I would like to adopt!
Number: 24
Picture:
Name: Bane (known previously as The Mask of Death in the language of his human village)
Species: Jungle Smili
Poisonous smilis were once thought to be their own subspecies, but recent research has shown that they are only a rare variation of the jungle species. While highly effective as both a hunting and defense mechanism, the infant survival rate of poisonous smili is incredibly low. This is mostly owed to a lack of immunity in cubs, and unless the body learns to cope almost immediately the cub will not live to see it's first birthday.
Personality: Bane once believed himself to be a god, and thought that it was his duty to protect the village in return for shelter and food. He often became too wrapped up in these fantasies, believing that death would come to traitors and that he alone held the fate of the village with his emotions. He considered himself superior to the humans and called them a pathetic race. There was only one human that he truly cared about, and he was his servant.
Even now his arrogance prevails. Most smilis know to stay far out of his way, or take the chance of being bitten. Being used to having others do his work for him, he does not take kindly to being ordered around.
Likes: Bane likes to be lazy and having others tend to him, doing simple tasks with little thinking involved, and when others are afraid of him. He lives off of others paying attention to him, whether the attention is good or bad.
Dislikes: Doing work for himself, questions he can't answer, traitors, and humans. All are things that trouble him, and often even small cases can be a major annoyance to him.
Background (Optional, but it gives you a better shot. 2500 words maximum, 100 words minimum. We value quality over quantity, you can have five pages and still say absolutely nothing.)
The human boy approached my cage and bowed, saying, “Mask, open your eyes,” in his strange, primitive tongue.
I rose to my feet slowly, nodding for the human to stand. He did so in a clumsy, awkward fashion, dropping my food in the process. I bared my fangs slightly, showing my disapproval. He fell instantly to his knees and begged for his forgiveness. Such cowardice he showed, but a well justified reason. I was, after all, The Mask of Death, his most feared and respected master. All who disobeyed would succumb to my poison.
His antics were rather amusing, and the servant appeared to be new, so I decided to spare his life for the moment. It was hardly worth the effort to kill a food bearer over a few spilled chunks of meat. He would soon return again with another offering. If not, then death would come upon his family. These creatures seem to place such value on such things. The life of others was somehow so much more important than their own. Foolish animals.
I didn't believe I had a “family,” or whatever the word they used for it. I had little need for such a trivial idea. I was born of the great volcano, they told me. I was the embodiment of the god of death and chaos, sent to them to make sure his wishes were fulfilled. They were to make sacrifices to me, and in return I granted them protection from disaster. If they failed in their simple task then the shield would be broken, and destruction would come upon the village. The village was in my paws. I alone held the fate of it's members, and I had no siblings or true parents to help me do so.
The boy returned to me hurriedly, a newly prepared bowl of food in his hands. I showed my approval graciously, perhaps portraying too much emotion. I covered it up quickly. This child was only to see me as the god I was, not some kind of starved and desperate animal. A god was not to fall so low as to portray the emotions of the poor. I snarled in disgust at myself. The boy ran off, confusing my anger with myself for personal failure. Oh well, anything to make him work harder.
As I finished my meal I looked about the camp. They all scrambled about, preparing for the night's sleep. Another servant tossed in fresh bedding for me to sleep upon, and so I too joined them in their slumber. Despite my captivity, I found myself to be remarkably happy. Perhaps a little on the heavier side, as my surroundings provided little opportunity for exercise, but I had everything I needed. As long as they continued to care for me in this way I believed they'd be in good fortune.
The next morning I awoke to see a crowd gathering just a short ways off from my cage. I stared at them intently for a few minutes, trying to work out their reasoning for being there. Why were they not bowing? Did they really not know to bow in the presence of a god? I couldn't just let them get away without warning. Perhaps I could've just wished them dead right then, but what lesson could they learn from that? Instead I roared at them. Conversation briefly paused, but the roar had done nothing.
I looked around in confusion. They had to be afraid. I was the Mask of Death, I could kill them with just a single venomous bite. What fools would not be afraid of me? Surely they would perish, surely the gods would get their revenge. This cage was not to restrain me. I could destroy it with a swipe of my claws and break free. I could destroy the village myself, both it's structures and it's inhabitants. I remained in there only to uphold the deal they had made, the deal that they have broken.
Finally one noticed me, though his gaze was one of hatred rather than admiration. I returned his expression with a snarl. "Kill the animal. It has done nothing for us. We feed it, yet gives us drought!" Again I found myself compared to an animal, no, called one by a once loyal servant. I knew nothing of the drought they spoke of. Until then I had no reason to resent them, there were no wrongs done against me, nothing worthy of punishment. Yet they were going to kill
me for this?
Another man approached, this time an elder. "He was sent here only to be sacrificed. The gods, they are angered by our reluctance to do so. Come, we must discuss this before death befalls us all!" And with that, they all left, leaving me to the darkness of my cage. I was a god then, now I was only a sacrifice. They'd chop off my head and bleed me like a pig, and no one would care. Maybe i would join the gods, but then there was no telling whether or not I even was one.
I could only sit in the corner of my cage and stare at the stars, for once feeling vulnerable, small and weak. I was one of them once, until the day the star fell to the earth. That's how the legend went. That's how they found me and brought me here. I was small and near death, found by the bottom of the volcano. I searched the sky, looking for that one blank spot, the place where my star once sat. It was nowhere to be seen. The sky had forgotten me, I was truly a being of earth now. Immortality meant nothing here, and neither did power.
They'd all pay in the end though. To kill a god was unthinkable. Even the smallest act of treason was punishable by death here. To even think of such a plan would mean exile, a slow and painful death by the elements. A whole village carrying out the act would certainly end in death for them all. The volcano that created me would also be the one to destroy them. It was my servant, and even in death I was confident it would hear me.
With that I curled up in the corner, sleeping peacefully as ever. Tomorrow's events would mean nothing, after all. No matter what the humans did, I was on top, and I would remain in that position. Tomorrow they would realize that I was not a savage animal, but the god that they once believed me to be. Victory would be sweet, even if I wouldn't be there to see it.
I was awoken by the same words as the past morning, and the servant bowed faithfully by my cage. The boy's loyalty amazed me. Someone must have ordered him to do so, perhaps because they didn't want me to starve before the execution. I had no followers anymore. Still, he looked up at me expectantly, waiting for permission to stand. No traitor would bother with bowing and submission. Maybe some people still had a bit of faith left in me. The fact that he had to die almost saddened me. It was the first time I ever felt any kind of sorrow for one of his kind.
He watched quietly as I ate my meal, glancing hungrily at the meat. "They wouldn't let me feed you. They said it was useless to waste their food on such an ungrateful beast." He mumbled, half to himself. "Idiots if you ask me. Just yesterday they were worshiping you. They only stopped when the hunting trip failed." I stared at him intently. Their last hunting trip was yesterday, when the boy had dropped my food bowl. I remembered only being angry for a moment, but maybe that was just enough. We had brought this upon ourselves.
"Father says I caused this. He saw me stumble, he said that I must have angered you. But I didn't, I didn't right?" I could only shake my head. There was no use now. "They refuse to blame it on themselves. They're too greedy, they killed everything before they could be born again. They had to blame it on someone, and I guess we're the easiest targets. And now you're going to die for it." He was sobbing now. Though he was trying to talk his words were inaudible.
He just sat there and cried at the foot of my cage, saying nothing at all. I could only rest my paw on my shoulder and do my best to try and comfort him. In truth, I was just as upset. He had done nothing wrong, but he was to suffer for the idiocy of his people. I wished that I could speak to him and tell him to not be afraid, but I couldn't. I just stayed there and waited, hoping for the crying to stop. I wanted this kid to be happy again, but it was impossible.
Suddenly he became silent, his body stiffening. I looked around the forest, noticing a large group, perhaps even the whole village, approaching. "Good luck, Mask." The boy whispered, stroking my fur. I nuzzled him gently before throwing myself at the cage bars and spitting at the humans. One of them came forward, a spear and some ropes in hand.
"You've betrayed us vile creature, now prepare to die." He growled. I smirked, sitting down in my cage. How horribly ignorant this man was to think he could win a battle with a god. If only I could tell him of the volcano. He would find out on his own soon enough. "Stupid animal. Why must one laugh at their own sacrifice?"
If only you knew. I thought back, my lips curling back into a huge cat-like smile. His face grew red with anger, "How dare you taunt me?!" With that he plunged the spear into my shoulder, laughing like a madman.
I stumbled backwards. A burning pain spread through my shoulder. I couldn't bear weight on it without falling over. Blood was covering the ground, my blood. I felt like a trapped animal, like the prey that they destroyed. Not even a god could escape this fate of falling to humans. I was weak, useless, and defenseless now. I was at the mercy of the human, and he was going to kill me. For once i was actually afraid. My confidence was gone, the idea of the volcano no longer brought me comfort. I just closed my eyes, waiting for the finishing blow to be dealt.
There was a scream, and the sound of something being hit. I didn't dare look, knowing very well what was happening and that I could've prevented it. The kid was crying again, softly, as if he didn't even have the strength. "Stupid kid. Getting himself killed over his little pet. it's too bad he died for nothing." He laughed, as if it was all just a joke to him. I stared at the body in shock. No, he couldn't have just done that. The kid had died for me, and he was laughing.
I couldn't let the man be right. I couldn't let that kid die for nothing. I roared, slamming myself at full force into the bars of the cage, tumbling out into the crowd. Everything became a blur of screaming and running as they fled. I let them all run, except for one. I had the killer pinned beneath my feet, begging desperately for forgiveness. I ignored him, sinking my teeth into his arm and sitting back. His body twitched and shook, his eyes darting about aimlessly, and then he became still again, paralyzed. I sat and listened as his breathing slowed, and his skin turned pale and gray.
The kid too was dead, lying only meters away. Carefully I dragged the body away, setting him on the bedding of my cage so he wouldn't have to rest so close to his killer. "Goodbye, my friend. I hope you find your place among the stars." And with that, I left the village behind forever.
Another creature approached me one day, claiming his name to be Night. He told me everything, of how my name was Bane, that he was my brother and how I was a smili. He told me the story of how sick I was when I was born, and how mom abandoned me because she couldn't bear to watch me die. He introduced me to the others too, a rough tribe of wild starved looking animals. They accepted me and helped to heal the wound in my shoulder.
I understood then what a cruel lie the villagers had told me then. I was no longer The Mask of Death, but Bane, the venom fanged smili.
A picture you drew:
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