Post by Tamber on Jun 19, 2015 21:35:38 GMT
Name: Hoda
Species: African elephant
Sex/Gender: Female
Age: 42
Appearance: Hoda is impressively large for a female - she stands 12 feet tall and is intimidating to most passersby. Despite this, she has a soft face and gentle eyes. She walks as softly as a leopard, her head and trunk bobbing heavily with every step. Dry, powdery, light tan topsoil is her sunscreen of choice, and she is perpetually covered in it from head to toe. This gives her a smooth, even, sandy skin tone. Her tusks are long and worn a bit dull at the ends. She fans herself with her enormous ears to keep cool, and deep indentations behind them make a hollow, cupping sound when they swing back against her neck. Her skin is like calloused canvas, seemingly impenetrable, and one can hear its dry roughness when it rubs together or along the ground. Hoda tends to maintain a stoic look about her - it's difficult to read into her thoughts or emotions unless she chooses to make them known.
History: Hoda lived with a herd of twelve female elephants from the time she was born. The herd was almost entirely related - sisters, mothers grandmothers, even great-grandmothers and cousins traveling and raising the young ones together. Hoda had one daughter, June, who had become a young adult and was preparing to breed. When June was about 17, Hoda gave birth to a second daughter, Bua.
When Bua was about 1.5 year old, human traders swooped in on the herd as they were grazing in the thick bush. They targeted Bua and attempted to throw ropes around her, meanwhile shooting and sending their dogs after the other females. In order to take Bua, the men needed to take down the rest of the herd. In a mass confusion of guns, spears, vehicles, fire and smoke, the men managed to separate Bua from the herd and take her away. Hoda was injured in the dispute but survived nonetheless, and as she emerged from the smoking brush she saw the men driving away with her child. She chased them for miles, running as long as she could, but she soon realized that no one was running with her. After weeks of searching for Bua, she returned to the site of the event and found that the rest of her herd had passed, including her elder daughter June. Some had wandered for some miles, but over time Hoda found them all dead.
What saved Hoda during this time was her discovery of another lonely soul: an infant baboon she named Nester and took into her care. While Hoda still finds herself unable to leave the place where her family members still lie, Nester has given her a powerful sense of responsibility and hope. He enables her to take her mind off of her lost family and venture farther from the area in order to find him food. Nester loves and leans on his mother to the same degree she loves and leans on him, and their relationship grows stronger with every passing day.
Personality: Hoda is mute by choice and by upbringing - while she can speak and says a word or two on occasion, she prefers to remain quiet. She acquired this custom from her herd, who communicated primarily through body language and touch. When she does vocalize, she tends to do so non-verbally, with traditional grunts, chuffs and trumpets.
Hoda takes her relationships very seriously and is fiendishly loyal. She has a strong mothering instinct, though she reserves it for her children and for Nester. She is remarkably patient and goes far out of her way to ensure that those in her care are comfortable and safe. Those who may dare to come near her do not need much convincing to leave her be, if for nothing but her size. Once she flashes her ears and tusks, throws her trunk about or grumbles threateningly, just about any animal has already run for safer places.
Nester can always be found "nestled" into the curled tip of Hoda's trunk, hence his namesake. Her trunk, with its thousands of muscles and finest of motor skills, wraps around him gently and carries him wherever they may need to go. The two are inseparable.
Species: African elephant
Sex/Gender: Female
Age: 42
Appearance: Hoda is impressively large for a female - she stands 12 feet tall and is intimidating to most passersby. Despite this, she has a soft face and gentle eyes. She walks as softly as a leopard, her head and trunk bobbing heavily with every step. Dry, powdery, light tan topsoil is her sunscreen of choice, and she is perpetually covered in it from head to toe. This gives her a smooth, even, sandy skin tone. Her tusks are long and worn a bit dull at the ends. She fans herself with her enormous ears to keep cool, and deep indentations behind them make a hollow, cupping sound when they swing back against her neck. Her skin is like calloused canvas, seemingly impenetrable, and one can hear its dry roughness when it rubs together or along the ground. Hoda tends to maintain a stoic look about her - it's difficult to read into her thoughts or emotions unless she chooses to make them known.
History: Hoda lived with a herd of twelve female elephants from the time she was born. The herd was almost entirely related - sisters, mothers grandmothers, even great-grandmothers and cousins traveling and raising the young ones together. Hoda had one daughter, June, who had become a young adult and was preparing to breed. When June was about 17, Hoda gave birth to a second daughter, Bua.
When Bua was about 1.5 year old, human traders swooped in on the herd as they were grazing in the thick bush. They targeted Bua and attempted to throw ropes around her, meanwhile shooting and sending their dogs after the other females. In order to take Bua, the men needed to take down the rest of the herd. In a mass confusion of guns, spears, vehicles, fire and smoke, the men managed to separate Bua from the herd and take her away. Hoda was injured in the dispute but survived nonetheless, and as she emerged from the smoking brush she saw the men driving away with her child. She chased them for miles, running as long as she could, but she soon realized that no one was running with her. After weeks of searching for Bua, she returned to the site of the event and found that the rest of her herd had passed, including her elder daughter June. Some had wandered for some miles, but over time Hoda found them all dead.
What saved Hoda during this time was her discovery of another lonely soul: an infant baboon she named Nester and took into her care. While Hoda still finds herself unable to leave the place where her family members still lie, Nester has given her a powerful sense of responsibility and hope. He enables her to take her mind off of her lost family and venture farther from the area in order to find him food. Nester loves and leans on his mother to the same degree she loves and leans on him, and their relationship grows stronger with every passing day.
Personality: Hoda is mute by choice and by upbringing - while she can speak and says a word or two on occasion, she prefers to remain quiet. She acquired this custom from her herd, who communicated primarily through body language and touch. When she does vocalize, she tends to do so non-verbally, with traditional grunts, chuffs and trumpets.
Hoda takes her relationships very seriously and is fiendishly loyal. She has a strong mothering instinct, though she reserves it for her children and for Nester. She is remarkably patient and goes far out of her way to ensure that those in her care are comfortable and safe. Those who may dare to come near her do not need much convincing to leave her be, if for nothing but her size. Once she flashes her ears and tusks, throws her trunk about or grumbles threateningly, just about any animal has already run for safer places.
Nester can always be found "nestled" into the curled tip of Hoda's trunk, hence his namesake. Her trunk, with its thousands of muscles and finest of motor skills, wraps around him gently and carries him wherever they may need to go. The two are inseparable.
Also added Christmassy snow and banner :3
I'm currently getting some uni work done before heading to the post office. What's up with you?