Fenton Redhawk
Description
Commonly known as "Fennec" or "Fenn".
Fennec is a willowy girl with large ears and tan fur. Her eyes are a milky grey and very obviously sightless. As a result, she moves carefully and deliberately.
Fennec is sarcastic and has a rather morbid sense of humor. It can be hard to tell by tone if she is joking and she loves to tell lies. She also enjoys scaring other wolves and forcing them into uncomfortable situations. Despite a selfish tendency to see things (hah) only from her point of view, Fennec does tend to mean well. She has a good heart despite a rather odd exterior.
Defining Characteristics
- Dishonest
- Closed off
- Daring
- Competitive
- Self-focused
Inspiration/Vocal Reference: April Ludgate (Parks and Recreation)
Connections
Mate
None
Family
- Phox Redhawk - father
- Camilla - mother
- Towhee Redhawk - adoptive mother
- Figment Redhawk - brother
- Meerkat - sister (essentially)
- Alyx - sister
- Quetzal - sister
- Primrose - brother
- Vesper - sister
- Prevost - sister
- Peregrine (II) - brother
- Caracal - brother (essentially)
- Sphyrapicus - sister (essentially)
- Sapsucker - sister (essentially)
Other
- Wraen - mentor
- Niamh - step mother, mentor
- Nellie - step sister
- Penn - close friend, lover
- Bronco - ex mate, ex close friend
- Germanicus - ex mate
Children (via Bronco, 06/04/2021)
History
Redhawks
Fennec was born on Heron Lake Plateau alongside her brother Figment. Her mother Camilla had two others as well, both stillborn, and did not survive long after their birth. She was unresponsive through most of her time with them. Fennec was tiny and quiet from the start, but was her brother's constant partner-in-crime. After their mother died, Towhee stepped easily into the role, and began to make plans to move off of the plateau. She and Phox worried that the territory was too dangerous for Fennec's failing sight. An altercation with Tegan sparked the final move, he and Towhee getting into a fight during which he killed X's baby, a bird that was intended to be Fennec's guide.
Asterism Grove
The family's move unfortunately coincided with the complete deterioration of Fennec's sight. They settled in Hideaway Strath. She did not adjust well initially to a new place, but after a while bounced back with Figment's help. Now completely blind, she roamed with him as her guide.
Lone Wolf
When she was around six months old, earthquakes rocked Teekon Wilds. Fennec was near the borders when the first came and was terrified into a wild run from the territory. She ended up getting lost and nearly perished alone, dehydrated and hungry. Rosalyn found her and saved her from being devoured by a pack of coyotes, then reluctantly nursed her back to health and let her follow along. The woman made it clear that her presence was not welcome, though, and Fennec resented her despite the thanks she owed.
Happily, they eventually crossed paths with Wraen, and Fennec was able to latch on to a familiar presence.
Firebirds
When she arrived at the Firebirds, Fennec learned that the quakes had trapped the rest of her family in the Strath. She was forced to stay there alone and hope that they managed to somehow survive the disaster. This was when she met Penn and Bronco, forming fast friendships with each, though she quickly latched onto the former as a likeminded soul. When Towhee did eventually escape (along with the rest), they chose to remain with the Firebirds rather than try and remake the Grove elsewhere.
After her stint alone, Fennec became obsessed with discovering the extent of her self-reliance. She began to test herself and to take regular trips outside of the borders of home, attempting to do so on the sly. She resented her brother's time away with Phox at the Frosthawks and the freedom that he had to choose where he went. At some point, Wraen caught her in her excursions and assisted her when she was jumped by (yet another) coyote. She cautioned her to learn to defend herself and Fennec doubled down.
Things settled for a while. Towhee had a surprise child in Meerkat and then Phox and Niamh gave her three half-siblings (Alyx, Quetzal, and Primrose). Around this same time, Finley and Elwood passed away together, and Fennec tried to help Penn to cheer up. Despite her efforts, he disappeared, and she fell into a foul disposition. She began to avoid her family and resent their (seemingly) constant demands that she babysit. Once again she grew restless, feeling trapped in the pack territory while the rest of her friends were free to go where they wanted.
Therefore, when Penn came back and invited her to travel with him, she leapt at the invitation. Figment and Towhee accepted her choice readily, but her decision to leave made her fight with both Phox and Bronco. Neither of them trusted Penn, but Fennec left regardless.
Lone Wolf
She traveled with Penn for a time, a few months, and the two covered a good deal of ground. Highlights were the shore, a canyon, and a "haunted forest" that Fennec adored where the trees almost seemed to be constantly moaning. While on this trip, Fennec gained more confidence in exploring new ground and better learned to rapidly map and read the terrain around her.
Eventually, however, Fennec wished to come back home to visit. On the way back, they ran into Figment at the Frosthawks, and the three returned together. By the time they got there, Bronco and Meerkat had both moved to Moonspear. She stayed for a visit and was there when the rains came and flooded the glade. The pack decided to move for the interim, but Penn, who had been weird since they returned, ducked off instead of attending the meeting. Fennec followed and found him preparing to disappear. She got angry and, when he gave her an ultimatum, told him to just leave. But by the time she got back, the pack had already left. She was alone a few days once more before Figment and Towhee returned to find her, and it was then that she determined she was back for good.
Redhawk Caldera
Hurt and angry, Fennec decided to finally try and make herself useful; she approached Eljay for lessons in healing. He began to teach her what he knew and she took to herbology in particular. Her training got off to a rocky start when Niamh tried to prevent her from treating a young wolf, and for a short time she hated her step-mother. The two made up when they sparred and Niamh choked her into submission. Fennec appreciated that she hadn't gone easy on her and Niamh seemed to appreciate the desperation with which she'd fought back.
Around this time, Bronco came to visit and invited her tentatively to train with Moonspear's healer for a time. Fennec accepted, and the next time Towhee went for a visit, Fennec went along as well. She didn't tell anyone ahead of time of her plan, but Hydra agreed and Fennec remained for a time.
Firefly Glen
When she came to Moonspear, Bronco and Meerkat had already agreed to help found a new pack in the neighboring glen. Fennec ended up remaining here for a time, settling in fairly quickly and helping them to found the pack. She began calling herself the "witch" of the glen, found a mentee in Sialuk, and started building a den and a garden.
When she first arrived, Bronco had gifted her a silver foxfur pelt pouch for carrying herbs. Fennec intended to use it to start experimenting with poisons, and after accidentally poisoning herself with a bit of belladonna (nightshade), she started with cautious earnest. Alongside her normal garden she began to plan a hidden one to fill with poisonous plants.
She intended to invite Bronco and Meerkat to stay with her, and eventually asked Bronco to help with the den in trade. He agreed but collapsed it in on him, nearly suffocating himself in the process. Fennec dug him out but the event haunted her afterwards, triggering her abandonment issues and making her realize she cared a good deal more about him than was necessarily comfortable. She started work on a new den in secret, near the falls in the glade, a large space with a rock ceiling and a deep floor. She hoped the stone would help if Bronco maintained any fear after his mishap. During construction she avoided him, both to discourage his help and because she didn't know what to do with the awkwardness she felt. She met a number of glade wolves during this time instead and began to consider trying her hand at fortune telling (brought about by an attempt to incite brotherly rebellion in Atlas).
Around the time she finished her new den, Bronco returned from a trip to the coast with Meerkat. Despite her avoidance, Fennec was again upset at not having been invited along. He returned with a gift for her, however, so she decided to reveal her gift. When he did not even make it into the entrance before panicking, she was immensely hurt. Not used to opening up in such a way, she reacted badly, lashing out and insulting him before going radio silent once more.
She left the den, having made it too large for a single wolf, and began to stay in the Caldera and Bramblepoint. Her parents had moved there just recently and Towhee had mentioned the idea of a garden in the adjoining woods. Fennec took up the project with a gusto as a distraction, but while working on it, her restlessness and resentment only grew. Finally, without word or warning to anyone, Fennec took off north.
Loner
Her venture took her into the Sunspire Mountains but, after a hunting accident, she fell into Redsand Canyon and fractured her ribs. She did not want to risk injuring herself more by attempting to climb out and instead decided to stay here for a time and attempt her dream at becoming a proper "witch of the wilds". She had her badger companion that Phox had found her, eventually to be named "Quick", and also befriended a flock of ravens who were drawn in by a scavenged kill she offered them. The main two of this she began to call "Krrk" and "Kraa". All three were her best imitations at the sounds they most frequently made.
She chose the name "Wraith" for herself and began to send up calls, sending her birds out as well with word that she was there. She offered fortunes, curses, healing, and poisons to anyone who wanted to pay. Mainly Fennec's hope was to support herself, but she also took secrets as payment.
She ended up doing better for herself than she'd originally planned. She gained practice, amusement, and even reverence for her efforts. Still, she found herself deeply unhappy, the guilt over abandoning her family and the Glen chewing her up. She did not like living completely alone, and while she relished the independence, she hated the quiet and the isolation it brought.
When Meerkat finally stumbled across her, Fennec followed her to safety and allowed her to lead them back home. Unfortunately, she left her companions (and her pouch) behind in the rush.
Redhawk Caldera
Avoiding the Glen (and Bronco) for a bit longer, Fennec had Meerkat take her to the Caldera instead. She said that it was because she was injured (truth) and she wished to have Eljay look at her. She did tell one outright lie, however, saying that she'd gotten lost and fallen rather than confessing to running away. The next day, however, when she was walking to meet Eljay, Fennec fell on her side. The impact shattered her fractured ribs and sent a shard into her lung, puncturing it.
She was bedridden in the Caldera now for weeks, unable to move. Her lung had collapsed and, with winter arriving, herbs for pain were in short supply. Her mental state began to deteriorate as she was forced to wait for her body to heal, but couldn't properly sleep, eat, speak, or even breathe. This wasn't helped by news of an influx of new joiners to the Glen and the realization that, if she did recover, they no longer had a place for her there.
Finally her body began to heal, and she began to not mind the idea of remaining so much. Fennec found what she liked more than anything else was feeling necessary, and in the Caldera she began to come into her own as she stepped more into the role of healer alongside Eljay. This was accelerated when, during a visit from Bronco, a cougar attacked. She helped to drive it off, but in the process both Bronco and Alyx were gravely injured. She took on a good portion of their care. Just prior to this, she and Bronco had cleared the air, arguing and resolving the situation that led to her departure before. During the talk, Bronco revealed his feelings, but Fennec didn't respond in kind. Instead, the two resolved in about the same space they began, though with potentially more open understanding of one another.
After the cougar encounter, Fennec was frustrated by the way she'd held her own in the fight, and she requested mentoring from both Niamh and Towhee as a result. Then, when on a trip gathering supplies to treat her patients, Fennec stumbled upon Kiwi. The girl asked her questions that she was unwilling to answer, so Kiwi attacked. Fennec managed to pin her down and choke her senseless, a move she learned from her step-mother when it had been used on her. Later, Niamh came to her injured, and she caught Kiwi's scent upon her. Niamh then revealed that Kiwi had been the one to kill Colt and that, in turn, Niamh had taken care of her. This spurred a conversation between the two on when killing was acceptable and why.
Over a series of eventful days after the cougar attack, Meerkat came to the Caldera, deeply upset as a result of a bear attack in the den that left many of them dead. Then a bear showed up within the Caldera. Fennec was out at the time and attempted to lead it to the borders, away from those healing in the dens. Then Phox returned, bringing with him news that Fig was staying with the Frosthawks again and that he'd found Quick and her things where she'd left them within the canyon. Her ravens had also accompanied him, a fact she would learn when she visited the Bramblepoint shortly after.
After the fall of Firefly Glen, Bronco returns for a visit and encounters Fennec while experiencing her first season. The two give into temptation and begin staying together, sequestered away from the rest of the pack. Unwilling to name it anything yet, Fennec is more than willing to take advantage of the circumstances, though she is horrified when she comes to realize that their actions resulted in consequences. They were going to be parents.
The pair had a single son, a pup named Killdeer who bore a resemblance to his (overjoyed) grandmother. Fennec's inexperience was obvious from the get go but she formed an immediate protective bond with the pup, one that surprised her perhaps more than anyone.
Shortly after their son was born, Bronco left to search for his missing mother and failed to return. Fennec kept up hope for a time, but as the months went by, she began to take her pent-up feelings out on those around her. She grew angrier, more isolated, and more impatient even than usual. Only Killdeer was spared from the crossfire.
This culminated in her stepping down from leadership and clashing with Towhee. Hurt and feeling betrayed, she contemplated leaving, but had promised herself she wouldn't run. It was around this time that Bronco returned.
It was a strained reunion with Fennec torn between the joy of seeing him again and the pain of knowing he'd stayed away by choice, wanting to keep them safe. She saw this protection as both cowardice and an underestimation/lack of trust in her. It caused a lot of arguments and a promise of mateship that was more ultimatum than anything else. While she tried to help him to come to terms with the trauma he'd obviously experienced, she had no idea or skill in how to manage this. This combined with his unwillingness to share resulted in her violently triggering his PTSD. She resolved after that to give him space and, while she never confirmed it, assumed their relationship was likely over.
Instead, as Bronco seemingly improved, he continued on as if nothing had changed. She was dubious of this until the Redhawks disbanded and he expressed interest in forming their own pack together.
Lone Wolf
After breaking off from what remained of Redhawk Caldera, Fennec and Bronco set off on a journey to find a territory to settle on. Along the way they picked up Figment and Blueberry. Killdeer chose to travel with his uncle Caracal instead. After a route that looped along the coast, they eventually settled within the Emberwood, choosing a territory with mountains at it's back and plenty of growth. The place suited them both perfectly.
Here they began to lay the foundations for a new pack claim.
As they began to establish, however, Fennec still felt that something was missing. She grew more and more restless, deeply unhappy with the way it felt that Bronco was avoiding her and hiding his true feelings. Seeking to regain his trust, she continued to give him space, but the longer things went without change, the worse it became.
Things finally came to a head with the advent of spring and Fennec's season. Driven to confront him, she brought up her feelings and tried to get Bronco to reveal why he had been so closed off. This kick-started an argument that resulted in a Bronco leaving and an end to their mateship. Despite his insistence that Arcana was hers, Fennec disbanded the forming group, unwilling (and unable) to remain without him.
Broken-hearted and angry, Fennec destroyed the gifts Bronco had given her. Then, alongside Figment, she began the search for Killdeer to inform her son that the Emberwood was no longer where they'd be settling.
She found and informed him, then left, needing more time. After a while she disappeared on Figment as well, traveling alone. After nearly drowning on the shore, Fennec found she had hit rock bottom and needed to find some way to move forward. Hoping family could help, Fennec returned to Mereo.
Mereo
Upon joining Mereo, Fennec did not engage with the pack beyond her mother and son. A misunderstanding led her to believe that it's leader saw no potential in her. This compounded her bitterness and left her with a poor outlook on the pack as a whole, yet unwilling to leave and abandon her son once more.
Bronco's presence nearby was a constant weight and she feared running into him at any given moment. An interaction with him led to a breaking point and she sought help from Towhee, who suggested she find a hobby to fill her time. This caused Fennec to remember, and attempt to reinstate, her gardens within the canyon. The activity did help some.
Eventually she decided to confront Bronco and inform him she couldn't be friends yet. This resulted in an argument where he admitted, in her eyes, that he'd never wanted to be mates in the first place. This was the final nail in the coffin and provided Fennec the closure she needed to consider anything they had finished.
A while later, still bitter towards him and her own circumstances, Fennec confronted Germanicus about his own failed marriage. The argument culminated in tension that led them to entangling. Afterwards Germanicus proposed a mateship. Fennec was skeptical, but was convinced when he explained and answered her questions fully. The goal wasn't love, just companionship.
Fennec accepted his offer, then traveled to inform Towhee, who had recently relocated to neighboring Epoch. Despite her initial skepticism, Fennec was quickly surprised at how comfortable Germanicus' straightforward and logical nature made her feel.
