“ Ｔｏ ｂｅ ｙｏｕｒｓｅｌｆ ｉｎ ａ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｔｈａｔ ｉｓ ｃｏｎｓｔａｎｔｌｙ ｔｒｙｉｎｇ ｔｏ ｍａｋｅ ｙｏｕ ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ ｅｌｓｅ ｉｓ ｔｈｅ ｇｒｅａｔｅｓｔ ａｃｃｏｍｐｌｉｓｈｍｅｎｔ．”
Username: BlueRocketMouse
Kennel Number: 259
Use: I tried out for Honey way back when I first found the SCAA. To be honest I'm quite glad I didn't win, as I feel like I'm able to come up with a much better concept for him than I did back then. Honey will definitely become a beloved character of mine. He'll get his own character page and plenty of art to show off his cute face. I'd also like to continue his story, and possibly still find a way to connect it with Sprite, as I had intended in my original form.
Name: Hunter
Nickname: Honey
Gender: Male
Species: Honey Badger
Personality:
Honey may share blood with the honey badgers, but that's about where the similarities ended. Just mentioning that sentence to him would probably make him uncomfortable. He's an easily disturbed fellow who would rather not see blood of any kind. Having grown accustomed to life in captivity, Honey has very little of the wild's spirit in him. Though he has never experienced it firsthand, the world outside of his comfortable enclosure walls frightens him. It's incredibly easy to trick his gullible mind into believing almost anything you say about it, especially if that something reinforces his fears. Coaxing him out from behind the bars, on the other hand, takes a little more work. Honey isn't the type to dive into unknown territory headfirst. He needs time to scout things out before he even considers making a move. Luckily for him, Honey has a lot of patience. He has no qualms at all about waiting a day or two or ten for something to happen. He's the kind of guy who takes a trip to the beach but never actually gets in the water, instead just sleeping on his beach towel until the sun starts to set.
Unfortunately, those who don't share Honey's patience may find themselves at their wit's end with him. Reliability isn't one of his strengths. Though he doesn't always realize it, Honey has a bad habit of making plans with people and then backing out at the last minute. When the alternative is staying at home, Honey is likely to change his mind on a whim. This can make it easy to assume he is rather antisocial, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Honey loves talking with and getting to know people. In his opinion, meeting somebody new is an exciting experience that can't be replicated by anything else. Though there's bound to be a few hiccups in these interactions, few can stay mad at sweet little Honey for long. It's easy to figure out that Honey never means to be rude on purpose; sometimes his airheadedness just gets the better of him. Mention it and he will be quick to apologize. Honey dislikes even thinking that someone may be upset with him. He's a well-meaning fellow who wishes to be on good terms with as many people as possible.
History:
A dusty, grizzled snout etched with scars sniffed its way out of a hole carved into rocky ground. It was followed, after a moment's hesitation, by an equally worn head and striped torso into the darkening dusk. Her name was Johanna, not that names were very important to honey badgers. One of her eyes, if anyone cared enough to look, was foggy and pale, staring for thousands of yards into nothing. The other darted from side to side like a fly, taking in the details of the parched savannah that surrounded her. Her legs moved in long strides yet her body lumbered along slowly, weighed down by the small creature who was sleeping in her belly, and would be for several more weeks. If the soon-to-be mother could've had it her way, she would have spent the next few hours resting in the comfort of her burrow. The growling pain in her stomach, however, would not let that happen. Setting off with a purposeful gait, after a few minutes she arrived at a familiar stretch of black stone that ran for miles in either direction. It reeked with a pungent, putrid oil, while any unwary traveller who foolishly tried to brave it during the day would likely end up being crushed by the metallic beasts that streaked across it. That fact, however, was exactly why she had come here. Fewer beasts were roaring now that night was falling, making it safer to scavenge any unfortunate carrion that had been left behind.
The last evidence of sunlight had just vanished into blackness when the metallic scent of blood hit her nostrils. It was fresh. Following the trail, she found herself being led away from the stone road. Whatever it was, it had not been attacked by one of the beasts. Her suspicions were confirmed when she crested a short pile of rocks and spotted a lion just ahead, preying on what appeared to be a zebra foal. She clambered down to the bottom of the rocks. The lion was young, very young, and seemed to be alone. He had most likely left or been kicked out of his old pride, and was now trying to start a new one. Johanna never understood lions, nor did she care to. All that mattered to her was that this lion was by himself and he had food. It wasn't her first option, but right now it was the only one. With a hiss, she stalked towards the lion, hackles reared straight up. The lion unsurprisingly hissed back, keen to defend his meal. Johanna attacked first, throwing a bite in her foe's direction. The lion flinched, then lunged forward and grabbed the back of Johanna's neck in his teeth. Immediately, she twisted around in her loose skin and clawed at his face. Having been caught off guard, the lion released his hold on Johanna. Clearly, he had never gone up against a honey badger before. He was now solely on the defensive, snarling angrily but backing up inch by inch while he recalculated his next approach.
Johanna gave the lion no rest, throwing slashes at him whenever he hesitated to move back. Just as she was about to start pushing him away from the zebra, multiple roars sounded around them. The lion suddenly regained his bravado. He stopped firmly in his tracks and joined the growls of three lionesses that had stepped out from the brush. Now it was Johanna's turn to be forced back by two salivating jaws snapping at her feet. The other pair was crawling around to cover each of her flanks. Johanna's one good eye skittered between each lion in a frenzy. This was no longer an easy fight. It didn't seem as though any of them were keen on letting her go with a warning either. She continued backing up slowly, not wanting to leave a single tooth out of her sight. The sensation of something sharp digging into her rump made her stop. She had reached the small hill of rocks where she'd come from. The approaching predators seemed confident now that they had their quarry. Johanna clenched her teeth.
Everything happened at once. The lionesses flanking her leaped in unison. Johanna narrowly ducked under their outstretched claws. She darted up the rocks and leaped out from the top onto the other side. Heart racing almost as fast as her feet, Johanna managed a headstart of several yards before the first lion made it over the pile. Frantically, she searched for a place to go. The burrow was too far away—she could never outrun the lions for that long. The scraggly bits of growth that littered the immediate area were too short for her to hide in. Her only viable option was to hope there was decent cover on the other side of the black stone, which was rapidly drawing near. A bright pair of lights at the edge of Johanna's vision caught her attention. There was a beast approaching. She put on an extra burst of speed. If she could make it in time, the lions would have to back off or risk being hit.
Both the lights and the lions were almost on top of her by the time her first paw touched the stone. Johanna wasn't thinking anymore, just acting. If one didn't get her, the other one would. She and her baby were going to die. Sharp pain in her leg brought her to a stop while a blunt force against her side sent her moving again. The whole world went white.
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A pair of periwinkle eyes, still bright with the light of youth, gazed upwards, trying to catch a peek of what the two-legged creature walking towards the fence was bringing with them for breakfast. Red bowls usually meant fruit, while black ones meant insects. Such strange creatures they were to color code food. The zebras next door called them feeders while the gazelles called them handlers. His mom called them beast tamers, though he couldn't imagine why. The golden furred honey badger bounced excitedly when the handler was close enough for him to see a flash of red. "Momma, wake up, breakfast is here!"
Johanna begrudgingly limped out from the comfortable darkness of the den. She growled lightly when she spotted Hunter next to the gate where the handlers came in and out of. "Hunter, I've told you to stay away from those things."
Hunter scuttled guiltily away as the gate swung open. "But they're nice, momma," he whined in response. "They bring us food."
"Yeah, after they lock you up for the rest of your life," she retorted. "Then you're treated like a lazy cub who can't hunt for themselves."
Hunter winced at the sharpness of Johanna's retort. It wasn't the first time his mother had talked about their home like that and it probably wouldn't be the last. "Hunting sounds hard." He scurried to the bowl that by now been left on the ground. "I like fruit better anyway."
"It is hard. It takes practice. But every honey badger learns it. Every honey badger that doesn't end up in a place like this." Johanna shot the surrounding area a glare. "You can't just take away something in our blood. That's why I called you Hunter."
Hunter munched slowly on his fruit piece, suddenly meeker than usual. "One of the zebras called me Honey the other day. She said it matches my fur color."
Johanna snorted like he'd just told her snakes grew on trees. "That's just stupid."
"I kinda liked it..." Hunter murmured with a shrug.
"Don't be ridiculous. You're a Hunter, not a Honey." She rolled her eyes. "Who ever even heard of a honey badger named Honey?"
"It was just a thought," Hunter sighed with a frown. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"No. I'm not hungry." Johanna turned away from Hunter. "I'm going back inside."
Hunter stared at his mother with worried eyes. "But you skipped dinner last night. You have to be hungry!"
"Well I'm not. Come get me at lunch and maybe I'll have changed my mind."
Equal parts concern and sadness filled Hunter's face as he watched Johanna disappear back into the hole. The fact that she didn't have a fit meant this was a good day, but it sure didn't feel that way. Silently, Hunter finished the last piece of fruit and went to go see if the zebras had any more things to talk about.
Dislikes:
Fighting
Getting hurt
Adrenaline rushes
Bee stings
His real nameLikes:
Warm, sunny days
Honey
Sleeping
Exploring (inside his enclosure of course)
His nickname
extendedroundapp
