what she needs.
person.sexuality
Raven is primarily attracted to men if they are strong in both mind and spirit. She does find that the company of a woman can be pleasing when Raven is in a protector role.
person.gender_identity
Raven is all woman.
Taboos
Hunting on burial grounds.
Betraying the pack.
Known Languages
English and Woods Cree.
Social
Birthplace
Cree Reservation, Saskatchewan Canada
Current Residence
Dharma Downs, Chicago Il
Wealth & Financial state
Raven is terrible with money and cannot keep a hold of it when she does have it.
Family Ties
A mother on the Cree reservation in Canada.