Jonk
- Player: Forest Family
- Forum Profile
Basics
- Sex: Male
- Species: Wolfdog
- Date of Birth: 3rd July 2018
- Luperci: Ortus
Appearance
Jonk has a long, broad face with a thick ring of fluffy fur that surrounds it like a lion's mane. His ears are short and rounded, almost dwarfed by his massive head, with fur that sticks out at odd angles. Jonk's bright gold, almond-shaped eyes slant upwards, and his wide, black nose is marred by a long, gray-pink scar that starts just above his nose and ends at the bottom of his chin.
Countless other scars crisscross Jonk's body, but almost all of them are hidden by his thick fur. The most notable is an eight-inch long scar on Jonk's back that's most noticeable in his optime form, which he got from being kicked by a horse as a yearling.
Standing 7'2 tall and almost 280 lbs in his two-legged form, Jonk often finds himself a giant among luperci in both height and weight. Muscular and well-fed, his arms and legs are too long for his body, giving him an almost willowy appearance despite his broad physique. Jonk's tail is long and feathered at the end, and it can trail on the ground if he's not careful. This results in a slightly unusual appearance, where in all forms Jonk neither looks quite like a wolf or a dog, but something else entirely.
Jonk's rust orange mane is left to grow wild, and small sticks, leaves, and other debris often litter its tangled strands. It's only when Jebri, advisor and official stylist to the king, washes and combs it to shining perfection that its true length is revealed; the thick, bushy hair extends to the small of Jonk's massive back, and grows out from the top of his head to just below his shoulder blades.
Jonk's pelt is mostly rust orange, with a warm, ochre brown cape along his back that wraps around his arms and legs. The same brown colors the top of his tail, bushy brow spots, nose bridge, chin, and upper lip, extending out toward his cheeks. Cream markings accent his inner ears, the fur around his eyes, and down his cheeks, before stopping at his upper chest.
Jonk paints his face with green pigment, and while the complexity of the design varies, he's rarely seen without the rough shape of a horse hoofprint on his upper face and a splotch on his chin.
Personality
Jonk is a prideful, stubborn man whose eagerness to fulfill his royal duties to the Great Prairie often overshadow common sense or good manners. Like many from his birth pack, he is compelled to compete against others in tests of strength, speed, and endurance, and finds it almost painful to turn down challenges he thinks he can win — or at least look particularly impressive while trying.
Despite this, Jonk has proven himself to be a self-sacrificing, thoughtful, and gentle soul when it counts most, and enjoys the quiet serenity of painting horses in his free time. An accomplished artist, his canvas of choice is large, tanned animal hides. While his art is occasionally erotic, owing to the sacred beauty of reproduction, he is increasingly mindful that not everyone wants to see such paintings.
This also extends to his faith. Almost obsessively devoted to the Horse Mother — a giant half-horse, half-wolf that carved out the world as her den and birthed all of creation — Jonk takes the cultural and religious tenets of his birth pack extremely seriously. He considers horses, and by extension their meat, to be part of the divine. Truly tame horses fascinate him, and he considers it just as much as an honor to be around them as he does the Great Prairie's Mother Herd.
When his pride or religiosity don't get the better of him, Jonk makes a competent, intelligent leader, and he hopes to rule over the Great Prairie with the same kindness and grace as his father some day. He also hopes, despite knowing that as a man he will never be able to join the priesthood — much less lead it as his mother once did — that his time as king brings about a new era of cultural and religious growth to his home.
Jonk was born without a sense of smell, and he sees his missing sense as unimportant. It's only on rare occasions, usually when someone describes a notably pleasant or strong odor, that he wishes he could join in on the olfactory fun.
History
Born heir apparent to the Red King and Horse Queen in a large, insular pack in southeastern Alberta, Jonk was raised from birth to be the next king of the Great Prairie. The largest and boldest of three siblings, the ruddy boy took to his lessons like a foal to the field, and there was no doubt in his parents' minds that he would lead with just as much vigor as his father, and his father's mother before him.
As an adolescent, Jonk set out to prove himself as more than just a capable student. The young prince competed with his packmates for dominance, leading ambitious hunts and attempting feats of great strength, speed, and endurance. No festival day passed without Jonk making a spectacle of himself, and whether he succeeded or failed in his search for glory, he was certainly making a name for himself among the Great Prairie and her allies.
Jonk's pride, well-known for getting the better of him, finally found its match in a teenage boy named Jebrenus from the neighboring Fur Weaver pack. Allied with the Great Prairie since the Red War, the noble family's son's recent, public betrothal made him cocky; when a member of the Great Prairie's youth challenged any Fur Weaver brave enough to race her through the Mother Herd, Jebrenus was all too happy to volunteer.
After almost causing a stampede and nearly being trampled to death, Jebrenus was rescued by Jonk as the Horse Mother priestesses attempted to calm the panicked herd. Jebrenus swiftly returned the favor, helping an injured Jonk find an opening and escaping the chaos together. The head priestess, having watched the twin rescues from afar, declared the pair indebted to each other under the law of the Great Prairie: a life saved for a life saved.
Fortunately for the young men, Jonk was still in need of a royal advisor, and the quickly nicknamed Jebri was relieved to make a name for himself as more than just a noble family's son. They became close friends as Jonk's studies grew more serious, teaching him to rule over pack and herd alike upon his father's passing, as well as preparing him for the Royal Dispersal.
And in time, Jonk's fiery, competitive nature cooled into something tamer and more manageable. His maturing thoughtfulness and loyalty to his people proved a great boon during a series of raids on the Great Prairie and the neighboring Fur Weaver pack, and with Jebri by his side, he proved himself a warrior worthy of his future title as king.
The moon after his third birthday, Jonk and his sisters left the Great Prairie in search of their first mates, destined to introduce new, strong blood to the pack — and more importantly for Jonk, his first queen. Traveling east with Jebri for over a moon with little success, he came across stories of a vast, glittering body of water that seemed to go on forever. Convinced something so beautiful could only be the birthing water of the Horse Mother, he resolved to find his first queen there along its fabled, windswept shores.