Taktuq (Tak) | CotA | Wheel Dog

Name: Taktuq (Ususally called Tak) - Pronounced "Tak-TOOK"
Age: 5 Years Old
Gender: Male
Breed: Greenland Dog
Height: 26 inches at the withers
Weight: 73 lbs
Build: Tak is a massive dog, and exudes a charisma that makes him seem even bigger. His coat is thick with a dense undercoat and his paws are large and well-furred. He has large scars on his face and back, and smaller ones on his neck and body that are covered by his fur. His left ear has a large bite taken out of it. While Greenland Dogs typically have a tail that curls over their back, Tak usually let's it fall behind him.

Accessories: His harness is made from caribou hide and embellished with teeth of the wolves that attacked his master and him.

Tribe: Ikkuma
Position: Wheel Dog
Handler:  Ila, a young hunter that was saved by Tak.
Family: Asamir (Brother)

Personality: 
Taktuq used to be a much different dog than he is today. He grew up rash, vain, over-confident and hard to handle. After his tranformative experience, he underwent a radical change that took a lot of the fire out of his eyes. He is extremely internal, a lot of what there is to to Tak happens on the inside. His face, partially due to muscular damage from his scars, is always extremely deadpan, which makes his emotions extremely hard to read. An exception would be his warm smile that often graces his face. He tends to be more gentle than his tribe's overall temperment, but has no problem standing his ground in the political or other skirmishes among the tribe's dogs- though he would rather take the roll of mediator. He is wise, intelligent, but with a long melocholy streak. He feels deeply, though he doesn't let a lot of others in to see it, but is profoundly loyal and protective to those he loves. When in battle, or protecting those he cares about, he is a powerful fighter with nearly endless stamina. He is unassuming, fatherly, and exudes a quiet charisma only tainted by the threat of his hair-trigger temper. Despite his quiet temperment, he harbers a serious wrath issue that can be frighteningly explosive, especially since it comes from someone you'd never expect it from. He wants to feel at ease again, and open up to his fellow dogs like he used to, but finds trusting difficult. Every once in a while, on a very good day, or a distraction comes his way, the old, self-confident Tak will come out, only to recede again into his interior when he realizes it. He has developed a fear of wolves that he does his best to hide, but it makes it difficult for him to engage them in battle. He adheres to the Ikkuma's religion and philosophy, but hasn't taken things for granted after his fateful experience (in his history).

+ Positive Traits: [Intelligent] [Deep] [Loyal] [Protective] [Observant] [Persevering] [Hard-working] [Dauntless]
- Negative Traits: [Self-Doubting] [Depressed] [Wrathful] [Mistrusting] [Afraid] [Uncommunicative]

Goal: Tak wants to find his place in the tribe after everything hit the fan for him. He wants to protect and serve Ila, and wants to redeem himself after letting him scrape so closely with death.

History:
Taktuq was a promising Ikkuma pup, he was intelligent, haughty, and driven. His master was an equally promising young hunter named Ila, who was from a family of no special ranking, but worked his way up the Ikkuma food chain with his talent as a tracker and hunter. The two were inseperable as a team and were both haughty, concieted, but undeniably talented.

One evening, Ila and Taktuq were out hunting further from their home than usual, when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a pack of wolves. Wolves usually wouldn't attack such a pair, but they shared the same harsh landscape as the Ikkuma, and were starving enough to try. The pair fought the wolves, but were severely outnumbered. A pair of wolves pinned Ila down and were about to impart a fatal blow, when Tak's massively protective side came out and he single-handedly killed the two wolves and three others before the rest of the pack ran away.

When he turned and checked on Ila, his master was unconcious, and badly injured. He laid on top of Ila to keep him warm for what seemed like ages, but when he never regained conciousness, Tak thought the best thing to do would be to run back to the Ikkuma tribe and lead help back for Ila. So after a great deal of fretting, he left his master to find help.

When he returned to the camp, covered in blood and with no Ila to be seen, the Ikkuma assumed that Taktuq had turned on Ila and killed him while they were out on their hunt. Without questioning that conclusion, they immediately assumed Ila to be dead, and they bound Taktuq's muzzle shut and began to use him as bait for training the younger dogs as punishment for his crimes. They intended to use him that way until he died of his wounds, or the Captain decided to put him down.

This went on for about a week, and Taktuq's heart broke profoundly at what he thought of as the betrayal of his tribe, and he could only imagine that Ila had died in the wilderness without his help. He had failed his master, so as far as he was concerned, he deserved to die. He had sustained many scars from his fight with the wolves, but gained even more from his fellow packmates as they attacked him for sport. With his muzzle bound, he took the punishment, unable to defend himself or explain.

Slightly less than a week after that fateful day, the whole tribe was stunned by the return of Ila, who appeared badly scarred, but very much alive. After Tak had left to find help, Ila had been discovered by a small group of Kissima nomads, who nursed him back to health. He had Taktuq released immediately and he explained that Taktuq had saved his life, not endangered it. Both Ila and Taktuq returned to normal life in the Ikkuma tribe, but neither of them would ever be the same.

Activity Log:
Joining
A Brother's Betrayal

Relationships:

 || Acquaintance
  || Rival
   || Familiar

 || Friend
  || Close Friend
   || Kin

 || Pity
  || Relates to/Understands
   || Feels Uncomfortable Around 

 || Suspicious
  || Fear 
   || Terrified Of

 || Respect 
  || Feels Responsible For
   || Dependent On

 || Trust
  || Lust
   || Romantic Feelings

 || Attraction 
  || Crush
   || Obsession

 || Approve
  || Like 
   || Love

 || Disapprove 
  || Dislike
   || Loathe

 || Mate
  ||killed

-----------------------

Asamir (/////)
He's my brother, so can't help but love him. I've come a long way in trying to forgive him for his betrayal when I was suspected of killing my handler... but I can't deny that those scars still hurt.

Mika (////)
We both have a lot in common in that we don't entirely fit the Ikkuma mold. She's a good friend and confidant, I share more with her than I would dare to with others.