Oh. My. Gosh.
<3<3<3
Name Atunno
Gender Male
PersonalityCalm
It takes a lot for Atunno to get angry at something. Even when he does get angry, it usually seems like he's just exasperated or sad. He's very tolerating of bad-tempered Chimeras and pups, and is able to put a bright side on nearly anything. He's usually quite relaxed, even in the midst of battle. When something bad happens, he numbs it out of his mind until he's alone and can fully deal with it. He's very flexible and often just 'goes with the flow'. He can be easily manipulated because of this trait, however. Even when he knows he's being manipulated, he usually goes along with it, because truthfully he usually doesn't mind.
Determined
Once Atunno sets his mind on something, he will not give up on it. Ever. He'll keep working towards a goal, even if it takes him years. He won't let anything move him from this goal, no matter how drastic the challenge is. This also shows through in his physical skills- he'll keep running or fighting on, even if he's so exhausted he can barely breathe.
Neutral
When he doesn't have to be involved, Atunno prefers not to get involved in things. He has a small group of friends that he likes to talk to, but out of that, he usually just stays quiet and in the background. He hates getting into fights with his own kind, over pointless things. When somebody confronts him on something partially pointless, he'll usually just leave or submit to them, even if he could easily overpower them.
Thoughtful
Atunno is constantly trying to figure things out- about his past, the planet, and anything in general. He believes that every problem has a solution, if it's thought about enough. He also thinks about some incredibly deep things that he can't really put into words. Often times he'll completely space out and bump into something while thinking, which embarrasses him a lot.
Curious
Atunno likes learning as much stuff as he possibly can. He's always willing to join in a conversation if it's about a new cave or place discovered, or a new solution to a problem. This is one place where he's willing to give his input as much as he can, as physical things like this don't usually cause arguments. On his own, Atunno loves to explore new places in his hunts and other expeditions.
Positive
Atunno always tries to find a good side to things, even if it's practically nonexistent. It's rare to find him without a calm smile on his face. He'll endure almost anything without complaining, except for the rare occasions when he's asked to harm other Chimeras. Because of the stories that he's heard about his past, short-tempered self, he tries to act almost the opposite. He rarely lets himself be anything but happy or neutral.
StoryRed. Blood and sand. Pain. It was all that he could see, hear, feel.
Other than that, there was nothing.
Trying desperately to think of something, anything else besides the pain, he looked for a memory in his mind. A familiar face. Something that he knew from his past. His own name, even.
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Forcing himself to open his eyes, he was confronted with a blast of sand that forced him to snap his eyelids shut together again. Tentatively, he opened one eye again, this time squinting to shield his vision from the desert's wrath.
Well. He was in The Dark Claws. That was one development. The chimera wondered how he knew what the The Dark Claws was.
Hoisting himself up onto his feet, he regained complete consciousness. He had been lying in a small ditch of sand. From the amount of the stuff that he had to shake out of his coat, he had been in there for at least a few days. Looking around the desert, he could see some gnarled trees in the distance. A few miles off, he could make out the glow of the Glass Mountains, despite the waves of sand being carried around by the gale. Somehow, he knew that there were others at the mountain. Others that could help him.
He started off towards the mountain when he noticed another figure in the sand. This one was smaller, and didn't look like it was moving.
His eyes widened in shock as he saw that it was a pup.
It was obviously dead, with four long and deep claw marks etched into its throat. At least it had died a quick death. Looking more closely at the poor thing, he could see that the claw marks were too close together to be from a Pantherberus. For some reason or another, a Chimera had attacked the pup. Also, for some reason, he noticed that one of the scars was a bit thinner, less lethal, than the others. Whatever Chimera had attacked the pup had a deformed claw.
Right then, the chimera swore to kill the wolf who had madly attacked the child, if he ever figured out who. Or at least punish him as badly as he possibly could without becoming a monster himself.
As quick as he had come to look at the pup, the chimera started to trod off towards the mountains, trying as hard as he could to put the image of the dead pup out of his mind. Try as he might, though, it didn't work.
Atunno...The name hit him like a falling branch. A memory... it had been a female voice. In pain. Desperate. Calling for somebody.
He only hoped that she had been calling for him. Atunno was his name, or he hoped, at least.
With a new hope, Atunno started running towards the mountains.
-
Bounding up to the caverns, Atunno finally made it under the mountain's protective shade. He had been traveling for a few days now- the mountains had been further away than he thought, and he had discovered some injuries and pulled muscles from whatever past experience had landed him in that ditch. However, he had finally made, which was all that mattered. He was exhausted, starving, and yearning for company, but he had made it.
Howling up to the mountains where he knew an entrance resided, he shouted with all of the noise he could muster. "Hello? Is anybody there?" He sat down, waiting for a response. Surely, somebody had heard him- somehow, he knew that there was always at least one Chimera on watch at that entrance. He also knew that there should probably be one coming out to greet him by this time- what was wrong?
Finally, he saw one of the wolves nervously poke his head out of the concealed cave. His eyes were focused on Atunno's, and were full of disbelief.
"Help! Somebody! Dimextriun is still alive!" The wolf shouted back to the cave, disappearing into the darkness a few moments later. Atunno settled back into a lying down position, relaxed. They'd bring him help. Maybe even heal his injuries. His worst injury was by far a blow to his head, which had been giving him a throbbing headache since he had woken up from the dune. He guessed that it had caused his memory loss, as well. Right now, Atunno could only wonder who Dimextriun was.
Before he could finish this thought, a group of Chimeras bolted out of the cave entrance. He stood up to greet them, but he was already surrounded before he could fully get up on his feet. Something was wrong, though... the wolves didn't have a welcoming look on their faces, or even a neutral one. From the growls that were coming from the wolves, they wanted to kill him. A lot.
"Come with us, Dimextriun." the largest one growled.
Dimextriun? So that was him? He shuddered at the name. Something about it seemed... dark. Twisted. Really not him.
He decided that he'd stick with Atunno.
Surrounded on all sides by the angry Chimeras, he was herded into the cavern. Not that he would have done anything else otherwise. The dim light of the cavern compared to the glimmering spectrum outside blinded him for a moment, but he blinked his amber eyes a few times and the cave came into focus.
It was strange. All of the landscape was familiar, and the looks of the chimeras. However, he couldn't remember any names, or how he knew it. He decided to put this strange fact aside and just keep running with the wolves.
Where are they taking me? Atunno could only hope that he wouldn't end up in a pit full of spikes, or worse.
Just as Atunno's legs finally started to tire, the group led him into a side cave. There was an intimidating Chimera sitting in the center of the room- by the looks of it, a female. While she certainly wasn't one of the high leaders, she was definitely was relatively high-ranking. And she didn't look happy.
"You don't deserve to stand here alive, Dimextriun." the fae snarled, staring into his eyes with a ferocious red-eyed gaze. There. It was that name again. What was so terrible about it? Just then, he gained a nagging suspicion about why everybody was furious at him. Terrified, even. Atunno wondered why he hadn't seen it before. It was so obvious....
Ignoring the glare that the high-ranking fae was staring him down with, Atunno moved back to an area in the cave where the floor wasn't solid rock, instead being coated in a layer of fine grey sand. Scraping his right paw over the sand, he looked at the claw mark he had made. There was nothing strange about it. Then, he took his left paw, which was more injured. Wincing as he dragged it across the sand, he looked at the indentations that he had made in the sand.
It was almost impossible to see, but it was there. One of his claws was ever-so-slightly smaller than the others, making a shallower dip in the grey rock. It was familar. Too familiar.
It was the same claw that had swiped through the throat of the dead pup he had seen earlier.
Maybe it was better that he had lost his memory.
-
Atunno rolled over for the second time in the cave that he had been 'assigned' to. 'Assigned' meaning being kept in a tiny dark room with a constant watch. He still couldn't believe he had done it. Had been the Chimera that they had described him to be. He really couldn't imagine himself doing anything like that. Ever.
Apparently, his parents had both been huge, high-ranking, and aggressive. They had raised him- well, that random wolf named Dimextriun, at least- to be just the same. Constant bully, picking fights with almost everyone, hunting and killing things just for the heck of it. He had grown up to terrify the other wolves into submission. Finally, one day, apparently, he had snapped. Attacked an innocent family while traversing the desert. Dimextriun had severely injured one pup, and killed the other. The mother had tried to stop him, but got terribly injured herself in the process. However, she had managed to take the wolf down, smashing his head against a rock and killing him. Leaving him in the Dark Claws.
Or so they had thought.
Apparently the hit had killed his memory, and apparently a lot of his personality, but he was still there. The murderer was still alive, breathing, needing punishment. Even though he had no memory of actually committing the crime, his body and brain had physically done it.
The fae from earlier wanted him exiled into the Dark Claw or beyond. With no food. No help. No memories to guide him through the Pantherberus. It was basically synonymous to death.
He was about to give up hope when a soft voice emanated from the mouth of his cave.
"They said... they said you call yourself Atunno now." The voice was very feminine, and sounded thick with sadness.
Atunno turned around, facing the speaker. It was another fae, but not the one that had threatened to exile him. Not even close. She was much smaller, and very slender. He tried to focus on something recognizable on her, but it was almost as if his mind was blocking him from her colors, her markings. Instead, he focused on the deep red gashes marking her whole body. Even from a distance, he could see the mark that had been burned into his brain by now. Every set of slashes had a thinner one on her body, another example of the slightly smaller claw.
"Atunno was my son." The fae whispered. "The one you killed."
Atunno climbed to his feet, now staring at the fae in shock, although he still couldn't see much but the grisly wounds.
So that was where the name came from. Not from somebody desperately trying to save him as he was attacked by another. By a mother howling for her son as he had brutally attacked it for no reason. He really didn't know what to say. At all.
"I... I'm so sorry. I swear, if I could have stopped whatever happened, I would. I can't believe I'd ever do something like that... like this..." he finished, gesturing to the wounds with his muzzle.
"You really don't remember, do you?" the fae mumbled, looking over Atunno.
"It's strange. You're nothing like the monster I saw before. It's like... it's like the darkness has drained out of you. And now you're just normal. Peaceful even." Atunno was about to reply, when he realized that she was mostly talking to herself.
"And yet they're still killing you. But they're not. Because you're not Dimextruis. You're... never mind." Her voice changed from curious to bitter, when she remembered the name that the chimera had taken on. At about the same time, she noticed that Atunno was listening to her. Giving a small snarl, she left the cave, a guard almost immediately taking her place.
Atunno curled back into a ball, letting himself be soaked up in the depths of sleep. He didn't feel like thinking over the fae's visit quite yet.
-
Atunno sat in front of the small group of wolves, all of which had menacing looks in your eyes.
"It's time to go." the large and dominant fae from earlier said.
He had finally been pulled out of his cell that morning, after almost two weeks of lying in semidarkness with nothing to do but think. Mostly about what they had told him about his past. About the fae's visit. About the real Atunno, who was now lying in a pile of sand in the middle of the Dark Claws.
It was time now. Time for him to leave. It was true that he was in better condition than he had been in when he arrived, but it still didn't deny the fact that there was absolutely no chance that he'd survive. The throbbing in his head still continued, and he was in no condition to hunt down food, let alone take on a Pantherberus. If he tried to venture back to the Glass Mountains, he'd be killed. Or at least that was what the fae had said.
Now, Atunno stood at the entrance of the mountain. The light was a bit blinding after sitting in the dark for so long. One of the wolves gestured for him to go. He started to put his foot out of the cave, when a soft voice sounded from only a few feet behind them.
"I really don't think you should do that."
Atunno turned around the face the all-too-familiar speaker of the voice- the original Atunno's mother. Her injuries looked much worse, somehow, and she stood with an unnatural stiffness- infection had begun to set in. Wincing as she took a step forward, she looked the other female in the eye.
"You want to kill Dimextriun. Dimextriun is dead- I killed him after he killed my pup. He's obviously dead now. Well, his personality is. You've got the wrong wolf. That's... that's Atunno." She reluctantly said the name, but obviously meant what she said. Atunno's ears perked up with hope.
"You're the mother of the pup that he killed. You're obviously not looking too good yourself, either. Why would you want him to be spared?" The larger wolf's eyes were doubtful, but also full of curiosity.
"Just... just please don't. You're just sending an innocent Chimera to his death if you go through with this. We don't need to get rid of two Atunnos. Shouldn't I be able to object against the punishment, seeing as my family was the one affected by him? He HAS NO MEMORY of doing it. It's just pointless." At this point, the slender fae was shaking from the pain of standing up too long with her injuries.
The larger chimera looked doubtful, but didn't argue. "We'll think about it." she grudgingly decided. Gesturing with her muzzle to one of her allies, she barked to him. "You. Take this... Atunno back to the main cave. We'll get this girl back to a bigger cave safely- she needs more help than he does." Atunno followed the male back into the depths of the cavern, almost ready to collapse with relief. He took one last look at the original pup's mother as he headed into the cave, then ran after his guide as fast as his legs would allow.
-
The hums of insects dotted the forested valley, making a soft serenade to accompany the beautiful night. A small grey rabbitlike creature crawled through the grasses, its mind on the flower that it was slowly munching on as it crawled. It was completely oblivious to the amber-eyed Chimera determinedly stalking it.
Atunno.
It had been one year since his mind had hit the 'reset' button. The supposed punishment had never been given out, and as sure as the mountains were glass it never would be. Atunno had made too many friends, helped on too many missions, and had overall completely erased his previous reputation. In its place was a thoughtful and calm wolf who never gave up on a task.
Like the one he was working on right now.
The creature finally stopped for a moment, settling its eyes on a new flower. Now was Atunno's chance. Like he had many times in the past year, he snapped out of the grass to meet the creature. His jaws found their way around the creature's neck before it knew what had happened. Another successful catch, albeit a small one.
Carrying the rabbit, Atunno climbed up the narrow path along the ridge of the valley and darted into the cave.
None of the others gave him strange looks anymore, instead gazing upon him with a friendly smile. While it was true that he wasn't exactly the most social wolf in the cave, he had made a lot of friends, and surprisingly no enemies. Even the fae who had tried to banish him was on good terms with him now.
The only chimera he hadn't talked to since the almost-banishment was the quiet female; the original pup's mother. In fact, he hadn't seen her. He liked to think that she still felt awkward talking to him, and simply hid from him each day. However, the more likely truth was that she had quickly passed away from the infection, possibly even the day she had saved him. It was the only negative point in his new life.
Running through the caves with a steady pace, he finally made it to the smaller cave in which he slept. He hoped that someday he would be able to hold a family in this cave, although that was a long way. For now, he dreamt alone.
And as with every night for the past year, good dreams graced his sleep that night.
Art
This is a full-body piece I made of him. It's my first time drawing anything in this pose, so please excuse any anatomical mistakes. Overall, though, I'm pretty happy with it.
This is a chibi drawing I did of Atunno. I absolutely love drawing things in this style, and I couldn't resist seeing what he'd look like in chibi form. c:
This is a quick headshot that I made of him. I mainly made it to focus on drawing the markings on his face and upper neck.
I... I don't even know what this is. This is a more abstract piece, focusing on his facial markings and colors.
Three things about ChimerasChimeras live in the Glass Mountains, residing in a huge web of tunnels and larger caves. The mountains were transformed into glass when the crystal was deposited on the planet. Every evening and morning, the sun will hit the glass and create a beautiful show that the Chimeras love to watch.
There are a lot of differences between male and female chimeras. Male chimeras have spikes on their backs and rear legs, while the females don't. Also, males have straighter horns on their heads than females do (although the horns are still curved, of course).
The Chimeras used to be ordinary wolves, simply with bright and unnatural markings. However, a meteor struck the planet, and in it was a powerful crystal. The crystal mutated the wolves, bringing into existence their horns and spikes. Also, the wolves gained the ability to use telekinesis, and some level of empathy.
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
