
Name: Yaariyan (English: friendship)
Pen number: 7
Will you make any use of the Cryst?: Yes: I will use Ariyan as a character, and I will, of course, treasure him. Ariyan will be featured in stories and his personality and history will be developed thoroughly!
Personality: Yaariyan, otherwise known as Ariyan to his friends, is independent, a total prankster, and responsible. How is this possible, one asks? Ariyan is perfectly comfortable with going anywhere, sometimes even going far enough to sleep in different places! He is self-sufficient and can take care of himself as well as others. This is one of the reasons that Ariyan is such great friends with all the younger Crysts--he has taken care of all of them at least a couple times! He has always made sure to teach each cub and newborn something, from looking on the bright side of work to being careful with their claws. Unfortunately for the parents of those young Crysts, Ariyan also taught their children how to have fun. In most of them, he has invoked or stoked the fire of mischief, telling stories of the things he has done and sharing ideas of new pranks. Oftentimes, Ariyan learns something new as well! He is usually open to new ideas, given that they are feasible and fun. As all of his friends have found out, most of them with surprise, the joker is never irresponsible. He carefully makes sure that every young Cryst understands when pranks get out of hand and to never try to hide them in embarrassment. As such, Ariyan isn't the perfect role model in the eyes of older Crysts, but the younger ones love him!
History: Ariyan smiled at the young Crysts by his side, his expression partly bemused. He knew that they wanted to follow him, but who would have guessed that they were this loyal?!
"Stay back," he growled quietly, glancing around the woods again. A few of them grumbled, but they all knew him as a prankster and slight risk-taker. As Ariyan had learned early on, the cubs and newborns usually went by the code of "If Ariyan says stay back, you better stay back." It was pretty convenient, to say the least! As a result, every one of them stepped a claw or so back, ears pricked forward in anticipation. Ariyan chuckled as he noticed a few of the older ones swiping at the air with their claws, teeth bared in a mock growl. "Keep an eye out. Make sure none of them see you, okay? Humans are a nasty business." Most of the Crysts nodded, their expressions ranging from excited to an air of superiority.
Ariyan turned to face a small light in the northern side of the woods, padding forward cautiously. He smiled mischievously as he saw a small group of humans centered around a flickering fire, grin widening to see some of them shivering and looking around. He easily recognized the expression evident: the poor little humans were scared. Ariyan flicked his tail slightly, causing the leaves around it to gently rustle. The humans nearest to him stiffened, obviously hearing the sound. Ariyan bumped his head against a tree next, bottling up a chuckle as all the humans jumped. This might be easier than I thought, the Cryst mused.
He suddenly hit upon an inspiration. With a low growl (that also served to terrify the humans even more), he called the young cubs forward. Quietly, and speaking concisely and as simply as possible--Ariyan knew that simple plans were less likely to fail than complex ones--he outlined his idea. After the cubs had scampered (quietly) off to their positions, Ariyan gestured for the newborns to approach him. Since they were younger, and clumsier, Ariyan had given them a simple task: howling. He had witnessed firsthand their competitions on the sport, regularly scaring some poor squirrels or birds away. Now, their hobby would be put to use!
With a quick glance to make sure that every Cryst was ready, Ariyan gave another growl, this one sounding more fierce--and closer, to the alarm of the stricken humans. Suddenly, all around the flickering fire with the humans huddled around it, the sounds of rustling and trees shaking started. They grew more and more numerous, bringing to mind groups of large, lumbering animals. Then, causing one human to whimper and shield its eyes, quiet howls started up. Ariyan smiled as the howls grew stronger, realizing that courage of the young newborns, starting off small, must have grown at the reaction and excitement of the task. Every so often, the large Cryst added to the chaos with a well-placed, horror-inducing, growl. Some of the younger newborns even shivered!
Needless to say, the humans were way past terrified and now on to scared for their lives. Ariyan let a grin transform his face, enjoying the results of their prank. Humans were too gullible; gullible and dangerous, he reminded himself with a snort. They had powerful weapons, but they didn't know how to use them properly!
He shook himself impatiently, concentrating back on his pupils and the chaos they were causing. The cubs were spectacular with their interpretations of giant, scary monsters. The newborns just added to the effect with the howls, sounding like a pack of wolves. But, sadly, Ariyan realized that the older Crysts would be wondering where all the young'uns disappeared off to--not that they won't realize before long: most of the time a cub or newborn was missing, they first checked to see if Ariyan was missing too. If not, then the still asked him if he had any idea where the missing Cryst was. Ariyan smiled as he thought of the worried and exasperated expressions that would no doubt be appearing soon, reluctantly deciding that he should return the young ones back before their parents got too worried.
With a loud, sharp roar, Ariyan called back all the Crysts. The (poor) humans screamed, to a backdrop of pounding paws as the cubs and newborns gathered around Ariyan. "We have to go back," he told them. A few of them grumbled, but Ariyan saw that most were content with the day's fun and fine with going back.
"That was fun!" one of the younger cubs said excitedly. "Can we do it again someday?" Ariyan laughed, shrugging.
"Perhaps," he said mystically. "But you know how the others are." He sighed dramatically, causing most of those around him to laugh. "Now come on! Last one there is going to be thrown into the lake!" The newborns and young cubs shrieked, chasing each other as they hurried to reach the rest of the Crysts as fast as possible. Ariyan and the rest of the cubs followed, Ariyan playfully running with them instead of bounding ahead.
It was a fantastical end to an impish day!
Other: Good luck to everyone, your forms are amazing!!