Appearance

Nieninquë, much like her mother Liri once was, is diminutive. Unlike her ancestors and much of her family, she lacks the bulk and musculature common of Arctic wolves (perhaps on account of the fever that took hold of her mother during pregnancy).

The snowdrop's compact build, slender limbs, and short stature give her an almost elven appearance -- accentuated by her demure nature and graceful mannerisms.

Her size and the alabaster base of her pallid coat is where all similarity to her mother ends. Her markings are distinctly her own: champagne points of pale gold gracing her legs and muzzle, draped along her back.

Her eyes are almost vivid in comparison, a rose color like sunset streaking the skies over the glaciers, complementing the raspberry pink of her nose and visible skin.

Scars are hidden in the plush white of her pelt, curling along the waves of her ribs and peaking over the points of shoulder blades. Others may notice these at will and draw their own conclusions but Nieninquë does not speak of them.

Personality

https://youtu.be/AQ-3IsfWvuk?si=ZrD3zMVaf-qiiax_ (inspiration found here)

"You do not yield."
Nieninquë is steel-spine and split lip, a taste of ash and snow.

"Climb the mountain."
Primordial and primitive. Driven in turn by compassion, loyalty, and utter spite.

"I am the rock against which the surf crashes. Nothing can break me."
Something fierce and yet, oh so, soft. Longs to yield to the softness but unwilling to loosen her white-knuckle grip.

"Keep reaching out your hand."
Morally ambiguous. Antihero. There is empathy carved into her soul but she is just as likely to let the world burn -- so long as it means saving those she holds dear.

History

Her mother was once Liri Blackfoot, a renowned traveler in their village whom took the name Síff Jonosdòttir Völsung when she married Tór and was adopted by his people.

Tór passed when Inge was still a yearling -- a loss that rocked her family to the core, particularly her mother. The tragedy deepened when Síff miscarried and an attack drove one of Inge's sisters, Gunhild, south to lands that Síff had abandoned.

Their mother was quick to follow, concerned for Gunhild, but returned the next season -- unable to find the prodigal daughter and wanting to spend her final years with her remaining children.

Inge cared for her mother through those last years, sharing a hearth with her dam and devoting herself entirely to mastering Liri's art of healing -- as well as tending to the children that soon filled her siblings hearths.

The matriarch of the family passed peacefully in her sleep at the ripe age of nine, having imparted the magic of healing and the hunt on her many children and grandchildren.

In her third year of life, Inge began to think of settling down and chose to visit the Völva of a nearby village -- in order to have a match arranged for herself, having failed to meet anyone she was drawn to on her own terms.

She was soon matched and courted by a hunter in his prime from another village, Katjuk. There was not an intense passion between them but he seemed a good man. Stalwart, steady, strong. Inge felt he would be a good husband and sire to their children.

With the bride price paid, and Katjuk's village in need of a medicine woman, Inge agreed to relocate to his own pack. Their honeymoon phase passed with relative calm and Inge began to settle into their domestic life.

A few months after they had wed, however, saw Katjuk change into something cold and cruel.

Inge had found a sister through the widow of Katjuk's brother -- Alasie. It was she who helped Inge escape.

Fearing that she could not return home or that she might be found by her husband, Inge stole away and adopted the name Nieninquë Völsung as she traveled.

She did not find many coalitions and none that she felt called to join. She was alone when she felt the quickening and alone when she gave birth to a single child from her union with Katjuk.

This is how she wakes in the world of Canis -- wrapped around her child and hellbent on survival.