Palmer

playlist

• Pompeii - Bastille
• Lost Fragments - Chrono Cross
• Distant Memory - Philip Wesley
• Lamentations of the Heart - Philip Wesley
• Sorrow

Name: Palmer
Name meaning: Palmer means pilgrim. I thought this was fitting seeing as he's been traveling for so long.
Nicknames? Nowadays he doesn't use it, but back when he still lived in the tribe his older brothers used to call him Pal.

Gender: male
Species and/or specific breed: canine, specifically a wolf
Age: 326 human years
Birthday: He's so old these days that he can hardly remember, but if he had to guess, May 5th.

Personality:
When you first meet Palmer, he seems like the happiest person in the whole world - making jokes, laughing at every little thing, bounding off towards every danger with little worry over his own safety (but every worry for everyone elses'). He can go on for hours about something as simple as the sunrise. However, he hardly stays in your life long enough for you to actually get to know him. A few hours, maybe a couple days at most, and he'll be off on 'the next adventure', as he calls it.
But if you happened to follow him around for long enough, or if you're a very perceptive person, you'd start to realize things. Tiny things. He might not get to sleep and instead go out to stare at the stars. His smile might fade a bit if he thought you weren't looking. And he might laugh a bit too much.
Of course, Palmer loves a good adventure, and he really does enjoy making up ridiculous jokes. But the fact is that he's always trying to convince the world (and himself) that everything's okay. And some days it is. He fills his days with wonderful experiences - he helps people, collects all kinds of trinkets, and tries to think up ways to make mundane tasks new and exciting (the human word for it is inventor, he believes). But all he really wants is a friend. With the fact that he has to keep moving and keep helping out, though, he's scared to find one. He's not sure they'd enjoy it when he hardly does himself half the time. And he hates to admit it, but they probably wouldn't live as long as him. He still has so many good deeds left, and he doesn't want to meet someone he sticks with for a few years only to have to say goodbye. Hence, he keeps moving on.
Though he's met some animals these recent years that carry around strange human devices (Ipods come to his mind. They play music on their little electronic screens. How the world has changed) he has not bothered to keep up with the times. Many of the strange new things occurring in the human world are of no consequence to him, and he worries that if he takes the time to learn about such things he'll forget other, more important things.
What things does he consider so important? Palmer loves nature. Adores it. He stays up every night to look for the moon, has memorized every constellation, and feels most alive when he's running through the forest, the wind in his fur. And he can't forget his spells. They've been useful more times than he can count. If only he could thank Astrophel. If only he could apologize. If only he could say that he understood how wrong he was now.
Phobias:

• Apeirophobia- Fear of infinity. What if he never is able to help all thousand people and just lives forever? He wouldn't like that.
• Thantophobia- Fear of death or dying. Ironically he's worried about this at the same time. After so long living, he's gotten used to the fact that he just keeps going when he shouldn't. So the idea of not being around anymore is frightening.

History/Background: Go back, one night 326 years ago, to the Tribe of Midnight Moons, a proud and loyal group. The night was clear and the moon shone high in the sky. Everyone was patient. Waiting. The silence ticked on for a thousand years and for a few minutes. For it was a very important night. The leaders of the tribe, Dragomir and Luna, were expecting their litter to be born.
After what could have been forever or no time at all, the tribe shaman, Astrophel, a wise old wolf, stepped out of the cave at which everyone had been anxiously glancing at. "Well?" someone finally asked, looking at the sad face of the old healer.
"Four pups were born." Astrophel announced at last. His tone, however, was not full of joy, as it usually was when new life entered the world. A long pause. "Only one survives. Luna has named him Palmer."

And so began the life of Palmer, on that one bittersweet night. Dragomir refused to tell his son that his siblings had died, and he grew up believing he was an only child. But only of his litter, because he had five older brothers. However great it was to have older brothers, they all had two or three years more experience than he did. There was no one else his age. No one to play with. So he ended up following his parents around. How he loved to peek out from under his father's feet and watch the hustle and bustle of the tribe, or sit and listen to his mother's stories. He so adored them both that he wanted to follow in their footsteps one day. He'd probably be a good leader.
...except for the fact that his eldest brother, Absalom, a strong and determined (if a little easily angered at times) wolf, was next in line, not Palmer. But Palmer figured that was fine. He ended up dismissing the idea as a silly childood fantasy. But it kept coming back.
He tried to ignore it, mainly by learning about everything he possibly could. He threw himself into his studies with an intense determination. Often he would stay up until well past midnight, and sleep in till noon. Life became a blur... until one day, he stumbled across Astrophel's den.

Palmer had never been in here, this dark and mysterious room. Who lived here? Following the smell of mint and burning wood, he made his way to the back of the cave, curiosity slowly overtaking his fear. He could just make out a... a pot? What was in it, though? The young wolf was about to stick his head inside when someone pulled him out.
Palmer found himself looking face to face with the tribe shaman. They'd never actually talked. He had no idea what this guy was like. Even though Astrophel lived in the tribe, Palmer had no idea who he was. But while he should have been thinking stranger danger! he instead said, "What's in the pot?"

Astrophel had laughed then, and soon Palmer started taking lessons from the elderly wolf. There were so many things to learn - all the kinds of herbs, how to make potions that could do all kinds of things, and even how to cast spells. He learned from an ancient spellbook, which Astrophel said had been around for thousands of years. Imagine - thousands of years of knowledge in one book, there for him to read. It was astounding, and lessons with Astrophel quickly became his favorite part of every week.
Slowly the years went by, until one day Dragomir decided he and Luna were ready to step down, to hand over the metaphorical keys to the tribe over to someone else. That someone else was Absalom.
Over the years Palmer hadn't really been able to shake the thought of maybe being leader one day. Now, he figured if he did something amazing, he'd at least be able to help Absalom out. The only problem was that he didn't know what amazing thing to do. But he knew how to fix that.

The spellbook was open to the page he needed. Everything was set. Palmer had stolen the book and all the supplies he'd need ahead of time, and now he was ready. Or he certainly hoped so. Throwing the recently brewed potion into the air, he said the words needed, and -
- a dragon was suddenly there, as if it always had been. At once it attacked the nearest cave. In the meantime, Palmer took his book of spells and went to hide somewhere safe, until he was ready to come out and vanquish it. Then he'd look like a hero!

But what happened next surprised him - and scared him, too. When the others in the tribe hurried out to defend themselves, the dragon wouldn't do what he mentally told it to. It didn't stop attacking everyone like he'd asked, it charged forward and breathed a plume of flame at the wolves.
No - this wasn't right, his tribe was in danger, he had to stop it -
Before he could, however, Astrophel's voice boomed: "STOP!" Just like that, the dragon shimmered, as if an illusion, then vanished. The shaman hurried to meet the frantic tribe. Palmer, on the other hand, wasn't sure he could do this. He turned and ran. He needed time to calm down. For the dragon incident to calm down. If anyone found out that the dragon had been his fault...

When Palmer thinks back on the day's events now, it is simultaneously clear as a mirror and foggy as fog. So many things happened. Finding out about Dragomir and Luna dying. Absalom becoming the next leader, Absalom finding out who had sent the dragon, Absalom banishing him from the tribe. Astrophel frowning, looking so disappointed. But the one thing he always knew he'd remember was that spell of the shaman's.
He figured Palmer needed to go and do some good while out in the world, so he cast a spell that ensured that his young apprentice would live until he had changed a thousand lives for the better. "A thousand?" Palmer remembered himself asking. "How am I ever supposed to find a thousand different people?"
By the time he'd gone, he realized he hadn't just tried to explain his side of the story. How it was all an accident. But it was too late already - too late to go back. Palmer spent the night thinking about how selfish he'd been, and how much more important family was supposed to be than power or honor.
Even though he knew what he'd done was wrong, he still didn't help anyone for a long, long time. He lived on his own for a while, travelling from place to place, until he remembered the thousand good deeds he had yet to do.
Perhaps it was time to start.

----(*)----

When he was 325 years old, he saved a young dog from an earthquake as one of his good deeds. When he tried to leave the next night, as he always did, that dog insisted on coming along. He didn't like the idea at first, but the thought of just having a friend and someone he could talk to was too tempting. He agreed, and now Kanti and Palmer are traveling together. Palmer's even teaching Kanti some of his magic spells. It's nice to have a friend again.

Accessories: (All the ones he currently has I'm keeping, even if they aren't mentioned) He usually carries a small bag slung over one shoulder, which holds all his belongings (various trinkets, herbs, and the spellbook. He tries so hard to forget about that last object. It usually stays buried at the bottom of everything he carries. He's memorized all the spells anyway). The most important of his items is a journal. It's very old, with pages worn brown by the sun and full of memories. Every time he helps someone, he writes what happened down in the journal, so he never forgets.
Another thing he does every time he does a good deed is to add a bead to the ones he's already wearing. Each one is a different color and has a different symbol carved into it, to further remind him of all the good he's done.

favorites
day of the week; Saturday
color; orange
song; Once (he hadn't been planning to) he overheard To the Sky by Owl City. He secretly loved it.
year; He quite enjoyed 1899.
number; 12
season; spring