Post by KEIR on May 12, 2017 18:32:26 GMT -5
KEIr
NICKNAME(S). Keir (pronounced keer)
AGE. 2 years
SPECIES. Mule deer
SUB-SPECIES. Black-tailed deer
GENDER. Male
APPEARANCE
HEIGHT. 39 in
WEIGHT. 180 lbs
COAT. Mostly gray and silver
EYE COLOUR. Dark brown, almost black
NOTABLE MARKINGS. A large black patch on his forehead
PHYSICAL. While his coarse fur adopts a little more brown during the spring and summer months, his coat is year-round a darker and grayer color, which is a variation within his sub-species (with other variations including the usual tan-colored coat and the off-white coat). He has a patch of black on his forehead that runs from the back of his antlers to just below his eyes. And as is per usual for his kind, he also has black on the top-side of his tail, while underneath is a shock of white. When he is startled and begins to bound away, he will instinctively lift his tail as a signal to others to flee as well. Even during dusk or the early hours of dawn, his tail is unmistakable.
Build-wise, Keir is a stocky young buck with a thick, muscular neck and a large rectangular body. His legs are long and thin (but still connected to networks of muscle that make them very powerful, allowing him to make huge and sudden leaps). His ears are tall and lined with white fur, and he can move them with ease to point in the direction of any sound. And then most notably about him, he boasts a pair of rugged gray antlers during the summer and the fall, although he loses them come wintertime before growing a whole new pair by the arrival of late spring. Both the losing and growing of his antlers makes him bleed, so during this shedding cycle, he can look pretty ghastly. Since he's only been alive for about two years, his antlers aren't all that impressive just yet. However, come his third year of life, his antlers will have longer points (as well as more points in general).
PERSONALITY
FEARS. Drowning; getting swept away by a strong current or wave; the disease and its symptoms; becoming too emotionally dependent on someone else; dead bodies
VICES. Stand-offish and asocial; stubborn and hard to persuade; mercurial in temperament; easily annoyed; distrusting
STRENGTHS. fighting tactically; independent; self-respecting; clever (and capable of quick and effective problem solving); creative; intelligent
PET PEEVES. Excessive optimism; lying; wasting food; talking way too much; bossiness; others being clingy; others being loud
LIKES. Travelling; peaceful and quiet mornings; springtime; warm weather; finding and eating flowering clover, blackberries, nuts, and dandelions (which are all his favorite foods); staying out of stuff
PERSONALITY. Keir has no friends, and he likes it that way. He is completely estranged from his two older twin sisters as well, and he is utterly indifferent to the fact that they even exist. Keir fits the archetype of the lone wolf in that not only is he highly introverted, he is also unashamedly asocial. He tends to stay away from others when he can, but when he is forced to have company, he's stubbornly stand-offish and reserved. He doesn't like to reveal much about himself, and this is mainly for two different reasons: One, talking about himself would just encourage the continuation of a conversation that he in no way wants to have; two, he doesn't trust others enough to allow them to know even the most inane things about himself. It's not out of paranoia (at least, not really); instead, it's connected mostly to his fear of becoming vulnerable in any way. Keir, if he had to for whatever reason, probably wouldn't be able to pinpoint this as the main reason for his aloof nature, though. He'd probably argue that he simply just doesn't like others, and that's a pretty solid explanation, if you ask him.
Aside from all of that, Keir is a simple buck who likes to be alone, eat good food, mind his own business, and try his best to ignore the fact that he may or may not be infected with the disease currently ravaging the whole world. He has his own issues to worry about that are completely independent from the disease, so he tries to focus on those instead of worrying about getting sick with something that might give him odd powers. However, because he does know that the disease is out there and in full force, it serves as yet another reason for why he likes to stay well away from other animals. He doesn't trust those who wield those unnatural powers, as he suspects that they only use it as a weapon against others. And while he doesn't care much about others, he still can't respect someone who would maybe want to jeopardize or take away someone else's health and autonomy.
HISTORY
MOTHER. Aoibhe (pronounced ee-va), deceased
FATHER. Ephraim, deceased
SIBLINGS. Tegwen (sister), living; Penrose (sister), living
HISTORY. Keir was the sole son of Ephraim and Aoibhe, but not their only offspring, as the doe had already birthed twin sisters Tegwen and Penrose a year before Keir's conception. The family was small and consequently tight-knit, Ephraim never taking on another mate, remaining faithful to Aoibhe despite her giving him permission to seek out more does as bucks tended to feel compelled to do. Ephraim was openly content with his one loyal mate and three healthy offspring. And he protected them vehemently. If he was challenged for Aoibhe, he would readily lock antlers. Whenever suitors tried to chase after Tegwen or Penrose, he would aggressively fight them off. It was never hard to do, either, as just lowering his large antlers would make much younger bucks think twice.
However, by the time Keir was born, Ephraim was an aging stag. While his antlers were impressive and showed his many well-deserved years of life, he was noticeably slowing down. So it came that one mating season the sagacious and noble Ephraim could no longer defend his family against young bucks who were stronger, faster, and more desperate than he. The buck named Cassian came to challenge him. The two stags fought, their antlers coming together in a violent crash. Ephraim held his own for a few moments, but previous challengers that season had worn him down. He slipped, and Cassian took advantage, scoring him in the face and pushing him down, severely spraining the old stag's foreleg. Now lame and bleeding, Ephraim stood no chance of keeping Cassian away, nor did he have any chance of living beyond tomorrow, not with mountain lions and wolves ready to pick off the unlucky ones like him.
Despite Cassian winning the right to Aoibhe through defeating Ephraim, the loyal doe loved Ephraim too much to willingly join some other buck's side. Keir was too young and weak in comparison to Cassian to step in and defend his mother and sisters in Ephraim's stead, so he couldn't do anything when the aggressive young buck attacked him, waving his antlers at Keir as a warning to leave before he got maimed as well. Keir fled to the nearby thicket and hid. Aoibhe, Tegwen, and Penrose attempted to resist Cassian, and their efforts would have inevitably been in vain if it weren't for Ephraim managing to gather up the very last of his strength to save his family.
The old stag, fueled by adrenaline and desperation, charged toward Cassian, displaying his intimidating set of fully developed antlers. Cassian obliged to fight back as he had no other choice. While interlocked in a battle that seemed like it would genuinely be to the very death, Ephraim called out to Aoibhe, pleading with her to run.
She did not hesitate. She turned around and bolted off deeper into the woods, her two daughters close behind her. Keir watched them flee out of sight, their tails lifted and their eyes white-rimmed. He made a move to follow them, but he was stuck in the thicket, and he was worried for his father, Ephraim. He witnessed the battle as it came to its conclusion, Cassian breaking free and snorting in Ephraim's face out of frustration. There was no point in him bothering with the old stag anymore. He left, leaving his elder opponent heaving and covered in blood alone in the clearing. Keir broke free of the dense shrub, revealing himself to his battered father. The old stag regarded him with a withered look in his amber eyes. He tried to get his son to go after his mother and sisters to make sure they were safe, but Keir knew there was nothing he could do for them. Despite his father's wishes, he stayed by the old stag's side, keeping him within his periphery at all times, even when darkness came and the night unfolded around them.
The following morning, both of them were awake, Keir having been restless the whole night while Ephraim only managed a short time of fitful rest. When the sun was only just barely rising above the canopy of the trees, the old stag hoarsely called to his son, telling him that he needed water. Keir immediately rose, and he followed his father closely all the way to the nearest creek. Ephraim was breathing heavily, and his body seemed to become weaker with every shaky step. The sound of the creek's gently trickling water was in his ears, and Keir expected that his father would be able to make it there to drink, but he didn't. Ephraim collapsed, and Keir rushed to stand next to him, prodding the stag with his antlers to try and help him rise. But it became apparent that he wouldn't. And he didn't. He told Keir in a raspy voice that he was thirsty, and then he died.
Keir has been on his own ever since. He devoted several days after his father's death to trying to track down his mother and sisters, but he never found Tegwen or Penrose. However, he did find his mother, Aoibhe, washed up on the riverbank with her coat wet and covered in grime, her eyes wide open but lifeless, her body mangled and awkwardly lying on top of rocks and dark brown mud. The image was permanently seared into his memory. And he had no idea what exactly had happened to Aoibhe and his two sisters, whether they had drowned as well or were just long gone, or if his mother had even drowned at all. He stayed well away from rivers from then on, associating them with his mother's rotting corpse. And while he was so devastated at the time, the feeling of loneliness faded, and it was all replaced with a numbness that never really went away.
He now lives his life fairly normally, simply just trying to survive as a young and single buck out in the cruel and unpredictable wilderness.
PLAYER
NAME. Lutheus
AGE. 21
EXPERIENCE. I've been roleplaying for a little over seven or eight years now, haha. I have the most experience with Warriors roleplays, but I've been a part of canine, equine, big cats, and multi-species ones as well!
OTHER CHARACTERS. None
HOW’D YOU FIND US. You advertised on my site, Into Ashes. ;3
PREFERRED CONTACT METHOD. PM or email, either's fine!
