Takeji

45” & Balanced Build Takeji is in several ways a ghost of his sire. Imposing size and a vibrantly patterned pelt that announces his lineage for all to see. Beneath it all is a mottled array of grays and blacks, which skew towards cooler blue tones if you squint your eyes and the light hits just right. But why spend your time looking at the duller tones with all that mottled orange and red staring you in the face instead? The pattern is hard to pin down, a series of splodges with cutouts and trailing tendrils weaving in an out of other patches. Takeji has also borrowed a few splashes of white from his mother’s markings, most noticeable in largest patches but also ghosting thin trails under his eyes and a snip along his muzzle.

His build and features are hardly a surprise, with so many siblings to compare and contrast against at some point individuality gets lost in shades a nuance. His features are bit sharper than some but not quite as bold as others. He is large in stature when held against most wolves but hardly a stand out amongst his kin. Two horns that curve ever so slightly forward are hardly worth batting an eye at. In a crowd of strangers he is statistically likely to stand out, but within the bamboo he is happy to melt into mundane anonymity. appearance

If you were to put in minimal effort, it would be easy to call Takeji the strong but silent type. At a passing glance he doesn’t necessarily stand out in a crowd, pelt non-withstanding, and frankly that’s just how he likes it. Seeing a stranger’s glazed eyes drift past him? Chefs kiss. But if you were to dig around under the hood you’d soon come to realize there are more layers to this stoic little onion.

Foremost, Takeji is an observer. He is happiest lingering on the edge of a crowd, watching and listening and gathering as much information and context as possible before being forced into an opinion. He is careful and methodical, perhaps even a little bit anxious (read: a lot-a-bit anxious) about having to act before he feels ready to. Whether it is the weight of familial expectations or the burdens he chooses to take on all on his own, Takeji feels as if he is constantly reaching for a goal forever a hair’s breadth out of reach. (Over time he might just develop an inadequacy complex of his own creation, but who can say for sure.)

This particular way of walking through the world is taxing, and unfortunately Takeji will struggle to develop healthy tools to vent off that pressure. While he is loathe to ever show strong outward emotions, much preferring his mask of stoicism, it is inevitable that a faulty dam will one day burst. During these outbursts he may well say and do things he will later regret, and he knows it. Whether with words or physical force Takeji will lash out at whatever happens to cross his path, a haze of brutish rage while his better judgement can only watch on and wither. When he can he prefers to do so alone, isolated, but that is not always the case…

Above all, the young male is dedicated. He thrives in situations where he knows his role and knows how to execute it with excellence. Give him a clear brief and point him in the right direction and you can be certain he will get the job done. It may only be a temporary relief from his anxieties but that sense of accomplishment goes a long way to mellowing his mood, loosening the tethers he’s strapped down so tightly. At the end of a long day of hard work is when Takeji shines, allowing a more sincere and gentle soul to show through, if you’re lucky enough to see it. personality

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