Mako Name;; Claude. It is unknown whether or not he has a full name.
Aliases;; Claude has many other names; some of which being Monster, Beast, Damned One, etc. You can call him anything and he'll respond with no hesitation; you'd just have to make it clear that you're talking to him.
Mako Gender;; Biologically defined as male, though he identifies as genderfluid. Prefers male pronouns, though.
History;; If there's one thing to be known about Claude, it's that he hates surprises.
No one knew if it was in his family's bloodlines or not; both of his biological parents strongly detested little shocks, too. But that didn't stop life from repeatedly throwing sudden instances, one after another, at him.
The young Makoatl awoke one day, a regular, Friday morning. He scowled at the calendar; oh, how he loathed Fridays... He'd much rather prefer a lazy Sunday over an overrated Friday. Nonetheless, he arose out of bed and stretched out his back, arms way above his head. He looked into the mirror, and saw nothing out of the ordinary about his appearance; a darkly-colored Makoatl with long, darker hair and bright yellow eyes. Not yellow like a traffic light telling you to slow down; more like the yellow of a cobra's eyes, ready to strike at you.
Claude lazily got dressed in his usual attire - a white dress shirt, red tie, and black trousers - and went downstairs, the scent of pancakes and bacon hitting his nostrils almost immediately. He glanced over to the kitchen to see his foster mother, Clarissa, working away to prepare breakfast. Ah, yes, Clarissa... Claude had always admired the single woman; the way she never let anything get to her, how strong she was emotionally... Unless, that is, she was around him. Whenever Claude came into the picture, Clarissa turned into a fearful, stuttering mess. And why shouldn't she? The young boy was surprisingly intimidating, for a nine-year-old.
Claude pulled out a chair at the table, the legs scraping with a screech across the linoleum floor. Clarissa, unaware of her foster son's presence, yelped a bit and jumped slightly when she heard the noise, whirling around to see Claude watching her with a bemused smirk. She immediately settled down and placed a hand over her heart, laughing quietly. "Oh, it's just you, Claudie," she chuckled softly. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Claude gave an irked expression in response to the nickname Clarissa had given him, sitting down in the chair and narrowing his eyes. Claudie... He didn't like the name. Not one bit. It made him sound like a pet. He didn't like it.
Clarissa cleared her throat awkwardly, noticing how Claude was avoiding her gaze and trying to figure out a way to right her wrong. So she picked up a plate and walked over to her foster son, placing it down in front of him. "Here you go, dear," she smiled lightly. "Made exactly to order."
Claude looked down at the food, tilting his head slightly and picking up his fork. He mumbled a quiet "Thank you" to Clarissa and began to eat, completely aware of Clarissa's nervousness.
---
It was now Tuesday, and Claude sighed, lying on his bed in sheer boredom. His tail swished back and forth lazily, and his golden gaze was plastered to the ceiling. There was simply nothing to
do. It was dreadfully atrocious, and he loathed every second of it.
Finally, being able to withstand the boredom no longer, Claude stood and walked out of his room, down the hall, and straight into Clarissa's room. He saw the young woman sleeping on her bed. She looked so peaceful...
Too bad it wasn't going to last.
A quick thump on her bedside table and Clarissa was up with a shriek, clutching her chest as she breathed heavily, watching the young boy with terror-filled eyes. "O-oh, Claude, i-it's just... What are you..."
Claude sat on the edge of the bed, watching her coldly. The stare-down lasted for a few minutes, as Clarissa wondered what was going on inside her foster son's head. He could be awfully scary when he wanted to be... She was ashamed to admit, but she was completely terrified of the younger Mako.
"I want to go on a walk," Claude suddenly demanded. "Take me out to the forest."
Clarissa blinked slowly and stared at the younger Mako, slightly confused. "A-are you sure about that, Claude?" she asked quietly, looking past him for a moment to gaze outside her window. "It looks like it'll storm soon... I don't want you to catch a-"
"I want to go on a walk," Claude repeated, his yellow eyes narrowing dangerously. "Take me out to the forest...
Now."
Clarissa didn't hesitate.
---
The odd couple walked down the dirt road in silence. Claude stared on straight ahead while Clarissa watched her foster son nervously, wondering when he was going to lash out next. Hopefully, it wouldn't be soon...
Claude glanced over to the right, seeing nothing but trees and brush concealing secrets. Secrets that he wanted to know. So, without warning, the young Mako turned sharply and pushed past the bushes, finding that the bush's roots had been completely torn out of the ground. The bush tumbled with ease out of his way, and Claude gave a smirk as he turned back to Clarissa, who was watching him curiously. "I found another path," he called quietly, chuckling. "Come with me."
And with that, he disappeared down the hidden road.
Clarissa followed quickly, soon catching up to her foster son and glancing around warily. She didn't trust this path... It almost seemed as if something was leading them there.
Something dangerous.
She thought to tell Claude of her instinct, but fought against it almost immediately. She knew the boy would get mad, and she did not want that. Not at all. Besides, Claude was scary enough... If anything
did decide to come at them, he would surely drive them away.
Claude suddenly rushed ahead and pushed some branches out of the way, a smile widening on his face at the sight he had just revealed. "Clarissa, come quick!"
Clarissa hurried over to the boy's side somewhat reluctantly and gazed past him, covering her mouth with her hand in awe. Just a few feet away from them was a lake, with crystal-clear water that seemed to glow in the heavy shade of the trees. Fish swam beneath the current, and life seemed plentiful.
Claude, without hesitation, walked slowly into the clearing, Clarissa watching hesitantly. Her maternal instinct told her to stop him, but her ever-growing fear of the boy told her to leave him be. He'd be fine. Nothing would hurt him here. He'd be fine.
Claude looked back to Clarissa, smiling lightly, genuinely. This wasn't a smirk; it was a genuine, happy smile.
Clarissa was taken aback by her foster son's happiness, and smiled back, stepping out of the brush and into the clearing. She glanced around cautiously, as if trying to search for some sort of evil in the place. But she found nothing, nothing that would hurt them. They were completely safe here. Nothing could hurt them. Nothing.
Claude bounded over to the water and peered in, smiling at the sight of the fish. "Clarissa! There's trout!" he called back ecstatically, looking back at her. She smiled back and nodded, sitting down near a tree and resting in the cool shaded area. Finally... A place she could relax. Nothing here could hurt them. Nothing. They were safe here.
Safe... Clarissa had not felt safe anywhere in a while, what with her foster son always hovering over her. It was as if
he was watching over
her instead of it being the other way around. But now, he was normal... Or, at least, he acted like it. Somehow, this felt right to her. It felt as everything was finally falling into place...
Yet somehow, something felt off.
---
Claude dipped his feet into the water, looking back to see Clarissa napping under the shady trees. He smiled lightly - he'd not felt this happy since he was young! - and went back to observing the water. A trout brushed past his foot, and he squealed excitedly at the feel of it against his fur. He wanted to go swimming, but something was holding him back. Something; he didn't know what it was, but that something was telling him to get away from the clearing, to take Clarissa and go as far away as possible.
He didn't swim, but he didn't listen to the something either.
Claude watched the fish bemusedly, smiling childishly before he heard a splash coming from the other side of the lake. Immediately his head lashed up, golden eyes scanning the area for any sign of danger.
He saw nothing.
He was about to shrug it off when he saw something dark and ominous below the water's surface, swimming towards him quickly. He gasped and pulled his feet out of the water just as the thing poked its head out of the water, watching him with familiar yellow eyes.
Claude wanted to scream. He wanted to scream, scream as loud as he could, and bolt for the clearing. But he felt as if he needed to stay; that this thing wouldn't hurt him. He gazed at it for a moment before realizing that it was, in fact, another Makoatl. This one, too, was darkly colored, and had yellow eyes, but it also had long, green hair; something he did not possess.
Claude blinked at the Makoatl. It blinked at him. He tilted his head at it; it tilted its head at him. Deeming it safe, Claude hugged his knees and asked quietly, "Who are you?"
The Makoatl rose further out of the water, leaning against the land and resting its arms on shore. It watched him bemusedly before extending a hand towards him, a small smile on its face. "My name is Siren," it all but purred, watching him still. "And you're Claude, right? A little birdy told me about you..."
Claude blinked once more, tilting his head again. "A birdy?" he murmured questioningly. "But I haven't seen any birds..."
"Siren" laughed and extended a hand towards Claude again. Noticing the confusion on the boy's face, it smiled and said, "It's impolite to introduce yourself and not shake hands, you know."
Claude, not wanting to seem rude, nodded quickly and extended a hand towards Siren.
Siren grabbed his wrist.
In mere seconds, Siren's kind face changed; transformed, like a werewolf would on a full moon. Its pupils went from cheery circles to dangerous slits, and its teeth changed into fangs - sharp, jagged fangs, which protruded from its mouth terrifyingly. Claude gasped, whimpering slightly as Siren spoke, voice now raspy and low.
"Oh yes, very impolite, little boy, heh... You've been very bad... You must be punished..."
---
The first thing Clarissa heard was her foster son's startled scream.
Her eyes shot open and she jumped up, glancing every which way before she saw him fall into the lake. With a distressed cry, Clarissa rushed for the water, diving in after him.
A few seconds passed by before the young woman resurfaced from the water, choking slightly. She'd seen no signs of Claude when she had gone under. Diving back down, the cycle repeated a few times before Clarissa came to a startling conclusion:
Her foster son was gone.
---
The authorities had the lake condemned after the frantic woman came bursting into their office in a state of hysteria, screaming that her foster son was gone. A search went on for two years before the case was closed. Clarissa Moore was arrested with charges of child negligence, and sentenced to five years in the federal state penitentiary. She was never allowed to foster for children ever again, and, four years after her release, overdosed on sleeping pills and died.
However, mischievous teenagers oftentimes broke into the clearing at night, anxious for adventure. Strangely enough, those who went in there usually didn't come back out, and those who did were hysterical, screaming that something had dragged their friends into the lake. One case held a frightening possibility; a teenage girl had reported that she and her friends had gone off to the lake secretly. They stayed out of the water, well aware of the rumors, and heard a voice coming from the lake. They had turned to see a Makoatl, perhaps around the age of twenty, leaning against the shore and smiling kindly at them. He introduced himself, and offered to allow the kids to go swimming in the lake. The girl had refused, but her friends happily accepted, diving into the lake.
It was horrifying, she said. One by one, the older Mako dragged them down to the bottom of the lake, where they'd never be seen again. When asked as to what the Mako had said his name was, the girl burst into tears and choked out a simple name.
"Claude."
Art;; headshot by me
Username;; CyrCryKun
About Me;; Hello, Sixbane, and whoever else might be reading this! I am CyrCryKun, but please, call me Cyril. I own three lovely Makoatls, and am hoping to add this boy to the family.
Why I Want Him;; I've always been a fan of mythology, regardless of where it's from. Kelpies are among my top favorite mythological villainous creatures, as I have always admired the thought of a literal sea horse. When I found this boy, I was overcome with delight. He looks exactly how I'd want a custom Makoatl to look, and is based off of one of my favorite mythological creatures.
However, that is not the only reason I want Claude. You see, I've been looking for another male Mako that is eligible to breed for one simple reason. I'm planning on pairing my two Makoatls,
Maverick and
Nandalia together, but I need conflict for their story. So, that's where Claude would come in. He'd be a possible love interest for Nandalia, and would most likely be the bane of Maverick's existence. The rivalry between these two is too comedic to pass up, so that's one reason I want him.
Another reason I'd love to own Claude is because I want to become more active in the Mako Community. With my only Makos being paired together or unable to breed, I've not really been able to RP much with any of my Makos. With that being said, if I were to win Claude, then he would be a beloved RPing Mako. I'd be sure to love him lots, and he would not be left in the dust.
Use;; Of course, as stated before, if I were to win Claude, he would be used frequently in RP's. He'd also be drawn and written as, and there's no doubt that I would probably end up using him in either a comic or animated music video, if not a picture music video. He'd be a beloved character, and I would cherish him always. However, if you find someone who you believe is a better owner for him than I, then by all means, choose them. I wouldn't want Claude if I knew that I'd won him when someone else could have loved him more.
Good luck to my fellow competitors!