Wren

• Hatchling Education: Geography, Science

Sweet-natured and bright-eyed, Wren was born looking at the stars.

As a hatchling her parents told her more than once that this was literal. Struggling her way free of her egg in the middle of the night, they insist, it took the young Wren several minutes before she even seemed to notice her doting parents; she was looking at the sky in wonder, pawing at the bright moon. While Wren suspects this is an exaggeration, those who know her are less convinced.

She was a born astronomer. While still in her home clan she tinkered and fiddled with telescopes and all manner of observational and measuring tools, filled with wonder and an insatiable desire to learn and understand. When she eventually grew up and moved on, it was because that desire had grown into an itch that refused to be soothed. She packed up her tools and notes and calculations, and became a nomadic scholar. Wren, working quite alone, sought out to map the skies and constellations from every corner of Sornieth--different locations and regions changed the perception of the stars, and she wanted to document everything.

But as much as she loved the stars, she was never blinded to the world she lived in. Her travels brought her that more mundane joy, as well--in fact she considered the people and cultures she encountered to be essential to her work. Talking to them and understanding their stories, values, and how they viewed the stars delighted her.

It was during one such stop in the Sunbeam Ruins that she met Weathertop. She had been hoping to speak to a large Mirror pack in the area, but was cautious; Mirror packs were not always welcoming to outsiders. Wren was relaxing a safe distance from the pack waiting for nightfall when she noticed a group of Mirror pups playing and tumbling over one another, with an adult of the pack watching from the top of a pillar nearby. Wren's attention was caught by the Wildclaw rogue the pups were gamboling about. The sun glinting off his prosthetic leg was part of it, as was the devilish psywurm perched on his back; but she was touched by the genuine affection he showed the younglings, nudging them gently and taking visible joy in handing out a series of little carved trinkets to their obvious delight.

Weathertop, for his part, was instantly captivated by the lovely Tundra. While Wren was amused by him more than anything, well... he really was charming, especially when he stopped trying to be. For all his languid carelessness Weathertop never made her feel unsafe; he kept a respectful distance and complied with no resistance when told with mock sternness to stop flirting. He agreed cheerfully that he was an absolute scoundrel, really, offered to put her in touch with the pack, held her equipment steady while she set up--and somehow they ended up travelling together. Years later, they are nigh inseparable.