Russ

Russ is the main protagonist of the best-selling series Animal Chronicles, written by Aquabreeze2967 (Aquabreeze).

Personality
Russ is brave and headstrong, although he can be stubborn sometimes. A born leader, Russ isn’t afraid to voice his true thoughts, and would risk his life for his friends and family, even if this will injure or kill him. He is slow to trust strangers, but he is very loyal to those he trusts, such as the members of his Clan. Some animals believe he is too bossy, however, and will do anything to stop him. He isn't the most intelligent, relying a lot more on his instincts.

However, even though he is generally aggressive, he can also be calm and collected at times. When he was a pup, he was naïve, energetic, and happy-go-lucky, but after his mother died, he grew solemn and quiet, occasionally lashing out at others. His teenage-young adult years (The second half of the first book and the second book) were his most aggressive. He often argued and fought with others, making irrational decisions. Only during the third book did he become wiser and kinder.

Appearance and Abilities
Russ is strong and stocky, with broad shoulders. He is not the most muscular, but he is still very strong compared to most other characters. His fur is coarse and scruffy, blue-gray in color, and he has a pale blue-gray underbelly and legs. The fur on his underbelly is softer and longer. His legs are long and strong, while his tail is a medium length.

He also has dark ear-tips, a dark tail-tip, and a dark stripe running down his spine. There are three long scars along his left flank; the middle one being the longest. These were caused by the battle with Kronos's Clan, whereas the bite mark in his left ear was caused by fighting Foxy. His eyes are amber in color, and he possesses liver dilute, thus turning his nose brown.

Russ is extremely strong and powerful, able to defeat almost any animal in a fight. He is also an excellent swimmer, and is very comfortable in the water. He is a moderately slow runner, but like all wolves, has immense stamina. His biggest weakness is climbing, as he is too heavy to do it well.

Russ's Path
Russ used to live a happy, peaceful life in the Wolf Pack. He had everything he wanted and had a best friend, Silver. But one day, after a hunt, Russ's mother, Mist was attacked by the rest of the wolves. Russ was horrified when the cruel Alphas, Shadow and Akira, tried to exile her, and succeeded.

One night, Russ followed Mist's scent and found her hiding place. The two had to live on their own for a while. Hunting was hard, and they often went hungry. Still, their lives were relatively peaceful, until a fox named Cluny attacked Mist on a hunt. Russ ran to get help, but eventually passed out. Fortunately, a family of leopards found and adopted him. Russ became part of the family, and was introduced to all of the leopards: Sand, Sunny, Goldly, and Spot.

Russ lived with his newfound family for many years, becoming best friends with a young female leopard named Spot. However one day, he remembered his real mother. So he left the leopards to look for his mother, and this time, he refound his long-lost Pack. But things weren't as Russ expected. Though we was welcomed back as a member of the Pack, he met his former friend, Silver, who confessed that she had planned to take Russ as his mate. Russ wasn't sure how to feel about this. Even though Silver was a good friend, he never truly loved her. So when Russ's pup-hood enemy Heep tried to force him and Silver into an arranged mating, Russ declined, ignoring Silver's pleas.

However, Spot had followed him to the Wolf Pack, telling him that their family was in danger. Russ refused to abandon his search for his mother, devastating Spot. After leaving the Wolf Pack, he looked everywhere. Eventually, Russ found Mist in hiding. Mist told Russ the real reason she was exiled: She fell in love with Cluny, and when she declined his proposal, he ttried to destroy her. Russ was shocked, and together, they hatched a plan to defeat Cluny.

After some searching, Russ found Cluny and managed to corner him to the edge of a cliff. At this point, Mist was supposed to lunge at Cluny and push him over, but she instead tried to save him, making both of them fall over the edge of the cliff. Russ was horrified.

Spot's Quest
Russ decided to travel back to the Emerald Fields, and saw Spot. After Russ asked her about her parents, she replied that she had no idea where they were, and what happened to them. Russ told her about the tragedies he had witnessed, and how he wanted to start his own Pack. Spot was skeptical, but eventually, she agreed. She also insisted on calling it a "Clan", so it didn't just apply to wolves. Russ liked the idea, so he and Spot roamed the lands of Wolfu, looking for animals willing to join their Clan. In the Emerald Fields, they found Spot's brother, Goldly, who said that he knew nothing about the whereabouts of their parents. When Russ asked him to join the Clan, he refused.

Later they arrived in the Outlands, where Cluny once lived with the Fox Tribe. There, Russ discovered that Cluny's son, Foxy, was planning to overthrow the Wolf Pack and avenge his father's death. Russ tried to plead with him that it wasn't the wolves' fault, but the young fox didn't listen and gave Russ the scars on his flank. However, Foxy's sister, Bella, agreed to join the Clan, and Spot was relieved, though Russ was wary of her.

During the journey to the Shadow Forest, Russ met three friendly animals willing to join the Clan: Iceclaw, Moonrise, and Lily. Russ immediately became friends with Iceclaw, while Spot developed good relations with Lily. They also met a leopard and a black panther; Slash and Fang, but they declined Russ's offer.

Finally, Russ, Spot, and the rest of the Clan arrived at the Shadow Forest. There, they were greeted by a young wolf called "Fuzzy", who turned out to be Russ's long-lost cousin. Fuzzy assured Russ that "Fuzzy" was just a nickname for Flint, due to his soft fur. Silver also joined, much to Russ's excitement.

The Clan was getting big now and needed a camp. After a vote, the Clan decided on a forest called Foxwood Forest, where the Fox Tribe used to live. There, Russ set up the Clan ranks, and they all hunted. It turns out prey was plentiful in this land. But one day, the Clan was attacked by Foxy, who led a raid on the camp. During the raid, Slash and Fang returned to the rescue. But Foxy had already killed Silver. Russ was horrified, and tried to snap Foxy's neck, when Spot stopped him. Russ persuaded Foxy to join the Clan, but once again, he refused and fled. The Clan was thriving... for now.

Lucky's Destiny
It's two years in the future, and Russ's Clan was thriving. Russ and Spot decided to mate, and a few months later, Spot gave birth to two females: a wolf and a leopard. Russ was thrilled and was overly protective of his two daughters, not letting anyone near them. He also decided to take a break from leadership, appointing Iceclaw as the temporary leader. Russ feared his daughters wouldn't survive the harsh winter, but Spot reassured him it would be okay.

The next day, snow had fallen. Russ was anxious about the bad weather, and ordered the hunters to catch as much prey as possible. He visited Spot and his offspring frequently. Russ also went on a patrol with Iceclaw, Slash, and Fang. During the border patrol, he told his friends about his worries.

When he got back, Spot was distressed. When Russ asked her what was wrong, she answered that their cub had fallen ill. Russ was shocked and licked the young leopard, but she showed signs of fever. Russ was frustrated because he has no idea what to do.

Eventually, the leopard cub died of sickness. Everyone in the Clan was devastated. Russ decided to finally give his daughters names. He named the leopard cub Hope and the wolf pup Lucky, because she survived when her sister didn't. Russ and Spot then buried the dead cub, and covered her grave with flowers, notably roses. With Hope dead, Russ resumed his leadership duties, taking extra care of Lucky.

Another year passed, and Russ wanted Lucky to become a healer, like Spot. Lucky refused every time he asked. One day, however, a fire started in Foxwood Forest. Russ attempted to lead the Clan to safety, but failed when they came to a dead end. Spot led them to the Emerald Fields instead.

After the fire, once the animals returned to their ruined camp, Russ began supervising repairs. At this time, a wolf called Shadow asked Russ if she could join the Clan. Russ considered this for a while, and agreed. Most of the Clan is wary of Frost, however, and didn't trust her.

They were right. When Russ went on a walk one day, Shadow arrived and led him to the river, where she ambushed him and attacked him. Russ fought back and accidentally kicked Shadow into the river. As Shadow fell, Russ realized what he'd done and reached out a paw to save her, remembering how he let his mother die the same way. When Shadow was hauled back onto land, she pushed Russ into the rushing river, leaving him to die.

In the epilogue, Russ is shown finding his way back to the Clan, becoming a warrior instead of leader.

Family
Mother: Mist (presumably deceased)

Father: Rock (deceased)

Brother(s): N/A

Sister(s): N/A

Grandparents: Stone & Gray (deceased)

Mate: Spot (alive)

Offspring: Lucky (alive), Hope (deceased)

Trivia

 * His name was changed to Storm sometime during development, but was changed back to Russ.
 * He originally looked much different, as shown by the gallery.
 * His last name was originally Williams.
 * He was once a cheerful, kind, happy-go-lucky character.
 * During development, he had four pups named Lucky, Shadow, Cody, and Sky.