Makoatl name: Shanika, meaning "young one from the wilderness" in African.
Makoatl gender: Female.
Makoatl age: Five (5) years.
EPS: As cute as I think she is right now, I'd like her to grow up, so no.
Best Adventure she's had: Shanika's best adventure occurred when she was much younger than this - around two years old. Her mother, sadly enough, had disappeared one night, so Shanika went to look for her. She searched for hours on end, which soon turned into days. She occasionally got food and shelter from pitiful adult Makoatls that felt bad for the poor pup, but was quickly losing hope. On the fifth day of her journey to find her mother, Shanika's legs were weak from walking so much. She was restless and exhausted, but did not want to sleep until she found her mother. So onward she went, continuing her adventure until finally, only hours into the day, she collapsed from exhaustion. Shanika whimpered pitifully, trying to stand, but finding that her legs hurt too much to continue on. She thought that it was the end of the road for her; that she was going to die. Shanika closed her eyes, fully giving in to defeat, when suddenly...
"Who're you?"
The voice was gruff, and had a slightly confused hint in it. Shanika looked up weakly to see an older Makoatl standing above her. His fur was littered with scars, and his left eye was blinded by three scratch marks. She took note that his back right leg was limp, and had a large bite mark on the back.
The male quirked a brow at her and leaned down, sniffing at the young pup. "Weak little thing," he grumbled sourly, glaring down at her.
Shanika whined sadly. She didn't like the tone of the older Makoatl's voice, and frankly, she was quite scared of him. Was he going to hurt her?
Her question seemed to be answered when the male leaned down and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, turning and padding away. Shanika panicked almost immediately, squirming and wriggling weakly in his grasp, but to no avail. The male growled, silencing her cries right away. She looked up at the older Makoatl, tiny tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. He seemed not to notice, and instead carried her along until they reached a small cave, a little ways away from the shoreline of the ocean. Once they were inside, the male dropped her down gently onto the hard, rocky floor, and walked towards the maw of the cave, peering outside.
Shanika shook her head and hesitantly padded over to the older Mako, her legs feeling a bit stronger from the rest she'd had while being carried. "Uh, M-Mister...?" she said meekly, flinching when his head whipped around to stare at her. "W-where am I?"
The older Mako was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Home, I guess," he started. "Can't resist a pup down on their luck. You are homeless, right?" He narrowed his eyes at her and she winced again.
"Y-yes, sir..."
---
From that moment on, Shanika had found a new home with the older Makoatl. And she admits that it was the best decision she'd ever made.
500 words exactly. One cute animal picture:
An abandoned cheetah cub meets his lifelong companion.