Malakai - Vertok Pup/Pawn

Name: Malakai
Nicknames: Mal, Kai
Age: 5 Months
Gender: Male
Pronouns: He/Him
Pack: Vertok
Role: Pup/Pawn
Future Roles: Highly debatable

Height: 35"
Weight: 90-100 lbs
Scent: A mixture of natural wood, like cedar, and something similar to the scent of rain.
Voice: While young his voice is a tad higher pitched and typically child-like, but it quickly becomes deeper and more soothing to the ear.
Build: He is relatively scrawny when he is young, but he will hit a small growth spurt at some point that brings him to a more average size. As he grows he develops a lot more leg than anything. He does have a somewhat bigger torso, but this is more so used to throw brute force rather than full strength.
Fur Length: Mixture of short and medium
Fur Colors: A muted hickory, dark cinnamon, tan-cream
Fur Patterns: Light muzzle/chin and underfur, light paws/legs, dark blanket from his forehead to his tail
Eye Color: Silver
Nose Color: Black
Scars: None
Distinguishing Features: Bright eyes, handsome coat, long legs
Strengths: Speed, Stamina, endurance
Weaknesses: Strength, intimidation, 1v1 combat

Description: A relatively average sized young wolf, Malakai begins as a cute little fellow and grows into a handsome wolf. With a body built more for speed, a charming dark pelt, and a kind face, he is often told he looks a lot like his mother.

In terms of his body itself, when he is younger he is a tad smaller than others his age, but not by much. It doesn’t take long for him to eventually catch up and grow to an average size, though. As he grows he gains more height and size in his legs more than the rest of him. He is more leg than torso by the time he becomes an adult, though even then he does gain a bit of muscle in his shoulders, making him appear a bit bigger. Though he does have size that could suggest that he might be stronger, the bulk in his torso is not used for your general idea of strength. If he does use the bulk of his body for anything, it is for charging and throwing himself should he ever need to do so, hoping that he knocks whatever it is off its feet.

Much like his mother, which is where the comments come from, Malakai’s pelt takes on a few different colors, two of which are darker while the other is lighter. His primary pelt color is a dark cinnamon-red in color, while all of his markings are either a light cream-tan or a dark, muted hickory. The dark hickory color drapes over his body like a blanket, beginning at a point on his forehead, expanding around his ears, and falling over him in smooth lines all the way to his tail. Meanwhile, the lighter tan color can be found in a few spots, including the inside of his ears, the ends of his cheek fluff, his lower muzzle which leads to a patch on his neck, his stomach, and an 8-like shape on his chest.

Something else that most notice about Malakai right away is his brightly colored eyes. Vibrant silver in color, they are one of his most known features that many find very captivating and fitting for him. His nose is a dark gray, nearly black, in color, and his paw pads are a mix of dark gray and tan.

Description: A very charming and intelligent young male, Malakai has been seen by his peers as a bright and smart individual. A pup with an intense sense of curiosity and a metaphorical sponge for knowledge. Asking questions, observing, practicing, anything he can to learn new things from those around him. He finds something to learn in nearly every situation and is always finding some way to practice. Like many young pups, he has goals he is determined to accomplish and believes he can reach them, even if they aren't really realistic. He always seems to have a smile on his face and is very inclusive and accepting to those around him, no matter who they are.

But there's always two sides to the coin. Malakai gives off the very smart, kind, and optimistic vibe, but that's only what he shows to others. Inside, he is riddled with extreme anxiety and constant feelings of worry and guilt, even over the smallest things. There's an overwhelming sense of loneliness within him, something he only finds solace from being spending time with his friends. But even then, his thoughts are constantly finding their way back to his worries and the well being of others. As kind and considerate his actions are when it comes to his peers, most don't realize that this comes from a sense of need to put others before himself. He was born healthy. Not all wolves are born as lucky. So why should he be so happy when those around him that he cares for are less fortunate?

Strengths: Learning new things quickly, making friends, quick thinking, following orders, hiding what he feels
Weaknesses: Hard time saying no, passive, easily panicked, too caring, hard on himself
Likes: Making friends, learning, swimming, racing, being around loved ones, collecting pretty stones
Dislikes: Getting in trouble, being scolded, being treated like a child, seeing others fight, disappointing others, being alone
Hobbies: Racing with others to get better at speed, collecting shiny stones
Quirks: His ears and tail move a lot more than most others’ when he feels things like excitement or anxiety

Mother: Cinder - Deceased
Father: Unknown - Deceased
Siblings: Lumina - Sister - Deceased
Other Connections: Best friends (Zero, Shepherd, )
Birthplace: The Vertok

Malakai was born within the Vertok to a single mother, Cinder, alongside one sibling, a smaller female who was named Lumina. Despite the unfortunate circumstances that left Cinder to be a single mother of two pups, she loved and cherished her little ones more than she could ever describe in words. In the beginning there was never a time when she was away from them, but this was both out of desire and necessity. Cinder herself had been born the runt of her litter, and therefore ended up the most weak in her family. Most of her life her immune system didn’t hold up well, small sickness easily finding her often.

When she had the pups it was no different, though she was kept very close to the Bishops in case of emergency. A smart move on their part too, because they soon figured out that Lumina, who was also the smaller of the two pups, seemed to have the same weaker immune system. She got sick very early on, and though she had to be monitored closely for quite a while, she did end up recovering the first time. Much of their time was spent with the Bishops, much to Lumina’s dismay as she grew bigger.

Malakai, on the other hand, got the long end of the stick in the family line, born perfectly healthy and remaining so as he grew. A lot of his time was spent with the other pups his age, which there weren’t many, but he made friends quite quickly. Though, as much fun as he had with the others, he always returned to be with his mother and sister every chance he had. Just as Cinder loved them, they loved her. But, despite the love that Malakai held for his sister as well, there was always a disconnect between them, a sense of one-sided jealousy that came from Lumina. She wanted to play, she wanted to have fun, she wanted to be friends with the other pups. But she was always told no in case she pushed herself too hard or got sick, or both. She often ignored her brother when he came around, but he didn’t mind, still treating her the same way.

The two of them had reached about 2 months old. Lumina was starting to wander around more, Malakai still played and spent time with his friends, and Cinder remained close to the Bishops. Having gained a little more trust from her mother and the Bishops, Lumina began to try and play with the other pups (the ones that Malakai did not play with, mind you). Though she tried, she was always lagging behind and wasn’t able to wrestle with them as much as they could with each other. Every once in a while one of the older pups would make comments like saying that she should be the one tracking points, or the referee, or whatever side-line roles came with the games they played. Any role that meant she wasn’t physically playing. These comments got to her, and she started to push herself, wanting to be strong and capable like the rest of them. She forced her way into wrestling matches, shoved her way into games, and, the worst for her in the long run, trying to join in races. It was during a race when she found herself against Malakai that she was even more determined to win, and so she pushed as hard as she could, but with a price. She collapsed part way through, short of breath, panting, chest heaving, dizziness. She was taken to the Bishops, and, just as she had been warned many times, she pushed it too far. To say the least, Lumina did get seriously sick from this event, enough so that she had to be constantly monitored and watched. Unfortunately, the race had been the final straw, and Lumina ended up passing away from the illness that followed.

Cinder and Malakai were both devastated, both spending most of their time together afterwards. Though Cinder tried to encourage Malakai to keep his head up, she herself could not hide her grief. She tried to blame it on herself multiple times, and her health slowly began to falter. Seeing her grief and what the sadness was doing to her, Malakai tried his best to seem optimistic, to seem thankful for the time Lumina had, but he had learned he was far better at containing his feelings than his mother was. Inside, he too was struck hard with grief. Lumina may not have liked him, but that never stopped him from caring about her.

As much as he tried, a smile and encouraging words weren’t enough to fully heal what Cinder felt. Just like Lumina had been warned, Cinder too fell sick from the combination of her already weak body and her declining mental state. Before long, Cinder too passed away, leaving Malakai on his own.

He acted fine. He seemed fine. Obviously a little upset, but he always seemed very encouraging and mindful of those around him. Some of the others wondered if he was even sad in the first place. But it was only the pups he wasn’t as close too who thought this. It was the few other pups he was closest too that had been there during the multiple times when he had collapsed in a pile of sobs and tears in the back of the den, or the days when he sat in one place spaced out for hours at a time. They knew that he was broken inside. But, somehow, he managed to hide it from the others. It was a talent that he, as horrible as it was, had grown very good at. And it is on that he has continued on with even to currently, despite it being an awful way to cope.