Credit

Name
Captain

Rank/Role
Sentinel

Age
7 Years, 8 Months

Breed/Species
Giant Schnauzer

Gender
Male

Sexuality
Heterosexual

Appearance
Captain is a large dog, with dense, wavy fur that covers most of his body. His ears are cropped and pointy, and his tail is docked short. Around his neck is a ball chain that has numerous dog tags connected to it; one is branded with his name, 'Captain', whilst the other bears the name of his former handler. Captain's eyes are a deep brown in colour, though they tend to blend in with the rest of his fur, sometimes making them appear like empty sockets. He has notably expressive 'eyebrows', which can make him seem both extremely stern and extremely comical, depending on the situation.

Underneath his coal-black pelt, there are numerous scars and scrapes, both from his time serving in the military, and from his life as a stray dog. If one were to look closely, there are a few, wispy grey hairs that protrude from his underbelly, signifying his age. His teeth are pristine and white, as they were meticulously looked after in his youth, however they are beginning to yellow as of late.

Ailment(s)
PTSD
↳ From his time in the military. Loud, crashing noises or quick movements from behind can serve as a trigger, which can lead to increased aggression or fear. Any new Innsaei Packmembers are instructed not to approach him from behind for this reason.

Cropped Ears & Docked Tail
↳ Standard procedure, was done in his youth so that it would be harder for opponents to grab onto him. Higher chance for infection than a dog with uncropped ears, however his tail does not bring any setbacks.

Personality
- Serious
- Protective
- Courageous
- Cautious
- Blunt
- Short-tempered
- Responsible
- Merciless
- Obedient
- Lone-wolf

Skills
Combat
↳ Captain is one of the most combat-ready canines that the Innsaei has to offer. His bulky and towering stature lend him an astounding brute strength, that can be used for pummelling another dog into the ground, but also for other tasks, such as pushing or pulling heavy objects. He has tremendous biting capability; once he's got a hold of something, nothing on earth will make him let go.

Stealthy
↳ Despite his looming presence, Captain is a master of stealth. He has learned how to conceal his footsteps by distributing his weight between his paws, and can slink as low to the ground as a much smaller dog could. This stealthiness is only amplified in the dark, where he blends immaculately with dim surroundings.

Unwavering
↳ If there's ever trouble, Captain is often relied upon to settle it. He has a heart of stone, and a mind of steel - he has no problem doing the pack's dirty work, and it doesn't bother him, either. The schnauzer will dive into a sticky situation headfirst when others are too scared to even think about it, masking his own apprehensiveness for the sake of others. There are few things that scare Captain, and when something does, it means it's serious.

Uplifting
↳ A lesser known skill of Captain's. More often than not, it is overlooked by his more aggressive and powerful qualities. Though he doesn't like public speaking, believing that it should be reserved for some dog more important than himself, he is fantastic at pulling a team together. Being consoled by Captain is like being wrapped in a nice, warm blanket; though he might not have the solution, you can't help but get the feeling that things will turn out alright.

History
Captain was born into the military, with no chance of ever tasting a normal, happy puphood. As the largest pup of the bunch, he was torn away from his mother the mere second he was born, as to prevent unwanted bonding between parent and child lest he become soft. He was named Captain for one purpose only - to rise in rank, and not ever relent until he had reached the top. From then on, he was vigorously trained; day and night blurring into one long regime. He was pitted against man and dog alike, taught never to stop until his opponent lay broken before him. Though he'd initially refused to fight against weaker dogs, his morals were soon stripped away, and he became the ultimate killing machine.

Captain was sent into combat fresh out of training, alongside his new handler, James. It was easy to put his skills into practice on the battlefield - with each command, he'd mercilessly finish off every enemy that crossed his path, forced to become brave even when every bone in his body told him to turn and run as fast as he could. James was unlike the rest of his trainers, kind and considerate where others hadn't been. When they turned in for the night, he'd teach Captain actual tricks, like fetch, roll over or paw, tricks that didn't come at the expense of others. He'd feed him treats, and smooth over his fur when he had trouble sleeping. It made Captain realise that there was more to life than war. The schnauzer grew to love James, and that was his first mistake.

Not long after they'd deployed, James was killed in action, and Captain could do nothing to stop it. Though, even as he lay bleeding out, James consoled him, repeating over the tricks he'd taught the schnauzer until he passed. After that, Captain ghosted mindlessly through the rest of his military career, blindly following orders. Taking lives was all he was good at, and he wouldn't forget it this time. Once he grew old enough to retire, he was given to an elderly couple at Stormbreak. Life should have been good for him - a cozy home, the life of a lapdog, what more was there to want? Captain couldn't settle for it, could never settle for something that simply was not meant for him.

Managing to escape from the house a couple months into his stay, Captain fled the area, running until he could run no longer. It was the first and last time that he had run away from fear, fear of losing another loved one. He walked for days on end, with no destination in mind, trying desperately to find a reason to live, for someone to serve. Following orders was what he was good at, it didn't matter to him who was commanding them. He stumbled across the Innsaei Pack by mere fluke, and they took him in; if it was out of pity, or because a wandering dog like him posed a threat, he didn't know, but it made no difference. Captain fit snugly into the hierarchy, rising in rank just like he was designed to do, until he took the status of sentinel.

Roleplay Sample
The cars roared thunderously as they sped across the tarmac, sending up torrents of water from the guttering that spattered and splashed any passerby that was unfortunate enough to walk too close. Many people hurried to escape the rain, huddling under the sparse cover of trees or the occasional bus stop, whilst those that were more prepared took advantage of their umbrellas and thick, insulated coats. The weather was unusually poor for this time of year, however the grey and dreary downpour acted as a perfect cover for Captain.

The schnauzer waited patiently to cross the road, water cascading down his rough pelt; a strange sight indeed, so it was of no surprise that he began to attract some unsavoury attention. Though many walked by, pretending not to have seen him, one small man and his brute of a dog weren't so dismissive of him. "Can't have you wandering the street, can we? Let's get you home." The man said, producing another leash from his pocket. Captain curled his lip in disgust, snapping at the man's dog in warning. The other dog strained to bite back, pulling so hard at the leash's clip that it broke clean in two.

A chase broke out with Captain in the lead, the man's dog hot on his trail. They shot across the pavement, tripping up people and their pets alike, sending their belongings clattering to the floor. Captain's eyes darted for an opening, his heart hammering in his chest. The man's dog was close to catching him - if his tail wasn't docked at birth, it would have been by now. His paws pummelled the ground, and, just in the nick of time, they met the road, and without a single inch of hesitation, Captain launched himself into the path of an oncoming car.

The machine squealed to a halt, the smell of burnt rubber filling the air. Captain could feel the corner of the vehicle clip his behind, but it only spurred him on further. The man's dog angrily barked at him from the other side of the road, not willing to risk stepping near the oncoming cars, but it just sounded like victory to Captain. He'd live another day after all, it seemed like.

<sub>Credit

Name
Critter

Rank/Role
Deviant

Age
Roughly two years old.

Breed/Species
Australian Shepherd Dog (most definitely not fully purebred).

Gender
Intact female

Sexuality
Bisexual

Appearance
The most notable aspect that many get drawn to about her are her eyes. One clear amber and the other striking blue are something that some come to remember about her well. For better or worse. The sides of her face is covered in solid dark brown, one more than the other. The dark brown is divided by a line of white that reaches the top of her head and comes down to the end of her snout and continues far below her neck and belly. The rest of her body is covered in mottled chaos of dark brown blotches and lighter, nearly lilac, solid color underneath them. Her tangled up fur and batches of matte that adorn her back make her look even messier than she actually is. It's clear from the condition her fur is that she is not one to enjoy the luxury of taking care of her pelt aside from the falling rain that she sometimes gets washed under.

Under the fluffy mess of a fur hides a lithe body of a dog who is always on the verge of malnutrition. Though she is rather lean for her condition there is still little room for extra fat to cling to her frame. Whenever she stretches it's not hard to see the poking ribs under the pelt. Her body ends to a small pointy tail that most of the time lives in hiding under her fluffy rump "pants". Not many even come to notice that she even has a tail in the first place. The pigment of her nose and paw pads are dark brown with a few small pink spots here and there.

Ailment(s)
Scars
» Many faded scars paint a vivid image of a rough life under the mottled pelt. Most of them being from skirmishes with other wild dogs and strays, but few can be attributed to human malice as well.

Tangles and matte
» The once fluffy fur of hers is tangled beyond belief and even matte has started to cover some parts of her body where she cannot reach to clean by herself. Even though its not particularly hindering to her movement the matted patches tend to be very painful for her if she stretches too much. Only thing she can be glad about is the fact that no insects have decided to take residence in her fur. Yet.

Personality
Resilient
Courageous
Resourceful
Alert
Competitive
Freespirited
Disobedient
Cautious
Resentful
Immoral


Skills
Reactive
» The hard life of a wild dog leaves not much room for error and so one must be nimble in mind and body to survive. For Critter she was lucky enough to talent in both. Though she is not relatively smarter than the average fellow the time living in the wild has made her brain wired for action. In matter of seconds she can go from laying completely still to racing to escape for her life before even she has the time to fully realize what is going on. A very valuable skill when escaping from predators. Human or otherwise. Though this skill may bring mayhem in its wake if a given situation ends up being not what it looks like.

Survivalist
» From the day she was born Critter has known nothing but the cruel fact of survival and what is needed to upkeep that. Only bad opportunities are those not taken. That is something her own mother taught her early on. From hoarding all the food she can to making sure that she has many places to hide. Critter is very adamant about keeping herself, and her brother, alive. But with securing something as precious as life itself also come times when one has to make decisions that may need to cross more than one moral line. And that is also something Critter has learned to accept as part of life. "Rather them than me", would be a fitting motto for her.

Stalking
» From the days she was a mere pup was Critter taught to catch small prey from mice to moles to rats. Over time this taught the young dog how to stay still and move quietly without startling her quicker prey away. However, with the newfound skills of stalking small prey the youngster also caught talent to not only stalk prey, but for also stalking other dogs. To her there is nothing more exciting than creeping around in the shadows of others. Just close enough that they might feel her eyes on their back, but far enough away that they won't let what they think is their imagination to make them feel too uneasy.

History
TLDR;
- Was born into a feral community of dogs
- Early puphood was rather pleasant
- Food shortage caused stir in the community
- After a scare of civil war the community appointed their first leader
- The leader made the community to work together by setting up hunting parties
- Things were going well enough until the hunters got their teeth into local sheep
- The sheep farmer got hold of the dogs location and made a complaint
- Animal rescuers came to the farm to round up as many dogs as they could
- Critter and her brother managed to escape and fled to the city
- They were able to survive by themselves for a while, but Critter's brother started to suffer from a newly arosen "falling disease" (epilepsy)
- Critter had to resort to join a few other dogs in stealing from the local fishermen to be able to feed herself and her sick brother

Critter was born into a community of feral dogs who occupied a abandoned farm far away from the city. The previous owner had been an elderly woman who had wanted to upkeep a breed specific rescue for Australian shepherds, but ended up hoarding the dogs instead. The dogs under her care started to breed among themselves after she was unable to keep males and females separated. This resulted in more and more dogs being under her care until she just couldn't cope with all the dogs inside her house and she let them all out. From there on the dogs lived on their own outside the house. The lady did her best to feed the dogs at least once a day for a few generations, but one day she didn't come out anymore. The dogs had been very worried about the lady every passing day they went hungry. It was until one of the was able to make their way inside the house and find the woman's deceased body on the kitchen floor that the situation dawned for all off them. From there on the dogs had to live on their own without any human help and even though the group had been very close knit community it soon became a very violent community where only the strongest got what they wanted and more.

Even though Critter was born to such a difficult place her early puphood had been very pleasant. In the community it was a known rule that no matter what puppies are not dragged in the problems of adults. This rule ensured that all pups got to live their lives at least a little bit easier as many adults took pity on them. But also, strong youth means a stronger community. Critter didn't yet in that time have a name as names were something that no one had in the community. It was a strongly held belief that it was better for everyone that no one had names to make death much more easier fact to swallow. For the life of a feral dog was indeed cruel and full of terrors.

As soon as she learned to sprint her mother made use of her quicker feet to catch the mice and rats of the barn. Critter didn't mind one bit as to her it was a fun game to play with her mother. Sadly Critters mother had been born as double merle and so both of her eyes were underdeveloped to the point of blindness. Survival was harsher very harsh for her, but with her sharper hearing and her daughters quick feet they made it work. And for their luck they weren't alone. From a previous litter of her mother Critter had a half-brother. Unlike his other siblings who ran off the moment they could to join more stronger groups in the community he (the brother) had decided to stay with her mother and help her with every way he could. This now came to include his new little sister. For a good while the three of them lived malnourished, but content lives in the community. But like nearly everyones life the magic of childhood would be cruelly broken. One way or another.

When the community kepts growing and more and more dogs were born the rising demand for food was getting higer. So high that no longer could mere small critters and rabbits of the fields satisfyi it. This made many fights break out between opposing families as everyone started to turn on one another. It was until nearly a civil war dawned upon the community that a leader was chosen. And she was a strong one. She was the biggest female in the community and she meant business. From the moment she had control of the community she wasted no time to set up rules to be followed and pecking order to be respected. Even though the change had been sudden for the loose community many had high hopes for the future. Even Critter's mother was hopeful that she would finally have a change to prove her worth to the community as more than a walking incubator.

The new leader made sure to make the community work together by forming day round hunting parties. This drastically lowered the rates of famine that the community suffered from as the hunters were able to come back with much more prey than if they had gone by themselves. And things were seemingly going pretty well. Until the day the hunting started to target a local farmer's sheep. Most of the dogs had never seen sheep in their lives so they had no idea what would come from hunting the woolly animals. Even the leader was clueless to the looming danger as she sent more and more hunting parties to the sheep farm. A few hunters ended up getting shot by the farm man, but this only made the community more determined to take what they thought was theirs to take. When the sheep had been reduced from a strong flock to half of its size did the farm man finally contact the authorities.

It had been a sunny hot day and the community was gathered all around the backyard of the farm house. They had just feasted on a huge sheep so everyone had been feeling sluggish. Except the youth of course who were splashing around in a small decorative pond. Critter included. This why it came with a complete surprise when the humans suddenly stepped behind the house with their nets and collar sticks. Not many had known how to respond until one of the humans struck and took one of the dogs into a huge net with only a single swipe. Everything turned into chaos then. While the other pups managed to sprint away to safety Critter was swiftly grabbed from her foot and the back of her neck by a strong holding hand. And no matter how she kicked, bit, or screamed for her life the grip the hand held did not loosen. It was until Critter's brother bit hard on the mans leg did the human throw her of its hand to the grass below. Before she even managed to fully get back into her senses did her brother scoop her up by her neck ruff and took of as fast as he could.

The two had decided not to return after her brother told her that mother had been captured. The two youngsters had no idea where to go so all they could do was walk in the ditch beside the thundering road. It took them a few days, but they managed to find themselves in the city. Neither of them had never seen anything like it before so it would take another week or so before either of them had the guts to go even near the houses. Over time as they wandered more and more into the city they started to adapt. The skills they had gained living off the land had proven effective even in the city environment. But unlike Critter who was more than happy to live by their own means her brother came to become curious about the life other dogs held inside the city. He even managed to chat with a few of them to learn more and became only more curious as time went on. This caused some light stir between the sibling and their differing points of view. Critter wanted nothing to do with any strangers and to keep things just as they were her brother started to cling more to the city way of life. He even far enough to give himself a name. Roach. Critter was mortified even of the idea, but after a long while and joking threats of joining the local pack Roach was able to convince his little sister to name herself as well. "It would help us to blend in", was what he said. And after thinking an uncomfortably long while she finally decided on the name "Critter". After the things her mother liked eating most. Her brother found this very amusing and would make Critter regret on her name choise with all his jokes about it.

Critter and Roach were able to make their final residence inside an empty cellar that could be accessed from a small broken window inside an alley. To their new home they were able to find a few rags and a few thrown away pillows to sleep on. It surely was much different than what either of them had at the community. No fresh grass to run on. Soft hay to lay on. Or a protecting mother to lay against when the darkness of night was too much. All that had been replaced was the sound of cars passing by, stinky sewers, and lunging dogs. Even the rats in the city tasted different than at the country. Contaminated. But they both had to adapt if they wished to live. There was little choise in the matter.

Critter is not sure when it started, but Roach started to suddenly suffer from something neither of them had ever seen before. One moment he was fine and dandy until suddenly he would fall to the ground his body violently shaking and trashing all over the place. Sometimes white foam would start ti gather around his lips. What made it all more scary was how it could happen anywhere at anytime. It became impossible for them to hunt together any ever after Roach nearly got hit by a car because of his "falling sickness". Now only thing he could do was spend all his time at their secret den while his disease was only getting worse and more frequent. From mere weeks the attacks went from once a week to at least once a day. And it only getting worse. Howver, what Critter hated the most how helpless she was was in the situation. There was so little she could do to make him feel better. Every new attack she would send a wish to let it be the last of them. Thus far all her wishes had not borne fruit. And time is running out.

Because of his condition Roach could no longer help Critter with hunting so it all fell on her shoulders. And it was anything but easy. Critter's hunts started to fail much more often than she would have liked to. This meant that they both had to go sleep on empty stomachs. Not something that neither of them were unfamiliar with, but still not pleasant reminder of their reality. Many times Critter tried insisting to her brother that if she was able to steal just some food from the humans it would make things much easier for them. But Roach shot all her ideas down until there was no other choice for her but to keep failing and watching her brother go hungry. And that would have been the path she would have continued until they both withered away from hunger if it hadn't been for pure luck that she stumbled upon the docks. She saw more fish than she could have imagined ever needing. Right in front of her eyes! But there was just a small problem in her way. The humans. Going alone she would have definitely gotten caught sooner than later. She couldn't risk that happening. So with that in her mind and luck under her sleeve she sought out the company of other dogs with the shared goal as her. She didn't like working with strangers let alone putting her life in their paws. But she had to make herself endure. If not for no one else but her brother.

Roleplay Sample
The town had been over come with looming dark clouds. The unusually bad weather hadn't let go its grip and so it had come to rain again. The rain was light, but the humans were much more prepared this time. Most of the already shuffling with their umbrellas or covering their heads with the hoods of their jacket. Hurrying their pace to get out of the rain before giving it the change to worse.

The low rumble of thunder reached the ears Critter's ears but she brushed it of with a quick flick of her ear. Her attention had taken something far more important. Her mottled body was hunched over in a stalking position. Ready to bounce any second. Her round eyes had only one a one target. Target who sat at the opposite side of a very busy street. The way it cleaned its naked tail with its hand like paws. It acted like she hadn't just chased her mere minutes ago and that made Critter feel insulted. Suddenly a red car speeded just right past her, splashing dirty water in every direction in its wake. This made the shepherd jolt to her feet and jump out of the dirty shower just in time. Though her front paws did get splashed some. As she was shaking her paws from the dirty water she suddenly could hear a slowly growing growling near her.

Like a trained cat she whipped herself to face the opposer. Lowering her position to either fight or bolt. But what she had against her made her feel more uneasy than usually. Across her stood what looked like a staffordshire terrier. His ears had been cut and tail docked, but something in his eyes made reading body language not necessary. Though she couldn't really put why. His eyes were small and dark. If Critter had been any closer she could have seen her own reflection from them. A chain collar stood against his dark fur, but what made Critter's heart drop was the loose leash that rested against the grey pavement. Behind him a drunken man tried to reach for his end off the leash. Before the man managed to grab the leash back the male suddenly took a step forward with a menacing growl. It was the cue for Critter's mind to reach, but not in the way the dog probably hoped.

With a swift jolt she lunged forward and gave the stranger a quick nip to his cheek before dodging from the side behind him. The nip was planned as a distraction for the tough dog so she could bolt away before he would have the change to make a counter attack. And against a dog that had no experience in fighting it would have worked, but not against this one. Before she was even able to get her footing straight after making her dodge the male had already turned around to face her. Greeting her with a sharp row of teeth ready to rip and tear her face off. Just as Critter saw the maw closing in on her face she felt an impact on her side that sent her flying right into the street. She had no time to get back on her feet before she had to already make a roll to her side to dodge a incoming car. She could feel the bottom of the car brush against her back and the light breeze the tires left brush against her cheeks. The next car stopped promptly in its tracks. Critter didn't waste her time with the opportunity and jumped of the street. Nearly tripping herself over the curb. Looking back at the other side she could see the drunken man holding the leash of the terrier. The man seemed mad as he kept waving his hand at the dog and screaming something while the dog covered in fear the ground. This made Critter let out a small chuckle, but the sharp pain on her side made her not want to linger much longer. With a huff she pulled herself of the ground and took off into one of the valleys close by to disappear into. Hunting would have to wait for today.</sub>