saharassavannah - Tumblr blog

[saharassavannah]

Nerae, one of the members of Sahara’s first litter!

3/13/2021

[saharassavannah]

Shroomy boy!

7/17/2020

[saharassavannah]

i know i know i have referred to him as lockspur... i misread his original name LMAO

This is Larkspur, father to Lana, Mercy, and Camara, and the mate of Jericho. He is a devoted and loving parent and mate, and the last one that one would think would run off in the night and never return - however, that seems to be what had happened. 

Larkspur was to join his family when they left, but he was on one last patrol - he took it, and planned to leave afterward and rejoin his family. However, those on the patrol said that mid-way through, he began to babble madly and his eyes turned to slits. He then bristled, and dashed off. The patrol followed his zig-zagging pattern into a babbling creek, where his trail disappeared into the freshwater.

Jericho watches the horizon for him to the northeast, always hoping to see his form in the desert with her sharp eyes. That day has not come yet.

7/16/2020

[saharassavannah]

little announcement!

i’m sure those more well versed in tumblr already knew this, but if you click on ‘archive’ on my page you can see a list of my total posts including art and refs for easy access! 

[saharassavannah]

“And? Anything?” Camphor demanded, standing outside of his den. It was late into the evening, and the troop that he sent left around dawn. 

“No, sir. The scent trails that we did pick up are very weak.” The head scout, by the name of Tulsi, reported. 

“You were gone for hours!” The alpha snarled, with Tulsi only blinking in response. 

“We went on the trail as you asked, sir. We followed it out of our territory for a until we picked up something, but it led straight into a river.” 

One of the members of the scouting party then dropped two fish, by their tails, next to the carcass of a deer that was laying there since that morning. 

Camphor approached the group, sniffing them. “You do smell of freshwater,” he grumbled, before circling back and returning to his spot in front of his den. “And that was it? No other indications that the two of them are still in the territory?”

Tulsi shook his head. 

“By all indications, it appeared that she went into the desert,” the scout that was holding the two fish added. 

Camphor furrowed his brow. “That’s... preposterous. Why would she do that?”

“I don’t know. But you know, as well as I, that she knows this territory - and the surrounding territory - very well. If she intended to go anywhere else, she would have turned to the west or the east sometime before the trees began to thin and the ground turned to sand.”

“You followed her to the sand?”

“No, but the course she was taking with her assistant didn’t change even as she began to trek into warmer lands. We made it to an outcropping cliff-side, overlooking the desert, and the only possible way she could have gone was the desert.”

Camphor thought to himself for a moment, his fur bristling slightly.

“Well. As long as she is outside of the territory, it does not matter.” He then turned tail, and entered his den. 

“Now will you stop fretting?” A voice called from his moss bed. “You were twitching in your sleep the whole night last night.”

“I am sorry if I kept you awake, Vanilla.” Camphor said softly, approaching her. 

“You didn’t. Don’t fret about that, too.” She chuckled, lifting her head from her resting position to look up at Camphor. “What can Sahara do that could actually hurt us? You worry so much about so little.”

The alpha’s jaw tightened, and he cocked his head to one side slightly.

“Sahara and I come from a family of drifters. That’s all she’ll be after this, blowing from one pack to another. My parents did it, my siblings did it, and I did it until I joined here.”

Camphor sighed, before laying down next to her saying, “You’re right, you’re right. I’m worrying too much about this.”

Vanilla nodded, resting her head on her paws once more. 

“It’s... what the oracles told me the day she left. That’s what is worrying me.”

“The oracles? Didn’t they just sit around and read leaves all day?” Vanilla asked, scrunching her nose at the thought. 

“They were important, and right most of the time.”

“Sahara believed them to be important. Plus, didn’t they leave?”

“They did, yes.”

“They also said that something terrible was going to happen to the pack, once more started leaving, right?”

“Yes.”

“And that thing hasn’t happened. It was just a scare tactic.” Vanilla rolled to her side, stretching her legs. “Everything is fine, Camphor. We have nothing to worry about.”

He paused for a moment, before resting his head on his paws, next to Vanilla’s.

“I suppose you are right.”

an: i know it’s been a minute since i have posted, but i have some new content for you now that we are here! i didn’t realize that my queue would run out before i had content to make when i had about a week or two for a break (for other content lol)!

[saharassavannah]

This is Hyssop, brother of Camphor. 

Hyssop is the beta male (second in command, second highest ranking status) in Camphor’s pack, and he is there essentially because Camphor didn’t want to give someone outside of his family the throne if anything were to befall him (which is a little ironic, since he left his father’s pack due to Teenage Angst tm).

Hyssop is very very impulsive. He is in and out of relationships frequently, and is rumored to have pups with loner wolves from flings past - though these rumors have not been confirmed. 

He was paired with Lana when she was “commanded” by Camphor to be a brood-mother, though right now it is unclear if Hyssop cared for Lana or if he just saw her as a favor for his brother. 

As the beta male, Hyssop is not professional and does not carry through his duties - though, Camphor planned for this, so he does not have much in the pack that he needs to do. Sometimes he’s in camp socializing with the pack members, and other times he’s gone in the forest for days at a time. No one really knows what he’s doing, or cares, frankly. It’s clear to most that he is in a high position of power just because Camphor wants him to be. 

Only time will tell if he will mature or not.

6/24/2020

[saharassavannah]

This is Camara, the last of Jericho and Lockspur’s children and the sister to Lana and Mercy. 

Camara is reserved and quiet, much like Mercy, but in a different way. She is a silent watcher of the pack, ensuring safety for those that live there, and has a very altruistic attitude. She leaves little treats and toys for pups in the nursery, and leaves gifts for those that are kind to her, but she very rarely holds a conversation. 

Some find her disposition unapproachable, but those that do come up to her and talk hold a special place in Camara’s heart, and deep down she hopes to find someone that understands her social language that she can get along with. 

No one really knows why she turned out this way, it’s how she’s always been. 

She has the black markings on her face and ears because she is a chimera, and when she combined with her sibling she began to exhibit those traits. Most of her sibling doesn’t exhibit on the outside, but it’s anyone’s guess as to how much she inherited internally. 

6/21/2020

[saharassavannah]

Camphor’s official ref!

He is the alpha of the Bitterfang Pack, the brother to Hyssop (whom will be mentioned later), mate to Vanilla (Sahara’s sister), former mate of Sahara, and the father of Sahara’s pups (Adorre and her siblings).

Sahara balanced Camphor out as a leader when he led with her at his side. She was heavily involved with pack affairs and kept morale high, along with pack tensions low. The two of them founded their pack, and since they were young, they chose the most intimidating name they could think of (along with the fact that camphor trees are toxic, hence the prefix Bitter). Camphor has a tendency to be ruthless if unchecked, and Sahara was incredibly level-headed. She insisted upon making decisions for the pack together. 

Vanilla, Sahara’s sister, was invited to the Bitterfang Pack out of an act of empathy on Sahara’s part, as her sister was left alone and didn’t know what to do, so she took her in. There will be a more detailed description of Vanilla on her ref once it is done. 

Once Vanilla came into the picture, after a little while she started meeting Camphor in private. Sahara and Camphor’s relationship was beginning to be strenuous as it is, because he thought that Sahara was too inclusive to loners after their pack came upon solid ground with a large population. Vanilla and Camphor got along very nicely, and Vanilla ended up convincing Camphor to act with her to chase Sahara out of their territory. 

Vanilla is lavishing in the luxury that her rank as an alpha provides, essentially acting as a trophy wife instead of a co-leader, and encourages Camphor to do absolutely anything he wants, which has led to disastrous results (tensions are as high as ever, Camphor abusing his power, etc.). None of this is directly affecting Vanilla in a negative way however, so she doesn’t really care. 

6/20/2020

[saharassavannah]

This is Mercy, brother of Lana and the son of Jericho and Lockspur. 

Mercy is soft-spoken and knowledgeable. He knows a lot regarding his position, though he is very quiet about it and is not known to flaunt it. He is the smallest in his family, since he was a runt at birth and never really grew out of it as he aged. 

He is not one to cause conflict, and is not nearly as driven as Lana by any means. He is supportive though, and is a shoulder to lean on for his family members that need it - especially after Lockspur’s disappearance. 

6/20/2020

[saharassavannah]

Concept for Lana’s dad and Jericho’s mate, Lockspur! The original base is from Zillastar on the left. 

Lockspur and Jericho’s relationship was great in the beginning, though it became more and more rocky up until his disappearance. Jericho is determined to salvage their relationship, for each other and their pups.

With how unstable Lockspur was becoming before his disappearance, one can’t guess how he will be when Jericho finds him. He could be cured of whatever he was ailed with, he could be much worse than he was before, or worse, he could be dead.

Lana personally believes that her father left to get his act together, and that he will come back in his own time, though she doesn’t stop her mother from looking for him or start any fights because of this. 

6/19/2020

[saharassavannah]

This is Jericho!

Jericho is the mother of Lana, and Lana’s siblings. She is a Sentry, meaning that her duty is to keep track of natural resources, find dens and areas of abundant food for the pack, and to keep watch of the pack as a guard. 

She’s incredibly supportive of Lana, and is actively looking for Lana’s father, as he has been gone for a few weeks. 

6/19/2020

[saharassavannah]

6/17/2020

Some background on Lana.

Lana was a huntress in Camphor’s pack, and was quite high ranking as one as well. Though, when she had some words with Camphor’s mate (the now alpha female) Vanilla, things started to shift. Camphor began to routinely belittle Lana, and forced her out of her duties - along with threatening her to become a brood-mother. 

Lana became fed up with it, that being the last straw after Sahara being chased out of the territory with Iceberg. She and her family left the pack, and came to Sahara’s pack by chance before Lana was set to become a brood-mother. 

The first sketch is her explaining where her loyalties lie to Sahara.

The second sketch is talking to Lana about unexpected news, because she left out a key detail in her story.

More on this later on! 

Brood-mother expansion: Camphor’s hierarchy is built on a few types of pack members in a very traditional and archaic manner in this universe. Two of these ranks are hunters and brood-mothers. Brood-mothers are usually females who’s sole duty is to tend the pups of the pack and make sure no harm comes to them. Lana found this title demeaning in this context because she, and Camphor, knew that she is capable of being more of a help to the pack than doing something she is ill-fitted to do. 

[saharassavannah]

This is Lana.

Lana was originally in Camphor’s pack, with her family. She is intense and protective, and takes her position in Sahara’s pack very seriously. She works with Tinder as a large prey hunter, and is avid about the protection and safety of her pack. 

Her backstory will be revealed eventually, along with her family that followed her out! 

6/13/2020

[saharassavannah]

This is Adamou’s heiress, Olwen.

Olwen is level-headed, unlike her father, but a few of the members of their pack tend to share their distaste for her (especially if they approve of Adamou’s practices and standards. 

6/4/2020

[saharassavannah]

This is Adamou, the leader of the African Wild Dog pack near Sahara’s pack - The Palefur Pack.

He is ruthless and tends not to take no for an answer, causing him to but heads with Sahara’s pack quite a lot.

6/2/2020

[saharassavannah]

As the pack began to settle into their new home, with new arrivals coming in incredibly fast, an unforeseen obstacle struck them - a vicious pack of african wild dogs with a leader with motivations only for himself. Sahara is trying to bring peace between them.

This also features a little man named Skeet, who is a scout and a small prey courser. He brings back smaller prey (rodents, rabbits, birds, snakes) for the pack to use.

6/7/2020

[saharassavannah]

Adorre, Sahara’s daughter, as an adult! Canonly she is still a baby right now, but she grows up to be quite the lady!

6/6/2020