Username: Sun Bear
Name: Dante
Gender: Male
9 personality words: Level-headed |Independent | Astute | Impulsive | Proud |Blunt | Confident | Stoic | Stubborn
Scars:Dante has many scars, but many of them simply disappeared over time. The more substantial ones have failed to heal and so remain.
His front right leg. These are wire cuts. Although barely visible at first glance, the uneven surface and ashen lines on the skin are a dead giveaway of their existence. These scars were initially very deep, but are expected to fade with time.
His back right leg.These are the result of severe rope burn and significant wire cuts. As well as the main cuts, his thigh and the majority of his leg is dappled with dark, rough and wrinkly skin from where the rope and wire rubbed against his leg. As Dante puts it, he was "
literally rubbed raw"; the the rubbing of the rope removed not only skin but the majority of his fur in this area. Although the fur is growing back in small scraggly tufts around his scars, his skin is still not fully recovered, even after almost 10 years. The scars on his thighs are visible all of the time, however fur covers the lower marks. These scars will never completely heal and Dante accepts that they are permanent.
A long, broken scar which starts near his left shoulder and travels down his chest and under his front left leg.Another wire cut, this scar is covered by fur in most places and is beginning to fade, making it light in colour. However, this scar significantly protrudes out from the rest of his skin and will likely stay like that forever, even when the skins returns to its natural complexion.
*Just to clarify, when I say right or left it means looking straight at him from above, not from the front c: Just thought I would clarify what I'm talking about so my art makes sense!*
Art:
Story:I was only 10 when it happened.
As a child, there was something that I desired above everything else. Being able to go hunting with Father.
I would beg and whine, but my father was diligent. “You could get hurt, Dante” he would say, a sly smile on his lips as he directed my attention to his marred face. Father was an excellent hunter and an even better athlete, but not even he could match up to the power and ferocity of a grizzly bear.
I admired Father. He was convinced that I just wanted to go hunting with him. Like father like son, as they say. But I was determined to do as father had done and face the mighty grizzly.
The day that Father finally gave in and agreed to take me out with him was an early autumn morning. I remember it as if it were yesterday.
The small yard surrounding our burrow was carpeted by a layer of orange. “We are hunting pigs today, Dante. And remember, only the males” Father said sternly as we entered the forest. “The ones with tusks” I replied knowingly, drawing on what father taught me.
Father carried his stunning leather quiver with three arrows that morning, significantly less than what he usually took. “Father, why have you only bought three arrows? Will we not be hunting anything?” I was upset at the thought of Father simply bringing me into the forest to humor me.
He didn't even look at me as we continued walking. “We are using traps today, Dante. They are much safer to use, especially with you here”. I furrowed my brow. Father obviously wasn't going to let me hunt. I was simply his
audience.
It seemed like no time had passed before Father had set up the last of our traps. “Now we head home and-“ His ears pricked and a look of fear flashed across his features. I listened and was rewarded with the satisfying roar of a grizzly bear. “We must go Dante, now.”
Father made a life changing mistake at that moment. As he turned his back, leaving the spare trap supplies at his feet, he presented me with the opportunity I needed.
Without a second thought I grabbed the supplies, shoving them into my pouch as I quietly dashed into the forest. Behind me I could hear father’s worried calls, but I ignored them. I had a grizzly to catch.
I copied Father’s trap as best I could. Tying the final rope to a tree, I inspected my handiwork. I was proud of this, and father would be too. When the grizzly came walking this way it would step into my loop and be flung into the air, suspended by this branch until someone let him down.
At that moment the ground shattering roar of the mighty grizzly bear echoed through the forest. I looked over my shoulder to see the huge beast, bellowing towards me at lightning speed. I yelped in shock and stepped back, but realising my mistake too late. Pain rippled through my back leg as I was flung into the air, the sharp wire wrapping around my front leg as gravity pulled me back down. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the bear, growling at me. I hung upside down and tangled in knots like a freshly smoked ham.
I cried out in fear and pain, the tears rushing down my face. “Dante!” My father cried out from behind me. “Dante, I will be back for you! ” He called calmly. The bear roared and thundered off into the forest. “Father, the bear has gone!” I cried out, but then it dawned on me. Father had led the bear away.
Dusk was setting in when I was found. Mother had assembled a search party. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. My back right leg was almost stripped of all fur, and the skin was red and tender. My front left leg held deep gashes. Mother patched me up, and put me to bed that night. I woke the next morning in pain. But what hurt me most were not the scars my body bore, but the leather quiver and arrows sitting on the end of my bed. Father never returned.
When I look at my scars I am reminded about what a naive and stupid idea cost me. Do I regret such decisions? I don’t know. Would I have been different if I had done things differently? Definitely.
This one is supposed to show him right after his incident, hence the number of cuts/scars.
All art and story by me c:
