Ankoku never felt like she was enough. She'd heard of many wolves who'd lost their parents or had terrible things happen, but they rose above it all and became strong and amazing. She'd heard of those who'd been raised in loving families, lost them, and everything worked out for the better. She wished and hoped and dreamed that somehow she wouldn't be so... Ordinary. She was always dreaming of her becoming awesome and courageous and strong... but she was never enough. In a way, she wasn't ordinary. She was adopted when she was barely half a moon old. She was found in a lonely clearing, with no mother or father or siblings. She was abandoned. No one wanted her. She ran away when she was 8 moons old, seeking adventure. She found it in the form of the Valley. The Valley had drama, excitement, and fun, she thought, looking down. Everyone would be kind, and loving. No one would hurt her, and she would be welcomed by wonderful, kind souls. She was terribly wrong. No one welcomed her. She grew up in a hardened life as a nomad, a wanderer. Somewhere, along that path, she stopped dreaming. She realized that she would never fit in. She would always be the unwelcome fellow traveler, the odd one out, the loner. One day she was abandoned, the next day attacked. She had a painfully deep cut on her leg. She was lost in a misted forest for a week. It was just a series of disappointments.
